Hi Everyone! Well this week has flown by it seems...Dad played another golf game on Friday with the neighbors and spent the weekend hangin out! Monday, one of Dad's best friends from high school came into town for the day. They spent most of their time either in Best Buy or crankin tunes in the car..typical! They also let me join them for lunch at the Cheesecake Factory (Perfect place to plump Dad up!).
I am only speaking for myself, but I must say I had the best Valentines Day ever! Mom, Dad, Kristen and I all went out for dinner at a local favorite of ours, CK's and then I suckered everyone into seeing "The Vow" with me. It was so much fun and so nice to have a night away from thinking about the "C" word.
Well today was day 1 of the Chemotherapy. We got to the oncology office bright and early and started the morning off with "chemo school". Roxanne is the Clinical Nurse Navigator and her job is to educate everyone on everything chemo. Long story short she went over the possible side effects and how to manage his diet. When we were done we walked back out to the waiting room only to find Dad's really good friend, Cunningham! It was such a great surprise and I know Dad really enjoyed hanging with him and taking a break from us girls and all our questions haha!
Dad got his blood work done (which he will get done every time he comes for chemo) and that will check a lot of different things but what we really care about are his white blood cell count, red blood cell count, and the platelet count. They then took us back to the chemo room, which if I am being honest was a little eerie. After Dad got the IV in his arm the nurse asked if Dad had taken his Decadron...we all gave her a confused look and said we had never heard of it and he had only taken the Emend (anti-nausea). Apparently Dad was supposed to be on this steroid (something else to help the nausea) and no one ever relayed the message or called it in. This was the SECOND big thing regarding his treatment that was not relayed (the first was that between the transfer of offices, no one informed him that he needed to meet with the Radiologist...we found this out by Roxanne asking Dad if he was starting Radiation today...we had not heard anything about this) and it was very unsettling to say the least. They fixed both miscommunications though!
We wanted to talk to Dr. Roberts (Dad's oncologist) too, so we nicely asked (forced) them to let us meet with him, even though we didn't have an appointment. Dad noticed yesterday the lymph nodes on his left side were really swollen and since they showed up on the PET scan as having some cancer cell growth we wanted to be sure it was ok. Dr. Roberts seemed to think it was normal and said they would give him something for it...I may need to get used to his lack of bedside manner...But we don't need a Mr. Congeniality, just a Mr. Expertise!
Chemo went like this:
- Aloxy- 20 minutes, another anti nausea drip
- Decadron, 20 minute drip, (this is the steroid I talked about earlier)
- 50 mg of bennedryl, prevents allergic reaction to chemo..also made dad tired!
- Saline drip- 2 hours, to keep him hydrated
- Alitma, 1st chemo drug, 10 minutes
- Cisplatin, 2nd chemo drug, 2 hours
Dad got a little nap in while he was getting all these liquids (which
was amazing because the chairs were very uncomfortable) and honestly
just hung out all day. It was a longggg 6-7 hour day but Dad is such a
warrior and I am so incredibly proud of him. He doesn't have chemo for 3
weeks but has two appointments next Wednesday, one with the Radiologist
and one with Dr. Siever to check on the fluid in his lung.
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| One of my best friends made Dad a new lucky shirt, which he sported today :) |
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| Hangin out in the most un-comfy chairs alive...where da lazy boys at?! |
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| Walkin around |
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| Showin off his IV's |
8 comments:
HI OJ!! What a great smile and warrior's spirit you have, I want you to know that I continue to pray for God's healing touch as well as sending positive thoughts your way!!
Thank you Layne for keeping us up to date on everything, you and your sister are wonderful daughters!!
Cheering you on during this fight!!! Luv, Cynthia
OJ the Warrior!! Atta boy Oj! Thinking of you man!
I sent you a message last week when Layne was posting golf photos with Cunninvham!!! ( but somehow I didn't get logged in on the blog) I Finally figured it out today. I was just saying...you really wanna be seen hanging with that clown? Haha...so glad you are enjoying the April days in March..and getting out and about. Your life has taken on some challenges Oj ..but everyone at work is sending the best for you..and misses you..one day at a time my friend. Sending lots of love from myself and all your buds at work! Hope chemo is settling into A+ power fight mode in your body.love you..Everybody does!! Big Hug! Connie butler
We are praying for you all and know that these are trying but joyful times. OJ your smile has always been contageous and as I look through the pictures, I still feel the need to smile back, even though you can't see me! Know there are more people out here praying for you than you can even imagine and will continue to as you go through this process.
Much love to you all~
Aileen Bell
You write so beautifully Layne. I continue to pray for your family daily. It is a blessing to know your mother and father.
Michelle Lefler, 8185 PHX
We are saying our Prayers, Keep Smiling that awesome smile Mr. Alexander.
Great sharing Layne - keep it going. I'm thinking 'The OJ' needs to make a coffee table book called "How to go thru chemo smiling" - Keep those pearly whites shining Sir OJ.
Sincerely - The LG (or Lyn Graft - Cindy's brother) :-)
“I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.”
~ Mother Theresa
Hi OJ--
Lyn Graft is a friend of mine (if he'll claim me!), and he told me about your current journey with cancer. I'm a longtime survivor of bone cancer and I currently work at LIVESTRONG, Lance Armstrong's foundation.
Just wanted to send you a note of support and to let you know that we are rooting for you! (Although you seem to have the market cornered on love and support, by the looks of it in this amazing blog.) ;-)
Please let us know if there is any way we can be of service as you continue your treatment.
Best,
Heidi Adams
LIVESTRONG
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