December Update

Wow...this year has really flown by! We have already decided that 2010 is going to be a good year. And lots has happened since my last blog update in November. We hope that everyone had a great Christmas and that Santa was good to everyone. I cleaned ALL day Christmas Eve. Christmas morning, it only took 15 secs to look like a tornado came through. Fortunately, I am on vacation this week so that I can get everything back to "normal". I can't handle anything out of place...drives me nuts. So far, I've got the downstairs presentable and I cleaned out our master closet. This weekend, I'll be working on the upstairs, which is the boys' room and the bonus room. Oh joy!

Here's the family updates:

Harold has finished his year of chemo!! yay!! No more nausea, sleepless nights, afternoon naps, and grouchiness! Hopefully, we won't have to go down that road again...EVER! Harold has his follow-up at Duke on Monday. He is scheduled for a PET scan at 7am, MRI at 10am, and checkup with Dr. Desjardins at 12:30pm. It's going to be a L-O-N-G day. We'll be driving up the night before and Hunter wants to go with us. He asks so many questions and we feel that he would better understand our visits by going with us.

Harold's birthday is tomorrow and he'll be spending it hunting...the last day of deer season.

Hunter hit a milestone this month....he's 10 years old!! That makes me feel VERY old. He's in the double digits now. He's growing up so fast before our eyes. I've started a slideshow of Hunter's life that I'll post later, I'm not quite finished. Hunter had a great birthday party at Dock's at the Capital and then had a couple boys stay the night with us. Hunter is out of school until the 2nd week of January. He has a nice, long break. Hunter received 3 awards on the last day of school: Perfect Attendance, A-B Honor Roll and Met his AR goal (reading). We are so proud of him.

Holden has a birthday coming up next week...he'll be turning 5! My little baby is growing up too. We are having his birthday party this Saturday. Between all 3 birthdays and Christmas, December is just a hectic month for me. I don't have time to rest and enjoy the festive holidays. I'm too busy planning, buying, and running around like a mad-man. Hunter and Holden both got new bikes from Santa and they both love them. I'm so glad. Of course, they were both spoiled rotten between Santa, grandparents, Aunts, Uncles, and Mom and Dad!

As for ME? Well, my biggest news is that I got accepted into the MBA program at Methodist University! I start Jan 8th. Majority of the classes are online, and I spend one weekend a month on campus. I will graduate May 2011. I'm so excited. It was sorta a last minute decision. I got accepted into UNCP. However, when I reviewed their graduate class schedule, they only had 1 class each semester. It would take me 3 yrs to finish at that rate. So, Harold & I talked this over and I really had to do some major decision making. With Harold's help, we decided on the Methodist program. My biggest hesitation was the weekend schedules. I would go 5:30-9:30pm Fridays, and 8am-5pm Saturdays and Sundays. That's a huge commitment for me. I'm so worried that I might miss something with the boys during those on-campus weekends. But Harold really encouraged me and said he'd help out those weekends. I'm so excited, yet so very nervous. There's only 17 people in this cohort with me. I couldn't do this without Harold's support. And he told me that I took care of him for the last year...and he would support me while I am in school. He's so good to me!!

I'm still pushing for the doctors to figure out what is wrong with my stomach. I've had 5 tests so far this year. Everything is coming back 'normal', which I should be happy about. However, it frustrates me because my stomach pain is still a mystery. It only occurs every 3-4 months and I can't figure out what triggers it. But I'm not finished trying. One day they will figure it out and a light bulb will go off!

Well, here's to a fantastic 2010!! I hope everyone has a safe and fun New Year's!

Round 11 is Complete!

It's hard to believe we are close to the 1-yr mark of treatment. This time last year, I had to drive Harold back/forth to the Cancer Center every day for radiation treatments. This time last year, I thought one year was going to last forever. But we've made it!

We were a little concerned when we found out that Harold's Temodar dosage had been increased. We just knew that it was going to be a rough week and he would be so nauseous and so tired this round. But, we were proven different. His dosage was increased because he had gained some weight...not too much, but enough to bump up the dosage a notch. He also started taking his nausea meds every 4 hours, starting the day before. And it has helped. He hasn't been nauseous this round, except for a little bit yesterday and today. He will continue the nausea meds through tomorrow or Tuesday.

Harold will begin Round 12 (the final round) during the 2nd week of December. Then we will be finished!! Yippee!!

Where have we been??

Before you pass out from shock after seeing this update, I want to assure you that we've been fine (a little busy, but fine).

It seems that Time is something that slips past me quite often. I don't have enough of it in a day! And I don't expect things to quiet down any time soon...after all, there's only 46 days, 4 hours, 11 minutes, and 35 seconds left until Christmas!

I'll get you up to speed real quick:

Hunter finished fall ball last week, so we'll have a break from sports until March. :) He's doing great in school and is still in AIG program. He has a lot of homework, but it's nothing he can't finish in 30 mins or less. I've been in a shock myself over some of his homework assignments. He's had PowerPoint presentations and 300-word essays. I certainly don't remember that much work in 4th grade.

Holden has learned to ride his bike without training wheels. And he's been on the go ever since. He's learning his letters and numbers and has homework every once in a while. He thinks he's a big boy with homework. It's hard to believe he'll be in Kindergarten next year. He'll be starting at Baldwin and it will be Hunter's last year there. Atleast Hunter can keep up with him for one year.

