March 26, 2013 Round 3 continues

Today Jimmy is feeling good.  The nurses and doctors here at Pennsylvania Hospital are really great.  Yesterday, we had Joann and today we have Melissa.  We love them both.  Guess what???  Mo is back.  Remember, the frat boy doctor.  We have a new intern too...Dr. Ko.  She is a tiny little doctor that looks like she is 12 but we really like her.  Having a great staff taking care of you really makes all the difference.  If you have to have cancer, this is truly one of the best hospitals in the country to be at for treatment.  For that, we are grateful.

Jimmy is in good spirits and he is eating well.  I brought him an Italian hoagie from Silvio's Deli and he asked why I didn't get him a bigger one...guess that's a good sign and one I'm very happy to see.  He will have chicken tortellini soup for dinner...yum! Jimmy dreads the hospital food that arrives without fail 3 times a day.

We have also created the special Kulick Chemo Diet...you too can lose 40 pounds in 30 days, guaranteed!  See before and after pictures...the results may vary and we recommend you consult a doctor before beginning this diet...LOL!  See, we still have our humor!

 

Chemo started today a little after 5 p.m. and will take about four hours.  They want to try to get him on a schedule where his chemo will start around 1 p.m. instead of so late in the day.  So far, today has been a good day...if only the full moon would come and go.

March 25, 2013 - Begin Round 3 of Chemo

First day of Round 3 of chemo...today was a Murphy's Law kind of day.

We headed to the doctor's office for blood work before being admitted to the hospital.  We got there for our 10:30 a.m. appointment which was really supposed to be at 9:30 a.m.  No worries...they still got his blood work done.  Everything looks good but white blood cell counts are higher than normal range. 

We went to hospital admissions and got Jimmy all "checked-in" for his stay and then he went to get his PICC line put in.  They started the procedure and at the last minute, an intern wanted to do the procedure instead of Mike, who normally does it.  Since this is a teaching hospital, Mike could not say no to the intern.  At the time, Jimmy didn't know that he had a choice to say no either.  The intern had no clue what he was doing.  Normally, it would take Mike one shot of lidocaine and then about 4 minutes to complete the procedure.  The intern gave him 5 shots of lidocaine and when he put the tube in the artery he kept pulling it back and forth and it was really painful for Jimmy.  Finally, Jimmy asked for him to stop because it was so painful.   I was waiting in his room for him and when he came in, he was really angry and his arm was really sore.  Here's a picture of the PICC line...you can see where it is already started to bruise on the bottom.   

By this time it is 2:30 p.m. and we are waiting for the chemo to get started.  We are informed that the chemo order was entered into the hospital "system" under the wrong admission number, therefore, they cannot administer it to him.  Dr. Beach (I know, a great name, right?) resubmitted the order but...you guessed it...another problem and had to be reordered yet again.  This went on for hours.  Jimmy finally got his chemo started around 9 p.m. and it ended about 1 a.m.  This was a very long and stressful day.  

Welcome to chemo treatment.

March 22, 2013 - End of Round 2

I haven't blogged since the end of the Jimmy's last treatment...life has been controlled chaos the past couple of weeks.  Here's a synopsis:

When Jimmy got home, he was exhausted and slept almost all of the first few days.  He had hallucinations and bad dreams for the first couple of days as well.  He was nauseous but thankfully, never threw up.  He continued to be tired and lethargic and finally started getting up and around by the end of the week.  His doctor visit on March 14 showed his white blood cell count even more depleted than the last time.  He has to be so careful to stay away from people who are sick or have just recently been sick.  We are very happy that the pain is next to nothing compared to what it was a month ago.

Logan had a very rough two weeks too.  He needed to take a break from every day life so he spent more time with just Jimmy and I to begin to feel more comfortable with our "new" temporary normal.  He is definitely in a better place now but I hope he will continue to understand that Daddy will get well and that the chemo is what is making him so sick right now.  He says he understands but he is still just a little boy.  I know I have said this before but if I could shield him from all of this, I would.  He should not have to see his Dad get so sick.

Here we go again...round 3 of the chemo shuffle...

March 8, 2013 - End of Round 2

Thursday, March 7, 2013 Jimmy was very tired.  He had a night nurse that, instead of letting him rest and try to sleep, kept turning the lights on and waking him up and trying to chat...ugh.  Needless to say, that nurse will not be Jimmy's nurse again.  Jimmy also felt nauseous off and on all day and the chemo was starting to take its toll again.  By this time, the chemo has been going for 3 days and Jimmy has no energy whatsoever.

