‘Person’al Ponderings

It’s been a little over a week since I last posted.  In that time, we’ve had our ups and downs.  It is literally one day at a time and sometimes hour to hour.  Mom’s best times of day are in the late afternoons and evenings.  Several times, she seems to just really start to get in her groove and the rest of us are winding down and thinking about sleep.   But, it’s good to see her feel better and stronger in those times.  Mornings seem to be the roughest for her and she struggles at times with feeling very weak.  Today, she went for her blood work.  According to our doctor, her white blood count needs to be at a minimum of 1000 in order for her to receive her next chemo treatment.  Today, we learned her wbc is 700 so we really need your prayers.  She got her third shot of neupron (I think that’s it but I need to check on spelling) which promotes the wbc’s increasing and replicating.  As I understand it, the chemo is toxic to not only the cancer but other healthy blood cells as well.  So these shots hopefully will cause her wbc’s to increase.  They also cause achiness in the bones.  So, last thursday, two days after her shots, she was in pain all over.  Originally, Mom was supposed to go for her second chemo tomorrow, Tuesday, 1/6, but now it’s been delayed to Wednesday if the WBC is high enough. She woke up this past Saturday morning with a very sore throat so Nurse Tiffany monitored her closely, taking her temperature often.  My mom remarked that she felt like she was sleeping in the hospital Saturday night because Tiffany woke her up periodically through the night to take her temperature.  Tiffany is developing her nursing skills.

I came back to Currituck last Tuesday night in time for my own doctor’s appointment last Wednesday.  I stayed and took care of chores and errands on my to-do list so that I could get them done before returning to work.  So, that’s where we are as a family.  Please pray my mom’s wbc’s would increase.  You can also pray that Tiffany would be able to focus on her studies for her nursing exam later this month and that I would be able to focus on what I need to get done for my National Board Certification renewal.

Well, Christmas 2008 has come and gone.  Our family has spent the last few days, sleeping, cooking, eating rich foods, walking the dogs, cleaning and taking care of each other.  It’s been a low-key time here in Greenville,  We did get out today when a friend of our family, TW from Wilmington, came up to visit for the day and went with us to see the film Marley and Me.  This movie gets 5 stars for tearjerker movies.  If you’re not prepared to cry, don’t go see it.  It’s based on the book, same title, by John Grogan and it hit pretty close to home for this family.  Pets love us unconditionally and are faithful companions on this life journey.  

Tonight for dinner, John Murphy made jambalaya out of left-over ham and turkey from Christmas day dinner.  Spicy but delicious.  Mom was able to eat a little.  She has done pretty well since this past Tuesday.  Yesterday, day 3, she experienced some nausea and threw up once, but after that, she felt better pretty quickly.  She is also experiencing some dizziness and lightheadedness but overall, she has done amazingly well since the first chemo.  She has to go 10 days before she can take a shower since she cannot get the port wet, but sponge baths are helping a little.  

Christmas day was quiet.  I cooked our dinner, and I’m grateful that it all came out pretty well.  It’s the first time I’ve been 100% responsible for cleaning and cooking the turkey and ham.  I’m just glad I remembered to take the stuff out of the turkey before cooking it.  I made the first pumpkin pie I’ve ever made before and it turned out pretty tasty.  So, overall things are pretty well.  Probably the most excitement we’ve had was today when Mr. Jinx, our cat, somehow got outside, and was gone for 30 minutes before we realized he was not in the house.  We scoured the neighborhood looking for him but finally found him in the woods behind my sister’s house.  I was a little dismayed but relieved when we found him.  So, for now, things are calm in the Person family.  

It’s 10:45 and we have just finished our first chemo treatment.  Victory!!!  Our night nurse, Donnie, is getting ready to change her mediport bandages and then home we will go.  It’s been a long day, but God has been faithful.  We so appreciate all our friends and family bathing our family in prayer.  In the meantime, Mom is making plans to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus.  Hey, she’s even getting into the spirit of decoration a little by peeing pink (side effect of chemo).  Merry Christmas.

