Hairy Thanksgiving

First, a share from my dad.

"Matthew has an an amazing amount of natural artistic talent. On his better days he sometimes puts that talent to use. He made this cane as a costume prop for when he and his friends go the the Renaissance Faire in a few weeks. Using a wood lathe, he made the shaft of the cane from an old bed post that he had scrounged. He turned down the shaft but left a bulge at the top. Then he hand carved the leaves into the bulge. These are under the rose at the top of the cane. The leaves and the cane body are all black, so they don’t show up real well in the picture. The rose was made separately from a chunk of firewood. He turned the basic outline of the rose on  the lathe and then hand-carved the petals."

             

Matthew has been in pretty constant discomfort from his back lately.  If you remember, his vertebrae are misaligned. He has been having a very difficult time sleeping as a result.  Not sleeping has lots of other negative effects-cranky, loss of appetite etc.  In addition, as a result of the two blockages and continued discomfort, he is down about 20 pounds.  He has continued to be able to undergo chemo.  

Thanksgiving, Jennifer went down for a visit.  After dinner, she said he was running his hand through his hair, and it started coming out.  Pretty soon, there was not much left.  This was the end result.

Quite a change from the hair warrior we used to know......2008

As always, thanks for all the continued thoughts and prayers.

Undy 5000

Colon Cancer had touched yet another friend.  I am so glad to see organizations like the Colon Cancer Alliance, and events like the Undy 5000 that work to raise support and awareness for colon cancer

Here we are with our team for the Undy 5000 yesterday. All in all, I think we all enjoyed the experience! I enjoyed hearing the survivor stories, and seeing the survivors participating.

Taryn was able to attend.  We were so glad to see her doing so well.  She has appointments in Houston at MD Anderson next week.

Look at Amelia's fist pump!

Evan brought home 2nd place in his age group.  However, when we were looking at the results online, we found that his time was actually 50 seconds faster than the winner's!  I was really proud of him.  Here he is with his PE teacher Ms. Singer.

Finish time 26:28--he did say he felt like throwing up when he finished....

Now, the Fighting Noodle Update.  Matthew had a follow up with his oncologist at MDA, which is required before resuming chemo after a hospitalization.  Matthew is OK, but he has been experiencing more pain.  The doctor had several potential scenarios, but could not give the actual cause.  They prescribed a longer lasting painkiller, which will hopefully allow him to sleep better.  That is about all I have for now.   

Stay tuned-- a new Matthew project story is coming soon! 

Resolution

It looks like this blockage may be resolving faster than the others.  X-rays have shown improvement, he started a liquid diet yesterday, and a soft diet today.  They are talking about discharging soon if improvement continues.   

That's all for now!

Ambulance Ride

Matthew's birthday

Matthew at the wedding mentioned below.

Matthew has been admitted to MD Anderson with another small bowel obstruction.  Right now, he is in a holding pattern again, fluids and meds for pain.  This hospital admission was a bit more dramatic than usual.  I have included my Dad's play-by-play for you below.  *Warning*. Cancer humor can be dark, and for those that don't know him, he has a very dry sense of humor.  

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Monday started out well.  We had been in San Fransisco and Sacramento the previous 3 days for a wedding and to reconnect with some family members who also happened to live out there. We had a 10 AM flight out of the SFO airport to Bush Intercontinental in Houston with a connection in Denver. Traffic was light (we had stayed well south of SF itself and near the airport). The lines at the car rental return, the ticket check-in counter, and the security check point were all very short or non-existent. I probably oughta shoullda started suspecting that Life was setting us up.

We were now pretty early so we settled in at an eatery and used the smart phone to check the flight. 8:00 AM in the morning and it was already delayed an hour. But we only had 45 minutes between connections in Denver. So we rescheduled on a flight that wouldn’t leave Denver until about 7:30 pm. Of course, later that day while we were waiting in Denver, the 7:30 PM flight threw a delay of an hour so we didn’t leave until 8:30 MDT, 9:30 CST.

 All during the day Matthew was getting slowly worse – much discomfort in the gut. This happens now anyway whenever he has any gas, so we were concerned but not totally alarmed. Amanda said, “We don’t have to worry until he takes a pain pill”. Matthew is fully aware that most heavy duty narcotics stop the bowel contractions that move things along down there and usually just toughs it out. Well, he took a pain pill just before we took the flight back to Houston.

 Because of the rescheduling, we were scattered all over the plane on inside seats and couldn’t really talk to Matt during the flight. We landed, got off, and got about 200 feet down the concourse when Matthew started throwing up. I must say, he is a chip off the old block. We Haluska’s bazooka barf (projectile vomiting is the politically correct term, I suppose). And he did the family proud. Amanda and I exchanged looks – on the roller coaster again.  A few minutes later he had a second wave, and then a third. The third wave was about half bright red blood. The roller coaster had just taken a steep dive.

