Jerry has decided to stop receiving medicines and fluids as well as accepting the no-go on the Chemo and Radiation. He is however, still taking meds to alleviate any pain he is in.
He is resting fairly comfortably and family and close friends have been by his side all day. He no longer has the oxygen pressure mask or tubes on him constantly- he has instead chosen to take it off and talk with people when he can. He does have the small tube in his nose so he is still receiving oxygen as needed.
The hospital has stopped giving him meds (per his request) and are still slightly monitoring him. He has declared his request to live out the remainder of his days in comfort and not have all the drugs and machines hooked up to him. It has been hard to hear, but we are respecting his wishes and hoping for the best. His vitals this evening were very good - his breathing seems to actually have improved some from earlier in the day.
We have been visiting him individually for about 10 minutes at a time so as not to overwhelm him, or tire him out.
We do not have any sort of time frame for Jerry... we have been told it could be hours, days or even a week. A Priest came in to visit with him earlier this evening to help him be at peace.
Jerry seems at peace for the first time in a long time and he does not look in too much pain.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
I Don't Know What To Say....
Truly, I don't... this has been an up and down weekend and the hits just keep on coming.
The doctors just told us that Jerry is NOT getting any better and that in fact, his kidneys have all but stopped functioning. They could put him on dialysis, but they don't think in the long run it will be worth it.
His breathing has gotten worse and they have moved him from a standard mask to a "pressure mask" to help him breathe, however, it still isn't helping like they want it to. They are talking about putting him on a respirator, however, he has told our parents that he wants quality of life ..so that is probaby not an option.
We are in the throes of making some extremely tough decisions right now as the worst that we feared seems to have come to pass.
Decisions will be made in the next 24 hours that will affect all our lives forever. We are still praying for a miracle... but are having to face the harsh light of reality at the moment.
The doctors just told us that Jerry is NOT getting any better and that in fact, his kidneys have all but stopped functioning. They could put him on dialysis, but they don't think in the long run it will be worth it.
His breathing has gotten worse and they have moved him from a standard mask to a "pressure mask" to help him breathe, however, it still isn't helping like they want it to. They are talking about putting him on a respirator, however, he has told our parents that he wants quality of life ..so that is probaby not an option.
We are in the throes of making some extremely tough decisions right now as the worst that we feared seems to have come to pass.
Decisions will be made in the next 24 hours that will affect all our lives forever. We are still praying for a miracle... but are having to face the harsh light of reality at the moment.
Sleep filled days and nights
Jerry has managed to go thru 2 treatments of the special Chemo cocktail and will resume Radiation on Monday.
The weekend has been pretty good for him. His color has improved ten-fold; his jaundice has all but disappeared. He has started to rest more comfortably since Friday evening as well - managing to sleep during the day and thru most of the nights. They did tell us that the Chemo cocktail they started him on will make him tired .. so we expected this.
His vitals have remained stable as well after a Saturday morning where his Oxygen levels were dangerously low. They have since put a tube in his nose to pump Oxygen into his system and help him breathe. Blood sugars are a bit low, but rising every hour. His liver count is continuing to decrease (woo hoo.. special dance) and his blood pressure looks strong.
The new chemo treatements have shown some of the side effects the doctor said may show such as blood in the urine and fluid in his belly - however, the fluid in the belly is not enough to worry about and the blood in the urine (which shows itself almost immediately after his treatment and then tapers off after a few hours. The doctors are not concerned about these but are monitoring them closely.
They did take him off of the nutrition IV as his system was not digesting it. They upped his fluids instead to replace the nutrition he is no longer receiving.
We talked to the docter on scene yesterday, who had also talked to his Oncologist (Dr. Williamson) - neither were thrilled with the lack of progress after 24 hours of the Chemo cocktail. They had hoped that the treatement would immediately start to break down the tumor in the liver "lyrosis" I believe is what they called it - where the tumor starts to break down and is digested back into the body.
He also told us that Jerry is basically breathing on one lung at the moment. This came as a shock as we didn't realize he had progressed that far. The cancer in his lung as well as the swollen lymph nodes and the tumor in his liver pushing his diaphram and everything up into his lung has significantly decreased his lung capacity making it harder to breath. This is why they connected him to a tube after his oxygen levels had dropped so low. They have mentioned that if his Oxygen levels stay decreased, they may switch to an Oxygen mask instead of only the tube.
His abdomen is still very rigid and tender. Due to the fact that they are pumping so many liquids into him as well as the Chemo drugs, they feel that he may be getting more fluid into his abdomen then they previously thought. If keeps up, they may take him down and "drain" the fluid from him to help him breath.
All in all, he's had some good moments and bad moments. We've had good news and not so great news.
