One eyeball down, one to go

I went to see a new eye doctor through Duke Eye Center, Dr. Jackson since my original clinic couldn't get my cataract surgery scheduled until late March.

 Dr. Jackson did a lot of scans of eyes and concluded that I needed to do a titrated series of eye drops to try to even out the surface of my eye then rescan. He explained it as "measure twice, cut once." 

Dr. Jackson worked with Dr. Skinner and decided that it was safe to have chemo before the rescan and cataract surgery. 

We were seen on 2/5 for the rescan of my eyes. It showed that the drops worked and the surface of my eye was less bumpy. 

I was able to have two rounds of chemo in between all of the eye doctor appointments. My left eye surgery was scheduled for 2/18. It was done at an outpatient facility at Novant. I even had a friend and precious preceptor- Holly Pegram- be my CRNA (the one who puts me to sleep) for my surgery. 

The worst part of the surgery was when they removed the drap that was taped to my cheek. It tore me up a bit! The rest of it was a breeze- Holly made sure I was nice and medicated ! 

They taped a plastic shield over my eye to protect it while I slept. Wil took me home and tucked me into bed. 

The next day, we were seen back at the clinic for our post op visit. My eye was still dilated from all the drops they gave me before surgery, so I was still really sensitive to light. Thankfully, I had no pain or discomfort at all.

I had another round of chemo on 3/3 and then cataract surgery is scheduled for my right eye on 3/18. 

The great news is that I'm cleared to drive now! I had only a few days of taking some of the driving burden off of Wil before I was in my chemo coma, sleeping in bed for the week. I got the upgraded lens so my distance vision is fixed but I will have to wear reading glasses. It can take a month or so after my last surgery to normalize and they may look at prescription readers at that point. 

Prayer requests: 

1. For chemo to continue to be effective. 

2. For my next cataract surgery on 3/18 to go well and vision to normalize quickly. 

3. Praise that my left eye surgery went well! 

4. Pray for our friends- the Husseys- whose son Jimmy has been battling pneumonia He has been hospitalized for over three weeks. Pray for complete healing and for him to be released home soon. 

Long time, No post

Wil had to remind me that the last time I posted was in August before surgery. 

Surgery to remove the tumor by my bellybutton went really well. It was amazing to be home before noon. Recovery went well and it was nice to be able to have a "chemo vacation." We skipped one cycle and my energy was better and my nerve pain (neuropathy) in my feet had a break. 

Chemo started back up on 10/7 and back to the normal routine of treatment every 3 weeks. 

This chemo can affect your eyes, so I'm followed by an opthalmologist every 6 weeks. At my last exam in November, it showed my mild cataracts had started to get worse. My doctor told me I had maybe 6-12 months before I would have to have surgery to fix them. These are caused from all the steroids I'm on (eye drops to protect them from chemo, oral before chemo to prevent an allergic reaction, and IV right before chemo). 

I noticed that my far and near vision had gotten significantly more blurry a week after my last chemo on 12/9. I figured my eyes were just really dry again, which is a common side effect from this chemo. 

I saw the opthalmologist this past week and found out that it wasn't dry eyes causing the blurry vision but the cataracts. They are now a grade 3 out of 4. My far vision with my glasses went from 20/25 6 weeks ago, to 20/200 and I'm no longer able to drive. 

The plan is to have my right eye fixed and then the left eye operated on 2-3 weeks later. Unfortunately, the first available pre-op appointment isn't until 1/23 and won't know a surgery date until pre-op is completed. The good news is that once the cataract is removed and an artificial lens is placed, there is no chance for the cataracts to come back. 

I met with my oncologist PA Friday to go over the plan for chemo. I was due for chemo on 12/30 but all chemo is put on hold until both cataract surgeries are completed. Oncology is going to try to expedite the pre-op and surgery dates so chemo can resume as soon as possible. 

I got reading glasses to help at work and seeing my phone, even with the font size being huge like a Granny's. I love reading but books are hard to read even with a bright reading light and glasses. Watching TV is basically just listening to it right now. Thankfully, I have my audiobooks on Audible! 

On 12/20, our family was able to celebrate my in-law's 50th wedding anniversary. Ted and Connie took us all out to a fancy dinner on the actual anniversary. We all got dressed up and enjoyed good food and fellowship. We are so blessed that our kids get to grow up seeing the love and commitment of this marriage. 

The next day, I started feeling like I had a cold and thought I had just picked up Parker's cooties. It ended up being COVID that kicked my butt. Since I'm high risk, I was able to get Paxlovid but those meds make your mouth taste like a garbage truck. I tried quarantining from the family but Wil still ended up getting it too. Thankfully we are all on the mend now and both kids never got it. 

That meant that we didn't travel, see family, or go to church around Christmas at all. So it looked different this year but we were able to keep this from spreading to others. 

How to help pray for us: 

1. For oncology and opthalmologist to work together to get my surgery scheduled quickly. For peace in the waiting, especially while chemo is on hold. 

2. For my vision to not continue to worsen as we wait for surgery. For the headaches and eye pain to be more manageable. 

3. For our family logistics and scheduling since I can't drive for the time being. 

Time for Surgery

The rest of our summer seemed to pass by in a blur. We went to Holden Beach with Wil's side of the family for a week. Holden is our happy place. It was so nice this year being able to enjoy it fully unlike last year where I had restrictions going on the sand and then being on a liquid diet.

