There is a schedule change: Kris goes in for her final surgery Monday the
18th of May. She will go in early morning and should be home by 2-ish in
the afternoon. Then it's a matter of me pampering her for the following
week for recovery. :)
Kris' final Herceptin treatment was uneventful, even boring. She had a
consult with her Dr. about an issue that we have been suffering from and
found that there is an acceptable treatment for her. I won't go in to
details so as to not embarrass Kris, but, I will say that if someone is
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Kris, Dave and the Lumps: Follow up Surgery plans
Straight from Kris herself:
Saw my reconstructive surgeon today. My follow up surgery will be the morning of May 15, which is a Friday. I expect to be off work the following week, and return Monday May 25. He did mention that I might be a bit more fatigued than normal for another week when I get back.
I'll also have an afternoon pre-op appt on Monday May 11.
I'll be blocking my calendar, but wanted you all to have the information.
Saw my reconstructive surgeon today. My follow up surgery will be the morning of May 15, which is a Friday. I expect to be off work the following week, and return Monday May 25. He did mention that I might be a bit more fatigued than normal for another week when I get back.
I'll also have an afternoon pre-op appt on Monday May 11.
I'll be blocking my calendar, but wanted you all to have the information.
Kris Dave and the Lumps: Quick update
Just a quick update: Herceptin treatments are almost done and uneventful. Kris' appointments have been... uneventful. Today she will meet with the doctors to find out when she will be doing her final surgery. This is an adjustment so that she is... erm... balanced. I will post more information tomorrow when I have the results of todays meeting.
Monday, January 5, 2009
10-Dec to Present:
Ok, I've been remiss. My only excuse is the Holidays and it's a weak one at that!
Kris saw her Physical therapist, Dale, her final three times and other than the edema where her reconstructive surgery was done, she's fine. In fact, she's exceeded Dales expectations... to the point that Dale tried to discharge her. Kris asked about the edema and Dale relented since dealing with edema from surgery is one of the responsibilities of Physical Therapy.
She went in for her Herceptin last week on December 23rd. While their, she asked the Dr. about a rash that had broken out on her belly... the Dr. said it was shingles! She prescribed a medication for Shingles and we got a lesson in what Shingles is. When I was young, I'd hear folks talk about shingles and the way folks spoke about it, I always assumed that the victims of shingles had been doing something naughty... since it was always in hushed tones or 'behind the hand.' Turns out that if you have Chicken Pox and beat it, the disease can recede into your nervous system as a form of herpes virus. This dormant version creates pockets in the nerves near the spinal column and will be dormant for years. When it does finally awaken, it travels along the nerves until it breaks free through the skin. Looks just like your garden variety rash. The only thing I can say is that the rash Kris has is roughly the size of a half dollar. We initially thought it was a break out of ring worm. The bad news is that what breaks out of the skin is contagious and can spread, of all things, Chicken Pox. Note that the contagion is unlikely to spread save to those folks who have suppressed immune systems... oh, like folks going through Chemo Therapy! However, once the rash scabs over, you are no longer contagious. Fact is, the Dr. washed her hands and had Kris was hers as well before going in for her Herceptin infusion... just in case. Other than that, she wasn't worried. I specifically asked if I needed to worry about this and she said 'no.' So, we filled the prescription and the rash is clearing up quickly and nicely.
Note that if you do not catch this in the first 72 hours, living with shingles can be a living hell! This according to a friend of ours who has had it and did not catch it in time! Apparently it can spread widely and the itch and pain is a nerve itch/pain so it's quite bad. We read up on this and found that in rare cases it can break out on the face (cheeks) and that can cause blindness! Long and short: if you have a rash that you can't explain, don't be embarrassed to ask what seems like a 'dumb' question of your Dr. It may well save you some pain and frustration!
Kris is now back at work! Oddly, it's been quite the fight. I'd love to rant about this but, I won't. I'll just say that, according to Kris' observations, it's costing IBM quite a lot of money to put her on LTD. And that there was some question, in fact, about bringing her back... which makes me question whether or not this really is a benefit. Fact is, it would've been more cost efficient, and less nerve wracking, to just take vacation and a short leave of absence... though, it would've been more costly to us personally.
Ok, I've been remiss. My only excuse is the Holidays and it's a weak one at that!
Kris saw her Physical therapist, Dale, her final three times and other than the edema where her reconstructive surgery was done, she's fine. In fact, she's exceeded Dales expectations... to the point that Dale tried to discharge her. Kris asked about the edema and Dale relented since dealing with edema from surgery is one of the responsibilities of Physical Therapy.
