We got our first look at the Hyperbolic Oxygen Chamber... pretty cool looking. There can be I believe the guys said 10 people at a time and it has a TV in it where they show movies, today's was President John Quincy Adams. Dr Patrick Downing is the doctor and there are two guys and a lady we met with... all extremely nice. The Dr has a great sense of humor. Once again St Mary's has my complete respect.
Downing gave me the once over in an exam to see if I was truly a candidate, and I was. He explained into depth every aspect including the history of the chamber. He also went into depth also on the possibilities of the side effects which are stroke and seizure. Ok, that isn't very good side effects but they are rare. That is funny since I believe it is my middle name, lol. Tonight, Denise and I go over the what if this or that happens and what my wishes are. That is, if I can't do life as I enjoy it, let me go home with dignity... no artificial life support of any kind. I'm placing that up here so no hassle will come to her or argument as to what should be done. According to what we were previously told it could also trigger the cancer back.
I will have to wear scrubs and socks and no metal, especially titanium. Funny, I think that is what my stints and anchors are made of. Hopefully I won't go BOOM, lol. No glasses since that is what my eyeglasses are made from. The sessions last about 2 hours from start to finish. That is making ready and decompressing included. I was under the impression that it would last for two weeks but Downing says about 33 sessions. I'm not sure i can do that much TV, lol.
Denise said my TSH levels are still normal at 2.9, whatever that is, lol. Today has been a fair day, loads of pain and bleeding so I have stayed pilled up a bit. My voice has been as usual, Downing said it sounded like The Godfather, lol. I like this guy. He is straight up yet funny. Brutally honest and blunt. This is what I need. So far, I have been blessed with the best doctors and nurses out there. Downing said that he had the only medicine that could help me now. It is either do it or let my voice leave as my throat closes off and I smother to death. A rock and a hard place???
Denise talked the lady at National Geographic's Beyond and Back. She was interviewed over the phone. The lady said either her or Robin would be calling soon with the travel dates and arrangements. Bill and me went to pick up our metal we both bought, not together but separately, but we went and picked them both up. On the way back, man did we ever hit a great yard sale full of tools. The back of his truck was getting full, lol. We were going to pull the float with Big Ugly but they guy that put the bed together and on apparently had no concept of gravity when it came to the fuel spouts. I repaired one and I have one to go. That leads us to now... bedtime.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
04-13-2010
I am dreading tomorrow. Denise has all the details on how the treatment should go and it doesn't sound too bad. We shall see. Its longer than radiation yet shorter than chemo, lol.
Today I've kept fairly active until the afternoon and I ran out of fuel, lol. These sudden bouts of extreme fatigue that come about out of nowhere are annoying at the least. I'm wondering if it is not due to the effort it takes to breathe and the pain level. The two seem to be connected.
This day has also been a day of balance issues which has been rough. Usually I have a few episodes but today has seemed like one big episode. I did sneak in an additional pill for the neuropathy last night which has seemed to help a little today, but its not worth that price. Today is the first time I even got off balance sitting down. What I have personally noticed s don't look up high or down low. No quick twisting of the head or body and not getting up fast.
My pain level has soared today and I did take measures to keep it manageable. It wasn't all day but most of the day.
Today I've kept fairly active until the afternoon and I ran out of fuel, lol. These sudden bouts of extreme fatigue that come about out of nowhere are annoying at the least. I'm wondering if it is not due to the effort it takes to breathe and the pain level. The two seem to be connected.
This day has also been a day of balance issues which has been rough. Usually I have a few episodes but today has seemed like one big episode. I did sneak in an additional pill for the neuropathy last night which has seemed to help a little today, but its not worth that price. Today is the first time I even got off balance sitting down. What I have personally noticed s don't look up high or down low. No quick twisting of the head or body and not getting up fast.
My pain level has soared today and I did take measures to keep it manageable. It wasn't all day but most of the day.
Monday, April 12, 2010
04-12-2010 Visit with Dr Green
I had a follow-up with Dr Green today, the first since my radiation was completed. Dr Green said that the burning of my cartilage in my throat was intentional because the cancer had invaded it. Now it is dying and time to stop it from dying out. He prescribed 400 Trental three times a day and 1000 iu of Vitamin E to increase the blood flow in the capillaries. Green scoped me today without numbing again only this time there was no pain in doing so. I think I am getting use to it plus Rathfoot discovered that my left nostril is crooked and harder to pass through, we stay to the right one.
