Mary's First IV Chemotherapy

As you all know yesterday was Mary’s first IV Chemotherapy. It took about three hours for this first trip. About an hour of explanations, instruction and what to expect for side effects. They first give her an IV of anti-nausea medication and then the Chemotherapy drug, short name is CPT-11. Mary also got a flew shot and they highly recommended I get one so, the chicken that I am, I held my belt in my mouth and let them stab me with the hypo. That may be a little exaggerated. She felt fine after the treatment. They also tweeked on her medications. They lowered her Decadron (Steriod) a little and are taking her off the Atavin, or at least to an as needed amount. They did add a drug that she will take only on Saturday’s and Sunday’s to prevent Pneumonia. Mary slept good last night and said she even had a dream which she has not had for a while. We went from Chemotherapy to a Radiation treatment. The Radiation machine was broken when we got there so we had to wait about an hour, but we were about 15 min late anyway. No big deal. We believe all your prayers are working and we continue to thank you for them. We always pray for God’s great blessings on you all. We know have a much different perspective on how great the body of Christ is. Thank you.

Monday I went to Radiation with Mary an took a couple of pictures. It only takes about 10 min. but during that time her head is bolted down to the table with this mask. Mary reminded me of this scripture today, II Corin.12:9 “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.”

As you know last week Mary started Radiation and Chemotherapy. She received Radiation Monday – Wednesday, and has been taking Chemotherapy pills (Temodar) every night since Monday. So far she hasn’t been sick or had any obvious side effects. They say it will take two to three weeks to see any side effects from Radiation. The chemotherapy is different in everyone. This Tuesday (11/28) she will start the IV chemotherapy. That will take about an hour and a half to two hours once a week. Mary still wants to do everything but is having to learn she needs to rest more for now. Short visits seem to work good if she is awake already. We have walked a few times just to get out of the house and move around. Friday we walked for an hour and a half, which was a good walk. Keep praying for her motor functions to get better. As always we thank you for your prayers and support.

Bob

God id Good

Mary had her first radiation treatment and her first dose of oral chemotherapy yesterday. This morning she woke up feeling wonderful with renewed energy and less anxiety. There were no side effect from either treatment so Praise the Lord. Please continue to pray that she has no side effect from either kind of Chemo or the radiation. Please pray the she would have a good energy level and that she would fell the presence of the Lord in her day to day activities.

Change of plans. We found out this morning (Mon) that the Radiology dept. will be closed for the holiday (thursday - sunday) After several phone calls and discussions Mary started radiation today at 1:00. She will have two more seseions Tuesday and Wednesday at 4:00. Then will start again Monday. Mary also started on the Temodar tonight (Mon). Pray for Mary to go through these theropies with no problems and that they produce the best results possible. As always we are still believing for God to do great things through this time.

We went to the Dr. today and Mary got her staples out. (19 of them) Dr. Dixit (Surgeon) was very pleased with how well Mary is doing. He ran her through a few dexterity tests and was happy with the progress Mary has made. One of the main reasons for waiting two weeks to start radiations is so she could heal. The radiation has a negative affect on the skin healing. He wants the skin to heal well first. Now the hard part starts, radiation and Chemotherapy. Wed Nov. 22 Mary will have her first radiation treatment. That night she will start Chemotherapy. It will be Temodar which is in a pill form. Nov. 28th she will begin another Chemotherapy that is an IV at the doctors office. That will be at the Colorado Neurological Institute at Swedish with Dr. Arenson. That will be once a week and it takes 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Mary has a very optimistic attitude that is directly related to her strong faith in what God is doing. She has been working hard on getting her right arm and hand working. Mary's been writting scriptures alot and working on her signature which a week ago she could not even make a legible word. Today it is looking good. She is a fighter and knows who she believes in. Their is no doubt God is in control. Keep praying for healing, strength and limited side effects of the drugs. We never say a prayer without thanking God for all the support and prayers we get from all of you. We are praying God blesses everone of you in a special way. All of you have been more than we could ask for. Thank you.

All is going well with Mary. We went out yesterday for a good walk. It was nice to get out of the house. The plan has not changed she will be getting her staples out on friday and start Radidation and one of the Chemotherapies on Wednesday. She is very anxious to get started. Waiting for the next step is hard but she needs to be strong for the multiple therapies she will be going through. Mary is working on her motor skills by writting a little and it is getting better. We appreciate all the things everyone is doing. I will post an update Friday after we see the Dr. and get the staples out.