Harold has done great. He's starting Round 11 of chemo this week and then only one more to go!! We had a Duke visit last Thursday to review his MRI from last Monday. Dr. Desjardins made us tear up when she said "it was clear". As part of the protocal for all of her patients, she has scheduled Harold for a PET scan and another MRI on Jan 4th. Harold will be injected with a radioactive sugar for this PET. Dr. Desjardins said that cancer cells will absorb this sugar and highlight it on the scan. So, if there's anything else on his brain, it will show up with the PET. They also take the original MRI and place the PET directly on top of it to check the tumor resection. We are anxious for this appointment. We will meet with the doctor that same day to discuss the results.

Harold also had his 20th High School Reunion in October. We had a blast...it was a whole weekend full of events...from the Friday night football game, to skating with the kids, lunch and tour of the school, and then a night of dancing! It was great meeting the people that Harold went to school with. They were all awesome and so nice to me. I didn't know Harold was such a popular guy! ;)




As for Me...well, I'm just busy. I've been really busy at work, working with another lady as we kick-off a new project. Once this go-live is over with, I'll be able to get caught up on my regular work. I'm trying to get back into graduate school this January. Since I left last Fall (after Harold's accident and surgery), I let it lapse too long. So, I'm having to retake the GMAT later this month to score higher on it. So, I've been studying for this on my lunch hours and any time in between everything else. I'm praying that goes well. I'm really nervous.

I've had some tests done for my stomach pain...an abdomen ultrasound and a HIDS scan. But so far, everything has come back 'normal'. I'm really disgusted with my GI doctor and the way he treats me when I see him. So, I got a referral to another GI doctor in December to see what he can suggest. I'll keep you posted on that. So far, no flare-ups (I'm crossing my fingers and toes!).

Duke Visit was Great!

We had a great visit at the Duke Clinic yesterday. We saw Dr. Peters for the first time. She had a great personality and was from John Hopkins. She told us that the MRI was CLEAR!! Harold will continue the chemo through December, as originally planned. He will have MRIs every 2 months for the first year off of therapy. Then he will have a graduated MRI schedule. In 2011, he will have MRIs every 3 months for a year, then every 4 months for a year, every 6 months for year and then yearly for life. We can handle that! Dr. Peters said that the key was to stay ahead of the game and to catch any re-growth early on. I just hate that word “re-growth”. I imagine that it’s going to be hard when we stop the chemotherapy all-together.

Other good news…Harold has gained 8 lbs in 4 months! He’s finally up to 143.5 lbs! We asked about all of the meds that he’s currently taking and she said that we will continue the Keppra for many, many years. If he stops and has a seizure, we’re back to no driving for 6 months. We can’t handle that again! But the good news is that his daily medications do not make him sick or have any side effects…only the chemo once a month.

We discussed his memory too. I’ve noticed that it’s gotten better and Dr. Peters said that it will improve as long as he’s using his brain. Harold plays solitaire on his phone and my laptop ALL the time. She said that was good…anything with numbers and having to make decisions is great for his brain. So that will get better with time.

I decided to ask a big question since our 1 yr post-surgery anniversary is coming up. People are always asking how Harold is doing and to be honest, I’m not sure of the best way to answer that. I asked Dr. Peters if we can say that he’s “cancer-free”. That’s a B-I-G word and I get a lump in my throat just thinking about it. Please know that we understand this battle isn’t over. And while his MRIs have been clear for several months, we do not have our hopes up high. Harold realizes that we will always have this battle and it will forever be on our minds. While we are very excited for the good news, we are also very cautious to not get ahead of ourselves. I don't want to set ourselves up for disappointment.

As for Dr. Peters' answer: she said that she doesn’t like to say ‘cancer-free’ until a patient has been off therapy for one full year. SO…in January 2011, we will not only be celebrating Harold’s 40th birthday, we will also be celebrating a very huge word! We’ll be ringing in the New Year for many years to come!!

Next Duke visit is November 19th.

Bittersweet Day

Today is Harold's MRI. His 5th MRI since he began treatments in January. Today is also the 1-year anniversary of Harold's accident. When I scheduled his MRI, I didn't think about what day it was; it just happened to be the Thursday before we go back to Duke. We go to Duke on Monday for our follow-up appointment. We haven't been since May.

We expect it to go well.

It is still hard to believe that when we woke up Sept 10th last year, it was the day that changed our lives forever. Harold & I know that the Lord was looking after him that day. And he has really become an advocate for brain cancer survivors. If he hears of someone battling the 'beast', he is en route looking for them, their phone number, or stopping by their high school talking to their football coach. I knew Harold had a huge heart when I met him. But his heart has really grown this past year. He has a new love for life.

People may think he's lucky. But I don't consider it the luck of the draw. Harold is here for a reason. We realize this battle isn't over, but every day we are living life to its fullest.







On another note, today is also a very special day for my stepfather.



HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BRUCE!!

Fun Food

Here's a recipe that I stumbled across for the boys. I thought the boys would like to help me prepare it. You take cut up hot dogs and push 4-5 spaghetti noodles through them. Then, boil the noodles as you normally would...7-8 minutes. Add some butter and parmesan cheese.

And the outcome is... Weird food + boys = good eaters.

It was interesting and even Harold ate it up.

At Duke, There is HOPE!

Great video clip of Dr. Henry Friedman at Duke...encouraging vaccines and HOPE!


Watch CBS Videos Online

Is it almost September already?

I'm still here. Just a little late. Harold did quite well with this last round of chemo. He was sick a couple days and he just slept it off. We are definitely on the down slide, only 4 more months of this sickening routine. He still has days where he's either a little nauseous or really tired. And luckily, with his job, he can come home and nap for a couple hours if he needs to. Everyone knows that he gives his job 150% on the good days.

