So we've made it through another chemo round. Sunday was the last day, and Ramsy is now recovering. He spent virtually all of yesterday in bed and was actually sleeping a large part of the day, which is a bit unusual for him. Today he has more energy. We were interested to note that this time around he did not have as many food aversions.
We are looking forward to a visit with some out-of-province family next weekend. We will be converging in Ramsy's hometown- look out, Morden! Our kids are thrilled to be seeing some cousins and maybe staying up late at night.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Hooray for little victories!
Yay, yay, yay! The platelet count is up to 125, so chemo goes ahead as scheduled tomorrow!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Hello again!
Hi there, readers! We are back in cyberspace after a couple of weeks. I was busy with numerous forms that had to be filled out and other life sundries and just never seemed to get to the blog. Sorry for the long silence! (On the subject of forms, I had to laugh this week when I got three new forms sent to me in response to one I sent away last week, thinking it was the last one I'd have to do for some time. Too bad I don't get paid by the page!)
Ramsy saw his doctor today in preparation for the next round of chemo, scheduled to start Wednesday. For the first time, his platelet count is iffy- 97 instead of the usual minimum level of 100 (I don't really know 100 what, but that's the number). He will have the level checked on Tuesday to see if it has edged up to the magic number.
We have not seen the improvement in his speech or strength in his leg that we hoped to see this week. It is quite difficult for Ramsy to talk most days, with the odd day of getting whole sentences out in a row. We recently met a woman who also has a brain tumor in the same location, and she too says that sometimes she can see the words in her mind's eye, but just can't enunciate them. Ramsy is being incredibly patient with this difficulty, but sometimes it is just really frustrating. I find that quite often I can guess what he is wanting to say, but sometimes we laugh at how far off I am in some guesses!
And, in the category of "Strange but True", we discovered a couple of weeks ago that our guinea pig had... a tumor! It was growing on his underbelly and was already the size of an apricot! We took him to the vet, who operated to remove the tumor, but guinea pigs are notoriously delicate when it comes to anesthetic and our poor "Piggy" died. He was a noble and friendly beast (as the vet put it, "He doesn't bite!) and we miss him.
Thanks for your continued prayers and kind acts; they keep us going.
Ramsy saw his doctor today in preparation for the next round of chemo, scheduled to start Wednesday. For the first time, his platelet count is iffy- 97 instead of the usual minimum level of 100 (I don't really know 100 what, but that's the number). He will have the level checked on Tuesday to see if it has edged up to the magic number.
We have not seen the improvement in his speech or strength in his leg that we hoped to see this week. It is quite difficult for Ramsy to talk most days, with the odd day of getting whole sentences out in a row. We recently met a woman who also has a brain tumor in the same location, and she too says that sometimes she can see the words in her mind's eye, but just can't enunciate them. Ramsy is being incredibly patient with this difficulty, but sometimes it is just really frustrating. I find that quite often I can guess what he is wanting to say, but sometimes we laugh at how far off I am in some guesses!
And, in the category of "Strange but True", we discovered a couple of weeks ago that our guinea pig had... a tumor! It was growing on his underbelly and was already the size of an apricot! We took him to the vet, who operated to remove the tumor, but guinea pigs are notoriously delicate when it comes to anesthetic and our poor "Piggy" died. He was a noble and friendly beast (as the vet put it, "He doesn't bite!) and we miss him.
Thanks for your continued prayers and kind acts; they keep us going.
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Bzzzzzzzzzz....
The sound of Ramsy's beard buzzing off..... The Beards to Battle Cancer contest ended today, and Ramsy is smooth-jowled once again! Hooray! This is the 3rd day of chemo, so he was not feeling up to attending the judging. I took some pictures of him along and went to see the contest. I'm glad I didn't have to pick a winner, because there were some great beards there! Ramsy won a prize for collecting the second-highest amount in donations- $3007! Your support has been tremendous! Thank you all. The contest raised $23,800 for Central Plains Cancer Care, and the man who spearheaded the event told the crowd that his original hope for the grand total was $3000!
Ramsy has been walking around the house a little bit, sometimes pushing the wheelchair or leaning against the wall/table/thing that's stable, and sometimes unassisted. This afternoon he became completely exhausted, as we expected, so it may be a couple of weeks before he is back on his feet, so to speak! It is definitely easier for us to go through the second round than the first, because we know what to expect and don't find the results quite so alarming. We have pretty well planned a week of movies, napping and sitting on the couch. (OK, the kids are home for Spring Break, so there will be slightly more activity than that around here!)
We'll post some before and after pics of the bearded/beardless man in a few days once Ramsy has the energy to show me how to do it!
