I tried to think of a really catchy title, but I guess in this case- simple says so much.
Bridget had her PET scan yesterday, and her ninth chemo session today!.
Her labs remain very good, hemoglobin is 14.3, and I forgot to look at her potassium. All other labs are normal. Her PET scan showed 'essentially normal", which means the chemo did it's job and Bridget is golden!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She will have three more chemo sessions after todays. Her last one will be July 14th. She will not need radiation, she won't need stem cell transplants. She is free of the lymphoma. Of course, she will have to be vigilant about her health and make MD appts when scheduled.
She was so overjoyed to get the news that she cried - tears of joy as commonly known. Me- I was so relieved to hear the great news!!! She will go for her Neulasta shot tomorrow.
Right now, she is sleeping. The antinausea meds are working, we'll see how she is when she gets up. She tolerated the chemo today great- slept through most of it. The nurses and Dr. Hueftle were happy for her. Sherrie and Roxie (who have been giving her the chemo in Patient Service Center) were ecstatic!!
Thank you for all the prayers and positive thoughts- don't quit now- keep it up please!!!
And now, knowing that SSi turned us down, and she is not eligible for Medicaid, and apparently not even for unemployment benefits! (OUR system is So messed up!) I am not going to appeal.
We turned in paperwork to have St. James write off some or all? of the bill..Have not heard on that. I turned in some medicines paid for to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to get reimbursed for that, and am waiting to see what they will/will not allow. I will be contacting Survivors and Thrivers (a Cancer group here in Butte) to see if they can help as well. I'll also contact the American Cancer Society to see what help they can give.
However, I need to ask for more help! This has been an expensive journey, our bills (when all is said and done) will be over $125,000. I don't have that kind of money, Bridget will be YEARS before she has the ability to make that kind of money. I hate begging but I have to- because I am drowning (in debt and stress from worrying about this debt). I hate begging because everyday I see SO many other people who need money just as much as I do. I hate begging because I think Butte (not to mention my family) has already given me so much. I hate begging but... I need help. I hate begging because I was raised not to- but I am pretty much forced to.
I need help not only monetarily, but in setting up fundraisers, appeals to the community of Butte, getting an account set up in case someone wants to make donations, etc. etc. etc. As most of you know, I live in Butte, and work in Helena which means 12 hour days. Which leaves the weekends. As far as I know, my bank is not open on weekends, neither is the paper. I happen to think Bridget's story would make a GREAT article on the current state of healthcare- and it's a HOT topic!! But I can't get the Standard to reply back to my inquiry on an article.
Any help is GREATLY appreciated! If you are wondering why I can't do this myself- well, let me tell you, when you are spending a lot of time worrying, and getting more stressed, you spend a lot of energy and sometimes it gets overwhelming. I am overwhelmed.
Now, before you get all down in the dumps about my situation, let me remind you- I am TRULY blessed to have ALL of you in my life, and I am TRULY grateful/relieved/ecstatic/over the moon about Bridget beating this cancer!! A miracle occured, in such a short time and WE feel blessed!!
Let the celebration commence!!!!!!!!!
Denise
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Bummed
Hey all-
I am on time today!
Bridget had chemo today, labs continue good. Hemoglobin is 14.2, she is pink still. The only thing out of normal was her potassium was a little low- 3.4, so I'll beef her up with bananas. She took her Compazine before we took off for the hospital- so no nausea before OR after chemo today!
Apparently, she is tasting the first Chemo med- slight funky taste, different than the saline that she notices if she does not have gum on hand. Nothing to make her overly nauseated, but still noticeable.
She did get sleepy but less so today.
So here is the plan- this was treatment 7, she has one more and then on June 1, the PET scan.
If the PET scan shows negative, she will have a few more rounds of chemo. (Unspecified on length of time) and be done.
IF the PET scan shows stuff, she goes out to Seattle for stem cell transplant.
