Never to Late to be a New Father

Gus is a new father as of Saturday night. He adopted an 8 week old black lab puppy. Gus woke up Sunday morning with bloodshot eyes just like any new parent.

She is everything we had wanted in a puppy. Quiet, affectionate, and very much in love with Gus. It has been almost 10 years since Gus put his old black lab to sleep and there isn’t a day goes by, he does not miss his “Lady”. He named his new pup “LT” which stands for Lady Two. Lane cannot remember LT so he calls the pup BLT.

Gus is completely off of narcotic pain killers and he has no pain. That is incredible to us. Gus’ tumor seems to really respond to chemo.

Gus is doing well and feels LT will give him a reason to get up out of that recliner and do more. We built her a kennel out behind the barn so she can enjoy the out-of-doors if we are gone. I put her in it this morning as I left for work. I checked once before I left and she was sound asleep in the little dog house we have inside the enclosure. When Gus got up three hours later, she met him at the back door. We will not be patenting our kennel design anytime soon if it cannot contain an inexperienced boarder like LT.

Gus weighs less now than he did last summer at his lowest. He truly is eating but he just can’t seem to gain any weight. He still looks good but it is because he is outdoors a lot and his color is good.

Gus' small-sized thermal underwear was tight last hunting season but now they are loose. Yes, Gus has resorted to dressing warmer even though it is the middle of August. After all, we had our first snow in the high country August 15.

THE HERO

Gus is the Hero at the Cancer Center in Bozeman! Yesterday, a nurse that I have never met introduced herself to Gus. She told him that he was known as the hero there and the cancer center had changed the protocol in the infusion room as a result of the July 14th incident. There is always a nurse on each side of the infusion room now. She told Gus that respiratory arrest is much more serious than cardiac arrest.

The check-up was very positive yesterday with the oncologist. The blood work looked good and Gus feels o.k. considering. The doctor adjusted the dosage of the chemo as a result of the weight loss, but the doctor is not overly concerned. Gus is really trying to eat something several times a day.

We questioned the oncologist as to why we need to keep doing the CT scans when they are useless for the status of the tumor. We did not get the answer we assumed we would. If the CT scans show any evidence of the cancer spreading to surrounding organs, the oncologist would discontinue treatment. The damage chemo does to the body is reason enough to stop if the cancer is advancing using it. With pancreatic cancer, the medical profession is limited to only a couple of effective chemos. Breast cancer, for example, has multiple choices for the medical profession to choose from.

We asked the doctor what the future holds. He doubts that Gus will ever see a vacation from treatment like he did during May and June. The oncologist expects that chemo will play a major part until it is no longer feasible. Gus took that statement in stride and immediately reminded the doctor that hunting season would be coming up again and he would be gone. This is such a repeat from a year ago. Gus reminded the doctor of hunting season every chance he got last summer.

Gus rested on the drive home and spent the entire evening in his recliner after chemo yesterday. Today he is stacking hay bales that he bought to put in our barn. The only reason he is working is because he had no choice. He cannot leave the bales in the field and the hay was baled last night. He has a back-up in case he cannot do it, though.

Gus is going to experiment this week to see how severe the pain is without pain meds. He feels the pain is less, but you don't know for sure unless he tests it.

Overall, Gus is doing good. His spirits are up and he is enjoying life as much as possible. Thursday is usually his worse day for feeling bad after the infusion.

Bozeman 8-4-09

Last Tuesday was the scheduled day in Bozeman for chemo. Ron joined Gus and Gail on the golf course in the morning before our meeting with the doctor and Gus' infusion that afternoon.

Gus' white count was still low which concerned me. I have never seen the white count so low after Gus' recovery week of no chemo. The doctor explained that the bone marrow is just not able to recover as quickly after extended chemo treatments. Last summer and fall, the bone marrow was still chemo naive.

Gus is starting to deal with nausea again. He also is losing weight and we are really starting to be concerned. He is only 1 1/2 pounds above his lowest weight from last summer. We did come home from the doctors with some calorie rich drinks to try. Six hundred calories for 8 ounces.

I have been power walking with a friend. Her and I love to walk so some evenings we walk ten miles or more. I gained a pound the other night and Gus lost two. He has informed me that Gloria and I have to quit walking so far because he is losing too much weight as a result.

The results from the CA 19-9 were the only thing that is encouraging. Gus' count was 70 on July 14th and last Tuesday, the count was 61. So it had dropped some. We're hoping the chemo is starting to be effective.

The doctor is planning on one more cycle of chemo after this one and then doing another CT scan. So if everything goes as scheduled, the CT scan will be after September 1st. We are sure the doctor plans on continuing chemo after the test if Gus is still up to it.

Golfing in Dillon

Walt, Linda, Dick, Gus, Deb, Ron

(after the golf)

Gus on the Dillon golf course

Gus used his persuasion and charm to convince some friends they really needed to golf in Dillon last Monday. They had so much fun. Whenever Ron comes to town, Gus usually schedules some quality time chasing that illusive little white ball.

Ron asked Lane for advice before going golfing. After offering Ron his golf clubs, Lane's answer was the advice his grandpa gives him on the ninth hole where they love to golf.

1. Don't hit it in the tall grass.

2. Don't hit it in the pond.

3. Don't hit it on the hill because it will roll down into the pond.

Then Lane sighed and told Ron that is all he had to remember. Gus just wishes he could take his own advice sometimes.

Firewood

Scott, April, Phoenix, Kathleen, Gus

It was important to Gus to get firewood before his health got any worse. Getting firewood is part of his Montana dream and one of his favorite summer projects. Considering his wife would not let him go by himself anymore, he needed Scott's help.

So last Sunday, Scott, April, Gus and Scott's dog headed to the high country. I waited for our friend, Ron, to arrive and then he and I followed. Ron lives in Okinawa, Japan and Gus always has some "Project" that he needs help with when Ron is here. As you can tell by the picture, Gus was pleased with his load of firewood.

Last year, Gus was too ill to even lift a chainsaw. Some very special - caring friends provided our firewood.