Kathie had chemo on Tuesday- it will be over three weeks until her next one because of the trip to MD Anderson coming up, and then the family trip to Disney. She has been very fortunate with her side affects so far, but that's waning a bit this week. She's finding herself a little more tired today than usual - usually it doesn't hit until Saturday. We're all hoping it has more to do with running around with 3 year olds this past week at Lynette's in KC.
She had a good time in Kansas with her granddaughters, Lynette and Eddie (who was also visiting). Everyone is looking forward to spending time together in Florida in 2 weeks!
Thursday, August 30, 2007
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Leavin' on a jet plane
Kathie was jet-set again yesterday on a trip out to Kansas City for another visit with Lynette and the grand-kids. She sported her wig and mask (to try to protect her from germs). Before she left, she stopped by the Doctor to get the go ahead because she feared she may be getting too dehydrated. But the Doc said she was good to go and to just pay attention to it. If she gets lightheaded or dizzy, we'll head to the ER. So far, so good.
Today we had to, of course, go to one of Kathie's favorite furniture stores in Kansas City-- Woodson's. And Dad, I cannot take any responsibility for what happened there...if anything. Hypothetically speaking though, if anything were to happen, the damage was minimal.
Today we had to, of course, go to one of Kathie's favorite furniture stores in Kansas City-- Woodson's. And Dad, I cannot take any responsibility for what happened there...if anything. Hypothetically speaking though, if anything were to happen, the damage was minimal.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Good news
Kathie had her semi-regular appointment with Dr. DiMartino on Thursday. Questions were asked about vitamins, cold medication, blood test abbreviations, etc. The good news? Kathie's CEA (Cldfkjdkjdklfj Eldjfjkdjfldj Aklkdjflkdj... or something like that;) - it's a blood test thing that is an indicator of if cancer activity is increasing/decreasing/staying steady (or at least, that's what we pay attention to it for). For change to be considered significant, it has to be a large number change (1/3 -1/2... 1.5x/2x the initial number). Kathie's number was right below 400, and droped to about 250... significant... not necessarily meaning a significant response, but at least meaning that the treatment is working and we're currently headed in a good direction. Last time it had only dropped by about 30... so it could be showing a positive trend, or there's a different lab personal:)
Kathie's energy continues to remain fairly high, minus some fatigue that she's had for about, oh the last 40 years or so. She's pretty much shot by 3PM, and needs a good nap - which Lauren joined her for a couple of times - um, to show support.
Lauren headed back to school Thursday evening (after she took Kathie in to get her pump removed and they ran a couple of errands). Today, Kathie was going to head over to BSU to "help" Bob with the couches (or look at him and Lauren's roommate's fiance unload it like Lauren did) and do a meal with Lauren, but the Saturday wear-down won. Kathie decided to stay home and will probably rest most of the day. Tomorrow, if trends continue, she should be back up and running.
Posted by Lauren
Kathie's energy continues to remain fairly high, minus some fatigue that she's had for about, oh the last 40 years or so. She's pretty much shot by 3PM, and needs a good nap - which Lauren joined her for a couple of times - um, to show support.
Lauren headed back to school Thursday evening (after she took Kathie in to get her pump removed and they ran a couple of errands). Today, Kathie was going to head over to BSU to "help" Bob with the couches (or look at him and Lauren's roommate's fiance unload it like Lauren did) and do a meal with Lauren, but the Saturday wear-down won. Kathie decided to stay home and will probably rest most of the day. Tomorrow, if trends continue, she should be back up and running.
Posted by Lauren
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Catching up
After Lynette left, Bob and Kathie went to North Carolina to deal with the house "issues." Besides a little cold that she picked up from home, she did fine while she was down there. While they were in NC (staying with Lauren's boyfriend's family and then with Eddie and Melissa), Lauren drove back to Indiana from Connecticut to be home for Kathie's chemo while Bob was on a business trip. The lapse in blogs has been a result of Lauren's driving exhaustion;)
Yesterday, Kathie went in for the usual - some chemo and Avastin. They gave her precautionary Benadryl since she had a reaction to the Avastin last time. Instead of the almost 2 hours it took to push the Avastin two weeks ago, it took only an hour and Kathie just had some slight tingling around her mouth. She felt a little sleepy at chemo and managed an hour nap.
