Elephants and PET Scans

Bad News

Friday, Feb. 14th: It looks like the mystery of Pam's tonsil has been solved, and it is not good news. When I got back from work, Pam told me that she got a call from Dr. Meyers and the biopsy showed some abnormal "pre-cancerous" cells.  As I am writing this paragraph, I don't know any more than that. We have an appointment with Dr. Meyers on Feb. 20th to discuss the details and Pam is scheduled for a PET Scan on Monday, Feb 24th.  I am not publishing this blog until we know more. After we know more details, we will let her parents and immediate family know what is going on, then I will make some calls and publish this update.

On the beach in Manzanita

Packing Up, Ready to Go

View from our room at Salishan

Manzanita

Feb 15th -16th: We spent a couple of days in Manzanita with Jason, Alyssa, and little Austin.  I have gone from being someone who terrifies Austin to an object of continual fascination. Why? Because I can make good elephant noises. It is a rare talent, and Austin recognizes it.  It was great to spend some time with them.

 Unfortunately, although Pam's throat soreness has resolved, she has not able to keep food down consistently, so we reverted to a mostly liquid diet of chicken noodle soup and Boost.  Even though she was sick most of the time, she really enjoyed spending a little time with Austin.

Bonus: Jason and I managed to get in 9 holes of golf.

Double Bonus: I won.

Unheard of, Triple Bonus: By a lot.

Salishan

Feb 17 - 19: We spent some time together at Salishan Lodge, courtesy of a Christmas Gift from Kate Crosby. 

Pam mostly rested and slept, and I killed time by reading and writing. We were able to go out to dinner at the lodge and she was able to eat some lobster bisque, but she paid for it the next day.

The next evening, she was able to eat some chowder at Mo's, and that didn't seem to upset her stomach. I tried to buy her a massage at the spa at Salishan, but she didn't feel up to it. She slept most of the way home, and understandably, admitted to being anxious about seeing Dr. Meyers.

Viral Wars

Feb 20: Pam's appointment with Dr Meyers was earlier today. She confirmed what I suspected by reading lab reports, and doing some Google research. The biopsy from Pam's tonsil indicated that there are some cellular changes that are a pre-cursor to lymphoma.  The cellular changes are caused by a latent viral infection, which flared up because Pam is on immune suppressant medications as part of the regimen for her transplant.

She will undergo four infusions with a special medication "mono clonal antibodies" designed to stimulate her immune system to specifically target and take out the pre-cancerous cells. At the same time, the drugs that are suppressing her immune system will be tapered off, so that her new immune system can do it's job.  The first infusion is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 28th.

All told, Pam's spirits are OK.  We are both hoping that this is the last big hurdle before we can get to some normalcy.  It is always a relief to get a diagnosis and a treatment plan, even if it isn't always good news.

More adventures to come.

Vegas and the Snowpocalypse

She has felt better, but...
she has felt worse

Long, long week.

Pam has not been doing well. Her tonsil problem is improving slowly, very slowly, but she still has problems keeping food down because of the GVHD problem in her stomach and upper GI tract.

She is nauseated most of the time, and has been on a diet consisting mostly of chicken noodle soup and Boost for three weeks now. She has had to start taking anti-nausea medication again on top of everything else. It is a long slog.

Clinicient Crew in Vegas

I flew to Las Vegas on Monday for a physical therapy conference.  I didn't feel comfortable leaving Pam alone, so she stayed with her parents while I was away. The meeting was at the Venetian, and it was very nice.  The Venetian has palatial rooms and is a huge place.
I was on "booth monkey duty" all day, and after the exhibit hall closed I had commitments for drinks, dinner and meetings with customers and prospects.  It was a busy week. I gambled exactly $0, and got out of the Venetian exactly 0 times in the 4 days I was there.

I got home late Thursday evening, and PDX was in the middle of Snowpocalypse 2014. Luckily, I had no problem getting home from the airport.

We are hoping that her GVHD calms down soon.  In the meantime, I am trying to cook things that are pretty bland and easy to digest... mostly chicken, rice and vegetables.

Today, I occupied myself by doing a lot of reading and writing. I also did a slide deck that I hope will be used by physical therapists to educate their patients about their Medicare benefits for PT services (which suck).

February 13th marks the one year anniversary of Pam's stem cell transplant. I am hoping she feels better by then so we can celebrate.