Greetings everyone,
This weekend my wife brought me back home to North Dakota from the Mayo medical facilities in Rochester, MN. I have spent 25 days hospitalized between Fargo ND and Rochester since March 1.
I began experiencing serious respiratory distress, had a lung resection biopsy on Mar 4 and on March 20 Jet ambulanced to Mayo in ICU. My lungs were full of nodules that were preventing me from absorbing and oxygen into my blood.
Two weeks ago this morning the doctors told my wife to call family and have them there because if I got any worse I would go on a ventilator and all they could do was make me comfortable. I was semi conscious through this was feeling like I was suffocating because my lungs were so bad.
The Mayo Medical staff had only very preliminary pathology data back from the lab but felt the only thing they could was introduce a ultra high dosage of steroids to possibly reduce the swollen nodules in my lungs. This is a standard part of chemo therapy they were told and the only chance for me condition. That treatment was started two weeks ago this morning. By that same evening they were seeing some slow but steady relief in my respiratory distress. My wife, my four children, one grandson and all four of my siblings were there and I could feel their presence even though I could not communicate with them. In my mind as I lay there I fought for each breath I was saying my good bye to each and every one of them, still too vivid a memory.
Early Monday morning two weeks ago tomorrow I was stable enough to be sent out for a pet scan to determine if there was any cancer showing up anywhere else in my body. That test showed that it was contained in my lungs. A bone marrow test was performed several days later and that also came back clear.
I was transferred out of icu to a standard hospital setting on March 25th and a CT scan showed significant reduction in the swollen nodules. I was completely off oxygen this past Monday. Pathology was still performing tests on my lung tissue including gene split analysis of some type.
I was able to be discharged from in-patient status on Apr 2 with a Dr appointment scheduled Friday Apr 4 to begin treatment planning. That morning I was given the final pathology results of Stage 4 T-cell Lymphoma. We are in the process of getting the first Chemo treatment scheduled this next week.
We left Rochester on the heals of the this last snow storm but my wife and I arrived back home safely Friday evening.
I am happy today that except for being quite weak due to the significant muscle loss I am up and around and feeling very alive.
I cannot express my awe over how comprehensive and coordinated an organization the Mayo group is!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I just need to get my strength back to the gas in the trike doesn't get stale on me.
God bless you all for listening because I just felt a need to share this today.
This weekend my wife brought me back home to North Dakota from the Mayo medical facilities in Rochester, MN. I have spent 25 days hospitalized between Fargo ND and Rochester since March 1.
I began experiencing serious respiratory distress, had a lung resection biopsy on Mar 4 and on March 20 Jet ambulanced to Mayo in ICU. My lungs were full of nodules that were preventing me from absorbing and oxygen into my blood.
Two weeks ago this morning the doctors told my wife to call family and have them there because if I got any worse I would go on a ventilator and all they could do was make me comfortable. I was semi conscious through this was feeling like I was suffocating because my lungs were so bad.
The Mayo Medical staff had only very preliminary pathology data back from the lab but felt the only thing they could was introduce a ultra high dosage of steroids to possibly reduce the swollen nodules in my lungs. This is a standard part of chemo therapy they were told and the only chance for me condition. That treatment was started two weeks ago this morning. By that same evening they were seeing some slow but steady relief in my respiratory distress. My wife, my four children, one grandson and all four of my siblings were there and I could feel their presence even though I could not communicate with them. In my mind as I lay there I fought for each breath I was saying my good bye to each and every one of them, still too vivid a memory.
Early Monday morning two weeks ago tomorrow I was stable enough to be sent out for a pet scan to determine if there was any cancer showing up anywhere else in my body. That test showed that it was contained in my lungs. A bone marrow test was performed several days later and that also came back clear.
I was transferred out of icu to a standard hospital setting on March 25th and a CT scan showed significant reduction in the swollen nodules. I was completely off oxygen this past Monday. Pathology was still performing tests on my lung tissue including gene split analysis of some type.
I was able to be discharged from in-patient status on Apr 2 with a Dr appointment scheduled Friday Apr 4 to begin treatment planning. That morning I was given the final pathology results of Stage 4 T-cell Lymphoma. We are in the process of getting the first Chemo treatment scheduled this next week.
We left Rochester on the heals of the this last snow storm but my wife and I arrived back home safely Friday evening.
I am happy today that except for being quite weak due to the significant muscle loss I am up and around and feeling very alive.
I cannot express my awe over how comprehensive and coordinated an organization the Mayo group is!!!!!!!!!!!
Now I just need to get my strength back to the gas in the trike doesn't get stale on me.
God bless you all for listening because I just felt a need to share this today.
epper:
