Wednesday, May 27, 2009
"that darn seizure!"
Dear Family and Friends,This last 2 weeks has been challenging in many ways. 5/8 at 12:30 am we went to ER as a precautionary measure because Cody seemed confused and disoriented. While there, he got very sick (from chemo the previous day) and his feet started tingling..then the tingling sensation went all the way up his legs. Then his legs hurt to touch and he lost some mobility from the waist down. We had some tests run, we were assigned a walker and a wheel chair, given IV pain narcotics and sent home 5/18. We rested a couple of days then ventured out and strolled Laguna in our new wheels and met friends for lunch. We had a wonderful day with our friends and rediscovering our little town. The following day, he was up for visitors; so friends (old and young) stopped by. The boys (and girl :) - his cousin) had a blast playing with his new gift. Treasured times.My good friend from Washington state was here helping out for a few days. Great diversion for me. We decided to run some quick errands. Dave and Cody were just going to relax at home. While at the bank I got a frantic call from Dave that Cody had a seizure and paramedics were on the way. The decision was made to go to Mission rather than St. Joseph ER due to the desire to get him quickly stabilized and Friday traffic may delay his delivery to ER. Once stabilized, we were transferred to CHOC. While getting him settled in his room, he had another seizure so they transferred us to PICU to be observed more closely.He is now at OICU and doing well. He will likely be transferred to a regular room today or tomorrow and hopefully coming home by Wednesday. Some mobility to his hands and lower torso has returned and each day is better than the previous. We will likely start physical therapy this week and are optimistic that he will regain all of his mobility.Cody absolutely is an inspiration for all of us to heed. I shake my head and thank God. Even with all that is going on, he doesn't complain, smiles and retains his remarkable sense of humor. Friday night, he just said "that darn seizure!" He remains with a great attitude (thank you for your prayers). We have a couple of older adult friends that were recently diagnosed with different cancers, but having to face radiation and chemo and the "C" word.... they are so inspired by Cody, they are asking him for pointers for strength and courage. Thank you for your continued prayers. Our prayer this week would be that the mobility for everything be regained swiftly and the tumors diminish to nothing and stay away forever.....and praise for gifting us with many family and friends that encourage and support us through this.In His Grip,The Days
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Darn cancer, darn chemo PLEASE PRAY
Dear Family and Friends,
Thursday night, at 11:30 PM, Cody woke up disoriented and confused, so we ended up in ER to check him out. He had radiation on Wednesday and chemo and radiation on Thursday so was worrisome that he was so confused. We were thinking it would be just a short visit, however, while there, he got very sick and lost everything he had, to the point of dry heaving time and time again...causing him much pain in his stomach. At about 6:30 AM we were transferred over to CHOC. Friday afternoon he got a CT scan just to make sure all is OK on his brain. There was nothing on the scan to warrant concern.
Friday he was unable to eat or drink anything. Even water made him sick. He is hooked up to IV for hydration and nutrition. Today he was able to keep little bits of water down...and took a walk in the halls; so this is an improvement we were praying for. The doctors expect him to feel good enough to come back home on Monday. Darn cancer, darn chemo. Is so hard to see him in such pain. We pray 24/7 for his returned health and grateful for every little step forward.
Please pray that the pain in his stomach goes away and his appetite returns quickly.
Thank you for your continued prayers.
The Days
Thursday night, at 11:30 PM, Cody woke up disoriented and confused, so we ended up in ER to check him out. He had radiation on Wednesday and chemo and radiation on Thursday so was worrisome that he was so confused. We were thinking it would be just a short visit, however, while there, he got very sick and lost everything he had, to the point of dry heaving time and time again...causing him much pain in his stomach. At about 6:30 AM we were transferred over to CHOC. Friday afternoon he got a CT scan just to make sure all is OK on his brain. There was nothing on the scan to warrant concern.
Friday he was unable to eat or drink anything. Even water made him sick. He is hooked up to IV for hydration and nutrition. Today he was able to keep little bits of water down...and took a walk in the halls; so this is an improvement we were praying for. The doctors expect him to feel good enough to come back home on Monday. Darn cancer, darn chemo. Is so hard to see him in such pain. We pray 24/7 for his returned health and grateful for every little step forward.
