Terry Fox Run/Round 2

Well another round down. It was not much different than the first. His symptoms didn't get any worse during the three days. He had the occasional zinging of his hands and sometimes when he ate. The steroid he is on during the three days really seems to make him very happy and have lots of energy. It's the days after that kind of drain him. This time for his treatment Blake was able to come to the hospital with us. My mom took Ty home to Edmonton with her for about 3 days and then Blake and I followed her after Layne was done his treatment. It was wonderful to bring him with us (There is no way I could bring both the boys, they get each other too riled up!). He did awesome for the 3.5 hours. The nurses and other people there receiving chemo loved him. He was spoiled rotten. He always tells people, they gave me juice, cookies and toys and even a lollipop! He was well behaved and read books, watched movies and played games and toys with Layne. It sure made the time pass by nice and quick. We really do have the best boys who love their dad.

Blake was so excited to go to the hospital! He had his back pack full to the brim to keep him entertained. 

He loved having his dad to read to him. The nurse let Blake pick out two toys, so he could take one to Ty when we got up to Edmonton.

The day Layne finished his second round he was also asked to speak at the Terry Fox Run at the school he did his second practicum (PSII) at. The teacher who advised him asked him if he was willing to come back. It was wonderful experience. He gave a 10 minute speech on his experience with cancer. There were lots of tears from Layne, our family and the teachers. The students seemed really intrigued and he even got a standing ovation. (I will attached lanes speech if anyone wants to read it) It was nice to see how he impacted the school even though he was only there for 4 months. Once he is done school, whoever hires him will definitely not be disappointed, he will be a great teacher! Blake and I, Layne's grandma, sister, nephew, mom and Rusty were able to come. Its great to always have such good family support, even though it was an hour drive for everyone. Blake and I left for Edmonton straight from the school and have been at my Mom and Dad's house for the rest of the week.

Speaking in front of 400 students.

I am glad we are here in Edmonton this weekend. Layne hasn't been feeling the best since his second round. Very tired and lots of diarreah (Yes I know I keep on talking about poo… it's a big deal in our house, especially when it comes to colon cancer). Don't be too grossed out! So it's been good that he hasn't had little boys running around and me being there to nag him :) He's just been able to relax and be pampered by his Mom. Hopefully this is short term and when we get home tomorrow night he will be feeling a bit better. He had to go to the hospital again last night. He was nervous he might be getting dehydrated. The Dr started him on IV fluids because they said he was slightly dehydrated and tested for infections just incase but it seems everything is okay. Let's hope it stays that way!

He's a natural now!

The cheese whiz was too cold for his hands… so he had to put on oven mitts haha

The other day I was teaching my Mom something to do with Siri on her phone and she said "Oh, that's the best!", Ty proceeded to say, "No, my dad is the best!". He sure is. I can't believe how positive he is going through all of this and is not giving up and trying to fill his time with positive things. He is the best man I know! He was able to go to his nephews Terry Fox Run as well while I was here in Edmonton. Brock is 10 and worked very hard to raise money for the run. He ended up raising the most out of his whole school with $388.00 and ran for Layne. It's little acts like this that make us feel appreciated and looked out for. We are so grateful for everyone's thoughtfulness. (See Layne's speech attached)

Brock and Layne at the Terry Fox Run. They won shirts for raising the most money.

Thank you FP Walshe for having me as your guest speaker for this great cause. It’s great to be back to see all of you. Terry Fox made a tremendous contribution to everyone who is affected by cancer.  He was born in Winnipeg Manitoba and at the age of 19 was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer known as osteosarcoma, a tumor which forms in long bones in the human body. This of course, didn’t stop Terry from embarking on a courageous quests, as he attempted run from coast to coast in order to raise money and awareness for cancer research. The cancer did eventually spread throughout his body, which ultimately costs him his life, however he was able to run over 5000km and over 600 million dollars has been raised in his name. Today Terry’s legacy continues as millions of people participate around the world in the Terry Fox Run. 

