Monumental May Day

He did it!! Jarod officially finished his last treatment of chemo today May 24 at 12:00 pm! Marcy came up and drove both Jarod and I to our last day day of treatment. Dr. Filip had the path report back from all the tests from Friday and everything was fine! He scheduled an appointment for us on Thursday June 10 for his follow up. That day we will then schedule the CT scan and his port removal. He told us we will get the entire post treatment schedule on June 10 but that the first three months he will be monitored monthly, then it will go to every 3 months for the first two years. After the 2 year mark he will only need to see him every six months and after after the 5 year mark it will be a yearly checkup!

Although we will still have a lot of appointments and check ups over the next two years, it is a huge relief to have this part of it, the chemotherapy treatment behind us. 12 weeks from the time he was diagnosed we have under gone 2 surgeries, 9 weeks of chemotherapy which consisted of 4 chemo drugs, 6+ anti nausea meds, and at least 3 other medications to help with sleep, and anxiety and in just the last 72 hours have over come an infected abscess and true excruciating joint pain. Going on less than 4 hours of sleep almost nightly for almost 3 full months Jarod and I are able to look back on this journey and say we did it!

It's almost surreal when you think about the obstacles we faced, and the amount of time, and every second of every day balancing work, home, bills, family, friends, and battling for Jarod's life; we just did it. We took it day by day and there wasn't any other option. You get up, you show up and you do what you need to do to get through the day, and then the night, and then the week, then the weekend, and then you start it over and you just keep going.

Friday when we were at the hospital, just a few days before I had written about how we were so blessed with only one treatment left and there was such a positive feeling and then 48 hours later I found myself sitting in the exact waiting room in the hospital I had been in when Jarod had gone for his very first CT. Before he was even diagnosed I sat in that waiting room outside of radiology worried, stressed, scared, and knew without yet being told what was going on. After that CT we walked over to Dr. Filip's office on a Thursday after all the other patients were gone and nurses were finishing up and he sat us down and told us that Jarod had cancer, that was 12 weeks ago.

12 weeks to most goes by in the blink of an eye, life moves so fast with work, school, friends and family, holidays, vacation, obligations and relaxation to most 12 weeks is a moment, but for us it's been a year. Sitting in that same waiting room, in the same chair I thought about what we had done, how far we had come and much it took out of us and I'm not sure how we've done it but we are SO close to the end I'm not going to look back.

We made it and 72 hours later here I am, at home with Jarod and chemo is behind us. We aren't looking back and we aren't hoping to go back to who we were or where our lives used to be, we are focused on moving forward and redefining ourselves and our lives post cancer.

Each experience we have prepares us for the next, the problem is we never know what the next is going to be. There is a quote that says, "You cannot control the wind, but you can adjust your sails" I think that's exactly what we did with the help of all of you who have supported us. Thank you.

The finish Line...

After that long day on Friday, Jarod and I crashed at 9:00 pm and I woke up every 4 hours to make sure he was taking his antibiotics, pain meds and other medication he needed. We slept until 11:00 am Saturday morning. When we got up Jarod started complaining of really not feeling well, he said it was a different feeling than he had been having and that it felt like one of the medications was making him feel strange.

He was extremely sick, dizzy and we knew something was wrong, we called Dr. Filip and explained the systems. Jarod was having an allergic reaction to one of the antibiotics and he told us to stop taking them. He asked how we was doing as far as fever, pain, new symptoms. I told him that he didn't have a fever the pain was less severe and the cut from his abscess was sore but the pain was different. He felt that because these symptoms were improving and because he was going to see Jarod in less than 48 hour he wouldn't put him on any more antibiotics. He told us that if Jarod starting running a fever we would have to take him to the ER right away.

After the drugs got out of his system he started feeling better, we even drove over to Erika and Jason's to see their new renovations on their home. We didn't stay long but it was nice for him to get out. Why we were there Dr. Filip called back and and said, I have some good news!

He said, "I have spoken with Dr, Einhorn and we agree Jarod needs to finish up his Bleomycin treatment on Monday May 24, but that would conclude his chemotherapy. There is no need for his 4th cycle."