Initially, he talked chemo, then radiation, then stem cell. However, with her being Stage 4b, the Standard of Care is no radiation. It is figured that would lead to more/different cancers down the road. So standard of Care is stem cell.
I left at noon to get Wendy's chili, went home to grab some stuff, and picked up the mail.
Here is the bummed part-
We got the decision from SSA today- denied. They don't find her qualified for disability. They realize her illness is severe and limiting but not disabling over a one year period- so she does not get benefits. Lots of nice prose.... yadda yadda and we can appeal. Quite depressing.
Bridget (looking on the "bright" side) then indicated- well, if I need a stem cell transplant- SSA has to give me assistance.
As for me, I am praying for complete healing. I guess we'll figure out how to pay the HUGE bills later.
Well, chat later.
Denise
I am on time today!
Bridget had chemo today, labs continue good. Hemoglobin is 14.2, she is pink still. The only thing out of normal was her potassium was a little low- 3.4, so I'll beef her up with bananas. She took her Compazine before we took off for the hospital- so no nausea before OR after chemo today!
Apparently, she is tasting the first Chemo med- slight funky taste, different than the saline that she notices if she does not have gum on hand. Nothing to make her overly nauseated, but still noticeable.
She did get sleepy but less so today.
So here is the plan- this was treatment 7, she has one more and then on June 1, the PET scan.
If the PET scan shows negative, she will have a few more rounds of chemo. (Unspecified on length of time) and be done.
IF the PET scan shows stuff, she goes out to Seattle for stem cell transplant.
Initially, he talked chemo, then radiation, then stem cell. However, with her being Stage 4b, the Standard of Care is no radiation. It is figured that would lead to more/different cancers down the road. So standard of Care is stem cell.
I left at noon to get Wendy's chili, went home to grab some stuff, and picked up the mail.
Here is the bummed part-
We got the decision from SSA today- denied. They don't find her qualified for disability. They realize her illness is severe and limiting but not disabling over a one year period- so she does not get benefits. Lots of nice prose.... yadda yadda and we can appeal. Quite depressing.
Bridget (looking on the "bright" side) then indicated- well, if I need a stem cell transplant- SSA has to give me assistance.
As for me, I am praying for complete healing. I guess we'll figure out how to pay the HUGE bills later.
Well, chat later.
Denise
Thursday, April 30, 2009
I'm late, again!!
Good grief!
Time flies when we are having fun. (or something like that). Apologies again for the delay in posting. This is an update from 1.5 weeks ago. (This next Tuesday will be another round of chemo)
Labs continue good- in fact Bridge's Hemoglobin is up to 14.5! So she is no longer a ghost, but nice and pink. All other labs remain normal! Her Chest Xray looked even better to us than the Xray she had done in March. Nodes appear even smaller!!! She was a little worried- as the night sweats returned- however- they have stopped and we (including Doc) attribute it to hormones. These wonderful things can go a bit wonky with chemo- which means more tears, more anxiety, some sleepless nights, etc.
She had her chemo- the anti nausea meds worked great again!! However, before the chemo even got started, she threw up- she calls it anticipatory nausea. So, now the plan is to have a Compazine before we go to the hospital. Hopefully, that will help. She tolerated the meds without any problem afterward. That was a good day.
Next day, she had her White Blood cell booster- and then had the bone pain afterward, but that is manageable.
So, we have the month of May to get through- equals two chemo sessions and then a PET scan to see what the next step is. That will be June 1.
As to Social Security/Medicaid, her records went through SS review, and were forwarded on to QA committee- SS cannot tell me a decision (yay or nay), because her file is in QA. We will only know when that committee makes a decision. How long/?? ONLY another month- How will we know- most likely a letter. But If I don't hear/get anything by week 5, then give them a call.
