Pig Sniffle Proof

Neil got his H1N1 vaccine this morning at the Health Department. I'll leave you to guess what a joyous experience that place was...but thankful they took him! Appointment with Mehta was fine.

Gobble Gobble

Thanks to everyone who helped us or sent housewarming gifts! Unpacking is going well and Neil is feeling good for Thanksgiving! Now I just get to be more nervous about close quarters and illness during the holiday season! Thankfully he gets the H1N1 shot Monday morning.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

Moving Day

On Saturday, a bunch of people came to help us move furniture. The old house was upside down as I haven't been able to pack everything up yet (in addition to taking care of Neil, getting things in order at the new house so he'd be comfortable after chemo and working!) so I thank everyone who put up with the messiness to lend a hand. They say many hands make light work! We managed to get everything moved in about two hours.

Neil was definitely worn out. Even though others did the lifting and loading, the general atmosphere was a little chaotic--not that it could be helped. But the day did take a toll and he didn't feel well all weekend and spent most of Sunday sleeping.

All in all, the move was as good as can be expected!

Third chemo session done

Neil went in for his third chemo session (first session of round #2) at 8:30 this morning and just got out. We stayed in our new house last night and I managed to get the bedroom set up and the kitchen stocked so he will be comfortable this weekend. My parents and Carol were so kind as to accept our deliveries, hang our blinds and fans and move boxes yesterday, so we're in good shape. Tomorrow Neil is going to keep track of the cats while people help move the rest of the boxes and furniture.

PET Scan Scheduled

Neil has a treatment this Friday, then another on December 4th. He will then have a PET scan on December 12 to look at the affected lymph nodes again to measure their shrinkage. No matter what the results (though obviously we're hoping he'll be declared in remission!), he will still have four more treatments and then radiation to make sure it's gone.

Score!

I happened to be reading the news right as they posted a number to call for Clermont County H1N1 vaccine clinics, so I called immediately. Now they are including those under 65 with a chronic health condition, so Neil qualifies. Got him in for Monday the 30th.

Closing and Checkup

We closed on our house this morning! We are very excited. We're taking things over a little at a time throughout the week and have some things being delivered Thursday. Then we have a crew of helpers to get the rest on Saturday!

Neil had a checkup after with Dr. Mehta. He just called to let me know that his blood counts are good. Red is normal, white is a little low but not worrisome. He has a bit of a fever, but the doctor said it's nothing to worry about. His next chemo is Friday. He did end up getting his head shaved since his hair started falling out when he was in the shower. I haven't seen it yet, but Matt shaved his head too in support. How cool!

Good News For A Friend

Not long after Neil was diagnosed, we found out that a friend from high school (they wrestled together) had been diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, stage 4, the month before. He found out when his wife was about 8 months pregnant.

Today, he contacted me to let me know he is officially in remission as of today! They did a PET scan and it came back clean. He will still have chemo even after this good news, just to make sure. Neil's doctor has a similar plan.

We're very happy for him and his family!

Buzz Cut and Pig Sniffles

Yesterday, Neil went to scratch his eyebrow and the hairs came out. Before the hair on his head starts falling out, he's going to get a buzz cut (probably today). That just makes it a little easier to deal with instead of clumps falling out when he sleeps or showers.

I'm trying in vain to find him a dose of the H1N1 vaccine. His oncologist told us to get it from our PCP, but neither of our doctors have it and have no idea when they will get it. Neil doesn't have the energy to stand in one of the 2-3 hour clinic lines and I'm afraid that would expose him to a lot of germs anyway. Walgreens and the Urgent Care Clinic are germ pits (we got our regular flu shots at the clinic before he started chemo). It's a little frustrating but freaking out does no good. If anyone has any tips of where he can get the shot without being in a huge crowd, please let me know.

UPDATE: Thanks to Stacia for this link. https://h1n1vaccine.odh.ohio.gov/ I pre-registered Neil. He is considered a "Tier 2" while pregnant women, those caring for children under 6 months of age, and people aged 24 and under are "Tier 1." If you sign up there, you answer some preliminary questions that help them determine your tier and they will alert you when a vaccine is available via text or email. So it looks like it's not going to be available to Tier 2 people for some time...just have to keep up the hand washing, Lysol and avoiding crowds.

