Firstly thank you for all the support and kind words during a very tough time. I do appreciate it and I am sure Judy would be eternally grateful as well.
With Judy's service it will be held on Tuesday 9th March at noon, rather than me list all the details here please use the following link to obtain all the details : http://www.obits.com.au/notice/Judy-Mulcahy?offset=1&quick=mulcahy&r=
While Judy may have lost her battle she followed her motto of NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP until the end for which I am sure she hoped would provide inspiration for all that knew her to keep striving in all they do.
Friday, March 5, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
A Short One
Not much happened with Judy today, I was able to spend 8 hours at the hospital for which she would have been dozing for over 7 hours even with loo breaks. The doctors are still happy with her heart rate and are mindful of her deteriorating breathing. She did seem less with it today which is concerning as this is a phase that the doctors said she will pass through along with the increased levels of sleeping. The expectation from the doctors is that these conditions will get worse they just don't know the rate of deterioration.
Based on this plus Judy's limited desire to see visitors we have moved to the stage of only family visiting for the time being. I know this is dissapointing for a number of people but we need to work with the conditions that are being presented. Please keep your prays and good wishing coming as they are appreciated and will be the only thing that pulls Judy through her current condition.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
Based on this plus Judy's limited desire to see visitors we have moved to the stage of only family visiting for the time being. I know this is dissapointing for a number of people but we need to work with the conditions that are being presented. Please keep your prays and good wishing coming as they are appreciated and will be the only thing that pulls Judy through her current condition.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
This Is Hard To Write
Firstly I will cover off the issue of visits to see Judy, per the note I put on Facebook we have been advised by her head doctor that we should limit the amount of visitors Judy sees at the moment as her energy is sapped if she has too many visitors. Please contact me on my mobile (for those that don't have it I am sure you can contact somebody who does to save me putting it up on the net) if you would like to visit Judy as I can manage when people come to minimise the effect on Judy. Also for those that would like to visit please be aware that visits should be limited to 5 mins so as to not be to arduous for Judy.
In regards to what occurred yesterday as I am writing this on Wednesday morning she was moved from Westmead hospital to a specialist Palliative Care Unit at Mt Druitt Hospital. This facility caters for her care more specifically and provides a less hospital like environment where it is easier for the family to visit.
In respect to her condition we have been advised that the doctors are happy with the progress Judy's heart rate has made but I was pulled aside by one of the senior doctors at the centre who has provided care to Judy previously on her journey who provided me with an update. Unfortunately he advised me that they are no longer treating her disease but working on keeping her comfortable and he feels that she has deteriorated dramatically since he last saw her. The end result of this is medically and logically her disease will get worse as time progresses and her body will start closing down. When pushed on what type of time frame he said it could be days but at the most weeks but the nurses are very good at noticing the signs of progression and wil keep us updated.
While that is the logical and medical side please continue to pray and send your positive energy as while their is life their is hope of survival for which I still hold hope even though the logical side says it's unlikely. My prayer is that she wakes one day free of the melanoma in her heart as a start which medically would be a miracle but you never know.
I don't really know what else to tell other than NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP.
In regards to what occurred yesterday as I am writing this on Wednesday morning she was moved from Westmead hospital to a specialist Palliative Care Unit at Mt Druitt Hospital. This facility caters for her care more specifically and provides a less hospital like environment where it is easier for the family to visit.
In respect to her condition we have been advised that the doctors are happy with the progress Judy's heart rate has made but I was pulled aside by one of the senior doctors at the centre who has provided care to Judy previously on her journey who provided me with an update. Unfortunately he advised me that they are no longer treating her disease but working on keeping her comfortable and he feels that she has deteriorated dramatically since he last saw her. The end result of this is medically and logically her disease will get worse as time progresses and her body will start closing down. When pushed on what type of time frame he said it could be days but at the most weeks but the nurses are very good at noticing the signs of progression and wil keep us updated.
While that is the logical and medical side please continue to pray and send your positive energy as while their is life their is hope of survival for which I still hold hope even though the logical side says it's unlikely. My prayer is that she wakes one day free of the melanoma in her heart as a start which medically would be a miracle but you never know.
I don't really know what else to tell other than NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP.
Monday, March 1, 2010
I Was Wrong
Another quick update following the activities of today. From my point of view Judy seemed much better today as I arrived in the morning and was able to spend far more time talking with her than when I have arrived later in the afternoon. It was nice as with everything going on I haven't really had an opportunity to just chat with her.
The other good news is that I was wrong with yesterdays post when I said "the tablets are not working". The palliative care doctors were around today and were able to give us a full update on her status and the options available to us in regards to moving her. Firstly the new heart tablets are working in the respect that they are lowering her heart rate which is the important measure, they may not be stopping the atrial fibrillation but are slowing her heart rate which is a huge relief.
The doctors also believe that clinically her breathing should be better but Judy isn't convinced as she becomes breathless from just moving herself around in the bed let alone having to get up to go to the loo. In saying this Judy had been having panic attacks over the last couple of days about the state of her breathing and how breathless she becomes but didn't seem to have any attacks during the 8 hours I was able to spend with her.
While it was nice to see some good occuring she is still in a very delicate position which was once again highlighted when speaking to the doctors about the possibility of getting her home. We were advised that without 24 hour home nursing (which costs an arm and a leg) this is not an option at the moment. I am going to check out a facility at Mt Druitt hospital in the morning to see if we can move her to different location that is less hospital like but still has the nursing support she needs. Even this option came with a warning, we were advised that unless a move occurs in the next couple of days we may find ourselves in the position where she is unable to be moved if her condition deteriorates further.
I will aim to continue with the daily updates and thank those that have commented for their words of encouragement.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
The other good news is that I was wrong with yesterdays post when I said "the tablets are not working". The palliative care doctors were around today and were able to give us a full update on her status and the options available to us in regards to moving her. Firstly the new heart tablets are working in the respect that they are lowering her heart rate which is the important measure, they may not be stopping the atrial fibrillation but are slowing her heart rate which is a huge relief.
The doctors also believe that clinically her breathing should be better but Judy isn't convinced as she becomes breathless from just moving herself around in the bed let alone having to get up to go to the loo. In saying this Judy had been having panic attacks over the last couple of days about the state of her breathing and how breathless she becomes but didn't seem to have any attacks during the 8 hours I was able to spend with her.
