My sisters, Barbara and Audrey, visited recently. They took Stephanie and me out to eat and spent quality time with us. That time meant everything to us during this difficult period—one you truly can’t imagine. During their stay, they purchased an iPad for me to help me artificially speak words and phrases. Because of it, […]
Television watching helps fill the void during the day. Remarkable among programs is the BBC’s Call the Midwife, a look at the British socialized medicine, a retrospective since the 1940s delivering many babies among the poor dock workers and their families. The Anglican nuns play a vital role at Nonnatus House and go deeply into […]
On Friday, I met with my movement neurologist, Dr. Julie Kurek, and she diagnosed my symptoms as parkinsonism’s, and may be reduced by dopamine as prescribed by Dr. Kurek. As it stands, I have three infusions of Keytruda and Oxipilatin, on hold as of now, as the dopamine seeks to reduce symptoms of Parkinson’s. It’s […]
On Thursday, my oncologist agreed to stop Keytruda and prescribed steroids to address parkinsonian-like symptoms. Today, after eating a bowl of instant flavored oatmeal, I took ten steroid pills to equal 40 mg for the first of four doses in hopes of reversing the symptoms of Parkinson’s, including mask-type facial expressions, unsteady gait, and hunched […]
Monday, I met with my ENT, who examined my vocal cords, which he deemed normal, and concluded this was a neurological problem. I need to be totally candid with you. Since starting chemo and immunotherapy, my face has developed a mask-like look, so I have to force even a slight smile. In addition, when eating, […]
Monday, I received my third chemo and immunotherapy infusion and two weeks of chemo pills. The nausea and loss of appetite was intense than ever, to be expected at this phase. Flavored oatmeal and cheese grits are what I can tolerate. I expect this to subside some, the third week after chemo, when I can […]
On Thursday, my oncologist shared with me the results of a recent CT scan, which revealed a shrinkage of a lot of the tumors, which was a good sign after only two chemo treatments. In fact, the shrinkage caused the stent which was placed in my esophagus to permit swallowing to drop to my stomach. […]
This past Sunday, I had an MRI brain scan to see if the disease had spread to the brain. I got through the non-contrast scan, but when the strong contrast was injected, I started having trouble breathing, and I hit the kill switch! Once I was out of the tube, I was fine. The non-contrast […]
Happy New Year! On Monday, I had my second infusion, arriving at 10:00 AM and leaving at 4:30 PM. My sodium levels were low, and my pulse rate was high at 120, due to dehydration. Hanging a sodium bag took extra time. I observed how nurses at the infusion center start each patient on their […]