PET Scan Tomorrow

Hopefully Tomorrow we will finally have our scan and get our good news for the New Year! It has been a while since I've posted a picture of Earl because he was looking so thin but here he is and you can see he looks great. He has gained a little weight and is feeling really good. We had a wonderful Christmas and we are both so anxious about a Happy New Year and a new beginning that will be cancer free. I will let everyone know tomorrow about our results and please keep us in your prayers for good news. Love you all! Donna & Earl

Ready for a New Year!

I hope everyone had a super fantastic Christmas. We did! Spent lots of time over the weekend with family and friends and ate way too much. We cleaned up all the Christmas mess yesterday and I headed back to work this morning. Earl was scheduled for his first PET scan this morning at 7am, so he was at MUSC at 6:30am. They got him all hooked up to the IV and three hours later told him the machine wasn't working so they rescheduled him for Thursday. We will get the results that same day. I know it will be good news and we can bring in the new year and put this cancer stuff behind us. Every day means so much more when you have traveled on this journey and you really learn to appreciate every waking moment and not fuss about trivial stuff. I hear people complaining about silly things and I just smile. They have no idea how great their lives are. I just pray that it won't be too late before they figure it out. I wish everyone a Happy New Year! Love you all. Donna

Merry Christmas Y'all

Three days and I am so excited I feel like a six year old waiting for Santa to come. We are going to enjoy a nice holiday with our family. Drew is home from school and eating me out of house and home. Olivia has her Grandmother running her to the mall almost daily. Thanks, mom. I did some baking this weekend and plan on doing some more tomorrow. My family is coming for dinner Christmas Eve before we head to midnight mass. It is my favorite service of all. The world is such a quiet and peaceful place when you get out of Church at 1am. You get home and crash and before you realize it, Christmas Day is here. I will make my traditional Christmas morning breakfast while the kids open presents and then we will eat supper at my sisters. Earl is doing fantastic. He is enjoying being back to work even though he still tires pretty easily. All in all Life is great. We never know what tomorrow holds, so make sure you tell everyone today how much they mean to you. You all mean the world to me! Merry Christmas! Love to you all.

Donna

Happy Happy Holidays!

Hey Everyone,

I have not been too good keeping up with this blog and I apologize. I have been busy enjoying our life. Things have really been good for us and we are getting ready for Christmas. Last weekend me, Olivia and Earl went out and got our tree and decorated it Sunday. It's nine feet and beautiful. I will get some new pictures soon, promise. Earl lost his mother last year on December 30, so I know this is a difficult time for him but I am just doing my best to give him lots of joy. It has been an incredible year for our family but we are all doing well now. Earl has a PET scan on Monday and we get the results on Tuesday. I am sure all will be fine and won't allow myself to think otherwise. Thank you all for your love and prayers this year. I really don't know where we would be without you in our lives. Love you all. Donna & Earl

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is a week away and we have so much to be thankful for. Earl is doing so much better. He is bored when the weather is bad and he can't get out. He still gets tired easily but that doesn't slow him down. He is really anxious to get back to work and hopefully he will be able to do that in December. Just waiting on the DR approval. Our biggest frustration is eating. He still struggles with that and has lost some more weight. I try not to stress over that, knowing that in time he will gain the weight back, although I really don't think he will ever get back to the way he was before. That is okay, he is healthy and improving and we are thankful to all the DR's who saved his life. Enjoy your family and friends and be thankful for all you have been blessed with. You just don't know what tomorrow holds. Love you all. Donna

November is Here

Hey Everyone!

Well it is November. I can remember back in July when I kept thinking "I can't wait for November" when this will all be over. It has finally come, and life is wonderful. Earl is practically back to normal. He still tires more easily than he did before but that doesn't slow him down. He is pretty active and keeps busy with his new toy. I am having everyone to our house for Thanksgiving so it will be fun & a little crazy. We spent so much of the year alone that I just want to surround ourselves with family and friends. Drew and Olivia are doing well and ready for the holidays too, and a break from school. I just want to say Thanks again for all the prayers over the summer. It's so nice to know how many people are pulling for you when the chips are down. Love you all. Donna

Gettin Better Everyday

We had a great report from Dr. Harper on Friday. Earl had a CT scan last thursday and we got our results Friday. Basically, the tumor is gone! Good news! She says "no surgery" is needed. We will have a PET scan in December to see if all the cancer cells are gone, which we feel really strongly that they are, but still have to wait for that. Earl has gained 7 pounds since the end of his treatment. Dr. Harper said she is so impressed at how well he tolerated the treatment. We had no burns to the neck (thanks to pure Aloe that we used several times a day) and he was not hospitalized at all. Most Head and Neck patients end up hospitalized several times throughout treatment due to dehydration (it's hard to drink/eat when your throat is burning). Earl pushed himself really hard to get better and did everything the Dr's told him to do. That is why he did so well and why he is recovering quickly. He is still very thin and that will just take time. He cannot tolerate spicy foods at all and is very sensitive to salty/peppery foods. He has no taste for sweet foods, said they taste weird. All in all he is good and may be able to get back to work next week. He spends his days working on his new toy (Porsche) and hopefully that will be ready to take for a spin by early spring. So I am starting to plan for the Holidays and can't wait to enjoy them with family and friends. They will be extra special this year. Love you all, Donna

