Busy Day...

Today, I had 2 different doctor visits and stopped for a blood test between them.

The first was wth Dr. Baehring. With this, we verified that I have at least two more cycles of Temodar chemotherapy followed by another MRI to judge the progress.
My next cycle will start about 10 days from now and after I get another blood test next week to make sure things are doing well. Also, I'm taking a mini vacation next weekend, so I want to be back home before I start the chemo.
After these next two cycles and the MRI, it is expected that I will be done with chemo!

The second appointment was with Dr. Alperovich. He's the surgeon that has been closing me up after the last 3 surgeries - trying to fix the skin on my skull. In this meeting, we discussed when and where we will be going for the next 6 or so months...
Three weeks from now, I am going in for a CAT scan. This will start the next process. I will have a balloon installed under the skin on my skull. After that, the balloon will be inflated every week for several months to stretch my skin. Depending how it all goes, the plan is to reopen my skull, remove the balloon, and replace the missing bone of my skull with an inactive compound - an internal 'helmet' - that fits the hole in my skull.
The weekly pump of the balloon is expected to start in October, proceed until January or February, and have the rebuilding of my skull after that.
This is not a speedy process!

A Busy Two Weeks!

OK, so... LOTS of unexpected events in my life over the last two weeks!  ...and, not for the best.

Today, I returned home from my surgery (round 4) and hospital trip, but here is where it all began...

Monday, January 28 - 

This was day 21 of my PCV chemotherapy - the last day of taking "P" (Procarbazine) during this cycle. Everything had been going just fine - until this point.

Later that day, I started to break out in HIVES! In addition to that, I got extremely dizzy when I stood up. Twice, I had to let Ginger out to take care of her business. She made it out the door....I made to the floor! I didn't pass out, but I totally lost my balance. Fortunately on both occasions, I didn't hit anything but the floor on my back.  No major pain, but we did call 911 the second time and I ended up at Middlesex Hospital. All they did while I was there was to measure my blood pressure in 3 different positions - lying, sitting, and standing. Due to the major drop in blood pressure while I was standing - 61/40!!! - they determined orthostatic hypotension being the cause. They basically just told me to keep hydrated to compete with the results.

Tuesday, January 29 -

After returning home, things went fine - but only for the next day. This time, when the dizziness kicked in, I didn't land as well! As a result, we drove to Yale-New Haven Hospital. They came up with the same diagnosis, but the hives had also really blown up! My arms and feet got really swollen! I was admitted to the hospital, but had to wait for a room. While I was in the emergency, they took a biopsy from one of the hives and started me on Claritin. Things progressed in my visit, got better, and I went home a couple of days later.

Monday, February 4 -

This time, I noticed that the stitched seam in my head had reopened in two places - again! Off to the hospital - again! Once again, I had to camp out in emergency until a room opened up, but surgery was planned for Wednesday. Rae, not having to work on Tuesday, stayed with me hoping to see some progress...

Tuesday, February 5 -

I WAS scheduled for the IV of the "V" (Vincristine) on this day - day 29 of PCV - but that had been cancelled due to the breakout of the hives the previous week. The MRI that was also planned didn't happen (and, I hadn't gotten the results from the biopsy!) Without any other progress, Rae had to go home to get some real sleep before her job on Wednesday.

I got the visit from most of the surgery team. The plan was to have the neurosurgeon present, but only would jump into action if there were problems that he needed to work on. Otherwise, the plan was to have the plastic surgeon to remove the titanium mesh that replaced the section of bone and restitch the seam.

Wednesday, February 6 -

Well, they moved me out of the emergency division into a room. About an hour later, I was headed to surgery...

...a couple hours later, I was back in the room and had a major headache (I wonder why!?!). Recovery began. Considerably uneventful. I had two IV imports, but never had either of them used after surgery. My only negative issues that I experienced during my stay had to do with the seeming miscommunication between the doctors and nurses. Depending on who I talked to, there were different rules for me. No major problems, though.

Friday, February 8 -

As I type this, I am back home. I now have the pleasure (please read the sarcasm) of wearing a helmet any time that I go outside! Considering that my skull is no longer complete, serious damage to my brain could happen with any trip, fall, or other hit to my head. Otherwise, everything should return to normalcy. We'll see how things go over the next couple of days.

MRI?

PCV round 3?

As Chicago would sing, "Where Do We Go From Here?"