Recovery Day 9

He's doing so well, but there have been challenges. And there definitely still will be while he recovers at home. Yes I said home! We aren't there yet but getting much closer!

Today will be known as Drains be gone day! All the drains from plastics are gone now! Dr. F's fellow removed his drain today! Now we just need Dr. Y's drain, and he will be tube free!

We took two big walks! We went up to the observation floor again. And then later we went down to floor two and walked around "The Park."

He is struggling with some stomach gas issues this evening. We are praying that gets resolved soon. Otherwise it's been a good day!

Recovery Day 8

Two more tubes are gone!!! He's down to "just" three drains and the IV is in but not connected! Alan was able to eat more today! They also gave him the 4 vaccines he needs since he no longer has a spleen. 

This morning we took an adventure walk! Alan wanted to ventured off the 10th floor and went to the Observation Floor! Such beautiful views! It was a big walk and three different elevators involved. I was so proud of him. 

We also had the pleasure of a visit from one of our dear friends, Paul. Mr. Brown has been texting Alan and I daily throughout his cancer journey. It was wonderful to spend some time with him. 

There has been some issues with his colostomy bag. We are working through them. A lot of this will be trial and error as we figure out what works. Part of the challenge is how close it is to his incision. The other challenge is that just learning his body and what's going to work for him.  

Lord, give us and the doctors wisdom. We have lots of little details and things we are working on before release. Pray for the rest of the drains to go. Please also continue to pray for the girls with school and UIL Area Competition this Saturday.  

- Mel

Recovery Day 7

What an incredible day! So a full night without the NG Tube was much easier on his ability to sleep! 

First thing this morning he was moved to soft foods! So breakfast consisted of eggs and half a banana! Then lots of walks!

We received some training for when he gets released. Yes, those discussions are starting! That's a great thing. His epidural was capped to test if he was ready to have it removed. He was also switched to oral meds!

He had some lunch as our awesome pastor, Justin came by for a visit! Alan enjoyed the visit, but was tired so it was short. His fabulous wife, Jennifer brought me lunch and I got some girl time!

When I got back from my lunch date, Alan's epidural had been removed! His mom also came to visit! After a nap, his catheter was removed! More walks! And more walks! 

Then the best news of the day! HE HAD A SHOWER!!! It was challenging with 4 drains and an IV still in place, but he managed with assistance! Now we are walking after his grilled salmon, mashed potatoes, and strawberry jello dinner. 

Dr. Wise One said this morning that he has never seen someone walk this much! I cannot sing Our Lord's gracious praises enough. He has managed Alan's pain and given Alan incredible strength and fortitude for this fight! I am so grateful for a man who fights this hard! 

- Mel

Recovery Day 6

Grateful. Beyond words grateful. Amy Bush Amspoker, you are such a blessing to your brother and I. 

Yesterday Amy was Alan's allowed caregiver. She was incredible in helping him and keeping me informed. Yesterday was hard on Alan and I. Being apart since his first diagnosis has been hard. But leaving him in the hospital while I did Homecoming with the girls was harder. Amy was his cheerleader when I couldn't be. 

Yesterday, Alan had a fabulous day. He walked more times than ever for well over 1/2 a mile total. Impressive! He battled with a low grade fever but that seems to be gone now. He did another NG Tube gravity test and at 10 pm last night they concluded the tube needed to go! So he has 1 less tube, the one he has been so desperate to get rid of!

This morning I got my first text in a week from my husband! I have missed seeing his notifications pop up. We texted briefly and then I hightailed it down here the minute the freshman girls had been picked up from the sleepover! Oh how I have missed this face! We have already walked a couple of times together and he has walked a few times without me. 

Today he gets to start clear liquids VERY slowly. So we ordered some jello and apple juice! We will see how he tolerates little sips/pieces of that. He's hopeful to get the epidural out tomorrow, as they told him it definitely stays for 7 days. So we will see!

The key things between now and release are walking, removal of "tubes" - drains, epidural, etc, and toleration of nutrition by mouth. But this is a SLOW process. You can't rush this. So my focus is on keeping Alan encouraged while the progress will seem slow. And starting to have important discussions we haven't been able to have while he had the NG Tube. 

Prayer Requests:

• Continued strength and protection for his body 
• Continued mental stamina
• Safety for Mel traveling back and forth
• Girls emotional fortitude
• Girls time management with a game coming Friday and competition all day Saturday. 
• Positive discussions and eduction on how we help him heal best
• All of our fears
• Awareness of the gravity of this and of how to handle each other
• Wisdom for Alan with his medical care
• Fatigue
• Alan being cautious with overdoing 
• Pathology results - clear margins and all really gone. 
• Sleep for Alan 

- Mel 

Recovery Day 5

Alan walked 7 times yesterday for a total of 1200 ft, but his body was not ready for any more tube removal. When you think of all his body went through, it's truly amazing he is walking! Let alone already lost some tubes!

Last night's nurse was wonderful! This is a huge praise since I left before meeting her. He did have some NG Tube issues during the night that the nurse couldn't get corrected. However, she was engaged and tried everything she could and then she called in the doctor to resolve it. 

While waiting on the NG Tube to be resolved, Alan walked two laps in the middle of the night. Never one to just sit around!

Nurse L this morning seems good! Amy is with him most of the day. She said he is very tired from last night but in good spirits. He already walked 2 laps again this morning. So before 8, he's two walks and 600 ft down! Way to go, SuperAlan!

