You Win Some You Lose Some

This last Wednesday we went to the hospital for my blood test and chemo. My mom and Eason took me up because Payton was in Pennsylvania for a basketball tournament. They lost in the 2nd round, so he was back Friday. His dad came to see Eason for a day.

When my blood work came back, it showed my hCG level at 3.6. This is the lowest it has ever been, but still  not low enough to be considered normal. It is a little confusing because when my blood is sent to North Carolina to be tested it come backs normal. Hopefully this will get sorted out soon.

My blood work also showed that my hemoglobin was at 7.9. Anytime it gets below 8, a blood transfusion is suggested. I didn't get one yet, but because it was so low I didn't do chemo. With the week off we are hopeful the hemoglobin levels will go up and I won't need the transfusion.

Baby Eason is doing a lot better. His RSV and thrush are all but gone. He had two top teeth pop through this week, so he has been a little cranky. 

Just Waiting

When I went in for chemo on Wednesday they took another blood sample to make sure the levels were still normal. The levels came back higher than last week. They don't know if it was due to a tumor that is growing or the fact they started me on birth control. The birth control may have caused the higher HCG level. Hopefully that's the case. Next Wednesday they will test again to make sure that it's not increasing. So we are kind of in wait mode right now.

We took Eason to the doctor this week for his 9 month check up and because he was sick. Just when I thought he was getting skinny, he measured in the 100th percentile for weight. Just over 22 pounds!! We did find out that he has RSV and thrush...but he is getting better.

Oh, and he was hungry at church!

Big boy

Big NEWS!! Eason took his first steps yesterday. His career high is now 4 steps.

No Need for NC!!

On Monday we left for UNC women's hospital pretty early to make our 1:30 PM appointment. It was a 4 hour drive, and Eason did really well on the drive, with some help from Sesame Street, food, and the iPad.

We didn't get lost getting the to the hospital, but we got lost in the parking garage and the hospital. I don't want to point any fingers but Payton was in charge of directions.

At first when we met with the doctor he was unsure of what he was going to do.  He said that he might not know for a few days. They took a blood sample to test my hCG and was going to go from there.

When we got the hCG results back, the doctor told me my levels were NORMAL!!! BOO YA!!! He suggested 4-6 more weeks of chemo, and then I would be done! We were very happy on the drive home, and we stopped by Chili's to celebrate.

At Chili's, Eason tried ice cream for the first because he wanted to be part of the celebration. He loved it.

NC here we come

I just finished my 19th week of chemo!!  Do you know how long that is...that's half of a pregnancy!!

So, like I said earlier we started a new chemo that was supposed to be more aggressive and get my HCG number to 0 within a cycle. Going into Wednesday the doctor was hopeful that this would happen. But...my  number only dropped by 0.2, from 5.4 to 5.2.

Because my doctor has never treated this type of cancer before and because she doesn't really know what to do next, she is transferring me to a specialist in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I have an appointment on Monday and they said I could be there for two hours or ten days...depending on testing and possible surgery. I guess we will see what Monday brings. 

New Hospital Website

Payton had a birthday this last week, we didn't do much because he had a lot of homework, and all I got him was two powerades. HA. Eason decided to say "da da" for the first time on his birthday! We tried to make a cute sign for Payton, but all Eason wanted to do was eat it.

Here's a picture of the nurse using my new port for the first time. It was really nice not having an IV hooked up to my arm.

PORT

Today, I was scheduled to get a portacath. A portacath is a device placed under the skin that has a catheter that runs into one of your main veins. It is placed in your chest near the collar bone. It requires a short minor surgery.

The purpose of the port is to save the veins in my arms from constant pricking. The chemo ruins my veins and veins in your chest handle the chemo better.

I arrived at the hospital at 7:45 AM for my surgery at 9:00 AM. There was an emergency surgery that happened, so I didn't go under the knife until noon. After the surgery was done a chest X-RAY was taken to make sure the surgery was done properly. I just have to take it easy for the next weeks while taking care of Eason.

I wasn't able to eat since the night before. When we left the hospital at around 3 PM, I got a Wendy's Double Cheeseburger. Twenty miles down the road, I was still hungry and got a Whopper Jr.!! While I was gone Eason spent time with daddy, and our good friend Travis.

CT scan and new chemo

Hey everyone, last Wednesday (January 23^rd) I got a CT scan. This scan was of my chest and abdomen and was done to check on the tumors in my lungs and uterus. The scan revealed that I had 18 areas in my lungs where tumors had been. Now, the doctor believes that there is only scar tissue left.

I still have one large tumor in my uterus.  The tumor has gotten smaller, but is not being as receptive to the chemo as the other tumors. Because of this, I will be starting a more aggressive chemo regiment which the doctor hopes will get rid of this tumor. When all the tumors are gone, my HCG levels will then be at zero.

So, yesterday we started the new chemo (cisplatin). It is longer than the one it replaced, but we are hopeful that it will get the needed results more quickly. So far I haven't gotten too sick from the drugs, but cisplatin is more intense and is supposed to cause more nausea and vomiting. Ugh. We'll see what the weekend brings...because the side effects usually happen in 48-72 hours.

And I had two visitors come see me...Eason and my mom. Eason kept pulling on cords so he got sent out to the lobby to play!