I've been so swamped at work. We have a lot of new projects, upgrades, and other techie stuff going on. To be honest, I don't feel like getting on the computer when I get home. I'm behind on the blog and behind on emails. I haven't forgotten you. I'm hoping to get caught up this weekend.

Here are some pictures of Hunter's cabbage. We decided it was time to pull it and submit it to http://www.bonnieplants.com/. His cabbage weighed 8.6 lbs and our neighbors ate it! :) He was so proud of that cabbage.

Last Saturday, Harold & I had a Saturday (and night) without the boys! We went to the Race to the Red concert at Festival Park. The Embers, The Breakfast Club and Edwin McCain were scheduled to play. However, we had to dodge thunderstorms shortly after the Embers played their 2nd act. A good friend got us in the VIP tent...aka Free Food and Drinks Tent. It was awesome. We left after watching the Breakfast Club a little while. More bad storms were coming and we left at the right time.

And Holden has officially started his Pre-K program at his daycare. Last Monday was his first day and I had to take a picture of him, just like I do for Hunter's first day. It's hard to believe he's almost 5 years old. I definitely don't have a baby anymore.

Round 8 is underway...

Well, Harold has begun Round 8 of chemo last Friday. But it wasn't an easy task getting there. Harold had labs drawn last Tuesday...his normal Day 28 bloodwork. We had his chemo delivered the same day, so we were ready. Just waiting for the "okay" to start that evening. Received an email from nurse at Duke that said his labs were still "inching downward". He was not able to start as scheduled. He had labs drawn again on Friday. Martha never did give me the "numbers" so I can't tell you how much they were off. And to be honest, she's really frustrating me. On Friday, Martha had faxed over a new order to request the results read STAT. Harold was in the office at 7:15am (as usual) so that they would be ready by lunchtime. I called and emailed Martha several times during the day asking if she had the results. But no answer.

At 6pm, she called to tell me she didn't have them and indicated that the lab techs were not sending the results as they should. Little does she know, I've been touch with the lab manager and she is making sure the results are faxed as soon as possible and documenting who/what/when, etc. So, I'm not sure what Martha's deal is. She also told me she was calling them for the results. I even called around 7:30pm and Martha's voicemail said she was out of the office until the 24th! I just about flipped! It wasn't until 8pm Friday that she finally called to tell us the labs were good. By that time, I had already sent an email to Dr. Desjardins letting her know that this happens every month and it's very frustrating for us. Especially since I'm working with the lab manager to ensure everything runs smoothly. Ugh! It's bad enough having to put your life on hold once a month for this stuff, but the added stress from her un-organization skills is enough to drive one nuts!

On that note, Harold did get to start chemo Friday night. He was a little nauseous when he woke up Saturday morning. So, he slept most of the day. He did well last night and today. I know he was just as stressed as I was on Friday. Do we start or do we wait?


Anyhow, it worked out and he's had a good weekend so far. Day 3 is coming up in just a couple hours.

As for the other important stuff...Hunter has started baseball practice. Opening day is set for Sept 12th. Holden had his first soccer game yesterday. He scored 2 goals.

Tomorrow, I'm heading to Raleigh for my follow-up to my ear surgery. I cannot wait to talk with the doctor. I haven't seen or talked to him since my surgery in May. I want to know what the found, what he did and what the prognosis is for my hearing loss. I've talked with his nurse, but I want to talk with him directly. For my peace of mind. I promise to update this week with the results.

Hope everyone has a great week.

Has it really been 2 weeks?

Wow! Time flies when you're having fun (or just busy as a bee!). Harold finished up his chemo on Sunday the 19th. He did better this time with the nausea. He woke up the first night around 2:30am and almost didn't make it to the bathroom. But after that night, he was borderline okay. So for now, we'll keep using the phenergan. 5 More Months!! It doesn't seem like it's been 7 months already...it seems like an eternity.

Hunter's been busy with homework and reading and studying. We're signing the boys up for the Fall sports this week. Holden's playing soccer again and Hunter's playing baseball. They will kick in high gear within the next 3 weeks. It's hard to believe that it's almost August already.

Last weekend, we surprised my mom with a trip to Myrtle Beach for her birthday. She thought it was only going to be her and her husband, Bruce. But they made a pitstop on the way out of town...at our house to pick us up. She was very surprised. But the best surprise was when we told her that she was going to see Randy Owen at the Alabama Theatre. She cried for almost an hour....I've never seen her so happy! We didn't tell her until we were right in front of the theatre looking at the marque. We had the best time. He played for 3 hours and was very entertaining. He makes you feel welcome and personalizes his show. And to top of the perfect night, we stood in line for an hour for the meet and greet after the show. We got pictures with him and he autographed our tickets. He's very friendly and definitely likes to talk. He asked us where we were from and told us about a trip to Pope AFB and a helicopter ride he took. The rest of the weekend, we walked the shops at Barefoot Landing and then strolled on the beach that night. It was a great time! Harold's mom kept for the boys for us. I'm so greatful that we have family close by that can help with them. We have to plan a trip with the Subletts soon.