Now you know why government is messed up (That would be government in general- no political statements here). They require more paperwork than GOD, and take more time than GOD to make a decision. If denied by SSA, then and ONLY then can we do the same process through Medicaid (the state government). SO the clock starts ticking all over again. When we first applied for SSA benefits, it stated they take between 90-120 days to make a decision- they weren't kidding, the 120 days is up end of May. Same timeline for Medicaid- yes, the clock starts ticking when SSA decides. So we may be well done with treatment and know nothing. In the meantime, the bills pile up- Bridget figures she owes the hospital 9 of her First born children- maybe she can borrow some from the total loser OCTOMOM. (who by the way, has no trouble whatsoever getting benefits from the government to have more and more and more kids (can we say free medical care to the toon of 9 or so million, plus a new house, lots of attention,.... on and on and on, I am SURE you get my drift).
Bridget is excited (NOT) that it will probably be nice on Chemo day. The last three or so treatments the days have been nice. However, its the time after that that sucks beans. I will be excited if it does anything but SNOW on chemo day. I don't mind the daily drive to Helena to work, however, when it takes more than 1.5 hours to get there and I have to white knuckle it all the way and it's MAY tomorrow- I am so over the snow. I know its good for plants, prevents fires in the summer and generally is good for the planet, but when winter extends into Spring and it seems like its never ending, it gets old.
Ah well, I can see I am tired and frustrated by a lot of things. I probably am boring you to tears now, so I will close.
I can't promise to get these blogs more timely- but I can promise to TRY harder to get them timely. Keep your fingers crossed. ....
Denise
Time flies when we are having fun. (or something like that). Apologies again for the delay in posting. This is an update from 1.5 weeks ago. (This next Tuesday will be another round of chemo)
Labs continue good- in fact Bridge's Hemoglobin is up to 14.5! So she is no longer a ghost, but nice and pink. All other labs remain normal! Her Chest Xray looked even better to us than the Xray she had done in March. Nodes appear even smaller!!! She was a little worried- as the night sweats returned- however- they have stopped and we (including Doc) attribute it to hormones. These wonderful things can go a bit wonky with chemo- which means more tears, more anxiety, some sleepless nights, etc.
She had her chemo- the anti nausea meds worked great again!! However, before the chemo even got started, she threw up- she calls it anticipatory nausea. So, now the plan is to have a Compazine before we go to the hospital. Hopefully, that will help. She tolerated the meds without any problem afterward. That was a good day.
Next day, she had her White Blood cell booster- and then had the bone pain afterward, but that is manageable.
So, we have the month of May to get through- equals two chemo sessions and then a PET scan to see what the next step is. That will be June 1.
As to Social Security/Medicaid, her records went through SS review, and were forwarded on to QA committee- SS cannot tell me a decision (yay or nay), because her file is in QA. We will only know when that committee makes a decision. How long/?? ONLY another month- How will we know- most likely a letter. But If I don't hear/get anything by week 5, then give them a call.
Now you know why government is messed up (That would be government in general- no political statements here). They require more paperwork than GOD, and take more time than GOD to make a decision. If denied by SSA, then and ONLY then can we do the same process through Medicaid (the state government). SO the clock starts ticking all over again. When we first applied for SSA benefits, it stated they take between 90-120 days to make a decision- they weren't kidding, the 120 days is up end of May. Same timeline for Medicaid- yes, the clock starts ticking when SSA decides. So we may be well done with treatment and know nothing. In the meantime, the bills pile up- Bridget figures she owes the hospital 9 of her First born children- maybe she can borrow some from the total loser OCTOMOM. (who by the way, has no trouble whatsoever getting benefits from the government to have more and more and more kids (can we say free medical care to the toon of 9 or so million, plus a new house, lots of attention,.... on and on and on, I am SURE you get my drift).
Bridget is excited (NOT) that it will probably be nice on Chemo day. The last three or so treatments the days have been nice. However, its the time after that that sucks beans. I will be excited if it does anything but SNOW on chemo day. I don't mind the daily drive to Helena to work, however, when it takes more than 1.5 hours to get there and I have to white knuckle it all the way and it's MAY tomorrow- I am so over the snow. I know its good for plants, prevents fires in the summer and generally is good for the planet, but when winter extends into Spring and it seems like its never ending, it gets old.