9:10 and we are on the home stretch of Mom’s first chemo treatment.  It has gone well.  She had a spell of chills for a while but since the rituxin infusion finished, she has been warm.  She was starting to feel a little nausea but the zofran was the next infusion and that has quelled the nausea.  Mom has gotten so warm that she had us pull off her Uggs, so that means she is really warm.  Earlier, she was really hungry and ate a hospital dinner of baked chicken.  We know the prednisone has really kicked in because she knawed those bones, something I’ve never seen my mother do when it comes to chicken.  That’s something Jerry Person does, but never before Jean.  A season for all things.  

Another hour, and we should be able to head home and go to bed for a really long and peaceful night’s sleep.  Mom has had some nightmares the past week or so, but I’ve read that’s one of the side effects of prednisone.  Please pray that her rest would be peaceful and that God’s angels would kiss her dreams.  

The rituxin began at 5:00.  It will take four hours for this part this first time.  They like to run it very slowly the first time to make sure there will be kind of reaction, allergic or otherwise.  When we asked Merle about how it’s a lot of times the third day when the chemo effects kick in for patients, he said that’s true for a lot of folks and that Mom might feel really tired on Friday.  Mom was relieved it would be Friday as she explained to Merle that we had “entertainment plans for Christmas day which included going to see the movie ‘Marley and Me’ as a family.”  Can’t let anything interfere with that, right?  

It’s 4:35 now and I sit here in AMU (Ambulatory Mobile Unit) Room K with Mom, Tiffany and my brother John Murphy.  It’s been a long day and things were delayed but we believe that God is in control and has Mom’s best always at heart.  The delay started this morning because it took more than an hour for them to get a good vein to start the IV for Mom.  Then, her blood pressure shot up so we had to wait to get that under control before they could take her in and do the surgical procedure of putting the mediport in, but it’s done.  The nurse told us Mom’s mediport is the “cadillac of ports.”  It’s the type where they can draw blood as well as administer drugs through it.  I brought Chick Fillet to Mom and Tiffany for lunch; great sign because Mom ate a good lunch.  She ate well last night when we stopped at Three Amigos in Elizabeth City, NC for dinner on our way to Greenville.  That’s answered prayer; she was worried because yeseterday morning, she woke up with bleeding gums (side effect of the prednisone) and was worried that she wouldn’t be able to eat or drink.  Not only was she able to eat her tostada last night, she even got a little feisty and asked for more salsa to put on it.  She took a bite and realized maybe she had gone a little too far, but all was well.  

Once Mom recovered from having the mediport put in, we moved to the AMU.  Mom’s is much happier now because she was able to put her Uggs back on her feet.  She just didn’t seem to agree with the fact that she was not allowed to keep them on her feet when she was in OR this morning even though she understands the necessity of a sterile environment. When it comes to keeping her feet warm, Mom accepts nothing less than her Uggs.  Now, we’re just awaiting the “jolly juice” as Mom has deemed it.  Dr. Abdallah came by unexpectedly to check on Mom.  Mom asked him a few reassuring questions including where he would be the next few days in case she has a “crisis.”  He is scheduled to take a holiday the 26th, the first weekday he’s had off in one year and 4 months.  He told Mom she would not have a crisis.  He didn’t want to have to “fire her as a patient, so NO CRISIS.”  :)  He’s very kind and so sensitive just to see if all was well before Mom starts the chemo. We continue to hear excellent reports on his kindness and treatment, confirming that God has led us to the best medical care.  Our time at Sloan-Kettering was blessed and the fact that she has been there continues to open doors.  One of the PA’s here at Pitt Memorial Hospital noted this morning that Mom had been at Sloan and asked Mom’s opinion of her experience there.  She told us that one of the surgical oncologists here at Pitt refuses to hire anyone on his team that has not been trained at Sloan.  It truly is the gold standard in the world for lymphoma treatment.  