Thursday, July 16th

Yesterday, my baby had his first day of 4th grade. It's hard to believe that Hunter's already in the 4th grade. One more year at this school and he'll be in middle school. EEEKKK!!! That scares me! We met his teacher Monday night during Open House at the school. Her name is Ms. Ulloa (pronounced you-low-uh). She seems very nice. And Hunter's "girlfriend" is in his class again. Hunter had me iron his clothes for school....fix his hair....oh...and they don't use bookbags or backpacks this year...they use "messenger bags". I'm so not ready for all of this yet!

Holden went on his first field trip at daycare today. He went to the movies and then to Hardees for lunch. I cannot imagine that many 4-yr olds! But he said he had a great time.

We also got some fantastic news from Harold's Uncle Butch, his mom's brother. He found out that he has an anaplastic astrocytoma brain tumor, but it was considered inoperable last year. The good news is that he went to Duke today, had a MRI and a PET scan...and was told that his tumor is GONE!! The only thing present on the scans is scar tissue! Can you believe it?? Praise the Lord! Butch called us tonight to tell us the fantastic news!! He will continue to go to the Cancer Center monthly for his Avastin treatments. I'm not sure how long he will continue those, but that's awesome!!

One day I'll slow down...

Nah...I doubt that! We've had a busy week (as usual). Lots to report...We finally got Harold's lab results back late Monday evening and the nurse ordered his chemo. It arrived yesterday in the mail, so he started last night. We thought he would have a normal night. But that changed when he woke up at 2:30am and almost didn't make it to the bathroom. He scared the daylights out of me...I didn't know what was going on. We really don't know what happened or why he got sick. He's been fine today, other than being tired from no sleep last night.

He took his chemo around 8:45pm last night. I was a little worried that his body didn't absorb the medicine by the time he got sick. I called his nurse and left her a voicemail at 7am this morning. She said that most likely his body did absorb the chemo before he got sick. To be on the safe side, he is doubling up on the phenergan tonight before he takes his chemo. We'll see how it goes tonight.

But, let's back track to a couple days ago...Monday evening. Harold's brother, Michael, coaches the Village Christian Academy baseball team. Coach Jeffrey also helps coach the team. A couple months ago, Coach Jeffrey found out that his 4-yr old grandson, Cooper, has an inoperable brain tumor. Michael surprised Coach Jeffrey with the team wearing jerseys with Cooper's name and T-ball number on the back. All proceeds from that night's game will go to Cooper's family. News14 had a camera guy there and Fayetteville Observer had a photographer there. Cooper threw out the first baseball. It was a very touching game...Michael has such a huge heart! Cooper finishes up radiation next Tuesday and then they will follow up with a 2nd opinion at Duke. We will continue to pray for him and his family. Here's the story link and a slideshow of the pictures I took:

http://news14.com/Default.aspx?ArID=611927

They also had a golf tournament fundraiser for Cooper today at Baywood. Harold went out to help first thing, but came home to sleep this afternoon. Harold said that Cooper's tournament was full of teams AND had 20 teams on the waiting list! That's incredible. I hope they have done well with it!

Round 7 of Chemo this week

Harold had his Day 28 labs done as soon as we got back into town Friday. I haven't gotten the results yet because it was so close to 5pm. As soon as Harold's nurse at Duke gets them, she will order his Temodar for this week. We have switched pharmacies to one that specializes in chemotherapy drugs. This pharmacy keeps everything in stock and ships it next day.

Now, if I could just get the insurance straight...the patient advovate at Duke that has been helping us with the insurance told me that Temodar was a specialty drug and the copay was $150 per strength. I just about passed out. She's supposed to be making some phone calls to get something worked out. I'll be so glad when we don't have to worry with this every month.

6 more months!!

No Place Like Home

Although we had an awesome time in VA beach, there's no place like home. This was probably the best vacation we've ever had. Harold's Aunt Helen and Uncle Mike from Maryland drove down Tuesday night and stayed through Thursday. Harold's friend, Mike and his wife Kathy, also drove down from Maryland. Mike is also a brain tumor survivor. He just turned 30 years old and has recently celebrated his one-year tumor-versary in May. We thoroughly enjoyed talking with them. It really helps to talk to somene who has/is going through the same things. It was extremely helpful for me to talk to another young wife, who's going through the same feelings and emotions.

The boys had so much fun on the beach with Uncle Mike. He took them out into the ocean with their boogy boards and wode the waves back in. We had some awesome food while we were there too. Hunter & Holden swam in the pool every day, sometimes 1-4 times a day! We went on a Dolphin Watching Boat Trip Thursday. We did see alot of Dolphin, but I couldn't get their pictures fast enough, so all you see is their fin above water. A couple did jump straight up out of the water. Hunter & I both got seasick. Harold bought me some medicine on the boat to help with it, but it knocked me out for several hours. Hunter did get sick on the boat and they had to clean it up. I wouldn't want that job. While I was sleeping that evening, Harold took the boys to an indoor 3D mini golf that they loved. He said they had blacklights too.

We are already talking about going back to VA beach next year, and then maybe heading up to Maryland to see them again.

Here's a ton of pictures of our last couple days. Sorry it's taken so long to post. We were so busy at the beach and really tired when we got home. I haven't unpacked our luggage yet. :)

MRI Update

Finally got the call from Duke today regarding Harold's MRI last week. Harold's nurse, Martha, is on vacation. So the nurse filling in for her called us. The Doctor reads the MRI and sends "her" notes to the nurse to call us.


Here are the exact notes: "Stable disease. No enhancements or flares." Sounds good to me!


Harold is due to have his Day 28 labs done this Friday after we get home. Once Duke gets those results, they will order his next round of Temodar.

