Tag: baby

Posted on by Leanne Clark

January update

Happy New Year, everyone! May you find many reasons for joy and hope this year.

After about a month off, John is back on chemo again. His first treatment was on Friday, January 8. He lost his appetite (and 10 lbs.) over the weekend, but so far the other side effects haven’t kicked in yet. Basically he just slept a lot.

I gave him his first Grastofil injection today to help keep his white blood cell count up. Six more to go before the next chemo day on the 22nd. Being back on Grastofil means he can probably proceed with treatment uninterrupted until he and the doctor decide it’s time to take a break again. He’ll have another CT scan in about three months to re-evaluate.

Please continue to pray that the chemo will be effective, that God will give the doctors wisdom in their decision making, and that I will have the strength to take care of our family on the days when John is not feeling the best.

Keep praying for the baby too. My last ultrasound the week after Christmas showed she was growing normally, kicking and moving around, and she had a normal heartbeat, so we are very thankful for that. I found out earlier in December that I have gestational diabetes for the first time in my life, so I’ve had to monitor my blood glucose daily and follow a special diet, which so far has helped keep my numbers on target without the need for insulin shots — another thing I’m thankful for.

I’ll close with a little story to brighten your day. Sometimes I use Bible verses for the kids to practice their handwriting, and I stuck a copy of Philippians 4:13 on our fridge back when Harry was memorizing it. It’s been there for months. The other morning, he saw that I was tired and I must have seemed frazzled because he pointed to it and said, “Mom, just remember, whenever you feel weak, read this verse.” I just thought I’d share these words of wisdom from an 8-year-old for anyone else who could use the reminder today.

“I have learned the secret of living in every situation… I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” Philippians‬ ‭4:12-13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“When peace like a river attendeth my way, when sorrows like sea billows roll, whatever my lot Thou hast taught me to say, ‘It is well, it is well with my soul.’” Horatio G. Spafford

Posted on by John Clark

October

I’m a bit behind on my updates but I have nothing too surprising to report.

I had a CT scan last month. For my situation, the results were good. The cancer has not spread anywhere else that they can see, however, as expected, the cancer is growing again in both my lungs and liver. 

I will be going back on chemo every two weeks starting Oct. 29. It will be on Thursdays this time instead of Fridays. I liked the Fridays because it meant I would be unavailable for a minimal number of business hours. I lost a little time Friday afternoon and Monday morning while I did hyperthermia but those hours were easy to make up. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to put me on the same schedule this time. For the first cycle, I’ll be on only 2 of my 3 usual chemo drugs due to my stoma incision that refuses to heal. We are skipping the panitumumab as it can impair healing, and this wound is taking long enough to heal as it is. That drug is likely the reason why my toe took so long to heal. I’ll be rash-free for awhile as panitumumab is the drug responsible for that side effect too.

My stoma incision is getting much closer to being fully healed though. The drainage is negligible. 

Leanne is now 22 weeks pregnant and is doing well, although we can no longer use Hubert as a pseudonym for the baby after her most recent ultrasound. We’ll have to change it to something a bit more feminine like Huberta.

Poor Harry. His hopes of no longer being outnumbered by little sisters have been dashed.

In all seriousness though, we are thankful that there have been no complications with this pregnancy so far. Thank you for continuing to pray for Leanne and the baby’s health.

As for me, please pray that the chemotherapy will keep working and that I’ll be able to tolerate the side effects.

Posted on by John Clark

August

Summary: I still have a drain and my stoma incision is leaking, but God is good and I feel fine.

  1. The Hospital
  2. The Oncologist
  3. The ER
  4. The Surgeon
  5. Hubert
  6. Pray

The Hospital

I wasn’t expecting to be released from the hospital so soon. The Saturday night before my release I was laying in my bed praying and contemplating how many more days I would spend away from my family when my doctor showed up. Normally I get a visit from a doctor in the morning, never in the evening, so I was quite surprised by this visit. I was even more surprised and overjoyed when the doctor told me he was going to send me home in the morning.

I felt pretty good. My drains hurt when I moved but that was about it.

I was home Sunday afternoon and it was wonderful.

The Oncologist

I met with my oncologist last Wednesday, August 19. Prior to my appointment I had to get blood work done which meant a long walk across the hospital and back for me and my drains. I made it, although it took awhile. My oncologist has booked me in for a CT scan on September 16, and on September 18 we’ll discuss the results. If things are good, he may keep me off chemo for awhile longer.

The ER

Last Friday, August 21, my home care nurse (who is awesome by the way) told me to go to the ER. She was concerned about the increased volume of fluid that was coming out of my stoma incision. She discussed my case with one of the doctors she works with and they suspected I had a fistula. I got to the hospital around 1pm and they eventually gave me a CT scan to see if there were any issues. The CT scan was good. They were concerned there could be a new pocket of fluid beneath my stoma incision that was causing the increased stoma site drainage but there was not. They still suspected I had a fistula but they can’t tell that from a CT scan. There was nothing urgently wrong with me so after waiting around a couple more hours for a surgeon to review my case they did eventually send me home! I had a nice private room and bathroom for most of the day in the ER but then they decided I wasn’t sick enough to justify a bed so they made me sit in an uncomfortable chair while I waited for the surgeon. I spent 12 hours in the ER that day but that’s ok because they sent me home. I had leftovers from Daisy and Magnolia’s birthday party that I missed when I got home at 1am.

The Surgeon

On Thursday, August 27, I had my follow-up appointment with my surgeon (from my ostomy reversal). He said that my left drain could come out but he wanted to leave my right drain in as he saw a little more fluid on my right side in last week’s ER CT scan. He also confirmed I had a little fistula and that it should clear up on its own, although slowly. I have an in-person appointment with him next Thursday, September 3. I have an ostomy bag over my stoma incision right now just to catch all the not-so-nice smelling fluid that is leaking from the incision. The amount went from around 60mL/day to now around 5mL/day. My right drain has been immeasurably low (0mL) for over a week now. I expect the surgeon will order the removal of my right drain when I see him this week.

I was taking Tylenol earlier last week but I haven’t had enough pain to warrant any sort of pain medication for quite a while now. My right drain site still hurts a bit but I am moving around a lot more than in previous weeks.

I just wish I could have a shower. I am long overdue.

Hubert

In case any of you are not on the Facebook, Leanne and I are having another baby who is due March 1, 2021. To continue my father’s tradition of assigning a prenatal pseudonym to new babies, this baby will henceforth be referred to as Hubert until we are sure about the gender or the baby is born. Hubert was unplanned, at least by us. We always wanted a fourth little munchkin (I don’t like odd numbers) and despite my condition we were seriously considering having another one back in February. Those dreams were quickly shattered when we were told my cancer was growing again, which caused us to make the difficult decision that we were done having children. We were so sure about it that we immediately went out and got a dog and started giving away the baby stuff.

Apparently our plan differed slightly from God’s plan because we experienced a minor birth control issue on ovulation day. It’s actually rather surprising we got pregnant at all because apparently it’s common for chemotherapy patients to struggle with infertility. Not me! 

According to the manufacturers of my chemotherapy medication, pregnancy is not a good idea while using said drugs. However, we could not find any data that says why it’s not a good idea. Even my oncologist didn’t have any answers. I think the lack of data is related to the typical age of people with cancer. We are going to do a little extra non-invasive testing with this pregnancy just so we have as much data as possible if there are any issues with little Hubert’s health. We are so happy and thankful to God for this new life!

Pray

Thank you for all your prayers. From getting my drains installed sooner than expected to being released from the hospital, God has answered our prayers.

  • Please pray that my fistula would heal on its own and heal quickly.
  • Pray that my CT scan will justify a further extension of my chemotherapy break.
  • Pray for Leanne. She has been doing so much for me this past month while fighting through her first trimester nausea. She is feeling better now that she is in her second trimester. Pray for strength for her as she soldiers through this pregnancy while dealing with my health issues and homeschooling our children.
  • Pray for little Hubert. Pray for his (or her) health and that my chemotherapy drugs will not have any affect on him.