Round 3, Day 5 - We're Home!

Sorry this is a day late...but he's home!!

After annoying everyone on West 4 (or maybe just me) with a five day count down (96 hours from now I'll be home...72 hours from now I'll be home...get the picture?), Matt is home. No more in-patient chemo. It's very exciting, though bitter sweet. It's definitely not a good reason to be away from home, but while Matt was at MMC I didn't have to cook for him, clean up after him or take care of him. It was a nice little vacation for me (and they gave me warm blankets...as many as I wanted). But if I had to choose between picking-up after Matt or him not having chemo I would definitely pick no chemo. I'm just saying, West 4 is a great place to be if you have to go through it.

So, anyway. Matt's home. The nausea has been worse then it ever was before, but its managable. He's on Zofran, which we've discovered is a $600 perscription ($10 for us...thank God for health insurance). He's taken more anti-nausea meds then he has before, but he's active MUCH earlier! The Compazine really knocked him on his butt. The Zofran takes a few minutes to kick in, but here's the run down. Last night (his first night home) he watched a movie, went for a walk and didn't go to bed until after 10pm! Today we sanded/painted the rust off my car, he's organizing his nuts and bolts (literally...the living room is covered in bolts, screws, nails...I've the patience of a saint) and we even ordered pizza for dinner. He's doing really well :)

So, here's the schedule:
Chemo shot this Friday, Nov. 2
Pulmunary test - Friday Nov. 2
LAST CHEMO SHOT - Friday, Nov. 9
29th Birthday - Nov. 15
2nd Wedding Anniversary - Nov. 26
Back to work - Nov. 28
CT Scan - Dec. 6
Consult with Dr. G - Dec. 13

And that's it so far! If I think of anything else I'll let you know :)

Round 3, Day 4

Today has been a rough one. With each round of treatment it gets a little harder for Matt. With each day, it gets a little worse. This being day 14 of 15 total days, Matt's beat. His body is becoming less sensitive to the anti-nausea pills, so they keep adding more. The chemo build-up in his body is the reason. Here's the rundown:
Round 1: Amend, Compazine
Round 2: Amend, Zofran, a little Compazine
Round 3: Amend, Zofran, Compazine, Tums
He's REALLY looking forward to going home. And he's sleeping a lot. His a bit worn out. It will probably take him a full week to recover this time, which should put him about to normal just in time to get his bleo shot :)

There's not much else to mention today. He's been resting a LOT. The 'rents vistied, as did the elusive Dan Hoffman (heard about him, got a message from him, never met him). We're holdin' out for Dan-the-man-Chambers, but we'll see.

Hi Heather!

Here's to the last 24 hours - cheers!

Round 3, Day 3 - The Weekend

Matt and I woke at the crack of 7:40 am...which is really pretty good for the hospital setting! We enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and lunch while getting to know our new nurse. It was very dark all day, so we were in lazy mode. Matt got a LOT of good Bible study time in. Then, his parents visited, his brother called, he snuck in a teeny little rest and then he got ANOTHER goody...his 2nd parents came by (very close friends...parents of his best friend) and the Creative Cake Maker brought the Handy Man's Cake (will post here later). It's completely edible screws, screw driver, tape measure and duct tape!! It's pretty cool, but it hasn't been cut into yet.

After all of the company left Matt had a little bit of heart burn. There is an steroid that they give chemo patients (Amend) that virtually elminiates all nausea and everyone gets it first thing before treatment starts. It's great for not puking, but Matt gets what he calls "Amend tummy". He gets the hiccups, which sort of forces acid reflux which gives him some heart burn. He's been taking other anti-nausea the last two times of treatment, but this time he opted for Tums instead (trying to avoid any unneccesary drugs and side-effects). Matt has NEVER had Tums before!!! (If you knew how he used to eat, gas station burritos and Stoeffer's Family Size frozen lasagnas, you'd be as surprised as me too). Anyway, he tried a cherry Tums and it was perfect. We think he can get away without having to get other drugs if he continues with the Tums.

Other than that, he's doing great. Anxious to get home, and misses the kitties, but a model patient (and everyone's favorite).

