Good morning.
Jordy and I got home yesterday just in time to go watch the Scio basketball games. It was great to see everyone’s reaction to Jordy’s new leg! I expected the kids to ask first about the LeBron James shoes, but they seemed much more interested in his leg. Speaking of his leg, due to his limited range of motion at this point, he had been removing it when he got in the car. Yesterday he wore it home from the hospital (I refused to carry it to the car!) and to the basketball game. Also, Jordy was worried about it fitting under his pant legs of his jeans. No problem. It is nice to see him in something other than sweat pants.
This admission to the hospital was very busy for Jordy. Many people stopped by to see “the shoes”. It was nice to get to visit. Jordy was also able to show off his prosthesis. He received many comments about how tall he is. Most people at the hospital see him in a bed! The best sight is Jordy’s smile. He has worked so hard through this whole ordeal. Now he can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Two girls who finished their treatment last summer and fall stopped by to see Jordy. It was nice for him to have the opportunity to talk about life after chemo. It can be a difficult transition. You get so used to doctor appointments, hospital stays, etc., that everyday life can seem empty. I am glad that both Jordy and I have college to look forward to. It will definitely be different, but good to be onto another phase of life.
A few of you know that we have been struggling with installing the bathtub in our master bath. We did most of the remodeling of the bathroom before Jordy’s graduation, but the bathtub sat in our living room. We just have not had the energy to get it done since Jordy’s cancer diagnosis. Last weekend Kevin installed the tub! It is so WONDERFUL! It is amazing how things just bug you, but you just can’t get them done. This is just one more sign that soon we will be back to boring chores around the house. Sound wonderful to me.
Have a great weekend.
Annie
Friday, January 30, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Temporary Prosthesis on Monday ~
1/22 ~ 1/24
Jordy and Annie are home in Scio tonight. Jordy did not pass his blood test and since he had two units of platelets this week they sent him home for the week. They will try again next week. On the way out of the hospital Jordon experienced double vision. It did not improve so back to the hospital they went. The doctors checked him over and not finding anything he received a CAT scan as a going away present. The scan showed NOTHING abnormal. (It is really tough to use the word nothing with abnormal when describing a McDonald so mark this day on your calendars.) The doctors then sent them home late this afternoon, early evening. If the vision does not improve they will have to see an eye specialist later.
George
Jordy’s double vision seems to be going away. Thank goodness! He said it only bothered him one time in the afternoon when he was watching television. The doctor thought it might be the result of a virus. I also think his platelet counts are going back up. Jordy’s nose runs a lot, but when his platelet counts are low there is a small amount of blood with it. The runny nose is a side effect of not having any nose hairs. You just don’t realize how important the little things are until they are gone . . . even nose hairs!
Monday is the day that Jordy will receive his temporary prosthesis. He is sort of concerned about the bulk of it. The sockets last week were pretty big because the swelling was much more noticeable when they did the initial cast. It is a long process to get to the final product, but we are well on our way.
Hopefully Jordy can get his last Doxorubicin this week. It will be nice to check off one more thing!
Annie
Jordy and Annie are home in Scio tonight. Jordy did not pass his blood test and since he had two units of platelets this week they sent him home for the week. They will try again next week. On the way out of the hospital Jordon experienced double vision. It did not improve so back to the hospital they went. The doctors checked him over and not finding anything he received a CAT scan as a going away present. The scan showed NOTHING abnormal. (It is really tough to use the word nothing with abnormal when describing a McDonald so mark this day on your calendars.) The doctors then sent them home late this afternoon, early evening. If the vision does not improve they will have to see an eye specialist later.
George
Jordy’s double vision seems to be going away. Thank goodness! He said it only bothered him one time in the afternoon when he was watching television. The doctor thought it might be the result of a virus. I also think his platelet counts are going back up. Jordy’s nose runs a lot, but when his platelet counts are low there is a small amount of blood with it. The runny nose is a side effect of not having any nose hairs. You just don’t realize how important the little things are until they are gone . . . even nose hairs!
Monday is the day that Jordy will receive his temporary prosthesis. He is sort of concerned about the bulk of it. The sockets last week were pretty big because the swelling was much more noticeable when they did the initial cast. It is a long process to get to the final product, but we are well on our way.