Mom is sitting here laughing as we recall anecdotes from our journey.  She really likes her nurse, Merle who has a great sense of humor.  And the nursing assistant Mike took Mom’s blood pressure without hurting her at all.  Mom hates having her blood pressure taken as the cuff is always too tight for her and she always complains.  So, Mike is number one in our book now.  We sent Dad home to rest and to fix a salad for dinner.  We are anticipating a late evening, so I’m sure I”ll continue to update as things proceed.  We are doing well.  Mom has enjoyed a piece of cake John Murphy baked on Sunday and she’s anticipating a piece of the peanut butter fudge Tiffany has at her house.  

It’s Tuesday morning in Greenville, NC and as I’m writing this, Mom’s first chemo treatment is underway.  She has to be at the hospital at 8:00 this morning.  She was having a mediport put in first and then the first chemo was going to be administered.  Tiffany went in with her this morning and then I’m going to relieve Tiffany sometime around noon.  The first treatment is a lot longer because they run the chemo much slower to make sure there’s not going to be any kind of reaction.  It seems like it’s been a long haul to get to this point, but we know God has been with Mom and our family each step of this journey.  

We left New York Sunday morning, in snow and ice, but we made it safely back to Currituck, NC by 8:30 that evening.  We were all pretty tired, but Mom’s pain from the tumor on her kidney has been better since she started taking the prednisone.  Dr. Hamlin at Sloan-Kettering prescribed that for her, explaining it would begin to shrink the tumor.  It is the “P” in the chemo treatment:  CHOP-R.  She is getting the rest of the chemo treatment today.  She has had a couple of side effects from the prednisone including nightmares and yesterday morning, her gums began bleeding and burning.  By last night, however, her gums were better and she was able to drink and eat some dinner.  Pray that the side effects from the prednisone would be non-existent.  Mom was nervous and hesitant about starting the chemo this week, but we all feel it’s important not to delay.  Her one big concern/dread is experiencing nausea with this.  I ask all who are on praying grounds to agree with me that God would lay down any and all nausea throughout this chemo treatment.  

Mom will be receiving chemo every two weeks, so the plan right now is to take it one day at a time.  We don’t know if she’ll feel up to coming back home to Currituck in between chemo treatments or not yet, so we’ll see what happens.   Thank you for keeping her in your prayers.  I’ll update this evening with how it goes today.  

It was wonderful to be able to sleep in late this morning which we all four did.  No appointments or places to be dictated our schedule today, so easy does it was the order of the day.  We had “breakfast” in the room, heating up the wonderful tomato pie that the ladies at the Two Sisters store in Eastville, VA gave me on Wednesday when we stopped there.  This is the BEST tomato pie I’ve ever tasted and I stopped on our way up to New York on Wednesday to see if they had any on hand.  They had sold out of the regular size ones and only had one baby pie, which they gave me out of kindness.  I’m looking forward to buying more as soon as they get their website up and begin their shipping (soon, they assure me).  Anyway, the gooey warm mozarella cheese and tomato spiced with fresh basil  was a warm and tasty way to get the day going here in New York.

Over the past couple of years, my sister Tiffany and her husband Greg have become Baskin-Robbins ice-cream addicts.  It’s not uncommon for them to make nightly runs to the new Baskin-Robbins on Firetower Rd in Greenville to get their fix of pistachio almond.  Anyhow, I knew just how cold my sister was today in Manhattan when we walked right by the BR’s and she was not even tempted to go inside for a cone.  The high was 29 degrees, COLD!!!  We spent the afternoon shopping for more layers to add on to protect ourselves from the cold (I bought gloves and Tiffany even bought a second coat to wear under the one she wore today).  Riding the subway down to Spring Street, we sojourned awhile in Soho, buying cute handknit hats in 20′s style and some delicate looking dangly earrings and taking a break to eat a late lunch.  Lunch was interesting as our seating arrangement made it impossible not to listen to the conversation of the young couple seated right beside us.  We tried not to chuckle when the chick asked the guy if he had eaten potato sticks growing up and cooing that they had so much in common when he confirmed that he had.  Aren’t we so lucky, she exclaimed, to have so much in common.  Just imagine if you had grown up in Kentucky and I was from Ohio.  We wouldn’t share much in common. It was hard not to roll our eyes at that point, but we politely refrained.  