While it was nice to see some good occuring she is still in a very delicate position which was once again highlighted when speaking to the doctors about the possibility of getting her home. We were advised that without 24 hour home nursing (which costs an arm and a leg) this is not an option at the moment. I am going to check out a facility at Mt Druitt hospital in the morning to see if we can move her to different location that is less hospital like but still has the nursing support she needs. Even this option came with a warning, we were advised that unless a move occurs in the next couple of days we may find ourselves in the position where she is unable to be moved if her condition deteriorates further.
I will aim to continue with the daily updates and thank those that have commented for their words of encouragement.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Tablets Don't Seem to Be Working
Similar to yesterday not a great deal occurred today as the doctors only come in on Sundays in the case of an emergency. One thing that did happen is Judy's heart was not responding to the heart tablets she started yesterday as she had spells where her atrial fibrillation (AF) stayed around for long periods of time. This is effectively the technical term for her heart beating irregularly which in her case is beating far quicker than normal giving the effect she is running a marathon even though she is resting. The result of this is she is extremely tired which makes it very difficult if she has a large number of visitors as she tires extremely quickly. This was confirmed again today by me not getting to the hospital until 3pm and finding that she spend 99% of the time that I was there a sleep.
I will write again tomorrow by which time hopefully the tablets are being more successful and her heart begins to beat normally as the AF places huge amounts of strain on her heart.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
I will write again tomorrow by which time hopefully the tablets are being more successful and her heart begins to beat normally as the AF places huge amounts of strain on her heart.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Quick Update
Not much happened today, we are pretty much in the same position. One thing that did happen was that Judy was given a new drug to slow down her heart rate as her heart was regularly beating way to quick. I mentioned yesterday that she would get a drug to strenghten her heart but I was wrong as the drug will just slow her heartbeat to stop her feeling so exhausted. She also had a scan done on her bowel as while the dhiorrea has slowed it hasn't gone away fully so they want to understand what exactly is going on.
Catch you tomorrow.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
Catch you tomorrow.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
Friday, February 26, 2010
More Rough News
I will not be as long today and will try to give you all daily updates which will be short and will only concentrate on Judy's condition.
Today Judy had the ultrasound on heart that I mentioned yesterday, it showed that the fluid has not built up around her heart again which is great news as she is not in a good state to undergo more draining. The downside to this is that it is tumour that has caused the heart to look enlarged, while they didn't have the prior scans to compare growth it does show sizable tumours. The other update we received is that they tried to complete a test to measure the strength of her heart but couldn't due to the heart beat being so irregular. What they do know is that the condition of her heart has deteriorated since the last test that gave a reading of 35 but they don't know if it has dropped as low as the 19 score before that. The condition of her heart is an issue as rather than beating strongly it is more in a vibrating pattern that contributes to her fluid issues as her heart is not strong enough to pump blood and fluid around her body fully.
So overall we have her in a position where her heart is not strong and if she has a cardiac arrest of any type they will not resucitate her. If their is any positive in this it is that the cardiology team is coming to visit with the aim of giving her further medication that will hopefully strengthen her heart.
I will keep you updated on the progress of her heart which is the main concern, the other area I mention yesterday is the build up of fluid around her lungs. This is taking a back seat based on the heart issues but is being tracked by her ability to breathe which unfortunately also got a bit worse during the day.
Another bit of good news is the dhiorrea seems to have stopped.
As I said I will keep you updated daily as we are in a delicate position at the moment but hopefully it will be the start of a long trek back to stable health.
Speak Soon
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
Today Judy had the ultrasound on heart that I mentioned yesterday, it showed that the fluid has not built up around her heart again which is great news as she is not in a good state to undergo more draining. The downside to this is that it is tumour that has caused the heart to look enlarged, while they didn't have the prior scans to compare growth it does show sizable tumours. The other update we received is that they tried to complete a test to measure the strength of her heart but couldn't due to the heart beat being so irregular. What they do know is that the condition of her heart has deteriorated since the last test that gave a reading of 35 but they don't know if it has dropped as low as the 19 score before that. The condition of her heart is an issue as rather than beating strongly it is more in a vibrating pattern that contributes to her fluid issues as her heart is not strong enough to pump blood and fluid around her body fully.
So overall we have her in a position where her heart is not strong and if she has a cardiac arrest of any type they will not resucitate her. If their is any positive in this it is that the cardiology team is coming to visit with the aim of giving her further medication that will hopefully strengthen her heart.
I will keep you updated on the progress of her heart which is the main concern, the other area I mention yesterday is the build up of fluid around her lungs. This is taking a back seat based on the heart issues but is being tracked by her ability to breathe which unfortunately also got a bit worse during the day.
Another bit of good news is the dhiorrea seems to have stopped.
As I said I will keep you updated daily as we are in a delicate position at the moment but hopefully it will be the start of a long trek back to stable health.
Speak Soon
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Hope It Doesn't End Up Too Long
As I haven't blogged for a while I will start from when I last wrote in detail which was the morning of Tuesday 2nd Feb.
At the time Judy was being operated on to drain fluid from around her heart, she came through the procedure a little worse for wear but the procedure was far less traumatising than the first time round. Judy really didn't start feeling better until the drain was removed on the Thursday evening by which time they had drained over 2 litres of fluid. The reason for the fluid building up is due to the melanoma being in her heart as it builds up to fight the disease within the heart. She started to feel better as we waited for advice on what would be done to stop the fluid building up in the future. It wasn't until the following Monday that we were finally advised that the plan was to cut a window in the pericardial sac. This is the sac that surrounds the heart and would allow the fluid to drain into the lung cavity.
She had this operation on the morning of Wednesday 10th Feb which happened to be the day that we moved house. This operation went well and included another drain being inserted to keep the area free of fluid while the pericardial sac tried to fuse to the heart with the help of a talc solution. Unfortunately after a couple of days of small amounts of fluid draining she had a couple of days where over 200mls drained which put her in a difficult position as the pericardial sac didn't fuse to the heart which would have resulted in less fluid being produced. This left us in a position of not knowing where we were going as the drain needed to be removed as the chance of infection was increasing each day but to much fluid was draining. Fortunately she had a 24 hour period where the fluid production dropped too next to nothing so the decision was made to remove the drain. This didn't happen until a week after it was inserted with the end result being a further 960mls was drained, while I say a week after this was an extremely difficult time for Judy as she was confined to bed for the full week it is difficult to fully understand how difficult it was.
