Disappointment

It's now 9 days following the procedure on my back and I've had no improvement. I was told prior to the procedure that if I didn't wake up out of pain it would happen within 72 hours. The fractures were stabilized, but enough height was not recovered for me to gain any relief. I continue to experience all of the same symptoms as before. The doctor told me to wear the brace every waking hour. But a follow up call to his office at the 5 day point resulted in a conversation with his nurse practitioner who told me not to wear the brace all the time. However, after a few hours without it, I'm in so much pain and the muscle spasms are so severe that I have to lay down for several hours until they subside. Wearing the back brace at that point provides some relief. So, I wear the back brace quite a bit. Also, he told me to take ibuprofen round the clock for several days. I've tried all that and I can't take it while I'm in treatment. The next suggestion was Valium to help the muscle spasms. Well, that puts me to sleep, which laying flat and sleeping gives relief without those meds. If I take it during the day, then I'm sleepy. I am very limited with what I can do. Steve is having to do more to help me. Consequently, I am quite discouraged.

This week is our anniversary - a gift of another year to share our lives. The first week of October is busy with doctor appointments, IVIG, and chemo. Will know at that time if chemo dosages will increase due to how low my blood counts are (white, red and platelets) which was discovered on pre-op labs.

The bright spot in our lives right now is the anticipated birth of another granddaughter.

Thank you for your interest in our lives and your continued prayers.

Vertebrae Repair

Our trip to Minnesota is a happy memory now. We always enjoy our time there. The weather was beautiful the entire time we were there. My flights were smooth and security agents were pleasant and screenings went smoothly, too. Although, they had to check my ace bandage on my sprained ankle for bomb residue. Sprained ankle? What? I slipped on the last step of some stairs and landed on my bum after hyper-extending my foot. Many bumps and bruises, but the worst injury to the ankle is on the top where I heard the terrible sound of ligaments stretching and tearing as I fell. Twenty four hours of staying off of it and lots of ice greatly improved the healing process. Once the swollen bruise on the bottom of my foot improved, I was able to carefully walk with the ankle wrapped in an ace bandage. Being ambulatory and not needing a wheelchair certainly did make it easier at the airport for our return flight this week. I did, however, miss the first event of Steve's reunion.

This morning is the procedure on my back. Things have become a little more complicated since my fall and the recent bone density test showed my bones are healthy and there was no indication of osteopenia or osteoporosis. Therefore, the compression fractures are from myeloma activity which leaves the unknown issue of how compromised the bone structure has become from the cancer and now whether there is further injury from my fall. My phone conversation with the Radiologist on Monday left me with these haunting words, "Hopefully, there is enough bone structure left to adhere the cement and have a successful outcome." The doctor said he would take a look during the procedure to be sure there weren't new fractures from my fall. He will also definitely take a biopsy. I'm praying it is done properly and is an adequate sample. Every bone marrow biopsy I've had done in Redding has had to repeated at Stanford due to some problem with the sample taken here.

Steve arrived home last night after riding 500+ miles a day to get here in time for my procedure. Jesse and Steve rode together to Butte, MT. Then Jesse went north to Canada to visit one of his college roommates and Steve headed south for home. They had some windy, chilly weather the first day, but stayed just ahead of the inclimate weather the rest of the trip. Steve arrived home last night even though he wasn't expected until tomorrow and arrangements had already been made for my friend (who is a nurse) to take me and stay with me until he returned home. He was so tired when he went to bed last night, that he asked if Kim could still take me in the morning and he would come up to hospital a little later.

Will report the outcome in a few days, but will sign off for now as it's almost time to leave.

Your prayers sustain us and bring hope and peace in the midst of this ongoing challenge of dealing with cancer.