Virginia Beach Trip

We just couldn't wait to come to Virginia Beach....so we left on Sunday. We stayed in a cheap hotel in Suffolk, VA (only about 15 mins from the beach). It poured and rained all evening and misted rain through this morning. Luckily, it's starting to clear out.

We couldn't check into our condo until 4pm so we decided to head over to the Aquarium when they opened at 9am. Good thing too...when we left at 11:30, the line was out the door and down the sidewalk. The aquarium wasn't as good as I thought...I personally think the Fort Fisher Aquarium is way better. We had tickets to go to the IMAX 3D theatre there too. That was AWESOME. It was a 45 min educational video called "Under the Sea".

We grabbed a bite to eat and decided to head over to the condo to see if it was ready. It wasn't. So, we ventured down the boardwalk for a couple hours. VA Beach is so nice and different from Myrtle Beach. I love the Boardwalk. The beach itself is about 3 miles long and every couple of streets, they have stages set up on the Boardwalk. Different bands on different stages...at the same time. So cool. They are scheduled to have Fireworks Wednesday night over the water too.

We were finally able to check in around 3pm. This place is awesome! They have concierge every where you turn. The parking deck is across the street. We are on the 13th floor, with a 2 bedroom condo with cityview. Once you go out the back of the hotel, they have 2 outdoor pools with waterfalls, an indoor heated pool and a hot tub. They have a Tiki Bar with reasonal lunch prices. Then you can cross the boardwalk and you're on the beach. Their beach is so wide. They have about 15 volleyball nets set up along the beach, lifeguards, and you can rent just about anything (metal detector, frisbees, bikes, surfboards, etc). Pretty neat.

Here's a quick slideshow of our day...I'll be sure to post more in the week...

One More Week...

...until I start packing too much stuff for our Virginia Beach trip. We are all very excited (even Harold!). Holden woke up this morning and asked if today was the day we leave. No, honey, one more week. Telling a 4-yr old "one more week" is like telling him it's 10 years!

We've had an uneventful weekend (I like those!). Hunter had a birthday party to go to, but when we got to the skating rink, the party was cancelled. Thought that was strange. So, we couldn't leave there with the kids knowing they were going skating. Harold said, "I'm going to give it a try". And he did, for about 6 minutes. Then he turned in his skates.

Here's a quick picture of Hunter's cabbage. I don't know how much it weighs, but it's definitely getting BIG. The deadline for the scholarship is Sept 10th, so we still have a couple more months. And yesterday, Harold noticed that we have some visitors taking residence inside the leafs. They're so small.

Harold has his 4th MRI done Thursday morning. Hopefully, I'll have the results on Friday. We don't have to go to Duke this time...I'm going to FedEx the CD to Duke as soon as Harold is finished.

Quick Update

Harold did quite well this time with his chemotherapy. He had some nausea Wednesday…actually it was bad enough that he went home at 11:30am to lay down. He took a phenergan and was better by the time he woke up. With this cycle, he’s been extremely tired. It’s almost like he’s not getting any restful sleep, and it’s lingering throughout the day. He took a nap again Thursday and Friday and had gone to bed early the last couple of nights. But he’s just soooo tired.

We spent most of the weekend at the pool. I've noticed that Harold doesn't tolerate the sun as much as he used too. It may be the medicine. I'm not sure. We used to lay out by the pool for HOURS, but after one hour, Harold's looking for some shade or the AC. That's going to take some getting used too. And Harold had a good Father's Day too!

Hunter is attending AIG Camp this week and is having the best time. He is studying Egypt and then cooking. Holden got his baseball trophy last night...he's so excited too.

We’re HALF-WAY!!

Only 6 more months to go! Harold did really well with the phenergan. He was a little nauseous last night, but he said it wasn’t going to keep him from taking his last dosage of chemo. He said he could handle that better than laying in the bed for 2 days like last month. I could tell that he was getting more tired with each day too. He’ll probably be tired for the next couple days. And back to “normal” by this weekend!

What a way to celebrate too! We’re going to Virginia Beach the week of July 6-10. And we’re staying in this really nice resort (http://www.theoceanbeachclub.com/) on the boardwalk. We have guest passes to the Virginia Aquarium and IMAX Theatre. And we have gift certificates for a Dolphin Watching Boat Ride.

And it’s all FREE! YAY! I won this trip through WRAL a couple months ago (might have been in April) and we just got our package last week. We have the dates set and we’re ready to go!! This was the only weekend we could stay at the resort due to all of the blackout dates. Otherwise, we would have to wait until after Labor Day to go. But this works out great! This week will actually be a chemo week for Harold. But we’ve discussed this with Duke and they ordered him “to go on vacation!”. He’ll have his labs done when we return. This will probably be our only beach trip this year unless we go for a long weekend. We just have too much going on ALL the time.

Day 3 is complete

I don't want to say this too loud, but so far the phenergan is working!! Harold hasn't been sick at all! Thank goodness!! He has 2 more nights and the cycle is complete.


We took the boys to Fantasy Lake yesterday for a birthday party and it really wore all of us out!! We haven't been there in years, but the boys really enjoyed it. Here was our entertainment on the drive there:

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

He was way more goofy than this. But you know it stops when the camera is out! He was dancing to Bob Marley!

Tomorrow Holden goes to the big boy classroom at daycare! The 4-year old class! I'm really going to miss his teachers in the 3-year old house. They have been soooo good to us! I would highly recommend them! Atleast we will still get to see them! Holden's also no longer wearing pullups to bed! Amen! We're almost ready for school!


