The doctor called us Sunday afternoon, Feb 27th. She is amazingly dedicated, but we were surprised to hear from her on a Sunday. She wanted Ed to come in right away, after seeing the results of his MRI. By that time, he had no use of his left leg. Couldn't lift the leg, turn the foot, or anything. He dropped from getting around with a cane to having trouble even with the walker in a week. It's scary how fast things went downhill!
The word was that the metastasis in the hip had also spread to the lumbar vetebrae, and one of the tumors was pushing on the nerve that controls his left leg, causing it to go "dead". They lined Ed up for a fresh round of radiation. He started 12 daily shots on Tuesday the 1st. Within the week, he could lift his leg and turn his foot! After 9 shots, he is moving his leg more freely still, plus he has cut down on the morphine. He's happily tooling around on his walker, which has been a real boon to mobility. This journey is still a wild roller coaster. Every day, there is something new. After the radiation, he will get a new chemotherapy regimen, probably EOX. He keeps on smiling.
He had fun at the coin club meeting Thursday night, but sat on the most uncomfortable chair in the world! It's Saturday, and we hope to get down to the store that sells health supplies. Maybe they will have sandals that are big enough to fit his poor swollen feet. They probably also have other cool toys that we just have to have.
We are looking forward to visiting friends. March17th, our friend from Japan is coming. The tsunami was awful there! She is okay (shaken, you might say). She is still trying to contact people near Sendai. I just made a donation to Redd Barna (Save the Children). I hope you all provide whatever help you can...
The word was that the metastasis in the hip had also spread to the lumbar vetebrae, and one of the tumors was pushing on the nerve that controls his left leg, causing it to go "dead". They lined Ed up for a fresh round of radiation. He started 12 daily shots on Tuesday the 1st. Within the week, he could lift his leg and turn his foot! After 9 shots, he is moving his leg more freely still, plus he has cut down on the morphine. He's happily tooling around on his walker, which has been a real boon to mobility. This journey is still a wild roller coaster. Every day, there is something new. After the radiation, he will get a new chemotherapy regimen, probably EOX. He keeps on smiling.
He had fun at the coin club meeting Thursday night, but sat on the most uncomfortable chair in the world! It's Saturday, and we hope to get down to the store that sells health supplies. Maybe they will have sandals that are big enough to fit his poor swollen feet. They probably also have other cool toys that we just have to have.
We are looking forward to visiting friends. March17th, our friend from Japan is coming. The tsunami was awful there! She is okay (shaken, you might say). She is still trying to contact people near Sendai. I just made a donation to Redd Barna (Save the Children). I hope you all provide whatever help you can...
Experiencing any paralysis is frightening and I can wholly sympathize - Hope all goes well Ed
ReplyDeleteCheers
David
So sorry to hear this. I'm glad Ed's better now. Don't forget to look after yourself, as well. Happy St Patrick's day! Love you!
ReplyDeleteI was glad to see your smiling faces on Skype this weekend. Keep smiling as Ed says! Wishing the best turnout of this round of treatments and looking forward to seeing you in Arizona soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks David. I hope you are up and tiptoeing through the tulips soon, yourself. Debbie, there's a cool article on how bubbles in beer are generated in the last Economist. I will test it out on St. Patrick's Day. ;) Lynne, we'll be mooching off you as soon as we can! Love to all.
ReplyDeleteI can only imagine how scary that must have been -- and I am really glad to hear that things are better now. Love and best wishes from Claudia and me!
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