Ah well, I can see I am tired and frustrated by a lot of things. I probably am boring you to tears now, so I will close.
I can't promise to get these blogs more timely- but I can promise to TRY harder to get them timely. Keep your fingers crossed. ....
Denise
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Latest update
Ok, I am late, apologies. It is hard to get the school kid off the computer after I get home- plus, after working 8 hours on the computer at work, sometimes I REALLY don't feel like getting on the darn thing when I get home. Enough about my tardiness. Like I said, apologies.
Bridget had chemo Tuesday. We saw the doc after labs were drawn- they are all still great, all normal!! Yay Bridge! We did talk to him about different anti nausea meds because the last two chemo's ended right away with the urp ups. So he ordered different meds- they worked great- no nausea, no urp ups!!! However, she pretty much slept the entire chemo time- and that is OK. Luckily, I brought cross stitch and nursing magazines to read. So I got caught up on some articles, and have some cross stitching done.
She woke up long enough to put in an order for a Subway sandwich. I took a nice four block walk to Subway, which helped stretch my muscles. And it was nice enough to take a walk YAY spring- is it finally almost here???
So got her home- she went to bed, I worked some, went to the store, took Zach up to get his truck- its working.....Put some elk steaks on the grill- apparently forgot how to cook on the grill, because they were on the charred and tough to eat side----oh well, I do get better with age..... or maybe not....
Bridget woke up long enough to watch a little of the Biggest Loser, and ......Go back to bed. It was all the meds- but as long as she did not throw up... we'll take Sleepy over Urpy (as the eighth dwarf, should now be named).
PET scan will be done after 8 rounds of chemo- so it is scheduled for June 1. The PET scan will show us whether chemo is the treatment of choice or whether we need to add in radiation.
So, today- or last noc- all that sleep and the Decadron she gets to calm reactions to chemo meds- made her emotional and unable to sleep. So I got a call at work. Tears, I can't sleep, I haven't slept, my hearts pounding.... I looked up reactions to Decadron- most likely that is what it is. She called the Cancer nurses and talked to them- yep for sure that is most likely what it is. They expect that the drug will wear off tonight and she will be able to sleep. So keep your fingers crossed.
Uncle tommy gave us a really good helpful hint about aspargus puree having potential cancer fighting properties. I showed her the article, but.... she STILL is not convinced that asparagus has ANY good properties, let alone asparagus puree!!! I think it is left over from being fed Baby food veggies from the Gerber jar... I didn't have the heart to tell her, she actually LOVED all the GREEN puree veggies, it was the Carrots and Sweet potatoes she spit back at me..... Oh well... some like asparagus and some don't.
But Thanks Uncle Tommy for trying. I think its like you and the mushroom phobia....... ;)
Well, enough blathering on from me.
Thank you for staying tuned and the positive thoughts and prayers! I know I have said it before, but will say it again---- We appreciate them!!
Denise
Bridget had chemo Tuesday. We saw the doc after labs were drawn- they are all still great, all normal!! Yay Bridge! We did talk to him about different anti nausea meds because the last two chemo's ended right away with the urp ups. So he ordered different meds- they worked great- no nausea, no urp ups!!! However, she pretty much slept the entire chemo time- and that is OK. Luckily, I brought cross stitch and nursing magazines to read. So I got caught up on some articles, and have some cross stitching done.
She woke up long enough to put in an order for a Subway sandwich. I took a nice four block walk to Subway, which helped stretch my muscles. And it was nice enough to take a walk YAY spring- is it finally almost here???
So got her home- she went to bed, I worked some, went to the store, took Zach up to get his truck- its working.....Put some elk steaks on the grill- apparently forgot how to cook on the grill, because they were on the charred and tough to eat side----oh well, I do get better with age..... or maybe not....