Only TWO more days!!!

Round 3, Day 2

I didn't see Matt until 7pm today, but he says he had a good day. His mom and sister came to visit for a while (they brought popcorn!). Then our good friends the Lighthouse Keeper and the Artist stopped out (they brought candy and a Petoskey stone). And then one of the CNA's brought Matt some fresh-roasted pumpkin seeds.

PEOPLE!! PLEASE!! Every time I turn around someone is giving something to Matt. Good grief! Okay, okay...I know. He's just so cute and practically irresistable...it's hard to not want to spoil him :) Hee, hee.

Anyway, things have been going pretty well, but he's a little rough tonight. He's been a little queazy in the tummy, so they had to slip him some compazine...which makes him REALLY, REALLY tired (not sleepy, just tired...very odd). So he's just chillin' right now. And I'm online, reading a book and gettin' ready to join him in the sweet land of slumper.

Just three more days! Whee!!!

(Fine, I'll admit it...I brought him a pan of fresh made brownies...GET OFF MY BACK!! Hee, hee)

Round 3: Day 1 - The End is Near

Matt checked into MMC yesterday, late morning, and started the first day of his LAST round of in-patient chemo - YEAH!!! He's pretty comfortable in his routine now :)

God loves us so much. Since Matt will be there this weekend I've decided to stay with him again. We're prepared for anything, but we really wanting a private room so I could stay and neither of us would have to worry about people interrupting us. Well, not only did Matt get a single (AGAIN!), but it is the LAST room on the hallway (at the far end...away from the traffic) and it's a handicap accessible room. Because it's H.A., everything is bigger...so there is LOTS of room and the nurses brought me a cot last night so I won't need to spend the weekend in a recliner :) Yipee!

Matt's set up and ready to go. He's running treatments later in the day this time because he will be discharged on a Monday and I will be working in the morning. Other than that, it's pretty much old hat. The nurses remember us (the sweeten them up with doughnuts) and the doctor is great. Everything is going well!

More on Day 2!

Chemo Date Change

Our doctor has decided that, since it took a while for Matt's WBC count to return to normal before the 2nd round of intense chemo, we're going to push back his hospital admittance by a couple of days. Instead of checking in on the 23rd, Matt will now be going in on the 25th (Thursday). I'm actually happy about this outcome, because then I can spend Sat/Sun with him, as I would have been working Mon-Fri if he was there during the week. This means that he will be leaving MMC on Mon. the 30th.

Accroding to Dr. G everything is on track. Matt shouldn't have any problems wrapping up these last three weeks and then going back to work on two weeks after that! They scheduled his CT scan for Dec. 6th and a follow-up appointment with Dr. G on the 13th. That's when we'll know what Matt's innards look like. Dr. G will be consulting with Dr. E and Dr. F down at I-U to decide the best course for Matt. Best option - nothing needed after the chemo!! Woo hoo!!

That's it for now. More coming to ya from MMC on Thursday!

Tribute to Matt

My older sister keeps a family blog so we can see her and the fam (she's in Vegas and has a 15 month baby girl...I need my baby pic fix). Anyway...she put up a nice tribute to Matt :) Check it out at:

www.thegabelfamily.blogspot.com

(And you can see my cutie-pie niece too!!)

Round 2, Day 5

Early start today. Blood & vitals taken at 5am, then the first round of chemo at 6am. He'll be ready to start the final bag of chemo in a few minutes, and it should take an hour for that to drip through. Then we can go home!! Today is a short day at MMC.

Matt will be out of the hosptial for two weeks, getting chemo shots each Thursday. We're completing week #4 here, so only five more to go!! Woo hoo!

I think that's it for now. As always, thanks for the prayers and support. We're meeting all of our bills and I've had lots of chances to sub. We're also pursuing alternative means of income, so the bank account is holding up.

God's love is amazing. I'm sitting here, trying to come up with the words to express that love, and I'm at a loss (ME ... at a loss for words). We couldn't do this without God. I can't, and don't want to, imagine how hard this would be without Him. But here we are, laughing and enjoying ourselves because our joy and peace comes from God, not our circumstances. We could never thank Him enough.