Earl is eating now

Okay so Earl is eating now. Let me just tell you what he ate last night when he got home. Started with Clam Chowder, then had some Chinese food. Decided he was still hungary so opted for a couple pieces of pizza which didn't satisfy the hunger so he had a bowl of chicken noodle soup. Finally, he was full except he needed some dessert. Two bowls of strawberry ice cream. I almost thought he was pregnant. Kidding aside, it is really good to see him eat regular food. He is gaining weight, no surprise with that appetite. Love you all, Donna

Grass Cuttin

My grass cuttin days are over. At least for now. I came home yesterday and Earl was finishing up the grass. Whew! I was planning on doing it when I got home but he mustard up enough energy and did the job. He paid for it, cause he couldn't get off the chair the rest of the night. Barely had enough energy left to take a shower. Yard looks great! He does a much better job than me. We have our first follow up scan Thursday. We are both anxious for the results. Worst case scenario, surgery. Best case, come back in six months. I am praying for the latter and so is Earl. Our lives are slowly getting back to normal. Hopefully Earl will be back to work, full time, next week. I know he is so ready to get out and see all his dealers. He has gained two pounds and gaining some strength back. His appetite is improving everyday. I can't wait til we can go out to dinner again. You just miss the small things in life when they are taken away. We have learned to really enjoy the simple pleasures. Thank you all for your support and prayers. I will keep you posted on the results from out DR appt as soon as we know something. Love you all. Donna

Our weekend

Hello Everyone,

We had a good weekend. Me, Mom and Olivia went to Atlanta for a girls weekend and Earl played in the member/member golf tournament at Pine Forest with his friend Jeff. It was a nice weekend for both of us and we were both very tired last night. Earl is eating pretty good now. He ate half a hamburger yesterday after the tournament and that is a big progress from soup. He is eating breakfast, lunch and dinner now, in small amounts. He did have a craving for a veggie pizza last night but by the time I picked it up the craving was gone and he couldn't eat it. That is usually what happens but he is improving. Hopefully when he goes back for his checkup next week he will have gained a few pounds. He is so skinny. I am really looking forward to the fall and the holidays. I can't wait to decorate for Christmas, I know it's too early now, but I am going overboard this year!!!! Love you all, Donna

A little normal

So life is getting a little more normal. Earl is feeling better everyday and eating a little better everyday. It's so hard for me because I want to encourage him about eating and stuff but I don't want to sound like a nag. It is a fine line. I just want to be the wife again and not the caretaker. We are gradually getting back into our roles as husband and wife instead of patient and care giver. I am heading to Atlanta this weekend with my mom and Olivia to visit my sis, Deb. I think getting away and doing some girl stuff will help my melancholy. Earl is playing in the member championship at Pine Forest this weekend with his friend Jeff. I hope that win! That would be awesome. The big problem Earl has with food now is texture. He has cravings for certain things and then can't eat it because it feels weird. Exhausting. It is such a slow process back to anything that resembles normality. Love you all! Donna

Earl's Present to himself

So as Earl was at home resting from all the chemo and radiation he got on the internet and decided to look for an old porsche he could restore as a present to himself for all the hell he has been through. He went on Ebay and found one in Irmo of all places, so last week he bought it and it is at his brother's house. It is an '81 911 with a targa top. It is in perfect condition except needs some TLC and paint. He bought new tires for it yesterday. He is soooooo happy. It is all he can talk about. It is so nice to see him happy. He got the PEG out friday. It hurt bad, but it is out now and he feels so much better. He is eating okay, but still not enough by my standards. That will come in time. He is just getting so much better everyday! Take care and love you! Donna

Everyday is a new day

Good Morning,

Earl is doing so great. He bought himself an '81-911 porsche (red) as a present for himself. He is like a kid in a candy store, so excited. It needs some work so that will give him something to do during his month of recovery. His Doc is taking the PEG tube out tomorrow, so that is more good news. He can't wait to get that out. We have a follow up tomorrow with the oncologist for just a check up. We get our CT scan on Oct 22, so please keep him in your prayers that all the cancer is gone and that it never returns and we live happily ever after. His Radiologist saw him Tuesday and she was so excited about how well he was doing she followed him all the way to his car, jumping up and down. A little crazy but a GREAT doctor. It is so nice to have our lives back to some normalcy. He still gets tired easy but doesn't really let it slow him down. Hope y'all have a super weekend. Love you all. Donna

Hooray for Progress

Hey everyone.

We are one week out of treatment and doing pretty good. Earl is now eating soup and soft food and not using his PEG at all. He is feeling really good. He played nine holes on Saturday. I am so Thankful that he is improving everyday. It is so nice to have him back. I know it will be a slow progress and he will not be fully back to himself for a while but it is so nice to have him up and around and feeling good. We all take our health for granted and sometimes we don't take very good care of ourselves and just think that we are always gonna have good health, but when you are down and sick and can't do anything for months you realize how important it is. Our next big hurdle is getting the PEG out. I called the DR today to see when we can and I am still waiting on him to call me back. Earl hates it so much that I just think that will be one last thing that will make him feel even better. I am just so excited each day to see him improving and I know by this weekend he will be even better. Thank you so much for the prayers. We love you all! Donna

It's a wrap!

