A Taste of Trestle Drive

Hi Everybody, Jim again. This thank you is long overdue...
Back in September when we came home from Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, Linda was suffering from the effects of the IL-2 treatment, and I knew it would be a while before that would pass. So on one of my many trips to the pharmacy for medication, I thought I'd better stock up on some frozen pot pies.

However, I had not counted on the extent to which our friends would go to take care of us. Almost immediately, people started showing up with food. Casseroles. Soups. Cookies. Homemade cinnamon rolls! Badin teachers and staff were driving from Hamilton to make sure Linda had enough to eat. Friends from my work were giving me food to take home. The neighbors on the street got really organized in December when things got very hectic. Every other day, a different neighbor would show up at the door, bringing whole meals---I mean, salads, entrees, side dishes and desserts...every other day! And by neighbors, I mean not just the people on the street, but people who used to live on the street as much as five years ago. When people cook something like that, it usually served six. Linda wasn't eating that much, so everything was lasting a minimum of three nights. We actually had to ask them to slow down when we ran out of room in the refridgerator and the freezer. Now I know that most of these people understood that Linda wasn't eating that much, so pretty soon I came to the realization that many of these people were worried about me. Probably for good reason. My mom taught me lots of things in her long lifetime, but one of them wasn't how to cook. I can pour cereal with the best of them, and usually open a can without cutting myself, but that's about it. So left to my own devices, meals would have been a limited number of unimaginative selections. Instead, dinner at our house is now referred to as "A Taste of Trestle Drive". (That's our street name.)

The other night, I was downstairs rooting around in the freezer for the leftover Cordon Bleu, and I came across the pot pies that I bought in September... they're all still there.

I would thank all of you by name, but I'm sure I would leave somebody out. Anyway you know who you are, and the extra five pounds I carry around now are a constant reminder of the endless generosity of all of our friends and relatives. Thanks to all of you from the bottom of my heart.

Jim

This is getting tiring...

Hello friends and family,

Right now I'm sitting next to Tony and working with him on this latest update. Tony's home for the weekend (yay!) because Beth was in California for an interview and he decided that 15 degrees was better than -5.

I'm sorry that it's been so long since I updated this blog myself, but Jim always does such a good job of explaining the medical side of things. What would I do without him to stay on top of all the details that keep piling up?

I was so happy to get to be able to attend my cousin Jerry's son's wedding last Saturday night and even managed to dance a couple dances with my family. I was pretty wiped out by the end, but I was able to relax all the next day.

This week, though, it's been up and down. Some days I've been extremely weak, but other days I've even had enough energy to go out. I'm still not driving yet, so I'm relying on the generosity of family and friends.

On Thursday I had more tests done, and when we went to get the results from Dr. Bandari he told us that my thyroid levels were even higher than last time, so he's doubling my thyroid medication. Most of my other blood counts were lower than than normal, but not so low that I'd need a blood transfusion yet. Dr. Bandari says that it's the combination of all the medications together, especially with Sutent, that's causing me to be tired and weak. I'm going back in two weeks for more tests, so we should know more then.

Since I haven't written anything on the blog myself since Christmas, I haven't had the opportunity yet to thank the many people who were so thoughtful of me around Christmastime. All the cards and gifts really helped to brighten the holiday season this year. I loved every gift I got - and I'm struggling right now to put it into words, but they had a huge effect on how fully I was able to feel the joy and friendship of the Christmas season.

Fortunately, Tony is the ultimate organizer. Today we're going to go through some of my dad's old pictures (while we watch the games, of course). Tony even brought his cheese-headware for the Packers game. Go Green Bay!

Love ya,

Linda

Mystery Solved

Hi Everybody, Jim again. I mentioned in the last post that Linda had been feeling very tired lately. As Linda said, her Christmas miracle only lasted till Christmas. I called the oncologist on Thursday, and he suggested coming in that day (a day early) for the blood test. That way when her hemoglobin levels tested low again, she could get a transfusion on Friday and not wait until Monday. Imagine our surprise then when her hemoglobin levels came back normal! There were other tests that would not be available right away, so we made an appointment and came back the next day. The oncologist told us back on the 21st of December that he would start checking for thyriod function on the next blood test, and sure enough, the tests came back indicating that Linda now suffers from hypothyroidism. Google it if you want, but all it means is that the thyroid isn't producing as much of the hormone as it's supposed to. The main symptoms are (guess what!) weakness and fatigue. And of course, it's just another side effect of the Sutent.
The good news is that it's easily treated. Lots of people suffer from hypothyroidism, and in Linda's case it's just medication induced. So we have another pill to take (Synthroid). It may take a week or two for the medication to start making her feel better, but our plan is for it to kick in just in time for her cousin's son's wedding next weekend.
That's all for now. Linda says she hopes she feels well enough to write the next update herself.

Luv ya!

Jim & Linda