An Up and Down October

Oh, my! It's hard to believe that it's been so long since I've written to all of you. For those of you still checking in, I certainly appreciate your patience.

When we left you the last time I was being treated for the infection on my hand and off of the Nexavar for the weekend. Well, that really through me for a loop and for a few days I felt worse than I ever have. Fortunately, once back on the medication I gradually started to feel better and get back to my regular routine. Since then I've had some really good days when I could go out (like Pam's 50th birthday party and a sorority dinner) and some days when I just had to lay on the couch and recoup. This week I was pretty lethargic, but then we found out that my hemoglobin was low again, so I got another pint of blood yesterday. Usually this does the trick, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The next set of scans is next Tuesday, but we won't find out the results for a little while after that because Dr. Bahndari is in India right now. We'll keep you posted.

We're looking forward to next weekend when we travel again to see Eli (the cutest baby in the world), Andrea and Chris. Eli's going to be a pea pod on Halloween, so you may see a picture or two of him the next time! Obviously, we're anxious to see how he's grown and changed since the last time we were down there.

I guess that's it for now. As always, thanks a million for all of the continued thoughts and prayers. They keep me going in ways you cannot imagine.

Love ya! Linda

It's a heck of a year to be born a Bengals fan...

Hi Everybody,

Linda, Jim and Tony here. We're having a quiet, restful Sunday afternoon right now, waiting for the Bengal's game to start and get their weekly butt-kicking. Tony came home Thursday night and plans to drive up to Madison tomorrow and then drive back next weekend, when Beth will fly in to meet him here. Last weekend, we had a great visit in Wilmington. We went furniture shopping, and picked out some bedroom furniture so we wouldn't have to live out of suitcases at the town home. Can you believe Linda picked out both a bedroom and a comforter in only two days?

Eli is old enough to go out on some of these trips, and Andrea and Chris are able to go out to dinner with Eli in tow. He's been really well behaved on these trips. At home, his nickname is "Squirmy Worm", because of the way he moves all of his limbs when he's on the floor. He's also growing like a weed, weighing over 11lbs now. Hard to believe he's eleven weeks old already. You may recognize Eli's picture from Andrea and Chris' website. Sorry Andrea, but it was too cute to only use once. Sunday night, we got to have dinner with Jeff Tarvin, who was coming in to stay at one of his many homes in Carolina Beach (inside joke). The Tarvins, you may remember, are our high school and college friends who opened their home to us when we were visiting Beth Israel Hospital in Boston.

Obviously, for us to do all those things, Linda was feeling pretty good and the Nexavar seemed to be working well. We went out twice with Tony Friday and Saturday. Unfortunately, the side effects caught up with her this week. Nexavar causes blisters to form on the hands and feet, and Linda had one on her knuckle that got infected. Her fingertips also get very sore and makes things such as buttoning buttons and zipping zippers very difficult. When we saw Bhandari on Friday, he was very concerned about the infection and started Linda on IV and oral antibiotics right away. He also said to stop taking Nexavar for the weekend. While the infection seems to be clearing up, Linda is already noticing the absence of the cancer fighting drug. She's stuck on the couch feeling a little puny right now. We're looking forward to Monday just to get back to the regular drug regimen

That's all for now. Go Bengals!

Linda, Jim and Tony