Please pray that the pain in his stomach goes away and his appetite returns quickly.
Thank you for your continued prayers.
The Days
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Cody started radiation on Wednesday
Dear Family and Friends,
Cody started radiation today. He will be getting radiation treatments tomorrow and Friday; then Monday - Friday for the next 2 weeks. In addition to tomorrows radiation, he will also get chemo and chemo again in three weeks....if he tolerates it. This is the plan, but is subject to change. In a month, he will have another MRI to check the status of the job chemo and radiation is doing
He has made great strides in improvement since his month stay at the hospital. This new treatment will likely knock him down again. We are taking every precaution to nip it in the bud, before it becomes a problem. This evening he was very tired...but can still manage a smile.
Please pray that he does well with this new treatment and the treatment does what it is supposed to do....kick the cancer out; and that he can eat and drink and his stomach won't hurt.
Thank you for your very needed and continued prayers,
The Days
Cody started radiation today. He will be getting radiation treatments tomorrow and Friday; then Monday - Friday for the next 2 weeks. In addition to tomorrows radiation, he will also get chemo and chemo again in three weeks....if he tolerates it. This is the plan, but is subject to change. In a month, he will have another MRI to check the status of the job chemo and radiation is doing
He has made great strides in improvement since his month stay at the hospital. This new treatment will likely knock him down again. We are taking every precaution to nip it in the bud, before it becomes a problem. This evening he was very tired...but can still manage a smile.
Please pray that he does well with this new treatment and the treatment does what it is supposed to do....kick the cancer out; and that he can eat and drink and his stomach won't hurt.
Thank you for your very needed and continued prayers,
The Days
Monday, May 04, 2009
We Are Finally Home!
Dear Family and Friends,
We are finally home! Cody did well transitioning home and was happy to be in his own bed....me too. We are all in good spirits and look forward to spending time together .
Before we left the hospital, we met with the radiologist to go over our new plan. He will get 14 treatments of radiation to his entire spine over the next 3 weeks. On Monday we go to get "fitted" for his mask that is required to bolt his head down to the table while they radiate...they want to be right on target; in addition, he will get the positioning "tattoos" . He is not looking forward to this but is psyching himself up. We may also start chemo next week pending his white cell and platelet counts. The chemo plan is to be all out patient and is not as potent as the first round. The sooner we get started the better as to not give the tumors a chance.
Our prayer would be that he get a ferocious appetite, that the tumors disappear; never to return and his health completely restored. As a friend recently said, "Cody is my hero and inspiration", he is ours too.
Thank you for your continued prayers. It is awesome to see God at work, not only in our lives, but in many lives that Cody has touched in some very profound ways.
All His,
The Days
We are finally home! Cody did well transitioning home and was happy to be in his own bed....me too. We are all in good spirits and look forward to spending time together .
Before we left the hospital, we met with the radiologist to go over our new plan. He will get 14 treatments of radiation to his entire spine over the next 3 weeks. On Monday we go to get "fitted" for his mask that is required to bolt his head down to the table while they radiate...they want to be right on target; in addition, he will get the positioning "tattoos" . He is not looking forward to this but is psyching himself up. We may also start chemo next week pending his white cell and platelet counts. The chemo plan is to be all out patient and is not as potent as the first round. The sooner we get started the better as to not give the tumors a chance.
Our prayer would be that he get a ferocious appetite, that the tumors disappear; never to return and his health completely restored. As a friend recently said, "Cody is my hero and inspiration", he is ours too.
Thank you for your continued prayers. It is awesome to see God at work, not only in our lives, but in many lives that Cody has touched in some very profound ways.
All His,
The Days
Friday, May 01, 2009
donating blood and/or platelets
Dear Family and Friends,
More Praise...