Love you tons (unless you're a stranger stumbling upon this...then probably not tons, but know that you're loved!!)

Round 2, Day 4

I spent the night again last night. Even though I'm in a recliner and Matt's in his own bed, both of us sleep better when we're in the same room. So I've spent the last two nights here and will be staying again tonight.

I worked a full day today and only saw Matt for about five minutes at 6am this morning and then not for another ten hours. Turns out, that's not a bad thing. I have promises of dinners and back rubs because he missed me so much :)

I brought Matt a new hat today. Well, not a new hat. A different that that went through the wash. He read two train books. He watched a movie. He's doing so much better than the first week (especially on the new anti-pukey med). He likes all of the cards he's been getting (they're on his window sill...next to the framed picture of me that I brought in). He's bald. He has a REALLY good shaped head (all of the nurses say so). He is now officially past the half-way point for the number of days he will be in the hospital!!

He should be home tomorrow by noon. They have to wait 22 hours between each round of chemo, so they've been doing it two hours earlier every day so we can get out and get home to the hammock! Woo hoo!

Round 2, Day 3

A day of visitation. Matt's boss Eddie stopped by...he talked about it all night. Then Shaina came to pick me up and drove me around to run errands (I hate to drive...Matt loves to drive...we're perfect together).

The big news for the day is that Matt switched his anti-nausea medication. The new stuff is really potent and he no longer gets tired! (Turns out it wasn't the chemo that knocked him out...it was the meds to combat the chemo. Either way you look at it, still too many meds).

That's really it. The highlights of Matt's day: visitors, peanut butter cups, puzzle books, movies and a few train boks. He's a happy man.

Round 2, Day 2

All's quiet on the West 4 front. I'm staying with Matt at the hospital tonight. I sleep badly at home without him...I might as well sleep badly here with him. I have a groovy chair.

His treatment is going well. They figured out what was making him so sleepy last time (the anti-vomit stuff) so they're altering the doses and trying other options. So...he's not conking out at 8 pm :) He was able to make it a bit longer tonight.

He's cute as a button, yes siree. Matt wants to give a shout out to everyone who's been sending him cards - thanks. Especially to anyone in North Carolina :)

And now we return you to your regularly scheduled broadcast...

Round 2, Day 1 - UPDATE!

Well, since Matt's WBC is so low the folks at W4 have decided to put Matt into a private room. He is now in a single and, since the kids (aka cats) are visit my parents, I might spend a night or two with him here at the hacienda.

So, if you've gotten emails or texts msgs from me telling you where Matt is located, he moved. He's right next to the nurses station now (I think it's cuz he's a trouble maker, but they won't fess up to it).

Stay tuned for more fabulous drama as it unfolds!!

Round 2, Day 1

We're back at MMC today for the 2nd round of Matt's 5-day treatment (VP-16 and Platium). We checked in at 11:15 am and now, at 12:51 pm, Matt's fed, poked and waiting for the treatment to start. For this week he'll be sharing a room with Mr. RR, an older gentleman. Mr. RR has more hair than Matt.

Dr. G has decided to proceed with the treatment, HOWEVER, Matt's WBC (white blood count) is still low (avg. is 3.6-9.6: Matt is at 2.6). For chemo patients they consider it a good count to be at 1.5 or above. However, because the treatment causes the drop in WBC, they ususally wait for it to return to about 8.0 or so. Since Matt is in good health they've decided to do treatment anyway. They are going to give him a drug to help increase his WBC this round. Dr. G didn't do it last time because he didn't want to give it if Matt didn't need it. Unfortunately, it looks like Matt needs it this time around. (FYI: Last time Matt's WBC started @ 4.6, and now its @ 2.6. The doc wants to make sure that, after this three week round, it doesn't drop in half again).

Everything is going well so far. Matt will get his two treatments today, and I'm hanging out with him all day. All goes well and he'll be home again on Saturday :) If you want to contact Matt you can call the room, the cell (preferable - then it won't bother his roomie) or use email.

More soon!!