Chemo Round Two = Done!

Friday, Les finished his second round of chemo. They gave him a shot to generate more white blood cells that will last for the next 14 days. He may have some bone pain because of it, but he hasn't complained yet. His voice is very weak; an effect of the steroids. His throat pain is back, so we are wondering if that is what happens with his body after chemo. Because of the pain, eating has become almost non-existent again.

He will see Dr. Sexina, his primary physician on Tuesday, June 9th. They changed the dates of the CAT/MRI to June 10 @ 2:45pm. The third round of chemo is now tentatively scheduled for June 17 - 19th. He seems very tired and weaker than we've seen him recently.

He still continues to enjoy short visits, but as we hit the 7 - 10 day window after chemo, we may ask for a temporary break. We'll keep you posted on how this round of chemo interacts with his body. Thanks for checking in and we hope you are having a nice weekend!

Chemo Day Two - done

Chemo went well again today. Les slept most of the day when he returned. They were right...he didn't sleep well last night. :(

The visit with Dr. T went well. He indicated that Les's next scan will be on June 17th...his birthday. The CAT scan will look at his chest, abdomen and pelvis. The MRI (which is not technically scheduled yet, but Les wants it on the same day) will look at his brain and spine. If the chemo is working and things are shrinking, round 3 of chemo would start on June 18th and the cycle of 3 days of chemo/18 off would continue. He will get the shot that helps generate more white blood cells on Friday after the chemo is done.

Thank you for all your positive thoughts and prayers.

Chemo Day One - done

Les had a good day with the transportation and the chemo. He rode in a different vehicle so it was more comfortable than the van he rode in earlier. They'll use it again tomorrow morning for his day 2 of chemo.

Today, they started him off with some anti-nausea meds and then had about an hour worth of chemo. They said the chemo may keep him up tonight which may make for a very long night. His sense of time is completely off. I guess two months in a bed will do that to you. He says his pain in his stomach is gone (I don't think he remembers having it...?) and we are happy he is pain free.

During the chemo appt. tomorrow, they will meet with Dr. T for a check up. I'll try and post updates from that visit tomorrow. Prayers for a good night's sleep would be appreciated. Thanks!

Fever free for now

Sounds like the fever Les had yesterday broke during the night and he said he was feeling pretty well today. He spent some time outside this morning and worked with the physical therapist as well. We're still planning on chemo Wed, Thurs and Friday this week. We hope you all had a wonderful weekend. Thanks for checking on him!

Another Sunday fever...

Holidays and Sundays must bring on low grade fevers for Les. During a routine vitals check they realized Les had a mild temperature. They alerted his primary physician, Dr. Sexina, and she thought it might be an infection in the bladder again. The quick results came back a little inconclusive, but the phrase Bacteria: MANY meant that the sample will be cultured over the next day or two to get clearer results.

They will watch him overnight and if the fever gets to be 101˚F we'll need to get him to the ER tonight. If it is still low grade tomorrow morning a trip to the ER may be needed, we'll have to wait and see. His appetite was a little better this morning, but he was back to his normal two to three bites by dinner.

Please continue to keep him in your thoughts and prayers. Thanks!

Dr. visit went well

Looks like Les is up for another round of chemo starting next Wednesday and continuing on Thursday and Friday. He will get the meds to boost his white blood cells on that Friday so his levels won't go so dangerously low again. I guess they took some blood to analyze but mom wasn't given detailed info of the quick results...just that 3 of the categories were low. He was also given a different appetite stimulant that should help with the eating and make him feel better.


He is not excited for the trips back and forth in the van next week. He said his head is pretty close to the roof of the van and after today's round trip, he was exhausted. His attitude continues to be pretty positive and we are so thankful he isn't in much pain. Thanks for checking and we wish you all a relaxing Memorial Day weekend!

Seeing Dr. T tomorrow

After looking at the discharge papers more closely, Mom realized seeing Dr. T on the 28th (formerly the 29th) was just not soon enough. A call to our nurse navigator, Chelsea, helped us score at date with the Dr. on Friday morning at 11:30. It will be good to share the questions we have regarding Les's inability to eat more than a bite or two and the pain in his stomach. We'll keep you posted on what we find out.

Les showed off today in PT by standing (with the assistance of some parallel bars) for about three minutes - two different times. Mom was very proud and I think he was too. He did verbalize what a long road ahead he'll have to get back the muscles and movement.

There were lots of visitors this week including a fraternity brother from California, a cousin from Delaware, and more than a dozen Rotarians for an early morning meeting. Thanks to all the friends and family that have taken time to show their support for Les. We appreciate you!

Catching up...

