UPDATE!!!!

I hope everyone can forgive me for not updating Jeanie's blog for a while. Here is a recent email update from Jeanie. Thank you all for your love and support!!!!

Dear Family and Friends,
Before I go into chemo tomorrow, I wanted to send this off. Hope it helps catch you up on us. We are also requesting a family fast for mom and dad for this fast Sunday. We need a united fast to pick us up. I'm about 1/2 way through my trauma year. Thanks for all your support and love.

xoxoxoxoxoxo MOM (Jeanie)

On Fri. the 6^th of Jan., just as I was coming out of my chemo fog, I started to feel a tooth ache in one of my bottom teeth. It has chipped off a lot during chemo time and I think the exposed area got infected as my white blood counts were at their lowest from chemo. I didn’t think much of it, thinking maybe I just had food caught in it or something.

I woke up Sat. with it hurting more and by noon I was having a full on horrific tooth ache. I immediately started hot and cold presses, orajel, some penicillin I still had and anything else I could think of. It just got worse and worse. I am to have NO dental work done during chemo, but I knew something had to be done. I was hoping to hang on till Mon. I did not sleep at ALL Sat. night I was in so much pain. I finally woke Kent at 4 am and he gave me a blessing that allowed me to sleep until 6 a.m. Sunday I was worse and my lower jaw was all swollen. We called our dentist Bishop Chantry and he said he would meet me at 4 pm. That day seemed like an eternity. Two Norco’s every 3 hours were doing nothing. We were so grateful for his emergency service on a Sunday. It was also his wife’s birthday and he promised to make her dinner and a cheese cake. We messed that up. We felt so bad.

He really did not want to do anything invasive, due to chemo, but he knew something had to be done, so he drilled a partial root canal and got lots of infection out. He packed it with medicated gauze and topped it with a temporary filling. We had to call the on call oncologist after, and after several phone calls, got a really super strong antibiotic to take for the tooth. I started it Sun. night and it still took 4 days for the swelling to start going down. I continued to have pain, but NOTHING like the abscess pain. You have to be very careful, because if the infection goes down into your throat etc, it can cause heart damage quickly. Mine was already into my jaw.

Then started the e-mails and contact back and forth from oncologists etc. The oncologists decided immediately that he wanted my chemo scheduled for that Thur.the 12^th to be postponed until infection got taken care of. Then I had to try and further contact him to see what to do with the tooth since it was only temporary. He left that up to the dentist, who sent me to an oral surgeon. Now that is a trick to get a hold of an oral surgeon and to have him fit you in on emergency status. We got in that Thur. and he was so kind and thoughtful. He was willing to do an extraction, but felt it necessary to coordinate with the Oncologist and Dentist first. He tried, but did not get fast results back. We tried and finally they got in touch on Fri., but then we had to call everyone to coordinate surgery etc. We had to get a hold of the dentist to get an impression first, then the Oral surgeon, who works at two offices etc. Of course they were supposed to do all of this for us, but you do what you need to do. You have to be aggressive. We finally got an appointment for surgery Tues., but there was still a question as to all the referrals, and I still went unsure of what he was going to do.

He was so good and professional. My one tooth still had infection in it and it still hurt no matter how much numbing was done- and I must have had 50 plus shots. I did not go under, nor have valium etc. I just did it. The others (5 teeth total extracted) I didn’t even feel though and he was quick and said I was really brave. I have lots of dissolvable stitches. For several hours I felt like I had an abscessed tooth again. There was a hole in my gum, clear down to my bone line. Our home teachers came and I got a blessing. They put me on Norco, but again it was doing nothing. Luckily I got pergacet and it took the worst pain off and I got to sleep. I was on it for three days, then back on Norco. Now I am not on much Norco either, but I still have a very sore jaw and mouth and very sensitive gums- especially the one tooth. I was on cold liquids, then soft foods. I am still pretty much there.

In the meantime, the oncologist rescheduled chemo for Thur. the 19^th. I had to call and reschedule all the infusion and dr. visits etc. It’s a big hassle. He was surprised when I came in Thur. and had only had my teeth out for 2 days, but we also knew that you need to keep up the chemo and not take long breaks or it messes up the purpose of hitting the body fast and furious. Like I said on face book or somewhere, that extra week actually made me anxious and ready to go back to chemo and get it done. I felt rejuvenated as far as cancer went.

Wed. night I had to take 5 steroid pills at night and wake up in the middle of the night and take 5 more before my chemo the next day.

So dad took off Thur. and we spent the day at the cancer center together. We went for lab work at 8 am. I had the good technician who is patient and careful. It still took her 10 min. to find a small vein to get blood, but got it in one poke. I have a port, but have to go to the infusion center for blood taken, because only specially trained people can mess with my port, and I tried that once and they did not do well, then it took them forever and the results didn’t get to the dr. and it was a big hassle.

