August 29, 2008 Update

Gus and I are counting the days until the first part of October when he no longer is on the continuous chemo pump and will no longer be taking his daily trips to Bozeman for the radiation.  Both will end the same day.    Bozeman is almost 100 miles one way, so Gus spends minimum of 3 hours of every day in a car.  Gus will then have a couple of weeks reprieve before three treatments of the gemzer which was his initial chemo.   Gus will be pushing his deadline for his hunting trip the end of October, but he and Scott are not giving up on this trip.   They will take an extra horse for Gus to ride while the others lead their pack horses on foot.   For 26 years, Gus has lived for this week and Scott, Lindsey and I will make sure this year is no different.  The fun will be when Gus shoots the Big Bull and Scott has to do all the work to get it out.

 

Gus was very sick two nights ago.  He could not get warm.   He was inside a 70° house underneath 3 blankets and was still so cold.  24 hours later, he was an entirely different person.  He was on a horse chasing yearlings in the pasture and then was helping us work cows in the corrals.  Scott does the physical part of operating the head catch for each cow, but Gus was there working along side of Scott.  Thursday was the exact same schedule as Wednesday for the cancer treatment.   We have no idea what the difference was in only 24 hours other than God knew what Gus needed most.  A sense of self worth.   Gus was exhausted, but content last night.

August 26, 2008 update

Friday after 5 days of radiation, Gus felt the effects.  It was the sickest he had been from treatment. Then by the next day, he was feeling o.k. again.  

 

Sunday afternoon, Gus, Lane and I went to the 3 par golf course in Dillon.  When Gus reaches the green, he then lets his little partner, Lane, take over for a few shots at the hole.   As in everything for Gus and I right now, money cannot buy us health or happiness so it was totally trivial to us that Gus came home with less money in his wallet and Lane is sporting a new set of Wilson ProStaff golf clubs.   He has a driver, a fairway wood, a 5 iron, a 7 iron, a sand wedge, a putter, the bag and covers for his woods.   After purchasing these miniature golf clubs, we took Lane to the driving range.   Gus would get him positioned and then let him swing.  He was doing o.k., but what we enjoyed the most was every time he missed the golf ball, he would assure us he was just "practicing his swing".  How quickly he learned the unwritten rules for golf.  We then took Lane to the practice green.  Lane liked having a putter his size, but he preferred the driving range where he could really hit the golf ball.

 

Gus enjoyed himself to the fullest.  He was golfing, the weather was beautiful, and he was with two of his favorite people.  His chemo pump makes a whirring noise every six minutes and it inevitably would whirr when Gus was in his back swing for his tee shot.   This was his first time golfing since being on the continuous infusion pump, so there were some adjustments to be made.   We are planning for every Sunday afternoon to include time at the fairway teaching Lane the game until the weather stops us.   Sundays are Gus' best days.  Next Sunday, I will take a picture of the two boys with their golf clubs for the blog site. 

 

Yesterday, Monday, was a tough day for Gus.  Mondays are always longer days because of meeting with doctors and getting the new chemo pack for the week.   We were gone for nine hours.  The nausea after radiation is really becoming an issue.  The doctor had made sure we had a prescription for a more powerful anti-nausea pill and Gus needed that within a short time.   He slept coming home and was exhausted the rest of the day.   He was able to supervise Scott and I for a project at the old homestead, but that was his limit. 

 

August 19, 2008 Update

Yesterday was an emotional day.  Gus did not feel good and we felt it was emotions.  We have not looked forward to the day he wore a 24-hour 7 days a week pump since we first heard the term.  We asked for copies of all the blood work and it is incredible how low his blood count was for the 3rd chemo on August 1.  Then by yesterday, his body had recovered and the blood count looked good.   We met first with the medical oncologist's assistant who reviewed the blood work and then she faxed the chemo dosage to "At Home Solutions" which is the team of nurses who will manage the chemo.  

Next, Gus had his first radiation which lasted only for a few minutes.  The machine rotates around him as it is aims 4 different times.  Gus dealt with a little nausea afterwards, but I think his daily standard procedure should be a nausea pill before radiation followed by a trip to the Dairy Queen after radiation.  Soft ice cream cures all.  That is our motto.  We have even carried this belief to the extreme and bought a small soft ice cream machine for his evening snack.

After radiation, we drove to At Home Solutions.  They changed the dressing on the PIC line and attached the portable infusion pump to the PIC.  We no longer will flush the PIC nightly.  The only maintenance we will need to do is change the 9-volt battery on the pump each Friday.  In fact, they do not want us to touch that pump other than changing the battery.  The chemo pack is locked on the pump so we cannot accidentally get in trouble and disable the dosage.   We even have to have a chemo spill kit in case the pack ever leaks or is broken.   Gus just wears the pump on his belt with the line going inside his shirt and down his left sleeve.   He puts the pump to bed at night by placing it on the headboard by his head.  It stayed quiet all night the first night.  If Gus accidentally pinched the line by rolling on it in his sleep, an alarm would go off to alert the sleeping occupants.  It sounds like a siren, so we definitely won't sleep through the alarm. 

Gus was feeling good by the end of the day.  His sister, Mary, arrived last night and that helped his outlook.  I am naming his friends and his family "His Dream Team".   The cards, the prayers, the phone calls are what are keeping his outlook so positive and his dreams alive.   We are so blessed.

