Myspace: I'm losing it.

So this morning I went through all the usual motions, but as I was drying my hair, became unsure of whether or not I washed it. No, I don't think I did. And for those who can go a day or so without washing their hair... more power to you, but mine looks crapy when I don't. Hmmm, so for today we'll blame it on being preoccupied and having baby brain. But if this is how it starts... I am a little scared of what lies ahead, but maybe I'll forget that I forgot.


I am already having a little trouble sleeping and my bladder doesn't last the night anymore. Only getting up once or twice, but this is also bound to get worse. Baby is doing good though, and I am puking much less!

My Hero!

His shirt says "If you see Mr. Hodgkin tell him he can have his *@$#! disease back!"


Post hair cut



His Popeye shirt says "Strong to the finish"

Less than a month...

So here we are with less than a month to go of this chemo mess! David had chemo yesterday, May 27; his next will be June 10 and the last June 24... so really he'll be done in less than a month! That's what I keep telling him at least! He did really well between treatments this last time, only three days of feeling crappy and them last Thursday he even said he felt "NORMAL"! I was (and still am) thrilled to hear him say that, since its the first time I have heard it since before surgery in Feb.! He had a really good weekend, helping friends with some lighting outside their home, seeing Indiana Jones and going to a local minor league baseball game this weekend... that all sounds pretty normal to us.

Yesterday and today so far have been about the usual... sleeping, taking his nausea meds, and sleeping some more. I expect he'll lay low today and maybe work tomorrow, we'll see. I attached some pictures for everyone. The first is the ultrasound pic of our little person from about 4 weeks ago. The second is David pre-haircut, and the last two are after the haircut. He made me cut his hair... I didn't want to be the person to do it, and had I known that's what he wanted I might've run out the front door. But it looks great and now he's not shedding everywhere.

I am still dealing with being sick. I tried to convince myself I was done w/ all that, but I was wrong. So my doctor is getting me a prescription that should help that out alot. I have an appointment on Friday, so I'll let you all know how that goes. I am officially in the 2nd trimester today (13 weeks) so hopefully all this sickness will calm down soon! I am still not showing much, I'll send pics when that happens.

David 5-14

So I am a day behind with this one. The score now stands David: 5, Chemo: 0, with 3 to go. I have to tell you how proud I am of David and how he handles most of this. It sucks, don't get me wrong, but he wants to beat this and get it over with! Yesterday was pretty much what we expected; the chemo introduced his fatigue to the nausea and together they seem to wipe him out. He slept through chemo, only waking up when I brought him lunch and then going home. He slept on and off on the couch all evening, ate a big dinner (thank goodness for leftovers!) and was in bed by 9. He has meds for nausea that also cause the sleepiness, but his doctor would rather he be sleepy than nauseous.

He is taking today off and was sleeping when I left. In between the last chemo and this one the nausea came and went daily, he was never rid of it, but it wasn't constant and he never did get sick. He is still losing hair. Every morning it usually looks like a brown cat slept on his pillow, shedding all the time. It is still not noticeable to people who do not see him on a regular basis, no bald patches or anything like that. So hopefully by this evening he'll be feeling a bit better. I will let you all know how he does the next few days.

I am doing fine. Morning sickness seems to be on the way out, I will be sure to throw it a bon voyage party!

Myspace: Baby's First TV Appearance

We saw our little baby for the first time this morning! Everything was great! Hoping to get the pictures scanned in tonight. He/She looks like and is about the size of a gummi bear. We even saw him/her move like he/she was boxing...very cute! Good heartbeat and measuring 10 weeks which is right where we are!


Yay!

It was awesome to see David's reaction to all this- he thought it was pretty cool to see him/her moving!

Halfway...

Today is halfway! David is doing well overall. His doctor was pleased today with how well he has done so far. His lymph nodes weren't palpable again today! His blood counts are good and side effects are still minimal. His hair is thinning, but it is not noticeable. Some will be on his pillowcase in the morning, but that's about it. Looking at him, you wouldn't know. He has had some mild nausea in the last week and today at treatments he is experiencing more than he has in past chemo treatments. Other than that he is tolerating most of it very well. It takes him a few more days each time to get to feeling more like himself. This and that fact that he never really felt sick before are the most frustrating things for him to deal with.

After today he will have 4 treatments left; two in May and two in June and then be done with chemo. From there he'll have radiation. We don't have any firm details on that. From what I have read I expect he with have somewhere between 10-20 radiation treatments. They only take 10minutes and are everyday so it will take a lot less time to complete that part. So we are hoping to be done with all this in August!