Good afternoon all,

Earl finished his final radiation today! All the Doctors and staff gave him a round of applause when he came out of the "room". I could hear him smiling over the phone when he told me. They let him bring his mask home, kind of creepy. Oh well, Halloween is right around the corner. He doesn't have to go back for four weeks. Now we can celebrate! Dr. Harper said she really doubted he would need any further surgery, so hopefully the PEG will come out soon. They just yank it out, OUCH! So yesterday when I got home from work he wasn't there. That was unusual because he is always in the same chair watching TV. Not today, he decided to go play a few holes. It was like he was a new person. Tired, but he did managed to finish six holes. He said it just felt good to get out. I suspect now he will do more of that. Besides the fact that he is a bag of bones, he really looks great. I will keep you all updated on his progress. Thank you all for the support over the last three months. I love you all! Donna

Great Weekend!

Good Morning,

It was a super great weekend. It started with Friday, I took off to go to Earl's checkup with him. Doc was very pleased at how well Earl is doing, although he would not commit to a date when Earl can get the PEG out. Earl was feeling pretty good so we went and got his hair cut after the appointment. Thank you Lisa for our free hair cut, that was so sweet of you and his haircut really made him feel better. Olivia had a friend over Friday night and we went to dinner with Grandma. Earl went to bed pretty early Friday night but woke up a new person Sat morning. He ate breakfast (waffle) and took a shower and headed down to the driving range with his friend Jeff to watch Jeff hit some balls. Earl hit a couple but too weak to do more. He said it just felt great to get out. He felt good enough to go to Fleet for dinner Saturday night. It was my mom's birthday. Drew, Gracie and Olivia went too. Earl managed to eat some grouper and grits. It was a wonderful evening for the whole family. Tomorrow will be our last radiation treatment. I never thought the day would come. It has been so slow. So far Earl has lost about 20 to 25 lbs. He is very thin, but really looks good for all he has been through. Hopefully in a week or two he will improve significantly. Thank you all for your prayers. We love you all. Donna & Earl

GOOD NEWS FROM THE DOC

Hey Y'all!!!

Earl saw his radiologist this morning after his treatment and she said the tumor is GONE! She said she can't feel anything and that she cannot see anything in his mouth either. That is such good news. She told him that most people can't handle the whole 7 weeks without taking a break so he has done REALLY good. He only has four more radiation treatments and NO more chemo. The end is near. We know we really have to wait until two months after the treatment for our final PET scan and a clean bill of health but this is some good news. She said in the beginning she was very concerned because the mass was big, but she is so impressed at how well it responded and she cannot believe it is GONE! God is Great! Earl looks like he has been to hell and back, and he has. He is so tired and weak but still has a great attitude. He is my hero. I love him so much, I am so excited about getting our lives back. Thank you all for keeping us in your thoughts and prayers, it really does work. Love you all! Donna

Monday Morning

It's Monday for sure. I am really dragging today. It was a super weekend. Earl is doing fantastic. He is not queasy at all now and is only taking a small amount of the naseau medicine. He in still really tired. He has been taking long naps all weekend and that is just what he needs to do. He has been getting all his nutrition in like he needs to and that has helped him feel a little better. See, the chemo drains your body of everything and then it forces your body into working overtime to rebuild all the cells that were destroyed that is why he is so tired. So any extra nutrition helps you have more energy and feel better. He completed his 29th radiation treatment this morning so he only has six left! Yeah!!! He hasn't lost anymore weight over the weekend so that is also a plus. I just need to keep him away from any germs, at this stage of the game we can't afford for him to get sick. Oliva and I went to the Kenny Chesney concert Saturday night. We has such a great time and Kenny really rocked North Charleston. I am glad I was able to share that with Olivia. We will both always remember it. I can't believe that Friday, Earl will be almost finished with his treatment. It has been a long road. I am ready for him to start healing now. His new nickname is Slim! I don't think he likes it. Oh well, it's much better than the nickname his family calls him. Sorry, I can't post that. Y'all have a good week. Love you all! Donna

Weekend is upon us.

Happy Friday Y'all.

Earl did pretty good through the night. He was a little queasy last night but after some good ol ginger ale he felt better. Went to bed early and slept well. We both feel if we just make it through the weekend without getting too sick then we are over the hump and well on our way to the end of this nightmare. Saturday is the Kenny Chesney concert and I am taking Olivia. She is so excited and so and I. Just a little sad that Earl can't go. We only have seven radiation treatments left. It's all downhill from here. I really hope he can get his PEG out before the end of the month. He wants that out more than anything. No cooking for me this weekend, I will have to go out in the mornings to get my coffee. The smell of any food or coffee makes him sick, I don't mind not cooking for a few days. Thank you for thinking of us, I will update you on Sunday at our progress over the weekend. Enjoy your family. Love you all. Donna

Last Chemo Finished!

Good Morning Everyone!

We finished our last chemo yesterday and as of today we only have eight more radiation treatments. We are so glad that we are done with the chemo. It is a long process. We were at MUSC yesterday morning at 8am and got home at 4:30pm. Earl is doing well today. If we can just make it over this hump then it will be all downhill from here. Hopefully by Oct. 1 Earl will be starting to get back to normal. We can't wait to ride the motorcycle and go have a beer. The weather will be perfect for riding. This has been such an incredible journey for us and we are changed, no doubt. Through this all I have become amazed at how awesome God is and how when you need Him the most He is there. Sometimes I am just so full of awe that I feel like I could explode with joy. You learn to take joy in the small things that most of us take for granted everyday. Thank you all for being here for us. I truly don't know what we would have done without our friends and family. Love you all. Donna & Earl

Countdown!