On July 17 of this year I was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. For several years prior to my diagnosis I had been feeling discomfort in my abdomen, but had just dealt with it because many Dr.’s had told me that what I was experiencing was relatively common and not life threatening. In early July, I was in the University of Lethbridge Library working on an assignment and felt severe abdominal cramping. The pain had gotten so bad that I could no longer stand up. I was forced to crawl out of the Library to the bus stop.  I knew that my mother was coming to take me to the hospital for an appointment with the GI specialist in Lethbridge. After seeing the specialist and consulting with the chief of surgery, I finally was able to receive a CT scan. 

After the CT scan the DR. informed me that I had a tumor the size of a naval orange  in my transverse colon and I needed immediate surgery. The tumor was so large that it had completely blocked my bowel. At first the Dr. didn’t call it “cancer “because they were unsure if the tumor was an infection for Collitus or possibly a benign growth. The next day, at 7pm, I had 90% of my colon removed. Along with the colon removal, they found that the cancer had gotten into my lymphnodes. I honeslty, consider myself lucky because when Dr. Gomes had my CT scan he thought that the tumor had touched my Pancreas and spleen. Post surgery I was very happy to hear that the tumour was limited to my colon only. Dr. Gomes was very aggressive with the surgery and did a great job. During the surgery he was able to look throughout my abdominal cavity and other neighboring organs and didn’t find any other tumors.

 I spent the next 8 days in the hospital, which was very difficult. Along with pain, a hard part was thinking about my wife and kids. While I knew that the cancer hadn’t touched any other neighboring organs, I still needed a PET Scan that would inform me if the cancer had spread into any other parts of my body. Colon cancer is known to spread to the lungs and the brain. 

While I was lying in my hospital bed, I often wondered how much longer I would live. I wasn’t sad for me, but I was sad most of all for my children, who may be left without a father. During my hospital stay I received many visitors. Family and friends came often to give me support and lift my spirits. I often opened my phone to find numerous encouraging text messages from people I knew cared about me.  I am a firm believer that things happen for a reason, and coming do my practicum at FP Walshe was no different. I really enjoyed my time here and this past summer I was able to see a few former students and it was nice to catch up with a few of you. It made me happy to hear you guys were doing well. In addition, having the opportunity to work along with Stach was wonderful, she is a great teacher and I learned a lot from her. Not only was I able to gain valuable experience as a future educator, I also gained a good friend. She has been support to me. We’ve talked on the phone and exchanged text messages, each one was encouraged me to keep my spirits up as I’ve battled with cancer.

I was able to leave the hospital on July 24 after which, I recovered from surgery at home.  I received great care there and progressed from sitting up to slowly then being able to move from walking with a walker for short distances, and eventually being able to walk without any assistance. During my time in the hospital I lost 15 pounds, dropping me to my lowest weight since grade 12, 103 pounds. My family did a great job trying to fatten me up as I had a milk shake each night before bed. I will have to say that having yummy treats each night has been a definite perk!

 After recovering for 8 weeks, I started chemo therapy. The oncologist informed me that I was going to be doing 12 rounds of chemo therapy for 6 months. Each treatment was going to be 3 days every two weeks.  

The funds that have been raised from the Terry Fox Run has made my chemo therapy much better. Science has come along way in treating cancer and some types of cancer can be treated in numerous ways. For example, I take my chemo therapy home that is in a bottle that I wear around my waist for 2 days. After the second day, I return back to the cancer center where it taken off. I actually just finished my second round of chemo just a few hours ago. 

Most chemo therapy treatment is put into your body through IV. However, I consider myself lucky because I was able to have a “Power Port” a new technology inserted into my chest. The port (the size of a quarter) is inserted into my chest along with a tube that is connected one of my veins in my neck.  The port is wonderful because the drugs that are given during chemo therapy eventually cause your veins to collapse. Collapsed veins make it very difficult to start an IV or draw blood from. Having the port will reduce the amount of needles that I will need to get during my treatment, which will make it easier to administer treatment. The port has three holes in it, where the chemo drugs can be inserted into. In addition, to the chemo being inserted, the port allows you to draw blood, and administer other drugs if needed. 