The good news in a nut shell is that things are looking up and we may be able to come home in a couple of days. Counts have improved, tumors are smaller, no more rash, he is eating and walking around, his sinus infection is cleared, he has gained his weight back and we now know the mystery "thing" on his lungs is a yeast infection. The infection is being treated with antibiotics and should be gone in 4 - 6 weeks. We should have our new treatment plan/map in the next day or two as the original chemo was just too much for his body to handle, hence all of the problems he encountered and almost daily transfusions of blood and/or platelets AND Cody's spirits are still good even after all he has been through in the last month. God gave us an amazing boy.
Since Friday, many things have come about. He developed a rash over his entire body, which could be a number of things. The doctors eliminated or changed some of the many drugs etc. he is/was on to try and determine the culprit. After 2 days that all cleared up, cause still unknown. Could have been the transfusions.
Saturday and Sunday they harvested his stem cells. He had to have an additional catheter placed in his groin area for the procedure, which was uncomfortable, but he was a trooper. After 2 days of harvesting (5 hours each day that he had to be still) it was determined that we were not collecting enough to warrant additional days to harvest this time around so will have to do this again at the end of his next cycle of chemo. Argh... After the first day of harvesting, we were told that he had a good harvest, which we were excited about, however, the person calculating, miscalculated..so this information was very disappointing as we only got 4% of what we needed rather than the 73% we thought we had.
Three days ago they started him on marinol (a marijuana derivative) to help with his appetite and nausea. It was doing a good job as he ate in a big way. The next day they doubled the dose. Oops...too much. He was a lethargic lump for two days and was seeing and hearing things that weren't really there. Needless to say, they reduced the dose immediately.
Several people have inquired about donating blood and/or platelets. I spoke with the blood bank about designating donations to Cody. They recommended calling first to do a phone interview, then setting up a time to come in. The phone number is
714-532-8339
. They are located across the street from CHOC at: 505 S. Main St. Suite 185, Orange, CA. 92868-3874. Donating blood takes about an hour and platelets take about 2 1/2 hours.
It is overwhelming to think about how many people are praying for Cody...from all corners of the world. We so appreciate your prayers,love, generosity and kindness.
Thank you so very much,
The Days
More Praise...
The good news in a nut shell is that things are looking up and we may be able to come home in a couple of days. Counts have improved, tumors are smaller, no more rash, he is eating and walking around, his sinus infection is cleared, he has gained his weight back and we now know the mystery "thing" on his lungs is a yeast infection. The infection is being treated with antibiotics and should be gone in 4 - 6 weeks. We should have our new treatment plan/map in the next day or two as the original chemo was just too much for his body to handle, hence all of the problems he encountered and almost daily transfusions of blood and/or platelets AND Cody's spirits are still good even after all he has been through in the last month. God gave us an amazing boy.
Since Friday, many things have come about. He developed a rash over his entire body, which could be a number of things. The doctors eliminated or changed some of the many drugs etc. he is/was on to try and determine the culprit. After 2 days that all cleared up, cause still unknown. Could have been the transfusions.
Saturday and Sunday they harvested his stem cells. He had to have an additional catheter placed in his groin area for the procedure, which was uncomfortable, but he was a trooper. After 2 days of harvesting (5 hours each day that he had to be still) it was determined that we were not collecting enough to warrant additional days to harvest this time around so will have to do this again at the end of his next cycle of chemo. Argh... After the first day of harvesting, we were told that he had a good harvest, which we were excited about, however, the person calculating, miscalculated..so this information was very disappointing as we only got 4% of what we needed rather than the 73% we thought we had.
Three days ago they started him on marinol (a marijuana derivative) to help with his appetite and nausea. It was doing a good job as he ate in a big way. The next day they doubled the dose. Oops...too much. He was a lethargic lump for two days and was seeing and hearing things that weren't really there. Needless to say, they reduced the dose immediately.
Several people have inquired about donating blood and/or platelets. I spoke with the blood bank about designating donations to Cody. They recommended calling first to do a phone interview, then setting up a time to come in. The phone number is
714-532-8339. They are located across the street from CHOC at: 505 S. Main St. Suite 185, Orange, CA. 92868-3874. Donating blood takes about an hour and platelets take about 2 1/2 hours.It is overwhelming to think about how many people are praying for Cody...from all corners of the world. We so appreciate your prayers,love, generosity and kindness.
Thank you so very much,
The Days
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