Also, for those who haven't heard, we are pregnant, expecting a baby on Dec. 1, 2008. David and I are both thrilled, very excited and looking forward to meeting him/her. I feel OK for the most part. I have much more nausea than David (which we laugh about all the time) but it should be getting better in the next few weeks. We are 9 weeks this week and have an ultrasound on Friday morning. We are hoping to scan the pictures in so we can share them!

Moving, steadily...

Yes this year seems to be a crash course of sorts! Craziness for sure! We've got the idea that if there were a contest for most "eventful" first year of marriage we could win that award!

David is doing very well with chemo. No hair loss or terrible side-effects to speak of. He will have his 4th of 8 treatments next Tuesday and then be half way. He says he no longer feels like himself. This is something we expected. it's called "chemo-brain", like there is a fog there. In between treatments it's not getting better as it did the first and second times. So we know it'll take a while to wear off even when all this is over. I think this is one of the most frustrating side effects for David.

He has been working all week and getting gaming in too. He finished school a week or so ago with an A of course. We just try to keep laughing and sometimes forget there's more chemo to come.

This week...

So, chemo is really starting to get to David. He hasn't felt like himself this week. I think this is the most annoying side-effect he could have. His stomach has bothered him some but not nausea related.

I feel so bad for him. I wish I could make him feel better or make this go away but the reality is that this may be his reality until chemo is over and even then it may take a while to really feel David-Normal again. This sucks. Imagine not being comfortable in your own skin.

I will say all that, but then I will say I came home last night, exhausted and he was watching one of the Lethal Weapon movies and as soon as I get settled I hear him laughing. Thank goodness for funny movies that remind you that laughter is GREAT medicine.

I want him to beat this and come out the other side stronger and still David. Anyone who knows David, loves David. When we first started dating my family liked him, my papa who said he'd never like any guy I might want to marry, loved David. My friends love David. It's really fun to talk to them and they always remember "Tell Dave I said what's up!" He is loved. He has a huge family telling everyone they know to pray for him. Keep praying!

Last weekend.

I have been meaning to write this all week long. Yep, it's been one of those weeks!

We had a great weekend. My uncle Mark and his three kids came into town last Thursday and were here until Sunday afternoon. Also, my brother, his girlfriend and their two boys came into town over night on Friday.

Everyone came in to see our grandmother for her 71st birthday. My cousins had not see Gram for almost 3 years, so it was a very good thing for her to see them all. She seems to be adjusting very well to the nursing home. I think the consistency of seeing people, having a roommate and social activities are exactly what they need to be doing for her. She knew everyone, but mixed up names some, but that's no biggie. We all (minus my bother and his family) met at Cracker Barrel on Thursday night and my gram sat next to David and acted as though he was her date. It is really cute; I think his sense of humor and general demeanor remind her of my grandfather who passed away in 1999. It must be very comforting to see the reflection of someone you lost, but were married to for more than 45 years, in someone you know even now. David never met my grandpa, but he has some characteristics that remind us all of how sweet grandpa was.

On Friday we all went to the local part and the kids played for almost two hours. Saturday we took Gram lots of balloons and some flowers and spent about an hour talking with her on her birthday. She seemed to enjoy this time, but I think it may have been overwhelming to have all that attention. That afternoon we went to the zoo. All the kids had a great time. The elephants and giraffes were awesome. Afterwards, we went to Jillian's, a huge arcade-- that was a great idea! That evening my brother left. Sunday, David and I met my uncle and his kids out at the beach boardwalk and rode a 4 person bike/cart thing. It was super fun.

We really enjoyed spending so much time with my uncle and cousins (ages 16, 12, 6). They are all very outgoing and game for just about anything. We are looking forward to seeing them again.

David....4-16-08

David had chemo 3 of 8 yesterday. It went as expected. Just like the last ones. He has a good banter with the doc and nurses and I think that helps him get through the day.

He still has ALL his hair and isn't really facing any other side effects! He is really looking forward to getting this all over with and that's what we talk about most right now.

He is working today, and this is a first to work the day after chemo.

His doctor said yesterday that his blood counts looked good. And my favorite part.... She didn't feel any lymph nodes in his neck!!!!! One over visits she has been able to feel some swollen lymph nodes on the right side of the neck, but not yesterday! This is HUGE! It is awesome to know his body is kicking this cancer out and he's only 3 treatments in! That's about it. If I missed something let me know.