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!)

Monday

Well, let's just say that things really pick up around here on a Monday! The food is even a little better - more choice, less soggy! Richard's still sleeping, and I'm eyeing up that cinnamon coffee cake on his tray! ...Just kidding. I already started on his coffee though...he ordered that for me.

There's not much going on today. Richard's getting his last bag of chemo this morning. Then, all we have to do is wait for his Methotrexate level to drop below 0.05. They will being drawing blood this morning and test results are expected this afternoon. If the level's below 0.05, he can go home tonight. If not, he has to wait and get another lab drawn this afternoon if it's close, or if it's not close, in the morning again.

That's about it for now. In the meantime, I need to get back and make sure Richie is drinking lots and lots of liquid. The more he drinks, the faster that methotrexate works out of his system, and the faster he can get out of here!
Hugs, Daphne

Not Much Going On So I Decided To Write

Not much has happened today. I saw that Daphne let you all know about my room change. Thank God. I was in a room with a fellow who left his TV on until two thirty in the morning at full volume. I finally had enough and just walked over and shut it off. I figured, if he is awake, I'll handle it. If he's asleep, good for me. He was asleep so Daphne and I had a quiet room until about seven thirty in the morning when, guess what!? Back on again at full volume. I am never going to watch NBA or BET ever in my life, I have been permanently scarred. But, that is all better now. I leaned on the nursing staff since Thu. night and kept reminding them of how nice it would be to have a private room. I tried to include the correct amount of Richie charm, (much to Daphne's groaning), but it must have worked because I am now in a nice quiet room with a refrigerator/freezer and my own TV with volume/channel control. Well, I needed to vent a little bit to some new people so thank you all for lending an ear. I will update again soon enough.
Roses are red,
H.U.P. food is yucky.
It has more rubber,
Than a yellow toy ducky. Who loves ya?! Richie

New room!

Hey everybody! Rich got moved to a new room today - a single room w/a refrigerator! He's very excited! No more nonstop TV, rap music, pro basketball games playing ALL DAY and ALL NIGHT! He is still on the sixth floor.

There is no new news today. He's working on his 22-hour bag of chemo now. It should be done in 4 hours or so. He will be getting a shot of brain chemo this afternoon in his Omaya port. They were supposed to come at 1:30 p.m., but it hasn't happened yet. That's not surprising though; hospitals schedules (except the food) are never on time. Well, that's about all for now. It's been a fairly quiet and relaxing day! :) Richard sends a hello to everyone!
Love, Daphne

Chemo Boy Says Hi from H.U.P.

Well, I discovered that they have the internet here for patient use, so I am going to give a quick update from behind the walls. I found out this morning that my tumor has shrunk significantly, so this next round of chemo is going to be the same strength as the first time, just different chemicals in order to shock the cancer and keep it at bay. Also found out that the fluid that was surrounding my lungs has also completely disappeared so my breathing has obviously improved by leaps and bounds. I am in a constant state of losing my hair out of my head only. Every single time I place my head on the pillow it looks like a gerbil exploded in my bed. They are pumping me full of liquids, so I am also in a constant state of peeeeeeiiiiiiiiinnnnnngggggg!!! Unfortunately, I am not allowed to pee in the toilet as all body fluids in and out must be measured, so I pee in a little canteen-looking thing with a snap lid. (Don't spill!!!) All right, not much more to say today, so I will leave you with this thought, Roses are red,
My head is spotty.
I'm not allowed,
To pee in the potty! Goodnight everyone! Who loves ya?

1st day at HUP

Richie had his CT scan this morning, and all we know is that it did respond to the first chemo treatment. :) They were planning on starting the new round this afternoon, but because Rich gets it on a 12-hour cycle, he wants to start it at 9:00 p.m. tonight. This way, he won't be getting it at 3 p.m. and 3 a.m. every day. 9:00 p.m. and 9:00 a.m. is much better! That's all the news we have for now. I'll be heading down to the hospital with Richie's dad and brother this afternoon. Thankfully, I have an early dismissal (1:30 a.m.) so we can head down before the weather gets too much worse. My principal has been so great in working with my requests!

