Day -3: Tuesday June 22 (continued) Our new friend Elisa knew that Eli left his dice for Magic the Gathering back home. We couldn't find any at the grocery store to which she had given us a ride on Monday, so she looked on Amazon. She found some, that ended up being free because of …
Day -5 Sunday, June 20 Waiting to board the plane Sunday we flew to Houston for the Car T cell therapy clinical trial. The chemo and radiation we did in May quieted the cancer sufficiently and we decided to move forward with the trial. Waiting for takeoff During the past month, I filled out and …
When life hands you bacon, make bacon bandaids. "Life before death" Eli was discharged from the hospital Friday with normal breathing. The breathing treatment in the Emergency department had gotten things back to "normal", whatever that really is for him. "Strength before weakness" While Eli wanted surgery, that was never a good option. He has …
I've been trying to figure out the best answer to this common, reflexive question, because the answer for the last week or so has been "Not so good" and "please don't ask". Last week we met with the team to discuss the PET/CT and next steps, like how do we make it to the trial …
With Eli's continued pain and not so mysterious neck lump, came more visits to the doctor than I like. Eli's eagerness to go meet with doctors, get tests done, and take pain meds was evidence of the discomfort being caused by whatever is inside his body. Monday, we met with the radiation oncologist, since he …
The head/neck MRI showed the tumor behind/ below Eli's eye is stable. This is good news. Our team discussed the findings and decided on two more cycles (6 weeks) of chemo, then we'll do more scans. Basically, as long as what we're doing is working, we'll keep doing, unless other toxicities appear. Thursday, we were …
Last week Eli had the week off of chemo and all other medical stuff, so I decided to take care of my own medical housekeeping. I didn't set out to compete with Eli for number of medical appointments in a week, but it was almost a tie. Tuesday: About 2 1/2 years ago I had …
...and it's cancer!" -Elijah Augustine Today we celebrated Peter's birthday. His was my shortest labor and lasted about 45 minutes. It was the only time my water broke at the beginning of labor, but I usually give birth about 45 minutes after my water breaks, so that part was normal. It may be Peter's birthday, …
It's interesting to interact with someone who knows more than you. Eli's doctors are smart and have much more experience than I when it comes to fighting this cancer. I've appreciated their expertise and learning from them. I had been increasingly concerned by the various symptoms and side effects that have popped up the last …
Since we returned from Cancun, Eli's eye pain has been resolving, so that has been becoming less concerning. On the other hand, he has developed edema in his left foot and leg that has been getting worse. He also has a small swollen lymph node in the inguinal area, which brings to mind the swollen …
Eli The Boss 