Monday Monday

This weekend turned out to be miserable. I had really bad acid tummy and was miserable most of the day yesterday. I went to lunch with a friend and couldn't eat. I spent the afternoon in a ball on the sofa and couldn't eat. I am sipping on a smoothie right now. This is torture because it is cold and my house is cold and I am cold. Ever since I got sick, I am cold natured. My 100 year old house has always been chilly but now I freeze all the time. I can't crank the heat high enough. Dan and walked to the restaurant yesterday and it was nice out and sunny. I thought I was going to die. He had on shorts, I had on 2 sweaters.....
Today I slept , woke up with some insomnia, went back to bed and slept until 10. I am piddling around trying to do some chores but I am freezing so I am snuggled under a blanket in the sofa right now trying to plan the rest of my day. I could go to moms house today or tomorrow. I am thinking tomorrow makes more sense. My little dog is laying on my tummy and I am listening to him snore.

Finally

Oh boy. Yesterday was a fair eating and drinking day. Nothing was staying down very well. Today is a new day. Drew and I went to the original pancake house and I got the fruit crepes. Nirvana! I ate. And it stayed down. Cream cheese filled crepes topped with loads of fresh fruit. Fresh bananas and blackberries, blueberries, and strawberries. I omitted the whipped cream and strawberry syrup. I am back home now happy and full. It is sooooo gorgeous out. I hope everyone has a great day!

Oooops

I forgot to post this week. I apologize. I did not get chemo, nor was I admitted to the hospital. I had a blood transfusion. My creatnin level was too high for the chemo so the hope is to try and do it next week. Please pray for this. The good news is I am at my house. I haven't been home since Christmas. I needed a break from Mom. No offense but you know what I mean. I have organized a few things and slept a bunch. There is nothing like sleeping in your own bed. Ridley is in heaven. He loves being home.
The bad news. I can't keep food down very well. I have been throwing up but I am not dehydrated, I just need to eat more. I am sipping on a Gatorade right now. I just chugged a bunch of pepto. I have bad acid stomach today. This seems to be a pattern and it kicks in around lunchtime regardless of if I eat or not. Anyways, I think a nap is in order, and then I need to cull through all my on demand recordings. I hope everyone has a great weekend. It sure is nice right now even if it is a little chilly.
Peace

Ridley

I have posted about my dog Ridley before. I love him with all my heart. He is 2 and 1/2 now and most of his life he has tried to be a big boy. Lately he is not a big boy he is a baby. I feel a little bad for him. He had gotten so close to Leslie and she can't visit right now. I was in the hospital for 3 weeks and now I am going back in. He is really needy and has been at my side like glue for the last few weeks. I hope Granny and the neighbors can keep him loved on until I get out. He will be fine I know, but I just love my dog. He knows I am sick. Anyways, that's it. I just wanted to say I love my boy. I will try and post some new pictures. I can't post on my iPad for some reason!
Peace

New Day

I am going to the Dr. tomorrow, and then they are admitting me to the hospital. They are concerned about my creatnin level it has crept up to 2.8. So I am getting a blood transfusion tomorrow and then my chemo on Wed, Th, and Fri. I know they can monitor me better. I feel safe about that. Since I have been in the hospital so much, I know everyone on the floor.
I will update more tomorrow. I am catching up on Prime Suspect. I missed a few episodes and they just loaded some on on demand.
Ok peace out!

Saturday

I went up to the mountains overnight this week which was nice. I was not feeling very well but I had a nice time. Ridley had a great time. He met my friends children and really liked her daughter. He also really liked running around in the yard getting to be a real dog. I have made him quite the Mama's dog but I would not have it any other way. I got home yesterday and chilled out. Today I ran to Lenox but did not take any pain medicine. I wanted to be able to drive. I got very ill at the mall. I think I might have been going through a little withdrawal. Not quite sure. Could have been the tea i was drinking. I got back to moms and have been taking it easy ever since. I feel a little better. I have to go to the Dr. on Tuesday and then chemo is wed., thurs., and fri. I am not sure if we are admitting me or not. We will see.
Not much other news to report. Would love a movie recommendation that I can on demand.
Have a good weekend and cross your fingers my chemo goes ok.
Thanks!

A new day

I slept late again. Agh. Feels sooooo good. I am getting caught up from that long hospital stay. My appetite is still really punky. Normally I like to try and eat weird things and in actuality,that is what appeals to me the most. Not so much right now. I tried to eat some Indian. Mild tikka masala and curried veggies. Not so good. I kept it down but I certainly did not eat much of it. I think part of the problem was where I was eating and the other problem was what I ordered. I always go to cafe Bombay and I did not go there yesterday. I managed to try and resolve some billing issues. So difficult when you don't feel good. The hospital forgot to write off some charges. The dr.s office wanted to turn me over to collections for not paying the $25 copays that I DID pay!!!! On and on it goes.
My stomach is queasy today. I think I will not eat and just drink liquid.
Creatnin is up,so we will go off ton after this next round of chemo.
My handy dog is at my side. We are going to get our shots at 3. He loves Dr. Amy but he does not love having his temperature taken. He acts so pitiful and shaky and he puts in brakes at the door of the vet. Poor dude!
All right more to follow later.... Peace out.

Slacker

I have been a slacker. I haven't had much to say. I am delighted to be out of the hospital. I have been getting out every day and doing errands, and I am regaining strength. I have had to work on billing etc. I have chemo again next week dang it. My little dog has been at my side like glue since I got to moms. That is really about all of the news. I will try and post tomorrow I just don't really feel like writing. I might get inspired. Thanks for checking on me. I miss you guys.
More soon........