He said he wanted us to know right away because he knew Jarod was having a very difficult few days. He asked again on his progress and I told him he continued to do much better and that the joint pain seem to be getting under control. He said well because he seems to be improving I think I know what has caused him to have that kind of agony.

One of the main symptoms of infection is join pain, like fever and Jarod developed an infection in the tissue around the colon, in the lower part of his body. The chemo drug cystplatin that I have had him on during the long weeks causes your body to make blood 7-10 days later which would be the exact amount of time since his treatment last Friday. In addition to that, there is range of CC's of chemo you can administer given the patients situation and strength. Jarod has been so strong since the beginning of this I have continued through out each dose and each week to give him the maximum dosage in hopes of getting his levels down fast enough to save him a month of chemo. It worked! Jarod now only has 1 treatment left and the high quantity of chemo killing his blood causing lower body pain, his body trying to keep up and make blood in his bones also causing joint pain was sent to the level of agony in his joints due to his infection. It basically was the perfect storm but he has gotten through the worst of it and we are headed down the hill to the finish line.

Tomorrow will be our last chemo treatment. We will leave at 9:00 am we will get all the results from his blood work and schedule all of his post treatment appointments as well as get the protocol for monitoring Jarod as he enters remission!

Turning Point

Well since my last post we have had some turns in our path. On Wednesday Jarod's pain worsened and he had a hard time getting down the steps at his parent's house. Thursday afternoon when I went down to go to dinner with Marcy and Cleo and Jarod, he said his tailbone was hurting in addition to his knee and leg pain, he was even having a hard time moving around.

After dinner we came home and tried to go to sleep, around 3:00 am the pain was bad enough that he was wide awake and at 3:30 am we both were wide awake he was in agany. The pain was so severe he was having shortness of breath and trouble moving and it took until 5:30 for him to calm down enough to sleep. I got up at 7:30 and then at 8:00 am I called the doctor. He called back around 8:45 and he was at the hospital by 10:00 am

They wanted me to bring him in Dr. Filip wanted to look at him and see whats going on. They found a cist that looked infected near his tailbone. This was due to a depressed immune system and had caused a localized infection. He eneded up having to be taken back by a specialty doctor and have it drained and then they put him on anitbiotics. They gave him a demeral for the pain and proceeded to do several sets of blood cultures and a contrast CT to look at his port to see whats going on. The port is OK it just has a portion of skin that is beginning to heal over it and so it's unable to draw blood from it, but they can infuse fluids and chemo into it.

The cultures won't be back until Monday and we won't know anything else really until then. He had no significate issues that were cause for admission to the hospital and it doesn't appear as of now the joint pain is caused by an infection, which is good. Dr. Filip sent him home for now and told us to call him if anything worsens he is on call over the weekend. They were conserned that Jarod could have an infection from his point which jo

The antibitoics should help with the cist he had, and Dr. Filip will let us know if anything comes back over the weekend we need to know about. Right now Jarod is a little less pain, very sore from being stuck 12 times and being cut, and very very tired. We are hoping that the joint pain will be reduced with pain killers and rest and that there are no other issues.

He has had a very tough week, when we saw Dr. Filip we wanted to see what his thoughts were about Monday being his last treatment and he wouldn't discuss that with us until Monday and he also wanted to make sure nothing comes back from these tests today.

We will let you know if anything else happens, hopefully his pain will decrease we will have a calm and restful weekend and good news Monday.

The beginning of the end of the battle...

Last week was Jarod's seventh total week of chemo and his 3rd long week consisting of 5, 6 hour days. He did well on Monday and Tuesday.. but as I mentioned in my last post Wednesday was a bad day... he felt horrible pretty much the rest of the week. Cleo his Dad came up to sit with him on Friday and our great friends Chad, James and Jon Newman came into town from Asheville to help me out.

