A Ghostly Good Time

 1/30 – Monday 

Another week goes by and no significant changes. Michelle was irritated and uptight. The oncologist wants to continue treatment. She wants to use immunotherapy and chemotherapy to attack the cancer cells in her body. The immunotherapy uses a drug intravenously that is designed to stimulate an immune response to her disease. Being that the disease has metastasized to the brain and spine, using chemotherapy to attack the cancer cells in the lungs and liver ONLY, does not make a lot of sense. To further explain this, there is no way to direct the chemotherapy drug to the brain or spine without surgically inserting an Ommaya Reservoir. Michelle has chosen not to do this right now. Most of her cancer is in her brain and spine, not her lungs and liver. 

Michelle is open to immunotherapy. We have an appointment with the General Practitioner today. I sent her a text explaining Michelle's concerns and the name of the immunotherapy drug. She promised to do some research over the weekend and come in prepared for our appointment today. We have a cat scan on the books and Chele will get immunotherapy as well.

Last week we drove to Fredericksburg Texas. It has been a few years since I've been in that area. For a minute I thought I was driving through the Napa Valley. I counted at least 20 wineries along the drive. I later found out there have been 46 new wineries and brew houses in the Fredericksburg area. I was told there are 90 approved permits for a planned expansion. For a small town, that is a lot. The land there must be premium. 

I wanted to do something exciting, go on an adventure with Michelle. She likes "Supernatural", I knew it was not Lebanon Kansas and we would not see Jensen Ackles, but we could enjoy a haunted tour. If you've never watched "Supernatural" on TV, you have absolutely no clue what my references are above. If you have and you do, you're excited.

I did not think this one through. There are 2 things Michelle loathes. History and being cold. Well, it was 45 degrees, and this was a 2-hour ghost tour! It I paid for it to be just Chele and I too, so it isn’t like we could have snuck away early. I thought it was interesting, but I was more uncomfortable knowing that Michelle was pretending like she was enjoying something she really wasn't. 

It's been warm all week. mid 70's during the day and mid 40's at night. The cold weather hit yesterday afternoon. 20 mph winds from the north took the temperature from 68 to 45 within 90 minutes. It was 35 when I woke up this morning. Luck Ranch weather station is showing 31 right now with wind gusts of 17-20 mph and a wind chill of 21. It’s colder than a penguin’s ankle socks.

Random Fact: Ghosts, Hauntings and Poltergeist all have different meanings. A ghost is something we see but does not see us. It is an image of a supposed spirit. A haunting is this supposed spirit does see us and interacts with us. Maybe turn the lights on or off. Maybe they would pull you out of bed. Finally, a Poltergeist would be a live haunting. This would be where a supposed spirit uses a live person to haunt. 

TV during the day: NCIS reruns and Beat Bobby Flay. 

TV at night: "The last of us". This is a 12-hour video game that was made for TV. If you like apocalyptic themed shows, this might be one for you. The jury is still out for us. 

"Your Honor". Holy S**t! That first episode got us hooked. It is binge worthy. 

"The Great British Bake Off" is our newest mindless show. It's humorous and entertaining. Subtitles are needed for most contestants, as the accents are eccentric.

Food this week: 

Poor man's stroganoff with a twist. I ran out of cream of mushroom soup, so I used cream of chicken. Apparently, it was the best ever! 

Ranch Beef Skillet

Spaghetti and Meatballs 

Love, Brian

www.tommytutone.Jenny.us

Anticlimactic Joy

 1/22 – Sunday

Well, this has been an anticlimactic week, which is a great thing. The most exciting thing was a 5-minute in-home nurse visit (waste of time) and 2 in-home physical therapy appointments. Michelle is getting stronger each day. She still has some problems with remembering what she ate for lunch, when questioned about it at the end of the day, but I do too sometimes.

We went out once this week. She stayed in the car, but it was nice for her to just get out of the house for a while. We stopped and she got a peppermint shake at chick-fil-a.

We watched "The Menu" (Hulu) this week. Good movie. We were surprised to learn it, half way through the movie that it was a horror show.

We also watched "Spell" (Prime Video). Slow start, but interesting watch for sure.

A review of "Knives Out" (Rental) and "Knives Out - Glass Onion" (Netflix) were completed this week as well. We preferred part 1 – Knives Out. Part 2 Knives Out- Glass Onion can be streamed from Netflix but part 1 needs to be rented or bought. 

Yellowstone (CBS), 1923 (Paramount+) and Mayor of Kingston (Paramount+) are the latest Taylor Sheridan TV series that we are hooked on.

Love, Brian

www.nobodyreadsthesignature.us

Treatment Holiday

 1/15 – Sunday

It was a busy week. Michelle, along with about 100 other cancer patients had blood tests on Wednesday. A new year and new insurance / copays make for a busy waiting room.  Our 1:30 lab appointment soon became a 2:15. This pushed the neurologist from 2:00 to 2:30. The neurologist nurse told us 3 times she would make sure that neurologist knew we were late because the lab was low on staffing and running behind, not because we showed up for our appointment 30 minutes past the scheduled time. I'm not judgy but I think the doctor may have allegrophobia, or may not like those who don't? 

