The hunters arrived in Unionville for the first weekend of deer season. The Halleys always look forward to this time together with good friends. They campout in the Morton building and just have a fun time. Trace and Tye got to join in some of the festivities. When I talked to Tye last night, he was singing some songs, and Grandma says this morning that he has been asking for her to sing the farmer one (Farmer in the Dell).
Trace gets help from his daddy to ride this buck, while Tye watches. Kind of looks like a little Todd and Brian, as Brian never really enjoyed hunting. They said Tye didn't want to get too close.
Yesterday was uneventful really, in terms of Brian's condition, which is always good. He slept most of the day since they increased his pain meds, and seems to be more restful. This led to him not eating again and being asleep most of the time, but it is a good trade off to have him feel better.
We had lots of visitors yesterday. I had a nice surprise last night when Amy Wilhoite's parents stopped by. They were in town to bring their daughters to help with Amy's little boy, and knew from the blog that we were here. It felt good catching up with Anita, and to meet Steve. It is a different feeling to be close to others who have actually been in this difficult situation. We belong to a club we all didn't choose to join. Yet the club provides a type of comfort, wisdom and peace that comes from no where else. A nurse asked me on Friday night if I kept in touch with Anita, and we had a nice visit about Amy and how she had touched us both. We haven't really been able to see each other in person since we met because she was so busy with Amy and me with Brian, and we live so far apart. It was a good visit, and I am thankful that their Sunday evening trip included us.
I was also treated to some great cooking by Tammy, Dr. Anderson's nurse. She brought over homemade pizza and pie for dinner last night, and she was glad to get to see Brian and check on his condition. That is just another reason why we feel so blessed to be here.
Dr. Anderson was in this morning with his team. He was pleased to see Brian looking better, but anything was better than what was going on Friday afternoon! He is not any more concerned about the spots on the right hip and pelvis than he already was, as they are seemingly unchanged from previous scans. I may not have mentioned those spots earlier...there were several inconclusive issues on that awful September scan. His opinion is that whatever we learned over the weekend so far doesn't change much about Brian's condition as far as the melanoma is concerned...this bone issue is not something significant as of now that would make us think this is just spreading out of control. The bladder looks good, and it is unclear what might be causing his issues. An MRI might reveal something else if we did one, but he could see enough from the CT and other tests that he felt like things were good. He was also happy to see a clear spine and lower abdomen...just what could be see on the CT of the pelvis.
HOPE...
He feels that Brian's issue is just his general health. When we get the staph and pain under control, Brian can move forward with the ipilumimab treatment if Brian wants to and feels up to it. He said he would keep Brian penciled in for Friday, or maybe even Monday, and then we can go from there, day by day. Sounds like a plan.
They just came to get him for radiology. They will do a CT guided insertion of a drain in his leg. It was looking good yesterday, but is hot and red again this morning, so they are anxious to get this going and try to see a turnaround. All other drains he has had put in have caused an immediate sense of relief, then gradual improvement in his condition. He has also already had a shot of radioactive dye for his bone scan, which is scheduled sometime between 12 and 1. Dr. Anderson did say that the CT showed that his lfemur was considerably more dense than the other. I thought he said the left more than the right, but the resident doctor says it is the other way around, based on the radiology report. I just chatted with her about that and she said it is indicitive of bone cancer, but cancer is not the only reason to cause that...it may even be changes that are leading to that. We'll know more soon. Dr. Anderson also clarified that there appears to be a nodule on the back right thigh in the muscle. I am losing track of all the melanoma spots, so I'll just let the experts keep up on that.
Here's praying for continued improvement...thank you for walking this journey with us. I would never wish this on any of you (I know some of you reading are also battling melanoma or other illnesses)...but I do hope and pray that you all might be touched by our battle and our faith. We each expect tomorrow to come, and we are each only promised today.
Jenni
We had lots of visitors yesterday. I had a nice surprise last night when Amy Wilhoite's parents stopped by. They were in town to bring their daughters to help with Amy's little boy, and knew from the blog that we were here. It felt good catching up with Anita, and to meet Steve. It is a different feeling to be close to others who have actually been in this difficult situation. We belong to a club we all didn't choose to join. Yet the club provides a type of comfort, wisdom and peace that comes from no where else. A nurse asked me on Friday night if I kept in touch with Anita, and we had a nice visit about Amy and how she had touched us both. We haven't really been able to see each other in person since we met because she was so busy with Amy and me with Brian, and we live so far apart. It was a good visit, and I am thankful that their Sunday evening trip included us.
I was also treated to some great cooking by Tammy, Dr. Anderson's nurse. She brought over homemade pizza and pie for dinner last night, and she was glad to get to see Brian and check on his condition. That is just another reason why we feel so blessed to be here.
Dr. Anderson was in this morning with his team. He was pleased to see Brian looking better, but anything was better than what was going on Friday afternoon! He is not any more concerned about the spots on the right hip and pelvis than he already was, as they are seemingly unchanged from previous scans. I may not have mentioned those spots earlier...there were several inconclusive issues on that awful September scan. His opinion is that whatever we learned over the weekend so far doesn't change much about Brian's condition as far as the melanoma is concerned...this bone issue is not something significant as of now that would make us think this is just spreading out of control. The bladder looks good, and it is unclear what might be causing his issues. An MRI might reveal something else if we did one, but he could see enough from the CT and other tests that he felt like things were good. He was also happy to see a clear spine and lower abdomen...just what could be see on the CT of the pelvis.
HOPE...
He feels that Brian's issue is just his general health. When we get the staph and pain under control, Brian can move forward with the ipilumimab treatment if Brian wants to and feels up to it. He said he would keep Brian penciled in for Friday, or maybe even Monday, and then we can go from there, day by day. Sounds like a plan.
They just came to get him for radiology. They will do a CT guided insertion of a drain in his leg. It was looking good yesterday, but is hot and red again this morning, so they are anxious to get this going and try to see a turnaround. All other drains he has had put in have caused an immediate sense of relief, then gradual improvement in his condition. He has also already had a shot of radioactive dye for his bone scan, which is scheduled sometime between 12 and 1. Dr. Anderson did say that the CT showed that his lfemur was considerably more dense than the other. I thought he said the left more than the right, but the resident doctor says it is the other way around, based on the radiology report. I just chatted with her about that and she said it is indicitive of bone cancer, but cancer is not the only reason to cause that...it may even be changes that are leading to that. We'll know more soon. Dr. Anderson also clarified that there appears to be a nodule on the back right thigh in the muscle. I am losing track of all the melanoma spots, so I'll just let the experts keep up on that.
Here's praying for continued improvement...thank you for walking this journey with us. I would never wish this on any of you (I know some of you reading are also battling melanoma or other illnesses)...but I do hope and pray that you all might be touched by our battle and our faith. We each expect tomorrow to come, and we are each only promised today.
Jenni
1 comment:
Hi Jenni,
I just wanted to let you know that Keith and I are praying daily for you and Brian. You are right, this isn't a club any of us want to belong to, but if we have to be part of one at least we have each other to lean on and comfort in the bad times. Our love to your family,
Suzan (wife of Keith stage 1V)
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