James got to our house just before Jarod got home from the hospital he took care of him and the dogs (Georgia and Sampson) until I got home from work it was really nice for Cleo to get home before traffic hit and for me to know there was someone there. He went to bed early Friday and I also went to sleep fairly early sleeping very well knowing there was someone else in the house. Saturday Jarod even made it out to the pool for 3 hours!!We had lunch he spent some time in the shade but he did REALLY well. After dinner he started feeling bad and got back in to bed.

Saturday evening on he's been pretty sick. Monday we went back for his 8th week - just the bleo he felt good enough to eat some real food so we had a nice lunch and dinner but he was extremely achy both Monday, Tuesday and Today. His body hurts and the chemo that is in his veins makes him feel like he is on fire at times. He is very exhausted and trying really hard to fight the side effects that's he's experiencing. They drew his levels for the tumor markers and we got them back the AFP is at 4.7 and the HCG is less than 2.

This mean technically he is in the normal range and the tumors are gone. Our doctor needs to consult with Lance Armstrong's doctor who developed the treatment plan before he gives us the green light on everything but... it looks like next Monday will be Jarod's last day of chemo! We are EXTREMELY excited. Yesterday was a big day to get those levels into the normal range.

We won't know until late this week or early next what this exactly means, as far as being in remission, protocol for moving forward, all we know is that from what we have been told thus far these levels indicate that more than likely next week is week 9 and it appears 9 weeks will do it! No need for 12!

We will keep you posted as we find out more but we believe this is the beginning of the end of this battle!

Thanks to all of you who have called, sent gifts, cards, notes and emails it is very much appriciated. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to finish up the treatment, under go surgery to remove the portocath, and begin the slow process of recovering and redisgning our lives to move forward.

Love,
Lindsey & Jarod

The harder the battle.. the greater the victory

We started round 3 of chemo on Monday. We knew going into it this was going to be a tough go at it, most likely the worst so far. We were very blessed to have had such a great last week! Jarod felt wonderful ALL week he worked on his outdoor kitchen and put in 2 drawers. We have my mom in town Thursday followed by a wonderful weekend with Friends on Friday and Mother's Day weekend in Newnan Saturday and Sunday.

Jarod got to spend some quality time with Cleo on Saturday and Marcy, and her sister Pam and I went shopping. Cleo fried turkey bites - which were from the last turkey Jarod killed for dinner and we went to bed decently early having a great night of sleep! Sunday Jarod grilled stuffed pork chops on Marcy and Cleo's new grill and they were fabulous! We came home around 4 to get ready for our long week.

Both of us were nervous about this week because the last long week had been rough. Monday he did OK and Tuesday he was even a bit wired from the steroids but then Wednesday it really started to head down hill. Marcy and Pam were with him and our nurse Kimberly who we all love is on vacation so another nurse was trying to get Jarod's port accessed, they were having a TON of trouble and finally stuck him in his wrist vein which blew out and then they used the other wrist to get a vein. Jarod was very upset because having chemo administered through your vein directly as opposed to the port in his chest is much harder, it hurts and burns and is awkward to be hooked up to through your wrist for 6+ hours. He was pleading with Dr. Filip if there was anything they could do and he went to get another nurse who tried the port one more time and finally they got it.

They day went on each hour he was getting more and more drained, Marcy and Pam took him home where he got into to bed for nap. After a bit a sleep he was up and the vomiting started right before I got home from work. We got it under control and he ate a small amount of food for dinner, and headed straight back to the bed. He was nauseous all night and we were up taking medication and trying to keep it at bay until about 4:00 am, finally at 4:30 we feel asleep and 7:30 I got up to get us ready for chemo.

Today hasn't been much better for him. Both of us are exhausted and we had trouble getting out the door this morning, but they were able to access the port much better today only took a few tries. He is sleeping and has been off and on since we arrived at 9:30 which is great. Although this is the worst he has felt he isn't vomiting all that much considering and he is able to sleep some which helps.

We got the levels back yesterday and the HCG is still normal and the AFP is down to 6.1, Dr. Filip will consult with doctor in Indiana next week to confirm we only need 3 rounds we are praying it is only 3 and this is his last long week. One of my friends had colon cancer at 26 and just celebrated 5 years cancer free, she called and left me a message reminding me the sicker he gets the better it works and when you are able to put it behind you, it feels like you conquered the world!