While the drain came out on the Wednesday 17th Feb, after a couple of days recouperation the doctors didn't think it would be wise for her to come home on the Friday. By the time the new week hit and they didn't let her out on the Monday she was itching the get home as we had nearly been in the new house for just under two weeks. I feel her desire to get home was a factor behind them letting her come home on Tuesday.
So on Tuesday afternoon she finally got to see our house but unfortunately she was lacking energy and was only able to go for a quick tour before resting. She woke up the next morning feeling pretty ordinary and while we thought having a shower would make her feel better we were wrong as she felt terrible after that. It was here that the dhiorrea and vomitting started, fortunately the community nurse was visiting and following a quick call to the palliative care doctor an ambulance was on it's way to take her back to hospital. This was a horrible situation for us all but was the only option as her condition was not good as she struggled to get to and from the loo. The struggle was driven by the fact that she had been bed ridden for all up nearly 5 weeks and her breathing had deteriorated to the point we needed to have an oxygen machine delivered to the house before she came home.
On her return to hospital they gave her a full review for which they haven't solved the dhiorrea problem but did note from the CT scan she had that fluid was starting to build up around her lungs. While the doctor outlined that this could result from a number of reasons it is most likely coming from her heart. This was further backed up by the fact that her heart was enlarged on the scan which is the result of either tumour growth or fluid building up around her heart even though she had the window put in. The fluid build up is also causing concern in other areas of the body but the heart and lungs are the major concern as the feeling is her heart is weak and any fluid build up around the lungs only makes breathing more difficult. The plan is to do more testing on her heart to determine the strength of her heart plus determining if it is fluid building up again. This is the most worrying area as we have been advised that based on the strenght of her heart if she has a cardiac arrest they will not try to resucitate her due to the presence of the melanoma in her heart. The other area is the fluid around the lungs which he advised they could drain this but based on what she has been through over the last 3 weeks they would not like to do this. Fortunately the breathing difficulties can be treated with medication initially.
So overall things are not looking their best as the fluid production will more than likely not stop until the melanoma is not in her heart but she is not strong enough to continue with any chemo to reduce tumour size. While we will try to build her strength back up we are coming from a low base so have a long road ahead that is fraut with huge risks. The initial aim is to stop the runs and get Judy to the stage where she can come home successfully understanding what support would be needed to get her back to a level where she can lead as normal a life as possible.
While we have been settling into the new house and dealing with life in general I will leave these to another time as our greatest area of concern is Judy and the battle that she has faced and has ahead.
I have seen requests for prayers for which we appreciate these as well as many positive thoughts as we move through a very difficult stage.
I will leave it at that for now and hope that it brings you up to date, I can't see Judy being in a position to blog in the coming weeks so I will try to keep you all informed.
Now more than ever NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
At the time Judy was being operated on to drain fluid from around her heart, she came through the procedure a little worse for wear but the procedure was far less traumatising than the first time round. Judy really didn't start feeling better until the drain was removed on the Thursday evening by which time they had drained over 2 litres of fluid. The reason for the fluid building up is due to the melanoma being in her heart as it builds up to fight the disease within the heart. She started to feel better as we waited for advice on what would be done to stop the fluid building up in the future. It wasn't until the following Monday that we were finally advised that the plan was to cut a window in the pericardial sac. This is the sac that surrounds the heart and would allow the fluid to drain into the lung cavity.
She had this operation on the morning of Wednesday 10th Feb which happened to be the day that we moved house. This operation went well and included another drain being inserted to keep the area free of fluid while the pericardial sac tried to fuse to the heart with the help of a talc solution. Unfortunately after a couple of days of small amounts of fluid draining she had a couple of days where over 200mls drained which put her in a difficult position as the pericardial sac didn't fuse to the heart which would have resulted in less fluid being produced. This left us in a position of not knowing where we were going as the drain needed to be removed as the chance of infection was increasing each day but to much fluid was draining. Fortunately she had a 24 hour period where the fluid production dropped too next to nothing so the decision was made to remove the drain. This didn't happen until a week after it was inserted with the end result being a further 960mls was drained, while I say a week after this was an extremely difficult time for Judy as she was confined to bed for the full week it is difficult to fully understand how difficult it was.
While the drain came out on the Wednesday 17th Feb, after a couple of days recouperation the doctors didn't think it would be wise for her to come home on the Friday. By the time the new week hit and they didn't let her out on the Monday she was itching the get home as we had nearly been in the new house for just under two weeks. I feel her desire to get home was a factor behind them letting her come home on Tuesday.
So on Tuesday afternoon she finally got to see our house but unfortunately she was lacking energy and was only able to go for a quick tour before resting. She woke up the next morning feeling pretty ordinary and while we thought having a shower would make her feel better we were wrong as she felt terrible after that. It was here that the dhiorrea and vomitting started, fortunately the community nurse was visiting and following a quick call to the palliative care doctor an ambulance was on it's way to take her back to hospital. This was a horrible situation for us all but was the only option as her condition was not good as she struggled to get to and from the loo. The struggle was driven by the fact that she had been bed ridden for all up nearly 5 weeks and her breathing had deteriorated to the point we needed to have an oxygen machine delivered to the house before she came home.
On her return to hospital they gave her a full review for which they haven't solved the dhiorrea problem but did note from the CT scan she had that fluid was starting to build up around her lungs. While the doctor outlined that this could result from a number of reasons it is most likely coming from her heart. This was further backed up by the fact that her heart was enlarged on the scan which is the result of either tumour growth or fluid building up around her heart even though she had the window put in. The fluid build up is also causing concern in other areas of the body but the heart and lungs are the major concern as the feeling is her heart is weak and any fluid build up around the lungs only makes breathing more difficult. The plan is to do more testing on her heart to determine the strength of her heart plus determining if it is fluid building up again. This is the most worrying area as we have been advised that based on the strenght of her heart if she has a cardiac arrest they will not try to resucitate her due to the presence of the melanoma in her heart. The other area is the fluid around the lungs which he advised they could drain this but based on what she has been through over the last 3 weeks they would not like to do this. Fortunately the breathing difficulties can be treated with medication initially.
