Thursday, July 24, 2008
Moving to....
Blog/Updates are moving to our official page http://www.theboitsons.info Join us there!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The Day Is Here!
Today is when we find out tons more about the future of Kevin's treatment. We meet with the Dr. at 3:30 pm today (ask for prayers) to ask our bazillion questions, and hopefully to review the status of the biopsy and CT scan. Thursday Kevin gets his P.E.T. scan which will show anywhere else the cancer may be, and Friday he goes in for his endo-ultrasound to determine how large the tumor is and how far along.
I'm very excited to finally be taking a step ahead. Since Wednesday of last week we've just been waiting, praying, notifying, and writing down all the questions we can think of. We have a few main concerns with the possible treatments ahead.
The first of which is how long we can expect for Kevin to be off of work and how long he'll be in treatment. We're praying it will be short, but from experience, we are both prepared for this to be a long journey. We don't know what course will be taken yet: surgery, chemo, radiation, as the Dr. informed us that at this point, all treatment options are open. That, of course, will determine length of time.
The second is fertility. Both Kevin and I want children, and chemotherapy can create some concerns with that. We're going to discuss all the options today with Kevin's physician to determine what steps we need to take to be sure we can have children in the future. Neither of us are opposed to adoption, in fact, we just want children, whether their ours, or they're given to us. However, the expense of fertility treatments versus adoptions is significant if all goes well. So, at this point, we're leaning towards sperm freezing. There is a lot of questions we have about this, hopefully to be answered today.
I've been busy cleaning the house like crazy, and took last night off to just "chill" as best as possible. So far I'm 3 rooms down with disinfecting, wiping down, washing and cleaning. I want to make sure the house is spic and span to promote a healthy environment. I don't want to over-sanitize, but I do want to be safe. Also, if I clean REALLY good now, it'll save me time in the long run for having to clean while Kevin is in treatment/surgery.
There are a few things I need to make decisions about/get done. The first major thing is to sell the Saturn, as we've been trying to do for the past year. We still owe $ on it, so that would lift a HUGE burden if we could sell it. I've dropped the price, and frankly, at this point, just need to rid myself of the payment. I'm asking $8500 OBO for anyone interested. Please email me if you are. This would life a huge burden from our financial woes.
The second major decision to make is going back to college. This spring I applied for financial aid, and received a nice loan towards college expenses for me to finish my Business Studies degree at Harrisburg Area Community College. I had only registered for 9 credits, but with all this going on, I don't think I can handle it. If I drop my science lab, I'll only have 6 credits (minimum needed to keep my financial aid package for the fall). Both classes are online, and interesting enough that I think I could still do it. They're English Composition II and World Mythology. My guess is they'll just be a lot of reading, and that I can do in the hospital, at home, wherever! My only concern is falling behind as things will be up and down. I have a good feeling if I inform my Profs up front about what's going on, I'm sure I can get some lee-way.
Plusses to going back to school are that with the loan, whatever you don't use, you get in a refund to either pay back to your loan, or to use. That would be a nice chunk of change to put towards bills right now, and then I'll just pay it back to my student loans down the road. The other plus is that is automatically defers my current student loan which would free up about $50 a month-and that alone is helpful. Overall, I think I'll stay in school and do the best that I can. But, it's something Kevin and I need to decide within the next week so that I can drop my classes if need be.
We have fun into a few snaggles that are causing some un-necessary grief. One is with our landlord. I'm hoping we can come to some sort of decision as to what to do with an issue that came up-Pray that our landlord does the right thing...
Kevin has been having a lot of pain in the past 24 hours. He went from being able to eat almost solid meals to now back to pudding. We're not sure what happened, but we believe that the pain killers are not holding up like they did in the beginning. It's something we'll discuss with the Dr. tonight. He's also having a lot of shoulder/muscle pain from not being active. Due to his Hiatal hernia, that seems to be causing the most discomfort as well. He would just like to eat something other than pudding, but right now, it's just not an option.
We are praying over and over that today's appointment answers many questions and gives us some positive news. We could really use a positive sign right now. We thank everyone for their wonderful support and friendship. People are coming out of the woodwork to help us, and we truly appreciate it. Once we meet with the Dr. and confirm everything, we'll be finalizing details on the fundraiser BBQ slated for August 23rd. I'll try to get everyone tickets in the mail or dropped off by this weekend so everyone has 3 weeks to sell their hearts out!
Thank you all for your support....pray deeply for us at 3:30 today.
PS-A blog that I follow (cfhusband.blogspot.com) has some upsetting news. Pray for Tricia, Nate & Gwynyth as they head into a similar situation battling cancer. My thoughts and prayers go out to them.
