Chemo Round 3 Sept 3rd-Sept 9th

Sept 3rd. They do bloodwork and get the central line put in his arm, but do not start chemo because they are concerned he might have a sinus infection, so they do a catscan. All looks fine, so they say they will start chemo. A fellow of Dr Strair's comes to see him... and we discover that there is a totally different plan for this round of chemo. Chris is pretty surprised because no one informed us prior that there would be 2 spinal taps involved. Thats a lot to take in when you are expecting bags of chemo going in with IV... and nothing else. So, its some more citarabine... I should really remember the spelling. And some methatrxate (which is green liquid)-- there is an initial bag and then a 24 hour bag they start. They have to interupt the 24-hour bag to take him down to MRI.
Remember back in early August (before Lew's visit) they had admitted him when his counts were low. They wanted to do MRIs back then... then they decided it could wait a couple weeks. Yea, well, on August 25th, we got a call from MRI asking where Chris was. Apparently they scheduled it for August 25th and never told him. We were still waiting for a call .. They ALWAYS call the day before about all procedures and surgeries and scans. I wanted to kill this woman.. could barely understand her and swore she called him twice and mailed something. All of a sudden on the 25th, she couldnt reach him when he didnt show up and find my number.. Likely story. Ugh...
Anyways, they had rescheduled the MRIs with anastesia for September 5th, and now he is in-patient getting chemo.
So... they interupt the 24-hour bag and take him down to MRI. I go home for a few hours to get some stuff and i get back by 10pm.. he was supposed to be done by 9:30. He didnt get upstairs til 11 :( they had to put him all the way under (intibate). Poor Chris had a sore throat for a few days. Anyways... chemo continues and the first spinal is done the next day Sat Sept 6. (this is actually his 2nd spinal, cus he had one in June)
This spinal is done bedside by a fellow and another doctor. They numb you, have you bent over the hospital tray. They poke and get spinal fluid. Then after they retrieve fluid to test, they put some chemo in. Doesnt sound pleasant.
Sept 7th is his last day of chemo. He cannot go home yet because they have to test blood for certain levels.. make sure the green methotrexate chemo is out of his system. Sept 9th he is discharged. He will have to come back in 5 days or so for a 2nd spinal which is pretty typical with this course of chemo. But it will be outpatient

Recovering From Chemo Round 2... other complications

Ok... so Chris is getting better bloodwork-wise. We have a few weeks before Chemo Round 3... but we have to get that finger resolved,,, you know about the finger? or no? Chris had a little tiny bump on his left middle finger for years...

After the first round of chemo it started getting bigger. And then it got bigger and bigger.. literally 3 times the size of his finger. It looked painful and it was painful..

Dr Partridge saw him in the hospital and was ready to biopsy it as soon as his counts were up after Chemo Round 2. After counts start going back up, Chris has terrible tendinitis pain one day. - August 15th to be exact. We go to see Jackie (Dr Strair's right hand woman- Nurse- Bone Marrow Coordinator). They talk to him about admitting him... but it could take days to get MRI scheduled. He does not want to spend the weekend in the hospital just waiting for tests. He gets a quick x-ray. Nothing looks bad... he is better in a day or so. So, Chris has the biopsy done of his finger on August 20th. It comes back non-cancer-- its a pseudo tumor.

Now we have some time to chill at home before Round 3 of chemo starts. Dr Strair calls before Labor Day weekend but they were getting final pathology on the finger biopsy and waiting for rooms to be available.. so We get to stay home for Labor Day weekend.. we go back to the hospital September 3rd. I am attaching photos of his finger that will have to be fixed after Chemo Round 3

Chris's Brother Lew, Jen, Jeanie, Matt Visit...Aug 9th

Chris is feeling a lil blah still.. but rests up and is excited for the day of their visit... Chris has not seen his brother Lew in about 2 years ... and will be meeting his girlfriend Jen for the first time. Chris, Lew, and Matt havent been together in a very long time. And, I am excited to finally meet Lew and Jen. I had originally planned on having all week to plan for this visir/BBQ... but being in the hospital unexpectedly during the week (tues, wed, thurs) set me back... so ....
I run around getting last minute stuff... Burgers, dogs, making slow cooked pork, making salads: cole slaw, salads, blueberry cobbler, and other snacks are on board...
We have soooo much fun... I love Chris' brothers.. My parents love them too.. Jen is sooo sweet and we are so sad that they live in Florida... Matt is an hour away in north Jersey so we will see him more, I hope... my best friend Jeanie also came by to join in the fun and meet Chris' brothers... as well as my brother's friends Andrew, Rob, Chris L... and some others.. it was a fun day
I am attaching some pics... Chris and his brothers had fun posing for some brother photos... then there is Lew and I... and a pic of some internet viewing fun...