I'm not sure we really need to be worrying about her appetite - Kathie wanted a taco salad and practically licked the take-out box clean. Lauren sat in the chair next to her, wearing her new wig towards the end - just to prove that she literally is turning into Kathie.... all Lauren needs is the mom haircut and pair of mom-jeans;)
Kathie, as usual, was feeling pretty impressively good after chemo and so Lauren and her ran a couple of errands - including creeping out their hairstylist, Natalie, when Lauren went in wearing Kathie's wig.
Due to a low hemoglobin count (less than 10) she got a shot to boost red blood cell growth - different from the Neulasta that boosts her white blood cells. Btw, her white blood cell count is still sky high.
Today, you would never know that we have a sick woman on our hands... she slept in (after staying up until midnight watching Night at the Museum with Lauren) and then Lauren and her were running around, doing errands and spending an enthralling hour looking at door handles and locks. With her wig on, it was like looking at Kathie 4 months ago - Fr. Dan thought it was her hair. We'd like to video tape people's reactions - some people are seeing her with extremely thinned hair and the next day she has a full head of hair!
The hair has disappeared at a quick rate, though she's still holding on to every precious strand in hopes that some grow back before they all disappear... which the doctors suggested may happen. We shall see. The part she's absolutely loving? It's all red, no hair dye needed... not that she does that;)
Tomorrow, we return to give back the pump and there is an appointment to chat with Dr. DiMartino.
Posted by Lauren
Yesterday, Kathie went in for the usual - some chemo and Avastin. They gave her precautionary Benadryl since she had a reaction to the Avastin last time. Instead of the almost 2 hours it took to push the Avastin two weeks ago, it took only an hour and Kathie just had some slight tingling around her mouth. She felt a little sleepy at chemo and managed an hour nap.
I'm not sure we really need to be worrying about her appetite - Kathie wanted a taco salad and practically licked the take-out box clean. Lauren sat in the chair next to her, wearing her new wig towards the end - just to prove that she literally is turning into Kathie.... all Lauren needs is the mom haircut and pair of mom-jeans;)
Kathie, as usual, was feeling pretty impressively good after chemo and so Lauren and her ran a couple of errands - including creeping out their hairstylist, Natalie, when Lauren went in wearing Kathie's wig.
Due to a low hemoglobin count (less than 10) she got a shot to boost red blood cell growth - different from the Neulasta that boosts her white blood cells. Btw, her white blood cell count is still sky high.
Today, you would never know that we have a sick woman on our hands... she slept in (after staying up until midnight watching Night at the Museum with Lauren) and then Lauren and her were running around, doing errands and spending an enthralling hour looking at door handles and locks. With her wig on, it was like looking at Kathie 4 months ago - Fr. Dan thought it was her hair. We'd like to video tape people's reactions - some people are seeing her with extremely thinned hair and the next day she has a full head of hair!
The hair has disappeared at a quick rate, though she's still holding on to every precious strand in hopes that some grow back before they all disappear... which the doctors suggested may happen. We shall see. The part she's absolutely loving? It's all red, no hair dye needed... not that she does that;)
Tomorrow, we return to give back the pump and there is an appointment to chat with Dr. DiMartino.
Posted by Lauren
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Go Granny, Go Granny, Go Granny-Go!
"Grandma" is out of control and Lynette has officially given up trying to keep up with her.
Kathie started yesterday morning making Lynette and the girls French toast and orange juice. (Aren't we supposed to be "helping" her???) Then got us going out to the park to feed the ducks with a bag of bread and stale popcorn. I never knew ducks liked popcorn. On the way to the park, we picked up Kathie's newly coiffed wig which looked eerily more Kathie-like than it already had. We left the wig on the styrofoam head sitting in the car to scare passers-by while we went to the park. Kathie finally sat down to take a rest while Jackie, Lynette, Sophie and Kaitlyn rode the park train. But she didn't sit for long, as right behind her was a shopping opportunity (a little craft store next to a senior citizen bingo hall). We weren't sure whether to look for her sitting at a table yelling "bingo!" or in the store, but then we saw her in the store window. Busted.