Les is back in the routine at the Care Center. They get him up early, he'll have a bite or two (literally) of breakfast and a while later he is off to therapy. He knows he needs to exercise those leg muscles, but doesn't always have the drive to do it independently (sounds a lot like me!). The left foot will wiggle, but the right one continues to move better. Because of the placement of the T8 tumor (around the belly button area) his stomach muscles have been affected too, and therefore it is hard for him to pull himself to a sitting position. He has a pretty good attitude and continues to try for other people.

The eating is not going as well as we'd like. He has lost about 40 pounds since this started eight weeks ago. It hurts to swallow and therefore eating is like torture. He thinks the Maalox helps and tries to get a few bites each meal and a few snacks in between meals. His throat and stomach are two sources of pain, so please pray for relief of those areas.

He is scheduled to see his primary physician, Dr. Sexina, on Wednesday the 27th, to make sure he is fully recovered from the bladder infection. He will see Dr. Tarantolo, the oncologist, on Friday the 29th. We will know more about the second round of chemo after those office visits.

He loves to have "short" visits from friends and family. I guess Rotary will be held at the Care Center tomorrow morning so he can be apart of it. We are thankful so many people are willing to stop by and show they care. Thank you for taking care of him and my mom!

Back and by himself...

After some trouble with the wheelchair again, Les made it back to the Care Center around 4pm. His white cell count is well over 8000, so he is back in the normal range. He is back in his old room and Lloyd, his roommate, was kind enough to move to another room. We are thankful the ladies at the Center are trying to make him as comfortable as possible. He will go and see Dr. T. next Wednesday. Chemo won't happen unless all the blood levels are okay and he is fever free. The eating is going better; we hope that continues. Thanks again for your prayers. We appreciate them.

Return to the Care Center tomorrow?

The meds helped Les's count to increase today and they are expecting big numbers by tomorrow. Masks and gowns were not required today since he is getting better. They cleared him of pneumonia (not sure if the xray was incorrect or if it just cleared up quickly with all the high dose antibiotics). They did find ecoli in the infection in the bladder, but they are confident it is getting better. Depending on his numbers tomorrow, he may be returning to the Ashland Care Center. If/when his numbers are high enough to resume chemo in the future (next week), they will give him the meds to boost white blood cells before chemo starts as a preventative. The heart burn/acid reflux is continuing to bother him and his Nexium has been increased. He is also taking Maalox before he eats to cover his stomach.

Thanks for your continued positive thoughts and prayers.

About the same today

Les's white blood cell count was at 0.7 today. His fever is gone and they are giving him something to work in the bone marrow to create new white blood cells. He did try and eat more today and sat up in a chair for about an hour and a half. He has been experiencing some major heart burn/acid reflux which makes eating even more unappealing than it was before since it hurts when it goes down. Dr. T came at 7:30 am, so mom didn't get a chance to talk to him and she and the nurse couldn't read the notes he'd left. Even with all the practice mom has had reading messy handwriting, it was mostly undecipherable. Hopefully she'll catch him tomorrow.

Count is so low...

When I left the hospital at 6pm, they said Les's white blood cell count was at 0.5. It was a struggle for him to eat or drink anything, but the nurses/dietian have flat out said he has to get nutrients not only for energy, but for skin repair/durability, less nausea, etc. He finally drank about half of an Ensure (vanilla...he says chocolate has been giving him stomach pains) and called it good. We're not sure what the number has to be to get him released from the hospital. Hopefully Mom will touch base with Dr. T tomorrow.

Monday Update

I talked to mom around 1:30 and she said they have confirmed a bladder infection. His white blood cell count is now 18. Everything needs to be wiped down before he touches it and they are washing their hands all the time. His attitude is good but he is very tired. More later...

Back at Lakeside Hospital

Last night around 8pm, it was decided that Les should go to Lakeside ER for a fever he'd developed during the day. Once there, they did a blood test and his white blood cell count is extremely low...500. Normal is 4000 - 12,000. So, this means he has been highly susceptible to catching something, and unfortunately, he did. He was diagnosed with pneumonia in his left lung. This is also the lung where the large tumor resides. They are also culturing a urine sample as that looked like it had some bacteria as well. He is in room 4102, but we are not encouraging visitors at this time. Mom (and anyone visiting) will need to wear a sterile gown and mask while in his room. Please pray that the antibiotics work quickly and he is able to bounce back from this set back.

Single no more...

Overnight, Les got a new roommate...Lloyd Edwards joined him in room 213. It's a little more crowded, but Les doesn't seem to mind. He is glad to have the weekend off from therapy, but did say it helps pass the time. He has had lots of visitors and that helps too. He really has no appetite and has had an upset stomach/nausea for the last couple days.

