P.S.

Since everyone was calling Richard "Uncle Fester" when he was bald, we decided to go as Uncle Fester and Morticia Addams to halloween parties this year! Here we are!

SORRY!

I know it's been a really LONG time since this has been updated! I apologize to all of you who are faithful in checking "the blog." Richard did write his own update nearly a month ago now; however, after he spent 1 hour and 15 minutes typing (he still "hunts and pecks"), he hit the wrong button and deleted the whole thing. I think he said he thought "Create" meant that it would go on the blog. He was supposed to click on "Publish Post." Oops. So, needless to say for those of you who know Richard well, he closed the computer lid, grunting and mumbling who-knows-what under his breath about computers, and gave up. We've just been busy since then.

He's been back to work full-time, pretty much since he started. He felt well enough to work everyday, but he didn't do any overtime. He is still not taking the on-call phone, but he does work a little overtime here and there in the form of an extra service call at the end of the day, etc. He's doing really well; some evenings he's pretty tired, but overall, he's getting back to his old self.

He had 2 more head shots of chemo. in the past two weeks to make up for the ones he missed when he had the infection in his head port. Then went well; he just got a little tired for a couple of hours after the injection. Now, he can start the maintenance chemo. pills (a very low dose of chemo. that he takes as a pill each day).

He had his post-treatment PET scan, which came out CLEAR OF CANCER, just like it did halfway through! THANK GOD! The bird fungus thing is still there a little bit, but it is significantly smaller in size. His doctor thinks that as his immune system builds back up, he may not need to take that medication anymore either.

We are enjoying "normal" life! (Although, is life ever "normal" with Richard around?) We get up in the morning and get ready for work. Richard doesn't have a breakfast of pills anymore, so he actually has room for a bowl of cereal now and then. We change our cereal often, as we discovered that both of us get bored and tired of the same cereal everyday. Sometimes we even mix it up with toast or oatmeal. Once in awhile, we have banana bread if I forget to eat the bananas and they start to get a little too ripe for my liking (pretty much-any bit of brown).

We come home from work and exercise together (yep, I'm getting him to exercise and ENJOY IT). We have dinner (I'm still working on teaching him how to cook.) together and relax or do housework. However, with just the two of us, there's really not that much to do around here. We're both very neat and organized, so our house is pretty low maintenance. I have grad. class every Monday night until 8 or 8:30 p.m., so Mondays are pretty well shot, but the rest of the weeknights are not scheduled. We end up filling them up though.

I'm sure that our "normal" life isn't as exciting to read about as Richard's "cancer" life, but we sure are excited to be living in more "normal" circumstances! We really appreciate the small things.

In closing, I have a friend, a retired teacher, who I met when I student-taught in 2005. She was just recently diagnosed with breast cancer and will be having surgery soon. Please keep her in your prayers as she undergoes her treatment. I appreciate it!

Thanks for your continuous support or Richard, me, and everyone involved in helping Richard get where he is today. Without the support of family and friends, I don't know how we would have made it through. Life is so precious, and I'm so happy that my husband is alive and well and no longer sick. It's so great to see him building back his strength, getting his skin tone back, no more dark circles under his eyes, and hair growing back! He's doing really well, and we have God, his doctors, his friends, family, and countless people who prayed or supported him in other ways to thank!

Daphne

Follow-Up Appt.

Richard had his follow-up appt. with the doctor on Wednesday. The doctor basically said, "He's looking good..." I'll let him give you the details. :) Richard also got the doctor's "okay" to go back to work. He started yesterday and is SO EXCITED. He is probably the most excited plumber his customers have ever had!

Daphne

Counts still Climbing

Hey everybody! Thanks to those of you who have been leaving comments! It's nice to know you are still thinking about us! As far as Rich's nurses, we miss all of you, I can't say that we miss being at the hospital!

Rich's counts are still climbing higher and higher everyday! He's feeling much better each day as well. He doesn't get so tired in the evening, and he keeps busy for much of the day. He's doing a lot of things around the house, and he's also going over to work and getting his van ready since it really hasn't been used much in 8 months.

He has a follow-up visit with Dr. Andreadis on Wednesday where we will get more info. about his post-treatment bloodwork/scans/meds. We'll let you know what he finds out! He's hoping to go back to work part-time the end of this month, but we'll see what the doctor's opinion is of it.

School is going great! We're getting into a "flow." I'm on my lunch break right now, which is too short! I try to eat and cram as much work in as I can from 10:50-11:35! Plus, I'm getting some kids caught up who were absent a day or two this week (there's some sort of head cold/sinus cold going around).

We're finally starting to get back to a "regular" lifestyle, which is great! We love married life - going to the same "home" everynight is so much better than living 50 minutes apart. We love our house, regardless of the fact that we still have no light switch covers or certain light fixtures, or wallpaper border in the kitchen or patio furniture and a grill or pictures on the walls...... (Yes, I know that's a run-on sentence.) All of that will come in time, but right now we just appreciate living life together in our own little space we now call "home!" Thanks for your prayers and thoughts. We couldn't get through this without all of you who have supported Richard in some way since February! Have a great day!
Daphne

Still Glad to BE HOME!

Richard is so glad to be at home. He had his bloodwork done yesterday, and his counts are still going up! His white blood cells are still a bit low, but his red blood cells are higher than they ever have been since he started chemo! They're at 12.something, and normal for males is above 14. When he was on chemo., doctors were just glad to see them stay above 8. His white blood cells should continue to climb. He has been resting at home, taking care of odds and ends. He made dinner last night (with a little help from me), which was delicious! We didn't notice that the recipe said, "Serves 12" so now we have extra for tonight too! (and many nights after that...)

School is going well. I'm enjoying being back to teaching again. Days are sure busy, though!

For those of you who asked if Richard's up to visitors - he is; just call first to make sure we're going to be home! We would both love visitors!

Thanks for your continued prayers and support. Richard is resting up so he can gain strength to get back to work when the doctor approves!
Daphne

WE'RE GOING HOME! :) :) :)

Hi everybody,
We're heading home this evening. Richard's fevers have been down long enough, and his white blood cells are still climbing. The doctor ordered 2 units of blood before he goes because his red blood cells dropped a little. He is finishing up his last bag now. We are so excited to go home! It will be nice not to live out of a hospital room. The people here were great, though, and they really took care of Richard. Thanks for your prayers!
Daphne

P.S. Hi Kara! We missed you here! I hope you like your new job! :)

STILL at LGH

We are still here at LGH, enjoying the beautiful view today from INSIDE LGH (unfortunately). Thankfully, Rich's cough is not as bad as it was, and his white blood cells are still on their way up. He's at 0.9 now (he was at 0.1 when he came in), but the safe range is 4.0-8.0. He went almost 24 hours without a fever, but spiked a temp. of 101.2 last night around midnight. So, Rich is continuing to get IV antibiotics every 8 hours or so. A discharge doesn't seem likely in the next day or two, but I guess anything could happen.

Still at LGH

Richard has been at LGH since Saturday night. They took blood cultures right away. So far, nothing showed up (infections) in the cultures. His counts were still low, so they gave him more red blood cells on Monday. His platelets were okay. His white blood cell count is still really low.

His cough has been worse, and he still has fevers. He is on medicines to help control the cough and open up his lungs for breathing better. They also are giving him meds for the fevers, which he still continues to have throughout the day and night. Besides the coughing and general fatigue, he doesn't really feel too bad. He wants to come home and wishes a diagnosis of a specific infection could be made. He is on general antibiotics, but if they can diagnose an specific infection, they can put him on specific antibiotics to get him better sooner! The doctors drew more blood for new cultures yesterday. They want him to stay in the hospital until his fevers are consistently gone, and his blood counts are higher. The doctors and nurses are working hard to help him get better. It just takes time!

