The Good and Bad

The good news is that Brian is out of the hospital and is able to take nourishment through his feeding tube. He is tired and has a sore throat from the EGD scope. The doctor places the tube down his esophagus with a balloon attached to the end. Once in place in the stomach the balloon is inflated to prevent it from getting pulled out, yeah no stitches! The bad news is the tumor in the esophagus has grown rapidly and is why he is having so much trouble getting food down. The tumor was biopsied and will be tested for optimal treatment options. His doctors will then conference and get back to us with a plan. The current plan of course is to continue with the radiation therapy to his neck. Brian states he is already breathing better.

Hospital in Zion IL

Brian and I went to a pow pow here in Zion last evening. It was fun to do something different and watch the dancers. 

My prayers are with all the people affected by huricane Irene, especially our friends Julie and Jim in Maine.

Hospital Stay

New update on Brian's health status. He has seen his oncologist and she is going to have more tests run on Brian's previous biopsies to determine what treatment will kill the nasty cancer cells. Yesterday he saw his gastroenterologist and is scheduled to have a gastric feeding tube put in today. Brian has lost 12 more pounds since his last visit to CTCA. He has to stay in overnight and isn't a happy camper. However, it will be for the best to have the tube working properly and get the patient education. He needs to beef up to fight the fight! Radiation has started and his pain level has increased so he has gotten more pain medication for the break through pain. Hopefully, he can get to a comfortable level all the time.

Today I am renting a car so we have a little more freedom of movement around the area. It will be nice to take a drive around Lake Michigan or to a movie, etc.. Bye for now, I will keep on posting.

Made it to Zion!

We made it to Zion IL safely! Can you believe another earthquake the day we traveled? Even though the quake was on the east coast it seems we rock this world when we travel :) Travel is definitely a trying time for Brian due to increased motion sickness susceptibility. Today we see his oncologist and he starts his radiation to the mass on his internal jugular.

Brian and I had a wonderful past weekend. Sharing with friends and family at the Chadron cook off where the Haywaddies played in their final summer show until Brian finishes his treatments. Also, had family and friends converge on our home Sunday to play and visit before our trip to
CTCA.

Fun, fun, and fun! We had a great send off from all. Thanks James and Jay for helping Brian finish up some chores around the home front. I will keep on blogging, maybe more often according to how fast new information surfaces. Love you all!

The Mapping

Brian didn't return home until last night. The trip to and from CTCA was too quick a turn around for him. Brian stayed another night in Zion, IL to recover enough energy to head back home. The radiation mapping wasn't too pleasant either. Laying flat on a hard table with a plastic helmet over half his head shutting off airflow didn't score any points with him either. Brian and I will fly back to the CTCA next week on Tuesday and he will begin radiation treatments on Wednesday. Supposedly the treatments are for only 15 minutes, 5 days per week for 2 1/2 weeks. I pray this will help him sustain life and not have loss of voice or thyroid functions. Brian will be taking his guitar while I will take the computer to pass the time away. Also, plan on renting a car to take in the sites around ( Lake Michigan and maybe Milwaukee) if Brian feels up to it. Not to mention the car can get me to the mall :) I am done with my basic nursing assistant class and now able to concentrate on helping Brian in his next phase to eradicate the cancer monster.

Milwaukee

Brian's sister Melanie and her husband Richard, brother James and Laurie are planning to come and watch Brian play with the Haywaddies in their last show of the season in Chadron, NE. Paqui and Jessamyn and their families are also planning on a rendezvous at the outdoor street dance. One last hurray for the summer!

Mel and Richie

Laurie and James

Happy Eleventh Birthday to Jarret!

On August 10, 2000 our Jarret was born and dubbed Pooh Bear for his pudgy appearance. What a young man he has become. Full of trivia and facts, the research from his inquisitive mind. We love you and happy birthday Jarret! Also birthday greetings go out to Uncle Richard who also has a birthday on the 10th too.

