We got home from the ER around 4 am Sunday morning. Dave has continued to run a fever all day. It has stayed between 99 and 100 all day. He feels so bad. He told my sister that this is the worst he has felt since he found out he had cancer. So sad. I feel very helpless. I take his temp, make sure he takes his medicine, give shots, change bandages, and try to make sure he eats and drinks. But I can't make him feel better. I treasure the days when he feels good. When he feels like joking and laughing. If you have ever heard Dave laugh you know what I mean. It's his distinct laugh. Samuel laughs just like him. I love to be in another room and hear him laugh while hes watching TV. It makes me smile. Hopefully he will start to feel better and be able to enjoy Christmas. Tracy and her family arrived yesterday along with Abby. Everyone else along with Erin and Samo will be here tomorrow. Tracy and I are going to cook a big dinner tomorrow. We are all (all 20 of us) gonna squeeze into our little apartment for a meal and I am gonna enjoy every minute of it.

update

The fever has gone down and he is feeling better. They have been giving him fluids along with pain medicine and antibiotics. We will know if there is more infection in a day or so. He had a headache and he was also very dehydrated. We will go home in a couple of hours after he has had enough fluids. Gotta run get his prescription filled. I'll update again tomorrow.

A trip to the ER

Today Dave started feeling really bad. He has been achy, which we knew was a side effect of this chemo. He started running fever this afternoon. The doctor told us if his temperature ever gets above 101 to go to the ER. His temp stayed at 100.9 for a while. So we waited.....Dave did not want to go to the ER until it went over 101. So we are now at the ER at MDA. They are running test trying to find the source of the fever. Hopefully it's nothing, but we can't be too careful. I'll post again when we know more.

Dave had chemo today. He is having a little nausea tonight. He has taken some compazine and is snoozing soundly on the couch!! I'm watching the 10:00 news.... that will scare you to death. In other news..... I think the people who live above us either dance or do aerobics all night. I had a flashback to living in an apartment in college the other night...I actually got the broom out and beat on the ceiling. They did stop for a while, but the noise eventually was back. I think I get mean when I'm tired. I was tired that night. Well I really could ramble on all night, but I won't. Tomorrow Dave gets a nuelasta shot. I hope he continues to feel good. I think the next scan will probably be Jan 31 or so. We are praying that the tumor is gone or significantly shrunk by then.......so pray with us please.

10 days til Christmas

I can hardly believe its almost Christmas. All of our shopping is done and now we are waiting to see the family. We are excited about a possible trip home at the end of December. If all is well with Dave's numbers we will be coming home. He has felt amazingly well this round. An old friend of his came for a visit this week. They have enjoyed catching up and Dave has laughed alot! It does my heart good to see Dave feeling well and enjoying life.

Tomorrow he goes for the next dose of chemo which is Gemzar/Taxotere. He will see Dr. R on the 27th and if all is well we will come home. yay!!! I hope everyone is having a great December.

Until September 8, 2010 I didn't know what sarcoma was. We have become very acquainted with this terrible disease over the past few months. One thing we have discovered is that there is very little information and research on this type of cancer. I have linked several sites in the right column of this blog to sarcoma sites. I know God is the one who will ultimately heal Dave's cancer if he chooses to do so. I also know that He is using the doctors and their wisdom to treat Dave. My prayer tonight is that there will eventually be a cure for Leiomyosarcoma!! I am hopeful that this chemotherapy is killing the cancer in Dave's body. He is feeling good physically. Sometimes his emotions can wreak havoc on him. He tires easily, but has not had much nausea. Maybe I can get him to do a post soon. I would like to hear what he has to say....wouldn't you?

Yesterday was a LONG day. It was a good day though. We flew out of Birmingham at 9:30, had a plane change in Nashville, and arrived in Houston at 2:00 which was 25 minutes early. His appointment was at 3:00 and we were signing in at 3:02. Pretty good huh? We got back to the room ready to begin treatment when the nurse realized Dave had not signed any consent forms for this new medicine. Soooo......we walked from the Mays Clinic all the way to the Sarcoma Center. That is a long walk! We had to wait 45 min. to see Dr. R's nurse. So we learned about the two new drugs, signed the forms, and took the long walk back. So it was 5:30 before he was able to start the treatment. He was done around 8:30. We had taken the shuttle to the hospital, which stops running at 7:00, so we had to take a cab home. What a long day.

The two new chemo drugs are Gemzar and Taxotere. The side effects are not supposed to be as bad. Nothing should be as bad as the Adriamyacin. It was brutal!! He is feeling good this morning. No nausea overnight. I'll let you know how he does.