Daphne

Back at LGH

Well, this is one you haven't heard in quite a few months. On Saturday night, Richard's fever climbed up to 102, so we called the doctor who sent us to the ER at LGH. We went in around midnight. Thankfully, Richard had a room upstairs at 8 Lime by about 3:30 a.m. He has a cough which is progressively getting worse. He has some sort of infection, most likely some kind of repiratory infection (the cough gives it away). They have him on general IV antibiotics for now. They took blood cultures and a culture of brain/spinal fluid from his head port (just because he has infection there before, they want to cover all the bases). We are waiting to see if they grow anything. The chest x-ray was inconclusive because in order to see pneumonia on a chest x-ray, the body has to have white blood cells clustered around the infection. Since Richard has virtually no white blood cells right now, the x-ray isn't accurate. His red blood cells and platelets were also very low, so he got an infusion early this morning after he got the room. He has a nice big room up there and is in a corner suite. This is all disappointing because of it being his last round and all, but again, we just have to deal with it and pray that they find the problem so we can get him on the right antibiotics. The sooner they can do that, the sooner he should be able to come back home.

Well, it's always drama, drama, drama with this guy. Sooner or later our lives will be back to "normal." At least he's feeling okay (besides the cough). He has TV and car magazines to keep him occupied until the cultures or scans show the infection.

Daphne

Laying Around

Richard has been tired this week. At the end of the week, he has been coughing a little bit. He's had a bit of a temperature, but not enough to go to the hospital. He has been doing nothing but resting and eating. His white count was low, but should be climbing back up at this point so we're hoping his body will fight off whatever is happening on its own. Other than that, Richard is feeling okay. He's anxious to be stronger again and up and about.

Daphne

Home Again

Hello everybody! We are home from HUP! Round 8 is complete! We are so excited that he has completed all of his rounds. Yesterday, he had his Neulasta shot and bloodwork. He will have bloodwork and his intrathecal dose of Ara-C (chemo. in the head port) on Thursday morning. He hasn't been feeling sick; mostly, he's just been tired. He hasn't wanted to sleep a lot, just rest his body.

We will have a follow-up with Dr. Andreadis the week after Labor Day to discuss the plan for follow-up care/treatment.

Rich is resting up, hoping to go back to work part-time as soon as he feels up to it. He thinks maybe mid-September.

I'm getting ready to start school again. Next week will be here before I know it!

Daphne

Heading Home Today

Well, this is it. Richard's Methotrexate level is below 0.05, so we will be heading for home today. I can't believe this is number 8! We are so happy to be moving on in a new direction. The next couple of weeks will be about the same as they have been - Mon./Thurs. lab work, resting, etc. In about 2 weeks, Richard will have a follow-up appt. with Dr. Andreadis to discuss the next steps - this daily chemo. pill he will have to take, how often to get bloodwork and scans, etc.

Richard isn't feeling too bad today, just a little tired. Thanks for your prayers and keep them coming!

Daphne

Hello Friends And Family!!!!
Well, it is official. I am now able to officially join the "O.B.W.C.". Or. also known by its full name, the "Official Bed Wetters Club". No, it's not exactly what you are thinking. This morning, Daphne and I awoke to a large wet spot on the bed between us up around my chest. As if I hadn't experienced enough comedy of errors from my first night, somehow while I was sleeping I unscrewed the tubing that hooks my chemo and liquid saline pump to my chest port, and it was just pumping juice into my tee shirt for a period of time. So needless to say I am taking my last round and going out with a bang! Nothing normal here for me. Ha Ha Ha. Hopefully the rest of my stay will be as normal as can be. No other real news yet. Everything else remains uneventful. Even though I am not in a private room, it is okay because my roommate is a very nice, respectful middle age guy who is quiet, shuts his TV off at normal hours, and doesn't yell into his cell phone. A far cry from my 18 year old, MTV watching, rap music blaring, NBA watching, cell phone yelling roommate of round 5 or 6. I don't have my own refrigerator, but Daphne and I keep a cooler in the community fridge and it is working out just fine. Improvise, overcome, and adapt I always say. Well, goodbye for now. I will post some more when I get some time. Hope everyone is happy and healthy as I will be soon enough!!
Love Richard David

Here We Are

We arrived here at HUP last night around 8:30 p.m. Things got off to a bit of a rocky start here. Instead of accessing his port, the needle was placed incorrectly. Richard ended up with a pocket of fluid on the right side of his chest (just saline, not chemo). It wasn't really painful for him, just awkward. They had to access him through his hand to give him fluids last night. The swelling went down by this morning, and they were able to reaccess his port today for the chemo. He should start chemo soon. It's been ordered so we are just waiting on the pharmacy to get it mixed and sent up here. Everything else should go as scheduled. We'll keep you updated!
Daphne

Heading Back to HUP #8

We are heading back to HUP this evening for Round 8! Let's pray for no complications! We should be heading home on Sunday or Monday. LAST ONE!
Daphne

Low Red Blood Cells Again

Today's bloodwork showed low red blood cells again. They're supposed to be at least 8, but he's at 6. Richard will get 2 units tomorrow at Outpatient Oncology in LGH. I'm not sure how this will impact his return to HUP on Wednesday. They may not want him to come back until his counts are higher because this last round is a B round, and B rounds really knock out the red blood cells and platelets. I'll keep you updated on whether his return to HUP is Wednesday or later in the week.

Daphne

A Few Extra Days

Richard finally started really feeling better about the middle of this past week. His red blood cell count is a little low, but not quite low enough to make a transfusion necessary. (They gave him the choice.) As long as his counts look decent after tomorrow's bloodwork, we will head back to HUP on Wednesday evening. Last round...!!!!

I've been working on things to prepare for the upcoming school year, and Richard has been doing odds and ends around our house. I am posting some pictures of our house for those of you who may not have seen it yet. The things we're working on now are light switch covers (Rich is replacing some of the recepticals), light fixtures for the kitchen, and getting the hot tub up and running. Most of the pictures turned out okay, but I took some of them at night, so lighting was challenging. As far as our furniture and other things in the house, some of it was gifts and some of it we purchased with money we saved before Richard was sick. I only included pictures of rooms that are finished or have something done to them. Most of the half basement has nothing in it, so I didn't put any pictures of the spare room, family room, or powder room up. Things are coming together slowly, but we like our little cozy home!

Thanks for your continued prayers. One more round, and then it should be all up hill from there!

Daphne

Front

Back patio and deck

Richard's organized shed

Living room

Living room

Kitchen

Office (not quite finished yet - sterilite will be replaced with

real furniture, but it will be awhile)

Our room

Our room

Bathroom

Ups and Downs Again

It's been over a week since I last updated, and I apologize for not writing sooner. Richard was feeling nauseous for most of this past week. Thursday he started to feel better, but then Thursday evening, he got a call that he needed red blood cells and platelets. He had to sit all day in outpatient oncology at LGH on Friday and get the transfusions. Since Friday evening, Richard hasn't been feeling very well. He said his stomach feels "gurgly" but not really upset. Tomorrow we will go to LGH for bloodwork, and we'll see what they say there. Richard is really ready to be done with all this. Please keep up the prayers. The end here seems to be some of the toughest times.

Daphne

Rough Days

It's been a long day for Richard. We made it to LGH this morning for his Neulasta shot, but it was tough. He's feeling very tired and nauseaous. He slept almost all day. This is actually good under the circumstances because his body needs it, and he doesn't feel his stomach when he's asleep. I've just been waking him up to take his pills. The meds. he's on also cause drowsiness, so that's part of it. He was up a little bit this evening to have some chicken broth with egg noodles and a piece of toast. Please pray that he starts to feel better soon. He's getting weary because he's sick of being sick! Poor guy! I just keep telling him it'll be over soon!

Daphne

Home Again

Rich's dad came and picked us up this morning at HUP around 6 a.m. Rich finished the chemo. around 3:30 a.m. He is very, very tired today and gets very dizzy/nauseous when he stands up. He has been sleeping all day, which is good for him! Tomorrow, he will get the Neulasta shot (white blood cell booster) and Monday he will get his Intrathecal Ara-C (chemo. in the head port). Round 7 down, 1 more to go!
Daphne

Still here at HUP for Round 7

Things are going as they usually do here at HUP for Round 7. Richard is starting to sleep longer and longer due to the chemo. He just got his 5th of 6 bags this morning. They will hook up the last bag tonight at 11 p.m. We hope to leave in the morning if Rich's dad can come get us early.

