Medical stuff – treatments, outcomes, Dr visits
Yesterday, another test and follow up visit at Rush Medical was our outing for the week. With Covid finding new and unusual suspects lately, we have been pretty much hermits trying to keep Suzanne safe. First up, a video fluoroscopic swallowing exam. The goal was to see what damage the radiation did to Suzanne’s ability to swallow. It uses a special real-time form of x-ray called fluoroscopy that records what she swallows. I was able to watch as Suzanne swallowed…
Today Suzanne had her two-week checkup at Rush Medical Center. After a blood draw, she met with a variety of Doctors First up was a new one, an Occupational Therapist who is concerned with swelling in her neck and it’s relationship with her lymph node system. Not finding much so far, she provided Suzanne with massage techniques to encourage the body to keep the swelling down. Second up, her Chemo Therapy doctor. He reviewed her current blood work which showed…
It’s been one week since Suzanne finished her radiation treatments and this was her toughest yet. Her throat pain, mouth sores, and dry mouth issues continued to increase in severity for most of the week making it more difficult to eat & drink. Trying all the tricks including increasing her pain medication along with mouth rinses and topical meds have helped some but not enough. At this time, calories are king, and trying to get her to eat is of…
We’ve all been there, that point in a task where you hit a wall and cant’ get any further. Maybe it’s a diet and no matter what you do, you can’t get past a certain weight. Maybe it’s a financial goal of paying off a debt but life’s needs prevent you from reaching it. Maybe it’s a family member whose cold heart you just can’t break through to. I’m sure you can name one in your life right now. Well…
Suzanne has 15 Radiation treatments to go from the original 35. Today, her reaction to the treatments has been surprisingly minimal. She continues to amaze her doctors with her attitude, stamina, and lack of physical issues. They have also continued to describe a successful reduction in the size of the tumor, which also is better than they expected. The only hiccup in the treatment plan is her blood count. Every Monday she has an extensive bloodwork review. Today, her chemotherapy…
Thought I would share a few updates today, just so everyone knows how things are going. We spent this past weekend at home, Suzanne busily sewing and I worked in the gardens getting them ready for fall. We were home by 10 am Friday but have to leave by 3:30 or so on Sundays now since the sun is setting earlier & earlier. Suzanne continues to have minimal symptoms from the treatments, no nausea from Chemotherapy, and very little if…
Today Suzanne got some good news. Her Radiation Doctor informed her that they are already seeing some shrinkage in her tumor. Dr commented that they usually expect that for the HPV type tumor but not necessarily the negative type. As he told us, a smile came across his face so we knew he was happy with this result. Additionally, yesterday, her Chemotherapy Doctor was surprised to hear that so far she has not experienced any symptoms from her Chemo treatments;…
Suzanne has to undergo 7 Chemotherapy Infusions during her treatment. Today was treatment number three. The process which takes 4 1/2 hours for her looks just like you see it on TV & the movies. At Rush, they call the room consisting of 4 infusion chairs where she gets her Chemotherapy a ‘Pod’. Two of these pods are placed in a U-shape layout with the nurse’s station in the middle. It’s all open with privacy curtains available, which few use….
Today was a triple whammy and it started early as we had a 20-minute walk to Rush from our apartment this morning. Suzanne had her first Radiation treatment this morning. Relatively quick, the treatment lasts only about 30 minutes. They then presented our schedule for the remaining treatments and except for the next couple of days, they are all at 7:20 am. Who told them we were farmers? Next, we were off for her 1st Chemotherapy treatment. A 4+ hour…
Everything is set for Suzanne to have her Chemotherapy Port put in early on Tuesday Morning. It has all been pre-paid so there shouldn’t be any drama with the financial department like we had the other day. Since it is scheduled very early in the morning, we plan on going up the night before so we don’t have to deal with delays in traffic. We got another call this morning that someone somewhere has ordered a hearing test to be…