Time does fly!

Hello, everyone!
Linda here... I know it's been a while since we've sent an update and I apologize for that. I'll try to catch you up on the last couple of weeks.
On the health front:
I'm now up to the full dose of Nexavar, which is the drug recommended by the doctor that we visited in Columbus. It seems to be working pretty well now. The one downside is that a side effect of the medicine is blisters on the hands and feet. I have experienced that a little bit, but nothing too traumatic so far. And I still have days when my energy level is very low, but, overall, I think I'm doing a little better than I was a few weeks ago. I just never know from day to day how I'm going to feel. But I have been able to go to dinner and get out once in a while, so that really keeps me going.
On the grandma front:
I can hardly believe that Elliot (the cutest baby in all the world!) is going to be 2 months old tomorrow! Fortunately we have a web cam on our computer, so we've been able to "see" him regularly and how much he has grown. Next Wednesday we are going down to visit them and stay for about 5 days. Can't wait to see them and give Eli a big hug once again.
On the weather front:
Last Sunday's wind storm was certainly a tragedy for many people in our area. Fortunately, we just had lots of debris in the yard and only lost power for about 6 hours. We hope all of you are doing OK now. This type of event certainly makes us grateful for all that we have.
I guess that's it for now. I'll try to be better the next time about the updates.
Love you all!
Linda

Who are all these people, and why do they keep taking my picture?

Hi everybody. Well the Nexavar arrived on Wednesday, and Linda is slowly increasing the daily dose; she's up to half the final recommended dose, so it's too soon to tell how effective it will be, and also too soon to tell how severe the side effects will be. In the meantime, Linda has had to deal with more fevers than usual, which tend to make her feel really crappy.



The week's main event of course was the arrival of Elliot, the cutest baby you ever laid eyes on. Oh yeah, Andrea and Chris came too. Good thing, 'cause it's been a while since Jim and Linda took care of a 5 week old baby. Thanks to Andrea's friend Susan (the Cincinnati Susan), who lent us a whole bunch of her baby stuff, and what she didn't have, she went out and bought.


A lot of people stopped by to see THE BABY, and Elliot showed off for them all, eating and sleeping and burping and pooping his heart out. Needless to say, we had a great time. The Talleys left yesterday, and Tony comes back from a trip to Madison tonight, so we have had lots of quality time with the kids.

































These are just a few of the people Elliot entertained. A lot more pictures are on Flickr.com. Search "wimmersfamily" under "People".

Love ya,
Linda and Jim

Hi everybody,

On Friday we drove up to Columbus to consult with a specialist at Ohio State, Dr. Olencki, for a second opinion. At first we thought the trip might be pretty fruitless, but it turned out to be very informative, and hopeful. Dr. Olencki had a different opinion about one of the options we weren’t considering before, involving a drug called Nexavar. A lot of oncologists differ about whether it’s effective in cases like these, but he felt very strongly that it was worth a chance. However, we’ll have to consult with Dr. Bhandari to coordinate a course of treatment. We’ll keep you updated on that.

Tony and Beth came home this weekend and got a chance to hang out at the annual block party with us, and Andrea and Chris are coming up with Elliot on Monday!

Thanks, and we love you,

Linda, Jim and Tony

Not great news

It's been a while since the last post because we've been wondering how to put this---. Linda's oncologist told us back on the 8th that after only 3 months on Torisel that the tumors have started growing again. That day he told us there weren't many options left and suggested Linda's quality of life might be better if we stopped treatment altogether.

Since that conversation he consulted with Dr. Atkins in Boston, who made several other suggestions, including upping the Torisel dose by 50% (which we did last week), and restarting the Sutent (which we will do starting tomorrow). We also have an appointment to visit the OSU Comprehensive Care Center in Columbus this Friday, and we're looking into a clinical trial for a new medication with a group here in Cincinnati.

Meanwhile Linda has had to rest much more than previously. Also her strength has decreased due to the loss of muscle mass caused by the cancer.

None of this has prevented us from getting back down to Wilmington to visit Elliot, Andrea and Chris, where we are right now. Elliot has changed so much in just two weeks, much more alert and looking around at everyone and everything in the room. When he gets fussy, Chris will lay him on the floor and play classical guitar music, which he seems to enjoy.

Also, we recognized during our last visit that Linda would not be able to climb the steps to our third floor condo much longer, so we found a 1 story townhome in the same Magnolia Greens subdivision as the condo. It was unfurnished, so we spent the week before this trip getting enough furniture in place for us to spend a few days. As it turns out, all we really needed was a bed, a TV and a comfortable sofa. Andrea's friend Susan Wood helped by making sure the house had all the essentials such as towels, sheets, dishes, etc. Thanks a heap, Susan! You did a great job.

Love, Jim & Linda

Lots has Happened....

Jim here,

Ok, I know it's been a long time since the last post, but we've been busy. Chris, Andrea and Elliot came home Sunday a week ago, and we spent the next ten days shuttling between the condo, Andrea and Chris' place and various grocery and department stores getting supplies. So we got to see Elliot every day, and the pictures sum up how the days went. Elliot started looking around at things by his second week, and both he and Andrea started to get the hang of the breast feeding thing. So while it was hard to leave on Wednesday, it helped to know everybody was doing well.

Wednesday and Thursday were hard for Linda, so it wasn't a surprise that her blood test Thursday indicated a need for another blood transfusion. Between that and the Torisel treatment, it looked like Friday would be a long day. As it turned out we had no idea how long. Just as they began the saline prep, Linda lost all feeling and strength on her right side (arm and leg). The doctor immediately sent us to the emergency room for "stroke like symptoms" (on the other side of Bethesda North) and ordered a CT scan of Linda's brain. Even before we got to the emergency room, Linda's symptoms started to subside. Eventually she got the CT scan, and fortunately there was no evidence of a tumor or bleeding. The doctor said she likely had a TIA, or Transient Ischemic Attack (a mini stroke), but he couldn't rule out severe anemia or any one of the other blood imbalances Linda has been experiencing. She eventually did get the blood transfusion, but we left the emergency room at 6pm without the Torisel treatment. Linda has been resting comfortably tonight, and if she feels well enough on Monday, we'll go back for Torisel then. In the meantime we intend to have a very laid back weekend, sorting through all the pictures and video of Elliot...

Later,

Jim

The Pictures

And now, as promised, BABY PICTURES!!! Elliot is approximately 4hrs old.

Elliot James Talley

Elliot arrived at approximately 3:35 yesterday afternoon. Our flight was delayed by a faulty a/c unit on the plane, and we got the news while sitting on the tarmac in Cincinnati as they tried to fix it. We finally arrived in Wilmington and after an hour wait for our luggage, we arrived at the hospital at 7pm.

We fell in love at first sight. Elliot is such a cute, peaceful baby. 8 pounds, 11 ounces, 21 inches long, with strawberry blond hair. Andrea was tired but resting comfortably after achieving her goal of a completely natural childbirth. Robert and Ann Talley were leaving just as we arrived, with big smiles on their faces. Chris was the doting new father, tending to Andrea's and Elliot's every need. Less than five minutes after we arrived, Linda was holding her new grandson. Unfortunately, Elliot slept the whole 90 minutes we were there, and we left around 8:30pm to let Andrea get some well deserved rest.

We'll have pictures later today, but if you can't wait, click on the link to Andrea and Chris' Baby blog on the right. Also, uncle Tony arrives this afternoon. We'll write more later, but we have to leave for the hospital now.

Luv ya, Linda and Jim