So we ended up having a kinda wild ride on Friday and into the weekend. I had a CT w/ contrast on Friday - just a routine one as a part of the study - and it turned out to be a little more than routine. With about 1/2 hour to go on my erbitux drip, Margaret came over and told me that the radiologist saw something he didn't like with one of my kidneys and that he wanted another dry scan as soon as I got done with the infusion. Long story short, what they found is that I have one kidney that isn't draining as fast as the other. Dr. Donehower talked to Jen on Friday and she can give the details better, but here goes. Apparently there are two kinds of kidney blockages - intrinsic and extrinsic. There are no masses visible in my kidney, so that rules out extrinsic blockage, leaving me with an intrinsic blockage of unknown origin. In Dr. D's words, it's "peculiar." He said there's no reason to believe that it's related to the cancer or metastatic disease in any way. It appears to be a coincidental finding. I've been having some chronic back pain ever since my last week back in MT that the chiropractor hasn't been able to fix (sorry Sheridan!). It'd be nice to know that this was the source of that, and that we can get it fixed.
Aside from the kidney thing, they also saw that the lymph nodes with disease have grown slightly, which means that it's time to switch chemo regimines. FOLFOX-C has given me a damn good ride - a lot longer than anyone expected - and I'm confident that the next cocktail will knock everything back down a few more pegs! Dr. D. also said that nothing on the scan told him that we should back off the SIR-spheres, so we're still on for that, pending insurance (which we should hear from on Wednesday - keep those prayers coming!).
So then Saturday I went out racing on the J/35 Medicine Man. I took the dogs to the park in the morning, and it was muggy and totally still air. I figured that weather would stick during the day. I figured wrong. It blew 20-30 kts all day, and we got three long races in. It absolutely kicked my ass, but I loved it! We did well, finishing 1-3-2 in the three races, so it was a good day.
It was pretty sentimental for me too. Last year at this time, I did this same race with Medicine Man having just gone through my first round of chemo. I remember sitting in my car after the race soaking it all in, wondering if I'd be around to step on board that boat again in April. What a year it's been...
Anyhow, needless to say, I got soaked to the core during the race, and by the time I got home was freezing. I took a hot shower until I ran the house out of hot water (my favorite new pastime) and still had the chills. After about an hour curled up under the covers with the chills, I finally took my temperature and saw that I was running over 101... sweet. Last night I talked to the on-call doc at Hopkins, and he figured that I had come down with a mild viral bug that's been going around, and that as long as I wasn't coughing or showing other symptoms to just ride it out. This is one of the times I thank God that my white cell count has stayed well up. It'd be a totally different story otherwise!
So that's where we're at now. I took the day off work to try to get rested up and beat this little bug, and I'll play it by ear tomorrow. Keep the prayers coming for a good outcome with the insurance appeal!
Thanks again for all your prayers and support!!
October 12, 2009
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2 comments:
That kidney thing is probably your mother's fault. I remember when she had a defective kidney, and had to have one, or part of one, removed. I went to see her in the hospital and said, "Do not think I am giving you one of my kidneys. This is not Steel Magnolias." And she started to laugh, and then cry, because it hurt to laugh. She said, "I don't want your stupid kidney. The doctor said this was a birth defect, and yours is probably bad, too."
But the funniest thing was, I kept calling Uncle Brooks and giving him updates on Kim's kidneys, and urine analyses, etc. Brooks was working nights, so I never could catch him at home, so left phone messages. After about a week of this, Brooks called me to see if Kim had had that surgery. I said, "What? I have been leaving you messages all week." Then I discovered I was off a digit on the area code on my phone speed dial, and had been leaving detailed messages on Kim's kidneys with somebody in Alabama.
You are MORE than a conqueror, and NO WEAPON formed against you will prosper!
Aunt Karla loves you.
Okay, probably the kidney thing came down from Grandma Juanita. I mean, Kim and I had to get it somewhere, right?
At any rate, the promise still stands, that weapon will NOT prosper against you!
kfa
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