 Now, its midnight and the concourse is nearly deserted. The one airport employee we spotted took one look at the mess and disappeared to report it. No wheel chair in sight. So we pulled Matthew to his feet and started staggering towards the passenger pick-up place down by baggage claim. While we were trudging that way, I’m calling 911.

 “Do you need medical, fire, or police assistance?”

 “Medical.”

 “Please hold while I transfer you.”

 Great, calling for an ambulance at midnight and I get put on hold. But not long.

 “What is your emergency?”

 I try to keep calm, clear, and concise.

 “My son has stage 4 colon cancer and is vomiting blood. We need an ambulance. Bush International Airport, terminal A, passenger pickup’”

 Now I was hedging a little, because we were still trekking through the terminal, but I figured we could still beat them to the pick-up point.

 “Is the person conscious?”

 “Yes, he is vomiting blood.”

 “What is your location?”

 “Bush Continental Airport, terminal A, passenger pickup.”

 “What is the street address?”

 “Lady, I’m in terminal A of  Bush… Continental…. Airport… It doesn’t HAVE a street address.”

 “What are the nearest cross roads?”

 Now we are deep in the airport, about a mile from the nearest named public streets, and I don’t know the names of them anyway.

 “Lady, send an ambulance to BUSH… CONTENENTAL… AIRPORT… TERMINAL… A… PASSENGER…. PICK… UP…”

 “One moment please while I try to locate that”

 About a 20 second pause….

“I’m dispatching an ambulance to 2800 Airport Service Road Number 5.”

 Now keep in mind we are still trudging through the airport, dragging 4 carry on suitcases, a backpack, and my laptop bag.  She then starts telling me to lay Matthew on his side and not to give him any fluids, which, in fairness, is good first-aid for a person with a punctured lung. So I just humor her and say, “Right, yes, got it.”

 So we make it to passenger pick-up. About 7 to 10 minutes later, a HUGE fire truck pulls up, lights and sirens on, and proceeds to block all the traffic in the passenger pickup zone. I figured maybe they had sent that too just in case some heavy rescue equipment was needed for Stage 4 colon cancer. I went over and knocked on the door.

 “Are you looking for my son?”

 “Person vomiting and needing an ambulance?”

 “Yes.”

“Yep, that’s what we are here for.”

 “But I called for an AMBULANCE!”

 “I know, but we come first and then WE call the ambulance.”

 Now, in fairness, this guy was just following protocol and immediately called for the ambulance without any more encouragement. There was an EMS on the truck too, and he took Matthew’s blood pressure, etc. while we were waiting.

 Amanda and I had a quick discussion. Even with the blood, Matthew was probably not in any immediate life-threatening danger. So I left Amanda to go to the MD Anderson emergency room in the ambulance and left to take myself and Isaac home.  One last little tib-bit. We were parked in a remote lot, had to wait for the shuttle, were the last ones off a full bus, then had to scout around a bit for the car. Then the Groupon that Amanda had purchased ahead of time would not scan correctly at the unmanned exit gate.  Went over to the one manned booth and gave her the coupon. She said she couldn’t process it,  but she did go down the row of machines at the gate until she found one that worked. Yeah!

As I was pulling out of the park-and-fly lot, one more delay. I had to stop while Matthew’s ambulance went past.

 Next time I will play it this way:

 “What is your emergency?”

 “Fire! My son is on fire! Send a fire truck!”

 That way, maybe they will send an ambulance first.

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Thanks for all the thoughts and support. 

For those that prayed for Taryn today, her surgery went well.  

Keep those prayers coming! 

 

Prayer List Addition

A Matthew update will be coming soon....

Today, I would like to ask for prayers for a friend (shared with her permission).  One of my coworkers, a vibrant young lady named Taryn, was also diagnosed with colon cancer.   She is a recent graduate of the University of Oklahoma and just started teaching first grade.  She is scheduled for surgery tomorrow--Tuesday, October 8th.  I ask that those of you who pray for our much-loved Noodle, to add her to your list.

She is just at the beginning of this fight, but I know that she WILL fight.  She has already shown so much strength and grace in the last week. Taryn loves Katy Perry's song, Roar--to me it sends a message that she is a fighter!

 You held me down, but I got up (hey!)

Already brushing off the dust

You hear my voice, your hear that sound

Like thunder, gonna shake the ground

You held me down, but I got up

Get ready 'cause I had enough

I see it all, I see it now

I got the eye of the tiger, the fire

Dancing through the fire

'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar

Louder, louder than a lion

'Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar!

Thanks in advance for the extra thoughts and prayers for Taryn!