Good Tuesday Morning Everyone.

We had a fantastic weekend. Aunt Sis and Larry came down on Sunday and spent the afternoon with us. They have been at the beach and drove down for the day. It made Earl's day. We started our sixth week today. I can't believe the end is near. He is so ready to be done. The main thing he hates is just being tired all the time. He takes a shower and that wears him out. He has started eating more, so he can get the PEG out as soon as he's done with the last treatment. We will know this afternoon if they are going to do the chemo tomorrow. We only have 10 radiation treatments left. TEN!!! I went to the pool with mom yesterday. It was so nice and relaxing. My boy came home Sunday night, stayed about three hours, long enough for me to wash his laundry and feed him. I loved every minute of it. Hated to see him leave. Olivia got home from Alabama Sunday evening. She had a good time at the Auburn game. Earl and I did some yard work on Saturday afternoon. I cut the grass and he trimmed some hedges. All in all it was a super weekend. I will keep y'all posted on the chemo. Love you.

Labor Day Weekend

Hey y'all,

We have finished week 5. I am so excited that the end is near. Earl is doing great. He is so determined that he is pushing himself really hard. He is eating soup now and that is a big deal since he hasn't eaten food in over two weeks. He is still doing the feedings for extra calories and nutrition but he is really determined to get the PEG tube out ASAP. As you know the last chemo treatment keeps getting pushed back. I have just accepted that and we will get it done when he can handle it. It is the last one so no big deal. I want him to be as strong as possible anyway before he gets it. I can tell his energy level is improving everyday. He hardly takes any pain medicine, maybe only once or twice a day. His voice has completely come back, so that is good. Except for the weight loss, he looks great. So we have a long weekend, as no treatment on Monday. Olivia went to Alabama with her Dad, so we will be home alone. We will just enjoy each other's company and get him rested up for the last chemo. Oh yeah, and I will probably have to cut grass. I guess you're suppose to cook out on Labor Day, but since we can't grill soup, I guess we will have to skip that. I am so excited about the upcoming fall and holidays. I am anxiously waiting our new life. Thank you all for keeping up with our story. Love you bunches. Donna

Quiet Day at Home

Hey Y'all,

Okay so here we are, a quiet day at home instead of getting our chemo. Yeah, that's right, postponed, AGAIN. We got up this morning at 5am, to be at MUSC by 7:30am. Went to the Lab and they said his count was not quite there. I had a small melt down in the office. This is the third time they have postponed it. No ones fault but it is frustrating. So we had the radiation treatment as scheduled and came home. We both took naps. That felt good. So we will try again on Wednesday. It is our last one so I am just ready to mark it off the list. Only 13 more radiation treatments now. Talked to the radiologist today, she said Earl is doing fantastic. She was very excited. Says she sees a lot of people getting the same treatment as him and he is doing so good. That made me feel better. I came home and opened all the windows, it feels so good outside. Back to work tomorrow. Love you all. Donna

Dancing in the Rain

Hey Y'all,

I got an email from Sunny today and one of the quotes that I really like and thought I would share with you said, "Don't wait for the storm to pass, learn to dance in the rain. I really feel like we have been doing that. Even though we are in the middle of a storm we find time to "dance" everyday. Our chemo was postponed again yesterday to Wednesday.(white cell count still too low) It is a definite go tomorrow and it is our last! He is doing quite well today. His mouth is a little sore but other than that he feels pretty good. His weight is down to 169 lbs, so he has lost 11 lbs so far. My goal is to maintain it at that number but the last three weeks will be the hardest. Please pray that this last chemo doesn't hit him too hard. I am trying to encourage him to do as many feedings a day as he can. He really needs about 2500 calories to stay nourished and hydrated but he is actually only getting about 1500 and that's why he is losing weight everyday. He is not eating any food by mouth and only drinks a small amount so thank God we had the PEG tube put in before we started. He has completed 21 rad treatments so that means only 14 left. I was so glad to turn the calender to September today! We are in our finish month. Love you all! Donna

Thank God it's Friday!

Yeah! We have finished four full weeks. Three left! I can't believe it. The days go by at a snail's pace. No word yet on the white blood cell count as of today. He was tested this morning and we are still waiting for the results. Lisa is gonna come cut his hair this weekend. It is falling out a lot and that is aggravating him. We won't get a buzz cut, just a really short haircut. We will start week five Monday with Chemo at 10am. I just hope he doesn't get as sick as he did last time. He is so anxious to get better. Really wants the feeding tube out ASAP. That is really up to him. As long as he is eating enough to maintain weight and get enough nutrition then it can come out. I'm gettin my hair done too this weekend. It has been three months since I've had color, UGH-the gray is too much. No real plans this weekend, Drew dropped off a bag of laundry at my office so guess I'll be doing laundry. No problem, Drew! It's what mom's live for. Hope y'all have a great weekend. Keep us in your prayers. Love ya! Donna & Earl