In addition he also recommended that I stay on the pain patch and keep break through meds in addition. He said that I would be in a lot of pain should I quit right now due to the swelling in my throat and the damage done to the capillaries.Green is pretty much straight forward and honest which I admire for that as are the other two doctors. None of them sugar coat anything. I didn't care for Green at first but after the over burn that was done and when he came to my room at the hospital I saw the man actually cared and then it all changed.
I was in hopes that by now I would be winding down this blog as things went back to normal but it just isn't to be. Every word I speak brings on pain and breathing itself many times does as well, and breaths sometimes are hard to come by. The referred pain in my ear comes and goes, just as before when it all started. I thought I was getting use to the pain but then after speaking with Green, I think it is the pain patch that helps more than I know or give credit to. Having Loratabs today I did use them twice. I'm not as afraid of them like I am the Morphine.
Denise and me ate at Shoneys in Dandridge where the ladies are just great, best service anywhere. It was good to see them again. We don't go there like we once did as I am trying to keep the weight down, I weighed in at 204.5lbs. I thought as I ate how at one time I couldn't swallow and while my swallowing has become more restrictive lately, I can still swallow most things I try to. Sometimes with a lot of liquid and I still get choked easily but at one time I couldn't even do that. In some ways I have come so far yet in other ways I have regressed.
I start the treatments this week but these do not sound as bad as the other ones, we shall see. I took a moment to say high to the ladies in the Chemo Hut but I didn't get to say hi to the ladies at the Radiation Dept except for one. Charity saw that we were in the waiting room and came out to say hi and talk a bit. It was nice to see them all, especially since I wasn't being worked on, lol. If I don't make it through this it will not be from the lack of excellent work, even though there has been a mistake or two along the way.
In addition he also recommended that I stay on the pain patch and keep break through meds in addition. He said that I would be in a lot of pain should I quit right now due to the swelling in my throat and the damage done to the capillaries.Green is pretty much straight forward and honest which I admire for that as are the other two doctors. None of them sugar coat anything. I didn't care for Green at first but after the over burn that was done and when he came to my room at the hospital I saw the man actually cared and then it all changed.
I was in hopes that by now I would be winding down this blog as things went back to normal but it just isn't to be. Every word I speak brings on pain and breathing itself many times does as well, and breaths sometimes are hard to come by. The referred pain in my ear comes and goes, just as before when it all started. I thought I was getting use to the pain but then after speaking with Green, I think it is the pain patch that helps more than I know or give credit to. Having Loratabs today I did use them twice. I'm not as afraid of them like I am the Morphine.
Denise and me ate at Shoneys in Dandridge where the ladies are just great, best service anywhere. It was good to see them again. We don't go there like we once did as I am trying to keep the weight down, I weighed in at 204.5lbs. I thought as I ate how at one time I couldn't swallow and while my swallowing has become more restrictive lately, I can still swallow most things I try to. Sometimes with a lot of liquid and I still get choked easily but at one time I couldn't even do that. In some ways I have come so far yet in other ways I have regressed.
I start the treatments this week but these do not sound as bad as the other ones, we shall see. I took a moment to say high to the ladies in the Chemo Hut but I didn't get to say hi to the ladies at the Radiation Dept except for one. Charity saw that we were in the waiting room and came out to say hi and talk a bit. It was nice to see them all, especially since I wasn't being worked on, lol. If I don't make it through this it will not be from the lack of excellent work, even though there has been a mistake or two along the way.
04-11-2010
Nothing much happened today so we'll see what tomorrow holds, which is actually today as I write. It caught up with me and I got nothing much accomplished today. I'll be calling Panella today and see which way we are headed and request a scan on my throat. The pain has been intense today but I refrained from taking anything until now, when I awoke at 4am with intense pain. The fatigue has been unreal. The swelling in my throat has led to more difficulty in swallowing, that is also probably what has led to compromised breathing as well. I've began a few days ago using Ibuprofen which helps some I think along with Morphine when the pain gets too bad.
Tomorrow, which is now today, I'll call Panella to see what besides Morphine I can take. I have 2 more patches left which I would love to come off of but we will see. It will be another week before I see Panella but this week I see Green. I'm sure that by now Panella has seen Rathfoot's report, Schindler has already received it. Thing is, Panella doesn't seen to read it like Schindler does. My voice gets a bit weaker each day from the swelling and dying of the cartilage in my throat. Now we see what failure is looking like.
