HAND AND FOOT???
A Father's Day celebration to remember ...
.......with Denny and Wayne ....................... with DeeDee
........ with Bob and Rhonda ....... with Carolyn and Johnnie
....with Tom and (aaagh) Cari ......... with Tommy and Julie
Tom went in today for his 21st radiation and his weekly visit with the doctor. The first part of this week his feet began bothering him. Apparently one of the common side affects of Xelodia (the oral chemotherapy he’s taking) is “hand and foot syndrome” (really!!). Small amounts of the drug leak out of very small blood vessels called capillaries in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. . It’s also known as Palmer-Plantar erythema and initially looks like sunburn. Heat and friction has caused soreness and peeling of the soles of his feet and makes walking painful. They took him off the chemo Monday, which will alleviate the problem eventually, but we haven’t seen improvement yet. Dr. Senzer said today that this is not unusual and patients often only take Xelodia the first and fifth week of radiation. The fact that Tom has tolerated it for almost 4 weeks is excellent in his view. It is also the source of the congestion he’s been experiencing for almost a week. He thought it was a cold and we were relieved to hear that it’s his body responding to the irritation of the mucous lining of his throat and esophagus. So, he’ll take the sniffing, snorting and hacking in stride and keep lots of tissue handy. They will reevaluate the situation next week and may or may not put him back on the chemo. His last radiation is scheduled for next Friday (6/30) and the Wednesday before he will have another CT scan to see whether we go forward with surgery or have more radiation. Please continue to pray and believe with us that the cancer has not spread (or that it’s gone completely), and that Tom’s medical team will agree to proceed with surgery and the development of the vaccine.
Carolyn and Johnnie, Denny and Wayne (Tom’s sisters and husbands) have been here for almost and week and left this morning. We had a great visit, but now have nothing left on the calendar but a date with the LaZBoy. Tom is snoozing there now with his sore feet elevated. My job is to keep him from getting bored so he’ll stay there. I’m off to Costco to find a few videos he might like (why. oh why, can’t he play computer games like the rest of us???).
Thanks for all your notes, messages, cards, phone calls, love and prayers. We couldn’t do this without your loving support.
Eileen
.......with Denny and Wayne ....................... with DeeDee
........ with Bob and Rhonda ....... with Carolyn and Johnnie
....with Tom and (aaagh) Cari ......... with Tommy and Julie
Tom went in today for his 21st radiation and his weekly visit with the doctor. The first part of this week his feet began bothering him. Apparently one of the common side affects of Xelodia (the oral chemotherapy he’s taking) is “hand and foot syndrome” (really!!). Small amounts of the drug leak out of very small blood vessels called capillaries in the palms of the hands and soles of the feet. . It’s also known as Palmer-Plantar erythema and initially looks like sunburn. Heat and friction has caused soreness and peeling of the soles of his feet and makes walking painful. They took him off the chemo Monday, which will alleviate the problem eventually, but we haven’t seen improvement yet. Dr. Senzer said today that this is not unusual and patients often only take Xelodia the first and fifth week of radiation. The fact that Tom has tolerated it for almost 4 weeks is excellent in his view. It is also the source of the congestion he’s been experiencing for almost a week. He thought it was a cold and we were relieved to hear that it’s his body responding to the irritation of the mucous lining of his throat and esophagus. So, he’ll take the sniffing, snorting and hacking in stride and keep lots of tissue handy. They will reevaluate the situation next week and may or may not put him back on the chemo. His last radiation is scheduled for next Friday (6/30) and the Wednesday before he will have another CT scan to see whether we go forward with surgery or have more radiation. Please continue to pray and believe with us that the cancer has not spread (or that it’s gone completely), and that Tom’s medical team will agree to proceed with surgery and the development of the vaccine.
Carolyn and Johnnie, Denny and Wayne (Tom’s sisters and husbands) have been here for almost and week and left this morning. We had a great visit, but now have nothing left on the calendar but a date with the LaZBoy. Tom is snoozing there now with his sore feet elevated. My job is to keep him from getting bored so he’ll stay there. I’m off to Costco to find a few videos he might like (why. oh why, can’t he play computer games like the rest of us???).
Thanks for all your notes, messages, cards, phone calls, love and prayers. We couldn’t do this without your loving support.
Eileen
posted by Cari at 6/21/2006 02:52:00 PM
2 Comments:
Tom,
I just read all of the blogs posted on Father's Day and couldn't help but add more of what everyone feels about you. You inspire the best in people because that's the quality that you exude. Whether it's from choosing the best mate, to picking out the best car, to relaxing on the best beach, you've always been able to show us and give us your best. And you've always seen and brought out what's best in each one of us.
Who else would've taken the time to see that each one of us got to drive the boat (or the prowler)? ;-) Who else took the time to make sure that each one of us got up on not just two skis, but ONE? yikes! And no matter where we'd go or what we'd do, who else would think to give each one of us something fun to wear or to eat or to play with just so that we'd remember how much fun it is to play together? Remember our fun ski hats and Zero bars?
You've personified God's character to me and bring to mind His promise that His type of love will bring blessings to us pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing so that it can hardly be contained. That's what I think of when I think of you, Tom. How blessed am I to be considered a daughter to one of God's best... Love you, Tracy
YES!! I remember our ski hats and Zero bars! I had almost forgotten. What a treasure our memories are. Thanks for the reminder, TJ
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