Wednesday, September 15th

The chemo pills arrived from CVS/Caremark yesterday (UPS did their normal stunt and left more than $5000 worth of pills sitting on the front porch and never even rang the doorbell) so I started a new round of chemo last night. The pills are more than double the dosage of the pills I took my last round, but I only take the pills five days a month. It was kind of a rough day today. My strength and balance are not very good. Walking is getting harder every day. The chemo doctor says it might be from the steroid I'm taking to reduce swelling. He's going to try to back me off the steroid dosage once I'm past this round of chemo. I surely hope that helps. Backing off the steroid may help me sleep better at night, too. That would make Carole happy as well.
I had a new experience tonight. I went to Target with Carole and drove around the store in one of their motorized carts. It was great to get out, but a couple of times, I think Carole thought I was going to knock her over because I was a "little" bit out of control. Then, once I got the hang of driving the cart, I couldn't seem to stop. I even unintentionally drove away from Stephanie when she was trying to ask me a question. Sorry, Stephanie! I really wasn't intentionally ignoring you.
Take care, everyone!

Saturday, September 12th

I've been trying to stay as positive as possible, but I was really expecting bad news yesterday. Fortunately, the news ended up being about as good as could be expected. The tumors (or lesions as the doctor calls them) had grown a lot between June and July, but after looking at the pictures from yesterday's MRI, they appear to be about the same now as they were in July, so the rapid growth seems to have been stopped. The bottom line is, we're going to start another round of chemo as soon as CVS/Caremark can ship me the next prescription of pills, and we're cautiously hopeful the trend will continue. The chemo pills are supposed to arrive next Tuesday, so I'll start Tuesday night. It's kind of a pain, but that's the way it works. Brian drove down from Minneapolis Thursday night, and along with Andy, joined Carole and me for the doctors' visits on Friday. I had an MRI, then met with the radiation oncologist and the chemo oncologist. It's always nice to have an extra set of ears listening to what doctors are saying (especially when we all heard the same thing) plus it's reassuring to have friendly faces in the room with you. It was a really exhausting day for me, but it wasn't as long as I thought it might be. The long-winded chemo doctor was actually not running as late as I thought he might be, and he offered some hope I didn't anticipate when he said the fatigue I'm experiencing in my legs may be related to the steroid I'm taking. He doesn't want to make any changes in the dosage while I'm starting the new round of chemo, but in a week or so, I think he'll try to wean me off of the steroid a mg at a time. Hopefully that will improve things with the fatigue.
After the doctor's visits, we made a stop at Whitey's for a malt, then Tory met us at The Vine where I had their Friday Fish & Chips special. Good stuff!
Thanks again to everyone for your sympathies regarding my father's death. Cards are still arriving almost daily. My family and I really appreciate your thoughts and concerns. Thanks also for your prayers for my health. I always knew they wouldn't hurt, but they seem to be helping!

Saturday, September 5th

Here's a picture of Bengt, Gerd, Carole and me taken a few weeks ago at The Red Frog in the Czech Village area of Cedar Rapids. The Frog Burgers were awesome, and huge (as you can see). If I remember correctly, they are ½ pound burgers and I know they are awesome! As you can tell, I'm still thinking about food all the time. It's more than just chocolate malts in my mind, but the malts are still at the top of my list.
Carole has been working half days, staying home with me every morning, making sure I don't have any problems, then teaching her 6th graders in the afternoon while I try to nap. So far the plan has worked. She has a sub she really likes a lot that has a similar teaching style to hers, so she isn't stressing about what's going on in the classroom while she's home with me.
I feel as if I'm repeating myself, but this week has gone pretty well for me. I still go through times when I'm really tired, with weak legs and poor balance, but a quick nap usually helps. I'm starting to get anxious about next Friday's visit with the doctors in Iowa City. Just the date, Sept 11th makes me nervous. Andy and Brian are planning to go along with Carole and me. I hope all goes well, but I'll just have to wait and see what they say.