Without the Terry Fox Run and many other causes this Port insertion would not be possible. My future plans are still the same but have now been temporarily delayed. I plan on taking the year off, so that I will be able to complete all my rounds of chemotherapy and regain my physical and mental strength. After that I will complete my education degree and live my dream of becoming a teacher. 

 I have learned that rarely goes the way that you plan it, there will be many bumps along the road  that you or other people around you didn’t plan for. These bumps may seem like they are almost unbearable. However, in life when bad things do happen, you can always find a silver lining if you look for it. Second, when things become difficult we must face our adversities head on. At times we may think that we can avoid our hardships or try to take the easy way out, but from this experience I know that hardships become easier when we face them head on! Lastly, when we face afflictions it is important to  in our lives, surround yourself with positive people. Doing this makes it much easier because you have people around you that care for you and want you to be your best.

  For Terry his cancer caused him much pain and sorrow, but he was able to take the negative in his life and turn it into one of the greatest charitable foundations in the world. Today, I don’t have the energy or strength to run, but I do plan in the future, to do something to raise funds for cancer research. Dealing with cancer has been difficult to say the least, at times I’ve felt discouraged, sometimes angry and others, honestly downright crappy. However, I get to spend more time watching my children play together, which has definitely been great, my sliver lining. I also get to plan for the birth of our next child in January!

 Today, is a great day to be mindful of those who you know have cancer and be thankful for what Terry has done for them. Terry Fox may not have finished his run to coast of British Columbia but together we can help him metaphorically reach his goal and help raise funds and awareness for cancer research. 

Thank you FP for giving me the opportunity to share my experiences with you. I hope that this run will have an impact on your lives as you go forward and help create awareness for cancer. 

1 down, 11 to go!

This week started off pretty busy. Monday was Layne's learning day at the cancer clinic. But Blake also had his preschool orientation, I had an appointment for my pregnancy and we had a BBQ dinner/corn bust for our church. Layne was pretty anxious that day. I think that was part of the problem with passing out the day before. By the end of the 2 hour learning session, Layne was wanting to postpone his treatment. He didn't feel he was healthy enough to start the treatment. The nurses told him that if he wanted to postpone it he could but after addressing all his concerns we decided it was in his best interest to start this week. He was able to get a pretty decent sleep the night before he started chemo but was really anxious until after they started his IV with the medicine and realized nothing was happening :) After that he did much better. We were there for 3.5 hours. They gave him 3 different IV medications while we were there. They even served him lunch! He really enjoyed the sandwich. Right before we left they attached a canister of more chemo medication that he wore around his waist. This then was slowly administered to him over the next 48 hours, at home. My mom was able to come down this week to help with the boys. It was really nice because we didn't know what to expect. We really do have the best family!

Walking into the centre

Waiting to get started

Getting the IV started in his port

First round of meds

 

For some reason while we were there all the fluids made him have to go pee about 10 times. So he got to go on lots of walks to the bathroom

Talking to his fellow chemo neighbours and watching TV.

On our way home!

I guess you always expect the worst because they always tell you the worst. But so far Layne has done great with this first treatment. He does get tingly hands and feet some times when touching something cold and food will "zing" him when he eats something cold. He also just told me he is getting a few sores on his tongue. Positives are he had an awesome appetite this week. The steroids he takes to prevent nausea did increase his appetite. He was able to put on weight. He is up to 115 pounds from 110.  I would actually call him a pig! He has also had really good energy. Hopefully he just keeps on flying through each treatment. We know it probably won't happen but it's nice that he has had another week to recover from the surgery not feeling crappy. He honestly is doing better on chemo then he was before. We will start round 2 on the 23rd. He has an appointment to meet with the oncologist on the 22nd to go over his blood work.

My mom made a really nice dinner the day he started chemo, he has been wanting her to make cheese  soufflé!