Light at the end of the tunnel

Hello Everyone,

We are rapidly approaching the end of week four and will start week five Monday. All I can say is we can see the light! Earl and I have some really strong conversations about this whole journey, last night I asked him if it has been as bad as he had expected or worse and he said it has not been as bad as he had thought. He is tired and weak but hanging in there pretty good. We watch a lot of TV and it just really feels good to sit beside him in the chair. He has lost weight and doesn't really eat, (nothing tastes good) He is using the PEG full time and is drinking and eating Popsicles, but that's about all. All in all, I am so proud of him. He doesn't complain and really tries hard to be in good spirits. I have promised him that when he gets better I will start playing golf with him on a regular basis. He really wants us to do that, so I will. I just can't wait to see him on the golf course again. His voice is coming back some now, so he can talk he just sounds funny. I try not to cook too much at home because the smell of food cooking makes him sick. He doesn't even like the smell of coffee brewing. I'm gonna have dinner tonight with two friends, and enjoy some girl talk. I just wanted y'all to know that he is doing good and getting by. The end is near. Thanks so much for your prayers. We love you all so much. Donna & Earl

Storms a comin

Hey Ya'll

Well we did not have chemo yesterday as scheduled. Earl's white cell count was too low. They postponed it for next week. However, we did get some good news, he will not need the third chemo so next Monday will be his last chemo. We are in week four of the radiation. He has completed 16 radiation treatments and has 19 left. So we are almost halfway there. He is declining somewhat, and I am trying to prepare myself for the worst. He is hoarse now and can barely talk. He is still eating pretty good and drinking good. He is just tired. He is starting to lose some of his hair, not from the chemo but from the radiation. I think I will have our hair dresser come to the house and give him a good hair cut so it doesn't annoy him. Olivia has a cold and had to take her to the DR yesterday, now I have to keep her away from Earl so he doesn't catch it. Wow, I am tired. On another note, Drew is all moved out and started college yesterday. His apartment is on St. Phillips St and he is on cloud nine. I miss him so much. All ya'll with little ones, enjoy them, they leave too soon. Thanks for your prayers, they really are working! Love you all, Donna

Week Three

Hey Ya'll,

Today is a good day! Earl had a good checkup yesterday with his chemo DR and today met with Dr. Harper (rad DR) and she said she was VERY pleased at how well the tumor is shrinking. He is having a minor sore throat but still eating and drinking pretty good. We are in our third week of radiation. By Friday we will only have four weeks left. Whew~ We had a fantastic weekend. Earl actually played golf Saturday with his friend Jeff, and shot even par. He was worn out by the evening but he was so happy. Olivia had her 13th birthday party with 10 of her closest friends and her cuz Madison. It was a nice evening. Earl's brothers and his sis-in- law, Sunny came up Sunday for a visit, we had lunch together and just spent the day visiting. Ain't nothin like family. School starts tomorrow for Olivia, it will be her last year at Summerville Catholic, she has been there 10 years (since K-4) I remember her first day she was crying and I couldn't get her out the car. Time flies! Drew starts college next week. He is looking for an apartment, I can't even talk about it without tearing up. I wish I could keep him around the house a little longer. Mom's never wanna let go. Anyway, Thank you for your prayers, they are working! Earl is doing so well and I am so thankful. Love you all! Donna

One Day at a Time

Hello Everyone! Sorry I haven't kept this up to date but let me tell you it has been one crazy week. By Monday Earl was in pretty bad shape. He was so weak he could barely walk from the chair to the bed and he was eating minimal. The nurse took one look at him Monday morning and said he was malnourished and dehydrated. I had no idea because he had been eating and drinking, just not enough for the amount that the chemo had drained from his body. We started the feeding tube immediately that day and started him back on the anti-nausea medicine and wow what a difference. Today you can hardly tell he is taking radiation. He is back to eating pretty good and we are still doing the feedings around the clock. My sister came over to give us a crash course in that and now Earl is doing it all by himself. He hates it, but he knows it is making a big difference in his progress. People who don't get a feeding tube usually end up back in the hospital on IV for fluids, now I see why. He is doing fantastic. I know he will eventually decline but with the feedings and pain medicine he shouldn't get to the state he was in last weekend. I was really scared and I felt like I wasn't doing a very good job as a caretaker. That is behind us now and we are taking it one day at a time. Olivia starts school next week and Drew starts college the following week. All is well on the home front. I gotta cut grass tonight or buy a goat. Love you all! Donna

Sunday Update

Hey everyone,

It's been a long weekend. Earl is mostly tired and sleeps a lot, either in the chair or in the bed. He has not been sick, but has no appetite. The smell of everything makes him feel sick. He can't taste anything and has not eaten much over the weekend. It is so frustrating for me cause I just can't to anything to help. He barely slept at all Friday night. Saturday night was much better and he did sleep through the night. He is still very weak and tired oday. He is able to drink his ensure and gatorade and that's about all. He did eat some potato soup from ABC yesterday. I had to eat my lunch on the porch because the smell made him sick. I feel so helpless. When you hear someone going through chemo you really don't know how hard it is for them. Let me tell you IT IS HARD. I just keep telling myself that the tumor is shrinking and that he is getting better. This is just the beginning and the road is long. Six more weeks and he will be done with treatment. I love him so much, I just wish I could make it all better. Thank you for your prayers. Love you all. Donna