Hunter finished up his baseball season and got his trophy! He also has camps the next three weeks....two at Methodist College (where he wants to go to college one day!) and the other is a AIG camp at Vanstory Elementary. I'm sure he'll update his blog with this information. Be sure to check out his picture slideshow from the mountains!

Round 6 has started

Harold got to start the chemo last night. We didn't hear from his doctor, so that was the green light. He took his nightly medicine regime a little early so that he doesn't have to take it along with his chemo regime. Too many pills at one time as it is.

He did good with the chemo last night. He took phenergan first, then the 7 chemo pills about 30 minutes later. I don't think he slept very well last night. Not because of nausea, but because of nerves. He does this every month...worrying if he's going to get sick or not. We'll keep you posted through the weekend. Hopefully, it'll be a smooth one. I know the pills don't look like a lot, but it's pretty tough to swallow when your nauseous. You just can't get them down.

Haven’t started chemo yet

Harold had his labs repeated Wednesday morning. They aren’t “quite right” to start the Temodar yet. Here’s the rundown from Monday to Wednesday:

• White Blood Count went up from 2.2 to 2.7 (GOOD)
• SEG went down from 51 to 42 (NOT GOOD)
• Platelets went up from 121 to 134 (REAL GOOD)

Duke takes the total from WBC * SEG% to get his Neutrophil total. 2.7 * 42% = 1.1 Neutrophil. The neutrophil is the percentage of white blood cells that fights off infection. If this number is too low, then his body is not ready for chemo. The last couple months, Harold’s neutrophil has been around 1.5 or 1.4 and they weren’t thrilled with those numbers. So, they definitely didn’t feel comfortable with 1.1 for Harold to begin his Temodar. The other good news is that Harold has gained 2 lbs from last month, so his dosage increased from 350mg to 360mg. (the good news is his weight gain, of course!)

Harold was bummed about not being able to start, but I explained to him why he has to wait and he understands the reasons. Duke wanted Harold to wait one more day, since his labs were on the upswing. He’ll start his chemo tonight and will finish up Monday night. Hopefully, the phenergan will help with nausea this time.

As for his Temodar prescription? Well, that’s a whole other story to tell. To keep it short, his Temodar was on backorder and the pharmacy didn’t know when to expect it. But, they were able to fill the prescription by borrowing some from the main hospital pharmacy. Unlucky for us…because they didn’t have the exact dosage, they had to combine some 100mg, 20 mg and 5 mg to equal the total. What does this mean? It means Harold has 7 pills to swallow every night, not the usual 2-5 pills. I gather that it’s going to take some time to get all of them down each night. When he had to take 5 pills one month, I think it took Harold almost an hour to finally get them down. That’s such a bad feeling too…to be nauseous, yet have to swallow a pill.

Oh and the details to our Free Virginia Beach vacation is starting to come together. More details to follow…we’re very excited!!

I know it's long overdue!

I know it’s been a couple weeks since my last update. And I apologize. But I have a good excuse. Two, actually.

1. Nothing good/bad to report (no news is good news in my book!)
2. I’ve been so darn busy

I haven’t had a chance to finish the new blog. It’s still a work in progress. I have received everyone’s emails wanting to be added to the list. I haven’t forgotten you. And I promise as soon as the new blog up and ready, I will be emailing you personally.

Now for the quick update: And just in time for Harold’s Round 6 of chemo. He had his lab work completed this morning and Duke is waiting on the results. The nurse said his platelets were good at 126. But she was still waiting on the differential (ANC) results. If that comes back within normal range, he’ll be able to start tomorrow night. It takes the pharmacy a day or so to order the chemo anyhow.

I’ve been pretty busy moving into our new office at work and working in general. So forgive me if I go home at night and don’t even want to look at the computer. Harold has even given me hints…when I walk past him, he’ll say “do you want the laptop?” My response: “Nope. Going to bed.”

Hunter has been in Maggie Valley with his Papa, Uncle Michael, Uncle Jim and Aunt Donna since last Friday. It is Hunter’s first trip to the mountains. So far, he’s gone horseback riding, learning to play pool, playing cards and who knows what else! He’ll be home tomorrow. I miss him so much! Hunter’s last day of school was last Friday. He got all A’s and one B on his report card. We are so VERY proud of him. And he got his EOG scores last week. He made ALL 4’s (which is the highest score)!!! Unbelievable!! Of course, when Hunter told me that the tests were easy, I didn’t realize how easy! He is so smart!

As for Holden, well, he’s missing his brother. He keeps asking me when he’s coming home. Last week, Harold & I fill out the application to get Holden into the Pre-K program at Hunter’s school. He had his test last Thursday. We hope and pray that he gets in. We should know something by the end of this month. *cross your fingers*

On another note, Harold got some upsetting news over the weekend about a friend’s grandson. The family just found out that he has an inoperable brain tumor and he’s only 3 years old. It’s really bothering Harold. He said last night that he wishes that he could do something to help him. I told him, the only thing he can do right now is to pray for that baby and his family (just as everyone has done for us!). Harold has called the family a couple times, offering any kind of assistance that he can. And he has talked about them all weekend. So, I know this is heavy on his mind. This little boy has gone hunting at the Green Swamp with Harold and the guys a couple times.

Please say a prayer for the Jeffries family so that they stay strong!

'til next time...I promise it won't be another 2 weeks!

Round 5 of Chemo is finally complete!

We’re creatures of habit. Even if we know that a certain activity does nothing for us, we continue doing it anyway. And we tend not to look for alternatives.