It's working, we are blessed to have the markers that remind us that this fight and these drugs are going to be worth it because once we get through the treatment he will be in remission and we we WILL be OK.

Thanks for all cards, thoughts, prayers, visits, gifts and calls we couldn't be more overwhelmed with all of the support.

good week

This week has a been such a great week for Jarod, he worked on his outdoor kitchen even put in 2 new drawers and tiled the front of the drawers with slate! He has been able to be outside a lot and really enjoyed it. Wednesday and Thursday he went into work and got a lot done there, he really felt great! Yesterday mom was was in town and Jarod cooked dinner on the egg, I went out with our neighbor Meredith for a celebration dinner for her with her girl friends before she leaves for Charleston to get married.
Jarod cooked the entire meal and it was my Mom's first meal off the Egg and she was VERY impressed with both Jarod's skill and the grill.

We got his levels back on Wednesday and his AFP was down to 12 which is good, lower than last week of 16 but after a 15 point drop the week before we both a little disappointed that it wasn't lower BUT at least it is going down and only 3 rounds of chemo total - 3 more weeks!!

Jordan and Mike are in town passing through for his sister's graduation and they are stopping at our home tonight to cook us dinner which is basically like having a personal chef cook for you because Mike is SO talented (he's talking about opening a restaurant...seriously) so I am very excited about my meal. Jarod told him about my tooth and so it will be something on the soft side :)

Tomorrow morning we are going to Newnan for Mother's day we will be down there all weekend. Jarod's Aunt is in town as well so we will get to visit with her.

Next week is the last long week, although we are nervous at the end of every day we will be able to say that's the last long Monday, that's the last long Tuesday... and that's a great feeling! I'll let you know when we get the levels back and how he does through the week.

It's finally May!

May is here!! April honestly felt like the longest month for Jarod and I, between most of the sleepless night during the week, the long days at work and the doctor offices by the time we would reach the end of the week we felt like 2 months had passed. April was very trying and right at the very end, last Wednesday the 28th I ended up with oral surgery.

Things went from bad to worse quickly and I was told it needed to come our right away, the infection had spread into my jaw and was advancing with the chance of getting into my blood stream which could be very dangerous. Due to the level of infection the periodontist warned me that most I would be very difficult to numb completely and then needed to actually cut a portion of my jaw out and put in a bone graph to replace it. So I went straight back and we bagan the 1 hour procedure while I was awake. They did a pretty good job of getting me numb though I really wasn't it that bad of pain until the numbness wore off later Wednesday afternoon.

I went to work Thursday and Friday and because I needed to drive I was unable to take any pain killers other than Advil. I still can't eat much but at least have upgraded to pasta and potatoes from soup :)

Jarod's felt very poor all last week as well the long week of round 2 was so difficult for his body to over come it was Friday before we was doing any better the nausea. Marcy came up on Wednesday to help us with all this which was a blessing, as Cleo said it's a good thing Marcy is coming up there you guys are like the blind leading the blind!

The weekend was really nice for both of us! My Mom came into town and we watched the Kentucky Derby Saturday and she left on Sunday and our neighbor's had a BBQ that we were able to attend. It was a beautiful warm day Sunday so it was a great day to be out.

Yesterday was Jarod's third week in round 2 so it was a short day. His levels from last week were down to 15 for AFP and 2 for HCG, Dr. Filip the oncologist thinks that this week the levels with both be normal so we only need 1 more round of chemo!!!!

That means that Jarod has 1 more long week starting next week then 2 Mondays and we are done with treatment! As soon as the levels go to normal he is considered in remission! We will have 2 years from the last treatment that we will be on pins and needles making sure it doesn't come back with follow up appointments but after two years if it hasn't returned most likely it won't the chances are less than 5%!

So.. May is HERE! May 24 is the last scheduled day for chemo and with today being May 4 that is only 20 more days! Although our lives will never be the same and the thought of them going back to "normal" is strange it will be so nice to at least have the treatment behind us so we can begin focusing on the blessing and moving forward.