A Cup of OJ: April 2013

Happy Birthday Dad!!! Yesterday (April 21st) was Dad's birthday, and oh what a great day we had!! Dad's BFF Kevin and Uncle John flew in this weekend which was SO wonderful, it was just non stop laughter yesterday. Dad wanted to go big this year for his birthday so we got tickets to the Joe Bonamassa concert. Before the concert we ordered in NYPD pizza and feasted like kings.

My favorite picture

We love Uncle John!

Dad and Kevin

Best bros

Happy Birthday!

Well we didn't have any ordinary experience at the concert, let me tell you! After security escorted us all to the front of the ticket line, we took our seats in the SECOND row! Oh yeah, and it was awesome. We were so close we could see Joe Bonamassa's chest hair! I am sure by now most of you are wondering who Joe Bonamassa is...because lets be honest I had never heard of him until we decided to do this. Dad likes to say he is "the next Eric Clapton", and after seeing the concert I believe it! What an incredible guitarist and singer.


So excited

At the end of the concert, Joe threw his guitar pic and Dad got it!!! So great

Dad has been taking it easy since he has been home. He is still draining fluid out of where he had the chest tube in the right lung. Anytime he laughs or coughs fluid will seep out of the wound! Better out than in :) Since it has been leaking so much we started to use maxi pads vs. gauze to cover the wound and its working great! I bet Dad never thought he would ever have to use a maxi pad hahah :) Dad had an appointment with Dr. Siever today. Everything is looking "satisfactory" but after all he went through the last few weeks that is ok. He said he needs to exercise and eat which I'm sure will help with his swelling (yes he is still swollen :( )

We have a few more doctor's appointments lined up the next few weeks, but until then we are taking things day by day! Each day is a blessing and one that he gains more strength than the previous day. Have a great week!

Happy birthday Daddy, we love you!!

Ps...the spot on Dad's shirt is not fluid seepage...but instead pizza grease...just another sign of a great feast :)

What day is it? What is my name? I think that is how we are all feeling right now after a crazy few weeks of hospitals, doctors, tests, and crappy televisions. I apologize for the lack of blog updates, every day I kept saying I would write an update the following day when we got more information but it turned out to be a never ending cycle! Hopefully I can get you caught up to speed :)

Rewind back to the 26th of March, we met with Dad's NEW chemo doctor, Dr. Ejadi, at TGen. We had a great appointment and fell in love with him from the beginning. He listened to Dads entire story, the issues he was having, ect and wasted no time in setting up a plan. He wanted to get a CT scan to see what was going on after the 4 rounds of chemo so he got him in 30 minutes later! By the time Dad got home Dr. Ejadi called Dad back and said he needed to turn around and check himself into the ER because there was fluid around his heart.

Always all smiles, even in the ER

To keep the first few weeks simple, Dad stayed in the hospital for four days to be monitored while they put him on a few medications to get rid of the fluid around his heart. Not only was there fluid but his heart was beating very irregularly, up to 192 beats per minute! Since his hear twas beating so fast, his body was only focusing on his lungs and heart which led to edema (swelling of the limbs). They ended up sending him home because we all agreed that he could rest at home just as he was in the hospital. The next week he was still feeling lethargic, extremely short of breath so he went to see the cardiologist who put him on another medication and sent him home. Three days later we checked him back into the ER because he was just not getting better. Saturday the 6th Dad had surgery to remove the fluid around his heart and in his lungs. They then placed tubes from both lungs and the heart to drain the fluid into little boxes that look like this:

Sleeeeeppppyyy

Dad stayed in the ICU until Tuesday the 9th where they moved him to the telemetry wing because he was doing better. He was good until about 7pm that night and had a big set back. By Wednesday he wasn't able to walk anymore and could barely breath in or out. The nurses didn't think he was going to make it and Dad really didn't think he was going to either. After many answered prayers Dads health was going in an upward direction on Thursday and he started eating, walking, and breathing better. Since then, he is down to one tube in his right lung and has lost at least ten pound of water weight.

Dad has now been in the hospital 10 consecutive days and Lord knows he is bored out of his mind! We moved to the oncology floor yesterday which was exciting because Dad now has a flat screen TV in his room instead of a green tinted RCA TV (imagine watching 4 days of The Masters on a green TV). The right lung is still draining a little bit too much to let him go home so they are going to try another medication to stop the fluid. Praying Dad gets to go home in the next few days, he is getting cabin fever :)

What am I forgetting? A million things I can already tell, but all you need to know is that Dad is doing much better! Thank you all so much for the calls and prayers the last few weeks. I know we don't always return your calls, but just know that we appreciate them regardless. I will update again in the next week when we know more, love you all!