Rich is still in the same room with his roommate. We'll let you know if that changes. There is someone else on the floor who doesn't have a shower in his/her room, so they have first chance at getting a single room that opens up. That's fair enough...at least Rich has a shower!

Well, I probably see some of you this weekend if you come visit. Keep up the prayers that Richie responds well again to this next treatment! We want a cancer-free Richard as soon as possible!!! Hugs to all from me, Rich's parents, Peter, and Richard D.!

Richard to HUP #2

Good evening everyone! HUP called today (with some motivation from Richie) to tell him they had a bed available. We took him down this evening, and as soon as we got there, they took us to his room. We got him settled in about 8:00 p.m. Within 10 minutes of our arrival, they were already coming in to check his vitals! They just don't give the poor guy a break.

Unfortunately, Richard is in one of the few shared room on floor 6 of the Rhoads Building. He has a roommate - an 18 year old young man with lymphoma as well. Poor kid. 18 years old...with cancer. He said he's in his senior year of high school. He is very nice and his dad who was there is very nice as well. So, we are just asking that if you would like to come visit, you keep in mind that he is sharing a room. There are only 2 chairs in the room, and not a lot of space for a lot of people to be in the room at once. Also, if you would like to call Richard, he asks that you please call his cell phone rather than the room phone. Richard also does not have a refrigerator in this room, so he won't be able to stash a lot of perishable food. He welcomes meals of real food though. ;) (HUP's hospital food is not very good.) He is not allowed to have processed lunch meat, raw veggies, or raw fruits that do not have a thick skin. (i.e. bananas and oranges are okay...grapes, apples, pears, etc. are not) We are going to try to keep a small cooler in the room and use ice from the machine in the family sitting room to keep a few things cold.

Tonight sometime or tomorrow morning, the doctor is scheduling Rich for a CT scan. They want to take a look at the mass and see how it responded to the first chemo. That will determine if they will give the first type of chemo again or a new drug this time. ....More details on that to follow when we find out tomorrow. The doctor wants to get him started on the chemo tomorrow either way.

I will be heading back down tomorrow late afternoon/evening after work. I will try to fill all of you in as soon as I can! Thanks for your prayers and support! Richard sends his love to all of you!
Love, Daphne

Daphne says, "Dr. Seuss Isn't Just For Kids..."

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
~Dr. Seuss

Hi Everyone! Last Update For a Couple Of Days!

Thank you to everyone for continued support in ways of cards and food etc., etc. I really appreciate everything. Not to much news as of right now. It is Wednesday night and I am going to start to pack my duffle bag with supplies for my next tour to H.U.P. I learned a lot from my first tour, I had my family bring to much stuff. I don't need all the things I had before at the hospital. Too much stuff. Pack light, pack right. Undies, T-shirts, a few pajama pants, toiletries, magazines, a book, (and a fiance if she will fit into the duffle.) :) This next round of chemo is going to be different than the first round I recieved because the goal of my particular treatment is to shock the cancer each time before the cancer becomes immune to the treatments. So from now on my treatments will be alternated to continually shock and kill this crap. I meant cancer, sorry it was a typo. I will be at H.U.P. for 5 to 6 days depending on how the schedule works out and when I exactly begin the first bag of treatment. This particular round of treatments might be a little rougher as far as side effects are concerned so says the doctor. He warned me that this is most likely when all of my head hair will fall out and I also might have more severe nausea than before. Fun, fun, fun. Oh well. One thing at a time. Two of the biggest mottos in my life have been and will forever be, 1. Improvise, Overcome, and Adapt. And that means to whatever happens, apply those three words. And 2. Whatever does not kill me, only makes me stronger. I'm giving you pearls here. Words to live by, words to live by. Well, goodnight to all my family and friends out there. I will be back on as soon as possible with further updates. If I am unable, Daphne and Mom will update on my behalf from the family sitting room at the hospital that has a computer for patient and family use. Goodnight. Talk to you all soon. Wish me luck. KILL THE CANCER! DOWN WITH LYMPH NODES!