It  has been my last full week of teaching the basic nurses aide class and Monday will be their final day. The time sure has gone by quickly, but I have enjoyed challenging my old brain again.

Marc's back surgery went well last Monday and he was up and walking right away. He had outpatient surgery in Ft. Collins, CO and was told they removed a large bone spur that was pressing on his nerve in his disk. There is still some residual pain in his leg and foot, but they are hoping it will go away once the inflammation recedes. Marc also will be turning down the hill next week when he turns 40 on the 17th. Happy birthday Marc!

Brian continues to struggle with getting enough food down and is having difficulty swallowing. Hopefully, we can get relief when his treatment starts. He is flying to CTCA Monday for just one day and then returns Tuesday after radiation mapping. We don't know when we will fly back for treatment until they do the mapping. Keep him in your prayers, he has had and continues to have a tough road.

Dog Days of Summer

Here is some triva about the dog days of summer. The Dog Days of Summer July 3 - August 11

Everyone knows that the “dog days of summer” occur during the hottest and muggiest part of the season. Webster defines “dog days” as...1 : the period between early July and early September when the hot sultry weather of summer usually occurs in the northern hemisphere
2 : a period of stagnation or inactivity
But where does the term come from? Why do we call the hot, sultry days of summer“dog days?”
In ancient times, when the night sky was unobscured by artificial lights and smog different groups of peoples in different parts of the world drew images in the sky by“connecting the dots” of stars. The images drawn were dependent upon the culture: The Chinese saw different images than the Native Americans, who saw different pictures than the Europeans. These star pictures are now called constellations, and the constellations that are now mapped out in the sky come from our European ancestors.
They saw images of bears, (Ursa Major and Ursa Minor), twins, (Gemini), a bull, (Taurus), and others, including dogs, (Canis Major and Canis Minor).
The brightest of the stars in Canis Major (the big dog) is Sirius, which also happens to be the brightest star in the night sky. In fact, it is so bright that the ancient Romans thought that the earth received heat from it. Look for it in the southern sky (viewed from northern latitudes) during January.
In the summer, however, Sirius, the “dog star,” rises and sets with the sun. During late July Sirius is in conjunction with the sun, and the ancients believed that its heat added to the heat of the sun, creating a stretch of hot and sultry weather. They named this period of time, from 20 days before the conjunction to 20 days after, “dog days” after the dog star.
The conjunction of Sirius with the sun varies somewhat with latitude. And the“precession of the equinoxes” (a gradual drifting of the constellations over time) means that the constellations today are not in exactly the same place in the sky as they were in ancient Rome. Today, dog days occur during the period between July 3 and August 11. Although it is certainly the warmest period of the summer, the heat is not due to the added radiation from a far-away star, regardless of its brightness. No, the heat of summer is a direct result of the earth's tilt.

Heading South

Today we are heading south to Sidney to attend Brian's brother Greg's funeral. It will be an end to a long struggle with with mental illness and alcohol addition. Brian and I thank everyone who has responded and sent condolences. Greg's ashes will be buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Sidney.

Brian is feeling better and getting more stamina each day. He has been trying to swim at least three times per week and has started a long stretch of band gigs every weekend for the month of August. He comes home tired but uplifted. Music is his inspiration and always will be. He will be flying back to CTCA on the 15th of August for his radiation mapping.

Marc, Paqui's husband, has a ruptured disk in his back and is having surgery on Monday August 8th in Greeley CO. We pray that everything goes well and no complications occur. Jessamyn was to have Lasik surgery last Friday in Rapid City, but ended up having PRK instead. She had some complication where the Lasik won't work so had to have the more invasive surgical procedure instead. The outcomes are the same, it just takes longer to heal with PRK.

I have only a couple more weeks of teaching my nurses aide course. It has been an interesting time and a diversion from my everyday worries.  That is it for know, will keep on posting.