So overall things are not looking their best as the fluid production will more than likely not stop until the melanoma is not in her heart but she is not strong enough to continue with any chemo to reduce tumour size. While we will try to build her strength back up we are coming from a low base so have a long road ahead that is fraut with huge risks. The initial aim is to stop the runs and get Judy to the stage where she can come home successfully understanding what support would be needed to get her back to a level where she can lead as normal a life as possible.
While we have been settling into the new house and dealing with life in general I will leave these to another time as our greatest area of concern is Judy and the battle that she has faced and has ahead.
I have seen requests for prayers for which we appreciate these as well as many positive thoughts as we move through a very difficult stage.
I will leave it at that for now and hope that it brings you up to date, I can't see Judy being in a position to blog in the coming weeks so I will try to keep you all informed.
Now more than ever NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Sorry for the wait
Just a quick note as I have had a number of requests for an update. Overall everything is OK but we have had an extremely busy three weeks of which Judy has unfortunately been in hospital for the whole time. When I say everything is OK Judy has had her challenges for which I will fill you all in over the next couple of days but hopefully we are at the right end of them and Judy can come home tomorrow. The other thing that has taken our time is moving which is a very time consuming exercise for which we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.
As I said I will write again in the coming days and once again sorry for not being able to write earlier.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
As I said I will write again in the coming days and once again sorry for not being able to write earlier.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
Monday, February 1, 2010
It's Late
I write to you from Westmead hospital at 3:30am while I am waiting for Judy to return from having more fluid drained from around her heart. Now that I have told you the end of the story I will try to connect from when Judy last wrote.
Basically not much has happened for Judy since she wrote late last week other than spending time in bed feeling shit. She has been very lethagic, hardly eaten anything because she feels so nauseous and is still suffering from stomach cramps etc, etc. While we were waiting for her to get better based on the test results from last Wednesday it didn't come and then got to the point that by Sunday she was looking fairly ordinary to the point where she looked as white as a ghost. Come Monday I knew we had to do something but I wasn't sure what so we made sure the community nurse came for a visit. Two nurses turned up this afternoon and knew all was not well as soon as they saw Judy, the end result was that an ambulance was called to bring her to Westmead where she had to go through emergency. The call for the amnulance was made around 4:15pm and she didn't get a bed in emergency until 10:30pm but atleast the wait was worthwhile as they have been able to find an answer as to why Judy has been feeling so crap. I can only hope the procedure is better than last time.
The other big items happening in our life at the moment was Matt starting big school today for which it was extremely disapointing that Judy was not able to go based on how she was feeling. She was at least able to help him get dressed as he was very excited until I said we had to go. I headed off with him and can't imagine how he felt as I had butterflys in my stomach as we arrived at the school, then I found out as the first of the tears started. I took him in and was able to stay while he settled in and while some more tears flowed he was a brave boy and made his dad very proud. I went back to pick him up at 2:30pm and he survived the day and was happy to go back the next day I just have to make sure I am home in time. He also surprised me by not losing any of his school gear.
Now the next big item is moving which is fast approaching with just over a week until we move. I got to do a bit more packing on the weekend due to some help from Di and Alex over the road looking after Hamish but I must admit I feel I am still behind schedule but we do have one more weekend. I will keep you posted as we may need to call in resources on the Monday and Tuesday next week if I haven't got it all done so feel free to put up your hands.
I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome a couple of new additions to the family, firstly Joylynn has joined us last Tuesday as our new Au Pair replacing Melissa who left before the Australia Day weekend. I would like to say welcome to Joy as she settles in and also thank Melissa hugely for her contribution over the last 4 months as she took a number of worries off our mind during a very difficult time. The other new addition is the arrival of a 16 week old black labrador puppy and while some of you may find it hard to believe we have added more complications to our lives others will know that once Judy gets an idea in her head their is no stopping her. It only follows that no wonder this cancer beast doesn't stand a chance.
I better go as I am running out of battery so sorry for the lack of a spell check or whether what I have written makes any sense at this time of the morning.
By for now and NEVER NEVER NEVER GIVE UP.
Basically not much has happened for Judy since she wrote late last week other than spending time in bed feeling shit. She has been very lethagic, hardly eaten anything because she feels so nauseous and is still suffering from stomach cramps etc, etc. While we were waiting for her to get better based on the test results from last Wednesday it didn't come and then got to the point that by Sunday she was looking fairly ordinary to the point where she looked as white as a ghost. Come Monday I knew we had to do something but I wasn't sure what so we made sure the community nurse came for a visit. Two nurses turned up this afternoon and knew all was not well as soon as they saw Judy, the end result was that an ambulance was called to bring her to Westmead where she had to go through emergency. The call for the amnulance was made around 4:15pm and she didn't get a bed in emergency until 10:30pm but atleast the wait was worthwhile as they have been able to find an answer as to why Judy has been feeling so crap. I can only hope the procedure is better than last time.
The other big items happening in our life at the moment was Matt starting big school today for which it was extremely disapointing that Judy was not able to go based on how she was feeling. She was at least able to help him get dressed as he was very excited until I said we had to go. I headed off with him and can't imagine how he felt as I had butterflys in my stomach as we arrived at the school, then I found out as the first of the tears started. I took him in and was able to stay while he settled in and while some more tears flowed he was a brave boy and made his dad very proud. I went back to pick him up at 2:30pm and he survived the day and was happy to go back the next day I just have to make sure I am home in time. He also surprised me by not losing any of his school gear.
Now the next big item is moving which is fast approaching with just over a week until we move. I got to do a bit more packing on the weekend due to some help from Di and Alex over the road looking after Hamish but I must admit I feel I am still behind schedule but we do have one more weekend. I will keep you posted as we may need to call in resources on the Monday and Tuesday next week if I haven't got it all done so feel free to put up your hands.
I would also like to take this opportunity to welcome a couple of new additions to the family, firstly Joylynn has joined us last Tuesday as our new Au Pair replacing Melissa who left before the Australia Day weekend. I would like to say welcome to Joy as she settles in and also thank Melissa hugely for her contribution over the last 4 months as she took a number of worries off our mind during a very difficult time. The other new addition is the arrival of a 16 week old black labrador puppy and while some of you may find it hard to believe we have added more complications to our lives others will know that once Judy gets an idea in her head their is no stopping her. It only follows that no wonder this cancer beast doesn't stand a chance.
I better go as I am running out of battery so sorry for the lack of a spell check or whether what I have written makes any sense at this time of the morning.