It’s a lot easier to do the same thing day after day, but do we ever ask ourselves why we do it? Why do we do the same things over and over? For example, how many of you have a morning “routine”…afraid you will forget something if you do it out of order? Been there, doing that!

If I have to do something that’s not part of the usual routine, I may forget something else (such as putting on deodorant or putting on jewelry). Messes my whole day up. I’ve noticed that my boys are the same way. If they have to “think” about doing something that is not a part of their normal routine, it will not get done. (or it will get done and something else will not!)

Similar thing happened at the end of last week. Harold started round 5 of his chemotherapy. We expected Day 1 & Day 2 to be normal nights. We expected Day 3 to be bad and Days 4 & 5 to be even worse. However, Day 3 for Harold started out worse than usual (and out of our normal chemo routine). He woke up and took the boys to school. Then immediately went back home to go to bed. He was nauseous. Extremely. And it lasted until Sunday! It was so bad that he stayed in the bed from Friday to Sunday. He would get up every 4 hours; long enough to get a drink and take another Zofran. He didn’t take his last dose of chemo on Saturday night. He said that he was afraid that he wouldn’t be able to keep it down.

Sunday morning, I called the on-call Neuro-Oncologist at Duke. I couldn’t stand to see him that way. Turns out that the Zofran just quit working for him. He was taking it every 4 hours and it wasn’t even touching his nausea. The doctor suggested that he try phenergen and that it works in a different way than Zofran. Harold’s Dad brought him some and he took it around 2pm on Sunday. Within an hour, he was able to eat something and said he felt 110% better. When Harold’s doctor emailed me late Sunday night to check on him, she wanted Harold to try to take his last dose of chemo. But we didn’t get the email until Monday morning. So, Harold finished his last dose Monday night…two nights later than scheduled.

We were so used to the Zofran working for Harold, but not used to him staying in the bed for 2 or more days. It really messed up our routine. Don't get me wrong...we realize that it could have been worse. It definitely made us realize that we cannot expect each month’s dose to be exactly the same. We need to break the habit of expecting things to go just as planned. 5 rounds of chemo are complete with 7 more to go...

FYI - I’m working on a new blog website. I’m bored with the plain-jane Blogger templates and I’ve found a better host. I’m spending my spare time learning the new site, instead of updating this one. As soon as it’s ready, I will let you know. The new one will be more ‘private’, only available for those receive the ‘invite’. So, if you read the blog, be sure to email me with your email address so I can add you to the list. ksublett@nc.rr.com

Hope everyone has a safe, yet fun, holiday weekend. We have lots to do...as usual. Just hope it goes as “planned”.

Hunter's Blog

Yes, Hunter now has a blog. He asked me about mine...I guess he's heard us all talking about it. When I showed it to him, I told him it was similiar to a diary or journal. And that by putting things down on paper (or typing into a blog entry), it relieves my mind and I actually feel better.

So, I told him that he could write about whatever he wants to write about. And so the saga begins... http://hlovick.blogspot.com

Please post comments....he loves them! I'm not sure how often he will post, but I'm glad he's deciding to give it a try.

Who knows, he may write better than I do! :)

Update on my Ear

I had a follow-up with my doctor's nurse yesterday in Raleigh. I thought I was going to have stitches pulled out, so I made my mom ride with me. (just in case my knees buckled and I wasn't able to drive home!). Turns out, I have stitches...but they are on the inside.

So, when Margaret ripped off my steri-strips, I thought I was going to crawl up the wall. Then, that was it. That's the only reason I drove up there. She can't look inside my ear to check on things because of the packing.

I asked for explanation of what Dr. McElveen really did, because I hadn't known before now. Harold just told me "he fixed it". That's all I had to go by until yesterday.

Turns out, that I did have a cholesteatoma behind my eardrum. Hence the reason he had to cut me open behind my ear. This cyst was very small and they feel certain that all of it was removed and shouldn't come back. Margaret said it was caused by my eardrum laying on top of something else. My eardrum was sucked inwards due to the hole and my eustachian tube doesn't work properly...never has for that matter.

Here's some interesting information provided to me:

• A cholesteatoma is a benign growth of skin in an abnormal location such as the middle ear or petrous apex.
• It can form from an improperly functioning eustachian tube.

The eustachian tube is a canal which connects the middle ear to the back of the nose. It is responsible for equilibrating middle ear pressure to the pressure in the external environment. This tube is normally collapsed in its resting state and when we swallow or yawn, the muscles around the tube contract and cause the tube to open allowing the influx of air into the middle ear space. When this tube does not work appropriately, a relative negative middle ear pressure is generated and maintained. Over time the intact eardrum begins to retract back toward the inner ear. Eventually a skin-lined sac forms which continues to grow and cause infection and bony destruction.

Because I have a 'stapes' prosthetic, he had to go in behind my ear to be sure that it was still working properly. And thank goodness it was! Dr. McElveen removed alot of calcification within my ear and then put some cartilage under my eardrum to support it and prevent it from falling inward again.

All in all, I am pleased with my surgery. Besides a few bumps in the last week, it has been a good experience. Now, once that packing is out of my ear and I can actually hear normal, I'll go back to Raleigh for another hearing test. Hopefully, it has improved too!

I recommend Dr. McElveen to anyone with ear troubles...he is also Duke affiliated.

http://www.carolinaear.com/

P.S. - Hunter made an A+ on his castle! Yippee!! We rock! They studied all about the Knights and Midevil Times and they did a reinactment of a play (that I missed because I was in Raleigh) yesterday. Hunter's "Knight" name was Sir Query (teacher said because he asked so many questions!) Wonder where he gets that? hmmm...

