Monday, October 21, 2013 update: I do apologize for taking so long to update you on Murray. Things have definitely been crazy over here. Getting acclimated back to a home life has been an adjustment. I just dont know where the time went. I found myself putting off an update until tomorrow and somehow tomorrow just seemed to never happen. Murray was released from Banner Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Institute on October 8th. We were so excited because he was doing so well. He had made so much progress and the doctors and therapists were amazed at how far he had come in such a little amount of time. Got him home and Murray thought he was in a marathon: not pacing himself, trying to do everything on his own and not wanting to use his medical equipment (just like a man....ha ha). After a short stroll through a strip mall, he experienced some fatigue......and quickly changed his tune. We werent even home 3 days yet when Murray had to go to Mountain Medical Vista Center ER. Had to call 911 because he ended up having a seizure that Friday afternoon. Lasted 5 minutes. When the EMTs showed up......they did an assessment and Murrays number for everything (blood sugar, blood pressure, etc.) were all over the place. They decided that it was in Murrays best interest to get him checked out and that time was of the essence. At the ER the doctor informed us that Murrays anti-seizure med levels were off. They should be at a 15 and his were only at a 4. So, they increased his meds. Gave him some meds to relax the activity in his brain and monitored him awhile before sending him home. Ever since the seizure, Murray has lost the mobility on his right side again and is weaker than when he left the hospital. This has left him feeling so frustrated. I literally have to move his right leg for him to get up and down steps, to keep his balance while he is standing. His right side literally just wants to hook and/or drag. We had a follow up appointment with his PCP on the 15th. She has arranged for his chemo treatments to be done in Apache Junction and Murray has his first appointment with the Chemo oncologist is on Tuesday the 22nd. She has put in an order for a wheelchair with the insurance company. So thankful that she was able to witness his fatigue and lack of strength especially after the appointment when I was trying to load him in the car at the curb of the office. It took her, her husband and myself to get him in the vehicle. She has also set us up to receive some support with the Hospice of the Valley. Also going to get him set up with in-home physical therapy. Murray ended up having another seizure later that afternoon that lasted about a minute. Irmagerd....we are getting scared of these. The effects of the radiation have caught up to him as well. The radiation oncologist informed us that that would happen about 2-3 weeks after treatment. Poor Murrays hair was coming out in clumps for about a week before he embraced the idea of shaving his head. He has been experiencing nausea daily and started vomiting once a day since Friday. Has already taken a tumble to the floor. On the 16th, I received a phone call from Murrays PCP asking me to come into her office. Once I was there, she unleashed her medical opinion. She went through everything she did involving Murrays care step by step. She had requested his records from the hospitals and reviewed those as well. The important points she shared with me were: * The radiation is helping. The tumors have gone down in size but because of the location of 2 of the tumors it is still putting pressure on the brain. He will continue to have the seizures and more frequently. * Murrays situation is very grave and he needs to start getting his ducks in a row. (We are not ready for this one......I believe in miracles and a higher power. Also, we want to wait and see what the Chemo oncologist thinks. We may be in denial but we prefer denial to despair any day). On the 17th we had our intake with the Hospice of the Valley. They offer a program called Palliative Home Care which offers coordination of care to late stage, chronically ill patients in whatever setting they live who cannot leave their home without considerable assistance. He will have his first home visit with a nurse on the 24th. Murray is a fighter and not willing to give in to the idea of making final arrangements. Regardless of the grave situation, we are still going through with his plan of aggressively treating the cancer. He says hes not going down without a fight. ************************************************************************************* Sunday, October 27, 2013 Thought I was going to get better at this updating but it’s harder than I thought. I do apologize. I know so many of you love and care for Murray and just want to know what’s going on. Please bear with me. On the 18th the nausea got to be too much for Murray to bear. Nothing seemed to give him relief. Just in a constant state of distress. And then the vomiting started too. Put in a call to the radiation oncologist because of the severity of the dry skin, the nausea, vomiting bile, black stools, lack of appetite, and orange to brown urine. I was so worried about his kidney’s shutting down. On the 21st, we finally got the approval for the wheelchair rental through the insurance. So, I went and picked it up. What a God send it was because at this point I was pulling him around the house on a kitchen chair (that had wheels and a mind of it’s own). The radiation oncologist finally called back and decided he wanted to see Murray the following day so they bumped up his appointment. On the 22nd, we had a busy day filled with follow ups and labs. We thought that day would never end. Started out at the radiation oncologist. Because of the seizures he decided to increase the steroids. He wrote a prescription for some anti-nausea meds. Said to push the water. He said that Murray was maxed out on the dosage of radiation and that he couldn’t possibly give him anymore. His body just wouldn’t be able to handle it. He