After the park we just might have hit the ice cream shop....for the kids, of course-- and then we ran a couple other errands.
Back home for lunch and then Kathie is ready to go again. WHAT? Lynette is ready for a nap. Which she is embarassed to say she stayed home and took while the kids watched tv and Kathie and Jackie ran back out.
Kathie and Jackie get back home, but Kathie's not ready to sit yet. She makes a redneck sprinkler/water fall on the deck for the kids by hanging a hose from a hook in the roof. She'd like it to be referred to as an "invention." So the kids played in her invention on the deck for quite awhile while we watched. Like Jackie said, "there's more to Indiana than just corn."
We finished the night with a nice dinner and yummy peach pie brought over by Kathie's neighbor Maryann. Thanks Maryann!!! Mmmmmmmmm. Jackie headed off back to South Bend (boo hoo) and Lynette and Kathie packed. Bob got home from a business trip late that night.
This morning Lynette, Sophie and Kaitlyn left for home followed by Kathie and Bob to North Carolina to go raise a little heck at their house being built. Don't mess with Kathie and Bob when building their house...
Hopefully it will be a slow news week until chemo treament again, as no news is probably good news. : )
Kathie started yesterday morning making Lynette and the girls French toast and orange juice. (Aren't we supposed to be "helping" her???) Then got us going out to the park to feed the ducks with a bag of bread and stale popcorn. I never knew ducks liked popcorn. On the way to the park, we picked up Kathie's newly coiffed wig which looked eerily more Kathie-like than it already had. We left the wig on the styrofoam head sitting in the car to scare passers-by while we went to the park. Kathie finally sat down to take a rest while Jackie, Lynette, Sophie and Kaitlyn rode the park train. But she didn't sit for long, as right behind her was a shopping opportunity (a little craft store next to a senior citizen bingo hall). We weren't sure whether to look for her sitting at a table yelling "bingo!" or in the store, but then we saw her in the store window. Busted.
After the park we just might have hit the ice cream shop....for the kids, of course-- and then we ran a couple other errands.
Back home for lunch and then Kathie is ready to go again. WHAT? Lynette is ready for a nap. Which she is embarassed to say she stayed home and took while the kids watched tv and Kathie and Jackie ran back out.
Kathie and Jackie get back home, but Kathie's not ready to sit yet. She makes a redneck sprinkler/water fall on the deck for the kids by hanging a hose from a hook in the roof. She'd like it to be referred to as an "invention." So the kids played in her invention on the deck for quite awhile while we watched. Like Jackie said, "there's more to Indiana than just corn."
We finished the night with a nice dinner and yummy peach pie brought over by Kathie's neighbor Maryann. Thanks Maryann!!! Mmmmmmmmm. Jackie headed off back to South Bend (boo hoo) and Lynette and Kathie packed. Bob got home from a business trip late that night.
This morning Lynette, Sophie and Kaitlyn left for home followed by Kathie and Bob to North Carolina to go raise a little heck at their house being built. Don't mess with Kathie and Bob when building their house...
Hopefully it will be a slow news week until chemo treament again, as no news is probably good news. : )
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Out and about
You would never know Kathie was drained from taking a shower on Saturday by looking at her today. A family friend, Jackie Batill, came in town yesterday from South Bend. They went out to run some errands yesterday afternoon and started the day off today planting some flowers at the house while Lynette attempted to vacuum and mop according to standards. Jackie followed up with some dusting that was allegedly up to code. Then we all took a break in the nice, humid, blazing heat of the afternoon out back.
Jackie and Kathie took off again on some other missions this afternoon. One of which will be to drop the wig off for a trim a-la-Kathie-style. It has been sitting on various counters freaking us all out when we walk in the room, thinking Kathie's head has been placed on a counter.
A big thanks to Jackie who has been learning the good and the not-so-good parts of Lafayette running out to get groceries, dinner, children's tylenol....etc. We love you! We love all of you who have kept Kathie in your thoughts, prayers, visited, brought food, given rides and friendship.