I'm very excited to finally be taking a step ahead. Since Wednesday of last week we've just been waiting, praying, notifying, and writing down all the questions we can think of. We have a few main concerns with the possible treatments ahead.
The first of which is how long we can expect for Kevin to be off of work and how long he'll be in treatment. We're praying it will be short, but from experience, we are both prepared for this to be a long journey. We don't know what course will be taken yet: surgery, chemo, radiation, as the Dr. informed us that at this point, all treatment options are open. That, of course, will determine length of time.
The second is fertility. Both Kevin and I want children, and chemotherapy can create some concerns with that. We're going to discuss all the options today with Kevin's physician to determine what steps we need to take to be sure we can have children in the future. Neither of us are opposed to adoption, in fact, we just want children, whether their ours, or they're given to us. However, the expense of fertility treatments versus adoptions is significant if all goes well. So, at this point, we're leaning towards sperm freezing. There is a lot of questions we have about this, hopefully to be answered today.
I've been busy cleaning the house like crazy, and took last night off to just "chill" as best as possible. So far I'm 3 rooms down with disinfecting, wiping down, washing and cleaning. I want to make sure the house is spic and span to promote a healthy environment. I don't want to over-sanitize, but I do want to be safe. Also, if I clean REALLY good now, it'll save me time in the long run for having to clean while Kevin is in treatment/surgery.
There are a few things I need to make decisions about/get done. The first major thing is to sell the Saturn, as we've been trying to do for the past year. We still owe $ on it, so that would lift a HUGE burden if we could sell it. I've dropped the price, and frankly, at this point, just need to rid myself of the payment. I'm asking $8500 OBO for anyone interested. Please email me if you are. This would life a huge burden from our financial woes.
The second major decision to make is going back to college. This spring I applied for financial aid, and received a nice loan towards college expenses for me to finish my Business Studies degree at Harrisburg Area Community College. I had only registered for 9 credits, but with all this going on, I don't think I can handle it. If I drop my science lab, I'll only have 6 credits (minimum needed to keep my financial aid package for the fall). Both classes are online, and interesting enough that I think I could still do it. They're English Composition II and World Mythology. My guess is they'll just be a lot of reading, and that I can do in the hospital, at home, wherever! My only concern is falling behind as things will be up and down. I have a good feeling if I inform my Profs up front about what's going on, I'm sure I can get some lee-way.
Plusses to going back to school are that with the loan, whatever you don't use, you get in a refund to either pay back to your loan, or to use. That would be a nice chunk of change to put towards bills right now, and then I'll just pay it back to my student loans down the road. The other plus is that is automatically defers my current student loan which would free up about $50 a month-and that alone is helpful. Overall, I think I'll stay in school and do the best that I can. But, it's something Kevin and I need to decide within the next week so that I can drop my classes if need be.
We have fun into a few snaggles that are causing some un-necessary grief. One is with our landlord. I'm hoping we can come to some sort of decision as to what to do with an issue that came up-Pray that our landlord does the right thing...
Kevin has been having a lot of pain in the past 24 hours. He went from being able to eat almost solid meals to now back to pudding. We're not sure what happened, but we believe that the pain killers are not holding up like they did in the beginning. It's something we'll discuss with the Dr. tonight. He's also having a lot of shoulder/muscle pain from not being active. Due to his Hiatal hernia, that seems to be causing the most discomfort as well. He would just like to eat something other than pudding, but right now, it's just not an option.
We are praying over and over that today's appointment answers many questions and gives us some positive news. We could really use a positive sign right now. We thank everyone for their wonderful support and friendship. People are coming out of the woodwork to help us, and we truly appreciate it. Once we meet with the Dr. and confirm everything, we'll be finalizing details on the fundraiser BBQ slated for August 23rd. I'll try to get everyone tickets in the mail or dropped off by this weekend so everyone has 3 weeks to sell their hearts out!
Thank you all for your support....pray deeply for us at 3:30 today.
PS-A blog that I follow (cfhusband.blogspot.com) has some upsetting news. Pray for Tricia, Nate & Gwynyth as they head into a similar situation battling cancer. My thoughts and prayers go out to them.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
July 22, 2008-Waiting
I walked into that waiting room thinking, "More time off of work...I hope they find out what is causing my husband so much pain...let's treat it and get on with our lives...I can't wait until we get to the beach again..." and I left that waiting room thinking, "Everything has completely changed" and saw the world through a whole new set of eyes.