Hopefully Jordy can get his last Doxorubicin this week. It will be nice to check off one more thing!
Annie
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Oh What A Night!
Well, the Blazers lost, but it was a GREAT night.
Like any McDonald event, there were a couple of quirks along the way. . .
The limo driver, Willy, picked Kyle and Jordy up at the hospital. He asked them where they wanted to eat and offered a few suggestions. Red Robin was the only one that sounded familiar, so Red Robin it was. The driver gave them a hundred dollar bill, and said to enjoy dinner. Kyle said that the waitress sort of looked at them funny when the paid for a bowl of soup and a burger with a hundred dollar bill! We are pretty sure that the used their magic marker to make sure the bill was real.
Next, the were off to the Rose Garden. This is where the story gets interesting! They got out of the limo, and Jordy asked about their tickets. Willy said he thought they already had them. Panic set in, but Willy straightened things out. He did not get the e-mail from the owner of the tickets that he left the tickets in his desk in VANCOUVER! So they hopped back in the limo and headed to Vancouver. As they approached the company office, Willy said, "Hang on, it may get a little rough". Jordy said he continued to explaining that the office was easy to see, but hard to get to. They traveled on some back streets, but eventually reached their destination. Willy picked up the tickets and whisked them off to return to the Rose Garden.
Finally, they arrived. Just in time for tip-off. Their tickets were just to the right of center court and in the FRONT ROW! For those of you who were looking for them on TV, Jordy went undercover and wore a stocking hat (making it impossible to spot his shiny head). Also they way the cameras were positioned, the score was displayed directly covering them.
During the third quarter a man came up and gave them passes for the locker-room after the game. After the game finished, a man from Nike talked to the boys and took them to meet LeBRON JAMES! He signed the shoes that he wore in the game and gave them to Jordy. I think Kyle just about passed out.
The limo ride back to the hospital was fun. Willy said that the boys had lots of stories to tell. Boy, was he right.
As far as the Blazer Dancers go . . . Jordy said that a few were definitely on the "veteran squad". In other words, they were older looking than he expected. I though that was a great comment.
Kyle and Jordy sent a text while they were heading out of Vancouver that the price on the tickets was eight hundrend dollars each! They were amazed.
I am attaching a few pictures from last night. I will send a picture of Jordy with Lebron James' shoes later today. Kyle and Jordy forgot to take a picture of Lebron with Jordy. I think they were both so excited and surprised that their brains were on overload. It is ok, they have the picture in their minds and the smiles to prove it.
Like any McDonald event, there were a couple of quirks along the way. . .
The limo driver, Willy, picked Kyle and Jordy up at the hospital. He asked them where they wanted to eat and offered a few suggestions. Red Robin was the only one that sounded familiar, so Red Robin it was. The driver gave them a hundred dollar bill, and said to enjoy dinner. Kyle said that the waitress sort of looked at them funny when the paid for a bowl of soup and a burger with a hundred dollar bill! We are pretty sure that the used their magic marker to make sure the bill was real.
Next, the were off to the Rose Garden. This is where the story gets interesting! They got out of the limo, and Jordy asked about their tickets. Willy said he thought they already had them. Panic set in, but Willy straightened things out. He did not get the e-mail from the owner of the tickets that he left the tickets in his desk in VANCOUVER! So they hopped back in the limo and headed to Vancouver. As they approached the company office, Willy said, "Hang on, it may get a little rough". Jordy said he continued to explaining that the office was easy to see, but hard to get to. They traveled on some back streets, but eventually reached their destination. Willy picked up the tickets and whisked them off to return to the Rose Garden.
Finally, they arrived. Just in time for tip-off. Their tickets were just to the right of center court and in the FRONT ROW! For those of you who were looking for them on TV, Jordy went undercover and wore a stocking hat (making it impossible to spot his shiny head). Also they way the cameras were positioned, the score was displayed directly covering them.
During the third quarter a man came up and gave them passes for the locker-room after the game. After the game finished, a man from Nike talked to the boys and took them to meet LeBRON JAMES! He signed the shoes that he wore in the game and gave them to Jordy. I think Kyle just about passed out.
The limo ride back to the hospital was fun. Willy said that the boys had lots of stories to tell. Boy, was he right.