Jackie and Kathie took off again on some other missions this afternoon. One of which will be to drop the wig off for a trim a-la-Kathie-style. It has been sitting on various counters freaking us all out when we walk in the room, thinking Kathie's head has been placed on a counter.
A big thanks to Jackie who has been learning the good and the not-so-good parts of Lafayette running out to get groceries, dinner, children's tylenol....etc. We love you! We love all of you who have kept Kathie in your thoughts, prayers, visited, brought food, given rides and friendship.
Monday, August 6, 2007
What NOT to do as visitors
As I (Lynette) have yet to post one update and am now AT the house, I figured it was about time. Even though we got in on Thursday afternoon, I logged in to the blog Friday to check out was going on! Then I got sick. So I realized I was a perfect example of what not to do when coming to make a visit.
1. get sick and have to be taken care of and fed by the ones you are trying to help
2. trash the house
3. take over the tv with cartoons when Bob and Kathie are trying to watch a game of golf
4. bring fighting children
Besides that, our visit has been great. ; )
After an 8 hour drive in on Thursday Lynette and the girls were met by Kathie, her sister Eileen, niece Melissa and great-nephew Noah. Kathie was ready to drop off her chemo pack and hit the mall. What??? Lynette and the girls went along for the drop, but had to go home to rest while Kathie hit the mall. This woman is crazy. Nothing will keep her from a great sale.
Friday Eileen, Melissa and Noah left. Kathie and Lynette's daughter Sophie took a nap for a bit and then all of us hit the wig store. Kathie is still losing hair, but it is just very thinned out now...not gone (or half gone, like Bob's). Luckily, neither one of them has resorted to a comb-over. Kathie didn't want to lose any more of her own hair by trying on the wig, so Lynette tried it on. She looked like a mini Kathie and Sophie and Kaitlyn thought that was pretty funny. It's pretty full, but a perfect color match. So Kathie decided to get it. She'll either trim it herself or take it to the beauty salon for a cut. After the wig shop, we were off to get Kathie's Nuelasta (sp?) shot. (a white blood cell booster, which we're not quite sure why they still administered since her white count is already through the roof). Sophie and Kaitlyn made themselves at home at the doctor's office--coloring pictures, helping themselves to water from the little water dispenser. They already know the drill.
Friday night was an exciting 39th anniversary dinner for Bob and Kathie (an exchanging of cards and Olive Garden takeout--which Lynette joined them for). They said it was always how they dreamed their 39th anniversary would be.
Saturday Bob was off to the lake before we could get out of our pajamas. (Which is not saying much when we're in our pajamas at 10am). But Kathie was absolutely exhausted. Taking a shower and getting dressed put her over the top. She could hardly sit up and have a conversation. She was worried that her red blood cell count, which had been low on Monday may have dropped further. So we trekked to the hospital to get a blood count. If her count was too low, she would need to get a blood transfusion. Her red count was actually up a bit (10.8) and her white count was still sky high. So the doctor said it was probably "just" the chemo and the now added avastin treatment. He advised her to just take it easy and rest and said she should be feeling better in 24-48 hours.
We drove up to the lake and Kathie rested on the couch while Bob took Lynette and the kids out to the "swimming hole." The girls loved it and had a blast. Bob tried the best he could to keep up with Sophie as she darted around the lake.
Sunday morning Kathie woke up feeling a bit better and Lynette woke up sick. Bob took care of things around the house and fed everyone. The girls waded in the pool a bit and then took a walk with Kathie to her neighbors for a visit while Lynette napped (another "what not to do while visiting"). By Sunday night, Kathie was asking Lynette if she needed anything. (Trust me, you will never feel so low as to have your mom who just completed round two of chemo asking you if you'd like a head massage!) She was definitely getting her energy back.
Today, Monday, Bob is off to work then on a business trip. I'll have to see what's on our agenda...shopping maybe?