By for now and NEVER NEVER NEVER GIVE UP.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Chemo, holidays, hospital and all things nice........
I have done it again. I have left posting so long that it is going to end up like war and peace! I will try to cover everything but keeping it short. Firstly, thanks to Jas for posting last time for me....I couldn't bring myself to do it too tired and sick really.
So I think Jason finished up at the chemo with me going to start it that night. I am a big fan of getting on with stuff so if you know me you know I would be eager to bring it on!
No particularly obvious side effects the first days but toward the end of the week things went on a pretty dramatic downward spiral. I can only assume that it is a mixture of the chemo drugs and the change in my heart medication, and other meds seeing as the doctors can't tell me any better.
So we went away to Blue Lagoon for the weekend. I had been looking forward to it for a long time but unfortunately I was really ill the whole time. I stayed in the camper trailer most of the time........sleeping. Fiona and Barry and the girls still came and we spent a lot of time just sitting and chatting. Aunty Jan, Uncle Les, Richard, Amy, Heidi & Gavin were also up there so we spent some time saying hello with them. Good for Heidi she didn't need to explain why she wanted a liedown halfway through. Takes one to know one hey!
Anyhow, we were meant to stay up there from Saturday until to the Tuesday. With me being so sick we decided to go home.
By Wednesday I just wasn't getting any any better so it was time to do something about it. We rang the oncology team at Westmead and they suggested we come straight in. They did a whole lot of tests which all came back within normal limits so the option was to stay there and see how it goes or stay at home and see how it goes. And of course which one did I choose.........so here I am at home but still feeling a bit shit. I don't expect an answer as to what's wrong I will just assume nothing too major or it would come up somewhere.
I have to sleep now, I'm exhausted
Lots of love xxx
NEVER, NEVER,NEVER GIVE UP
So I think Jason finished up at the chemo with me going to start it that night. I am a big fan of getting on with stuff so if you know me you know I would be eager to bring it on!
No particularly obvious side effects the first days but toward the end of the week things went on a pretty dramatic downward spiral. I can only assume that it is a mixture of the chemo drugs and the change in my heart medication, and other meds seeing as the doctors can't tell me any better.
So we went away to Blue Lagoon for the weekend. I had been looking forward to it for a long time but unfortunately I was really ill the whole time. I stayed in the camper trailer most of the time........sleeping. Fiona and Barry and the girls still came and we spent a lot of time just sitting and chatting. Aunty Jan, Uncle Les, Richard, Amy, Heidi & Gavin were also up there so we spent some time saying hello with them. Good for Heidi she didn't need to explain why she wanted a liedown halfway through. Takes one to know one hey!
Anyhow, we were meant to stay up there from Saturday until to the Tuesday. With me being so sick we decided to go home.
By Wednesday I just wasn't getting any any better so it was time to do something about it. We rang the oncology team at Westmead and they suggested we come straight in. They did a whole lot of tests which all came back within normal limits so the option was to stay there and see how it goes or stay at home and see how it goes. And of course which one did I choose.........so here I am at home but still feeling a bit shit. I don't expect an answer as to what's wrong I will just assume nothing too major or it would come up somewhere.
I have to sleep now, I'm exhausted
Lots of love xxx
NEVER, NEVER,NEVER GIVE UP
Monday, January 18, 2010
On Occasions You Will Have to Deal With Me
Due to Judy feeling pretty ordinary over the last couple of days coupled with the fact we have had a number of appointment in the last week we felt it would be best if I got of my backside and contributed to give you all an update.
Firstly while I say that she has been ordinary she is OK but has just been spending most the time between appointments resting and then feels awful then telling everybody she has been feeling terrible. Anyway moving past that and following the trip to the cardioligist on Tuesday we went to see Palliative Care on Wednesday, what a pleasant visit. Firstly Dr Lee was on time, he grabbed us while we were still waiting to check in, he was far more personable and has a history of Judy's case, while we were probably only their for 20 mins he covered everything. We walked away thinking how great it is to have such professional help even to the point where he was solving problems other doctors should have known about, such as the happy drugs leading to an increased white blood cell count. The outcome of the visit was that he dropped the dossage of the happy drug and also felt that based on how Judy appeared and felt that we should drop the daily dossage of morphine by a third. This coupled with the increase in the dossage of the heart drug from the day before meant we had 3 drug changes all going on at once. The result of this was that Judy had her worst two days for quite some time on Thursday & Friday so we increased the morphine back to the original dossage on Friday evening and Judy has begun to feel much better over the last two days. While she feels better, she still feels tired and has lost her appetite a bit. While we can rationalise this in our heads as side effects of the dossage changes and we are happy that her test results are moving in the right direction we need to make sure she stays active. With this in mind it was great to see her spend on hour outside this evening watching the boys ride their bikes after dinner, even though she froze her backside off in the middle of summer.
Come Thursday it was time to head off for a CT scan and the joys of drinking the lovely (not) fluid before the scan. We picked up the results on Friday morning and were pleasantly surprised to find that the majority of tumors had stayed the same, some even showed minor shrinkages. The major tumor in her liver had increased slightly but considering the last cycle of chemo was about 2 months ago we saw the overall result as very positive.
Also on Friday we had an appointment with the gastroenterologist to try to find out if the ulcerative colitis was the reason behind the blood appearing on occassions when going to the loo, it may have also been a reason for the high white blood cell count. While we parted with $250 for 15 mins work we did find out that the antibiotics Judy had been taking for a month have a history of causing bowel flare ups which can result in blood. Fortunately the doctor prescribed an antibiotic that is supposed to help ease the flare up, yet another drug. Then just to add more pain to the day we stopped on the way home for the blood test from hell. I wasn't the one the nurse was jabbing with the syringe while moving it all over the place to try and get the blood flowing. As usual they tried to blame it on not drinking enough water but by the end of the second canister being filled the blood was flowing well and all the way down Judy's arm, not a good way to keep your patient calm.