As far as the Blazer Dancers go . . . Jordy said that a few were definitely on the "veteran squad". In other words, they were older looking than he expected. I though that was a great comment.
Kyle and Jordy sent a text while they were heading out of Vancouver that the price on the tickets was eight hundrend dollars each! They were amazed.
I am attaching a few pictures from last night. I will send a picture of Jordy with Lebron James' shoes later today. Kyle and Jordy forgot to take a picture of Lebron with Jordy. I think they were both so excited and surprised that their brains were on overload. It is ok, they have the picture in their minds and the smiles to prove it.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
It's a lovely foot....as far as feet go ~
1/19
Jordy had his Methatrexate level checked this morning. It has to be less than .10 in order to discontinue the Leucovorin that he takes every six hours. Guess what? Jordy’s level was .11. This means that he will have to continue the medication and have his blood tested in Portland in the morning. We are also going to have his hemoglobin tested. Jordy was pretty tired today and his levels were pretty low last weekend. The doctor wants to have his counts up so that he can enjoy the Blazer game. He will probably have a blood transfusion tomorrow afternoon.
Jordy also had his first fitting for his prosthesis. Some of the pictures are attached. The first one shows the prosthetist fitting the sockets onto his leg. On a whole they fit pretty well, although a lot of the swelling has gone down so they may add some padding to the temporary. They may also have to add a door to the back of the top part because Jordy’s heel is too big to fit through. It was really interesting, but next week will be even more exciting. They will add the post and his foot to the socket. We did see his new foot today. She took it out of the UPS box to show it to us. It is a lovely foot . . . as far as feet go.
This week is full. Tomorrow, back to Portland for blood work and possibly a transfusion; Wednesday, the big game; Thursday, more chemo, and home on Saturday night. This will be Jordon’s last Doxorubicin (Sp?). Yeah!!!! He will have a week or two off, then two more weeks of Methatrexate. Wow, it is amazing that the chemo is almost over.
Jordy had his Methatrexate level checked this morning. It has to be less than .10 in order to discontinue the Leucovorin that he takes every six hours. Guess what? Jordy’s level was .11. This means that he will have to continue the medication and have his blood tested in Portland in the morning. We are also going to have his hemoglobin tested. Jordy was pretty tired today and his levels were pretty low last weekend. The doctor wants to have his counts up so that he can enjoy the Blazer game. He will probably have a blood transfusion tomorrow afternoon.
Jordy also had his first fitting for his prosthesis. Some of the pictures are attached. The first one shows the prosthetist fitting the sockets onto his leg. On a whole they fit pretty well, although a lot of the swelling has gone down so they may add some padding to the temporary. They may also have to add a door to the back of the top part because Jordy’s heel is too big to fit through. It was really interesting, but next week will be even more exciting. They will add the post and his foot to the socket. We did see his new foot today. She took it out of the UPS box to show it to us. It is a lovely foot . . . as far as feet go.
This week is full. Tomorrow, back to Portland for blood work and possibly a transfusion; Wednesday, the big game; Thursday, more chemo, and home on Saturday night. This will be Jordon’s last Doxorubicin (Sp?). Yeah!!!! He will have a week or two off, then two more weeks of Methatrexate. Wow, it is amazing that the chemo is almost over.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Success with meds & a Blazer game!
1/12
Jordy and I had a successful trip to Portland today. His Methatrexate level was low enough to discontinue the medication that counteracts the chemo. This is especially good news because instead of having to take meds every six hours, tonight we can sleep! Tomorrow will be spent getting ready to head back to the hospital on Wednesday.
1/13
Big news for Jordy . . .
The Child Life lady from Doernbecher called today. She has two tickets for the Blazer game on Tuesday (of course Jordy was interested). The LIMO will pick Jordy and Kyle up at Doernbecher and take them to the Rose Garden. They will have dinner and SHOOT AROUND WITH THE TEAM! Jordy will probably be an honorary team captain and they will have COURTSIDE, CENTER COURT tickets. This is such a wonderful opportunity. The Child Life lady watches every Blazer game on TV, and she is so jealous!
More details to come . ..
