No Conclusion...

Tony came home from the hospital late this afternoon and is resting comfortably after 5 days of chemotherapy. His 5th round is completed, with one last round to go.

The results of the MRI taken of Tony's neck, offered no answer(s) as to why Tony is losing strength in his right hand. The doctors have said that they suspect the Lymphoma is the root cause, but are not certain. Since there seems to be no nerve damage at the spine, they are hopeful that Tony will regain use of his foot, arm and hand over a year's time.

We continue to be patient and wait on the Lord in all circumstances. We trust Him to know what is best for Tony's life...and our life together.

Our request for prayers are specific. That the Lord would heal Tony of all his nerve damage and bath us in His peace.

New Battle...

Tony has been experiencing weakness in his RIGHT arm and hand. Today he struggled holding his utensils while trying to eat lunch. The Neurology Doctors and Orthopedic Doctors are now involved and MRI's and Neuro tests will be administered tonight, tomorrow and over the next 3 weeks.

Tony's right foot and left arm have been compromised since June..and many, many tests have been performed without a diagnosis as to cause or recovery. We are hoping these new tests and further investigation will offer some answers as to why Tony is now losing strength in his right arm and hand.

We have been rejoicing over the past few days, since learning that Tony is in remission. We know God has been merciful and gracious to us and never leaves us. We ask for continued prayers for full and complete healing. We hope you all will join us in our petition(s).

Confirmed Report

Late yesterday we received the good news that the official report on the Pet Scan shows no active cancer in Tony's body. The doctors have pronounced Tony, cancer free and in remission, at this time. Why complete the last two scheduled rounds of chemotherapy, you ask? Clinical trials have proven that 6 full rounds of chemotherapy gives you the best chance of not having a re-occurance. To that end, Tony checked into UCLA Medical Center...Santa Monica campus, today.

Tony will complete 5 days of treatment and return home on Wednesday. After that it's one more round......and we are finished with chemotherapy. Praise the Lord......He is merciful!!

Good News...

Tony's Pet Scan was administered today at 1:30. We were told at 4:00pm that an "eyeball read" of the scan... shows NO active cancer in Tony's body. We will have to wait 24 to 48 hours to have the official written report, but it will be a surprise to everyone if the report says anything different.

Tony will be admitted to UCLA this Friday to undergo his 5th round of chemotherapy. We were happy to hear that "everything is still on schedule" for the 5th and 6th rounds. We hope and pray that after the 6th round, we will no longer be walking in the world of cancer.

Thank you all for your prayers and support.

Sunday Morning...

Tony and I went to church this morning. It was our intention to attend our Sunday School class, (recently re-named Crossroads), followed by worship service. We even had aspirations of making it to the Crossroads picnic at 12:30....but the outing proved a little too much for Tony.

Tony was so glad that he got to Sunday School. The music, the message and the fellowship were wonderful for both of us. To say it was "good to be back", would be an understatement. We hope when the cancer treatment is over, we will be able to be regular attenders again. Our classmates have been an intrical part in "holding us together" during this time of serious illness. To see all of their faces this morning brought us great joy.......a little bit of heaven I should think.

We look forward to Tuesday. PetScan and results of where and how we stand againist Lymphoma.
Counting on your prayers....

love,
patrice

Postphoned..

We got a call this afternoon from a UCLA representative. The PetScan scheduled for tomorrow morning, has been postphoned due to a breakdown with one of the Scans. UCLA has 2 Scans. Tony's PetScan is now scheduled for Tuesday, October 19th at
9:30am. We will meet with the doctor just following the scan...sometime around noon.
I will post the information as soon as we arrive back home, on Tuesday.

Tony is doing well, but is a little emotional tonight. He talked with his Mom over the telephone earlier. Conversations with his mother usually make Tony a little weepy. He is fine now....calling and asking for dinner. So with that, I say goodnight, and God Bless.

Discharged

Tony was discharged from the hospital today. He is at home and looks and feels much better than he did a few days ago.
Thursday, the Pet Scan will be done at 8:30am and at 10:30am the results will be communicated to us. We hope to hear that the chemotherapy treatments have been working and the last two treatments will been administered, as planned. I will post the results of the Pet Scan here on the blog on Thursday.

Blessings

l

Tony is in the Hospital..

Yesterday after a hard week of trying to get the Home Health Care people and the UCLA people to communicate with each other regarding Tony's blood test results, we went to UCLA Hemotology Clinic to have a blood transfusion. It was discovered during the transfusion that Tony had a temperature of close to 102 degrees, blood pressure of 90/54....and his white blood cell count was nil. Tony was admitted to UCLA medical center last evening.

Antibiotics were immediately administered and Tony is feeling better this morning. Not sure when he will come home, but we were told no earlier than Monday. Tony is going to try to convince the doctors to discharge him tomorrow. We shall see.

I grow more and more frustrated with the scheduling/procedures process each time Tony is discharged from the hospital. It seems I have to spend more and more time on the telephone advocating for my husband, because others are not doing their job(s).
It's been a difficult week watching Tony become weaker and weaker, while listening to nurses and P.A.'s tell me... "we haven't gotten a fax yet." Arrrgghhh! Simple secretarial work....a phone call, and Tony would have been getting treated on Monday. Instead it's Thursday and it's too late to keep him out of the hospital.

Please pray for all of us this week!!

PET Scan

Tony's PET Scan has been scheduled for Thursday, October 14th, at UCLA. The findings from this scan will reveal how well the chemotherapy has been working to rid Tony's body of Lymphoma. We are all hoping and expecting to hear that the chemo is working as it should and that the remaining scheduled two rounds will be administered, as planned.
If the last two rounds are administered as scheduled, Tony will be finished with chemotherapy just prior to the Thanksgiving Holiday. More scans will be done, and the doctors will tell us if Tony is cancer free and in remission, or not, at that time.

Today's mail brought a hand drawn picture from our Great- Nephew, Noah Baker. It depicts, in great detail, Noah's Uncle Tony (T-Bone), slaying cancer with his mighty sword. Tony keeps the drawing next to his bed and shows his friends when they come to visit. It is a precious gift, from a precious little boy.

Thank you Noah!