Mo, the resident I spoke about before, had some medical students going around to see different patients and he wanted them to talk to Jimmy about his cancer.  They were eager to listen and seemed very interested in his case.  Dr. Cohen, the resident with them, is also specializing in oncology.  She was very nice and equally as thankful about us letting the medical students talk to us.

Its Friday, March 8, 2013 and Jimmy leaves the hospital.  He is anxious to get home.  When I arrive, he is sick to his stomach and seems weak.  I hate what this is doing to him.  Before we can head home, we have to head over to the doctor's office for an injection that will help with his white blood count.  The office is only about a city block away and I'm scared that Jimmy will not be able to make it, especially while it is snowing.  He has been in the bed for 4 1/2 days and gets tired very quickly.  We get to the office and, luckily, it doesn't take very long to get the injection so we can be on our way.

Jimmy seems optimistic that the chemo is working and that he feels like the tumor area in his leg has gotten smaller.  At least his pain has subsided and for that we are very happy.  At this point, we are thankful for any improvement and are looking forward to the end of the next treatment.  He will then have another scan to see how the chemo is really working.  For now, we have two weeks to recover from this round before the next one begins.

As for Logan and I this week, Logan is having a very tough time of it.  I'm concerned and wish I knew how to make this better for him.  I don't want him to feel like he has to worry about Jimmy, but with Jimmy gone all week, it is very hard on both of us.  Just having Jimmy home makes it easier for everyone.   As for me, I'm exhausted and emotionally drained this week.  More so than the last round I think.  We are in this for several more months and I need to stay strong and positive.

Thankfully, we have the support of friends and family that continue to pray for us, bring us food and help us with Logan.

March 5, 2013 - The Hiccups Have Arrived

On Tuesday, March 5, brought the hiccups...all day long.  Apparently, the hiccups is a side effect of the chemo and Jimmy had the hiccups for hours on end.  He would have them for a while and they would go away.  Just when you thought they were gone for good, they were back.  They became painful and he finally had to get something to take to make them go away.  Of course, that something knocked him out...well, at least the hiccups were gone, right?

As for me, I was exhausted but couldn't sleep.  It just isn't the same without Jimmy home.   Logan, on the other hand, passed out as soon as his head hit the pillow.

Wednesday, March 6, brought another day of morning nausea.  Jimmy said it wasn't too bad but I hate that I can't make it better for him.  I was running late and got to the hospital later than usual but it was a very quiet and restful visit.  The chemo went well and there was no sign of the hiccups today.

I must give kudos to the doctors and nurses at the hospital.  They are such a fabulous team of people and we couldn't ask for a better support system.  First, there is Dr. Hartner, the oncologist.  He is blunt and to the point and exactly what we needed when starting this nightmare.  He looked us right in the eyes and answered every panic stricken question we had.  There's Laetitia, Dr. Hartner's oncology nurse.  If I had a sister, this is who I would want, someone who is kind, gives great advice, is a great listener and is very comforting.  We both love her.  Carla, their assistant, is always helpful when we call and makes it very clear that we can call her anytime with any question or concern we might have.  We like to call them the Disney team of medicine since their service is above and beyond anything we've ever had.  They anticipate what we need before we even need it.  It makes us feel very safe in the uncertain world we are now living in.

At the hospital, there are a few nurses that we really like.  Joanne, she's terrific.  She just adopted a puppy named Trixie and donated her hair for cancer patients.   There's Debbie.  She's an overnight nurse (I can't imagine having this job) and has a very cool personality.  She has even named Jimmy's IV machine, "George".  Not sure why but, hey, somehow it works.  There are a couple of residents this round that seem more like fraternity boys than doctors.  They are Oren and Mo.  They are funny and have a dry sense of humor.  Jimmy said that he can picture Mo in a beer drinking contest in a dive bar somewhere.

All I can say is that for now, so far, so good.  Round 2 is almost over and we are taking one day at a time.

March 4, 2013 - Round 2 - First Day

Today was a very long day and a nerve wracking day.  We just want all to go smoothly so he can get in the hospital and get chemo started.  Unlike last time when he lost a whole day and didn't get started until Tuesday.

First a doctor's appointment with the oncologist to check blood cell counts to make sure that all was okay to start chemo again.  Good counts came back so all is a go for today.