We finally got to go to Floor 7's Pizza/Bingo Night. We played several rounds. There were about 10 people who came. They hold it in the conference room. We won 3 pieces of Tupperware and a mug! :) I can always use Tupperware.

We are looking forward to coming home tomorrow. Rich will probably get his Neulasta shot over the weekend and his dose of chemo. in his head port on Monday at LGH.

Thanks to those of you who left comments here on the Blog. We still enjoy reading them. Thanks to all of you who are thinking of us and keeping us in your prayers. Have a great day everybody!

Daphne

Here at HUP - Round 7

We're back at HUP for Round 7. We arrived here last night with Rich's dad. Richard will be starting chemo. shortly. This is the round where he gets 6 bags, 12 hours apart. He should be finished in the middle of the night Thursday into Friday. Richard is already asking about his discharge paperwork. He's not excited to go back home or anything...

Well, this is the last "A" round for his treatment. We're counting down...

Daphne

The Latest (including Peter)

Before we get to Richard this time, we have some news about Peter. He was in a car accident yesterday. He doesn't remember what happened. However, from what we can gather, there were skid marks on the road, leading into a farmer's field. He rolled the little Jeep Cherokee and ended upright again. It occurred on Paradise Lane near their house. They had to cut open the top of the Jeep and get him out that way. He went to LGH in an ambulance with his mother, who arrived at the accident after being called on the phone by a person who lived near the scene of the accident. He had tests and such while in the ER. He ended up with a cracked breastbone, a compressed vertebrae in his upper back, and some minimal bleeding in his brain (which is already on the mend). He will have to wear a brace around his torso for 3 weeks to a month. He is bruised and sore right now. Please remember him in your prayers as well. I guess when it rains, it pours in this family.

As for Richard, we are heading back for Round 7 (of 8!) on Monday evening. We just found out about an hour ago. This will be his last A Round. Thanks for the continued prayers!

Low Counts

Richard continues to have low platelet and red blood cell counts. He got red blood cells yesterday and he's getting a bag of platelets again today. For some reason, they keep getting repeatedly wiped out. He been feeling fine; he just needs a full night's sleep each night.

P.S. See the entry below for info. on how to view our complete collection of wedding pictures.

Wedding Pictures

I know this isn't health-related, but I thought everyone would want to know that all of our wedding pictures are up on a website called Pictage. You can go to www.pictage.com/240804 and then, you will have to "register" by giving your first name, last name, email address, and a password created by you. Then, click on the VIEW IMAGES button. There are about 350 pictures. Our engagement session with Leslie last fall is also on the website. You can view the pictures by category or all at once in no specific order. I will talk with Leslie about ordering photographs. I think you can order them directly through her instead of on the internet. I'm not sure about prices and all of that yet. I will email her and let you know.
Enjoy!


THANKS, LESLIE! YOU'RE THE BEST! The pictures are fabulous!

Feeling Better

Most days, Richard feels well for the whole day. His counts were low last week, and he had to get red blood cells and platelets all day Friday. If he gets a good night's sleep, he usually feels good for the next whole day. We've just been doing odds and ends at our house - working in the flower beds outside, cleaning up the hot tub and patio (it will be up and running soon!), and doing little odds and ends inside the house. We are going to see Grandmom and Grandpop Taraborelli today. 2 more rounds to go! Keep up the prayers! Thank you!

Daphne

Ups and Downs

This week has been a week of ups and downs. Richard feels fairly well most of the time, but his body gets very tired without warning. He gets waves of nausea now and then too, but usually the meds take care of it. We've been spending a lot of time at home resting or doing odds and ends here at our house. We love living here and being together! Even though I'm off from school right now, the days go by fast! School will be back in session before I know it. Thanks to those of you who left comments for us - we love reading them! We appreciate the phone calls, cards, letters, emails, etc. It's nice to know people are still thinking of us and praying for Richard's health!
Love, Daphne

P.S. Don't forget - view some of our wedding photos at http://www.sullivanstudiosphoto.com/! Click on Blog, then find the entry about us. (It's under July 2007.) Click on slideshow. Leslie, you did a fabulous job! Everyone loves the photographs!

Home

Richard and I came home last night after having dinner with Rich's parents at their house. It was nice to be in our own house, free up that "HUP smell." Richard is feeling very tired today and had some nausea this morning. He got up to eat some toast and take some pills and then he went back to bed. He's not ready for this sick/tired feeling again, but hopefully it will be short. Tomorrow he will get his Neulasta shot (white blood cell booster), and Monday, he will get the Intrathecal Ara-C dose (chemo. in his head port). Every day is a day closer to the end of these rounds of chemo. He only has one more A and one more B cycle. After that, he will get PET scans (whole body cancer scans) every 3 months for at least a year, check-ups with Dr. Andreadis every month, weekly bloodwork as needed, and he will take a very low-dose maintenance chemo. pill daily (for about 2 years) . The doctor said his hair should grow back, and with this pill, he will have about 90% of the energy he had before he got sick. We don't know too many other details. Usually, the doctor doesn't go into all that until your last chemo. treatment, but we just asked a few basic questions to get an idea of what he will be doing after his last round (hopefully the end of August).
Thanks again for your prayers.

Daphne

We're Heading Home Today

Cycle B/Round 6 is complete. Richard is free to go home today. Rich's dad is picking us up after his last call this afternoon. Richard is feeling okay right now - he slept in until noon today, but now he's awake. His body is tired though. He also feels as though he's full of liquid (which, actually, he is). He said, "If someone poked me with a needle, I think I'd spring a leak."

We will be having dinner at Rich's parent's house this evening and then heading home to our house. We're excited to go home because we only got to spend one night together in our new house before we came to HUP.

Feel free to call anytime. We don't mind visitors either as long as Richard is up to it. Just give us a call and see what we're up to that day. Thanks again, as always, for the prayers!

Daphne

Back at HUP

Well, we're back at HUP for Round 6 of chemo. This is a cycle B. Rich's parents brought us here last night. We had dinner at their house last night before we left. Richard got the approval to start chemo, but we are waiting for pharmacy to get the drugs up here. He will probably be here until Friday or Saturday. We're on the home stretch! 6 of 8...
Richard is still feeling good, but he will start to feel tired in a couple days.

Our Little Escape

We had a great time for a couple of days in Cape May, NJ. Richard surprised me and planned a little get-a-way for the two of us Thursday night, Friday, and Saturday sponsored by his parents and Donna and Steve Graci as a wedding gift. We stayed at the Dormer House, a cozy bed-and-breakfast on the corner of Franklin and Columbia Streets. It was very neat and clean. We had a great time relaxing on the beach (until the big rain drops got too annoying), walking the promenade, and shopping in Washington Square. We went to the point on Saturday afternoon and saw the lighthouse and shops at Cape May Point. Saturday evening we had dinner with Donna and Steve at Chili's near their house. We went home on Sunday evening to our house. It was so nice to be in our home and for neither of us to leave at night! We had a great wedding and weekend. Hopefully, you have checked out the pictures that our photographer began to post on her site's blog by now. All of the proofs will be up on pictage.com before too long. Here are a few pictures of our trip:

Richard - claiming our territory on the beach.

The porch where we ate breakfast.

On the Cape May Whale Watcher - our "Dolphin Watch" on Friday evening

On the boat

Dinner at Cabanas Bar and Grill after our evening of dolphin spotting

Lunch in Washington Square on Saturday afternoon

Pizza!

Cape May Point

They Did It Beautifully!!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

I thought that while the honeymooners were enjoying the weekend in Cape May, I would sneak you a peek of the GORGEOUS BRIDE and the HANDSOME GROOM! (I know that this is very subjective, but as the mother of a healthy, cancer-free groom ... I'm allowed to say that they had the most beautiful wedding that I have EVER seen!!!)