Bridget woke up long enough to watch a little of the Biggest Loser, and ......Go back to bed. It was all the meds- but as long as she did not throw up... we'll take Sleepy over Urpy (as the eighth dwarf, should now be named).
PET scan will be done after 8 rounds of chemo- so it is scheduled for June 1. The PET scan will show us whether chemo is the treatment of choice or whether we need to add in radiation.
So, today- or last noc- all that sleep and the Decadron she gets to calm reactions to chemo meds- made her emotional and unable to sleep. So I got a call at work. Tears, I can't sleep, I haven't slept, my hearts pounding.... I looked up reactions to Decadron- most likely that is what it is. She called the Cancer nurses and talked to them- yep for sure that is most likely what it is. They expect that the drug will wear off tonight and she will be able to sleep. So keep your fingers crossed.
Uncle tommy gave us a really good helpful hint about aspargus puree having potential cancer fighting properties. I showed her the article, but.... she STILL is not convinced that asparagus has ANY good properties, let alone asparagus puree!!! I think it is left over from being fed Baby food veggies from the Gerber jar... I didn't have the heart to tell her, she actually LOVED all the GREEN puree veggies, it was the Carrots and Sweet potatoes she spit back at me..... Oh well... some like asparagus and some don't.
But Thanks Uncle Tommy for trying. I think its like you and the mushroom phobia....... ;)
Well, enough blathering on from me.
Thank you for staying tuned and the positive thoughts and prayers! I know I have said it before, but will say it again---- We appreciate them!!
Denise
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Cruising along
Hi all-
well, we are past the fourth chemo session, with at least 8 to go. Sometime in April, we'll probably get a PET scan (again) to see progress and determine if we need to add Radiation to the treatment. The way Dr. H explained it- if anything shows on PET scan- we can add Radiation to take care of the outlier areas that do not appear to be responding to chemo.
That said- her labs continue good and on exam- she has no palpable nodes in her neck or arm pits! Her hemoglobin is up to 13.4, and she has more color and energy. YAY. She has even started playing the Wii which helps her exercise-yes a video game that lets you move more.
Her liver enzyme remains normal- and her Potassium is in normal range again- thanks to Potassium rich foods- thank you Kim and Paige for helping me figure out more Potassium foods than I was aware of!
She did great through chemo today- even slept during the last one. Bridget came home and slept some more- and then the dreaded nausea hit. This happened the last time- which makes me think that the pre- chemo anti nausea med is not working anymore (This is the one that is supposed to last 48 hours). So, since it happened the last two times, I think we will add Compazine in between the 4 meds, which may help to keep the nausea "troll" at bay.
And probably we'll just stick with soup for lunch on chemo day!. and maybe more soup/broth for dinner on chemo day.
However, the nausea/urp ups only last at most two days, then she gets her appetite back. She gained 3 pounds this last two weeks up to 158. And she is eating almost anything she can get her hands on- except asparagus (can't convince her that it is a great tasting veggie?). Oh well, she will eat beets and spinach without too much protest.
Well, again - thanks for the positive thoughts and prayers. It's working.
Denise
well, we are past the fourth chemo session, with at least 8 to go. Sometime in April, we'll probably get a PET scan (again) to see progress and determine if we need to add Radiation to the treatment. The way Dr. H explained it- if anything shows on PET scan- we can add Radiation to take care of the outlier areas that do not appear to be responding to chemo.
That said- her labs continue good and on exam- she has no palpable nodes in her neck or arm pits! Her hemoglobin is up to 13.4, and she has more color and energy. YAY. She has even started playing the Wii which helps her exercise-yes a video game that lets you move more.
Her liver enzyme remains normal- and her Potassium is in normal range again- thanks to Potassium rich foods- thank you Kim and Paige for helping me figure out more Potassium foods than I was aware of!