We are thankful Chris's timeline of chemo and hospitalizations allowed for a smooth home visit and day with brothers and Jen... we cannot wait to see them all again

Chemo Round 2 - July 22-27 & the weeks following

Time to go in for more chemo... this time the citerabine (spelling?) is stronger but its one day on and one day off... This time, we need eye drops because the chemo can cause MAJOR itching or burning.
Annoyance #1-- we get in there in the morning that day. Well, not me.. my dad brought him... and they did not get the central line put in until the afternoon... Central line is not a triple lumen in the neck this time... Its a central line in the arm. then, they still cannot start chemo because the doc never ordered bloodwork... and without bloodwork, pharmacy will not make chemo for him
So, we wasted a day in the hospital.. grrrr
They are able to start at like 5am. Anyways... On Day 5, we get discharged... woohooo! Now its back to bloodwork every few days and waiting til Chris is neutrapenic...
Lets see... He is feeling pretty good one day and he takes me up to Clifton and shows me around where he grew up. Then we go to Hot Grill.... I had it once and didnt realize it cus it was when i was in the north jersey office for work.
Their chili dogs are great.. yummmo...
Chris goes in for an appointment as his CBCs are dropping... and because he has had so many headaches and his counts are so low, they admit him. He is not happy. Whenever there are certain symptoms they rush to take action. His leukemia is rare and on the bones, so any spinal related issues, or pains, cause concern. In fact, one time he went in to same day for bloodwork, and mentioned headaches... they did a catscan right there and made him wait for results before sending him home...
Anyways, they admit Chris because he was anemic. They transfuse him with platelets and then red blood. They want to do MRIs cus of his headaches and major fatigue..
He tries to tell them that he needs to be knocked out. he is very claustrophobic and when he had an MRI at JFK, they had to put him out for it. This time, they try making him do it with just Ativan and it doesnt go well. Chris freaks and they decide they will have to re-schedule with Anastesia...
Anyways, his CBCs are back up. he is feeling better. The MRI is no longer an emergency and they let him go home. Chris is a happier camper now because he (understandably) does not wan to he in the hospital to wait around for tests They schedule the MRI for a couple weeks out.
THis discharge is good timing because his brother Lew and his gf Jen are up for a week of vacation from Florida... We are having them over on Saturday August 9th (my mom's birthday) and he is discharged on August 7th after 2-3 days in the hospital....
Now, he gets to see Lew and I get to meet him and we meet Jen...
YAY!!

In between Chemo 1 and Chemo 2- July 4 to July 22

So... starting July 4th, Chris gets to be home for a few weeks before the next chemo. We have Lauren, Lorraine, Ray, Christine, Mike, Ben, and I forget who else come over for a 4th of July BBQ. It was crappy outside so we stayed inside. It was nice for Chris to finally be home.

Oh I forgot to mention, when I brought Chris home the night before... it was wonderful.. Homecoming... He saw his cat Rex for the first time in a month. It was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I know this sounds silly... but me and my mom were all teary watching them re-unite... Rex was so happy to see Chris and I know Chris was sooo happy too... I miss Rex whenever I am not home.. I cannot imagine how it is for Chris to be without Rex for a month.
4th of July is nice.. we watch fireworks on tv...

We have bloodwork appointments, and doctor appointments. Bloodwork looks good. We meet with the urologist. Basically, they are recommending the removal of the other testicle - we are pretty prepared for this.. but its real now. Surgery is scheduled. Although Chris has gotten chemo, and will be getting more, the testicles are unfortunately a hiding place for cancers AND chemo does not reach the testicle as well as it reaches other parts of the body. The doctors feel it is best to just remove the 2nd testicle to play it safe. The intense chemo would probably leave him infertile anyways.. and we have already stored some sperm. We agree its best for Chris to go through with the surgery...

During this time home, my dad was a HUGE help. He was still home on disability from his hip replacement. Go figure. But, he was doing well and drove chris to a lot of appointments and tests. I dont know how i would have handled this without my dad's help. My boss is extremely understanding and flexible... I work from home when I have to on afternoons or mornings, but I try to not miss too much work and save time for when he has the transplant. My dad being off for all of this was God-sent. He went back to work at the end of September.
In July, Chris had a pet scan. .. July 11th to be exact... Chris has an appointment on July 15th and they reviewed the petscan....Things looked great. No leukemia activity... spine leisions were gone or much smaller. The only place there is any activity is the groin area,,, but we are removing the testicle anyways... Chemo seems to be working... July 18th the 2nd testicle is removed... He spends a few days recovering... He feels well enough to come with me to Jeanie's house for her birthday barbeque on July 20th.... although its a bbq, he is not well enough to be outside in the hot sun, but is still able to enjoy being out that day... Now Round 2 of Chemo is scheduled... Here we go...