Alison's Radiation

Ali's been home since Friday. I think it's safe to say we prefer chemo over radiation, hands down. She's continuously been nauseas, even vomitting, cold sweats, fatigued, and her throat is being affected tremendously too. She's had several IV's of Pepcid, but she's still having issues with eating and swallowing. She's lost 11 lbs in two weeks.
She's battling though, and needs to complete Friday's, then next week until Wednesday.
The new doctor, whom I haven't been impressed by, is setting up an appointment for her to visit the IU medical center to see if she qualifies for a clinical study. We'll see how that goes.
Work has been engaging. A lot to learn in a short amount of time. And the house isn't unpacked yet, but it's liveable.
We're missing Carolina a bit, but doing our best at nesting here. Thought I'd leave an update for those worried about her not posting, doing her 365 photos, etc. She's just not up to it.

Ali's Home

Alison escaped from the hospital yesterday in time for some grilled burgers and dogs with the family. She really likes the house, and is sleeping right now. She got out of the hospital in time for my first motorcycle 'incident' which was not an accident, it was a clutch cable rip, leaving me stranded in the middle of a mini-marathon at Geist Reservior. Glad I spent the extra 10$ per year for roadside assistance.
My lesson learned is to read the signs. I couldn't find my leather jacket (opted for the rain suit instead), couldn't find my gloves (opted for a spair set), and even thought about those two things being signs...

Successful Surgery

Alison's stent is now in. If she weens herself off liquid pain medicine, she'll get to go home tomorrow. We've felt really loved with all the emails, notes, and comments. Ali's friends and family ripped through the house today and unpacked the kitchen, living room, master and master bath. The rest will come in time. The main thing is that the bed is made and ready for Alison to come home and rest. (You can lay around and sleep in a hospital, but it's not rest)

Bone Scan

The bone scan came back clean. By clean I mean no breaks or hairline fractures. Still cancerous.
That's really good.
I'm actually in Alison's hospital bed writing this. She's in the recliner. It's a nice change. We had white chicken chili tonight, lasagna last night, and chicken tetrazini the night prior, all courtesy of some friends who love us. :) Thanks friends.
Alison's schedule tomorrow is 10:30 radiation, 2:30 stent placement attempt #2. If the operation is successful, she could be released as early as Friday. That would be awesome.
When she does get released, she'll come home to boxes. The movers weren't able to put things away smartly, so I just told them to leave it all boxed in order to avoid chaos.

Update

It's 1 AM and I am just getting to the hospital. Alison had a bone scan today (Tuesday), and went through radiation therapy again. In a good sign, she had a big dinner. Salad and lasagna.
The stent operation #2 is scheduled for Thursday.
Wednesday she has only radiation therapy to complete. Hopefully the rest will be good for her.
The house is almost ready. Big thanks to my mom, my little brother, my nephew Steven, and Chantelle (H.S. pal of mine), as they all have paint dried under their finger nails. The only thing I didn't do yet that I need to is the kitchen. I think I can do that tomorrow as they unpack us.
I am excited to get Alison home. Maybe this weekend???

The Latest and Greatest

Alison had a rough day today.
She started out with a shower (which is cumbersome as she is), a CT scan to mark the spots to radiate more precisely, then had the stent placed. The kidney stent placement was unsuccesful; they didn't have one long enough or thin enough. So now she's got two catheters, one to dialate the tube leading to the kidney, and one to drain waste since it would be difficult to go with a tube down there. It's rather uncomfortable for her.
And then, as if she wasn't drained enough, she had another Ambulance ride to the radiation/cancer center for some more radiation therapy. Her mom has stayed by her side the entire time.
I, on the other hand, was trying to get the new house ready for her. The movers come Wednesday, so Ali and I picked out paint colors for nearly every room on the top floor last night. Her nephew came today to help. Great to have him. Paint is expensive. But worth it.
We'll keep you posted.

Radiation Day 2 / Kidney Splint Plans

Ali has radiation therapy in another 20 minutes. We just talked with the urologist here about her blocked kidney. Turns out the block is occurring between the kidney and the bladder. The kidney is approximately 2-3 times the size it should be. Apparently kidneys have two parts, the filter around the middle, and the middle that stores the urine. Their role is to maintain the balance of bodily fluids by filtering and secreting metabolites (such as urea) and minerals from the blood and excreting them, along with water, as urine. Go Wikipedia.
Anyways, either Monday or Tuesday, Alison will have a splint placed to allow that kidney to drain. They scope the splints in. Here's to hoping that the extra room in there, after releasing the flood gates, will provide much needed relief to Ali.
-Update- Alison is completed with day 2 of radiation. It was much quicker today, and she's feeling alright. Her blood was low, so she'll go through another transfusion today. Tomorrow she's scheduled for a CT scan so they can spot in better with their radiation. They're also going to place ?permanent? marks on her so they can sight in easier.
We get the keys to our new house at 4PM. My mother and brother are coming to help repair and paint the walls, plus clean, so that when the movers unpack us on Wednesday, Alison will be released to a house we can call home.

Bad Piece of News - update

Updates at bottom. Alison mentioned previously that she'd been experiencing back pain, and associated it with stress from relocation. Well, yesterday we came home after buying our new house, and she went into some excruciating pain. She couldn't sit, lay, or stand comfortably. She finally let me take her to the new ER, where they did an MRI. The MRI showed some tumorous involvement in the 11Th and 12Th lumbar, as well as between her shoulder blades. The lower one poses 2 problems: it's obstructing the right kidney from releasing urine, and it's compressing the spinal chord. The doctors fear that the compression could lead to paralysis/permanent nerve damage. This morning she'll be transported to the radiation facility, where they'll begin a radiation treatment that will last for the next three weeks. Hopefully though, she'll be able to come home on Monday, and begin her outpatient treatment.We're both in good spirits, but it is both nice to have family within minutes and hours, but terrifying to have a whole new set of doctors that don't know her history, and are taking some aggressive action.
-She completed radiation treatment #1 at 1PM. We had to ride in an ambulance to a new building. The EMTs were nice, and suggested she wear her shades. I don't know if she really meant it, but she told me to take this picture for her picture of the day, which she's still doing, but hasn't updated online yet. She returned nauseas, and vomitted before falling asleep.

Big Update

Here's the latest, for those checking in:

-Alison's settled in with her new Cancer Center and Oncologist.
-She's a quart low on blood. Transfusion Tuesday. This is a possible reason for the pain and headaches she's been experiencing since we departed Carolina.
-We closed on the new house. A day late though, due to some backlog at the Department of Veteran's Affairs.
-I bought a 1997 Suzuki DR 350 SE. Also made it to the hardware store and back without killing myself. I haven't drove a motorcycle in 8 years, so I am extra cautious because I'm just a baby-rider. Big thanks to Colin for helping me find a good bike. He's the pro.
-Haven't checked into work yet.
-Sister's baby shower is tomorrow. I'm taking my little brother golfing, weather permitting, during that time, but helping with set up and recovering the cats.
-Cats are in Syracuse Indiana.

New Bike For New Helmet

New Helmet For New Bike

Round Barn In Rush County

Round Barn In Rush County 1
Originally uploaded by The Piper's Son

Ali and I have arrived in Indiana. We took our time, and enjoyed the trip more than usual. My particular favorite moments were my niece hollering at me for using the bat-phone at Pizza King too much (you order on these little phones at the booth there) and seeing this round barn.

Click on the photo to see more...