Friday, April 04, 2003
Lump mass removed from neck by Dr. Jon
Tuesday, April 08, 2003
Dr. Jon called me on the phone while I was at work, and informed me that the pathology report was positive for level 1 non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Friday, April 11, 2003
I had my first appointment with Dr. Wendy. She did a bone marrow biopsy and ordered a CAT scan.
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
First Chemo / Rituxan / Prednisone treatment. No side effects, other than being drowsy from the Benadryl they gave me. Only took 3.5 hours, instead of the 5 – 6 they said it might take.
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
I had a CAT scan done at the hospital.
Thursday, April 17, 2003
Still no side effects. I played three games of racquetball and felt fine. Felt a little tired and achy. I was only able to play two games of racquetball before getting wiped out. It turned out that I had picked up the flu from Ann. Ached all over, tired, upset stomach, etc.
Friday, April 18, 2003
I felt really bad in the morning. Achy all over, slight stomach upset, and tired. I wanted to go home from work, but had too much work that needed to be done. Felt better in the afternoon.
Saturday, April 19, 2003
I still felt bad. Achy all over, slight stomach upset, and tired. I ended up working from home for 6 hours.
Sunday, April 20, 2003
I felt a little better, but not much. I was able to attend Church. We had all the kids up for Easter dinner. I got tired, but it wasn’t bad.
Monday, April 21, 2003
I felt great. The flu was gone, and I felt really good. I noticed a little tingling on the tips of my thumbs and index fingers. My throat felt painful – not like a sore throat, but rather how it might feel after a sore throat. Hurt a little to swallow. Got results back from the CAT scan – all clear. Bone marrow biopsy was also clear. No traces of the cancer spreading.
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
I had a hard time sleeping. I was up at 2:00 am and was working on the computer. I got a call at 3:00 am from a user in Johannesburg. They had some email problems that I had to fix. I ended up going into work for the whole day. I called Dr. Wendyr's office and told them about my fingers and throat. I went in to the office for blood work. The results were good. I had an appointment with Dr. Mike to talk about a natural holistic diet. I practiced racquetball and played a doubles game. I was tired, but I think it was from being up since 2:00 am.
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
Nothing to report.
Thursday, April 24, 2003
I had hard time sleeping again. I took some Tylenol PM to sleep. I didn’t get to sleep until after 3:30 am. I felt tired in the morning, but I felt better as the day went on. I felt bloated, but think it was from my high dosages of Prednisone. Today is the last day of the high dosage. I still have the tingling in my fingers and my throat is still slightly sore. I got tired as the day wore on. But after 4:00 PM I felt better. Practiced racquetball and had a lesson. Played couple of short games afterwards. Got a call from work and had to come back in. Didn’t get home until after 2:00 am.
Friday, April 25, 2003
Tired from being up so late. More problems at work. Finally got them fixed. Upset stomach – feels empty, even after eating. Pills didn’t take mild pain away this time, like they have before. Fingers feeling tingly further down, especially index finger and thumb.
Saturday, April 26, 2003
Felt pretty good. Did some work in the yard, repairing sprinklers and getting them ready for summer. First sign of hemorrhoids. Noticed that bruises on my arm and hand are lasting a long time.
Sunday, April 27, 2003
Tired in the morning. Felt better in afternoon. Had to work on a major crisis at work. Hair began falling out. I could pull out clumps at a time. Had our neighbor Stacey cut it real short.
Monday, April 28, 2003
Major crisis at work. Felt pretty good in general.
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Shaved my head. Short hairs were falling on the back of my neck and collar and it was really irritating. Developed a little sore on my lip. Lips always dry. Mouth is dry sometimes, but not too bad.
Wednesday, April 30, 2003
Felling good. Did a little yard work. Felt normal. Crisis at work is over.
Thursday, May 01, 2003
Felt really good. Played three games of racquetball, and wasn’t as tired as I have been before. Mouth starting to get more dry.
Friday, May 02, 2003
Still feeling good. Got some lip balm which helps a lot.