The daily posts will most likely trim down to two or three times a week until we have more news to share. We so appreciate your willingness to keep Les and our family in your thoughts and prayers. We also want to thank the many people who have helped Mom by mowing the lawn, cleaning the gutters, bringing food, and encouraging her to take some time away from the hospital/care center. The last 6 weeks have been overwhelming...for the good and the not so good. Thanks again.

Getting the routine down

Well, sounds like they got Les up early --6am early, and he was at the breakfast table from 6:15 to about 8:15 visiting with a table full of ladies. I think for the most part it was okay...he said they are a little bitter. Probably not a shock to most of us. Therapy went from 10:45 to 11:40 and he ate a good lunch. He had some visitors and then a nap. It was a "sweet" day with several cheesecake bites and a couple scotcheroos. Good thing mom isn't on him about his heart...he's enjoying every sweet thing! I guess there will be a blood draw on Friday that will be sent to Dr. T and on Wednesday of next week, Les will take a road trip to see him. Take care and enjoy the beautiful weather!

As requested, their address: 2102 Pinto Road, Ashland NE 68003 or email at lb13059@windstream.net

Tuesday's update

Mom said Les had his first therapy session at the Care Center and it was good...mostly an evaluation on their part to see where he is at. We think therapy will be five days a week. Sounds like he had a long afternoon nap and had quite a few local visitors that kept the day moving. Mom seems to think he is more relaxed than he was at the hospital, so we are happy about that. He seems to be eating well, so the food must not be too bad! Thanks for reading!

Our hometown boy is back...

The Care Center van came to pick up Les today. Unfortunately, they didn't have the wheelchair to take him home in. Fortunately, the hospital was willing to let us borrow one and bring it back at a later date. Unfortunately, it was too wide for the lift. Fortunately, Mom had a collapsable one in the car! Whew! He made it with just a little more effort than we originally planned...I think it bothered Mom more than it bothered him!

He is in room 213 at the Care Center, which is just inside the west doors by the Chapel. He has the room to himself until they get another resident. Nancy Maack brought him a delicious chocolate malt from Cherio's that really hit the spot. (Thanks to her and to Cherio's for making him something special!) Dinner was good (they fed all of us) and he was getting ready for a visit from Mom's sister, Barb, when I left this evening.

We're not exactly sure what to expect as far as a routine, but I'm sure it will become all too familiar. Thanks for checking on him and keeping us all in your prayers.

Last full day at Bergan

As mentioned earlier, Natalie and her family came to town to see Les and celebrate Jenna's birthday. Here are some photos of our day. Jenna won a hat at Family Fun Center and thought it would look good on grandpa, too. What do you think? Huskers or fuzzy purple one?

I guess a van from the care center will transport Les tomorrow. He will be in his wheelchair for the ride. He was a little nauseous today, but once the nurse encouraged him to take something for it, he felt much better.

We were seeing attitude in full force today regarding the exercising. Sunday is a day of rest after all and Sunday afternoon naps are one of Les's favorites. Thanks for reading and we hope you have a good week!

Round one of chemo is over!

Yesterday, Les had his last dose of the chemo. After a somewhat grumpy morning, some visitors and some exercise made him quite pleasant to be around. Topics of eating and exercise are the hot buttons to bring on the rolling of the eyes. Even the nurses have commented on it. Les says they are his "bone of contention". He just doesn't think he needs to eat when he isn't hungry and there will be plenty of time to exercise...why rush it?

Natalie and her family are coming for the day today to see Les and celebrate Nat's daughter Jenna's birthday. It should be a good time...the kids always perk him up. Moving to Ashland tomorrow. Thank you again for all the prayers and well wishes. We appreciate them all and you too.

More chemo, more movement, more attitude

Les had his second chemo treatment today and seems to be tolerating it well. He doesn't eat much, but isn't complaining of nausea either.

Late this morning, he wheeled himself all the way down the hall and back (550 ft)! Once back in his room, he stayed sitting up for a while as well. He buzzed the nurses that he was ready to move back to the bed and when they didn't respond quickly enough, he told mom, "I'm getting no sympathy at all." She asked if he thought he needed it. His response, "I guess not." :)
He did sit up again later in the afternoon for about 45 minutes, so I'm sure he is tired tonight.

One more chemo treatment tomorrow, a down day on Sunday, and then they are picking him up Monday at 10am to take him to the Ashland Care Center. We hope we are making a good decision regarding the Care Center...guess we'll let them know as time goes on. I know it will be good for mom to be closer to home. Enjoy the weekend weather!