Annie
Jordy and I had a successful trip to Portland today. His Methatrexate level was low enough to discontinue the medication that counteracts the chemo. This is especially good news because instead of having to take meds every six hours, tonight we can sleep! Tomorrow will be spent getting ready to head back to the hospital on Wednesday.
1/13
Big news for Jordy . . .
The Child Life lady from Doernbecher called today. She has two tickets for the Blazer game on Tuesday (of course Jordy was interested). The LIMO will pick Jordy and Kyle up at Doernbecher and take them to the Rose Garden. They will have dinner and SHOOT AROUND WITH THE TEAM! Jordy will probably be an honorary team captain and they will have COURTSIDE, CENTER COURT tickets. This is such a wonderful opportunity. The Child Life lady watches every Blazer game on TV, and she is so jealous!
More details to come . ..
Annie
Sunday, January 11, 2009
'Time' ~ seems to have gone by fast...
We are finally home. Jordy has still not completely cleared the Methatrexate, but it was low enough that the doctor let him come home. He has to take medication to counter-act the chemo every six hours, and we have to go back to Doernbecher in the morning for another blood test. We decided that we really wanted to come home instead of staying at Wilsonville. Since we go back on Wednesday for the same chemo, we wanted to take the chance to sleep in our own beds. It is a rare treat these days.
Other than some mouth sores and a little nausea, Jordy is doing pretty well. The cold seems to be a little better. Jordy only has four more admissions for chemo!!!! People ask Jordy if it seems like it has taken a long time. He says (and I would agree) that it has really gone very fast. It seems like it was not that long ago that things were just ordinary. Now we are rolling toward a new “normal”.
Annie
Other than some mouth sores and a little nausea, Jordy is doing pretty well. The cold seems to be a little better. Jordy only has four more admissions for chemo!!!! People ask Jordy if it seems like it has taken a long time. He says (and I would agree) that it has really gone very fast. It seems like it was not that long ago that things were just ordinary. Now we are rolling toward a new “normal”.
Annie
Janury 19th ~ the big day!
1/7
Jordy passed his blood counts today so he is hydrating and will start his chemo later this afternoon. He will have his regular 4 hour infusion, then we just wait until Saturday or Sunday for it to clear out of his body.
We do have some big news today. . . we have a date for getting Jordy's prosthesis. On January 19th the prosthetist will try out the socket (the part that his foot will go into). She will also take measurements and such. The big day is January 26. He will go to Shriner's to get his temporary prosthesis and meet with the physical therapist. This is great news for Jordy. Kevin is hoping to attend that appointment. You can imagine Kevin is very interested in the mechanical aspects of the process.
Last time he came, we had to keep him away from the tools! The prosthesis will be a great early birthday present for Jordy ( his birthday is Jan. 31). I teased him and told him that his only present would be his leg. . . what more could he ask for? He has assure me that he can think of a few things.
I guess I will have to do a little shopping on our days off.
Tonight is Candlelighters dinner. No hospital food!!!!
Annie
Jordy passed his blood counts today so he is hydrating and will start his chemo later this afternoon. He will have his regular 4 hour infusion, then we just wait until Saturday or Sunday for it to clear out of his body.
We do have some big news today. . . we have a date for getting Jordy's prosthesis. On January 19th the prosthetist will try out the socket (the part that his foot will go into). She will also take measurements and such. The big day is January 26. He will go to Shriner's to get his temporary prosthesis and meet with the physical therapist. This is great news for Jordy. Kevin is hoping to attend that appointment. You can imagine Kevin is very interested in the mechanical aspects of the process.
Last time he came, we had to keep him away from the tools! The prosthesis will be a great early birthday present for Jordy ( his birthday is Jan. 31). I teased him and told him that his only present would be his leg. . . what more could he ask for? He has assure me that he can think of a few things.
I guess I will have to do a little shopping on our days off.
Tonight is Candlelighters dinner. No hospital food!!!!
Annie
Friday, January 2, 2009
Filling in the details ~
Happy New Year!
I just wanted to add a few details to the update from yesterday. Jordy’s appointment with Dr. Malempati was somewhat disappointing because his counts were not high enough, but he had some positive comments. He did say that Jordy has done a good job of keeping up his eating. Jordy has always struggled with keeping his weight up. For those of you who did not know Jordy as a small child, he had a number of food allergies that severely limited the food that he could eat. For the most part, the allergies have resolved themselves, but he is still thin. It was good to have Dr. Malempati acknowledge the effort that Jordy has put into eating. He also said that he feels like as long as Jordy keeps up the good work, his weight will not be a problem for the remaining time of his treatment.