One week down

Hey Ya'll,

We have officially completed one week of treatment. Six to go. No sweat, yeah right. Earl is OK. Tired mostly. He had a headache yesterday and we determined it is from dehydration. Radiation dehydrates you really bad so he has to drink a lot of non-caffine drinks. We are looking forward to a weekend of no treatment. His next chemo is on the 24th. He will not have the energy to play in that golf tournament this weekend but that's okay. He needs to rest anyway. I was cutting grass last night and a man rode by on his motorcycle and it made me miss that so much. I can't wait til we can ride again. It's amazing how much you miss the simple things. If anyone wants to send him a card I know it would make his day. Our mailing address is 350 Prestwick Court, Summerville, SC 29483. Hope you all have a terrific weekend. Love you all. Donna

A little GOOD News

Hey Ya'll,

Today was day three of Radiation! Earl is feeling OK. Not good, but not bad. Well, that's okay. He's not suppose to feel good but I'll take "not bad". He went in for his radiation today and the Doc said that his tumor was responding very well and that it has already started shrinking. Yeah! He has done very well this first week. He is taking a lot of anti nausea medicine and it is working. He has been able to eat even though he says everything tastes like cardboard. Hopefully by Friday he will start to feel better and maybe he can even play in the golf tournament Saturday. I'm gonna caddy for him. Okay, here's a little something I found funny, Monday night after we finally got to sleep, Earl got a BAD case of the hiccups. Then had them almost all day Tuesday. Tuesday afternoon he called his chemo DR and he said it is a side effect that only a few people get. They actually had medicine for him for the hiccups. The medicine has helped but as soon as it starts to wear off, he starts to hiccup. God has a sense of humor. So no matter how bad things are there is always something a little funny to laugh about. Thanks for the prayers. Love you all, Donna

First Day of Treatment

Hey Everyone,

Well all I can say about yesterday is we survived it all and today is a new day! We arrived at MUSC Hollings Cancer center on time and a little anxious. We were suppose to start treatment at 10am. We actually started at 12:30pm. Everything was a mess, no one knew why we were there and they kept sending us to different departments. Finally, the DR got it all worked out and we finished our first Chemo at about 4pm, then headed over to East Cooper to get radiation. That only took about 15 minutes. Earl did so good! He is my hero. I am so proud of him. He got a little flushed once but I think that was because he was hungry. We went to On the Boarder after Radiation and he ate very well. He has a lot of anti nausea medicine so the DR said only about 5% of patients get sick. I hope we aren't part of that 5%. So we came home, took showers, and tried to unwind. Got in the bed about 10pm, then Drew called at 11:30pm. He had ran off the road trying to answer his cell phone and hit a stop sign, some bushes and a ditch. Car had to be towed, but Drew is okay. Earl and I got to spend two hours on the road waiting for the police report and tow truck to come. So we finally got to bed at 2am. WHAT A DAY! Anyway, both of my men are fine today and I still feel so blessed. Here's a little note to all you-DO NOT ANSWER YOUR PHONE OR TEXT WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING. Love you all! Donna

TGIF

Hey Everyone!

Tomorrow is feeding tube day. We have to be at MUSC at 10:30am to have the feeding tube inserted. Short notice I know, but anyway it really did need to be done before we start treatment. It is only a 25 minute procedure but he has to spend the night just to make sure all is well. We also have to attend a class to learn how to care for it. We probably won't have to start using it for about four weeks. At least it will be there when we need it. I am feeling melancholy today, not really sure why, maybe because it's all getting so real now. I just wanna cry but see can't because I have to be strong for Earl. We probably won't go back until about 1pm. I will text ya'll when all is done. Deb, thanks for the card today. You always make me feel good. Love you all so much. Donna

May the Force Be with us!

Hey Everyone! We had a good day at our pre-run! I got to go in and see Earl with his mask on bolted down to the table. It kind of freaked me out but he was totally fine. We were able to see his CT Scan of his entire head and exactly where the tumor was. It has grown some since it was first discovered but that is normal. Dr. Harper called it an aggressive tumor but felt confident it would be eradicated and he will be cured. We feel good about his prognosis and I know we are surrounded by a great team of medical Doctors. So Monday, he will have chemo at the Hollings Cancer Center downtown which will take about five hours. We have to be there at nine am, which some of you know is probably a bigger challenge for Earl than the chemo. (He is not a morning person). The chemo treatment (cisplatin) will take about five hours(IV) and then we will head East of the Cooper to the Medical Center there for the Radiation which is only a ten minute appointment. Earl will be completely exhausted by the end of the day, I am sure. Then he will have radiation five days a week for seven weeks, with only two more Chemo treatments. Oh, yeah-we found a good little restaurant in Mt. Pleasant that will probably become his lunch spot, it's called Charleston's Cafe, so if you're over there, check it out. It's really good. I had the Fried Green Tomato & Pimento Cheese Sandwich. Good Lowcountry Eating. Well that's about it, we are gonna enjoy our weekend and just relax before life gets hectic. Earl has a great attitude and is very upbeat and positive about the whole thing. That is 2/3 the battle. Still no word on when we get the PEG tube in, I guess they'll call soon enough.

Thanks for checking up on us, Peace be with you! Donna & Earl

This is it!