Getting the IV taken out of his port

Celebrating the end of treatment one by having 5 guys! He ate everything plus a butterfinger afterwards!

Layne watching Blake jump on the trampoline. It's nice to have him home and around the boys!

An Eventful Few Days

On Friday, Layne was able to get his port put in. You could tell he was pretty nervous the day of. When we got there they explained everything to us. He was given the "power port" which is supposed to be the best one out there. You are able to draw blood from it, give all medications through it and I guess with this one you can even inject the dye for CT scans into it. They say it will last in his chest under his skin for hopefully over a year. It's a device about the size of a quarter. The port attaches to a catheter that is placed inside one of the large central veins that take blood to your heart. He was really starting to feel well before they placed the port but unfortunately since they put it in, he is in a lot of discomfort again and not feeling well. (I'll explain a bit later).

Before his port was put in

After his port was put in

Saturday Layne had a busy day.  We were able to have a friend of his do family pictures for us before he starts chemo this week. He really wanted to get it done and she was really wonderful and was able to squeeze us in last minute to get it done. We are always amazed at how kind people are! We rushed home after the photos to get there just in time to have a whole bunch of friends over for a little pre-chemo party. If anyone knows Layne, he is a very social individual and it was good to have people over and have a little fun. We had great company, food and played a fun game. We are definitely grateful for all the great friends we have, who are there at a drop of a hat and always concerned for us.

Everyone was gone by 9pm. (I know! We are party animals!) I thought even though we had a lot going on Layne still took it pretty easy. The photos were done in the shade and during the party Layne sat on the couch for most of the night. He had been experiencing an upset stomach that day and had had diarreah several times but before I went to bed I asked him how he was doing and he said great! He had lots of fun and felt like he hadn't pushed himself. That all changed at 3AM. I thankfully woke up hearing him get up to go to the washroom. A few minutes later I heard him call my name (Which I would not have heard if I was sleeping) I ran to the bathroom where he told me he felt like he was getting the flu and then proceeded to pass out off the toilet and hit his head off the bathroom floor (he now has a good bruise of the centre of his forehead). He then got up off the floor to finish going to the washroom (much to my protest, but there was no talking him out of it) but passed out again. This time I was able to hold him sitting up until he had finished his business but he was completely unconscious. He was pretty heavy but adrenaline kicked in and I was able to move him to the floor to lay down until he woke up. It was pretty scary. If I was alone I definitely would have called 911. But thankfully I was just able to run upstairs and grab Jackie and Rusty. He had come around by the time we got back down. He was pale but said he was feeling okay. He was able to walk out the the car with help and we rushed to the hospital. He was able to be seen with in an hour of getting there (it was a pretty busy place). They ran blood work, did a chest X-ray and tested his urine. All came back fine. We were thinking that maybe he was dehydrated again but he wasn't as disoriented as the last time he had passed out, so we weren't surprised when it was showing he wasn't dehydrated. It's a little frustrating to not have any answers though. I know he has been through a lot and he started out sick by being born at only 26 weeks. So we are at a little disadvantage. I guess we just have to work a little harder to get him better. Really slow things down. No more parties! Hopefully we will be able to find a balance. I think this is going to be one of the hardest things for us all over the next 6 months... but we can do it! A little blessing we had last night was the boys were sleeping at their Aunt Ciana's. Things would have been a bit more complicated had they been here. I am glad I was able to go to the hospital with Layne to be there for him. It really makes us thankful we made the decision to move out here.

Layne getting an ECG last night 

Layne is worried about starting chemo this week while he is feeling so crappy. We have a learning day at the cancer clinic tomorrow and will see what they say about all of this. On a positive note, I was still able to get the boys to church this morning. Blake was able to feel the baby kick for the first time and he got his part in primary for his primary presentation (all the children get to sing all the songs they learned this year and each have a speaking part) in a few weeks and is very excited for it and starting pre-school tomorrow. Also a few of Layne's Aunt's and Uncle's are here this weekend and we had a nice sunday dinner!