Saturday, May 03, 2003
Sunday, May 04, 2003
Facial hair starting to fall out. It was getting all over me, and down my neck, so I shaved off the beard.
Monday, May 05, 2003
Tuesday, May 06, 2003
Wednesday, May 07, 2003
Second Chemo treatment. Took 5.5 hours this time. Different nurse, and the drips are manually controlled. The Benedryl made me tired again. Came home and slept most of the day.
Thursday, May 08, 2003
Played racquetball with Scott; more of a practice than a real game. Didn’t sleep much – if any – at all. Too much sleep during the day.
Friday, May 09, 2003
Played racquetball – cutthroat. Didn’t do too bad, but lost.
Saturday, May 10, 2003
Food tastes really different. Even water tastes different. Even more so than before. Noticing a little difference in the my fingers. Still feel funny, but not quite as much so.
Sunday, May 11, 2003
Hard time sleeping.
Monday, May 12, 2003
Played racquetball with Deanna – got a little winded. Starting to notice a lack on energy.
Tuesday, May 13, 2003
Played racquetball before Deanna’s lesson from the club instructor. Got really tired. Hard time catching my breath. Only lasted 10 minutes. Had a runny nose.
Wednesday, May 14, 2003
Starting to get a cold. More tired, probably due to cold.
Thursday, May 15, 2003
Tried to come home early, but ended up working late. Started couching, really bad. Had to sleep in other room so I wouldn’t keep Ann awake. Took Tussionex (cough syrup), and Loratab.
Friday, May 16, 2003
Worked from home. Worked half hour, then slept half hour. Worked, then slept, etc. Went in to work later, but felt really bad. Took Tussionex and Loratab in order to sleep. Deanna said I was wheezing all night.
Saturday, May 17, 2003
Coughing really bad in the morning. Went to emergency room. Said I may have pneumonia, but because my white blood count was so low, it wouldn’t show up on x-ray. Started me on anti-biotic.
Sunday, May 18, 2003
Stayed home and slept most of the day.
Monday, May 19, 2003
Went to work. Tired, but felt better than Saturday or Sunday.
Tuesday, May 20, 2003
Hard time sleeping. Still coughing. Take Tussionex and Tylenol at bedtime.
Wednesday, May 21, 2003
Same.
Thursday, May 22, 2003
Still tired, but had to work till 11:00 pm.
Friday, May 23, 2003
Tired, and coughing. Boss sent me home early (9:00 pm) because I was coughing so much.
Saturday, May 24, 2003
Felt pretty good. Went to work for a little bit then shopping. Worked in the yard a little.
Sunday, May 25, 2003
Felt good until around 2:00 pm. Then I got real tired. Had to lay down and take a nap. No energy.
Monday, May 26, 2003
Worked in the yard in the morning. Got real, real tired. Had to quit and come in and take a 2 hr. nap at about 1:00 pm. Had to take another at about 6:30 pm. Just no energy. My foot hurts. I think it’s Gout. It comes and goes. If it continues I usually take an extra Allopurinol.
Tuesday, May 27, 2003
Foot hurts more now. Swollen. Worst pain ever during the night. Had to crawl to get some pain pills, but they didn’t take all the pain away. Foot was swollen, red, and hot on the top of my foot.
Wednesday, May 28, 2003
Third Chemo treatment. Only had 25 MG of Benadryl instead of 50. Much better. Didn’t get as tired. Dr. Wendy looked at my foot and ordered an x-ray. She said that the prednisone should help. After the treatment my foot felt much better. I can actually put weight on it.
Thursday, May 29, 2003
Pain in foot was worse in the morning. Had to use crutches. It seems that the prednisone didn’t help much. But later on in the day I was able to hobble around without them, but it was still sore. Worked on the trailer and picked up some trees with Troy.
Friday, May 30, 2003
Pain in foot even more painful this morning. Cancelled campout with Trevor and Jordan. Called Dr. Richard. He said he didn’t think it could be gout because I have been taking Allopurinol. He said I should get my foot x-rayed, so I did. It was not broken. Picked up herbal remedy for Gout – Tart Cherry Concentrate. Tried some. It seemed to work in a couple of hours. Had Dr. L call in an order for anti-inflammatory in case the Cherry medicine didn’t work. Started taking Coral Calcium for the cancer. Supposed to lower the ph level and prevent and help cure cancer. Skeptical, but I’ll try it.