Next he was off to get his PICC again.  In case I didn't explain this the last time, it is an IV-like line that is put in Jimmy's upper arm with a tube inserted in an artery directly to the heart, so that's the first place the chemo goes.  It is a surgical procedure done with local anesthesia.  This is something he was to have done every time he goes into the hospital since it is removed each time he leaves.

Once that gets done, he's off to his room.  Of course, by the time this happens it is late in the afternoon and chemo doesn't get started until around 4:30 p.m.  This means he won't get finished until around 8:30 p.m. Normally, it gets started at around noon.  When the chemo gets started, Jimmy was getting really nauseous and his stomach hurt.  The nurse gave him something to curb this and it wasn't long before he was feeling better.  Thank goodness.  He did eat a little something and I was happy he was able to do so.

After he settled in to the chemo treatment, I decided to take a couple of pics  of my model patient, including one of the skyline, which was really nice.  We saw a really nice sunset too...something normal and calming.  See the pictures below of my model...LOL.  All-in-all, it was a good start to getting this second treatment over.

Thankfully, a friend had brought dinner over and I was so grateful.  By the time I got home, I was starving and tired.  It was really nice to come home and have dinner waiting.  Thanks...dinner was yummy!

Glad to have Round 2 started

My Model with his prop

The view from the room making it a little easier

March 3, 2013 - Shaving Day

Sunday, March 3, brought another day of an abundance of hair found on Jimmy's pillow when he woke up.  He decided that today was the day...shaving the head day.  My feelings about it...do it before going into the hospital tomorrow, so you won't have to worry about it anymore.  I was a little nervous about shaving it for him since I didn't want to cut his head.  I used the clippers to get rid of all but the stubble.  He then shaved the front of his head and I did the rest.  It was done.  He looked good, even better than we both expected.  Still handsome.  Now we know...he doesn't have an egg shaped head...whew, what a relief!  Take a look...

I went out to run some errands and when I got home, he came into the room and scared the crap out of me...I didn't recognize him at first.  I guess he's not the only one who's going to have to get used to it.  Even the dog looked at Jimmy funny when he first saw him.

Well, we are off to the hospital tomorrow for Round 2.  We are hoping for the best and praying that Jimmy gets through this round without getting too sick.  

Thank you again (I know I've already said this a lot) to those who have brought us food and who are so graciously helping us with Logan.  It truly is appreciated and it means a lot to know we have friends that we can count on.

March 1, 2013 - Round 1 - end of third week

Here's a recap of this week.  Monday, February 25, was an especially hard day for both Jimmy and I.  He was not feeling well and I was very depressed about what's going on.  He was in pain and tired.  I noticed that his hair was really starting to thin and it bothered me because I was worried about how he was dealing with it.  For most of the day I cried and just wanted all of this to stop.  We worried about whether or not the chemo was working.  What if it is going to work?  What if it doesn't...what then?  What is going to happen with our business?  What if we can't pay the bills, not to mention all of the medical bills that are starting to come in?  Omg, he's lost so much weight (about 35 lbs. already).  It was truly a day of worry and emotion.  Normally, when one of us is having an especially bad day, the other one is there for support.  This was a day that neither of us could help the other one.

Tuesday, February 26, could not come soon enough.  Both Tuesday and Wednesday were much better days.  Jimmy felt good and even went out during both days. His pain was under control and the days seemed almost like the days before cancer had come into our lives.

Thursday, February 28, was a day of realization.  Jimmy woke up to his hair coming out in clumps. He said that his head had felt "prickly" for the last few days and it hurt to push his hair against the way it grows.  So, it was decision time about cutting his hair shorter or shaving his head.  He opted for cutting it really, really short...to avoid the shock value, I think.  We both helped with the process which was good for both of us.  As you can see, he still looked quite handsome with the shorter hair...as I knew he would.

BEFORE 

GOODBYE HAIR

THE RESULT

That night, Jimmy's Mom and Godmother came for a visit.  His Mom brought lasagna...his favorite.  Nothing like a visit from family and Mom's cooking to make you feel better.

Logan also had a great week this week.  Things were back to his normal schedule with school and extracurricular activities and he seemed okay with how life has changed for our family.  Of course, this is just in time for the next treatment to start.  On Monday, Jimmy goes back into the hospital for his second round of chemo.  So, he will relax and enjoy the weekend before it starts all over again.  Our new motto is "Kulicks Kicking Cancer"...bring it on...we will beat you!