Today...................

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to ALL of you who have been reading not only this blog, but my dad's on caring bridge as well. You have been so incredibly supportive, and have really helped us all get through this ugly journey! I hope today is a wonderful day for you all, you definitely deserve it! :) Enjoy, indulge! and I will hopefully see you soon! GOBBLE GOBBLE!!!!

It just keeps getting more complicated.....

Well, last Saturday I did go to mom and dads, and I spent all day there. However, he was only awake for about an hour, and he he was feeling so sick that hour, that he was barely even talking. His anti-nausea medications have not been working, so he has been feeling really sick, and has not really been eating anything. He has begun to get fluids pumped into his system, because he has been dehydrated. He is losing more weight than his doctors would like, so they may put a feeding tube in him by the end of next week. He totally bummed out when he heard that. He really does not want the feeding tube..... at all. Today was a really long day for him, because he went into for his radiation, which they have been giving him more than he has been used to. He also had fluids pumped into him, which takes around 4 hours to administer. Then he had to have a blood transfusion because his white blood cell count was down. that transfusion took about 4 hours as well! Phew! What a long day..... I gave him a few movies to watch.... he only ended up watching one! If anyone has any great suggestions for movies dad could watch while he is getting his treatments, that would be great! i kind of run out of ideas from time to time! Hopefully he will be in good spirits this weekend, and I will be able to take a picture of him , so you can all see how he is doing... again thank you thank you thank you for all of your support of myself and my family we appreciate it so so so so so so so much! Talk to you all soon! :)

Erin

Yikes

And It begins...........dad came home early from work on Tuesday...felling nauseated and getting sick....... we were expecting this to happen eventually...... i just didn't think it would happen so soon. I hope it dosen't last for too long... poor guy.......... if he cannot keep any food down for long periods of time, he may have to have a feeding tube put in.................

and so it starts.................


as you can see, I am having trouble sleeping.. if anyone has any great tips for falling asleep without letting your mind wander.. please share...... I would love to hear them. Until later...........

Radiation:

This is just a picture of a radiation machine. This is what dad lies under everyday for 20 minutes for the next five-six weeks. Pretty cool looking.

Here is another picture of it rotating


Alright, I'm going to bed now! Good night!

The first day................

I took this excerpt directly from my brother's posting on dad's caring bridge website.


Today was a long, tough day beginning with Joe and Maureen arriving at St. John's at 8:30 A.M. Joe was immediately hooked up to IV's of anti- nausea medication as well as saline to flush his system. He was then administered an IV of Cisplaten Chemo, followed by another system flush. He stayed in the same room for the rest of of the morning, where he and Maureen were joined by his brother-in-law John and John's wife Molly. At 1:00, he walked over to the Radiation Therapy Center and received his radiation treatment. An hour later, he went back to the Chemo Infusion Center where a pump was installed to administer the second type of chemo. This pump is hooked up through a little pouch that he wears around his waist that looks like a fanny pack. The pump is set to continually pump the chemo into his system. He will wear it for four days and have it removed on Friday. So far he has not had any side effects or problems with the treatments, but the side effects (nausea and fatigue) sometimes take a few days to manifest themselves.

The picture is what dad's fanny pack thingy for chemo looks like. Just thought some of you would like to know!


Tomorrow I may have to drive dad to and from Radiation, so I will probably post again after I get home from work. We have one day down.............. thats progress in my eyes! :) Have a great night, and I will post soon!

A total aside................................

I just found out I have been exposed to, and bitten by bed bugs! NOT IN MY OWN HOME!!!!!! but, I am totally freaking out.......... AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Can I come over? hahahahaha! Kidding :)

Where there's a yin, there's a yang

Sorry I haven't posted in a while - there's not much news to tell. Dad met with his new team of doctors, and he seems to like them a lot. They are not starting his treatments until Monday, November 10th. He will receive radiation therapy five times a day for six weeks. While he is receiving this treatment, he will also receive chemo. He gets his chemo two ways. One is through his port right at the clinic while he is receiving his radiation therapy. The other way he is going to do his chemo treatment is through a fanny pack that he will wear for 48 hours at a time. It pumps the chemo in around the clock, so that's why he has to wear the fanny pack. While we were all relieved to get this started, we were horrified when dad's doctor told him that due to the aggressive nature of his cancer, the location and the size of the tumor, it is likely that they will never get all of the cancer or the tumor out. They said it could possibly go into remission, but the chances of getting rid of it all together is relatively slim. I'm not sure why this news hit me so hard. I guess I just figured that once there was a plan in motion, and he started getting treatment, he would get better. I still have to hold onto the hope that dad is young, and he is so strong; and let me tell you, if anyone is going to beat this, it will be my dad.

I went over to mom and dad's last night.. my co workers were so kind, and brought food for my family. I came in the door, and told mom and dad what I had, and dad turned and hugged me, and started crying. I asked him if he was feeling okay, and he said no. He kept saying over and over and over...... I just don't want to do this........ I just don't want to do this. He said he was humbled by the fact that people who didn't even know him, and who only knew me a short while would be so kind, and take a moment to show that they care. You nave no idea how much your kind words, thoughts, and prayers help my dad. It is what is fueling him to take this head on. He knows he has such a large cheering section, and I promise, he won't let us down!

Dad started a caring bridge site last night. Here is the website if you would like to check it out!
Dad'sPage
If that doesn't work, you can go to www.caringbridge.org and find "visit a page". Then type in josephrogers (Joseph Rogers with no space) He hasn't started any journal entries, but he has completed the "my story" page. So if you click on that tab at the top, you can read it that way too! I hope you enjoy it, and the weekend! I will post soon. Probably on Monday, after his treatment, to let you know how he is feeling! Thanks so much for taking the time to read this! It really means a lot......... :)