She did great through chemo today- even slept during the last one. Bridget came home and slept some more- and then the dreaded nausea hit. This happened the last time- which makes me think that the pre- chemo anti nausea med is not working anymore (This is the one that is supposed to last 48 hours). So, since it happened the last two times, I think we will add Compazine in between the 4 meds, which may help to keep the nausea "troll" at bay.
And probably we'll just stick with soup for lunch on chemo day!. and maybe more soup/broth for dinner on chemo day.
However, the nausea/urp ups only last at most two days, then she gets her appetite back. She gained 3 pounds this last two weeks up to 158. And she is eating almost anything she can get her hands on- except asparagus (can't convince her that it is a great tasting veggie?). Oh well, she will eat beets and spinach without too much protest.
Well, again - thanks for the positive thoughts and prayers. It's working.
Denise
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Third week chemo
Hi all- (second time at this- the first one did not save)
Bridget had chemo yesterday (Yes there was another scheduling glitch). Other than it was a 7 hour ordeal, it went well and she tolerated things fine. We arrived at 8:20 to the Cancer center- had lab work and a Chest Xray. After those were processed, we met with Dr. Hueftle.
GOOD NEWS-
Her hemoglobin is up to 12 (she is pink, has color to her cheeks and finger nails and is no longer see thru). Her liver enzyme that was so elevated at 760- is down to normal levels at 170!! YAY.
The only concern I have is that her potassium is low at 3.2, so I am giving her all the potassium rich foods we can find. Bananas, tomatoes, cheeses, yellow and orange fruits and veggies. So with the chemo and the bananas- she MAY turn into a monkey! (joking)
Dr. H was surprised to see she has not lost all her hair. It is thinning but she still has lots of hair.
So her chest Xray- without even looking at the old one (january's), I could tell that the nodes were much smaller. BUT the comparison of old to recent- Wow- the nodes are about 1/3 the size they were. She is really responding well to chemo.
So upstairs we go for chemo. She tolerated it well. We left at 3:15, so all in all a 7 hour ordeal- I still don't get why they say 4 hours in and out--- but oh well. We get to hang out together and chat with my old friends from St. James.
Today she got the booster shot for White blood cells, so by tomorrow, she will most likely be sick to her stomach (which she describes as her tummy doing handstands and flip flops) AND her bones will ache (which last time she told me felt like little trolls jumping on her bones). Not a fun Thursday. It, so far, has only lasted one day. Then a week and a half of good things. If the weather Ever warms up (-20 in Clancy this morning???), I want to get her out walking after dinner.
We thank you for your prayers and positive thoughts. Her next chemo is scheduled for March 24th. I'll post a new blog then.
Take care
Denise
Bridget had chemo yesterday (Yes there was another scheduling glitch). Other than it was a 7 hour ordeal, it went well and she tolerated things fine. We arrived at 8:20 to the Cancer center- had lab work and a Chest Xray. After those were processed, we met with Dr. Hueftle.
GOOD NEWS-
Her hemoglobin is up to 12 (she is pink, has color to her cheeks and finger nails and is no longer see thru). Her liver enzyme that was so elevated at 760- is down to normal levels at 170!! YAY.
The only concern I have is that her potassium is low at 3.2, so I am giving her all the potassium rich foods we can find. Bananas, tomatoes, cheeses, yellow and orange fruits and veggies. So with the chemo and the bananas- she MAY turn into a monkey! (joking)
Dr. H was surprised to see she has not lost all her hair. It is thinning but she still has lots of hair.
So her chest Xray- without even looking at the old one (january's), I could tell that the nodes were much smaller. BUT the comparison of old to recent- Wow- the nodes are about 1/3 the size they were. She is really responding well to chemo.
So upstairs we go for chemo. She tolerated it well. We left at 3:15, so all in all a 7 hour ordeal- I still don't get why they say 4 hours in and out--- but oh well. We get to hang out together and chat with my old friends from St. James.