So that was the end of visits for that week which was pretty full on and could also have been a reason for Judy feeling a bit off. Come the new week and we kicked it off with another visit to the cancer clinic to see if we could get chemo started. Once again while the appointment was for noon we didn't end up going in until after 1:30pm only to find that we had the same doctor from the nightmare appointment a fortnight ago. While I could go on forever about him I will only say that the appointment was a huge improvement on the last visit, it's amazing what happens when the doctor has prior knowledge of the case. The one funny piece was that when he advised us that the white blood cell count had dropped he then proceeded to tell us it was a result of the batch of antibiotics that Judy had taken since the last visit. Due to us feeling the antibiotics were causing Judy's bowels harm she didn't take the cycle of antibiotics, so it's interesting that this is what caused the drop. If they worked better as a team they may have realised that the Dex (happy drugs) can push white blood cell counts up and the reduction in the dossage probably caused the drop. Judy didn't say anything about not taking the antibiotics so I wasn't going to put my foot in it, this became our secret which Judy later shared with the community nurse. With the white blood cell count reducing they were happy to get Judy started on the oral chemo so as I type she had the first of five tablets a couple of hours ago. The other news that came out of the appointment was that when Judy's case was being reveiwed by the higher powers the felling was that if her heart continues to improve then they might be able to push for b-raf in March. It's great to potentially have that option again but we are not getting our hopes up to much in that we believe that even without b-raf we will beat this disease, all b-raf will do if that's the road we take is accelerate the time it will take to beat it.
With all the appointments and news to share on these I haven't said much else about what is going on with us but I am sure Judy will enjoy sharing thoughts on our planned trip in the camper trailer to Blue Lagoon up at Bateau Bay. We were able to organise the trip due to the fact we already have a good chunk of the house packed up. Based on our last visit it's a great place to go and it's an added bonus that Fiona, Barry and the girls and also my Aunt & Uncle will be staying in the same caravan park. Also fast approaching on the radar is Matt starting big school, we were able to tick the last item off our list on the weekend when we got him his first pair of school shoes. Now his go but she can fill you in on that next time.
For those that are with me I will go now so I can join Judy in slumberland. Take care.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP!
Firstly while I say that she has been ordinary she is OK but has just been spending most the time between appointments resting and then feels awful then telling everybody she has been feeling terrible. Anyway moving past that and following the trip to the cardioligist on Tuesday we went to see Palliative Care on Wednesday, what a pleasant visit. Firstly Dr Lee was on time, he grabbed us while we were still waiting to check in, he was far more personable and has a history of Judy's case, while we were probably only their for 20 mins he covered everything. We walked away thinking how great it is to have such professional help even to the point where he was solving problems other doctors should have known about, such as the happy drugs leading to an increased white blood cell count. The outcome of the visit was that he dropped the dossage of the happy drug and also felt that based on how Judy appeared and felt that we should drop the daily dossage of morphine by a third. This coupled with the increase in the dossage of the heart drug from the day before meant we had 3 drug changes all going on at once. The result of this was that Judy had her worst two days for quite some time on Thursday & Friday so we increased the morphine back to the original dossage on Friday evening and Judy has begun to feel much better over the last two days. While she feels better, she still feels tired and has lost her appetite a bit. While we can rationalise this in our heads as side effects of the dossage changes and we are happy that her test results are moving in the right direction we need to make sure she stays active. With this in mind it was great to see her spend on hour outside this evening watching the boys ride their bikes after dinner, even though she froze her backside off in the middle of summer.
Come Thursday it was time to head off for a CT scan and the joys of drinking the lovely (not) fluid before the scan. We picked up the results on Friday morning and were pleasantly surprised to find that the majority of tumors had stayed the same, some even showed minor shrinkages. The major tumor in her liver had increased slightly but considering the last cycle of chemo was about 2 months ago we saw the overall result as very positive.
Also on Friday we had an appointment with the gastroenterologist to try to find out if the ulcerative colitis was the reason behind the blood appearing on occassions when going to the loo, it may have also been a reason for the high white blood cell count. While we parted with $250 for 15 mins work we did find out that the antibiotics Judy had been taking for a month have a history of causing bowel flare ups which can result in blood. Fortunately the doctor prescribed an antibiotic that is supposed to help ease the flare up, yet another drug. Then just to add more pain to the day we stopped on the way home for the blood test from hell. I wasn't the one the nurse was jabbing with the syringe while moving it all over the place to try and get the blood flowing. As usual they tried to blame it on not drinking enough water but by the end of the second canister being filled the blood was flowing well and all the way down Judy's arm, not a good way to keep your patient calm.
So that was the end of visits for that week which was pretty full on and could also have been a reason for Judy feeling a bit off. Come the new week and we kicked it off with another visit to the cancer clinic to see if we could get chemo started. Once again while the appointment was for noon we didn't end up going in until after 1:30pm only to find that we had the same doctor from the nightmare appointment a fortnight ago. While I could go on forever about him I will only say that the appointment was a huge improvement on the last visit, it's amazing what happens when the doctor has prior knowledge of the case. The one funny piece was that when he advised us that the white blood cell count had dropped he then proceeded to tell us it was a result of the batch of antibiotics that Judy had taken since the last visit. Due to us feeling the antibiotics were causing Judy's bowels harm she didn't take the cycle of antibiotics, so it's interesting that this is what caused the drop. If they worked better as a team they may have realised that the Dex (happy drugs) can push white blood cell counts up and the reduction in the dossage probably caused the drop. Judy didn't say anything about not taking the antibiotics so I wasn't going to put my foot in it, this became our secret which Judy later shared with the community nurse. With the white blood cell count reducing they were happy to get Judy started on the oral chemo so as I type she had the first of five tablets a couple of hours ago. The other news that came out of the appointment was that when Judy's case was being reveiwed by the higher powers the felling was that if her heart continues to improve then they might be able to push for b-raf in March. It's great to potentially have that option again but we are not getting our hopes up to much in that we believe that even without b-raf we will beat this disease, all b-raf will do if that's the road we take is accelerate the time it will take to beat it.
With all the appointments and news to share on these I haven't said much else about what is going on with us but I am sure Judy will enjoy sharing thoughts on our planned trip in the camper trailer to Blue Lagoon up at Bateau Bay. We were able to organise the trip due to the fact we already have a good chunk of the house packed up. Based on our last visit it's a great place to go and it's an added bonus that Fiona, Barry and the girls and also my Aunt & Uncle will be staying in the same caravan park. Also fast approaching on the radar is Matt starting big school, we were able to tick the last item off our list on the weekend when we got him his first pair of school shoes. Now his go but she can fill you in on that next time.
For those that are with me I will go now so I can join Judy in slumberland. Take care.