Daphne looked so elegant as she came down the aisle with her father, Ed. All of their friends and family in the wedding party looked beautiful, the music sounded so nice thanks to Richard's aunt, Donna, his father, and our friends Don Peris and Peg Bowers! The Mass was very meaningfully performed by Father Leo Goodman with readings by Richard's aunt, Paula and our friend, Steve Spealman. (Also the host of a great rehearsal dinner with his wife, Mandy, and her parents, John and Pat Karns. We thank them sooooo much!)

Rich and Daphne were married while the sun was shinning outside, but by the time they took their pictures, they had to stay inside away from the pouring rain. Once it stopped raining, we went across the street to The Pressroom for a small reception where they ate a delicious meal, danced with each other and their parents, and then cut their wedding cake. (No, they didn't smash it into each other's face!)






It was a wish come true for a very deserving couple...



We were sad that we couldn't have everyone join in the celebration, but we thank God for Richard's health on Thursday. Nobody knows what can happen a year from now, but we are preparing for a BIG celebration on July 11, 2008. We want to have family and friends with us as we celebrate their first year together, and hopefully, one year of good health for Richard. So mark the date on your calendars!

Congratulations, Daphne & Richard!!!
We love you both so much! Mom, Dad, and Peter XOXOXO

TODAY'S THE DAY!

TODAY IS OUR WEDDING DAY! :) :) :) :)
I woke up early today and decided I needed to do some "regular" things because I'm getting excited!
We had our rehearsal last night at the church and everything went great! Mandy and Steve Spealman hosted a rehearal picnic dinner at their house afterward. It was great to sit and relax with everyone!
I just got a call from my groom to tell me he woke up feeling great! He's at the carwash already!
Please pray for a healthy groom for the rest of the day!
Please pray that the thunderstorms that are forecasted for 3:00 p.m through the rest of the evening will hold off until after we all get into the church and the restaurant!
Most importantly, again, pray for my groom to keep feeling healthy today!

I can't believe the day is here! We are ready to say our vows!

And now...
I'm off to go do "girlie" things - nails, hair, etc. to get ready for the Mass this afternoon!

We love you all!

Daphne

Continued Strength

Richard continues to have strength and is feeling good. His blood counts have been back up the past few days. We are doing things for the wedding and house each day. Thanks for your prayers! 3 1/2 days to go!

Still Feeling Great

Richard got a dose of Vincristine on Monday at LGH. That's a small "push" put in through his chest port with a syringe instead of IV pump. His counts were low this week, but not low enough for a transfusion. He has been feeling great! The steroids he's on gave him a lot of energy. He's been packing up things in his room and helping me over at the house. He worked out in our shed today. He's building a work bench and other organizing shelves and such. Thanks for your prayers - they're working!
Daphne

Feeling Much Better

Richard did not have to stay at LGH overnight on Thursday night. He had to go back in the morning on Friday for more bloodwork. He ended up getting another 6 hours of Potassium again. On Saturday, he woke up feeling great! He can tell when the chemo. has pretty much left his body. Today, he felt fine again. He will get a small dose of chemo. tomorrow morning (Vincristine) at LGH. That doesn't usually have much of an affect on how he feels.

I've been organizing things at our house. It's been taking awhile to sort through all of the things in my bedroom at my parent's house. Richard plans to move a lot of his things over this week except for the clothes he needs next week. Everything for the wedding is set to go. We're excited that we'll finally be able to live in our house and be together. Now, we just have to make sure we have a groom who's feeling good that day!

Thanks for your prayers. Keep them coming! He is making great progress. He is not looking forward to going back for another round, but we're on the home stretch! 3 more rounds to go...

Daphne

Home Again

Hello everyone! Sorry it took so long to get this update on here! It's been a busy week for me! Richard came home on Monday afternoon. On Tuesday and Wednesday, he was VERY TIRED and felt nauseous. We managed to get to LGH for his Neulasta shot on Wednesday afternoon. Today, I took him to LGH for his intrathecal Ara-C dose (chemo. in the head port). He got that early this morning, but his bloodwork showed that his Potassium level is extremely low. He is getting IV Potassium today - 6 hours worth. I ran home here (Pebblebrook Dr.) to get some food for us for lunch. He'll be there until at least 4:30 p.m. this afternoon. I thought I would type a quick update before I head back to the hospital to sit with him this afternoon. If his Potassium level doesn't go up this afternoon, the doc might admit him for the night. His other counts are okay for now, so he won't need blood or platelets today. Please keep praying that he regains his strength! He desperately wants and needs it!
Love, Daphne

Richard Still At HUP - Round 5

Hello everyone. Richard is still here at HUP getting chemo. round 5. Things have been very uneventful (that's the way we like it when it comes to this). He finished bag number 4 of 6 this morning around 6:00 a.m. He will get his fifth bag in about an hour and his last bag around 4:00 a.m. Monday morning. He should be able to come home on Monday. He didn't start to feel tired until this morning. He's been sleeping most of the day today. He hasn't had any other pain or nausea. He says he just feels like his body is sinking into the mattress. These are the usual symptoms for a cycle A round. His nurses have been great - they are all so friendly and really seem to care about their patients.

A young guy that Richard got to know while he was here is having a bone marrow transplant this week. It's not the actual transplant itself that's so rough; it's the recovery. So please, keep him in your prayers too. He's only 19 and has leukemia. Unfortunately, Richard can't visit him right now because he can't go in the room with his IV pole (too much contamination into the room).

We are so fortunate that Richard's cancer is gone and in such a short time. So many people around here still have cancer and have been fighting it for a long time. I'm thankful for Richard's progress, but I pray for all these other people too that they can see some progress too. Richard's inner strength and all of the prayers and strength from everyone around us (all of you) is essential to his complete recovery. Thanks for everything all of you are doing!

Love,
Daphne (and Richard, too)

From Richard at HUP

Greetings to my fan club! Sorry it's been so long since we have last talked, but I have been working diligently at helping Daphne create a home suitable for living. I take full advantage of every good day I have. No sitting still for me! Thank you to all friends for continued support, and thank you to several aunts, uncles, and cousins for multiple delicious meals and uplifting visits. (You know who you are.) Thanks for all blog messages - keep them coming!

I arrived at HUP Thursday evening around 8:00 p.m. and was settled into my room around 11:00 p.m. I got a private room with a fridge so I can keep my own food. Daphne's last day of school was Thursday as well, so she is able to stay with me for the duration of my chemo. round.

I should be here at HUP until Monday so if anyone would like to visit, please stop in anytime. My love to all, thanks again for everything! I will talk to you sometime soon. Love, Rich

Richard is Home

Rich came home on Friday evening. He is on prescription meds for the fungus, which he will continue to take until he is completely finished with chemotherapy. He is feeling quite well right now...a little cough here and there, but that's about it. The antifungal med. started working immediately.

We are setting up our house right now - this is my favorite part. This week, we are both taking things over from our parents' houses that we won't need in the next 3 weeks.

Richard will return to HUP on Thursday evening for Round 5 of chemotherapy. I will be there with him from then until he comes home (probably Monday). Then, it's recuperation and "rest up for the big day" time. I'm glad to be soon finished with school for the year. I can't believe it's almost over - even though it was a rough spring, time flew by quickly.

Thanks for your thoughts and prayers.

Daphne

WE HAVE AN ACTION PLAN!

The doctors came in early this evening with a plan of action. Richard is starting an antifungal medication tonight and will continue it for 5 days. He will come home tomorrow because he can take the meds at home. This medication should take care of the histoplasmosis. Next Thursday (June 7th), he will be readmitted for chemo. Thankfully, that is my last day of school so I can come with Richard and stay with him until he has to go home. Dr. Andreadis said that if he has chemo next Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, he would be due to come back for Round 6 on June 27th...However, the doctor said he'll just have him come back Monday, July 2nd! So, his strongest week will be the week of our wedding!

I'm so glad they got this figured out and he'll be able to come home for a few days. It will give him a break from the monotony of the hospital. He isn't feeling sick either right now, which is not how he usually leaves the hospital.

Thanks for your prayers!

Daphne

NO SURGERY!