She went in for her Herceptin last week on December 23rd. While their, she asked the Dr. about a rash that had broken out on her belly... the Dr. said it was shingles! She prescribed a medication for Shingles and we got a lesson in what Shingles is. When I was young, I'd hear folks talk about shingles and the way folks spoke about it, I always assumed that the victims of shingles had been doing something naughty... since it was always in hushed tones or 'behind the hand.' Turns out that if you have Chicken Pox and beat it, the disease can recede into your nervous system as a form of herpes virus. This dormant version creates pockets in the nerves near the spinal column and will be dormant for years. When it does finally awaken, it travels along the nerves until it breaks free through the skin. Looks just like your garden variety rash. The only thing I can say is that the rash Kris has is roughly the size of a half dollar. We initially thought it was a break out of ring worm. The bad news is that what breaks out of the skin is contagious and can spread, of all things, Chicken Pox. Note that the contagion is unlikely to spread save to those folks who have suppressed immune systems... oh, like folks going through Chemo Therapy! However, once the rash scabs over, you are no longer contagious. Fact is, the Dr. washed her hands and had Kris was hers as well before going in for her Herceptin infusion... just in case. Other than that, she wasn't worried. I specifically asked if I needed to worry about this and she said 'no.' So, we filled the prescription and the rash is clearing up quickly and nicely.
Note that if you do not catch this in the first 72 hours, living with shingles can be a living hell! This according to a friend of ours who has had it and did not catch it in time! Apparently it can spread widely and the itch and pain is a nerve itch/pain so it's quite bad. We read up on this and found that in rare cases it can break out on the face (cheeks) and that can cause blindness! Long and short: if you have a rash that you can't explain, don't be embarrassed to ask what seems like a 'dumb' question of your Dr. It may well save you some pain and frustration!
Kris is now back at work! Oddly, it's been quite the fight. I'd love to rant about this but, I won't. I'll just say that, according to Kris' observations, it's costing IBM quite a lot of money to put her on LTD. And that there was some question, in fact, about bringing her back... which makes me question whether or not this really is a benefit. Fact is, it would've been more cost efficient, and less nerve wracking, to just take vacation and a short leave of absence... though, it would've been more costly to us personally.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Kris, Dave and the Lumps: Physical Therapy
Monday, 8-Dec-2008
Kris saw the physical therapist who gave her the go ahead to be done with Physical Therapy since Kris has met all of the goals Dale (the Therapist) had for her. Kris asked about the level of Edema and whether or not she'd benefit from more therapy to address that. Dale agreed and thus Kris will go in for more sessions.
She also saw Dr. Kuisle who hemmed, hawed and generally thought her progress is just fine.
Kris saw the physical therapist who gave her the go ahead to be done with Physical Therapy since Kris has met all of the goals Dale (the Therapist) had for her. Kris asked about the level of Edema and whether or not she'd benefit from more therapy to address that. Dale agreed and thus Kris will go in for more sessions.
She also saw Dr. Kuisle who hemmed, hawed and generally thought her progress is just fine.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Kris, Dave and the Lumps: MugaScan
Thursday, 4-Dec-2008
Kris had a mugascan today. Uneventful. She's doing these every so often at Dr. Moran's request (her oncologist). It's a type of heart scan which will show if the chemotherapy drugs are having an adverse effect on her heart. So far everything has been good!
Kris had a mugascan today. Uneventful. She's doing these every so often at Dr. Moran's request (her oncologist). It's a type of heart scan which will show if the chemotherapy drugs are having an adverse effect on her heart. So far everything has been good!
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Kris, Dave and the Lumps: Drain away!
Tuesday, 25-Nov-2008
Kris saw Dr. Kuisle and had that final drain removed... yeah! Wound still weeps a little but, at least she doesn't have to deal with the drain and it should heal up quickly enough.
Spirits are up and all seems to be going well. What might be Kris' last physical Therapy is set for the 8th of December. Herceptin (Chemo-light) on the 9th. Then we have another followup with Dr. Kuisle on the 12th.
Kris saw Dr. Kuisle and had that final drain removed... yeah! Wound still weeps a little but, at least she doesn't have to deal with the drain and it should heal up quickly enough.
Spirits are up and all seems to be going well. What might be Kris' last physical Therapy is set for the 8th of December. Herceptin (Chemo-light) on the 9th. Then we have another followup with Dr. Kuisle on the 12th.
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