I had my Dr. visit at 9. I love that staff. I am there nearly an hour because I see the MA, nurse and Dr. each time….each very thorough. I did loose one lb. from three weeks ago Chemo. I’ve only gained 5 lbs. since the beginning of chemo and the average is a 30 lb. gain, so I feel grateful. My blood pressure was great. All my blood work came back really good except my sugar levels. My WBC and Hemoglobin came back up like they are supposed to.

Due to more phone calls and e-mails, I had gone to Dr. Sherwood the same week as my teeth issues to talk to him about blood sugars. They were coming down, but irregularly and not enough. He upped my insulin (I give myself injections daily) and we re-arranged some pills. Still to try and off set the forthcoming chemo. The steroids did wreak havoc as expected and my blood sugar shot up, but not to the dangerous hospital kind, so they could still proceed with infusion. The oncologist also gave me a physical for heart etc. to check if that and other things are going OK. They all tell me how good I look. It makes me happy. He prescribed another medication (up to 21 medications now), to help with different side affects with Taxol.

Off to infusion. I’ve noticed how sick other patients have looked like in infusion, but nothing like I saw on Thur. I guess being there so long, I got to see lots more come and go. Most are in wheelchairs, walkers, or crutches. They are on oxygen. Many are old. They look white, sick. Some were groaning and in such pain. Many are quiet and just move like ghosts. I saw lung cancer and bone cancer patients and a lot that needed IV’s and many who are so much worse than me. It made me so grateful for the health I have and for the blessings I have and that I have a port to put in the chemo.

I had a nurse who was older and straight forward. Not too friendly, but knew her stuff. I’ve had a different nurse each time and talking to another nurse, they really don’t like to do that. In staff meeting, they requested that they have the same patient for relationships, as well as protocol. It’s hard when each one does something a little different, and they each don’t know my exact port etc. They had some troubles with my port and not getting blood drawn back again, but they finally OK’d to do chemo anyway.

So I am on a new chemo drug called Taxol now. (If interested, you can look it up under chemocare.com under Taxol- chemotherapy drugs, chemo Drug side effects) You have 45 min. of pre chemo things they put in you…to help you. Lots of steroids, Benadryl, and other drugs. Then comes the Taxol. This was my first time and allergic reaction is very common, so they had to take vitals a lot etc. Luckily I did fine. I felt really flushed and had to go to the bathroom every 15-30 min. all hooked up etc. Dad helped a lot. The chemo itself takes over 3 hours to go in too. Dad and I visited, had lunch, and did a lot of reading. I went home feeling pretty good. Just tired.

Later that night I had sore shoulders and knees, off balance and very loopy. Also had a wave of depression. Today I am very very tired. Slept most of the day. Still pampering the sore mouth.

Side affects: I am to have very sore joints and feel weaker physically. I am also to have neuropathy, which I have with diabetes anyway, so they gave me the new drug to try and help. Neuropathy is nerve damage. You feel it very much in the hands and legs. Numbness, itching, and pain and sensitivity. I am not to have as much nausea etc., but I had it in the night and morning and had diarrhea again today. (Another common side affect I have had). I also had bad headaches yesterday. So that is where I am for now.

Other status of mom:

Diabetes: Besides the above mentioned things, I still have a lot of other stuff going on. My diabetes is down quite a bit, but still spikes and not constant and not low enough. It’s really a lot of work. Different foods do affect it. My stomach is starting to get really sore from the shots. My three fingers I can use on my left hand are sensitive and sore from the many pricks. Hats off to Cat and others who have it so much worse.

Head: I get headaches on and off, but that is pretty normal for me. Some intense. I also am congested…..praying I don’t get Kent’s cold. I feel like I have fluid in my ears. My jaw and mouth still hurt…especially after eating. I got a bruised chin after the extractions. I can tell it’s going to take a very long time for everything to heal. Earaches quite often.

Chest: This new chemo tends to create swelling and water retention. I have had swelling in feet, ankles etc, but it has affected my chest where I have the edema the most. It’s been very painful several days and feels swollen and hurts a lot. My upper right arm, armpit, part of my back and all of my side are numb and most likely will be forever. Left side is much better, but still has some numbness. I have strange heart pains in my chest too at times. Hope the heart is holding up. Chemo takes a toll on it.

Stomach: Not anything like the other chemo, but feel bloated, have had some diarrhea and other stomach issues. Not too bad of nausea, but throw up in my mouth all the time. Burp all the time and am gassy, which I never have been before. Inards just messed up.

Other: My blood count still goes down and I have several body sores- arm pits, chest, lower stomach, legs etc. Thank heavens for balmax. Really helps…but infection smells and sometimes I feel like my body is rotting away. I also think I now have a UTI and just got over a yeast infection.

I am grateful it is Feb. I am feeling good today, but go in for chemo infusion tomorrow.

Hope this helps know a little more that is going on.

Love,xoxoxo MOM