Hello all you wonderful people! I am so grateful for all of you. For your prayers, friendship, love, support, faith, comfort, and encouragement. This journey would be so much harder without you!
So, like my last blog said, I started a new chemotherapy. This chemo is supposed to work well with fast growling cancers. My cancer is considered a fast growing cancer for most patients. My experience has been that it will have these short spurts of growth then be calm for a while. The first cycle went pretty well. No major complaints.
The tumors at the base of the neck (on my right side) were getting bigger and the MRI showed cancer activity in the spine, so we decided to do radiation in-between the chemo doses. I did 10 sessions of radio therapy, as they call it. The sessions were quick and painless. They gave me a bottle of sparking apple cider when I completed my last session.
At this time, I was also having some issues with my voice, so we went to an ENT. He stuck his camera up my noise and down my throat to see what was going on. He saw that my left vocal chord was paralyzed open. It was not moving. The right would open and close, but not the left. I was surprised and really curios as to why my local chord would stop working. The doctor said an infection could caused it. Ponder! Ponder!
The ENT did see something interesting about how I was swallowing it. So he ordered a barium swallow study. The swallow ended up getting scheduled on the same day as the second dose of chemo and the last day of radiation - a very busy day.
We all know the scripture about not running faster than we have strength and to do things in order. Well, the combination of the radio therapy, chemotherapy and swallow study, put me in a spiral downward for a few days. It was rough. Angela was very worried and took me to the ER a couple of times. It was a crazy few days. We hope that it was just the combination of all the things - which we will not do again.
I was sick and very low energy and couldn't keep anything down. I did pull out of it, but am not where I used to be. I don't have as much energy. I am feeling well most of the day as long as I am careful with how much I do and how I eat.
We really hope that this past episode was a one-off and that the rest go like the first.
We have began planning for my passing and what needs to happen before that happens. We have a document that outlines all the things that we need to do. We hope to not have to implement these things for a vary long time, but we do want to be prepared.
The hardest conversation we have had as parents was to Annie just the other day, explaining my situation and the possibility of me passing away. So hard. Tears were shed with that one.
It was suggested to us that we make videos of me congratulating a child as it were some future date and a significant thing has happened in their life (priesthood, temple, mission, marriage, children, college, job, etc... The equipment was give to us as a birthday present and we have started the process.
We are truly hoping that the next several cycles with happen without any significant side effects.
So many miracles have happened over the years. We have been blessed in so many ways. We have so much to be thankful for.
I love you all and am so thankful for you. Your faith, prayers, friendship, love, and encouragement are heaven sent and truly appreciated.
-Doug-
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