said that the ct scan from the ER visit looked really good. There was no bleeding on the brain and that the radiation is working. The tumors are shrinking which means they are dying. It’s just a waiting game for now. It’s going to take time for the radiation to work it’s magic. For now the tumors are still delicate to his health and we do have to be careful of head injuries and pay attention to side effects. Even though the tumors are getting smaller, we still have to worry about the swelling and the seizures. He also said that we are doing all the right things. He will follow up again with us in 6-8 weeks unless we need to see him sooner. He will do another ct scan then to see where we are at. Took Murray to do his lab work for the PCP after that appointment. Poor guy had to give 10 vials of blood. That just seemed so excessive. Didn’t even offer him juice or a cookie afterwards. Took him out to lunch at Sonic after that. He ate 1/3 of a coney dog which was a lot for him at this point. Was so happy to see him eat again. Wasn’t that big of a surprise considering he had to be fasting for his blood work so he was off his meds. Had the consult with the chemo oncologist next. This was the scariest appointment. We were told that the lung cancer is very aggressive and that the chemo would not cure it. We would only be buying time. The doctor said that besides the cancer that Murray was relatively healthy. He felt that Murray had a good chance of handling the chemo. He said that he might compromise some quality of life during the chemo but in the end it would extend his quality of life to a degree. He ordered a PET scan. PET scans can show up a cancer, reveal the stage of the cancer, show whether the cancer has spread, help doctors decide on the most appropriate cancer treatment, and give doctors an indication on the effectiveness of ongoing chemotherapy. A PET scan several weeks after starting radiation treatment for lung cancer can indicate whether the tumor will respond to the treatment. He also ordered some lab work. Unfortunately, all the labs the PCP requested didn’t cover 2 that the oncologist needed. So, Murray went back for round 2 at Sonora labs for 2 more vials of blood. At this point, I am worried if he’s going to have enough blood left for himself. Freaking vampires!! Poor hubby was so wiped when we finally got home. Had another bout of vomiting. This made 5 straight days of vomiting. L The next day started out so great. Murray was sleeping for 1 ½ hours at a time throughout the day but he was having weird dreams, which was new. His appetite was non-existent again. But luckily I stocked up on Ensure for moments like these. Couldn’t wait to get him squared away on his meds again was just waiting on the pharmacy to get them filled. In the meantime, Murray was still recovering from the day before so he was napping on and off. During one of these naps he woke up calling out. So I went to his side. He started talking to me in gibberish. Couldn’t understand one word he was saying. Which was scary in itself. He kept trying to talk to me but it wasn’t coming out in English. He started to get panicked. Just told him to calm down and take his time. After about 5 minutes of this he was able to speak again. Poor guy needed to use the restroom. Got him all situated and when he was ready for my help again….the whole gibberish speak happened. This lasted on and off for about an hour and 15 minutes. I called the doctor and let them know and they wanted to see him. But poor Murray was too scared to leave the house. Called the doc back. He agreed Murray could stay home and wait for the home bound nurse to see him in the morning unless it happened again. Hubby got lucky and it didn’t return. So, when Murray woke up the next day we were surprised to find he had some mobility again on his right side again. Never seen so much excitement in our house before. J What a beautiful morning. Got him squared away again on his meds, too. Love a great start to the day. When the nurse showed up we explained everything to her. She had such a great analogy for it…..it was like there was a storm brewing in his head and the gibberish came along and made it rain, making it clear up the “static” in his head and setting everything right again. I’ll take that theory. J Murray got a visit from a former co-worker, Mr. P that day too. What a surprise for him. He was a little sentimental but enjoyed the visit immensely. After Mr. P left he just kept saying how nice it was for him to come visit and how much he appreciated it. Beautiful end to a beautiful day. Woke up the following Friday and had more range of motion than the day before. Still has some major swelling in his feet from fluid build up from the lack of movement. Trying to get him to stay with his feet elevated was almost impossible. Nothing like trying to keep a man pinned down when he has his new found freedom back. He will be going to the Ironwood Cancer & Research Center for his treatments once every 3 weeks. His first cycle is Nov 04th. It takes about 2 hours to complete. And then he has to go back the very next day for an injection to boost his white cell counts so he doesnt end up in the hosp. The insurance wont pay for the treatments unless they are 22 days apart so his schedule is always going to be off a little. Which brings us to Saturday…..got the wheel chair ramp built and installed. Just has some minor work left on it before it’s completed. Murray sat outside while my uncle and brother-in-law worked on it. He kept trying to do things but the guys had to crack their whips. Thank God, cause I am going to develop an ulcer trying to make sure this man doesn’t over do it. Feel like I am playing the “you are going to make yourself worse” card so much. But anything to keep him from regressing and to take it easy. Over all…….seeing all these amazing miracles, love and support for Team Murray…..priceless!! gofundme/42fy80
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 09:17:45 +0000
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