This week has been good all around.
Wade is feeling much better and while not at the gym for full workouts he's definitely moving. We heard last Thursday that the transplant board had reviewed his file and granted him the exception to his MELD score so he is now listed with a MELD of 22. This should put him at or near the top of the wait list. This is a good thing but puts us back on the pins and needles in that it could happen at any time. Rather than let that rule the world we are enjoying the sun that is finally here and some time with the girls.
Second bit of good news. Wade is doing well and in great spirits. He met with the cancer Dr on Wed and the treatment went very well, to the point he is actually eliminating the third treatment. Apparently the chemo constricts the blood vessels which means it's also stopping the body from feeding the tumor so in theory we should have the tumors confined and dying. Hmmm that doesn't sound medical at all but works for me. Good news. Now we are on the list and will still be looking at a transplant to complete a full cure.
When you get that diagnosis Liver Cancer (picture that in huge bold red letters) you wonder whats coming next. When the Dr told us "if you do nothing you're looking at 9-23 months" that can shake you a bit. But from the start I have had a very real, strong faith that we would get through this. Just this last week another family at our middle school wasn't so lucky. Her husband went in for foot surgery, had a heart attack and died. Wow. Do you think she had any expectation of that. They have a 7th grade son. My heart just goes out to her. I can imagine what she is dealing with, the nightmares have flickered through my head for sure. Each day I remember how blessed we really are despite this little challenge.
We have two wonderful, strong, intelligent and beautiful girls. Wade is handling treatment and responding well. Medical advances have made transplants so successful and offer a long life afterward.
So go out and embrace life. Be thankful for all you are blessed with. Share a kindness with a neighbor. Make a difference in your community. Hug your children and tell them what marvelous people they are. Love your spouse. Get in touch with an old friend.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Friday, June 6, 2008
Back to the transplant review
What a week.
I guess my frustration with the whole interview process was on target. They called yesterday to tell me they went with another person. I can't say I'm totally disappointed. It really didn't seem like they were looking for change even with all their questions asking how I would improve and increase the program. So I guess they went with a more traditional or comfortable applicant. You know me, I never want to be just the comfortable choice....
As for home life, Wade had a tougher reaction to his chemo treatment yesterday than the previous time. I think we just rushed things a little. We thought they would let him go home aroun 5 or 6:00 and they ended up sending us out around 1:30. A little early and he payed for it. This morning looks good so far. Finally keeping some liquid in and just resting. Now they are telling us the latest MRI only shows one lesion not two and if they don't confirm two it will toss him off the transplant list. We have previous readings that show it and it's been confirmaed by more than one Dr so now it will go into the review meeting on Tuesday and try to get the last MRI report ammended. One small tumor does not qualify for the cancer "exception" and bump in MELD score so right now Wade has a score of 8 on a scale up to 30. He would not even be on the list with that score without the cancer. At this point it's no longer the HEP B that's an issue, it's the cancer and making sure it doesn't spread. The bone scan and CT of the abdomen were both negative so we are pretty confident, as much as we can be, that it's confined and hopefully the chemo is working. So we wait to see what the transplant team says next week and if need be go back for a third chemo treatment in another month or so. It's usually after the third treatment that they re-evaluate the cancer but I'm wondering if they saw any change on the MRI this week. I'll have to ask the Dr.
Everything will work out and I think it's for the best that the job thing didn't happen just yet. I would certainly look at other options if you hear of any out there....
I guess my frustration with the whole interview process was on target. They called yesterday to tell me they went with another person. I can't say I'm totally disappointed. It really didn't seem like they were looking for change even with all their questions asking how I would improve and increase the program. So I guess they went with a more traditional or comfortable applicant. You know me, I never want to be just the comfortable choice....
As for home life, Wade had a tougher reaction to his chemo treatment yesterday than the previous time. I think we just rushed things a little. We thought they would let him go home aroun 5 or 6:00 and they ended up sending us out around 1:30. A little early and he payed for it. This morning looks good so far. Finally keeping some liquid in and just resting. Now they are telling us the latest MRI only shows one lesion not two and if they don't confirm two it will toss him off the transplant list. We have previous readings that show it and it's been confirmaed by more than one Dr so now it will go into the review meeting on Tuesday and try to get the last MRI report ammended. One small tumor does not qualify for the cancer "exception" and bump in MELD score so right now Wade has a score of 8 on a scale up to 30. He would not even be on the list with that score without the cancer. At this point it's no longer the HEP B that's an issue, it's the cancer and making sure it doesn't spread. The bone scan and CT of the abdomen were both negative so we are pretty confident, as much as we can be, that it's confined and hopefully the chemo is working. So we wait to see what the transplant team says next week and if need be go back for a third chemo treatment in another month or so. It's usually after the third treatment that they re-evaluate the cancer but I'm wondering if they saw any change on the MRI this week. I'll have to ask the Dr.
Everything will work out and I think it's for the best that the job thing didn't happen just yet. I would certainly look at other options if you hear of any out there....
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