The weekend has been pretty good for him. His color has improved ten-fold; his jaundice has all but disappeared. He has started to rest more comfortably since Friday evening as well - managing to sleep during the day and thru most of the nights. They did tell us that the Chemo cocktail they started him on will make him tired .. so we expected this.
His vitals have remained stable as well after a Saturday morning where his Oxygen levels were dangerously low. They have since put a tube in his nose to pump Oxygen into his system and help him breathe. Blood sugars are a bit low, but rising every hour. His liver count is continuing to decrease (woo hoo.. special dance) and his blood pressure looks strong.
The new chemo treatements have shown some of the side effects the doctor said may show such as blood in the urine and fluid in his belly - however, the fluid in the belly is not enough to worry about and the blood in the urine (which shows itself almost immediately after his treatment and then tapers off after a few hours. The doctors are not concerned about these but are monitoring them closely.
They did take him off of the nutrition IV as his system was not digesting it. They upped his fluids instead to replace the nutrition he is no longer receiving.
We talked to the docter on scene yesterday, who had also talked to his Oncologist (Dr. Williamson) - neither were thrilled with the lack of progress after 24 hours of the Chemo cocktail. They had hoped that the treatement would immediately start to break down the tumor in the liver "lyrosis" I believe is what they called it - where the tumor starts to break down and is digested back into the body.
He also told us that Jerry is basically breathing on one lung at the moment. This came as a shock as we didn't realize he had progressed that far. The cancer in his lung as well as the swollen lymph nodes and the tumor in his liver pushing his diaphram and everything up into his lung has significantly decreased his lung capacity making it harder to breath. This is why they connected him to a tube after his oxygen levels had dropped so low. They have mentioned that if his Oxygen levels stay decreased, they may switch to an Oxygen mask instead of only the tube.
His abdomen is still very rigid and tender. Due to the fact that they are pumping so many liquids into him as well as the Chemo drugs, they feel that he may be getting more fluid into his abdomen then they previously thought. If keeps up, they may take him down and "drain" the fluid from him to help him breath.
All in all, he's had some good moments and bad moments. We've had good news and not so great news.
Father Can You Hear Me?
Our sister Tanya has a prayer group back in Tiffin, IA that has been praying for Jerry and sending good thoughts and energy his way. They have discovered a priest that will say special prayers for people in need and he has had good success.
So, Padre Pio has come into our world.
If you are praying or speaking to whomever you speak to in your private moments, throw a special prayer, request or shout out to Padre Pio to watch over Jerry and help him thru everything that is going on right now.
The power of prayer can be amazing.... both spiritually and emotionally.
So, Padre Pio has come into our world.
If you are praying or speaking to whomever you speak to in your private moments, throw a special prayer, request or shout out to Padre Pio to watch over Jerry and help him thru everything that is going on right now.
The power of prayer can be amazing.... both spiritually and emotionally.
Friday, January 9, 2009
At Last Some Good News!
Today started off like any other, and then this evening we received some fantastic news from the Oncologist.
Jerry now has a window view room (after they turned his bed to face out the window) and he has spectacular views of Kansas City and downtown (He said it's look really pretty at night). We are calling it his "penthouse suite with a view".
Jerry had his second round of Radiation this afternoon. His next bout of Chemotherapy will be in 3 weeks. He is looking very well for everything he is going through. They are still keeping him connected to the food and IV as well as an intravenous pain drug. He is also receiving Heparnin for his heart and Insulin to help aid his liver and kidneys. He has these in order to counter act the affects of the Chemotherapy.
The Oncologist came in this afternoon with the results of the biopsy from Wednesday. They are almost now positive that the Cancer is the Lymphoma type. This is GREAT news in that, they want to try a second "cocktail" of Chemotherapy that is more aggressive and will really target what is going on with his system. The treatment will last over a period of 5 days and is one of the more aggressive types they can use. There are however, a few side affects such as disorientation, and stress on the liver but the doctors and Jerry feel that this is ok compared to what the end results could be. They are doing a lower dose of the cocktail than they would normally in order to cause less stress/strain on the liver. They plan to start it tonight (Friday).
Jerry is very pumped with this news and we are all excited to get this treatment going. His attitude is truly great for everything that is going on, especially after the news this evening.
He is surrounded by his family and a lot of friends at the hospital. We have managed to take over one of the visitor lounges - and even scared off 2 people that thought about coming in to sit this evening. His nurses are really friendly and they are taking excellent care of him.
Tomorrow will bring a brand new day bright and clear ...and we have very good feelings after this evening's news.
Jerry now has a window view room (after they turned his bed to face out the window) and he has spectacular views of Kansas City and downtown (He said it's look really pretty at night). We are calling it his "penthouse suite with a view".