New House!

People have been asking about the house, so here's some info!

We did our final walk-through this morning to find anything we want them to fix before we close. Since it's a new house, there wasn't much...just tiny things like a wall touch-up here or there. They are replacing our garage door since someone ran into it and put a dent on one of the panels during construction, but that's already in the process of being fixed.

We close on Monday the 16th and will move a little at a time over that week. We have lots of people coming to help that following Saturday, so we are really thankful and excited! The hardest part will be keeping Neil from trying to do too much!

Chemo session #2, Round 1 aftermath

We could definitely tell that this second session took it out of him more than the first. Last time, he was taking the anti-nausea medicine as a precaution, and this time it was more that he actually needed it. He never got really bad but there were moments when he was feeling queasy. There were also some smells that were getting to him as his nose is super-sensitive--over the weekend, the smell of the fabric softener on his clothes was getting to him. I've been trying to not wear perfume, burn candles or use strong-smelling cleaners.

The nurse told us that Neil would have a certain amount of energy, and once it was gone, that was it and he'd need to rest. He helped Mike in the garage for an hour or so and he was pretty much spent for the rest of the day.

Sunday he was really tired as well. It was somewhat difficult to find something that sounded good to him, but I swear he has cravings like a pregnant woman! Things that sounded relatively easy for him to eat, like cereal, were not what he wanted. He wanted chicken wings and cheeseburgers! And then yesterday, Carol brought us dinner...her meatloaf and mashed potatoes. He loves it and ate the entire plate. Gretchen and Steve brought us another dinner and we'll eat that tonight (the best meal is one you don't have to cook!!!).

Neil has not lost his hair yet, though the nurse said it was likely sometime this week. I've noticed that it has changed in texture--it seems really dry and coarse.

I'm a little worried about all the excitement in the coming two weeks. We have a final walkthrough of our new house tomorrow morning, and then we close next Monday. We have a ton of help lined up, but I'm worried Neil will be anxious and want to help more than he can. It looks like we'll be moving the bed, kitchen stuff and our clothes on Monday when we get home from work, some more stuff during the week and then the rest on Saturday when everyone is coming to help us. Since he has chemo that Friday, I'm hoping we can get a lot done early and then let him rest as much as possible.

Chemo session #2

Today was Neil's second chemo treatment, which ends his first "round" (which is roughly a month...treatment every other week).

I had to work today but Carol is off on Fridays and was able to take him. I've been in touch with him all day via text and he seems to be doing ok. It also went a lot faster today...the first time we were there all day and this time it was about 5 hours. That's still a long time to be there, but not much can be done about that!

The nurses from the first time must really like him because they set aside a private room for him again. Usually patients get their IVs in a common room, but it's much more comfortable and less stressful in a room with a bed and tv.

I asked him what he had for lunch and he replied, "Turkey and Big Red." I thought he meant the pop, but he meant Doxorubicin, (the "D" in ABVD). So he's joking, and that's good.

As I posted after the first treatment, any bad side effects are usually on the second day after. Knock on wood, the first went well and I'm hoping this one is fine too.

As an aside, I really liked the analogy the nurse used when explaining why chemo seemed so barbaric. When she was in school, an instructor predicted that in the future, we'd have the science to just turn cancer off. The metaphor she used was bringing a caveman to present time and telling him to turn off a car. The caveman would just beat it with a club until the engine died when all he'd have to do is turn the key. Hopefully, in the future, scientists can find that key so we won't have to use chemo to beat cancer.

Chemo appointment

Neil's next chemo appointment is Friday at 8:30 a.m. at Mercy (Anderson).

Good News

Neil went to his oncologist this morning and his white blood count was a little low, but nothing to be worried about. His blood pressure was fine, his heart rate was just a little high (but he was nervous). The doctor felt his neck and said that he could no longer feel the lumps there! I'm not sure how quickly chemo works, but the doctor seemed to think that was really good news. The lymph nodes in his chest are quite large, so hopefully those have gone down in size as well. We won't know that until his next PET scan, but things are looking really good so far! His next chemo session is this Friday. I have to work, but Carol will be with him. It should go faster this time since he's already been through the orientation-type stuff and medical history.