 

So each Monday, the routine will be blood work first, waiting an hour for the results and then meeting with the medical oncologist and the radiology oncologist for the weekly plan.  They review the blood work and then send new orders to the chemo nurses.  Gus then will go in for his radiation therapy.  After radiation we drive to get the new chemo pack.   On Tuesday through Friday, a member of Gus' Dream Team will drive our car to Bozeman for his 10 minute radiation treatment and then they will drive home.  He will be home by noon each day.  Just in time for his daily nap.  I will drive him each Monday and he will not be home in time for his daily nap.   He just sleeps in the car coming home.

 

Gus and I feel there is a difference in his pain which means the tumor is shrinking.  He goes longer and longer in between taking pain pills.   As our cancer walk intensifies, so do the blessings.  

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August 15, 2008 Update

Gus has lived this past week to the fullest.  Our horseback ride was choreographed by God from start to finish.  The weather looked questionable when we started, so we all took our raincoats.  As soon as we started up the canyon in Indian Creek, the sky turned clear.  Gus led the way and rode much farther than I ever expected.  We rode several miles, stopped to eat our sandwiches, take pictures, and then we turned homeward.  The last mile we rode under a full moon.  We were gone from our trucks and horse trailers about four hours.   Gus felt great the entire time he was in the saddle, but did have some sore spots the next day from not enough padding between the saddle and him.  That is one of the downsides to his weight loss program.

 

Yesterday, Thursday, was another perfect day for Gus.  He and Dave spent the afternoon in a golf tournament and Gus came home with the prize for the longest putt.  His putt was approximately 26 feet.  Gus was still "pumped up from his putt" hours later.   (Those are his words, not mine.)   He and Dave loved their time together and the rest of the family joined them for the meal afterwards. 

 

The PIC line nurses were not comfortable waiting 10 days before seeing Gus again, but they were not willing to have us drive to Bozeman just to please them either.  We left their office last Friday with instructions what to look for if there was an infection or anything suspicious with his arm.  Last Tuesday morning, Gus received a phone call.  They were coming this direction for another client and wanted to see him.   Our favorite nurse, the one that had installed the PIC line came to the house.   After seeing Gus' meadow and his little piece of heaven, she told him she understood why it was so important to him to be home each night.  All of the medical personnel have encouraged Gus to stay in Bozeman during his several weeks of daily treatments and not drive the 200 miles each day.  He gently refuses their advice.  He is listening to his heart instead.

    

August 12, 2008 Update

The last several days have been very enjoyable for Gus and I.  No treatments!  

Last Friday, August 8th, all that was required of Gus was to have blood work done and the dressing for the PIC line changed.  The nurse showed us the chemo pump that will become Gus' constant companion starting next Monday.   It is very simple to take care of and the only opportunity we haven't figured out yet is how to shower and not get trapped on one side of the shower door with the pump dangling on the other side.   It just might be that the only time Gus can shower is when I am home to intercede.  Attitude is everything.  The idea of the pump was very unpleasant at first, but now it is minor in the overall scope of this walk.  

The other night, Gus was watching Scott, April and Lindsey as they rode away on their horses.  Just the expression on his face made me wonder, so I asked him if he'd like to go riding before he is too limited to be on a horse.  The answer was yes, so tomorrow evening, Wednesday, we are seizing the moment and taking our horses to the mountains.  Scott is riding his big draft horse so that will be entertainment enough for the rest of us.  Gus picked a canyon that he has never ridden in.  

Thursday Gus is hoping to play golf in the Farm Credit tournament in Dillon.  Saturday, Scott, Gus and I will be helping Brian in stripping the old roof from the 1866 barn on the homestead.  Gus is the designated driver and operator for the forklift, while Scott and Brian are in the bucket doing the demolition.  My job will be pictures and keeping everyone happy.  

"People are like stained-glass windows.  They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within."        By Elisabeth Kubler-Ross  

(the above Quote was above one of the infusion room walls and it moved both Kathleen and Gus. Kathleen has obtained permission to use several of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross' quotes. We will be including them in the blog periodically.

August 3, 2008 Update

Gus had his third and final chemo for this stage of the treatment plan last Friday, August 1.   He even drove the car home from Bozeman feeling no ill effects.  Later in the evening while we were moving cows, he started getting sick and had to go back home.  Then the next day, Saturday, was his worst day yet for how he felt since starting treatment.  Gus spent a large part of Saturday in bed sleeping.

Gus' blood count was down enough so he was only given 2/3 of the scheduled dose of chemo.  His white cells and the platelets were the main concern.  The doctor had an emergency when it was time to meet with us, so Gus only saw him for a few minutes during the infusion.   I did ask for some time after Gus' infusion to speak with the doctor so we would know precisely how the 24-hour pump and chemo would work and who administered it.  I knew the schedule and the plan for the radiation, but not the chemo.   Dr. Hensold, the medical oncologist, met with us and told us the next step would not start until August 18th.  Starting on Monday, the 18th, Gus will receive radiation daily Monday through Friday for six to seven weeks.  During the same time, he will be on a 24-hour 7 day a week infusion pump for the 5-FU.  The 5-FU chemo, the pump and the PIC line will all be monitored by this special team of nurses.  The doctor will keep track of Gus' blood count and side-effects and then these nurses will make the necessary adjustments.   

A couple of weeks ago, we came home to a huge stack of firewood in our yard compliments of Jay Dee, his family and some friends.  Jay Dee is Lane's father and a very special part of our lives.  Today, those same angels came and split everything and stacked it where we keep our wood for the winter.  Dave also finished first cutting today and he will head home to Hamilton for a couple of weeks.  The second cutting of hay will not start until later in August and we will only do about 50 acres.  Gus could not have done any better a job on the haying than Dave, Jerry and Lindsey have done.  We are absolutely overwhelmed how others have so blessed us.