Harold's MRI Comparisons

Just for kicks, I decided to make a side-by-side comparison of Harold's MRIs. I thought I had a copy of the MRI just after his surgery, but I couldn't find it. When I do, I will add it to the picture sequence.

The picture on the left is the Sept 12th MRI. The MRI that built the foundation for this entire journey. That 1-inch black, smokey circle is (was) the Beast. I tried to point it out with the yellow line. It's just on the right side of the line.

The picture on the right is the most recent MRI from April. This is after 6 weeks of radiation and 4 rounds of chemotherapy. You will notice that the black smokey circle is GONE! Amazing! Click on the picture above to view it larger. Check out his nose and eyes!

It's been a L-O-N-G Week!

I slept most of the weekend away and tried to play catchup on housework on Sunday. I've been having some sharp shooting pains in my ear. I'm guessing that it's the nerves healing themselves, but sometimes they really take my breath away. I can feel the packing inside my ear too. Unfortunately, it'll be there until I start my ear drops on June 3rd. I can't believe it will be in there almost a month. Yuck! It also hurts to open my mouth all the way. It feels like it is going to rip off my ear when I try.

Harold babied me on Mother's Day...that was nice. I got McDonalds for breakfast! yum! And they surprised me with a gift certificate for a manicure and pedicure. Now, I just need to find the time to get that done! On Monday and Tuesday, Harold took the boys to school and then drove me to work. I'm glad he did. I'm sure I would have been fine, but I was still uneasy turning my head too fast. Harold says that I don't pay much attention in the car on a normal day!

On Friday morning, I have my surgery follow-up appointment in Raleigh. I think they will take the stitches out; I sure hope I don't feel it!

On to other news:

Harold started Round 5 of chemo last night. His platelets last week were at 125 and this week, they were at 102. Just barely made the cutoff. He tolerated it well last night. He always does on the first 1-2 nights, then the nausea kicks in around night 3.

As for the boys, they have been busy: BASEBALL, BASEBALL, BASEBALL!

My Surgery

I may have to update this blog several times because I don't remember everything. Harold & I got to Raleigh around 4pm Tuesday. And boy am I glad we did! We had the most terrible thunderstorms and tornadoes all around us. We went to Crabtree Valley Mall to get a bite to eat around 5pm and headed back to the hotel around 6pm. That's when the storms got really bad.

The mall was really nice. I've never been to that mall. They had a huge sand sculpture for the Carolina Hurricanes. It was amazing and very detailed. I hope to go back up to the mall to look around.


We arrived at Rex Hospital at 7am so that I could get registered and then to the pre-op room. Once they gave me a valium shot in my hip, I was ready to go. I remember the operating room being VERY cold and I told them I was in a Grey's Anatomy episode! Everyone was so nice. The last I remember is the mask being placed over my nose and mouth. They told Harold that my surgery would take 2 to 2.5 hours. When I woke up, my throat hurt SOOOO bad. Apparently, they have to put this tube down your throat during surgery. My throat hurt worse than my ear.

I had my head wrapped up until early Thursday morning. I don't know exactly what Dr. McElveen did during surgery. I just know that he repaired my eardrum and scraped more calcium out of my inner ear. So, as of today, I don't have any details. Hopefully, when his nurse calls today, I can ask her what he did. If not, I'll ask next Friday when I go up for a follow-up appointment. I don't know if he cut me open behind my ear and went in that way or if he went in through my ear canal. I thought he was going in through my ear canal, but I have a bandage behind my ear and it's extremely tender. I know he was going to skin graff from behind my ear, so maybe that is what hurts so bad. But it feels like there are stitches back there. So, I don't know!

I felt okay yesterday. I was discharged from the hospital around 10am. The drive home made me a little nauseous. I thought my vertigo was going to be really bad from the surgery. But, knock on wood, so far I haven't had any problems with it. My only complaint is the pain. I can't hear out of my ear...there's a bunch of packing inside my ear and it's swollen.

When the boys came home last night, Holden was looking at me as if I was a science project. I don't remember too much. But I remember Hunter rubbing my arm and telling me that he hopes I feel better soon.




I definitely don't feel well today. The pain is worse and I hope tomorrow is better.

Oh and I have to tell you about the phone call from WTVD! Apparently, I won an all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles along with tickets to the final taping of Dancing with the Stars!! Can you believe it!!?? I couldn't! I was ecstatic and then very upset. The taping is next weekend! And I can't fly for 4-6 weeks! Just my luck! I'll probably never have that opportunity again. Gosh, that would have been awesome. I would have left on Friday and came back on Monday. If I had known about that before my surgery, I would have postponed my surgery just to go to that! Unbelievable! I had to forfeit the Grand Prize! Bummer... But they switched me to the 2nd place winner for the contest, which includes an autographed poster, a CD and dance lessons.

Oh well, I did win a trip for 4 to Virginia Beach, VA. 4 days, 3 nights that include meals, tickets to the aquarium and some other stuff. I am hoping to pick up that prize package next Friday when I go back to Raleigh. I've always wanted to go to VA beach too! And my family definitely needs a vacation. What's better than a free one!!

I really need to play the lottery....but I figured I'm too young. You never hear of young families winning the lottery though.

I'll post again later, if I think of anything I may have forgotten. I hope everyone has a great weekend!