For the past several days, Wayne has been getting more unsteady on his feet again. While he never made it back to mountain goat status, he was pretty stable on his walker and had good strength in both sides of his body. On Wednesday I noticed a bit of a problem and by yesterday, it was obvious that the balance issue was exacerbated.
We went to our chemotherapy "teach" appointment yesterday, and while there let them know about Wayne's balance exacerbation. They were able to get him an MRI very quickly. There had been a cancellation just when the nurse called and he was able to go straight on down. Today we were told that his MRI looks about the same as it did the first time, with a bit more swelling in one area. Obviously I was shocked. I had taken that PET scan that didn't show any tumors to heart. But apparently this isn't necessarily bad news. The radiation can take some time to shrink the tumors and it continues to work for four to five weeks after stopping, so it could still take them down. As well, some might be just shadows so we really don't know anything. But it is frustrating and frightening not to know.
However, Wayne has to increase his decadron, which is the steroid that keeps the swelling down in his brain. This is not a bad thing, but he is still gaining weight and I think that with the steroid back up to the higher dose, he is going to grow out of his clothes! His jeans are really getting tight.
Thank you to everyone who is writing, either here or to my email and to everyone who is praying for Wayne. We appreciate every one of you. Wayne isn't writing emails but I am reading them to him as well as all your comments.
Hi, Wayne and Barb,
ReplyDeleteI have tried twice to post on here, so if three weird posts show up, that's why!!
Thanks for the update. As Thomas Paine wrote, "These are the times that try men's souls."
[women's]
It is a place and time most of will be in, sooner or later. And, with all the chemicals out there in everything we come in contact with, sooner for lots of us.
It rained for over two days here. Just days of nice steady rain. Sitting out on the porch, watching the rain, visiting with Denise, reminded me of the many times Wayne and I sat out on the decks at ValleyHi for a smoke. Often we were the only ones there, and it was a peaceful way to spend an afternoon. The pond was always entertaining.
I re-potted a couple of plants this morning. Starts of Wandering Jew and Spider Plant that I am raising for hanging baskets in the bathroom skylight. It was good to get my hands in the dirt.
We will be watching the blog every day.
We love you both.
JP
Thanks, John, We love you too. I can't tell you how much your love and support mean to both of us! We miss having you nearby.
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