Saturday, May 31, 2003
Pain in foot worse in the morning again. Prednisone, Allopurinol, and Cherry medicine has not helped. Still managed to hobble out (with crutch), and help kids pick weeds. Picked up Vioxx from Drug Store because pain was not going away. Took Cherry medicine again also. Pain again felt better in the late afternoon evening. Foot still sore, but I could hobble on it.
Sunday, June 01, 2003
Pain again in the morning. Crutches again for about two hours, then I could hobble. But later in the day, I could put my shoes on and it wasn’t too bad. The pain has moved from the top to the side, and it isn’t swollen any more.
Monday, June 02, 2003
Relatively little pain in my foot – especially for a morning. I think I’ve finally turned the corner. No effects from the Chemo, other than my hair, finger tips, and taste. But my finger tips are gradually getting the feeling back, or rather the tingling is going away – very gradually.
Tuesday, June 03, 2003
Foot was worse this morning. Still not bad, but worse than yesterday. Took both Cherry Juice and Vioxx.
Wednesday, June 04, 2003
No pain in my foot at all. Back to normal. Only took Vioxx. No other problems. Feel good. Catching up with work at work, and working in the yard when I come home.
Thursday, June 05, 2003
Same as yesterday. Cutting down on red meat in diet. Trying to eat more salads and yogurt.
Friday, June 06, 2003
No problems. Feeling normal.
Saturday, June 07, 2003
Got tired doing little things in the yard. Not able to do as much, as fast as I would like to have done.
Sunday, June 08, 2003
Got headache and had to lay down. Felt worn out.
Monday, June 09, 2003
11 Year Anniversary of Kidney transplant! Went to work, even though I felt tired. Was going to leave at 3:00, but stayed till 5:00.
Tuesday, June 10, 2003
After work I emptied the trailer at the dump. Completely wore me out. Head felt like I was standing on it. When I would bend over, my eye hurt – like when you eat something cold too fast and like when you got water up your nose – both at the same time. Came home from the dump and slept for two hours.
Wednesday, June 11, 2003
Had my blood work done. WBC was 1.9, RBC was 3.29, and HCT was 30.9. Got a Neupogen shot for the WBC. Went to work, but just felt very, very tired.
Thursday, June 12, 2003
Feeling better. Had another Neupogen shot today.
Friday, June 13, 2003
Had another Neupgen shot. Feeling OK, just tired and can never get rid of this cold.
Saturday, June 14, 2003
Went to the hospital for another Neupogen shot. Felt pretty good. Had neighbors come and help take down the old fence to get ready for the new fence. They also help widen one of the paths on the hill in the back yard. I was able to help a little, but got tired fast.
Sunday, June 15, 2003
Relaxed day. Felt OK, but then I wasn’t doing anything remotely physical.
Monday, June 16, 2003
Felt good. Best I have in a long time. Trevor came over after work and we put gravel down on the path in the back.
Tuesday, June 17, 2003
Fourth and last chemo treatment. My WBC was at 20, which really surprised Dr. Wendy. She said that I really did well on the Neupogen. She was expecting the WBC to go up, but not that much. Last time I had Neupalast. It was a long lasting shot for 10 days. The Neupgen is the same thing, only smaller doses that you are supposed to take for 10 days. The problem was that most patients didn’t take it for 10 days, so the drug company made one do the same thing in one day, and cost 10 times as much. Treatment went fine. Slept most of the day. Felt fine afterwards.
Wednesday, June 18, 2003
Felt fine. Still ever present cold. Still unable to sleep through the night. But already starting to feel more tired.
Thursday, June 19, 2003
Doing well. Tired, but OK. Was able to set up some sprinklers for the new trees, but wasn’t able to finish fixing all the others that needed it.