Today she got the booster shot for White blood cells, so by tomorrow, she will most likely be sick to her stomach (which she describes as her tummy doing handstands and flip flops) AND her bones will ache (which last time she told me felt like little trolls jumping on her bones). Not a fun Thursday. It, so far, has only lasted one day. Then a week and a half of good things. If the weather Ever warms up (-20 in Clancy this morning???), I want to get her out walking after dinner.
We thank you for your prayers and positive thoughts. Her next chemo is scheduled for March 24th. I'll post a new blog then.
Take care
Denise
Monday, March 2, 2009
Busy week
Sorry, seemed like last week blew by too fast and I am late in putting up the latest. Apologies for that!
Bridget had her chemo last Tuesday (2/24/09) and it went well. Took about 5 hours for the infusions to go in. She went first to Chemo center for lab and MD visit. I think I reported that her hemoglobin is up (10.9) and her Liver enzymes down from 750 to around 250!! yeah!! So the chemo is working!
She tolerated chemo well. The anti nausea med lasted about 36 hours this time- she was icky feeling the next evening. More sick this time!! (probably will be as the meds buildup in her body), but she handled it well with the Compazine. The Neulasta shot (to build up white blood cells and her immunity) also must be building up in her body- this time bone pain was more noticeable. Not just twinges and cramps, but real aches and pains. This is an expected side effect of the shot. If you think about it, it makes sense. White blood cells are built in the bone marrow, so places where her bone marrow is making more WBC's in response to the shot are going to hurt more. That lasted about a day and a half, coming right on top of the 'icky' feeling- so not a pleasant couple of days for Bridge.
She has more energy, is planning future things- like what she will do this summer, what movies she wants to go watch at the drive in, etc. She did the dishes one night last week and even set up her Wii, but ended up not playing it. So things are bouncing back for her!
Next chemo is next Monday- no hiccups, we have it scheduled and planned out in advance. She will have her labs and a Chest Xray to see what the lymph nodes around her heart and lungs are doing (shrinking????).
Still have not heard back from SSA yet, I am going to call today and see what the status is, plus have Dr. Hueftle call them to see if he can push from his end. We are getting bills. I probably would have a heart attack if I did not know in advance this was going to be pricey. We'll pay what we can and go from there. Meantime, more paperwork to fill out, Now you all know why the government is in the shape its in.
Chat with you later.
Denise
Bridget had her chemo last Tuesday (2/24/09) and it went well. Took about 5 hours for the infusions to go in. She went first to Chemo center for lab and MD visit. I think I reported that her hemoglobin is up (10.9) and her Liver enzymes down from 750 to around 250!! yeah!! So the chemo is working!
She tolerated chemo well. The anti nausea med lasted about 36 hours this time- she was icky feeling the next evening. More sick this time!! (probably will be as the meds buildup in her body), but she handled it well with the Compazine. The Neulasta shot (to build up white blood cells and her immunity) also must be building up in her body- this time bone pain was more noticeable. Not just twinges and cramps, but real aches and pains. This is an expected side effect of the shot. If you think about it, it makes sense. White blood cells are built in the bone marrow, so places where her bone marrow is making more WBC's in response to the shot are going to hurt more. That lasted about a day and a half, coming right on top of the 'icky' feeling- so not a pleasant couple of days for Bridge.
She has more energy, is planning future things- like what she will do this summer, what movies she wants to go watch at the drive in, etc. She did the dishes one night last week and even set up her Wii, but ended up not playing it. So things are bouncing back for her!
Next chemo is next Monday- no hiccups, we have it scheduled and planned out in advance. She will have her labs and a Chest Xray to see what the lymph nodes around her heart and lungs are doing (shrinking????).
Still have not heard back from SSA yet, I am going to call today and see what the status is, plus have Dr. Hueftle call them to see if he can push from his end. We are getting bills. I probably would have a heart attack if I did not know in advance this was going to be pricey. We'll pay what we can and go from there. Meantime, more paperwork to fill out, Now you all know why the government is in the shape its in.
Chat with you later.
Denise
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