Sunday, May 30, 2010

Still In The Hospital…

Still in the Hospital as of today, Sunday May 30th.  Yesterday was a tiring day for Kelly.  It started Friday afternoon after we met with a new Doctor,(Dr. Andrews).  He is a Neurologist, Neurosurgeon and he is also specialized in radio surgery, gamma knife, etc which may be treatment options for Kelly’s brain at some point in the future.  His recommendation to us was to get a Ommaya Reservoir (Chemo Port in the brain) installed as soon as possible. This port is where the new treatment will be given from. The port is where the chemo will be injected to the brain and spinal fluids.   I agreed that this should be done quickly so she could recover and get started on the chemo ASAP.  Dr. Andrews mentioned that in order for him to do the procedure, we would have to get a MRI of the entire brain ASAP to see if their was any new obstructions or issues that would stop us from doing the surgery.  Dr Andrews then ordered a MRI of her head that was suppose to take place at 8pm…unfortunately Kelly did not get taken down until after 11pm because of issues the MRI machine was having.  Due to the late MRI, Kelly was not up back in the room till after midnight.  Then she needed to have a special head wash that would be used as a disinfectant for her head to help prevent infection during the procedure.  Most of the night nurses were in and out checking vitals etc so morning came quickly with little sleep for both Kelly and I. The hospital staff came to the room a little before 7:30am to take her down to the OR.  When we got to the OR we met with the anesthesiologist (Dr. Sullivan) and Dr. Andrews to go over the surgery.  After chatting with Dr. Sullivan, we found out he is actually best friends with our other surgeon who preformed Kelly’s mastectomy (Dr. Walsh).  This was weird because they even look a lot a like lol.  I guess Dr Walsh was even in Dr Sullivan's wedding.   Anyway, Kelly then got her IV courage as they like to call it and was off. 

She was in surgery for about an hour.  Dr Andrews came out the waiting room, got me and whisked me into the recovery room.  Normally guests are not allowed in but being that is was a Saturday and no other patients where there they said it was fine.  Dr Andrews and I had a conversation at that point…he informed me that the procedure went well and that it would take about 10 days before the stitches could come, etc.  He then told me some good news…he believes from what he could see on the MRI that Kelly’s two tumors had decreased in size a good amount, almost to where they were hard to see on the MRI (Yay).  He was not able to provide us any new news about the Meningi involvement though, which is what is the bigger issue for Kelly.  Dr. Andrews let me know that they did pull out some spinal/brain fluid during the procedure which will be sent out for testing which may determine how effective the radiation was against the tumor cells in the brain and in the Meningi. 

One of Dr Scates (our oncologist) partners from South Bay Oncology visited with us this morning in regards to what we need to do next for Kelly.  The Oncologist had talked with Dr Scates and agreed that we should wait till Monday to receive her first dose of spinal fluid chemo which would give her a full day to heal from the surgery.  As of right now, we are thinking that we may be going home sometime on Monday afternoon, but this is not a for sure thing…It will mostly depend on how Kelly does after her first chemo treatment.   We are anxious to get home but at the same time because of Kelly’s limited mobility we understand the hospital is probably the best place to be right now.    The nurses are asking that she does not have any visitors at this time due to the fact that she has had almost no rest in the last few days and she gets tired quickly from the pain meds.

The other news we heard is that by Kelly taking the spinal treatments, she will not be excluded from the trial drug she was set to begin called PARP Inhibitor.  This type of treatment is given with two chemo therapies, the major one being Carboplatin.  The initial results from the first trial of this drug was very successful and promising, so we are hoping they drug company will release this drug ASAP and Kelly can begin on that as well. 

Thank you all for checking the blog for the latest on Kelly as I know so many of you are worried about how she is doing.  I will continue to try and keep this blog as current as I can.  Hopefully, Kelly can start writing again soon, when she starts to feel a bit better.  She misses talking and seeing everyone…she loves all of you and appreciates all the support and kind words you continue to bring her.

God bless, Manny

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thank you for keeping everyone updated Manny. Prayers for you and your amazing family are being sent far and wide...

Jen Brown said...

We will continue with the prayers!!!!

Anonymous said...

We'll keep sending you good vibes and we'll also keep saying prayers. Thanks for keeping everyone updated Manny. Love you guys!

karissa said...

Thats good news we will keep sending many prayers and good thoughts. Thanks you keeping us all posted on everything.

Love the Sarmentos

Anonymous said...

We're following you guys like hawks! Thanks for the update and especially the 2 pieces if good news; shrunken tumors and the go ahead for PARP!
Love,
Sue

Britt said...

Manny and Kelly- We think of you daily and can't even imagine what it is like to go through this. I am glad that there are still options for Kelly and that she is not excluded from the trial. Step by Step.

Britt and Brian Kelleher

Anonymous said...

manny & kelly, thank you for sharing the news! that is great to hear that kelly won't be excluded from the trial and that the tumors have shrunk! we are sending BIG healing prayers your way everyday:) XOXO jed & carolyn granger

Anonymous said...

Manny- Thank you so much for keeping us all updated. We all really appreciate it! So glad for the great news....Yay for the tumors that shrunk and Yay for the trial soon and Yay for the new port treating the spine!! Hang in there guys! We are praying for the treatments to go well and for your return home! Can't wait to visit with you both and are always praying!! Love you, Valerie & Kevin

Anonymous said...

Manny and Kelly,

Thank you so much for sharing your story. My name is Shaun and I work for the brokerage firm that does insurance for the Winery. I was keeping track of Kelly's claims for a while to make sure that Blue Shield was doing their job! :) It's so nice to be able to put a face to the name.

Please keep fighting and don't give up. You both seem like very positive, inspirational people. I don't know where you stand with the Lord, but I pray that you both seek Him in every aspect of your lives so that He will fill you with a peace that surpasses understanding. Thanks again for sharing and for reminding me to be thankful for all of my blessings each and every day, even in the middle of a storm.

-Shaun

Anonymous said...

I will continue to pray for Kelly, and everyone working hard to keep her well. Stay positive....placebo goes a long way :) much love ~M.Price

Suzan said...

Kelly and Manny,
You two are the brightest spot of my Day,
Thanks for the smiles-Right back at you!
Lots of Love Always,
Suzan

Megan said...

Thank you so much for the updates, I think about you guys daily. I cant even imagine what you are going through at this time, I can only pray and hope that everything turns out good.... I wish I lived closer so I could do more for you guys. Please continue to keep us updated... Much love and prayers heading your way from me and my family.... Hugs, love, Meg

Anonymous said...

Thanks so much for the updates. You are both on our minds here in Rhode Island. We will continue to keep you in our prayers.... Love your cousin Lena and family.

Anonymous said...

Just thinking about you today Kelly! Hoping you have had some relief since this last post. We are always thinking about you.

Manny~not to bad for a first time blogger :o) Keep it up!

Hillary L.

The Ostojas said...

We are thinking of you and your families often! Please let us know if we can help in any way!

God Bless,
Steve, Jeannine & Riley

Anonymous said...

Love your music choice...
"Dear Cancer,
...if it wasn't for all
That you tried to do
I wouldn't know just how capable I am to pull through
So I wanna say thank you

'Cause it
Makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
Makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter

Made me learn a little bit faster
Made my skin a little bit thicker
Makes me that much smarter
So thanks for making me a fighter."

Oh and PS...@#*& YOU!

Anonymous said...

Many prayers being sent your way.

Love2read said...

In our prayers every day!

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