Thirty-five

That's right,  Matthew tuned 35 today!  The fact that he has seen 3 birthdays since his diagnosis is a miracle worth celebrating.  He was released from the hospital last Friday, so he is feeling better.  I actually didn't get to talk to him today--when I called he was out and about and didn't answer his phone.  Don't party too hard!  Join me in wishing a great big Happy Birthday to the Fighting Noodle!

Flashback and the Present

Ok--I promised a more thorough update, but life is getting the better of me, and time is getting away from me.  

Flashback....

So, let me back up a bit to the weekend of September 14-15.  Matthew and Dad came up to Dallas for a visit.  The brought Jenny some painting of Truffala Trees that Matthew had painted for her classroom (Dr. Suess and Lorax theme).  I will try to get her to take some pictures so I can post them.

They also brought me a present.  I have been wanting one of those Joy yard signs for Christmas for years.  Well--Matthew and Dad made one for me.  This is not the one they made (it is in the garage), but it looks like this, and I will take a picture when I put it up in my yard!

They got to watch Evan play baseball, and play on the playground with the girls. (Look at Claire's shirt)

We were really glad they got to come.  Matthew returned home in pretty good spirits, but a couple days later started having difficulty with abdominal pain. As stated in the previous post DejaVu--Matthew was admitted to the hospital for a blockage in his small intestine.

Fast forward a week to today.  Matthew has had a few setbacks--xrays found extended bowel loops.  Which basically means the blockage was putting pressure on the intestine.  The danger of this is rupture.  He has been off of all food and fluids...has had to be IV only.  He has been in quite a bit of pain.  Fortunately, it seems like he may have turned a corner.  The recent xrays showed that the blockage looks better, and he has been allowed to have clear fluids.  Jennifer spoke with him last night, and heard that he has lost 12 pounds!  The reports from today are that he has been in better spirits and has much lower pain levels.  This is good news!

I will try really hard to do short updates even if I don't have time to make it fancy!  Thanks for all of the continued thoughts and prayers. 

Deja Vu

I will give a more thorough update of all the news soon---hopefully tomorrow.   But, for now, a few quick, but necessary updates.

Matthew went in for his quarterly scans.  He has been having some abdominal pain.  The good news is that all the tumors have gotten smaller (don't know details right now).

The déjà vu part, is when they went for the appt they had to admit Matthew for another intestinal blockage.  It took a while to get him a bed, but he was finally admitted this evening.  He is on fluids, and pain meds.  He is sleping.  Right now, I  am assuming the course of action will be similar to the previous times.  Fluids and rest and wait.  They are saying no cell phones. If you need to you can call, 713-792-2121.  Then ask for room 1029.  

As always, prayers are great! 

Two Years...Belated

So, I am like a month late here, and I apologize.  The end of school was kind of crazy.  Not related to Matthew, but congratulations to Jennifer, for landing her first teaching job!  She will be teaching first grade right down the road from me at Richardson Terrace Elementary.

May 17th was two years since Matthew's diagnosis.  The fight continues on, and Matthew continues to beat the odds.  When I last posted, his port had been removed due to infection.  After some recovery time he had his port reinserted and resumed chemo.  His latest checkup showed that one of the tumors did shrink a bit, which is great considering the fact that he missed a couple of chemo treatments.  He had another bowel obstruction scare, which put him back in the hospital for a couple of days, but it resolved  on its own again (and much faster than last time).  Overall he is doing pretty well.  Emily and Jennifer just visited and spent some time with him.

Cancer is horrible, and I wouldn't wish it on anybody.  However, horrible situations allow for people's kindness and good nature to come through....here is a wonderful example.
Matthew enjoys playing a video game called Team Fortress 2. Jeffrey contracted the company, Valve, regarding Matthew.  In return, the wonderful people at Valve sent Matthew an avatar that is personalized with Matthew's *signature* leather jacket, and a kind note.

A big shout out goes to the wonderful people that work at Valve that took their time to make Matthew's day (maybe even year).  I know that this made him very happy.  Also, thanks to Jeffrey for making this happen, of everything that you could do for your brother, this was the perfect thing....

Attention Please

*Clears throat*. Your attention please...I have an announcement.  Matthew is home!  That is all.

Thank you for everything.

Powerful Stuff

Prayer, I believe it is powerful stuff.  We had more good news today.

Yesterday, I may have used the word dinner very loosely.  Yesterday he tolerated clear liquids, so today he was moving on to thicker liquids.

His port was removed.  Fortunately, the infection in his port had not gone to his heart.  This was of concern because of the location of the port.  He will have to have the port replaced for chemo, but this will be after he infection clears.

They are saying he may be released as early as Friday!


Thanks again for your support!

