First Week of Radiation

Well he had his first week of radiation treatments last week, 5 down 13 to go. 

Last Monday we got up and I took Tyler to the DMV to take the driving test to get his license, bless his heart he was so nervous, but he did great and passed.  So what do we do....we throw him his keys and we leave for the week, we drop Logan off with my parents and off to Tulsa we went.  For Dustin's radiation treatments we have to stay in Tulsa for the week and we are coming home on the weekend.  So Tyler has the most important job of all, he has to take care of the babies, he is taking care of Bean and Baby Girl!!  I don't know who is more miserable Tyler or the babies!

When he went in for his very first treatment, of course neither of us really knew what to expect.  People have always told us that it takes longer to get set up than it does to do the actual treatment, well they called his name and he went to the back.  I decided to get my phone and check out what was new on Facebook...it didn't even get loaded before he was back and ready to leave...lol now that is fast.

So far his treatments haven't been too bad, he does have some redness on his stomach and his back but he said it really doesn't bother his too bad.  He is just starting to have some stomach issues and he is not too thrilled about that!  The worst right now is back pain, not the normal pain, we are calling this  radiation pain.  All in all he is doing really well.

There have been so many blessings happen in our lives this past week! Sometimes things happen and all I can say is, "It was just a God thing", there is no other way to explain it.  Dustin and I are fortunate to have the American Cancer Society pay for our hotel room.  We found out my aunt is having back surgery in Tulsa and is going to be there for 3-5 days and my mother is going to stay with her.  Last week when we got to our hotel I looked across the street and the building said "Tulsa Spine......".  I called my mom, and could not believe it, out of all the hotels in Tulsa we were staying across the street from the hospital that my aunt was having surgery!  We would be at this hotel for the next 4 weeks, not only would we be there for my family, my mom had a place to stay!  That's a God thing!!

I want to thank everyone for keeping an eye on Tyler and keep up the good work :-)

New Game Plan

To catch everyone up, when we last saw the oncologist in April, we found out that the PET scan was good and there was no evidence of disease.  Dustin was finished with Chemo.  Dr. M did was us to see a radiation onc just to make sure Dustin didn't need radiation, Dr. M was certain he would not need radiation because he did not have a tumor or a large collection of lymph nodes to radiate.

We were very happy and excited with this news, we had been through a rough 9 months, so we decided to go on vacation to the beach.  Dustin was starting to feel better, the side effects of chemo were just wearing off so my parents and the 4 of us headed to Florida.  We spent 6 days in a condo on the beach in Ft. Walton Beach.  We had a great time.  Dustin was still tired some days, but he took one for the team and slept on the beach.  I could not have asked for a better family vacation.  Wonderful memories were made that week.  We all decided when we win the lottery we will be buying a 2nd house on the beach ( I need to remember to buy that ticket!). 

So that brings us to today.  We went to the radiation onc appt today just as a formality, like Dr. M said he wouldn't need radiation, "We just want to see what she has to say".  So we met with Dr. N this morning, she was extremely kind and thorough, she started from the beginning and explained all of his PET scans and pathology.  Sadly his onc had not explained anything to us the entire 9 months we saw him. 

Dr. N explained that since he had spleen involvement and spine involvement he would need radiation.  He would need 18-20 treatments, needless to say this is not what Dustin was prepared to hear.  Dr. N continued to tell us his type of radiation was going to cause nausea, vomiting, burning hemorrhoids, radiation enteritis (eating followed by immediate diarrhea) for up to 1 year.  He starts this process Monday.  He is not too happy or excited about this but knows it has to be done.


:-) Delana

Waiting Game

Dustin had his PET scan this morning. Now we will have the longest 7 days until we travel back to Tulsa to get the results. I am sure we will do our best to keep busy until then! I haven't been feeling too well this past week, Lupus has decided to show up to remind me it is still here and can cause he!! on my body! My hands and hips have really been giving me problems, so Tyler went with Dustin this morning to his scan. Tyler is NOT a morning person, he takes after his uncle Dwight, I remember my mom trying to wake him up for school each morning and he was such a bear, well Tyler acts just like him! Tyler was in my room this morning at 4:30 am asking if I forgot to wake him up. He didn't need to get up until 5:30! But he was excited to be able to go with his dad :-) We have keep them away from the tests, chemo and other ugly things for now but I was glad Tyler went today, it was good for Dust and Tyler (and my dad didn't have to go, Thanks Pooh!!). After the PET Dust and Buddy went back to Pizza Shoppe, I have a feeling we will be going there every trip to Tulsa now 7 days and counting. :-) Delana

Picture Day

Here are the promised pictures from yesterday and some others I think everyone might enjoy.

This is Dustin's favorite nurse, Annie.  She is hopefully giving him his last chemo treatment.

This is Annie charting at the little desk they have in the middle of the room.  She is the sweetest nurse!  Plus she told Dustin how to get to Pizza Shoppe....bonus points for her!!!

This is Wanda giving him his Neulasta injection.  They go in the back of his arm and they burn like fire.  He hates them.

His Pizza Shoppe pizza!  He was like a kid at Christmas when we got there.  I have to admit it was really good and made us both remember when we were younger (much younger) and we would go there with each other.  He was only able to eat what u see in the picture before he started to feel bad :( but it was worth the drive to see him so excited.

Back at the room after treatment.  You can see what the spidey juices do to him, the dark circles around his eyes always show up.