Okay Ya'll, We have our date. Monday, 8/3/2009. We don't have a time yet and they are still working on what we do first, Chemo or Radiation. But we do know that the day is Monday. Earl still needs to get some blood work done, probably the latter part of this week for that. Sometimes I wonder if the right hand is talking to the left hand, because one Doctor says one thing and the other says something different. Very frustrating, especially when you're already dealing with Cancer. We still don't know when they're gonna do the PEG tube. If any of you are interested in my new favorite website, I will include it at the end of my blog. You can go to the discussion board there and see what other people are going through. I love it and it answers a lot of questions. Earl is anxious, you can hear it in his voice. We are okay, though. We have the dry run tomorrow, not really a big deal. Just want to make sure all is set. On another note, Drew is getting ready for College and Olivia is planning her 13th Birthday Party. It is August 15, Her actual birthday is the 14th. Earl set everything up for her at the Club House. She's gonna have a pool party and invited 20 friends. Thanks for keeping us in your prayers, Love you all! Donna

check this out: csn.cancer.org

Ready, Set, Go-almost!

Earl got the call from Dr. Harper this morning that his mask is ready. He will go in for a "dry run" on Wednesday, July 29. That is when they do everything they would normally do for a real radiation treatment but they don't actually turn on the juice. That is to ensure the positioning is correct. She is going to call Dr. Shari to set up the 1st Chemo treatment and then we will start the first real radiation treatment on the same day. We are pushing for August 3. However, the first actual treatment may start on that Thursday after the "dry run". I swear it was the best news, just knowing that we are starting treatment. I found a new website that I love! It is cancer.org and they have a discussion board. You can chat with people who are either going through the same thing you are or are survivors of the same type of cancer. It is so nice to talk with folks who have survived this stuff and have a positive outlook. Sometimes Doctors are so negative and full of gloom. I prefer to stay positive, thank you very much. So we will enjoy our upcoming weekend, I hope you will too. Love you all! Donna & Earl

Live.Love.Laugh

Life really is awesome! We grilled out last night and hung out with Olivia and her friend, Ali and in the middle of an oridnary night I realized how lucky we both are to have each other. The real ironic part of all of this is that even in the midst of our great sadness for this illness we both have never been happier in our lives. I told Earl that I use to always pray that I hoped it wouldn't take something bad in my life to happen for me to appreciate my family and all the blessings in my life. Now it has taken someone great in my life to help me through the rough times. I am enjoying today for today. Earl is off to Greenville for work and I am at the Big E, just working too. Soon treatment will begin and things will get rough but today is good and I am so thankful for all my blessings. Thanks to my friends and family for keeping us in your prayers, we love you all! Donna & Earl

Boone Hall Plantation

Hello Everyone. We hope you had a good weekend. We sure did! I took Friday off to spend some time with Olivia. My mom and I took Olivia and her friend Ali to Folly Beach for a day of R&R. It was so windy that we only stayed an hour. We spent the day together so that is all that mattered. Earl is feeling pretty good. He played golf Saturday and Sunday while I hung out at the pool. He wants me to start playing with him so I'm gonna pull out Olivia's clubs and give it a whirl. I'm only good for nine holes, my ADD kicks in and i'm lost. So maybe this weekend I can play nine with him. Sunday evening we went and saw The Little River Band perform at Boone Hall Plantation and it was a great evening. What a beautiful place for an event. I think the only original member of the band was the lead singer, everyone else looked too young. LOL It was still fun and the music was good. Some of ya'll may be too young to know them. I'm not! Earl has a dentist appointment today for a checkup. We are just waiting for the call to say, It's time to start the first treatment. You can see the tumor now kind of sticking out on the right side of his neck so I know it has grown in the six weeks since diagnosis so I am anxious about getting treatment started. He is both ready and nervous. I still think it will be one day next week. The club Championship Tournament at Pine Forest is August 8, I hope he will be feeling good enough to play in it. I think he will. On another note, Caroline Lorberbaum lost her battle with pancreatic cancer last night. She is my brother and sister in laws mother. My heart goes out to them. She was an incredible person, the kind you could sit and talk to for hours. She had a full life and had so much knowledge to share. The world lost a good mother, grandmother, aunt, wife, and friend. She will be missed so much. I love you all. God Bless, Donna

Summer in July

Hey Ya'll,

We had a fabulous weekend doing nothing special but enjoying the great weather and a relative pain free weekend. Earl and I did yard work Friday night unitl about 8:30pm, trimming bushes and putting out pinestraw and cutting grass. It was such a nice evening and the yard looks so good. Then we had a little pizza and beer and chilled in the hot tub for about an hour. (Actually I had the beer.) Earl played golf Saturday and Sunday and played pretty good. I hung out at the pool with my mom and sister on Saturday afternoon. He has lost most of his stitches and can pretty much eat anything. Most of the swelling and bruising is all but gone and he is feeling pretty good. We went out on the motorcycle Saturday night and met up with his friends Lane & Joyce at the Dog & Duck. We grilled out burgers Sunday and my mom came over and ate with us. Drew was actually home for a change and ate dinner with us too. That's always a treat for me since I hardly ever see him. Olivia fed most of her burger to Cody ( the poodle). He doesn't mind. Monday-Back to work!!! He has his appointment today to get fitted for the mask and hopefully they will be able to get it done so we can get the treatment going. We are so ready to get it all going. The waiting really is the hardest part. I am guessing that if they scan for the mask today then treatment should start by August 1 or maybe sooner. In case you were wondering he will wear a mask during the radiation treatment to protect his head so they only radiate the part where the tumor is. The mask kind of looks like those masks people wear who sword fight (fencing). It's sci-fi looking but none the less necessary. I hope all of you are doing well. Thank you for keeping us in your prayers, may God Bless you with good health! Love, Donna