 

Then, we headed north to 34th Street to pay homage to Macy’s.  Oh my gosh, it was body to body movement and there were Macy’s employees whose sole responsibility was crowd control, keeping customers moving in an orderly fashion.  After navigating the thousands of people, Tif and I decided we’d had enough of Macy’s.  TIffany remarked that she didn’t care how much you could save by shopping there; she would rather pay more and be in less crowded conditions.  We left Macy’s to begin looking for Lane Bryant and the Apple Store.  During that search, we ran across interesting sites including a group of African-American men standing on the sidewalk and holding up signs proclaiming their membership in the New World Order.  One of them spoke of how he knew God would destroy America and all the whites in this country for our sins.  Freedom of speech is well and alive in this country, my friends.  NYC is proof of that.  I personally preferred the 3 inebriated men who hopped on the subway earlier and sang acapella Christmas songs for spare change; we were also treated to a live performance of break-dancing by the Breeze Team in the 34th and Broadway Subway stop.  Free entertainment proliferates this city.  

After Lane Bryant, Tiffany and I made the decision NOT to go to Times Square where more thousands of people shopped but rather to head to the quieter neighborhoods of the Upper East side and where we’ve been staying.  Since Tif had vetoed eating at the Afghani Kebob house we had passed earlier in the day (she doesn’t share my willingness to try new foods), we began looking for a restaurant we could both agree upon.  We ran into another Thai restaurant; this time, the Lemongrass Grill where we feasted on curry puffs, lemongrass porkchops, pad thai and sticky rice with mangoes.  I had to laugh when my sister remarked that she was really bummed we were leaving on Sunday.  ”Why?” I asked her and she answered, “Because we won’t be able to stop at Chik-a-Filet and eat.”  Only my sister would sit in New York City, home to the immense choices and possibilities for delicious food and crave a chick filet sandwich proving that you can take the girl out of North Carolina but you can’t take the North Carolina out of the girl.  Coming out of the restaurant, we were blessed to pick up a cab pretty quickly (a skill we’re quickly developing) and take the 34 blocks north to 68th Street.  After getting out, we made a couple more shopping stops, ending our spree at a shoe store where I bought a pair of black and white polka-dotted rubber boots (my feet were so cold yesterday when my Uggs got wet in the snow and slush) and Tiffany purchased a pair of Ugg houseshoes for my Mom for Christmas.  I introduced Mom to Uggs about three years ago, and since then, she has gone ape-face for them.  She thinks they aren’t particularly attractive, but she LOVES how warm they keep her feet.  She threatens from time to time to go to bed with her Uggs on her feet, so we thought Ugg houseshoes would be ideal.  

After the shoe store, we walked the three remaining blocks to the hotel in falling snow.  Yes, it’s snowing again.  We brought dinner back to Mom and Dad who hung out in the hotel today, resting and recovering from yesterday’s events.  We are getting up early in the morning to leave for North Carolina.  Pray for safety and traveling mercies.

We really loved the two doctors we met with yesterday at Sloan.  We made it to the outpatient center with just enough time to eat a little breakfast at the cafeteria, Dad’s dream come true.  Dad has always LOVED eating at cafeterias and at times in the past, this has proven a challenge since the rest of the Person clan are not always as delighted at the prospect of cafeteria food.  We then made our way to the fourth floor for Mom’s appointment.  Dr. Guha first met with us; he is doing his fellowship work with Dr. Hamlin.  Dr. Guha was kind, patient and wonderful.  He asked Mom questions about when this all started and then asked her to get up on the table.  Mom assumed he wanted to look at where she had her lymph nodes removed in her groin so she began taking off her pants.  He laughed as we did as he explained that was not necessary.  I guess Mom has resigned herself that disrobing is part of the routine now, so she was quick to begin the process.  

