Cortisone shots today

Conditions remain much the same here since I last wrote, Oct. 17. Radiation treatments have concluded and we continue to hope that they will help with John's hip pain. Likewise, the x-ray guided injections today of cortisone have a likelihood of reducing inflammation and thus, relieving pain. John will soon start on another kidney cancer drug, Afinitor, as results from the Nexavar he has been taking have not all been as we'd hoped. Upon much urging from friends and family, we are getting some home assistance three afternoons a week, which serves as a huge help for me. We look forward to a visit next week from John's sister, Margaret and his mom - both of whom will drive down from Atlanta.

John home and enjoying family visits

John is home from rehab and working hard on regaining his strength. Our son, Will, visited last weekend and his stories of his new hometown of Chicago and of life with his beautiful new bride were energizing. Our daughter, Anna and grandson, Soren, arrived on October 14. We delayed my birthday celebration so that Soren could help with blowing out my birthday candles! Soren and Anna baked a delicious coconut cake and our special seafood dinner was provided by Jeanne Doney. Having an 18 month old around is really energizing!
John is going to physical therapy three times a week at TGH and is also having daily radiation treatments for cancer in his hips. We have more family arriving later this week, which is such a blessing.
Our plan, if all goes well, is to have a family Thanksgiving Dinner at the Yacht Club.
We want to express our deepest thanks to everyone who continues to support us. The twice-weekly meals on Food Tidings help us out more than you could ever imagine. Such a simple thing, and yet, so --- so very helpful. Keep those positive thoughts and prayers coming!

Release from rehab

John's been doing very well, over-achieving as usual, and has beaten his projected release date from TGH rehab by a week! Everyone agrees he will regain strength and improve more quickly at home. Our son, Will, is heading home for the weekend, which will make John's homecoming even better. John's latest CAT scan shows a small bit of new activity with his cancer, so the medical team plans on changing his medication as soon as radiation treatment on his hip is completed. It remains an ongoing challenge to get "far enough away" from tough treatments to enable him to regain strength and some semblance of normalcy, but we continue to try!

Rehab Begins

Even though John's hip surgery went well on Sep. 15, the remnants of pain and weakness continue to plague him. He spent a few days this week in the hospital at Moffitt getting thoroughly checked out. The good news is that most of his symptoms are being caused by strong medications, exhaustion and dehydration - NOT a return of cancer activity in his brain. He's graduated from hospital care to rehab at Tampa General, where they will do a full evaluation on Monday and begin his rehab workouts. He may be there for a couple of weeks, in Room 410 - he has a great view of the water and downtown Tampa - so we are trying to consider this time as sort of a medical "spa."

Surgery Complete

John was in the hospital most of last week. His hip surgery was completed on Wednesday, the 15th, with the surgeon expressing "cautious optimism". Arriving home Friday evening, we realized the huge obstacle ahead of us now is physical rehab. The hip pain is diminished, but the cumulative effect of all he's been through will require physical therapy to rebuild his strength. With mobility significantly diminished for a while, we aren't out and about much now, so Food Tidings is open for business again. Thank you to all who have continued to ask if you can help in this way, and please don't overdo, we know you're busy! Just picking up something simple, small, and ready to go while you are already shopping is what we have in mind, as running errands is difficult right now.
Best to everyone,
Ellen

Autumn approaches

And with it, changes in John's health picture. We did "make hay while the sun shone" and had a marvelous summer, complete with precious memories and lots of time together as a family. As the summer weeks went by, however, John's right hip began to pain him and an MRI showed that cancer in his hip was causing the discomfort. He's now scheduled for a surgical procedure in mid-September which should alleviate the pain and get him back on his feet again. New bone scans and CAT scans are also right around the corner - totally unpredictable what will be found. We are taking these hazy days of September easy, staying close to home while we await his turn in the operating room.

MRI Today Shows Good Progress

John had the third MRI on his brain today and the results were encouraging. Of the 5 tumors he started out with, only 3 remain! And those have continued to reduce in size since the beginning of this saga, Feb. 15. We were so happy to see these results...as you might imagine! He will continue on the cancer inhibitor drug, Nexavar, until early October, when a new CAT scan will let us know if the cancer remains contained in the kidney or has spread elsewhere. Until then, we plan to enjoy our summer days as much as possible and remain so appreciative of everyone's interest, support and prayers. Hopefully, this will be the last blog update for a while. And that is great news for everyone!!!