The nuerologist was apathetic about Michelle's decision to not pursue further chemotherapy treatment. Bringing up hospice made us both squirm uncomfortably in our chairs. We couldn't wait to get out of her office. See the attached picture I snapped from my chair while we waited in her office. We agreed to take a "Treatment Holiday" and it was off to the 3:00 oncologist appointment, still 30 minutes late. 

The home health nurse was encouraged by Michelle's progress since her last visit. She gave her some breathing exercises to practice. After the nurse left, I took the Oxygen off for an hour or so to see how her levels would look, they seemed to look good, but I wanted to stay cautious, so we put it back on. I turned it down to 1 liter per minute, she seemed to handle this without issue. 

Friday, she woke up feeling great. The physical therapist was at the house at 9am so it made for an early morning. I took the oxygen off before he arrived. He spent an hour with her and was very impressed with her strength and fortitude. He gave her a spirometer for breathing exercises and encouraged hourly walking and exercises. She has come off oxygen 100%. She now walks unassisted. Yesterday was her first shower without using a chair or any other support in the shower. Her legs were tired, but this is normal. She hasn't used these muscles for a while.

Her progress just in the past week has been exponential. We were told the cancer cells may keep dying for months after the end of the radiation treatment. Unfortunately, she cannot have radiation again, she can get localized radiation, if there is a specific tumor that needs treatment, but if there are "a bunch" of lesions that once again appear, radiation is not an option. Because of the blood brain barrier, chemotherapy will only attack tumors in the lungs and liver. It will not attack tumors in the brain or spine. These are some reasons Michelle has chosen to take a "treatment holiday."

Food challenges are getting better. I have fired up the deep fryer more than once.  We had fried shrimp one night and fried halibut another. I've been making some tortilla chips also. We had spaghetti with homemade meatballs. The meat used was all raised by Luck Ranch, lamb, beef and pork. 

Love, Brian

www.internationalcalling.org

Is this really Happening

 1/10 – Tuesday

Michelle is doing well. She is still on 3 liters per minute of oxygen. We will have a nurse and a physical therapist come to the house twice a week. It was nice seeing her get some exercise today. She went outside for the first time since the blood clot discovery. 

The MRIs are long, loud, stressful, cold and painful. They tell us if, where and to what degree the cancer is in the brain and spine after radiation. Treatment options will be discussed depending on what is found on the MRIs. If there is a lot of cancer still in the brain and or spine, the medical team would have us consider putting an Ommaya Reservoir in her head to deliver chemotherapy directly to her spinal cord. This would be a weekly treatment different from the traditional 3-day chemotherapy treatment. The traditional chemotherapy treatment will not cross the blood brain barrier and attack cancer cells in the brain and spine. It only attacks the cancer cells in the lungs and liver. 

On a lighter side, Chele is tasting food again. Making dinner has been a challenging task, but I am happy she is enjoying her food again. After losing her sense of taste with her chemotherapy treatment in December, nothing sounds good for her to eat unfortunately, so I am having to get very creative in finding dinner ideas that aren't boring. We settled on grilled cheese last night.  I do love watching her eat.

Love, Brian

www.nothappening.edu

Warm and Fuzzies to my Heart

 1/4 – Wednesday 

Michelle was discharged last night. We were approved for home oxygen. We also came home with a portable oxygen unit and a wheelchair. I have a walker at the house we will use for the time being, to get around the house and for PT purposes. 

We have slipped back into our normal routine. I am hoping she gets back to normal within a week or 2.

No scheduled MRIs or scans. We have an appointment with the oncologist and the neurologist on January 11th.

Chele is trying to stay positive and smiles at my dumb dad jokes.

Things on Luck ranch are going ok. The dogs and cat have separation anxiety. The piglets are escape artists and the cows are maintenance free. Chickens quit laying a few months back. Our daughter is taking care of everything with the pigs and has taken on most of the farm duties here at Luck Ranch. She has been a godsend.

Love, Brian

The clot brings on the new year

 1/1 – Sunday 

As some of you might already know, Michelle was admitted back into the hospital. On Friday, we caught up on some Yellowstone, then headed to bed. She stopped to rest at the bed before brushing her teeth. Knowing this is not normal for anyone, I tested her 02 levels, and they were dangerously low (73). 70 can be life threatening. After some self-denial and doubting the 02 sensor’s functionality, I brought her into the Emergency Room where I knew she would get admitted. 

They tested for COVID, FLU and Septicemia. They started and IV in both arms. Two access points allow for more accurate testing. It also gives a failover if needed. Additional fluids can be administered if max fluids are needed. It also gives 2 areas for blood draws. She had normal results from blood tests. An X-ray of the chest was done as well.

We got a room about 3am Saturday morning. We saw the oncologist Saturday and they ordered a chest CT. The CT scan showed a blood clot in her left lung. She is getting injections every 12 hours to help break the clot up, so it dissipates safely. 

Today they did a full blood workup on her, and all the results came back normal. Michelle is scared. I am trying to calm her fears and talk to her as much as I can. I am scared, I am trying to hide it from Chele. Knowledge is power. I expect a similar day tomorrow. 

Love, Brian