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Dad was released from the hospital Tuesday night. After being admitted for almost 6 days, he was ready to be at home. He has some weakness in his left leg- where he had surgery. We think some additional rehab might be needed. We have contacted a home health service and hope that he can get some assistance at the house. They will be coming to the house on Monday.

Dad has been catching up on his sleep since he has been home. He is pretty tired from his time in the hospital and the chemotherapy. We enjoyed a nice dinner last night together - which is a step in the right direction.

We have fixed Dad's phone - for the time being, so feel free to give him a call on that.

Rehabilitation Time

Dad received his leg surgery on Friday afternoon. After a long post-op, he was back in his room by 10:30 pm. The surgery went well, but he is still in the hospital recovering from the surgery. While he is there, he is doing rehab to strengthen his leg. He is already walking and negotiating stairs.

Many of you may have noticed that he is not answering his cellphone. The phone is broken and while we try to get it replaced - feel free to call dad directly in his hospital room. Please email me directly if you would like the number.

This has been a long week for Dad in the hospital -so we are hoping he will be released soon.

A Room With A View

(Dad's view from his hospital room at Duke Hospital)

Dad got the VIP treatment when being admitted to the hospital and got a room with a view of Duke Chapel. This picture does not do it justice - it was taken from a camera phone. For those of you who have not been to Durham you can click on the link above to truly appreciate the beauty of this landmark.

Since medicine was not bringing his heart rate down, yesterday Dad got a TEE or TransEsophageal Echo to check for blood clots. Once that was negative, he received Cardioversion which is a brief procedure where an electrical shock is delivered to the heart to convert an abnormal heart rhythm back to a normal rhythm.

We visited him last night and he is doing great. His heart rate was lowered and a normal rhythm. They kept him on the Cardiac floor for observation again last night. He is scheduled for leg surgery today- which is a positive step toward getting him mobile again.

One Day at a Time

On Wednesday, Dad was scheduled for an "immune booster" shot and consultation with a Occupational Surgeon. Long story short, the bone cancer that has been found in Dad's leg has compromised the integrity of the bone. They are worried about him breaking his leg because it is so weak.

Besides the crutches that Dad has been using, the surgeon suggested a surgery to reinforce the bone - with a metal pin. They squeezed Dad in and scheduled him for a pre-op appointment yesterday afternoon and surgery on Friday.

During his pre-op appointment, the doctor became concerned about dad's increased heart rate. He was then transferred to the Emergency Department for additional tests (EKG, chest X-Ray). When the medicine they gave him did not decrease his heart rate, he was admitted to the cardiac floor for monitoring overnight. The doctor's believe he has Atrial Fibrillation or possibly Atrial Flutter. Which is not considered too serious, but they want to understand the cause and control the rate.

Dad continues to feel normal, he has no symptoms from the increased heart rate and so far no nausea from the chemotherapy. He is still admitted in the hospital. Currently, we don't know how this will affect his treatment or surgery schedule. All we can do is take this one day at a time.

One Down

(Dad's powerful chemo drugs on his IV pole)

Yesterday, Dad received his first chemotherapy treatment. I met him at the hospital where the nurse gave us explicit instructions on how dad needs to take care of himself during chemo. This includes drinking a lot of water, gargling, checking his temperature and other miscellaneous things to make sure he stays as healthy as possible.

He then received two chemotherapy drugs. Each drug took one hour to be infused through his IV. He then received another "bone building" drug - aiming at repairing the bone that has been damaged with tumors.

During the 2 plus hour treatment - Dad watched sports, flirted with the nurses and took a nap. He continues to feel well, but these long days at the hospital are making him very tired. Hopefully a long weekend of rest will help with that.

Released & The Plan

(Our view of the hospital's life flight helicopter from Dad's floor)

Dad got out of the hospital Wednesday afternoon once he received his final PET Scan. We celebrated his release by having dinner with friends in Chapel Hill. Our old neighbors from Platte City were in town and we had a great time catching up together.

On Thursday, Dad and I met with his oncologist to follow up on his tests and develop a treatment plan. Chemo will start next Tuesday and will be administered in 3-4 week cycles for 4-6 treatments. We also stayed for some additional tests and spent quite a lot of time scheduling all of his upcoming appointments (chemo, immune booster shots, radiologist consults, more MRI's, etc.) If anybody is interested in knowing his appointment schedule, I have added a calendar at the bottom of the page.

His chemo will be targeted the areas that we have identified cancer.
1. Lung - left upper lobe (large mass)
2. Brain - 3 small lesions (have already been treated with radiation therapy)
3. Liver nodules - numerous small tumors
4. Right Pelvis/Hip - bone cancer (have already been treated with radiation therapy)
5. Left Femur - bone cancer.
Our new doctor has identified the pain that began this process. A bone tumor has been detected in dad's left femur. While more Cancer is never good news, we are happy to know the source of his pain, in hopes that we can now treat it.

We continue to be so pleased with the level of care that Dad is receiving at Duke and the Morris Cancer Center.

Tests in the hospital

(Dad and Aaron waiting for admission to the hospital)

Monday was a long (but good) day at the hospital. We arrived at Morris Cancer Center at 12:45 for our first appointment at Duke. After blood tests, we met with the doctor. We all really like

dad's new oncologist. After going through his history, the doctor admitted dad to the hospital for a bunch of tests. Since we would like to move forward with chemo as soon as possible, the doctor thought admission would get everything done more efficiently.

We finished at the Cancer clinic and dad was wheeled over to the hospital admission in style (wheelchair, of course). We went out to eat before finally getting admitted at 9:00 p.m.

He got a good night sleep last night and began getting tests at the hospital this morning at 7:00 a.m. This included a chest X-Ray, Bone scan and MRI. One Wednesday he is scheduled to receive a PET scan. We will meet with the oncologist again on Thursday once the tests have all been done and reviewed.

Radiation Done

We are happy to let you know that Dad has finished his course of radiation. His doctors have also dramatically decreased his steroid medication - which we consider a good step.

He has also begun taking medication to regulate his blood sugar. He has a follow up eye appointment tomorrow. So far, his eye seems better and is healing very well.

Overall, Dad is happy to be done with this part of treatment and is looking forward to a few days of rest.

Eye Surgery

After a trip to the eye doctor yesterday, Dad was diagnosed with a detached retina. He has had some blurry vision since getting his new glasses prescription recently. The doctors do not seem to think that this is a result of his cancer or treatment. However, his blood sugar has been a little wacky and high blood sugar can be a cause of detachment.

He had surgery Friday morning to repair his eye. It was a quick, outpatient procedure. The doctors believe the surgery went very well.

Today also marks the end of another week of radiation. He will have the weekend off to rest and recover. And then one more week of treatment before leaving for North Carolina.