Hi, all. Laura had a pretty good day today. (A good day means only one prayer at the porcelain alter this morning!) She spent a lot of time up, got outside with the kids, ate fairly normally, etc. The esophagus pain from the radiation treatment seems to be lessening, too. Back pain is still present — which is a worry that we’ll have to follow up on because the radiation treatment was supposed to kill the cancer deposit in the spine and relieve the pain. But there’s reason to be hopeful that even that may still improve. Laura is managing with a slightly reduced amount of pain killers, suggesting some progress.
Tomorrow I’ll be taking her to the hospital for a test in which an xray movie is made of her throat, windpipe, etc. as she swallows a chalky radioactive drink. Then she ingests more radioactive juice for a new CAT scan. The last scan was almost two months ago and Laura has been on hormone therapy for 6 weeks, so this will be an important indicator of the cancer regression. Results won’t probably be available until next week. Laura will be back in the hospital Friday for a minor surgery to have a “port” installed — which is basically a tap directly into a major vein so that future IVs and blood draws are easy.
Yesterday evening I dragged Laura out of the house to visit an organic farm in the neighboring town of Conway that uses only draught horses. No tractors. Beautiful fields of long narrow rows along a riverbottom. You have to walk across a swinging suspension bridge to get to the fields. On the way across my mother snapped this rare family photo that turned out pretty well!
Feeling better today
Wed, Sep 26th, 2007 11:00pm by dkulp
Tags: Uncategorized
4 responses so far ↓
1 Aunt Cathy // Sep 27, 2007 at 8:18 am
I go regularly to your blog to check up on everyone. Uncle Yogi asks me every few days if I have any information on Laura. This is a tremendous way to keep everyone in the loop. Laura, you have a wonderful, supportive family. You are one tough girl and I’m so sorry you’ve had a rough way to go. You’re strong (although you don’t feel it) and I know you’ll make it to the other side!
Love,
Aunt Cathy
2 Elena // Sep 27, 2007 at 1:28 pm
Gosh, you look like mom! Hi to everyone 🙂
3 Donna Chastain // Sep 28, 2007 at 12:01 pm
Laura, I had a CT scan recently and I didn’t even give the “nasty chalky stuff” a thought until the xray tech approached me with 2 cups of lemony-lime chalky crap to drink. I drank it down pretty quick and was hoping I wouldn’t embarrass myself in front of all the other people sitting around watching me by getting rid of it on the floor. It was an experience for me cause the CT machine had a computer malfunction and forgot to tell me to breathe again,needless to say I did. When the tech backed me out of the machine ,some minutes later, it said, breathe. He said, I wonder what that was all about? I hope I don’t have another one for a long time. I pray all your test come back good and have a happy house warming. Love, Donna C.
4 Janice Everett // Sep 28, 2007 at 7:11 pm
David, I must say…prayer at the porcelain alter is a first for me, I’ve heard it described many ways but this is the best by far!!!..hope these sick days are over soon, sounds like things are improving.. I would love to talk Randy into driving the RV to your area, maybe next fall…it looks beautiful..love Janice