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP!
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The rollercoaster continues....
Well, thankfully I got it all wrong.
My heart is actually better than the last echocardiograph. So my appointment yesterday afternoon was pretty much all good news!
Apparently, my heart has come along from really bad where I could have dropped over dead any old time, (19% effectiveness), to just a bit dodgy and the risk of "falling off my perch" is moderate (35% effectiveness). Now while that's still not great it's a hell of a lot better than we were expecting to hear.
He went on to say that by increasing the dose of the heart drug he is giving me there is a real possibility he could get my heart even better say up to 50% and then we can go forward with the trial again. Remember, B-raf?? We had completely given up on that one too.
Anyway, I just wanted to give you the good news so you weren't left worrying any longer than need be.
Take care,
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
My heart is actually better than the last echocardiograph. So my appointment yesterday afternoon was pretty much all good news!
Apparently, my heart has come along from really bad where I could have dropped over dead any old time, (19% effectiveness), to just a bit dodgy and the risk of "falling off my perch" is moderate (35% effectiveness). Now while that's still not great it's a hell of a lot better than we were expecting to hear.
He went on to say that by increasing the dose of the heart drug he is giving me there is a real possibility he could get my heart even better say up to 50% and then we can go forward with the trial again. Remember, B-raf?? We had completely given up on that one too.
Anyway, I just wanted to give you the good news so you weren't left worrying any longer than need be.
Take care,
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
Saturday, January 9, 2010
OK, so now I'm scared.......again
I had my echocardiograph on Friday morning...the one he originally questioned me needing!!
You always know the outcome isn't going to be good when within seconds of placing the ultrasound thing on my heart and doing a quick sweep around the technician says, "Are you seeing a cardiologist Judy?" Of course my answer was no, but I will be now, "....my first appointment is on 19th January." She was pleased about that, and told me that the cardiologist I am seeing is a bit of an expert when it comes to cancer patients with heart problems so that's good news.
Anyway, the procedure continued with a bit of banter and basically her telling me that she can't tell me much because the doctor needs to look at it. By the time we got to the end though she was unhappy with my appointment on the 19th. She wanted me to see the doctor sooner so looked for an earlier date. Now I was worried.....if it can't wait a week it must be pretty bad. You see the doctor is away on holidays at the moment and his first day back is Tuesday, and of course, that's when I now have an appointment. Tuesday afternoon at 2:45pm.
It's been a while, like a couple of months I think, since I have been scared. But I am really beside myself. The poor technician was trying to change the appointment with the minimum of fuss and she was obviously trying not to alarm me. In the end she gave up, because you can't pretend that you want to change it for any reason other than that the results you see on the screen are not good.
Oh gosh, what lies ahead now. I know this is exactly what I shouldn't be thinking, and of course the last thing I should be doing is worrying, but there you go.......I am human, and some things you just can't help.
On the up side, at least someone is looking at it now, and based on the urgency of getting me seen earlier it would suggest they may actually be able to do something about it.
So until Tuesday, when I can tell you some more, I will go and try not to worry too much!!
Take care xxx
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
You always know the outcome isn't going to be good when within seconds of placing the ultrasound thing on my heart and doing a quick sweep around the technician says, "Are you seeing a cardiologist Judy?" Of course my answer was no, but I will be now, "....my first appointment is on 19th January." She was pleased about that, and told me that the cardiologist I am seeing is a bit of an expert when it comes to cancer patients with heart problems so that's good news.
Anyway, the procedure continued with a bit of banter and basically her telling me that she can't tell me much because the doctor needs to look at it. By the time we got to the end though she was unhappy with my appointment on the 19th. She wanted me to see the doctor sooner so looked for an earlier date. Now I was worried.....if it can't wait a week it must be pretty bad. You see the doctor is away on holidays at the moment and his first day back is Tuesday, and of course, that's when I now have an appointment. Tuesday afternoon at 2:45pm.
It's been a while, like a couple of months I think, since I have been scared. But I am really beside myself. The poor technician was trying to change the appointment with the minimum of fuss and she was obviously trying not to alarm me. In the end she gave up, because you can't pretend that you want to change it for any reason other than that the results you see on the screen are not good.
Oh gosh, what lies ahead now. I know this is exactly what I shouldn't be thinking, and of course the last thing I should be doing is worrying, but there you go.......I am human, and some things you just can't help.
On the up side, at least someone is looking at it now, and based on the urgency of getting me seen earlier it would suggest they may actually be able to do something about it.
So until Tuesday, when I can tell you some more, I will go and try not to worry too much!!
Take care xxx
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP
Monday, January 4, 2010
The appointment
Well I think this was the worst appointment I have ever had. I was seen by yet another doctor, so further of the no continuity, but also, he was useless.
He spent the first 10mins bumbling around with the notes so didn't listen to anything I had to say. Seeing as I had some new pertinent points to make this time, like the blood when I went to the toilet, it might have been handy for him to listen!!
Anyway, once we got through that and I had repeated myself 3 times, we started talking about my heart. I asked what follow up should be happening given when I left hospital I was meant to have echo cardiographs every 3 weeks to keep an eye on things and I had only had one!! He asked why would I need to have it checked!!!!!!! I nearly fell off my chair. Clearly what he had read in the notes either hadn't sunk in or he just didn't read anything about my heart. Not to mention the "cardiac event" I had just before Christmas.
Finally, he came across the results of the echocardiograph I had at the end of September. Oh, he said, oh we need to do something about this. Apparently, the results are pretty bad.......I only have 19% usage of my heart. I have severe systolic left ventricular dysfunction, moderate diastolic left ventricular dysfunction and there is some collapsing of the right side of my heart. So all in all, it's not good, and plenty of reason for me to be having regular check-ups.
I found it rather amusing how he went from questioning me as to why on earth I should be having another echo to writing me a referral with some urgency. Amazing what happens when you know a bit more about your patient isn't it!
Anyway, I am a little disappointed that they had that information and no-one has followed up with me. At what point does someone go, this is pretty severe heart issues should we get her to see a cardiologist? Apparently not......it jut gets filed and someday when the patient asks about it we will pull it out and be surprised we have done nothing.
So that was the heart....next was the chemo.