 

Then,  Dr. Hamlin came in and examined her.  He asked her what she did and she answered that she’s an attorney.  He then asked her the standard next question of what type of law she practiced.  Mom quickly quipped, “Medical malpractice.”  Thankfully, all laughed and Dr. Hamlin said she was funny. Good to know that the cancer has not taken away Mom’s sense of humor. (For those of you who don’t know the details, Mom has had a general practice.  She does a little of everything, but not medical malpractice.)  Upon examining her, Dr. Hamlin found where she has a very sensitive part of her right lower leg that is very painful and sensitive to touch or any pressure.  He was concerned about a blood clot from the blockage to her kidneys so he scheduled another scan on her legs for the afternoon.  

He then talked with her and us.  He thoroughly explained how B Cells work and how they start acting to cause lymphoma.  As best as he can tell from the PET scans and pathology reports from New York, he confirmed that she has B-cell lymphoma, stage IV, grade 3 aggressive strain.  The bone marrow biopsy that Mom had in NC shows that it is starting to move into the bones; however, Dr. Hamlin explained that stage IV is quite common and that this changes nothing in terms of the treatment.  He explained that the PET scan is showing that there’s some activity in her spleen as well, so there is the possibility that the lymphoma has moved into her spleen.  This again does not change the treatment.  Then, he recommended that Mom receive “sex” treatments of chemo.  It was a moment of levity as we all laughed at his gaffe (Dad whoohooing) to which Mom quickly responded, “It’s because I was quick to take my pants off, right?”  Dad had to get in on the action and commented under his breath (but since I was sitting next to him, I heard him), “Geez, I wish she had been quicker to take her pants off when she was younger.”  Dr. Hamlin said he hoped he was blushing (he was) and assured us that was the biggest gaffe he’s made in some time.  It was perfectly funny for the intensity of the mood in that doctor’s office.  Just what we all needed.  

He then went on to explain that his recommendation is that Mom receive “6″ treatments Instead of the traditional 8 treatments since the research shows that the last two treatments do not give enough “bang for the buck” when compared to side effects to warrant them.  One interesting note is that he also recommends she have chemo every 2 weeks instead of the typical 3 weeks.  The results of her echo test indicate her heart is strong enough to handle this and cutting out a week between chemo treatments gives the lymphoma cells less time to try and regroup and regrow.  He said 85% of patients with this type of lymphoma respond very well to the chemo.  The challenge with this type of cancer is that it very often returns, but whether it returns in 6 months or 20 years is the question.  We are all praying that it would not return if treatment is successful but if it does, it would be on the long side, like years and years down the road.

Since we had an hour and a half to kill before the scan on Mom’s leg, we decided to stay in the building and eat again in the cafeteria.  Dad was thrilled!!!  And by this time, it had started snowing a lot in New York City, so we ate and watched the snow through the window.  Mom’s scan was difficult.  Tiffany ended up having to go in with her because she was in so much pain when the radiologist pressed on her right leg at places.  God is faithful and they were able to get the scan which shows no bloodclots or blockages.  This however means there is another issue which we will have to pursue when we get back to North Carolina.  Please pray that God would help us and the doctors find out exactly what is causing Mom pain in her leg.  It doesn’t hurt unless pressure is applied and there are no open wounds.  It’s a mystery and we need God’s help to find the source of the problem so that it can be treated.

Then, after the scan, we met once more with Dr. Hamlin.  He prescribed progesterone (spelling?) for her so that the tumor on the kidney which is causing her a lot of pain can begin to shrink.  He also prescribed some more pain meds for her.  At this point, Tif and Mom went down to the in-house hospital pharmacy to get the prescriptions filled.  Dad and I decided at this point to leave and make our way to the Museum of Modern Art.