Jerry had his second round of Radiation this afternoon. His next bout of Chemotherapy will be in 3 weeks. He is looking very well for everything he is going through. They are still keeping him connected to the food and IV as well as an intravenous pain drug. He is also receiving Heparnin for his heart and Insulin to help aid his liver and kidneys. He has these in order to counter act the affects of the Chemotherapy.
The Oncologist came in this afternoon with the results of the biopsy from Wednesday. They are almost now positive that the Cancer is the Lymphoma type. This is GREAT news in that, they want to try a second "cocktail" of Chemotherapy that is more aggressive and will really target what is going on with his system. The treatment will last over a period of 5 days and is one of the more aggressive types they can use. There are however, a few side affects such as disorientation, and stress on the liver but the doctors and Jerry feel that this is ok compared to what the end results could be. They are doing a lower dose of the cocktail than they would normally in order to cause less stress/strain on the liver. They plan to start it tonight (Friday).
Jerry is very pumped with this news and we are all excited to get this treatment going. His attitude is truly great for everything that is going on, especially after the news this evening.
He is surrounded by his family and a lot of friends at the hospital. We have managed to take over one of the visitor lounges - and even scared off 2 people that thought about coming in to sit this evening. His nurses are really friendly and they are taking excellent care of him.
Tomorrow will bring a brand new day bright and clear ...and we have very good feelings after this evening's news.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
And a one-two to the head as well
They are starting Chemo & Radiation on Jerry today at 2:30 pm (CST). They hope to be able to slow the growth and if lucky, eliminate some of the Cancer in his body. The chemo/radiation will be a 15 day process.
Not sure at this point if we'll be trekking to MD Anderson. For now, staying put in KC at KUMed and getting this treated.
Not sure at this point if we'll be trekking to MD Anderson. For now, staying put in KC at KUMed and getting this treated.
A Sucker Punch to the Gut
Well, overnight things have gone from not great - to just darn right not good at all, dare I say- even bad.
Jerry is now in the ICU at KUMed. They put him there last evening as his heart rate was extremely low and they were taking some precautionary measures. They managed to get that stabilized, but kept him in in ICU for monitoring and "just in case" his heart or blood pressure dropped again. They have him hooked up to a feeding tube so he is now getting nutrition back into his body (yeah!) as well as an IV with fluids to keep him hydrated.
They also took another CAT scan of his body last night just to check things out.
...and that's where things went South....
The tumor has now grown to the size of a basketball. His Lymph nodes are severly swollen with Cancer at this point, and that is also making it diffucult for him to breath & swallow. Both of these combined is what is causing Jerry so much pain as well as his loss of appetite.
The Cancer has also spread to several more parts of his body, including more in the bones and one lung. They have determined that he has a "solid" Cancer and not a blood Cancer (which is a good step in the right direction on figuring this out), but still unsure the origin of the Primary Cancer cells.
The Oncologist and Radiologist are supposed to come in today ASAP and figure out what we can do from here. They want to start him on radiation IMMEDIATELY to try and reduce the size of the tumor and see if it helps things or not.
At this point, not really sure how things are going to progress. In the 5 weeks since Jerry was diagnosed, this Cancer has spread rapidly and with a viciousness that is unrivaled.
Please say an extra prayer/thought/chant for him today if you have the time. I have a feeling he is going to need everything he can get.
Once we know more from the doctors, I'll re-post information to keep you updated, but for now... a grim outlook.
Jerry is now in the ICU at KUMed. They put him there last evening as his heart rate was extremely low and they were taking some precautionary measures. They managed to get that stabilized, but kept him in in ICU for monitoring and "just in case" his heart or blood pressure dropped again. They have him hooked up to a feeding tube so he is now getting nutrition back into his body (yeah!) as well as an IV with fluids to keep him hydrated.
They also took another CAT scan of his body last night just to check things out.
...and that's where things went South....
The tumor has now grown to the size of a basketball. His Lymph nodes are severly swollen with Cancer at this point, and that is also making it diffucult for him to breath & swallow. Both of these combined is what is causing Jerry so much pain as well as his loss of appetite.
The Cancer has also spread to several more parts of his body, including more in the bones and one lung. They have determined that he has a "solid" Cancer and not a blood Cancer (which is a good step in the right direction on figuring this out), but still unsure the origin of the Primary Cancer cells.
The Oncologist and Radiologist are supposed to come in today ASAP and figure out what we can do from here. They want to start him on radiation IMMEDIATELY to try and reduce the size of the tumor and see if it helps things or not.
At this point, not really sure how things are going to progress. In the 5 weeks since Jerry was diagnosed, this Cancer has spread rapidly and with a viciousness that is unrivaled.
Please say an extra prayer/thought/chant for him today if you have the time. I have a feeling he is going to need everything he can get.
Once we know more from the doctors, I'll re-post information to keep you updated, but for now... a grim outlook.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
