Medication Musings

Ok, so I am the first to admit that neither Paul nor I are doctors, although we play one every single day of our lives. Between blood sugars lows and highs, chemotherapy, side effects and clinic visits, we have a fair amount of life experience.

I would also be the first to admit that our team of doctors are terrific, friendly, energetic, very knowledgeable and have way more experience in all things cancer.

Having said that, however, I have to ask them now - W-H-Y must you mess with things?

Carson had a clinic visit on Thursday for spinal tap and chemo IV push. All that went fine. Before that though, the doctor told us that Carson's ANC was still in the "good" range, 880 to be exact. I say "great! that's right where he should be". What did they decide to do? -to increase Carson's oral chemo medications by 25% - to something roughly about 75% of the dosages he should be getting. WHAT???? "That's standard protocol, he needs to get as much medicine as his system can tolerate." WHAT??? He feel so good, he has so much energy, our ANC isn't all THAT high.....

Now is the time to walk the fine line of respectfully disagreeing with the doctors, which we attempted to do. We registered our belief that his counts will fall again, but we would do as they asked.

So, I am predicting a low ANC in two weeks, which means next week; Carson and I will be hiding out at home. This week we have a breather as his ANC will stay somewhat elevated because he has started his 5 days of steroids. When we're done with that though, I think those counts will be heading downward.

As much as I might get temporary satisfaction in saying "I told you so" to the doctors; I do actually do hope I'm wrong.

-Jennifer

Georgia on our Minds

We are back! We visited, we played, we relaxed, we swam, we jumped (on the trampoline) and jumped some more; and now we are home. We are so thankful that we were able to get away for a few days.

It took a steep bribe to get the kids to sit still for this photo.

The excitement of the pending release of the new iPhone hits Dunwoody, GA.

On Monday we started our trek back north, but via a different route. We meandered through northern Georgia - humming that infamous tune from Deliverance along the way. We then went through Asheville, NC and on up to Radford, VA before stopping for the night. On Tuesday, we took time out for a brief visit to Washington and Lee University in Lexington and then took Skyline Drive through the Shenandoah National Park from Luray to Front Royal. Absolutely beautiful!

Needless to say, we were all exhausted by the time we got home.

- Jennifer

The Counts and the Countdown

The Counts

We are cleared for take off. Carson's ANC is hovering around the 1,000 mark, his hemoglobin is good and his platelets are 212. The trampoline awaits, our friends and their new puppy await. Away we go.......


The Countdown

I am giving all of our readers fair warning, way in advance. I plan to run the Walt Disney World Marathon on January 9, 2011. There, I actually typed it, I guess now that it is out there in public, I'm committed. Nearly 7 months away, but I need all that time to prepare. A group of friends and I will, of course, run this race in honor of Carson with the Team in Training for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. You have two options, come run it with us or support us with your wallets. I am warning you that I'll be bugging each and every one of you in the future. So be prepared.

A group of friends and I ran another race last weekend. The Marine Crossroads, 17.75 K of grueling hills through the Prince William National Forest and ending at the Marine Corps Museum. All I can say, is we survived. Beautiful scenery, killer hills. Did I say there were hills? The only thing that kept me going was to remember all the kids at the clinic. They don't get to quit, so neither did I. I was slow, but I finished. 1:52.08. Check out the pictures below.

Marina, Jenn, JK and Cristin at the Marine Corps Museum - smiling through the pain.

This picture taken especially for Carson. GEICO Nascar Race Car at finish.

Monster Truck Fever

You don't know what you're in for this week if you visit our house and say the words "Monster Truck." These two words will bring about a frenzy of activity and a 30 minute seminar entitled "Everything You Wanted to Know About Monster Trucks". This seminar is taught by self proclaimed expert, Carson.

Carson with Master Monster Truck Expert, Katie.

We were fortunate to meet Katie at the Relay For Life closing ceremonies. She has access to all kinds of Monster Truck items because of her job. Tuesday night, she and her daughter Lizzie brought over a Monster Truck backpack filled with what else? Monster Truck Stuff! There was so much packed in to that backpack, we've spent the rest of the week finding all kinds of ways to play with it. Thanks so much Katie, Lizzie and Feld Entertainment. You've made one little boy extremely happy!

A stuffed Monster Truck....the softer, cuddlier side of Grave Digger! Who knew?

No one can resist the 2010 Monster Jam Official Souvenir Yearbook!
Lizzie, Carson and Francesca "get schooled"

And, oh yeah, we had a clinic visit......

We took time out from Monster Trucks to go to the clinic. Most importantly, Carson wanted show off his Monster Truck stuff, and secondly (a very distant second), get a counts check.

Carson's counts are right about where they should be. His ANC was 970, platelets 202, hemoglobin 9.4. We are 3 weeks post hospital and you would never know anything happened. He is a bundle of energy, happy and playing non stop.

We are scheduled to travel to Georgia late next week to visit friends for the weekend (our first out of town trip in 11 months). Carson is desperate to jump on their trampoline. The doctors think it is probably best to check platelets before Carson starts flinging himself all around, so we head back to the clinic next Thursday to check the blood again.

Once a week counts check will continue for a bit until we are sure that the half doses of his oral chemos are keeping his ANC nice and steady. I don't want to get too far ahead of things, but if counts stay steady, we should be able to drop clinic visits to once a month. Sigh! Amazing how far God has brought us this past year, isn't it?

-Jennifer

Another Wrinkle

Just to prove "it's always something," Jennifer came down with a stomach virus on Friday night. Our course virtually any germ is one of our greatest fears. What's amazing, though, is that except for our virus bout a couple of weeks ago, we have been illness-free for the past 11 months. Which, when you think about it, really should be some kind of record for our family. I can't remember a time when we've gone that long without even a cold.

So, while Francesca headed off to a swim meet, Carson and I did our best to do things away from the house today...like ride bikes in the court and, later, head down to the little antique car show that was going on at the retirement center.

Carson gets his photo with the '57 Chevy pickup at the antique car show. He loves telling everyone that the bed on the pickup was made out of wood. Who'd have thunk it?!

As for Jennifer, she could have simply eaten something that was bad, but at the end of the day we have to treat is as a virus. So, Jennifer has been quarantined to the bedroom and the kids have been threatened to stay away.

Hopefully she'll get better soon. I'm sure it won't take long for the kids to get tired of mac-n-cheese at every meal.

Paul.

Photos and Final Relay Report

The Results Are In!

Due to the rain a few weeks ago, the Closing Ceremonies for Relay for Life were Tuesday evening. It's official. Francesca was the top fundraiser for the event. She raised $2721.25 for the American Cancer Society. Way to Go!!! Thanks again to all those that donated. Your generosity was AMAZING!

Francesca with Katie and Terry, two members of the RFL Falls Church Committee.

And here are a few more photos of the event....
you can see more wonderful images by Gary Mester at www.gmester.com

A rainy tent city!


Gathering for the speeches at the luminaria ceremony