Ramsy has been walking around the house a little bit, sometimes pushing the wheelchair or leaning against the wall/table/thing that's stable, and sometimes unassisted. This afternoon he became completely exhausted, as we expected, so it may be a couple of weeks before he is back on his feet, so to speak! It is definitely easier for us to go through the second round than the first, because we know what to expect and don't find the results quite so alarming. We have pretty well planned a week of movies, napping and sitting on the couch. (OK, the kids are home for Spring Break, so there will be slightly more activity than that around here!)
We'll post some before and after pics of the bearded/beardless man in a few days once Ramsy has the energy to show me how to do it!
Monday, March 21, 2011
Feelin' Groovy
Hey friends, we are relaxing and enjoying ourselves in a hotel for a couple of days while our kids spend time with relatives. We feel like royalty as we "receive" visitors at our hotel room! One of my favourite things to see is Ramsy making his way around the room out of the wheelchair- hanging on to the walls and beds, surely, but on his own two feet instead of on wheels. His strength is still pretty minimal, but it has improved in the last couple of days.
Looking ahead a couple of days, he will be starting his next chemo round shortly. We are mentally better prepared this time for the fatigue and are basically planning a week of rest. I'm sure I will be heading to the library for some good movies and maybe a couple of audiobooks. He finds it easier to follow a book audibly than visually. He is also enjoying some issues of Popular Science and Macleans. Wouldn't read the scrapbooking magazine I brought along, though- go figure.
He is quite looking forward to shaving off the beard next Saturday and hopes to be able to attend the "judging" BBQ that day. (Last call for donations!)
Looking ahead a couple of days, he will be starting his next chemo round shortly. We are mentally better prepared this time for the fatigue and are basically planning a week of rest. I'm sure I will be heading to the library for some good movies and maybe a couple of audiobooks. He finds it easier to follow a book audibly than visually. He is also enjoying some issues of Popular Science and Macleans. Wouldn't read the scrapbooking magazine I brought along, though- go figure.
He is quite looking forward to shaving off the beard next Saturday and hopes to be able to attend the "judging" BBQ that day. (Last call for donations!)
Thursday, March 10, 2011
On the Upswing
We have been happy over the last couple of days to see improvements in Ramsy's energy compared to a week ago. He is feeling quite a bit better and looking forward to having a couple of good weeks before the next chemo treatment. When I spoke with his nurse about his fatigue, she said it typically sets in around the third day of treatment and begins letting up about day 9. This is pretty much what we experienced, and now we will be mentally better prepared next time. Just have to plan for a week of resting!
The amazing beard continues to flourish and donations have been coming in steadily. Thank you! One of our kids asked tonight why people would donate money for a beard! She got it when we explained that the money is not for the beard, it's for helping people with cancer and the beard contest just makes it a bit fun. The beard "judging" is on the 26th, and we will be able to give you a total then.
The amazing beard continues to flourish and donations have been coming in steadily. Thank you! One of our kids asked tonight why people would donate money for a beard! She got it when we explained that the money is not for the beard, it's for helping people with cancer and the beard contest just makes it a bit fun. The beard "judging" is on the 26th, and we will be able to give you a total then.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Downhill all the way!
Well, Ramsy has had his first round of the second set of chemo treatments. It is the same chemo drug as before, so we were confident that side effects would be minimal. Wrong! This dose is more than double what he was taking last time, and it knocked his energy right out! By the fourth day of five he had no energy at all (probably because he was out for three hours the evening before) and was also experiencing some pretty bad headaches. We're not sure whether these were caused by the anti-nausea drug (can be one of the side effects) or one of his other many drugs, or if his medications needs adjusting- we're waiting to hear the blood test results for that. Speech is quite difficult for him these days, and just for added fun he had a seizure in the night once and the next day he fell. We know how to party! It is difficult for all of us to live in a constant state of flux. Sometimes we just have to laugh, and sometimes we just have to cry. What else can you do?
Some of you have said that you feel bad about not phoning or dropping in, but I will tell you honestly that we know you are thinking of us and love us. We love your prayers and the cards or emails that you send- they mean so much to us. Since it is so difficult for Ramsy to talk on the phone but he is able to read your well-wishes, that is a great way to let him know you are thinking of him.
Some of you have said that you feel bad about not phoning or dropping in, but I will tell you honestly that we know you are thinking of us and love us. We love your prayers and the cards or emails that you send- they mean so much to us. Since it is so difficult for Ramsy to talk on the phone but he is able to read your well-wishes, that is a great way to let him know you are thinking of him.
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