Dinner

That's right, for the first time in over a week, Matthew got to eat dinner.

 His blockage seems to have corrected itself.  He responded well to the clamp on the pump, so the decision was made to remove it.  Of course Matthew didn't want to wait to have it removed, so he pulled it himself.

 Emily theorizes, from the pictures, that this is all actually an elaborate coverup of a rhinoplasty while Matthew participates in a CIA sanctioned makeover.

His port is infected, and will be removed until it heals a bit, and then replaced.  This is probably what is causing he fever.

All in all this is great news.  Thanks for the prayers!

A kink in the line?

The doctors at MD Anderson have decided that the xrays do not show that warrants surgery at this time.  They believe that it is not a tumor or a blockage, but rather a "mechanical problem"--possibly a twist or a kink.  They are taking him off of the stomach pump to see if it will clear...basically, if it will push through.

He is in a lot of pain.

He has been running a fever (it was down at the time of this post), so they have him on two different antibiotics.  The thinking is that the fever is caused by some sort of infection, but we do not know exactly where.

My understanding is that they are doing everything that they can to hold off on surgery.  They really like for it to be at least 2 weeks, and ideally at least a month since chemo before surgery.

We know that he is the best place that he can be.  I ask that you continue to pray for his healing, and for my parents.  It is so hard to watch your child suffer.

I am sharing this video because Matthew once told me he liked it a lot...I think it suits him.

Blowing smoke

Matthew was successfully transported to MD Anderson this morning.   The doctor told Mom that it is not uncommon to wait 5-7 days before taking action in these situations.  They have done many blood tests and many cultures.   The waiting game continues.

  He spiked a fever this afternoon, which of course, is bad. They are treating it, and it is down.  Mom Is taking the first hospital shift.

He is feeling a bit more confident in his setting.  I asked Matthew what the doctors were saying.  He said, "Blowing smoke up my ass."  I said, "is that it?"  He said, "Oh yeah, acetomeniphen too."


I will try to update tomorrow.

Back on the inside

Matthew is back in the hospital.  He was having a lot of abdominal pain and vomiting this morning.  They found that he has a blockage in his small intestine.  They are not sure what it is.  It may be scar tissue, it could be a twist, and it may be another tumor.  However, he just had a scan at MD Anderson that (we think) should have shown any tumors that size.  

There are a couple of things that complicate the issue.  1) Matthew has had a lot of surgery in the abdominal area.  2) Matthew had chemo on Monday-Wednesday, and one of the drugs in his cocktail  acts as a blood thinner.

As a result, they have decided to put him in the hospital and keep him on complete rest.  He has a drain that is draining his stomach and keeping the stress off his intestine.  He is also on an antibiotic and fluids.  They hope it may resolve itself and no further action will be necessary.  MD Anderson is currently full, so he will stay at Brazosport.  His doctor at MDA has been consulted, and the current course of treatment would be the same either place.

In addition, he had been experiencing back pain.  They did an MRI to rule out more tumor growth.  They found he has a bulging disc and vertebrae out of alignment by 25%.  He saw a local doctor, who said he needed a neurosurgeon.  At this time, there is no treatment plan for this problem.

As always, your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Three month scan

Unfortunately, the news is not great.  The scan showed a new growth in the ascending colon.  I have included the picture for reference.  This growth was roughly about 1/2 inch.  In September, they removed a drug from his chemo cocktail because his liver function was starting to be impacted.  The cocktail had previously worked to shrink his tumors.  They will be adding this drug back to his chemo cocktail in hopes that his liver function has recovered and that is will help the tumor. 

The fact that he had a 6 month period with no growth is pretty amazing.  He seems to continue to be in good spirits.  For now, he will continue to take chemo.  Thanks for all of the continuing thoughts and prayers. And...since the Harlem Shake is the "thing" to do right now, I thought I would throw this in.  Harlem Shake...chemo edition.....

Some catching up....

I apologize that this update is long overdue.  Life has been crazy....sick baby, baseball, work, etc..... Sorry for the excuses, I will try to do better. There hasn't been anything really major to report.

Matthew has been continuing chemo.  He has had to space a few sessions further than two weeks apart because of low counts.  He has had low white counts, which needed a boost, and some additional recovery time between treatments. He went for a 3-month scan at MD Anderson yesterday...results to come. He has been having increased back pain, so that is of some concern. 

He has been keeping busy with his spare time. For Valentine's Day, he made a gift for the nurses at the cancer treatment center in Lake Jackson where he gets his treatments (boy has he learned about being kind to the nurses.)  He made a planter out of recycled materials.  The planter box was made from an old pallet that he sanded and painted.  The pots (I believe) were somehow made from plastic bags that he ironed??????  The "flowers" were boxes of candy.  I thought it was really neat.