We have more good news! Richard does not have to have the surgery today! Last night, his doctor came in and said that the sample they took from the bronchoscopy last Friday started to grow a type of fungus called histoplasmosis, a fungus that produces spores that can be inhaled when they get into the air. As of last night, the results were not conclusive enough to cancel the surgery, but this morning, the infectious disease specialist who is working with Rich checked it in the lab again and enough has grown to be conclusive! I do not have any info. on the next plan of action in terms of treatment or when chemo. will start. All I know is that they will put him on some type of antifungal medicines. They are working up a "plan of action" this afternoon. Thanks for your thoughts and prayers! We weren't looking forward to another surgery, regardless of how minor it may be.
Daphne

Surgery Tomorrow (Thursday)

It has been confirmed by the thorasic surgeons that he will have the operation tomorrow. We do not have a time yet. They will make a small incision near his neck and pull as much of the lymph node as they can for more tests. They will need to wait for the results from the lab. Unfortunately, the doctors told Richard that if it turns out to be a fungus of some type, he will probably have to start antifungal meds for a little while (they didn't say how long) before he starts chemo. So I cannot, at this point, say how long he will be in the hospital. It depends what they find after the operation and when he starts chemo. I doubt he'll come home this week anymore...but again, we can't count on much of anything happening at a certain time. (Except, we can count on the fact that they will wake him up at ridiculous hours to take his weight, temperature, and blood pressure!) I can excuse the blood pressure wake up calls...that's more important.

At this point, our house will be in move in condition after this weekend. I will probably start to move in after school is over the end of next week. I'll get everything "up and running" so after the wedding, Richard will be able to easily join me in our lovely home. Everything is set to happen with the wedding on June 28th, as long as Richard is feeling well and/or not in the hospital with mold or fungus. He stated that he will feel fine that day. I'm not sure how he can guarantee that, but one thing I know is that when he sets his mind to something, he does it!

Thank you all for your continued thoughts, prayers, visits, gifts, phone calls, favors, meals, random acts of kindness, etc. We couldn't be getting through all this without you!
THANKS MORE THAN WE CAN SAY!!!!
(I especially owe my sister and brother-in-law for their help with the house...we're working up a big tab. Resurfacing our whole house's drywall, installing a microwave, assisting with plumbing, trim, caulking, plastic removing, vacuuming, painting, waiting at the house for things, snacks at the hospital, getting the mail...the list goes on and on! Thanks guys! Our house WOULD NOT be where it is without you!)

Please pray that Richard's surgery is successful tomorrow, they can diagnose the problem, and we can move on with treatment soon!

STILL at HUP...

On Friday, Rich had the bronchoscopy so that his doctors could see if they could find what is going on with this slightly enlarged lymph node next to his bronchial tube. Unfortunately, the biopsy was inconclusive. However, none of the results are consistent with cancer. There are several things they mentioned that would lead them to believe it's not cancer, one being that the doctors have never seen new cancer grow while someone is getting treatment. What they have found so far is not consistent with cancer at all.

His cough remains and he has had slight fevers on and off for the past couple days. Friday night he had a very high fever along with a reaction to a lot of medication. For about 2 hours, he was hallucinating and saying many things that didn't make any sense...it was quite a show. About 2 hours later, he was feeling fine and had a bowl of Aunt Paula's beef stew. This is such a roller coaster! He doesn't feel sick, which is frustrating for him because he feels like he's sitting around wasting time. Holiday weekends at hospitals are not very eventful.

Today (or possibly tomorrow if the OR is too booked), they want to do a mediastinoscopy, a minor surgical procedure where they will remove the lymph node. This will not fix the problem, but it will give them more information about the lymph node itself to determine the problem. The doctors seem to think it may be some type of bacterial mold that he breathed in at some point, maybe even a long time ago. He even added that these types of airborne bacteria and molds are common in agricultural areas...good old Lancaster County. Now, with his immune system compromised, it started to cause a problem. Once they take it out for a biopsy, they will (hopefully) have a better idea what it is (infection, bacteria, mold, etc.) so they can treat it with antibiotics or antifungal medication.

The doctors also think he should be able to start chemo. tomorrow if he has the surgery today since it isn't a very invasive procedure. However, so far now, they told us chemo. would start Friday evening...then it was pushed to Sunday morning because he had fevers...we're not counting on anything at this point. At the very earliest, he'll come home on Saturday. It looks like we'll be spending most evenings in Phila. this week again. This is treatment 5 of 8 (if we can ever get it started)...still counting down. I just keep in my mind that the biggest problem, the cancer, is gone! We're still celebrating! We keep teasing him - he got rid of cancer, now he has a mold...if it's not one thing it's another. However, I think molds are better than cancer! Please keep praying that they can diagnose this problem and we can move on!

PET/CT SCAN RESULTS

Richard got his PET/CT scan results earlier today: THE MASS IN HIS CHEST IS GONE! THERE IS NO CANCER! :) :) :) We are SO HAPPY, excited and THANKFUL!
There is only one lymph node near his bronchial tube that showed up larger, one that was not large before. The doctors are fairly certain that it is an infection rather than cancer because Dr. Andreadis said he, nor his colleagues have never seen new cancer grow when a person is having treatment. They are doing a bronchoscopy tomorrow where they will take a camera into his bronchial tube and pull a tissue sample for a biopsy to determine what it is. Dr. Andreadis is 95% sure it's an infection, especially because he has had a slight fever. This will delay his chemo treatment this round; he will have to after the procedure. I'm sure if it is an infection, which this time, we hope it is, he will have to be on antibiotics. Hopefully, he can do them at home like he did before.
Richard will continue through his full 8 treatments to make sure any microscopic cancer is absolutely gone.

KEEP PRAYING and THANKS FOR YOUR UNENDING PRAYERS AND SUPPORT!!!
I will post more details as I receive them!
Daphne

Back at HUP - Round 5

Richard was admitted back to HUP last night for round 5 of treatment. He should start chemo. today. This is a Cycle A, where he will get 6 bags of chemo, 12 hours apart. As long as he starts sometime today, he should be able to come home on Sunday (if all goes according to plan). Today, Peter is spending the day with him at HUP. I won't be able to stay with him until Friday night, due to work. This is his last treatment before I'm finished with our school year though. So, for all of his remaining treatments, I'll be able to be with him at the hospital.

Our house is still looking more and more like a home everyday. Painting is finished, except for a second coat on the kitchen walls. Our fridge will be delivered next weekend. That's really the last essential item we needed. I can't believe how much our house has changed since we bought it, and how much work we were able to get done. Richard is going to start moving his stuff over after he gets home from this treatment and feels better because he will only get home from treatment 6 about 1 1/2 weeks before the wedding. He wants to do next to nothing during that time so his body is completely resting. He said, "I'm not taking any chances!"

Thanks for all of your support. We appreciate it so much. Keep the prayers coming. I will post the results of his PET/CT scan as soon as I find out!

Daphne

Getting Ready To Go Again

Richard had a fairly good weekend. He has been getting really tired each evening around 7 or 8 p.m. He just doesn't enjoy not having the strength he used to have. His counts were fine the end of this week. Richard will go in for his PET scan and CT scan on Tuesday at HUP. That's an outpatient test. He will wait for his call on Wednesday for a bed to be admitted. We will take him down Wed. evening. Unfortunately, I won't be able to stay with him on Wed. or Thurs. night, but I can stay Friday and Saturday. ....rules at work...
Hopefully, if he starts chemo. by Thursday (which he should), he should be able come home on Sunday, the 27th. (Birthday gift for me - Richie comes home!) This will be a Cycle A - 6 bags of chemo., each 12 hours apart. He doesn't have to wait for any drugs to flush out this time.

Our house is really coming together, room by room. We're almost done painting! Richard put in our toilet upstairs and vanity top, and then he and his dad hung our mirror, light fixture, and towel racks. It looks great! Richard was excited to do some plumbing, even if it was easy stuff. Tomorrow, I will finish painting all of the rooms with carpet on the floor, so all of the carpet shield plastic will be removed tomorrow! Richard was concerned our house wouldn't get done it time when he first went into the hospital, but now, he's seeing that everything's coming together and he's relaxing and getting excited.