Home Sweet Home

Mary is home from the hospital and she is doing well. Her spirits are up and she is glad to be home sweet home.

She will get her staples out on November 17th and start radiation treatments on the 22nd. Chemotherapy will start simultaneously with the radiation around the 22nd or so.

Please pray that no infection would enter her body and that the peace of the Lord would be over the Strickland house.

Mary had an MRI this morning. The Dr. said it looked as good as he could of asked for. There is still small pieces of turmor that the chemo/radiation will be dealing with. She is very tired and I am having to make her sleep and not talk to visitors. So please don't be offended it you can't get in to see her. The Dr. is hoping to let Mary go home tomorrow. Infection is still a big concern so I will try to keep anyone who has a cold or is sick away from her for a while. The chemotherapy will lower her white cell count which will affect her immune system. The plan now is, ten days and she will get her staples out, then four days latter she will start Chemo/radiation. This is the plan now and plans can change.

Mary would like a day of rest today so she is asking for no visitors until after 3:00 today or even tomorrow. She needs so quiet time to help her physically as well as emotionally. Please keep praying for speedy recovery. Mary's anxiety level is very high. Pray Gods peace for her spirit.

Thank you
Bob

Surgery

Praise God, Mary made it through the surgery very well. She was alert about 20 minutes after she got into the recovery room. She was moving and talking better than the Dr anticipated at this point. She is very tired and wants to just sleep tonight.

The tumor was larger than the Dr. anticipated but he was pleased with how much he was able to remove. Due to the type of tumor (GBM) there are tentcale like part that he could not get to without invading a critical part of the brain. These small remaining tumor cells will be delt with by the Chemotherapy and Radiation.

Her heart rate is a little high and they are watching it closely.

The Dr. was very pleased with the way surgery went and how quickly she recovered and was talking.

The biggest concern at this point is that Mary would not get an infection. They are putting her on a large dose of antibiotics and watching her carefully.

Bob and the girls are doing well and happy with the outcome of the surgery.

For those of you who would like to post a comment but could not, you can now. Just check "other" after your commet and type your name.

Mary will be having surgery Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. at Lutheran Hospital in Wheat Ridge. They will be removing a very aggressive tumor according to the Dr. He also mentioned that there is more of a risk that this surgery could affect her speech and motor skills. The Doctors would like to start Chemotherapy within a week of the surgery, they will evaluate after the surgery when they will start radiation.

She is in good spirits and totally relying on God for Grace and strength.

Please pray that the Lord will give his great wisdom to the Dr's, and strength for Bob and the s.

She will also welcome visitors, but only for brief visitations starting Wednesday.

Upcoming Surgery

Mary will check into the hospital on Monday at 10:00 a.m. She will be receiving interveinious steroids to aleviate the swelling. She will have surgery on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. Please pray the for the Lord's presence and peace at this time.

Another Surgery

We went the Oncologist today because Mary was going to start Radiation and Chemotherapy today. They took a MRI to get a new baseline so they could track the progress of the therapy. The MRI revealed that the tumor has grown significantly since the post surgery MRI. This changes the plan. Mary will be going back into the hospital Monday for another surgery. The plan now is to remove as much of the tumor as possible and then as soon as possible (1 to 2 weeks) begin the Radiation and Chemotherapy. The therapy will be very aggressive including Radiation and at least 2 chemotherapy drugs, maybe 3. The growth of the tumor does explain the symptoms Mary has been experiencing the last several days. She has lost some usage of her right arm, and even though she knows what she wants to say in her head, sometimes it doesn’t always come out the way she is thinking it. At first they thought it was post surgery swelling. Now they know for sure. They have Mary on several medications that she doesn’t really like but knows she has to take them. She wants everyone to know how much she loves and appreciates everyone but can’t do a lot of visiting and talking. Above everything God is still in control. He may not be following my plan but He is in control and we just want to be in His plan. A lot of people are asking what they can do to help. Prayer is always the first thing. Keep Mary always before the Lord. When you talk to Mary please keep it positive. She has a great attitude and people with positive attitudes help that a lot. Mary is still Mary but just has to slow down a notch or two and that is frustrating for her. She still has makes me laugh. We can’t thank all of you enough for your support and we do pray for God’s special blessings on all of you