Soooooo

I am still in a good bit of pain but happy to be at Moms house. My dog has been right at my side and has cuddled up with me since I got home.we have had lots of tummy rubs and I know this is very confusing for him. I feel a little better. I went and got a pedi today and then came back home and relaxed. Tomorrow I have a few errands planned and then a slow weekend. I am hoping I can gather my wits and start in on my taxes and get papers sorted. Chemo in 2 weeks so I hope I can continue to heal and gather strength for this next round. Thanks for all the emails and visits etc. I really appreciate it. It means alot to me, I can't do this without all of your caring and support.

Out

I got out of the hospital today. I have some pain but it is so wonderful to be with my dog. You have no idea. I am free for two weeks and then another round of chemo.
I am ready to do something fun. Super excited about being out.
I am so ready to try and eat some things. My appetite is poor but you guys know how weird food gets me going so tomorrow might be crazy Chinese. Sichuan, hot and delicious. I am thinking tofu stuffed with shrimp, and my friend mentioned some other things.
No other news. I think I am going to try and watch some tv. I will update more tomorrow and maybe have some more concise info to write. I am loopy from the pain meds right now!

New post

I am not getting out until Tuesday. I am starting tpn (the bagged nutrition delivered iv). I start that tonight. I am still low with my white count. I have been throwing up huge amounts of bile and not eating. Apple juice seems to be the only thing I can hold down. It all went to hell yesterday around 3. It is all good now. My sis is here until mon am. I am so glad she has been here to help. She did things for me at the house. She got rid groomed today. He looks beautiful! Ok no other real news, I will update more tomorrow. Call if you would like or email. I am feeling much much better.

So sorry

I am still at Northside. I have had some issues with pain management and a kub(X-ray) revealed that yes I am full of shit. Hahaha no seriously, I just haven't felt well. I hope to be released today. My white count is so low that I am at high risk for infection so they have kept me in. There were also the concerns about the embolism and blockages, neither of which I have. I was really in a lot of pain for the past few days. Les is here so this will be her last trip until after the baby. Her Dr. Did not like that she was traveling. A least if she did deliver at this point this early there is a NICU 2 miles from moms house but she is going back Monday. I will just have to go see her! I want to thank everyone for coming. I have had a lot of visitors out of the blue. People from my past, people from my present. Thanks for coming and thanks for the emails and cards etc. I haven't always written back but I do appreciate everything! Have a great weekend!

Helloooooo

I am still in the hospital. I am waiting to see my dr. He is back today as is my nephrologist. I will post later with updates. Thanks for all the new years well wishes. I am lot of pain today. Later Gater

It's a New Year

Many people have been calling Ellen and wondering what is going on since she hasn't posted in awhile, so she asked me, Leslie, to write an update for everyone. She is doing this round of chemo in-patient at Northside, since she had such a severe reaction to ifosfamide when she started it this summer and was going to be using it again for this treatment. FYI – she is in room 332 at Northside.

She checked in Wed morning and didn't start chemo until that night, as she needed a lot of potassium (she hadn't been holding down much fluid or food for about a week) before they could start chemo. The nephrologist was pulled in to monitor her kidneys, as there was concern about using ifosfamide again given her Fanconi Syndrome. Most of Thu went well, but she started having increased abdominal pain on Thu before chemo, so the decision was made to put her on a pain pump so that she could proactively manage the med dosing. Dilaudid is powerful stuff and seemed to give her some relief right away. With dosing more frequent than previously, the expectation was that she might be more groggy.

To say Ellen was groggy on Fri AM was an understatement. She was out of it when I arrived at the hospital and could barely mumble a few words when asked a question. I had flashbacks to her condition this past summer and finally asked her if she was just woozy from the meds or unable to talk. She said both. I alerted the nurse and they cut back the dilaudid dosing. A couple of hours later she was more alert, but still not her usual self and only able to say a few sentences before spacing out. Even stories of her adorable dog, Ridley's, antics barely got a reaction, which is not like Ellen AT ALL! She was also out of it enough that she wasn't hitting her pain pump unless she was prompted. Her stomach had also gotten larger over the past 48 hours and she was giving me a run for my money on whose stomach was bigger (I am 7 months pregnant).

Paracentisis was scheduled for Fri to drain fluid out of her distended stomach (it worked). When she returned to her room, she was complaining of shortness of breath, which was a concern. Her blood pressure had been up that day and then they noticed her pulse rate was much higher. They ruled out pain as a cause for the pulse increase and moved into high gear to determine if there was fluid in her lungs or an embolism. Fluid was quickly ruled out with a chest Xray.

She had a CT scan without contrast Fri PM to check for embolisms, but it was inconclusive. They ruled out an embolism in her legs yesterday, but can’t rule out a pulmonary or abdominal embolism until they can do the CT scan with contrast. Her creatinine level needs to come down for that to happen, since the contrast can cause further kidney damage. They gave her meds last night to help bring the level down, but they didn’t work. They are still waiting to give her the third round of chemo, which they didn’t give her on Fri with all that’s going on. And, she is still not holding down food very well, so they are looking at putting her back on TPN (feeding through her line) at her request.

 So, she is in a holding pattern at the moment and is fortunately still in the hospital where she can receive the best monitoring and care. All of the nurses and staff on the oncology floor love her and have been very concerned about her. Dr. McBroom has been on call the past few days and has been fantastic. While Ellen loves Dr. Cantuaria, I think Dr. McBroom is closing in on her affections given his level of care these past few days. And, her nurses have been great, except for the one Fri PM who didn’t understand what was going on and was obnoxious. Oh well! I guess you can’t win them all. I will update everyone as we learn more.

And, most importantly, Ellen wanted to share the following … I want to wish everyone a healthy and prosperous 2012. To all my cancer survivors, keep surviving and I hope you have a cancer-free 2012. To all my friends going through treatment, live strong and keep the faith going. I hope you get better! Happy New Year!!