Friday, June 20, 2003
I’m writing this early in the morning because, once again I couldn’t sleep through the night. I think the ever present cold might have something to do with it.
Saturday, June 21, 2003
Tried to move and fix some sprinklers in the morning. Very easy stuff. But it wore me completely out, down to the bone. Couldn’t do anything the rest of the day. Missed a leadership meeting.
Sunday, June 22, 2003
Still tired from yesterday. Didn’t do much. Didn’t go anyway. Stayed home from Church. Had to work late Sunday night to fix email problem in China.
Monday, June 23, 2003
Worked from home. Really tired. Work / sleep / work / sleep etc. But I got a lot of work done. Ann kicked me out of the bedroom because my coughing was keeping her up all night. Can't get rid of it. I don't sleep very well, not just because of the cough, but just can't relax.
Tuesday, June 24, 2003
Started off with a phone call from work early in the morning. Started working and didn’t take a break till after 1:00. Then finished rest of cleanup projects. Felt a little better, but only because I never left my chair. Still coughing, running nose.
Wednesday, June 25, 2003
Went to work in the morning, but couldn’t handle it. I got hot and sweaty, then cold, then hot, and always tired. Came home at 1:00 and took a nap. Then worked from home to get my work done.
Thursday, June 26, 2003
Worked a full day at the office. Felt OK, but took several naps at my chair. Got a lot of work done.
Friday, June 27, 2003
Worked a little from home, but already had 40 hours in before the day started. I think I worked so much that now I can’t do anything else. I still feel run down, but sitting at a desk doesn't wear me out, so I was able to work from home and not feel too bad. I meet with Dr Robert for the first time. Had an appointment, and minor examine. He said everything looks good as far as treatment goes. He is going to give me some time to recover, they start the radiation on July.
Saturday, June 28, 2003
This last week was the worse since I started Chemo. I felt better today - even mowed, trimmed, and fertilized the lawn. But that's all I could do. I still have a bad cough. Still sleeping in other bedroom. Still taking Tylenol PM, and Tussenix, and Antivan. But it doesn't seem to help.
Sunday, June 29, 2003
Coughed all night long, even with taking Tussinex, Tylenol PM, and Antivan. Just couldn't stop coughing - laying down, sitting in the recliner, sitting up - still kept coughing. So now, not only do I feel run down, but I am tired also.
Monday, June 30, 2003
Same as yesterday.
Tuesday, July 01, 2003
Same as yesterday. Stayed home from work.
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
Stayed home from work. Had my Blood work done again. The WBC was higher, but still low. My RBC and Hmg were the same - low. That accounts for my feeling so run down still, but and why I'm having such a hard time getting rid of this cough.
Thursday, July 03, 2003
Had the worst night yet last night. I think the NyQuil is what is keeping me awake. Then I feel tired and run down the rest of the day. I was finally able to get some sleep at about 6:00 AM, for about a half hour. Was able to take a couple of short naps. Went to Bingham Copper mines - it was a vacation day. Ann drove and I didn't do much.
Friday, July 04, 2003
Was able to sleep most of the last night. Cough only woke me up three or four times. Worked in the garage, which wore me out by the end of the day, even though I didn't do anything strenuous.
Saturday, July 05, 2003
Went on a day trip. Just sat in the car most of the day. I was feeling better, but still coughing. Noticed that my neck gland, under my jaw was swollen.
Sunday, July 06, 2003
Had a restful day.
Monday, July 07, 2003
I was able to go back to work, and work a full day without getting tired. Still coughing at night, but not as much. More than Ann would like, but not enough to keep us awake all night.
Tuesday, July 08, 2003
Worked a full day at the office. Felt OK, but took several naps at my chair. Got a lot of work done.
Wednesday, July 09, 2003
Same as yesterday
Thursday, July 10, 2003
Same as yesterday
Friday, July 11, 2003
Same as yesterday
Saturday, July 12, 2003
Mowed the lawn and did a little yard work in the morning. Came in and rested between projects. Feeling good, but still get tired if I do any strenuous work. Lump in neck getting larger.
Sunday, July 13, 2003
Still feeling good.
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