We've been on a roller coaster since the last blog. We were thrilled that Joe beat the infection and then things weren't going so well. We headed out to church on Saturday and Joe got sick during the service. Typical Joe, "No big deal, I'll make it through" and then his drainage bag broke. We had to run out of there. We never made it to the movie because he was sick all weekend. Then, he was scheduled to get his port put in and we spent 10 hours in the hospital. It didn't work. There was some kind of blockage that was preventing it from getting where it needed to end up. They wanted to admit Joe, but he refused. He had been through enough and wanted to be home. We came home, kept him on constant hydration and took him back on Tuesday. This time, they gave him fluids before the surgery and used a radiologist machine. It worked! We were excited, once again. We couldn't use it for a week, but at least hope was on the way. During all of this, Joe started his biological chemo treatment. It made him extremely tired and he was a little nauseous, but not bad. He got a slight rash, but this was to be expected. All-in-all, a good treatment. Then we went to the movie (it was so much fun), came home and slept and then stopped by Anna's and TJ's wedding reception (it was wonderful!). During all this time, Joe's bowels had stopped working....nothing. We were so worried they were completely blocked. And then he started vomiting Saturday night. Again, he would not go to the hospital and so we worked through it the entire night and it stopped. Everything he eats (although it's just clears), comes out the bag. Thank God we have the bag or Joe would be living in the hospital. The bag prevents everything from backing up and minimizes the vomiting. Then the AZ Cardinals won and things were just getting better. We saw Dr. S today and were scared to find out what was happening. He told us that he was not overly concerned about it at this time. He explained that anytime you introduce a new drug into a body, it is common for the bowel system to take a break and do nothing. Since it started when Joe began the new treatment, he feels confident it's the drugs and not the cancer. He also told us that Joe's cancer count is stable, which is a good sign too. We are praying he is correct and they start working again soon. The bad news is Dr. F and Dr. Ong both agreed that Joe is not a candidate for an ostomy. They explained that it is just too dangerous and could really set Joe back and cause issues worse than he is already dealing with. Joe will just have to stay on clears until this biological chemo kicks it's butt! In the meantime, he had his second treatment today and is home sleeping comfortably. TPN is on the menu tonight with a side of clear soup and jello.
XOXO
Sherrie
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