April something, day 11

5 hours out of today's cystoscopy, the fluid coming out of the catheter is the same color as the solution going in.  This would be a good thing and I would like to breathe, but I am afraid.  So far so good!

Day 11

Still at the hospital.  Alum solution seemed to help, but Roger had clots and bladder spasms throughout the night.  This am the catheter was taken out then a few hours later the doc put in a new one.  The pain from the bladder spasm goes up into his back where the new stent went in... waiting now on scheduling.

April 25, day 10

Trying a different solution to flush bladder. Still experiencing blockage/spasms, will know more after doctor tomorrow. Day was going pretty well until 7PM, when 1st spasm occured

In The Garden Alan Jackson

Sanity song of the day

Little River Band - Help Is On Its Way

April 22, 2012

Cloudy
The sky is grey and white and cloudy
Sometimes I think it's hanging down on me
And it's hitchhike a hundred miles
I'm a rag-a-muffin child
Pointed finger painted smile
I left my shadow waiting down the road for me a while.

And so it is or seems to be going home is getting closer.
Urologist is taking out the foley catheter today, says the urine flow looks much better, few clots.  Praying for urine stream, praying for pee pee. :)
The stent (the double J-internal stent from the right kidney to bladder) seems to be working since yesterday's cystoscopy.  Doctor's comments: never seen such tenacious and numerous clots in bladder.  Doctor irrigated the catheter this morning and looked good, still a few clots but small and flow still Cherry Limeade.
As the stent appears to be working, the possibility exists that the external nephrostomy line and bag will be removed tomorrow.
Maybe I will be catching up with my shadow tomorrow.

Cloudy
my thoughts are scattered and they're cloudy
They have no borders no boundaries
They echo and they swell
from Tolstoy to Tinkerbell
Down from Berkeley to Carmel
Got some pictures in my pocket and a lot of time to kill.

Have tried to keep everyone updated, but sometimes its a struggle just to keep up with everything that is and has gone on the last week.  So most of my updates seem, yes, scattered and cloudy. Things have changed so quickly, yes, you might be going home tomorrow, no not today, yes soon, no sorry.  So it has been hard to keep up with the unexpected (or maybe they were expected but we were unaware of the complicated that might arise) and I have no recollection of who has or has not been updated and what I told this person or that person.  I am tired of calling, answering calls, texting (especially) but trying to maintain a pleasant demeanor, when those incidents occur.  And as crazy as things have been the last couple of weeks, I, too feel a bit crazed and exhausted.  And if there is a sense of urgency in my voice or texts, it's all because I have no idea what is happening next and little recall of what has gone on.

Hey, sunshine
I haven't seen you in a long time
Why don't you show your face and bend my mind
These clouds stick to the sky
Like  floating questions, Why?
and they linger there to die
They don't know where they're going and, my friend, neither do I

It looks like sunshine is on the way.  Transfusion is finished, Roger started getting the hives with the 1st of 2 bags of plasma, so they stopped the plasma, flushed with saline, gave him some benedryl and started the whole blood, and got Roger some much needed blood.  Catheter is coming out and nephrostomy bag is coming out...maybe.  Not sure where we're going or when, but know we will be here or there or somewhere in between...
Love to all,

Pat and Roger

Cloudy,
Cloudy.

Lyrics from Simon and Garfunkel's  "Cloudy"  you can find performances on youtube, it is a beautiful song...

Double J stent April 20, 2012

Double J stent in place, Roger doing good, groggy still but most importantly Frank's status is Pink Lemonade!!!!!!

April 18, 2012

Early, early morning.  Life is 30 minutes at a time.  The continuous flushing of the bladder continues, and the overnight bag has to be emptied every 30 minutes. The bag is the catheter , aka Frank.  Frank's color is cherry limeade right now.  Every so often Frank's color is pink lemonade.  Cherry limeade is not so good, meaning there is still bleeding going on in the bladder.   But the occasional pink lemonade color gives hope to the situation.  The ultimate goal is Mountain Dew. well, mountain dew is a little more green that we would hope and has the look of something radioactive, but none the less Mountain Dew is merely a code name, right?  I digress, I tired, I can't sleep, I exhausted.  The newest development is the nephrostomy bag, a new tube, plumbing if you will, coming out of Roger's back.  It is a tube to drain the right kidney, hopefully to take some of the pressure off his abdomen, and lower back (an area of tumor growth and  a source of continual "5" pain.  (5 out of 10).  Roger has finally started to accept the pain medication.  and will even ask for it now.  This is a good development, as it also helps with the anxiety Roger feels.  Roger is ready to leave the hospital, this is the beginning of day  4 (5 if you count the ER visit, and personally 4 hours in an ER counts as a day in my book).
It is the beginning of a new day, maybe we will see Pink Lemonade, and sunshine

Back to ER

So,  week was an impromptu CT scan of the lower right abdomen at the oncologist office.  Two weeks before Roger was in to see his regular family doctor with this new pain, in the area of the appendix.  Family doc was fairly certain it was not appendicitis and recommended the oncologist try to schedule the CT earilier than the end of April. and so, Roger was at the oncologist 2 weeks early for the scan with an appointment following.  The appointment (April 12) with the oncologist confirmed a new problem in the bladder.  A thickening of the bladder wall is cutting off the flow from his right kidney.  What followed was the oncologist making an appointment with the urologist.  We were expecting to hear from the urologist tomorrow-Monday.
But then, this a.m. Roger was bleeding in urine again, and by 4 p.m. we were headed to the ER, making it to the ER before he was in pain, or not much pain I should say.  Roger takes a pain pill before we head out, he knows what is coming next.  Get right in to ER and get a foley catheter put in.  Roger's regular urologist is on call and is familiar with the case.  ER doc says Roger has a choice to be admitted or she can show me how to flush the catheter.  So now I have a new skill to add to my resume.  We are back home and will be checking in with the urologist at 8 a.m.
Don't know if this episode of bleeding is from the prostate area or the new area of pain suppose we will find out tomorrow....