After walking through snow and slush and standing in line for 30 minutes, we got in free to the MoMA.  It was fantastic and great father-daughter bonding.  How many folks have a 69-year old father who will stand bareheaded in the sleet for thirty minutes to accompany his daughter to the museum?  Mercifully, after standing about 10 minutes in line, a guy came by selling umbrellas, and we were able to cover our heads.  Once inside the museum, we started out on the photography floor.  We both enjoyed the pictures of a South African photographer, Mikhael Subotzky.  Incredible photographs of Beaufort West in South Africa that are poignant and revealing.  Then, we made our way to the 4th and 5th floors where we saw Picassos, Leichensteins, Miros, Matisses, and many more.  Incredible to see the real things after seeing so many in books.  Our last stop was in the temporary exhibit of Vincent Van Gogh.  I got to see the real “Starry Night” and more.  It was a visual treat for the eyes.  

After leaving the MoMA, Dad and I walked in quest of a Thai restaurant.  We both love Thai food.  We were successful and ended up eating at Luscious Thai.  Fresh and hot.  We then made our way back to the Helmsley Medical Tower with treats for Mom and Tiffany who had returned to the hotel after leaving the hospital so that mom could rest.  We got a great night’s sleep last night and today, TIffany and I are going to venture out and play some.  Our plans are to leave early in the morning for NC.  

 

Celebrating my New York ‘Do and our our successful navigation of the New York Subway.  This afternoon, Tif and I ventured over a few blocks until we came to the Subway.  After developing and fine-tuning some rusty map reading skills, we hopped on the Lexington Ave. #6 and headed down to Wall Street stop.  Tif was hoping to pick up a gift for Greg from the NY Stock Exchange even though it’s been closed to tours for some time now.  No such luck, but we did get to talk to one of NY’s finest.  The officer shared that things were pretty bad in NY these days.  So many people are leaving the city because they can’t afford to live here and heading south.  There is talk of laying off cops which is discouraging since they have worked so hard in previous years to clean up the city after the increase in crime in the 60′s and 70′s.  She was very frank in sharing the city’s tribulations.  We left her to make our way back on the subway up to Canal Street and Chinatown area.  After stopping by a Starbuck’s for a hot chocolate, we shopped around, looking for deals on Coach and Dolce Gabana knock-offs.  Tif utilized her negotiating deals to get us some great prices on a few items.  From there, we made our way back to 68th Street and started the walk back to the Helmsley.  On a crazy whim, I stopped at a salon and went in for a fun, sexy hairdo.  Tif thinks I’m a little crazy but as I explained to the hairstylist, it’s just hair and it will grow back if I end up not liking it.  I asked Nadia to give me something fun and New Yorkish.  So, I’ll let you be the judge to see if you think that was the outcome.  We got a little takeout and ate in the hotel, but Mom only ate a little bit.  She hasn’t eaten enough today, so we need your prayers that her appetite would increase.  She’s been sleeping most of the day as she was worn out from the long drive yesterday.  It’s supposed to snow a foot here tomorrow; that would be fun to see snow, but hopefully that won’t interfere with us getting to the doctor in the morning.  

Depending on what happens tomorrow with Mom, we might have a few hours tomorrow afternoon to “play” some more in the city.  If so, I’m hoping to make it to the Museum of Modern Art.  I’ve always wanted to visit.  On Friday nights from 4:00 to 8:00, admission is free, so I’m hoping to take advantage of it.  We also hope to eat some Thai before we leave the city.  It’s off to bed pretty soon.  Tiffany and I shared a pull-out sofa bed last night, but we slept okay.  That must be God because the mattress is not one you’d look at and think “comfort.”  I’m praying his mercies for a good night’s sleep and rest continue for each of us tonight.