The puppies are gone (except one)

Today is a sad, but necessary day.  The last of the puppies went home with his new family this afternoon.  My mom really enjoyed the experience.  Last week was the only hard part because my dad had a rough week.  When I wasn't helping my mom with the puppies, I was chauffeuring my dad around.

Everything worked out well enough though.  My parents were here for a long stay to help me out.  I had periodontal surgery on Tuesday.  My dad was feeling stronger by Tuesday and my mom was down one puppy.  My kids got to spend a bunch of extra time with Grandma and the puppies because my recovery was slower than expected.

There is a great picture of my dad with one of the puppies on the puppies' blog.  Check out the blog at tillyspups.blogspot.com, if you haven't already.  My parents are keeping the puppy pictured with my dad on Day Fifty-One.  She was the only female in the litter.

The update including a blood transfusion

Over the past month my mom has struggled to get my dad's weight up with limited success.  The dietician at the Cancer Center made several suggestions recently which have helped.  However, on Tuesday my dad experienced another GI blockage.  He vomited several times and couldn't keep any food down.  This was a major setback in the struggle to get my dad's weight up.

My dad had blood work and a CT scan scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.  Those tests showed his blood levels to be fine.  (They are always checked before he receives chemotherapy treatment.)  Also, the CT scan showed no change in the size of the tumor.  This was the first CT scan done since switching chemotherapy drugs.  (The last CT scan showed the tumor growing which is why Dr. Ritch switched drugs.)

Because my mom was out of IV fluid, my dad received IV fluids at the Day Hospital in the Cancer Center on Tuesday.  On Wednesday, he was back in the Day Hospital for chemotherapy treatment and more fluids.  My dad was again at the Day Hospital on Thursday to have lab work run to determine if he was bleeding internally.  He had been having symptoms of bleeding within his gastrointestinal tract. The results indicated a slow bleed that seemed to be healing.  A complete blood count (CBC) revealed that my dad's hemoglobin level was around 10.  Another CBC run on Friday shown a slight drop in the hemoglobin level.  Therefore, Dr. Ritch ordered a blood transfusion for my dad, and he received two units of blood at the Day Hospital on Friday.

And if all that wasn't enough to keep my dad busy, on Thursday I took him several places including the dentist for his teeth to be cleaned!

5-FU update

After three rounds of the new chemotherapy drug (5-FU), my Dad is doing okay. He reports this drug to be much more difficult to adjust to than the gemcitabine.

Les Paul

WOW! June 21, 2008 was a wonderful day. I attended the Les Paul's 93rd birthday. It was a marvelous concert. He is quite the musician. He can make his guitar sing the tunes like no one else. He had an eight-year-old boy play a few tunes. Also, he had a singer, fiddle player, tap dancer and a harmonica player. All of these people added to the aurora of Les.

I want to thank my brother-in-law, John. He was able to get advance tickets through Discovery World. John does not know how thrilled I was to go. And better yet Les put on a show that touched me. I smiled and cried in the Pabst Theatre darkness. I was like the kid in the candy store seeing and hearing the legend of rock and roll.

So you think that was all. Not on the hairs of my chinny, chinny chin. We were exiting the Pabst: Judy, John and Mary and me. John's cell phone rang. He told us we had to wait a minute. Eric Cudahy came out to give us two VIP tickets. These got us in to see Les after the show and maybe get an autograph. John and I went back into the Pabst to wait for Les. There was a long line of people waiting to have stuff autographed. Les came in, and I attempted to get his autograph prior to him starting the autograph line. The Discovery World people wanted Les to see his birthday cake; it was in the shape of a guitar. The people then led Les up to the table. My autograph chance was gone. Ah contraire! But to my surprise the CEO of Discovery World, Joel, waved me and John to follow them to the table. To our surprise Joel got us a photograph with Les. This is done before the line of people could get their stuff signed. He signed two tickets for us. John and I shook Les's hand. What more can you say....... WOW! What a great night.

Philippe

Note from Michelle: You can click on the ticket below to see the autograph. The autograph is written over the picture of a guitar pick.

Another significant weight loss

My mom let me know earlier this week that my dad's weight is down to 124 pounds again. He hasn't been this low since the fall before the first two stints were put in. This time it isn't caused by excess vomiting; most likely it is related to the 5-FU. His appetite is down and food tastes funny. These are common side effects of 5-FU. Because his food intake is down, he is getting weaker. Hopefully, we can turn this trend around again soon.

I'll be seeing my dad soon and will write more after I see him.

5-FU Treatments

After the second 5-FU chemotherapy treatment my mom explained some of the details of the new treatment.

As I indicated in a previous post, this is an old chemotherapy drug. To minimize side effects, it is being administered differently than had been in the past. My dad receives this new treatment every three weeks. A treatment starts with a vitamin bolus run in intravenously through his port. This portion of the treatment is done at the cancer clinic. Next, the chemotherapy drug is started while my dad is still at the clinic. It runs in for 46 hours through the port. My dad carries the IV bag and pump for the 5-FU in a fanny pack while it is running in. Finally, my mom disconnects the IV at home.

Tilly's Pups

I've started a new blog for my mom to provide updates on news with Tilly's puppies. The link is provided below and in the "Links" list on the right. I hope everyone enjoys this story of new life!

Tilly's Pups