1. get sick and have to be taken care of and fed by the ones you are trying to help
2. trash the house
3. take over the tv with cartoons when Bob and Kathie are trying to watch a game of golf
4. bring fighting children
Besides that, our visit has been great. ; )
After an 8 hour drive in on Thursday Lynette and the girls were met by Kathie, her sister Eileen, niece Melissa and great-nephew Noah. Kathie was ready to drop off her chemo pack and hit the mall. What??? Lynette and the girls went along for the drop, but had to go home to rest while Kathie hit the mall. This woman is crazy. Nothing will keep her from a great sale.
Friday Eileen, Melissa and Noah left. Kathie and Lynette's daughter Sophie took a nap for a bit and then all of us hit the wig store. Kathie is still losing hair, but it is just very thinned out now...not gone (or half gone, like Bob's). Luckily, neither one of them has resorted to a comb-over. Kathie didn't want to lose any more of her own hair by trying on the wig, so Lynette tried it on. She looked like a mini Kathie and Sophie and Kaitlyn thought that was pretty funny. It's pretty full, but a perfect color match. So Kathie decided to get it. She'll either trim it herself or take it to the beauty salon for a cut. After the wig shop, we were off to get Kathie's Nuelasta (sp?) shot. (a white blood cell booster, which we're not quite sure why they still administered since her white count is already through the roof). Sophie and Kaitlyn made themselves at home at the doctor's office--coloring pictures, helping themselves to water from the little water dispenser. They already know the drill.
Friday night was an exciting 39th anniversary dinner for Bob and Kathie (an exchanging of cards and Olive Garden takeout--which Lynette joined them for). They said it was always how they dreamed their 39th anniversary would be.
Saturday Bob was off to the lake before we could get out of our pajamas. (Which is not saying much when we're in our pajamas at 10am). But Kathie was absolutely exhausted. Taking a shower and getting dressed put her over the top. She could hardly sit up and have a conversation. She was worried that her red blood cell count, which had been low on Monday may have dropped further. So we trekked to the hospital to get a blood count. If her count was too low, she would need to get a blood transfusion. Her red count was actually up a bit (10.8) and her white count was still sky high. So the doctor said it was probably "just" the chemo and the now added avastin treatment. He advised her to just take it easy and rest and said she should be feeling better in 24-48 hours.
We drove up to the lake and Kathie rested on the couch while Bob took Lynette and the kids out to the "swimming hole." The girls loved it and had a blast. Bob tried the best he could to keep up with Sophie as she darted around the lake.
Sunday morning Kathie woke up feeling a bit better and Lynette woke up sick. Bob took care of things around the house and fed everyone. The girls waded in the pool a bit and then took a walk with Kathie to her neighbors for a visit while Lynette napped (another "what not to do while visiting"). By Sunday night, Kathie was asking Lynette if she needed anything. (Trust me, you will never feel so low as to have your mom who just completed round two of chemo asking you if you'd like a head massage!) She was definitely getting her energy back.
Today, Monday, Bob is off to work then on a business trip. I'll have to see what's on our agenda...shopping maybe?
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Tired
Kathie is surrounded by love: Eileen, Melissa, Lynette and the precious children of the latter two (Melissa's son and Lynette's girls).
I stand corrected on the Avastin - it was an "allergic" reaction, but different from the ones that they (the staff) has encountered before... she said she got "flushed" but also mentioned that she could use some color, so she wasn't sure it was really a bad thing;)
There's a bunch of technical jargon for why Kathie is tired... long of the short of it - she has enough iron, but the red blood cells are small (or something like that) and not everything is connecting quite like it should be.
She's all about the naps this week, but has also managed to get out of the house to... *gasp*... go shopping;) I think when she doesn't want to shop anymore, we'll know it's serious.
Hopefully, it remains a slow news week.
Posted by Lauren
I stand corrected on the Avastin - it was an "allergic" reaction, but different from the ones that they (the staff) has encountered before... she said she got "flushed" but also mentioned that she could use some color, so she wasn't sure it was really a bad thing;)
There's a bunch of technical jargon for why Kathie is tired... long of the short of it - she has enough iron, but the red blood cells are small (or something like that) and not everything is connecting quite like it should be.
She's all about the naps this week, but has also managed to get out of the house to... *gasp*... go shopping;) I think when she doesn't want to shop anymore, we'll know it's serious.
Hopefully, it remains a slow news week.
Posted by Lauren
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