Had to show the best blueberry pancakes I have ever had.  We had breakfast at The Wild Fork before his chemo this past Wednesday and it was awesome.  He had a plain pancake (of course) and he said it was good too.  We usually go to McDonalds, so this was a step up...lol


Now for pictures of "The Babies".

This is Beanford eating a ham bone.  It looks like he is smiling....kinda creepy.


These next pictures are for one of my great friends Betty, otherwise known as "McFarland".  She said I never posted any pictures of our other baby, Baby Girl.  Well Betty, Baby is crazy! She keeps us on our toes and keeps us laughing.  I tried to get a picture tonight and this is what happened. 

Dustin took this picture of Baby last week.  She is laying on his lap holding a little stuffed toy.

Last but certainly not least.  Our baby boy turned 14 this week!  I know some family has not seen him in awhile so here he is.  That is my dad behind him and it should explain a lot to my friends on why I am the way I am....lol

;-) Delana

Last Treatment??

Dustin may have had his last treatment today. He has a PET scan next Wed and we get the results the following Wed, if all is clear we go home and say good bye to Hodgkins, if there r still signs of cooties we do 2 more cycles (4 treatments) or we may have to do a stem cell transplant.

So today on the floor of the treatment center the nurses knew today could be his last but you don't want to jinx it, so we told them goodbye but in the back of our mind both of us were thinking "I really hope this is good bye!!"

Today went perfect for Dustin, he had his favorite nurse and he did not have to wait on his meds! We were out of the hospital by 1 pm today, that never happens. We had a celebratory lunch today, he found the only Pizza Shoppe in Oklahoma, it was about 30 miles away but he said he was going!! It was awesome, it tasted just like the ones in KC.

His last round was pretty rough on him, the fatigue, bone pain and nausea about did him in. I really hope this round is not so bad but unfortunately it probably will be. I just have to remind myself this could be the last one. Dust and I pray it is the last one and I know we have many friends and family praying for us!

I have pictures from today but I am unable to post withy phone, when we get home I'll post them.

:-) Delana

Dear Blog,

Dear Blog,

Please forgive me, I have neglected you so much this past month :-( The week before the last treatment (3 weeks ago) Logan was really sick. He had fever for 3-4 days (101-103), and ended up in the ER for IV fluids and antibiotics. He ended up missing a whole week of school! And u know Logan is sick when he doesnt talk for 3 days, it was a miracle :-) It was fun trying to keep him away from Dustin...NOT! I was so nervous Dustin was going to get sick. Dust wasn't the lucky one, I was... His last treatment (2 weeks ago, as Logan was getting better) I woke up in Tulsa and thought I was dying! My body hurt so bad I was just about in tears, I had chills, and was nauseous. We still had to get his injection then we could go home... It was one of the longest days of my life...I felt so bad and just wanted to be home. When I finally got home I found out my temp was 102.4...I went straight to bed. I was sick for 4 days... My mom helped with dinners for us, but I didn't eat for 4 days. Tyler was our nurse, he made sure Dust and I had water, Gatorade and anything else we wanted. He was really awesome!! Dustin did OK with his treatment, his 3rd day was pretty rough but he is not going to let cooties get the best of him!

The timing of me getting sick couldn't have come at a worse time...Dustin felt like crap and his blood counts were low due to the chemo so he couldn't be around me, so I was banned to our bedroom and he stayed in the living room. I felt awful because I couldn't take care of him, but hopefully I will stay well now.

We are in Tulsa now, he just had his treatment this morning. It went well, he is tired today. After chemo today we went to eat and for those that know "picky eater" Dustin u are not going to believe this but we ate at PF Changs! And he liked it!!! I really think the Spidey juices have not only changed his taste buds but also since when would he even have WALKED IN PF Changs, he is actually trying different foods!

After today he has 2 treatments left then a PET scan to re-evaluate. Believe me he is counting the days...if u ask him Chemo SUCKS and that is putting it mildly.

That's all I have for now...I promise to do better on posting.

Delana :-)

Dustin Embarrassed??

I have been with Dustin for over 21 years and I can honestly say I have never seen him embarrassed or turned red, I wish he could say the same about me. My brother used to embarrass me for sport and Dustin was usually around. Today I a actually saw Dustin turn bright red for the first time (his bald head can get red really quick!!). First I must give a little back story .... We have made it a game to figure out who Dust looks like now that he has no eyebrows, eyelashes and is completely bald. We have come up with Festes from The Adams Family, Voldemort from Harry Potter, Mr Clean, and Dana Carvey plays "Turtle Guy" in Master Disguise. We ( OK..me) have had a lot of laughs with this. Today Dust was to see the nurse practitioner, Julie, she is adorable... She looks like she should still be in high school!!! Before she came in the room Dust was saying that when she examines his abdomen he feels like the pilsbery dough boy... He said he was going to make the "he....he" when she touched his belly!! Of course we were laughing when she came in the room... She started to examin Dust and he got tickled, she touched his abdomen and he lost it, he could not stop laughing, Julie looked completely lost so I told her about the pilsbery dough boy and she poked his belly and said "he...he"!!!! It was hilarious!! Poor Dustin was as red as he could be, but he was also laughing so hard he was crying. We also talked about "who does Dustin look like game", Julie came up with Dr Evil from Austin Powers!!! We left the Dr in tears we were laughing so hard, we know they must think we r nuts... Oh well we would rather laugh than cry!!!

:-) delana