While being apart from him is hard, I knew I was where I was suppose to be last night when Rebekah saw her Fathead in the stands during the performance! It was such a joy to see the whole show for the first time! And they killed it! It was also nice to see so many students stay and watch the band! These kids work so hard. Two weeks til BOA Super Regional and State! Pray that the girls enjoy every moment of this time together in band!

- Mel

Recovery Day 4

 Alan got a better night's sleep than he has since getting here! Huge praise. He did not walk again after I left because he knew he needed to rest!

Sadly he hadn't had much assistance from the new day nurse. So when I got here just before 8, I waited to see what this new nurse was like. 

When the comment about something he said to her came up a couple minutes later and the response was, I'm sorry I hadn't been paying attention, I was done! So I go into Alan Lawyer mode. So Nurse J, how long have you been at MDA? Since Feb. And how long have you been a nurse? Since Feb. 

Alan emphasized again how he wanted to get up and walk. She said she had two more patients to do meds for and would be back. I asked if Caleb (friend of Matthew) who was also helpful yesterday could help. She said he is on other things today and said she would be back at 9:30, that was over an hour away. 

Nope, nope, nope. So I went looking for the Leader Nurse Alice who assisted Matthew with getting some things he needed yesterday. I couldn't find her but happened across the floor manager, Dan. He listened to my issues and immediately jumped into action. 

Alice came and assisted me in getting him out of bed and then he walked the hallway (not around the pod) which is 50 Ft longer.  Then he sat for a bit before walking again!

Dr. Wise One and Dr. Bubbly came by. They were in great moods and gave us great news! He is now doing a gravity test on the NG Tube! If by 3 he passes it, they will remove the NG Tube! This would be massive! Also they said he was good enough to not have to wait on the nurses to walk!!

So we've done 4 walks of 800 total feet already today since I am able to help him with all the tubes! So proud of his drive. The four teams of docs that check on him daily emphasize how important 2 things are: walking and breathing exercises!

If you know Alan, you know how fixated he can get on a mission. Well the boy wants the NG Tube out! The quickest way to accomplish that is walking. So he is hyper focused on walking!

Please cover Alan and I as I have Homecoming duties with the girls from 7 tonight until 10ish Sunday! Others will help him and be the bulldog for him if needed, like I was today. Being apart may be the hardest phase as I am able to anticipate his needs. Also I am nervous what nursing staff will be like over the weekend. Without me here, esp. Pray that I can be fully present with the girls for this major event. Pray for Alan's heart with not being able to be there for Homecoming!

- Mel

Progress and Regress

Today at MD Anderson was a good day. Spoke with his patient advocate about a few issues (night nurse and clergy visits) and it was super productive.

Alan continues to make progress. But considering what his body has been through any steps forward are progress. He is obviously not getting better overnight. And I think he's accepted that. 

Hell was his descriptive word of choice for how he is today. And I can think of no better description. His body has been cut into pieces on the inside, put back together (kinda) and then scraped, scalded with hot chemo and shook for 90 min while they tried to get the chemo to go everywhere. Then he was stitched back up. 

His body is obviously distressed. His fatigue is insane! You try having chemo inside your abdomen! His drive is intact, but while his spirit says go, go, go, sometimes it is all he can do to grunt. His body, mind and spirit are not currently in sync.

I don't know that I have the fortitude to do this procedure. My husband is BAD ASS! Sorry but that he is willing to try this Hail Mary play to live longer to be here with the girls and I is like Next Level Warrior! He is stronger than all y'all! No offense!

Today his goal from the team was 3-5 times walking. He had walked 5 times when I left for a total of 7 laps. He planned to walk once more after I left for 2 more laps to "beat yesterday." So I will let you know in the morning if he met his personal goal!

He also had a couple of new or advancing side effects! His swelling has continued to increase, but this will hopefully subside some in the coming days but could be a problem for several weeks. Chemo sucks! Also, he has developed a couple of blisters that we are watching and trying to treat with care to avoid having bedsores develop. It's not like the boy can stand around all day, YET!

Praise, our nurse, Matthew, was an incredible help to Alan and I.  Having a male nurse to help a male patient with things he doesn't really even want his wife's help with was AWESOME. Matthew truly lived up to his name (gift of God) with his assistance, encouragement and conversations. Plus I loved his Jehovah Rapha and Philippines 4:4-6 tattoos!

Wednesday and Today I have been getting out of the house before or as the girls leave and getting home around 8:30 to 8:45. Tuesday and yesterday I crashed pretty hard and very fast. Tonight, the girls waited to eat with me, but sadly things did not go well. Fear mixed with stress of Homecoming Week has one daughter really struggling. And the other daughter struggling not to co-parent. This is 6 years of tough crap. And that's a lot for me to deal with. Now try being a TEENAGE girl! Yeah... this is not for the faint of heart as a kid or as a parent of a kid. 

There are scars from the last six years that I didn't reference in my I Hate Cancer post from last night. The things I could write about the impacts this has had on each girl could fill more blog posts than anyone would read! 17 and 14 is tough, period. 12th and 9th grades are tough, period. Dealing with cancer since 8 and 11 is tough, period. Add all that together and again I'll use Alan's word for today, it's Hell.

So tonight I covet your prayers. I am not going to give a list because it would take too long to get it all! So my cliff notes version: that we have Matthew again tomorrow, Audrey, Rebekah, Alan, Me. 

Thanks again for walking through the realness with us! I'm grateful that we have HOPE in Christ or else I don't know why any one of us would choose to still battle on. 

- Mel