Thanks, still, for all of your prayers and support. Richard needs strength to continue through these next treatments. It's still uphill, but he's doing it - one day at a time.
Love,
Daphne

A Poem...

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won,
had they stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victors cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when your hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!

~Author Unknown

Feeling Fair...Crazy Counts

Richard has been feeling fairly well lately. However, his counts were very low, so today, he sat at Lancaster General outpatient oncology and got 2 bags of red blood cells and 1 bag of platelets. He was just about finished when I last spoke with him. It took about 7 hours total. He is feeling good so far, and the transfusions seem to be a success at this point. That's about it in terms of updates I have for you! We anticipate a return to HUP for Round 5 toward the middle or end of next week, although Richard is still waiting to hear back from his doctor's office.

Daphne

Days of Fatigue Drag On

This week, Richard's side effects have been very diverse. He feels extremely tired some parts of some days, and other parts of the day he feels fine. He never knows what to expect when he wakes up, or even throughout the day. Thanks for all of your comments of encouragement! They are greatly appreciated! One day at a time...

Daphne

Post-Treatment 4

Richard had his Neulasta shot on Monday. Monday afternoon, he felt fairly well. Since Monday night, however, he's been feeling very weak, nauseous, and "wasted" (as he puts it). He's really not enjoying this part of it all. He wishes to be back on his feet again in his "good days." I just keep encouraging him to "keep on going" so he can get his life back.

We are really getting anxious to move in to our house. June 28th can't come soon enough for us. The painting is coming along well - several people have been helping various evenings. It's all really coming together and starting to look like a home. There will be some things we will need to do after we move in (curtains, light fixtures, pictures, etc.), but we will have the "messy" things out of the way. The most important thing to us is it's our house that we worked for, and we'll be there together.

Please keep praying for Richard's health and overall wellness. He's toughing it out, but some days, it just gets to him. Thanks for your love and support! You all keep us going one day at a time.
Love, Daphne

HUP Treatment 4 Pics

Richard is home safely! We're halfway done!
Days of sleeping and recovery from chemo. are ahead.
Here are some pics from the past few days:

"I'm cute, even on yellow chemo."

Even at HUP, we appreciate time together.

Aunt Paula's dinner on Thursday evening!

HUP Graffiti (...just kidding...dry erase)

...covering up the ugly board...who's way works

best?

...The teacher's way, of course!

Peter and Gabrielle, Thursday night

Heading for Home

Hello everybody! Richard's Methotrexate level is down to 0.05 today, so he will be able to go home. He has to get 2 units of red blood cells today before he goes home. They infuse over 2 1/2 hours each so he will be here until later on today. Tomorrow, he will go to LGH to get his Neulasta shot, and Thursday, he will go and get a dose of Ara-C in his Omaya port.

He is feeling very tired - the doctors said the Ara-C (Cytarabine) is what is making him so tired, along with the low red blood cell count. He feels a bit nauseous, but nothing the meds haven't been able to handle. He's looking forward to going home and sleeping it off. He's already talking about what he wants to do during his "up" days again! Right now, though, all he wants to do is rest.

Thanks for your prayers!
Love, Daphne

At HUP

Rich arrived at HUP on Wednesday evening around 7 p.m. Floor 7 nurses informed me that when they found out a bed was needed for "Richard Taraborelli," they made sure they had one available "before floor 6 got him first." :)

It took them until 3:00 p.m. on Thursday to finally get the chemo. started, but his stay here at HUP has been uneventful since then. (That's what we want!) We had to move rooms once, but we moved to a room on the same floor, and back away from the nurses station. It's a lot quieter back here. They needed the room up front for someone who needed to be right near the nurse's station.

Richard is finished with his 24 hours of Methotrexate, and finished bag 2 of 4 of Ara-C this morning. He will get another bag of Ara-C around 4:00 this afternoon and one more at 4:00 a.m. Sunday morning. He can go home when the Methotrexate is at a level of .05 in his blood. It will depend on how fast his body flushes it out, which means I'm making him drink, drink, drink!

Thursday and Friday he took a lot of walks around the hospital, but today he's feeling a little more tired. He's taking a nap already this morning. We're still thankful that his main side effect from all this chemo. is just fatigue. He's certainly glad not to have the horrible nausea.

That's really all I can say for now. He has to finish his Ara-C bags and wait for the Methotrexate level to come down; then, he can go home!

Love, Daphne

Tomorrow's Admittance

Richard will be heading back to HUP tomorrow. He will wait for a phone call from the hospital telling him that they have a bed available. We will take him down tomorrow evening. He and I are both glad that I will be able to stay with him. It certainly helps him stay cheerful when he has those he loves to talk to and spend time with him. We are praying for tumor shrinkage and a successful, smooth Treatment 4!

Thanks for your love and prayers,
Daphne

Soon time to go back...

Plans for admittance on Wed. to HUP for Round 4 have not changed. Richard had a follow-up visit with Dr. Andreadis this morning for a cancer-related physical. The doctor said his counts are up, and he appears to be ready for more treatment. Richard said they plan to do another scan on Wednesday night or Thursday morning before they start the Methotrexate to see how the tumor responded to the last treatment.

Richard was tired this afternoon and evening and went to bed early. He's been doing a lot since he felt so good, but I think his body is now telling him that he needs to keep active, but make sure to get a lot of rest too! Hopefully, a really good night's sleep will help. Speaking of sleep, I'm well overdue to be in bed...5:15 a.m. comes too soon! Goodnight everybody! Love, Daphne

Weekend Update

Good evening, everyone! Richard is still feeling more like himself. The results from Mondays CSF culture did not show any bacteria, so it looks like his infection is completely gone. His counts are looking good right now.

We are still working on the house to get a lot done before Richard feels bad again. It's coming along, but not without roadblocks. Things just can't go smoothly for us - we're starting to get used to it. We have started saying, "Well, this is another example of 'our luck'." However, we still end up the "winners" in the end. Not much can stop us from accomplishing what we want to accomplish.

Dr. Andreadis plans to admit him to HUP this Wednesday, May 2nd for his 4th round of chemotherapy. This will be a cycle B. I was able to take off on Thursday and Friday this time to be with him. We are hoping with a Wednesday admittance, he'll be able to come home on Sunday. This cycle is a shorter cycle, but then he has to wait for the drug called "Methotrexate" to flush out of his system. When it gets to a safer level, he's allowed to go home. This cycle really knocks out his platelets, so we will be keeping a close eye on them when he comes home after this round. Richard is not looking forward to be back at HUP already and then feeling tired again, but he knows he has to do it.

We still need prayers!

Love, Daphne

Up and About

Richard is still feeling fairly well. He went out for a few hours today and said hello to some of his friends at work, including his boss. He also went and ordered some plumbing fixtures we need at our house. This evening, he and his dad are working on hooking up our washer and dryer at our house. We better watch out - he's getting his hands in a little bit of plumbing work!

On Monday, Richard got a "push" of chemo. into his chest port. It's just a part of his treatment schedule. He also got some CSF pulled from his Omaya for another culture. The doctors at Penn. just want to be sure the infection is gone. This coming Monday, he will go down to HUP for a follow-up exam with Dr. Andreadis. The doctor is expecting to readmit him for Round 4 next Wednesday, May 2nd. Richard feels like he just got home! He's not really looking forward to going back, but what can we do? We have to keep shrinking that tumor.

Thanks to all of you who continue to leave comments on the blog. We look forward to reading your thoughts, prayers, well-wishes, words of wisdom, humor, etc. It keeps us all "in the loop."

Have a wonderful evening!
Love, Daphne

Feeling Good... :)

Hi everyone! I'm sorry I haven't updated for a few days. Richard has been feeling fairly well the past few days, and we've been taking advantage of it. The metal mouth side effect seems to have passed. He finished his at-home antibiotics on Saturday. A visiting nurse came out and de-accessed his port this morning. The only side effect he's dealing with now is tired arms and legs. He doesn't feel as "sleepy" tired as he was earlier in the week.