I never planned nor wanted to see this new life. I don't believe anyone wishes to enter a room and hear such devastating news. We always hope and expect the best, while in some ways, preparing for the worst.
My husband, Kevin, had been suffering for almost 3 weeks with severe pain while swallowing. While on vacation visiting family in Winnipeg, Manitoba, we called the doctor's office several times concerned we would have to visit the hospital due to Kevin's pain level. But he held through and when we got back to Lancaster, Kevin went to see his doctor. Thinking it was a severe case of esophagitis, his doctor continued to prescribe acid reflux medications.
The following day Kevin's pain was extremely severe, and the doctor got us into see a gastroenterologist. The nurse practitioner, along with consulting the doctor, put Kevin on stat to get several tests done.
The next day I was waiting in the procedure room for the results of the stat endoscopy. The Dr. sat us down after Kevin finally received some pain medication and told us that he found a mass he highly believed was cancerous. He assured us we would be at the top of everyone's lists to get several important tests done that would tell us what stage the cancer was in, as well as what treatment options would be best.
After all the tests were done, we went home and just embraced knowing that we had a very tough road ahead, but that we would stick together no matter what the outcome.
The following 48 hours were emotional, numbing and just difficult to adjust to our new way of life. My husband is currently unable to work due to his level of pain, and the side effects of his pain medication. He has lost over 16 lbs in a matter of weeks due to lack of proper nutrition. We face a tough journey ahead of exams, treatment and financial woes.
We are blessed to have a great support system of family and friends. We are blessed to have good health coverage, but still fear the possibility of health coverage change. We are blessed that I am in a job that is willing to work with my upcoming varying schedule. We are blessed.
...but we are scared and pulling together to revive our faith in God above to support and strengthen us through this time ahead.
I think we have both adjusted as best as possible to this new way of life as we await all the results of the tests, and wait for two very important tests to be done: P.E.T. Scan and an Endo-Ultrasound. Both will help the doctors know more about the cancer and where it is.
The next weeks and months ahead are going to be very tough, but with faith, hope and love, we'll do just fine. We both have extreme faith in one another, and I know Kev will beat this.
We ask for your prayers and also help as we organize a fundraiser BBQ to raise money for medical costs that aren't covered, and help with living expenses since Kevin cannot work and has no disability coverage.
Thank you for all your thoughts...
I never planned nor wanted to see this new life. I don't believe anyone wishes to enter a room and hear such devastating news. We always hope and expect the best, while in some ways, preparing for the worst.
My husband, Kevin, had been suffering for almost 3 weeks with severe pain while swallowing. While on vacation visiting family in Winnipeg, Manitoba, we called the doctor's office several times concerned we would have to visit the hospital due to Kevin's pain level. But he held through and when we got back to Lancaster, Kevin went to see his doctor. Thinking it was a severe case of esophagitis, his doctor continued to prescribe acid reflux medications.
The following day Kevin's pain was extremely severe, and the doctor got us into see a gastroenterologist. The nurse practitioner, along with consulting the doctor, put Kevin on stat to get several tests done.
The next day I was waiting in the procedure room for the results of the stat endoscopy. The Dr. sat us down after Kevin finally received some pain medication and told us that he found a mass he highly believed was cancerous. He assured us we would be at the top of everyone's lists to get several important tests done that would tell us what stage the cancer was in, as well as what treatment options would be best.
After all the tests were done, we went home and just embraced knowing that we had a very tough road ahead, but that we would stick together no matter what the outcome.
The following 48 hours were emotional, numbing and just difficult to adjust to our new way of life. My husband is currently unable to work due to his level of pain, and the side effects of his pain medication. He has lost over 16 lbs in a matter of weeks due to lack of proper nutrition. We face a tough journey ahead of exams, treatment and financial woes.
We are blessed to have a great support system of family and friends. We are blessed to have good health coverage, but still fear the possibility of health coverage change. We are blessed that I am in a job that is willing to work with my upcoming varying schedule. We are blessed.
...but we are scared and pulling together to revive our faith in God above to support and strengthen us through this time ahead.
I think we have both adjusted as best as possible to this new way of life as we await all the results of the tests, and wait for two very important tests to be done: P.E.T. Scan and an Endo-Ultrasound. Both will help the doctors know more about the cancer and where it is.
The next weeks and months ahead are going to be very tough, but with faith, hope and love, we'll do just fine. We both have extreme faith in one another, and I know Kev will beat this.
We ask for your prayers and also help as we organize a fundraiser BBQ to raise money for medical costs that aren't covered, and help with living expenses since Kevin cannot work and has no disability coverage.
Thank you for all your thoughts...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