No chemo for another 2 weeks. He doesn't know what the infection is, but can't take the risk of me starting chemo and getting REALLY sick. I am getting a bit worried about leaving it so long now. I keep thinking it's an opening for the cancer to take hold again. I guess the CT scan next week will gie us a very good indication of where it's at rigt now.
He gave me another round of antibiotics, which I won't take knowing what that does to my guts, (makes them more sick), and suggested I see my gastroenterologist to get them to say that it's a flare up of the ulcerative colitis causing the high white blood count, the bleeding and the pains in the tummy.
I suppose at least the lack of heart function explains why I get so tired so quickly.
Anyway, that's it for today.........until next time.xxx
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP!
He spent the first 10mins bumbling around with the notes so didn't listen to anything I had to say. Seeing as I had some new pertinent points to make this time, like the blood when I went to the toilet, it might have been handy for him to listen!!
Anyway, once we got through that and I had repeated myself 3 times, we started talking about my heart. I asked what follow up should be happening given when I left hospital I was meant to have echo cardiographs every 3 weeks to keep an eye on things and I had only had one!! He asked why would I need to have it checked!!!!!!! I nearly fell off my chair. Clearly what he had read in the notes either hadn't sunk in or he just didn't read anything about my heart. Not to mention the "cardiac event" I had just before Christmas.
Finally, he came across the results of the echocardiograph I had at the end of September. Oh, he said, oh we need to do something about this. Apparently, the results are pretty bad.......I only have 19% usage of my heart. I have severe systolic left ventricular dysfunction, moderate diastolic left ventricular dysfunction and there is some collapsing of the right side of my heart. So all in all, it's not good, and plenty of reason for me to be having regular check-ups.
I found it rather amusing how he went from questioning me as to why on earth I should be having another echo to writing me a referral with some urgency. Amazing what happens when you know a bit more about your patient isn't it!
Anyway, I am a little disappointed that they had that information and no-one has followed up with me. At what point does someone go, this is pretty severe heart issues should we get her to see a cardiologist? Apparently not......it jut gets filed and someday when the patient asks about it we will pull it out and be surprised we have done nothing.
So that was the heart....next was the chemo.
No chemo for another 2 weeks. He doesn't know what the infection is, but can't take the risk of me starting chemo and getting REALLY sick. I am getting a bit worried about leaving it so long now. I keep thinking it's an opening for the cancer to take hold again. I guess the CT scan next week will gie us a very good indication of where it's at rigt now.
He gave me another round of antibiotics, which I won't take knowing what that does to my guts, (makes them more sick), and suggested I see my gastroenterologist to get them to say that it's a flare up of the ulcerative colitis causing the high white blood count, the bleeding and the pains in the tummy.
I suppose at least the lack of heart function explains why I get so tired so quickly.
Anyway, that's it for today.........until next time.xxx
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP!
Friday, January 1, 2010
Happy New Year
First of all thanks for all your beautiful comments on my last blog. I really appreciate your lovely thoughts and of course your love and support.
We had a great time in the city. We were a little bit naughty and stayed in a room that was supposed to only have a maximum of 3 but we managed to make a mattress on the floor for the bigger boys by shuffling around some seat cushions, pillows and a spare blanket. The view was amazing and the hotel very posh!
We had dinner with Jason's parents on the Wednesday night at the hotel and went on a train ride after dinner which was huge excitement for the boys. Isn't it funny how the simplest of things entertain them.
For the fireworks, we were fortunate enough to be invited to a friend of Jason's place who owns an apartment in the "toaster" so right down on Circular Quay looking right at the bridge. So we spent the day people watching from our hotel room and at about 8pm walked down to Peter's place to watch the fireworks. We had originally planned on only staying there for the 9pm fireworks and watching the midnight ones from our hotel room, but the boys were OK and wide awake so we just waited around until midnight and took those in from the prime position also. We were very lucky and they were awesome. You should have seen the look on the kids faces....they were completely mesmerised. Even little Hamish!
It was a great night and while something we will probably never do again, (unless we win lotto!!!!), it was worth every cent to share the experience with the kids. Hopefully they remember it for a long time to come.
On a health note, I think I have caught a stomach bug from Matt. He had been feeling unwell for the past day or so and now it seems its my turn! It wouldn't bother me too much, but when I went to the loo this morning there was a lot of blood. Now I am not a doctor, but I know that's not good. I am guessing it may be another symptom of the disease but I will ask on Monday when I see them for my latest check up. Nothing is simple anymore...I can't even just get a tummy bug!!!
We had a great time in the city. We were a little bit naughty and stayed in a room that was supposed to only have a maximum of 3 but we managed to make a mattress on the floor for the bigger boys by shuffling around some seat cushions, pillows and a spare blanket. The view was amazing and the hotel very posh!
We had dinner with Jason's parents on the Wednesday night at the hotel and went on a train ride after dinner which was huge excitement for the boys. Isn't it funny how the simplest of things entertain them.
For the fireworks, we were fortunate enough to be invited to a friend of Jason's place who owns an apartment in the "toaster" so right down on Circular Quay looking right at the bridge. So we spent the day people watching from our hotel room and at about 8pm walked down to Peter's place to watch the fireworks. We had originally planned on only staying there for the 9pm fireworks and watching the midnight ones from our hotel room, but the boys were OK and wide awake so we just waited around until midnight and took those in from the prime position also. We were very lucky and they were awesome. You should have seen the look on the kids faces....they were completely mesmerised. Even little Hamish!
It was a great night and while something we will probably never do again, (unless we win lotto!!!!), it was worth every cent to share the experience with the kids. Hopefully they remember it for a long time to come.
On a health note, I think I have caught a stomach bug from Matt. He had been feeling unwell for the past day or so and now it seems its my turn! It wouldn't bother me too much, but when I went to the loo this morning there was a lot of blood. Now I am not a doctor, but I know that's not good. I am guessing it may be another symptom of the disease but I will ask on Monday when I see them for my latest check up. Nothing is simple anymore...I can't even just get a tummy bug!!!
I didn't end up getting my blood test on Wednesday either, so I have to get it tomorrow. Hopefully the result will come through quickly enough for them to be able to start the chemo on Monday.....I am starting to think that the cancer is getting a grip back again, first with the heart thing now with the blood. The chemo should knock it out again though, not to mention all the other methods I have at my disposal!!!
Well, enough for now, I will update after Monday's appointment when I know more about the chemo xxx
NEVER, NEVER, NEVER GIVE UP!
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