We have continued to have chemo every three weeks and it was time for a CT scan. It had been 4 months since my last one. Since I'm allergic to the contrast, I have to premedicate with oral steroids and Benadryl to avoid having a reaction. 

The CT scan has to be at a hospital and not outpatient because of the risk for a reaction. The Kernersville hospital is our favorite, despite having to drive a few extra minutes. We have no trouble using my port instead of a typical IV and the staff is amazing there. The nurses remembered us when we came in, and I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. They reassured us that they loved my infusion shirt (thank you Teal Diva for this) and our humor. 

Per usual, Wil found two people that he grew up with there. One is a doctor and Wil got to share with the nurses some embarrassing stories about their childhood. 

 Unfortunately, about two minutes after getting the IV infusion of the CT contrast, my face start to itch. I notified the techs who brought the radiologist right in. My airway wasn't affected and was given IV Benadryl. The itching subsided some until about 30 minutes later when it got worse and my chest felt heavy. I got more IV Benadryl and took a nap. The nurses told us that sometimes they end up admitting a patient overnight for observation, which thankfully we didn't require. 

We were educated that there is a chance to have a rebound reaction 6-8 hours after the initial allergic reaction and to have my Epi Pen ready. Again, thankfully, this wasn't needed. A scan that normally takes about 2 hours ended up taking 5 hours. It was an exhausting day for Wil and me both. We are still waiting to find out how to get scans in the future safely. The more you are exposed to an allergen, the worse your reaction can become.

We met with Skinner on 8/5 to go over the results and to get chemo. We had a mixed bag of results. The good news was that the areas around my organs (bladder, intestines, etc.) were all stable and showed no growth. The bad news was the tumor in my fat near my bellybutton had grown. The game plan is to have surgery on 9/17/24 with Dr. Skinner and a general surgeon, Dr. Hunter- to remove the growth and possibly put mesh in to help prevent a hernia in the future. This will be done at the main hospital and will be at least one overnight stay. It will be a 6-8 week recovery time.

To say that I'm not looking forward to surgery is an understatement. Not a fan of anesthesia, pain, hospital stays, and having restrictions. But I am very glad that the tumor is in a spot where they can remove it without having to completely open my abdominal cavity. Chemo will have to be on hold to allow me to heal and the exact time will be determined depending on how invasive the surgery ends up being. 

 A huge praise is that the kids went back to school this week. Wilson is starting second grade and Parker is starting her first year at Calvary. She will be in transitional kindergarten and she is very excited to be at the same school as her brother. They both have amazing teachers and we are excited to see what the school year brings.

What a difference from Kindergarten to 2nd Grade!

Prayer Requests: 

 1. For peace and calm in the waiting. 

 2. For the surgery to go well, for it to be as minimally invasive as possible, for a short hospital stay, and easy recovery. Praise that we have a great surgical team that we are confident with. 

 3. Pray for Parker and Wilson and their school years to go well. For them both to understand the surgery and have no fear around it.

Find a chemo that works on your tumors, you HOLD on to it

I have had three infusions since my last post.

The infusion on 5/6/24 was with Cody and we did the slowest inflation rate with no problem and increased to the medium rate. Then I started having hiccups and then the cough. The infusion was stopped and I got a breathing treatment which resolved the side effects. We were able to complete the infusion afterwards at the lowest rate. 

The great news was that my cancer marker (CA125) continues to show progrss and decrease. 

5 days following chemo, I was able to complete a 5k in under my goal time of an hour - 49 mins. I did a 3 min jog and 2 min walk. Wil and Wilson ran the whole thing and Wil circled back to finish with me. I did end up getting a soft tissue knee injury afterwards but that is nursed back to health now with the great care of neighbor, friend and PT- Michelle. 

The next treatment on 5/28 went even smoother. We kept it at the lowest rate, which meant we were here open to close but no allergic reaction at all. The same happened for the treatment on 6/17.

We've had a lot happen with our family in the last month and a half. 

Wilson finished 1st grade at Calvary Day School with some amazing teachers. Wilson ended his coach pitch season with Wil as his head coach and made it to All-Stars! The tournament was in the NC mountains a week ago and was an awesome family vacation. Wil's parents and niece- Daphne- were able to come for the first part. My parents were able to make it for the second part. The boys held their own with teams that have been playing for years together and stacked with travel team players. They made it to the winners bracket and lost to the team that ended up winning it all. Wil did great as the first base coach and lost his voice a bit. It was a blast! 

Parker graduated preschool (she will still go through the summer). Parker turned 5 and had her water party at the house. She had a blast and loved opening all of her presents. 

Parker decided to miss her last Quickball game to stay at the All-star tournament. She loved cheering not only Wilson on but her daddy too! Here are some pictures from the last game she played, she had teachers and their families come to cheer them on!

We will be waiting 4 weeks instead of 3 for the next round so we can go to the beach with Wil's side of the family. We are going to Holden Beach which is our happy place. The next CT scan will probably be after this next round. Since I'm allergic to the CT contrast, it is more grueling on my body since I have to premedicate and then deal with the GI upset afterwards as well. 

Prayer requests: 

1. Pray for the chemo to continue to work, for my counts to decrease and tumors shrink. 

2. Pray for the side effects from chemo- mainly the fatigue and the neuropathy. 

3. Praise my neuropathy pain is now minimal using medication and acupuncture. 

4. Pray for endurance- chemo every three weeks is tough on our whole family. Also knowing that this treatment is indefinite (as long as it is working and side effects are managed) is daunting some days.