My Golfer

Good Morning Friends! We had a nice quiet 4th with family. Earl did not get to play golf, he just wasn't feeling too good. It has been a slow recovery from the dental surgery but he is feeling pretty good today and is able to eat okay. He is still in some pain and uncomfortable but getting through it. He went the dentist yesterday for a check up and the Doc said everything looks good and is healing nicely. They have put off the mask appt until Thursday because he is still swollen. He has a lot of bruising on both sides of his face. With the mask appt pushed back that will delay the treatment start day for probably another week, I'm guessing. He has lost about 10 lbs so far but his appetite is good considering. This is a picture I took of him playing Torrey Pines when we were there last year. It was so cold but so beautiful. We are going to plan a trip somewhere so we have something to look forward to when this is all over. Love to you all! Donna

Happy Firecracker Day

Hello Everyone! Earl and I will be spending a quiet day at the house with family. Please feel free to drop by if you don't have any plans. We always enjoy company. I am planning on having a lot of his favorite (soft) foods. I am hoping he will be feeling good enough to play in the red, white, and blue golf tournament Sunday but at this point I don't really think so. He is still uncomfortable and just laying around. I think the swelling is coming down some of his face. We might ride out and watch the fireworks that evening. Hope ya'll all have a wonderful 4th and enjoy being with your friends and family. Happy Birthday to my nephew, Lane!!! To my best buddy Brad, have fun at your big family party!!! Donna

Whew! That's over

Earl did very well through the surgery. His face is the size of a large cantelope. He was in a lot of pain last night but it finally wore off about 2am and he was able to fall asleep. I woke him at six this morning to see if he wanted to take another pain pill and he said he was okay. So that was good. Thank you to my sister for the medical advise late last night. It is great to have an RN in the family. Earl is up and watching TV, he drank an Ensure for breakfast. My mom is at the house keeping him company and catching up the laundry, THANKS!!! I would have taken a picture of him and his chipmunk cheeks for the blog but he didn't really think that was funny. You will have to use your imagination. Thanks Sunny for checking on us last night. It was good talking to you. Thank you to everyone for the texts, It means a lot to mean. Love you all!!! Donna

Who doesn't love dental surgery?

Hello Everyone! Today is Dental Surgery day. Earl is home trying to stay busy. I'm gonna pick him up around noon and head to MUSC for the two hour procedure. We are scheduled for 2:00pm but seeing how things have gone thus far, I really don't think it will start until about four. We probably won't be home until around nine tonight. He will be pretty numb when he is finished and he has been given some good pain med's for afterwards. He met with the Doc yesterday and he said it is a relative easy procedure and he should be feeling better by the weekend. Sure hope so, he wants to play in a Golf Tournament at Pine Forest on Sunday. Thank you all for your love and support. Keep us in your prayers. Donna

The Dentist

Today was totally not what we were expecting to hear but then again none of this has gone as we anticipated. Eight teeth removed! WOW Two are his wisdom teeth but the others are molers on both sides. Whew. It was overwhelming to say the least. After all the shock, I think we have digested it and are ready to proceed. Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. It will take about two hours to complete the outpatient procedure andt then I will take him home. We have to let it heal for about a week. Dr. Fortney said radiation will probably start July 13th at the earliest. Everyone was right when they said the waiting is the hardest part. I was proud of myself, I didn't cry in the Doctor's office today. I am trying so hard to be strong for Earl. He was really frustrated today with all this news and ready to give up but after lunch he was accepting it and moving on. Donna

Well I am finally getting the hang of this blogging and I really like it. Thank you so much for being a part of this with us. Tomorrow we have our appointment with the dentist. We anticipate a clean bill and then we can proceed with getting our mask done and then probably next week we will have the feeding tube inserted. I talked with Dr. Fortny today and he was really glad we decided to go ahead with the feeding tube. Not really sure why someone wouldn't want to do this, it will keep him well hydrated and be a back up for food in case he gets to a point where he can't swallow. I really hope he won't need it but it will be there if we need to use it. Our goal is to keep him as healthy as we can through all this so he can just get better. I am so thankful we live so close to MUSC and such a great team of Doctors. I am feeding him like crazy right now so he can put on a few extra pounds before all this starts. My goal is just to try not to gain the wait with him. Keep us all in your prayers. I know that God will get us through this. Donna

Our Journey begins

Earl was diagnosed with Tonsil cancer June 1. And our journey begins. It is isolated to the tonsil and lymph nodes but not the tongue or any other part of the mouth. Our DRs at MUSC feel confident it can be cured successfully with radiaiton and chemo. Hopefully No surgery. We have an appt with the dentist on Wednesday and are waiting to get his mask made and get the feeding tube inserted. We are both anxious to get treatment started. Earl played golf Sunday and I just layed out by the pool. I am determined to try to keep our lives as normal as possible during this whole ordeal. I know that our lives are forever changed, and I know it is for the better. We have been married for only four months now and we were looking forward to the beginning of our lives together. This is a set back, I am just glad we have each other. I am new at this blogging stuff, so bear with me. Donna