We found a bedroom suite that we liked at Good's Furniture on Friday night. It's made by Broyhill and it's their "Northern Lights" set. We are going back to order it tomorrow.

On Saturday, Richard helped his Dad outside, which was enjoyable for both of them.

Today, Richard and I had a small picnic at the park across from the development where our house is located. We went to Lowe's and picked up some items for our bathroom (vanity, wall cabinet, etc.). Richard commented to me that he really enjoyed this weekend because we/he spent a lot of time doing "normal" things.

He's calling his doctor in Phila. tomorrow to find out when he should be heading back for Round 4. We are thinking it will probably be the first or second week in May.

This week, Richard has his regular blood work Monday and Thursday, but he will also be getting some CSF fluid pulled from his Omaya for a culture. They want to make sure the infection is gone for good.

Rich is trying to accomplish and enjoy as much as possible during his good days here because his white blood cell counts may drop this week. Usually, he doesn't feel the fact that they've dropped (except for fatigue), but if they do, he has to try to avoid crowded public places. Usually, they come back up within 2-3 days.

Thanks for your patience with this delayed update. Hopefully, Rich will get a chance to update for himself this week so you all can hear from him personally!
Love, Daphne

HOME AT LAST!

Good morning! Richard came home last night from HUP! He's feeling okay...he has slight nausea if he doesn't take meds for it. Other than that, he's just very, very worn out. His body is very weak, but what do we expect? They just pumped toxic chemicals into his body! I would be tired and weak too! He's very happy to be home! He's resting today.

The visiting nurse came over to his house last night to show him how to hook up his antibiotics with his port. She accessed his port so he has a needle with a tube on the end. Every 8 hours he hooks up a pressurized ball of antibiotics to his port. He will have to do this until Saturday. The pressurized ball only allows the antibiotic to flow in at 175 mL per hour. He has 335 mL total. He learned how to flush his port with a syringe of saline before and after antibiotics as well. It's not hard for him - he's watched the nurses do it often enough, plus he's a plumber! Tubing, connections, and valves are nothing new!

We're so happy to have him home again! Thanks again for everything you all do for him! Love, Daphne

Coming Home Today!

Good morning! Richard is coming home today! The doctors are going to continue his antibiotics this morning and send him home this afternoon. He's ready to come home -that's for sure!
He's been feeling very, very tired and worn out the past day or so from the chemo. Thankfully, medications are able to control any nausea. He's ready to get a couple days of sleep.
On Thursday, he has an appt. with Dr. Andreadis (at HUP) to get one more dose of antibiotics into his Omaya port and his Neulasta shot (white blood cell booster).
Thanks to everybody who made food and/or came and stayed with him during this last hospital stay. It's really nice of all of you to take your time and resources to help us all out. We still have a long road ahead, but we're working through it - one day at a time.
Richard is really looking forward to his good days before his next round. He and I want to start looking at furniture for our bedroom at our house! Our house is coming along - my sister has been instrumental in helping get primer on the walls and trim. It's tinted to our paint colors, so it's really starting to look like a home, rather than a construction zone! We're almost done with primer! Richard hasn't seen the house for awhile, so boy, will he be surprised when he sees the progress we've made!
Thanks again for all of your prayers and support. The road to Richard's remission is getting shorter one day at a time! Love, Daphne

Still at HUP...

Good afternoon, everybody. Richard finished his last bag of chemo. at 3:00 a.m. this morning. Unfortunately, he is not yet able to go home because the doctors said he has to finish his antibiotics. He is getting intrathecal antibiotics into his Omaya port and antibiotics into his chest port as well. We requested that the doctors discuss sending him home and then have him get the IV antibiotics from a visiting nurse group. He will probably at least have to stay here to get the intrathecal antibiotics through Wednesday or Thursday. Richard is quite disappointed about this because he was thinking he would be able to go home when the chemo. is complete. After this cycle of drugs, he sleeps for several days. He is not looking forward to trying to accomplish that here at HUP. We just keep telling ourselves that it could be worse, and this is really not all that bad compared to what some people go through. Thanks again for all of your love and support. Love, Daphne

P.S. Gabby, I resent the comment about the Easter pics.... ;P

HUP, HUP, HUPPY EASTER!

Hello to All,
We spent Easter weekend at the hospital at U. of P., and some of our family came to visit. I wanted to share some of our photos with all of you, to prove to you that Richard is still in good spirits and fighting a good fight! Enjoy the pics, Karen & Rich

Photo #1: The Rocchi family bringing Easter dinner to us in the family waiting room at the hospital. Thank you, Marie, for the delicious ham dinner, and thanks, Pat, for taking the photo!
Photo #2: Rich and Daphne celebrating Easter, 2007 together.
Photo #3: Part of the Frattarola clan celebrating Easter Monday (Visiting Day as known in the Amish community) with us. Paula, thanks for the great dinner.
Photo #4: Richard trying his darndest to get his meds into his head-port. The drugs are getting to him!!!!

Friday Night

Richard started his third chemo. treatment yesterday afternoon. He will get a total of 6 bags every 12 hours. He is feeling good and has had no fevers. He goes for walks around the hospital each day, usually dragging his "tree" behind. They are continuing to give him doses of antibiotics into his Omaya port each day as a precautionary measure. He is also still getting antibiotics throughout the rest of his body. Hopefully, he'll be a able to come home in a couple of days. For those of you who are interested, he was moved to floor 6 because they needed a room on floor 7 for a transplant patient coming in. He has two primary nurses on this floor that are really nice. They "signed up" for him, apparently. One of them actually lives 3 minutes from our house in Neffsville.
Have a great night everybody! Love, Daphne

P.S. Thanks for the poem, Carl!

A GREETING FROM RICHARD FROM H.U.P.

Hello everyone! Hope everyone is doing well. Hello to the County Line Medical Staff who I found out puts my latest updates up for all to read. Thank you for putting me on the road to recovery. Thank you to Dr. Andreadis from H.U.P. for keeping me healthy and getting me better everyday! Now, onto business. Chemotherapy treatments are starting tomorrow, Thursday, April 12. So I will be going from feeling pretty good and energetic to, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. But, like I say, it is a means to an end. The infection in the omaya port in my head has been clear now for three days and neither I nor the doctors think it will be returning. As far as the chest port is concerned, it has been working now for two days without problem so I am keeping my fingers crossed because I am learning to really hate getting stuck with needles for blood tests. Thank you to all in my family for bringing me homecooked meals, you know who you are. Yum. Yum. Gotta love family food over this hospital food. Well, I will hopefully be updating this from my home next time if I am able to keep my head up and off of the keyboard for more than ten minutes. My love to all! Richard David

The Latest

I was not at the hospital today; however, from talking to Richard on the phone a little earlier, he seemed to have had a good day today. Dr. Andreadis (hi, doc!)feels comfortable starting his chemo. tomorrow as long as the culture of CSF they took today shows up negative for infection/bacteria.

His chest port is getting blood return again. Apparently, the specialists injected "draino" for chest ports. (I don't know the official name - I only got to talk to him for a few minutes, I'll add the real name later on tonight after I talk to him in more detail.)

His temp. has remained at a normal level (although, he is still HOT...)! ;)

I had to take care of some things at home tonight, but I will be going back down tomorrow after work. I'll give you all the inside scoop. As always, thanks for your thoughts and prayers! They're helping us through this.
Richard sends his love to everyone! Love, Daphne

P.S. Thanks for the poem, Carl. I love it!

Happy Easter!

Hello everyone! Happy Easter to all of you! Rich and I are relaxing today...not much going on. The doctors do not yet see any infection in the CSF they took yesterday from his Omaya port. That's great! They will continue to give him the antibiotic in the Omaya for a few days just to be sure and they will continue to monitor the culture they took yesterday to make sure nothing starts to grow.

Richard's red blood cell counts were a bit low, so he got 2 units of blood today. He is on the 2nd bag now and all has been successful.

They are hoping to start his third round of chemo. this week so he can go home as soon as possible.

Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers! Love, Daphne

A quick "hi" from Richard as well

Hello to everybody. When I'm feeling better, I'll write a longer message. Thanks for all of your continued support. Sorry I've been unavailable or haven't answered calls for awhile, as I've been sleeping a lot or attempting to run away from phlebotomists with big needles. Waiting for results can be just as exhausting. In conclusion, I still have cancer, but I'm on the road to recovery. Love, Richard

Back at HUP...again

Here we are again...back down at HUP. Richard's Omaya (head) port has traces of infection - co-ag negative Staph. The doctors at LGH recommended that he come back down here to have the doctors who put it in decide what is best. They may attempt to treat it with antibiotics, if possible. If they cannot, they will have to remove the port and will not be able to put another one in for a few weeks. His doctor hopes to clear up the infection and give him his next round of chemo. while he is here. Richard was transported in a wheelchair van late this afternoon. Nothing much has happened this evening. It's hard to have him back at HUP again, but in the long-run, this is one step closer to being done with all this and Richard being back to his optimal health. He is feeling fairly well, with the exception of fatigue and occasional nausea (mostly first thing in the morning). He's in with a doctor now, just answering some basic questions, etc. He will also have his chest port looked at while he is here because they are having trouble getting blood return. They think the tube might be too far down into his heart. Well, I just wanted to fill you all in on how Richard's doing and what's going on with his health. Love, Daphne

STILL at LGH

Richard is still at LGH. The doctors are still doing a lot of bloodwork and blood cultures. They can't seem to control his fever for an extended amount of time. Headaches come on suddenly. Last night, the nurses had difficulty re-accessing his chest port. They removed the tubes for awhile to let it air out, and when they went to re-access it, 4 different people could not get blood return or get fluids in. All felt that they were in the right place. This morning, he is supposed to have a portagram, a test that allows them to see the needle inside the port with an x-ray type machine. Hopefully, whatever is going on is an easy-fix and nothing too complicated. He is in good spirits most of the time and doesn't feel too bad most of the time. The toughest thing is getting a moment's peace! He had a good night's sleep last night, thankfully.
Love, Daphne

Rich still at LGH...

Just a quick note to let you know that Rich is still at Lancaster General with a fever. The fever has calmed down with the help of drugs (And Darlene's chocolate cake and milk). They think that Rich may have a touch of pneumonia, because they see some shadows on his CAT scan. But, the really good news is that his tumor has reduced in size to less than half of what it was before! Alleluia! Thank God and all of the doctors and nurses for their good work! Keep it up!

Word around the room is that he won't be going to HUP for Easter, his doctor wants him to go home after this hospital visit and rest until the following weekend. Which is alright with us; we want to see him get home for awhile. Rich's spirits are high, but he's anxious to get up and around again. He sends his "Hello's" to everyone, and said that he'll be on the blog again soon when he gets home. Thanks to all of you for the thoughts and prayers.
We love you, Karen

Richard at LGH for awhile...

Hi All,
On Saturday morning at 3:00 AM Richard woke up with a fever higher than the allowed level of 100.5. We called the doctor, and were told to monitor it for 30 minutes to see if it returns to normal. It went down to normal, and we all went back to bed. We all awoke to a hot Richie. (No, not hot like that! Although, he thinks he is!!!) This time the fever wouldn't go down, so into Lancaster General went sped. After testing his blood and spinal fluid and calling the Hospital of U. of P. to confer, so far we knew as much as before: sometimes these things happen during chemo treatments. We have a couple of results to wait for, but the doctors seem to feel that the fever just has to run its course with antibiotics and hydration.

So we are unsure if Rich will be going to HUP on Thursday as planned; everything depends on his recovery in the next day or two. As of today, I'm at home feeling a cold coming on, so I'm not taking any chances being with Richie, but Rich and Peter are at the hospital with Daphne, her family, and her friends,Erin and Mike from Ohio.

During all of this testing to find the cause of the fever, we did have some good news, Rich's tumor is very small. Compared to when he first went to Lancaster General, Rich's tumor is minimal. Let's hope the progress continues with few problems and no fevers along the way.

Keep the prayers coming; the end isn't in sight, yet.
If I don't see all of you any time soon, have a very Happy Easter. It's my favorite time of the year!
Love, Karen

Success With Bloodwork!

Richard had his bloodwork done again this morning. His white blood cells are back up to above where they need to be. His platelet count is at a normal level (the transfusion was a success). His red blood cell count is a bit low, which accounts for his fatigue the past couple of days. He has been getting some headaches for the past few days too, but the hospital did a CT scan of his brain this morning as a precautionary measure, and everything is fine in his brain. (I guess that could be a matter of opinion....) :) They suggested drinking extra fluids to help with the headaches. I know Richard is drinking quite a bit, but perhaps even that's not enough. Poor guy will be a balloon just to get rid of these headaches!

Richard needs to just keep resting, being up and about when he's able to do so, and keeping up his positive attitude! I think he really needs a hobby of some sort; he's tired of television and movies.

The doctors at H.U.P. are tentatively setting him up to come back for Round 3 next Thursday. Richard will check in with Dr. Andreadis Monday or Tuesday for the final word.

Love, Daphne

Platelet Transfusion

The platelet transfusion was successful this morning. Richard was at the hospital for about 3 hours. He is feeling okay now - mostly just a little tired.

LGH - Bloodwork

Richard had a good weekend. He stayed awake all day Saturday and Sunday. He spent a lot of the time relaxing around the house. He gets tired quickly if he gets up and does too much. Sunday we spent a little time at our house putting primer on the trim and walls upstairs. Rich sat and worked on the baseboard and worked on spots lower to the floor. He really enjoyed being able to help out and even said he was having fun!

Richard had his normal Mon./Thurs. bloodwork done this morning. This afternoon, they called him (unfortunately, they only call when there's a problem) and told him that his platelets are lower than they should be. His white blood cells have also plummeted again. (This is the same week in the cycle that his count dropped last time.) Because his platelets are so low, he has to get a platelet transfusion tomorrow morning. They had him go into LGH tonight and give a sample of blood (not like they haven't taken enough!) so they can find the best match. He has to be very cautious because his blood is very thin due to the lack of platelets. He also needs to monitor his temperature. He is home now for the night; he is feeling very tired so he went to bed early. That's the latest for now. Send your prayers for Richard tonight. Thanks!

Love, Daphne

LGH Appts

Richard had 3 appointments this morning at LGH. He got his Neulasta shot (white blood cell booster), another intrathecal dose of the chemo drug, Ara-C, and regular bloodwork. His white blood cell count is slightly lower than normal, but not too low yet. The Neulasta should help that level increase.

He is continuing to feel very tired and sleeps for the majority of the day and night. He has not had too many issues with nausea; at least, nothing that drugs can't handle. Right now is his "down time," and hopefully, next week he'll have more energy to be awake for more hours in the day.

Love,
Daphne

Richard is home! :)

Good morning, everybody! This is just a quick note to let everyone know that we brought Richard home from the hospital last night! At 3:00 p.m., the test results came back showing a Methotrexate level of 0.09, so they tested him again. At 6:00 p.m., the lab said his level was 0.06. If he promised to drink extra fluids, they told him he could go home since it was so close!

He is working on getting lots of rest (making up for what he didn't get in the hospital)! So far, side effects are minimal - mostly just fatigue. He didn't have much of an appetite yesterday, but he hasn't had much nausea either. The doctors said it may take a little longer for any side effects of these drugs to become apparent.

Rich will go to LGH on Thursday for his usual Thurs. bloodwork, and he will also have another intrathecal (brain port) dose of Ara-C (name of a chemo drug). He will get his Neulasta shot (white blood cell booster) as well. Thankfully, he has no schedule appts. today or tomorrow; so hopefully, he can get a lot of rest!

Thanks for all of your posted comments; Richard loves "checking his blog" to see if anyone posted any new comments!

Round 2 down... The doctors are pleased with the progress the drugs have made on the mass in his chest and how his body is responding to the chemo! Let's keep hoping and praying for the best!

My turn:

Rose are red,
Violet are blue;
It was time for Richard
To get a new do.

(I shaved his head for him again on Sat. - he was tired of eyelash-size hairs falling out all over the place!)