Friday, July 7, 2017

#30 Medical Update from July 6

God has continued to answer prayers for strength and healing.  I did have a few rough days a couple of weeks ago. It seemed primarily to be related to medication adjustments, but even that has and continues to improve.  Some days right now are great physically, some, not-so-much.  And sometimes those changes will occur half way through the day, without notice.  However, I’m not going to call them “bad days”, not with all God does to provide.  Every day, every moment is a good one, because it’s a gift from HIM.  So, I’ll take the not-so-good moments, thankful that whatever the moment, He walks beside me/carries me through.


Today I went to Moffitt for several tests, including an MRI and a visit with a radiation oncologist and, finally, my neuro oncologist.
Here’s a breakdown of the day (it was a long day)

Tests

The first tests that I had run came back great.  The ladies in the lab had difficulty finding my veins, which is nothing new these days. However, they were great.  As I was leaving they gave me a little bit of advice.  Because of the MRI, they had to start an IV.  Between that and the other lab work I had been stuck multiple times.  So, the ladies told me to be careful how much water I drank for the rest of the day.  I assumed they were going to say because of the contrast needing to be flushed out of my system that I should drink a lot the of water. However, instead they said the water might leak out through all of the needle holes that they had made.  Once again, I appreciated their friendliness, attitude and humor.  Thank you, ladies, for finding the good in a difficult situation.

MRI

The next thing on the list was the MRI which was basically uneventful.

Radiation oncologist

The radiation oncologist reviewed the MRI report (this showed the two spots mentioned by the surgeon after surgery) and explained how he would like to move forward with some radiation to keep them from changing.  It is time to deal with those two spots at this stage of my recovery from surgery.  His suggestion is to use a higher powered, more focused type of radiation to target these two spots directly.  This would be done over five consecutive days.  He also wants to focus a little bit of radiation in the area where the tumor was removed just as a precaution.  The idea is that this radiation will kill the remaining cancer cells leaving the chemo a clean area to do its job.

Neuro oncologist report

The neuro oncologist was content with the way things are going at this point.  While there are the two spots that need to be dealt with, he is confident that the radiation will be helpful as well as the new chemotherapy and he said we still have other things we can try if we want or feel like these are not doing the best that they can.   He also reminded me that the neural pathways that were cut during surgery can be rebuilt but it takes time.  Those connections can rebuild at about a rate of 1mm a day. I don’t know how many millimeters I have to rebuild, but I imagine that it is several days of work ahead.  So, we just keep moving forward one day at a time, one slow step at a time.  He said to keep up with all I’m doing at home for therapy.

   Next steps include awaiting the scheduling for radiation, probably to start in another week once preparations are made through the planning process.  Begin chemo regimen, involving the same chemo I took before plus the new one.  Both are being shipped to me now and should arrive in a few days.  Also continue with all the therapy to gain mobility and strength.  So, I’m off now to walk for a while.  More updates will come as I hear more news.
    
    Some thoughts from this week:

God doesn’t just think about me when I ask Him for help.  He thinks about me often and is never surprised by anything that happens in my life.
“Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
 How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God! how great is the sum of them!
 If I should count them, they are more in number than the sand: when I awake, I am still with thee.”
Psalm 139:16-18

When a train goes through a tunnel and the world gets dark, do you jump out? Of course not.  You sit still and trust the engineer to get you through.” – Corrie ten Boom

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