Dr. Malempati also gave us a bit of information that I had not thought of. Jordy will require more calories from because of using his prothesis. It just takes more effort to move and deal with the extra weight. This makes sense, but I had not thought of that. I don’t think eating will be a problem. Jordy has already started talking about the foods that he wants to eat once his taste buds are functioning correctly. Abby’s pizza is at the top of the list along with things like lasagna and tacos.
Next week we will find out when Jordy’s next appointment at Shriner’s will be. At that appointment he will try the test socket for his prosthesis. The socket is the part that his foot will fit into. Wednesday we will go to Doernbecher’s to have blood work done and hopefully check in for chemo. His counts should be ok so we are optimistic.
I hope the rain slows down soon.
Annie
I just wanted to add a few details to the update from yesterday. Jordy’s appointment with Dr. Malempati was somewhat disappointing because his counts were not high enough, but he had some positive comments. He did say that Jordy has done a good job of keeping up his eating. Jordy has always struggled with keeping his weight up. For those of you who did not know Jordy as a small child, he had a number of food allergies that severely limited the food that he could eat. For the most part, the allergies have resolved themselves, but he is still thin. It was good to have Dr. Malempati acknowledge the effort that Jordy has put into eating. He also said that he feels like as long as Jordy keeps up the good work, his weight will not be a problem for the remaining time of his treatment.
Dr. Malempati also gave us a bit of information that I had not thought of. Jordy will require more calories from because of using his prothesis. It just takes more effort to move and deal with the extra weight. This makes sense, but I had not thought of that. I don’t think eating will be a problem. Jordy has already started talking about the foods that he wants to eat once his taste buds are functioning correctly. Abby’s pizza is at the top of the list along with things like lasagna and tacos.
Next week we will find out when Jordy’s next appointment at Shriner’s will be. At that appointment he will try the test socket for his prosthesis. The socket is the part that his foot will fit into. Wednesday we will go to Doernbecher’s to have blood work done and hopefully check in for chemo. His counts should be ok so we are optimistic.
I hope the rain slows down soon.
Annie
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Happy New Year! Jordy's at home ~
12/31
To fill in the blanks; they went to Portland today. Jordy’s blood counts were too low. Instead of giving him blood or platelets the doctors decided to wait a week and let his mouth heal before more chemo. They will go back to Portland next Wednesday and try again. Jordy is off his Arbys’ diet until his mouth heals and is surviving on biscuits and gravy and soup. Have a good new year. George
Good afternoon.
Jordy and I are back home. His counts were a little low today. This was not surprising to the doctor or us. It is pretty hard to get counts up in just one week, but Jordy was willing to give it a try. They probably would have gone ahead if he didn’t have such bad mouth sores. This will give him time to heal and get those counts really high (or as high as chemo allows). This also changes his schedule so that he will be home for Christmas, New Year’s, and his birthday (January 31). His luck is amazing!
Tonight Jordy is going to his friends’ houses, and Kevin and I will get to ring in the New Year together. What a concept!
Enjoy your celebrations!
Annie
To fill in the blanks; they went to Portland today. Jordy’s blood counts were too low. Instead of giving him blood or platelets the doctors decided to wait a week and let his mouth heal before more chemo. They will go back to Portland next Wednesday and try again. Jordy is off his Arbys’ diet until his mouth heals and is surviving on biscuits and gravy and soup. Have a good new year. George
Good afternoon.
Jordy and I are back home. His counts were a little low today. This was not surprising to the doctor or us. It is pretty hard to get counts up in just one week, but Jordy was willing to give it a try. They probably would have gone ahead if he didn’t have such bad mouth sores. This will give him time to heal and get those counts really high (or as high as chemo allows). This also changes his schedule so that he will be home for Christmas, New Year’s, and his birthday (January 31). His luck is amazing!
Tonight Jordy is going to his friends’ houses, and Kevin and I will get to ring in the New Year together. What a concept!
Enjoy your celebrations!
Annie
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