Wednesday, September 2nd

The last couple of days have gone pretty well for me. My balance still needs some improvement and my legs are still weak, but I've been able to work 4 - 5 hours each day (with naps in between), and overall I'm feeling quite a bit better than I was a week ago -and I think even Carole would agree with that assessment. I'm sleeping better overnight which makes a huge difference.
Thanks to so many of you for the sympathies you've sent regarding my father's passing. I appreciate your thoughts and support during this stressful time. I'm fortunate to have two sisters and a brother who live close enough to my mother who are able spend time with her and help her through her grieving process. Additionally, I have another sister who lives in Peoria who can be there in four hours if needed. I guess there's something positive to be said for big, supportive families. I know I'm certainly happy to have Andy, Brian and Jeff calling, encouraging me and checking on me so frequently.
Lastly, welcome back Negebe. I missed you. Good to see you overcame your technological challenges, and I'm glad there's somebody else out there who can relate to some of the non-cancer things I'm facing with such great humor.

Sunday, August 30th

I think I've almost caught up on my rest since my dad's funeral because every day I feel a little bit better. I still have a little trouble with my balance, my legs are still a little weak and most of the time, I walk with short, shuffling steps, but the good news is, I can still get around on my own okay and my mind is still working (although some of you probably questioned that before this all began). I'm trying to avoid malts for a few days because I had to buy new "fat pants" while I was in Kokomo in order to have something to wear. Somehow I managed to squeeze into my suit for the funeral. Additionally, I had to borrow a belt because my old one wouldn't go all the way around me anymore. I think when I sit around and watch television all day, I just fill the empty time by eating, and that's not very healthy. I wish I could be more active.
Brian and his housemate, Ben came to Cedar Rapids on Friday night and will return to Minneapolis later today. They did a lot of work around the house yesterday - a huge help to both Carole and me. Andy also came up for dinner last night. I think Andy and Tory are going to come and visit later today as well. Carole stays on my case to be sure to stay rested and does a super job of taking care of everything I need (including reminding me when I shouldn't be hungry again).
Take care!

Thursday, August 27th

Carole and Andy drove me to Kokomo, IN on Sunday to attend my dad's funeral. Special thanks to my brother Mark and his wife, Brenda for letting Carole and I spend Sunday and Monday night with them. We left Kokomo after the funeral on Tuesday and spent the night at Carole's brother and his wife's house in Valparaiso, IN that night. We made a short stop at Fair Oaks Dairy Farm along the way to "Valpo" and tried out their chocolate malt - it was good, but, believe it or not, it was too "chocolatey" for me. Stopping in Valparaiso made the drive back to Cedar Rapids yesterday a couple of hours shorter plus it gave us a chance to spend a little time to relax and chat with Jim and Nancy as well.
All in all, my father's funeral went well. During the visitation on Monday, my nephew, Mike suggested I try a malt from the Frozen Custard in Kokomo, so I did. It was close to a new #1 -really creamy, but not quite as malty as I like. During the visitation and funeral, I think I embarrassed myself by crying too much, but Carole has assured me it was okay. I contend it was because of a combination of all the medications and treatments I've been taking - the radiation, the chemo drugs and the steroids - needless to say, my emotions are a little out of control right now. Several aunts, uncles and cousins attended. It was good to see them all and talk with them. I just wish I hadn't been so exhausted and I could have spent more time to talk with everyone than I was able to spend with them. I'm still having some good days and some "not so good" days.
Thanks to everyone for your kind thoughts, prayers, donations and expressions of sympathy I appreciate all of them.
One last note, for those of you who keep telling me Brian is right that I look like Uncle Fester. I contend I actually look like my real Uncle Jim (my mother's brother). At least he's real family, and I can be proud of that.


My Uncle Jim Schultz

Friday, August 21st

Many of you know that my father was diagnosed with a brain tumor late last year. He went through a similar course of treatment that I just finished, but after the first round of radiation and chemo, his doctors stopped the chemo and switched him to a different kind of treatment - some sort of protein therapy. My doctors are indicating I will probably go through more chemo therapy. Anyway, last night, my father passed away. He had been at home for about a week with around the clock hospice care, and the last few days he was heavily sedated with morphine, so his passing was not a total surprise, but it's still sad, and I know I'll miss him. I also know he was ready to die, and he's in a better place now, but that doesn't mean everybody around him was ready for this to happen or that we were totally prepared for it.
Things have changed a little bit for me - more good days than bad days this week. I guess that's an improvement! I'm still trying to stay as positive as possible, and I appreciate all the encouragement, prayers and success stories all of you are passing along. Thanks!
The funeral is next Tuesday, so I'll probably be in Indiana until next Wednesday, probably not many blog updates until after that.