Tomorrow, which is now today, I'll call Panella to see what besides Morphine I can take. I have 2 more patches left which I would love to come off of but we will see. It will be another week before I see Panella but this week I see Green. I'm sure that by now Panella has seen Rathfoot's report, Schindler has already received it. Thing is, Panella doesn't seen to read it like Schindler does. My voice gets a bit weaker each day from the swelling and dying of the cartilage in my throat. Now we see what failure is looking like.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
04- 10- 10102
We all kept busy but min wasn't a productive one. They. actually done most of it of it. I will type more in maybe tomorrow.
Friday, April 9, 2010
04-09-2010
Another beautiful day again. As usual I started this morning out a mute and slowly got it to break up enough to semi speak. My voice was weak today but we got a laugh outta it. At Easy In Snooks said to hollar at Lisa to come ring me up that she was busy. I turned to look at her and smiled and she laughed and said to clap or make a noise or something, she forgot I couldn't yell. We all had a good laugh out of that one.
I read tonight on Dr Mercola's site something I had forgotten. Curcumin has properties that reduced swelling, so I took a couple of capsules. I'm still careful with those. It was those, before this whole thing started, that I got choked on and exploded the veins in my face and eyes. Still, if they will slow down the swelling tonight it will have been worth it.
I got my oxygen tank refilled today, not a script but a tank I used at the pet store back when I had it. It helps, maybe just mentally, when I breath it in at night and sometimes during the day when I feel I'm smothering. When the sun is down seems to be when my throat swells the worse. It seems that night is when many things happen. It was about 12 pm in 2005 when I had my heart attack. It was 5am when dad's stroke hit.
I went visiting yard sales today, or at least 3 of them, mostly I just drove. I ended up having lunch with Denise then stopping by the office to check on and help mom. I ended up in a junkyard with Matt & Misty and ended the day with watching a Tv show, my kind of day. I am worn out. Tonight I hear the hissing in my right ear and I cannot for the life of me remember what Dr Rathfoot said about that.
I've left off the blood thinners for the last few days until the bleeding stops. Tonight I have taken the Curcumin and Ibuprofen for swelling and breathed oxygen for about five to ten minutes. I have drank ice water and also have the biotene spray ready in case I wake up in the middle of the night with a dry mouth. I may try and sleep in the bed tonight. I usually end up there somehow, lol. Somehow I thought all this junk would be over by now, one way or the other. I probably shouldn't think so much, lol.
I read tonight on Dr Mercola's site something I had forgotten. Curcumin has properties that reduced swelling, so I took a couple of capsules. I'm still careful with those. It was those, before this whole thing started, that I got choked on and exploded the veins in my face and eyes. Still, if they will slow down the swelling tonight it will have been worth it.
I got my oxygen tank refilled today, not a script but a tank I used at the pet store back when I had it. It helps, maybe just mentally, when I breath it in at night and sometimes during the day when I feel I'm smothering. When the sun is down seems to be when my throat swells the worse. It seems that night is when many things happen. It was about 12 pm in 2005 when I had my heart attack. It was 5am when dad's stroke hit.
I went visiting yard sales today, or at least 3 of them, mostly I just drove. I ended up having lunch with Denise then stopping by the office to check on and help mom. I ended up in a junkyard with Matt & Misty and ended the day with watching a Tv show, my kind of day. I am worn out. Tonight I hear the hissing in my right ear and I cannot for the life of me remember what Dr Rathfoot said about that.
I've left off the blood thinners for the last few days until the bleeding stops. Tonight I have taken the Curcumin and Ibuprofen for swelling and breathed oxygen for about five to ten minutes. I have drank ice water and also have the biotene spray ready in case I wake up in the middle of the night with a dry mouth. I may try and sleep in the bed tonight. I usually end up there somehow, lol. Somehow I thought all this junk would be over by now, one way or the other. I probably shouldn't think so much, lol.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
04-08-2010
Just before bedtime...ok, after bedtime, lol. I finally broke and took some pain meds to ease it off enough to sleep. It's been a good day today despite the news, could have been worse and seen worse. There are small pieces of meat, scab... who knows, that comes up occasionally tonight. I believe I have gotten into poison ivy yesterday. I know that some of it isn't the NHL, it's weeping. I'll have to fix that tomorrow. I think its even in my eyes. Tonight, I'll sleep in that chair again. Breathing is easier that way.
I did order some Graviola I found at Pure Prescriptions. This stuff works wonders, especially with Curcumin and high doses of Vitamin C to know cancer in the head. Now if I can just swallow them when they get here.
I did order some Graviola I found at Pure Prescriptions. This stuff works wonders, especially with Curcumin and high doses of Vitamin C to know cancer in the head. Now if I can just swallow them when they get here.
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