Tuesday, September 2, 2008

OMG!!!!!

HE DID IT!!!!!!!

It was a long day starting with a one and one/half hour commute to UCSF. (Darn, all those school kids are back in school and their parents are apparently back to work!) Glen arrived at 9:30 for his pre-chemo lab work then we wemt down to see Dr. Yom. She likes him to check in with her to make sure that his weight is okay...imagine us begging Glen Thomas to eat! That's something new! She was not thrilled (you won't believe how skinny he is), but has ordered that he get hydration 3 times a week and that he eat more. He has agreed to drink those yummy Ensures just to make sure he is getting the calories and nutrition he needs to keep his weight up. The problem for him has been a complete lack of an appetite (Glen?!) and mild nausea that just makes food sound icky. Dr. Yom gave us some new ideas to help with the appetite so we are really focused on keeping that feeding tube at bay.

After our time with Dr. Yom we headed to the fifth floor for his bout of infusions - benadryl, saline hydration and his LAST Cetuximab/Urbitux!!!! Glen is DONE with treatment! He is now (this is his quote) working on feeling better every day. It's a bit of a struggle for him to be patient because he wants to feel better NOW and we have been warned that the next 2 weeks will be really rough, so for now he will have to be satisfied with no more treatments and a couple trips a week to UCSF for hydration(or we might make arrangements for him to get that closer to home). Knowing that this too shall pass is what keeps Glen's feet taking the next step forward.

Okay, infusion was not our last stop. We headed back down to the 4th floor to meet with Dr. Dubey. She also wanted to check Glen's progress and we actually discussed his post treatment plan (mri in 8 weeks, bloodwork, hearing test, etc.). Due to some confusion with his appointment schedule, we had to wait awhile and Glen was really ready to get home, but he's a trooper and he even cracked some jokes with Dr. Dubey. Will he ever learn?

We are now home (after crawling back along the freeway with all those returning parents) and Glen's mom (also a Joyce as I mentioned before) is here. Dr. Yom was quite happy to know that "the mom" was coming because "things usually improve with Mom is around!" We are going to tag team him and make sure that he's eating enough calories...look out now! Thanks to Glen's dad Bill and their beloved dog Frosty, for letting Joyce come and help Glen (and the rest of us) through this last segment of his "Path to Outstanding Health!"

Huge hugs to you all for your incredible outpouring of support and love...we never would be here without you all!
xxoo
j

7 comments:

Chris said...

Congratulations Glen!!!!! It is amazing what you had to go through and more amazing the way you managed to be so upbeat and positive every step of the way. Keep it up and you will back in the swing of things in no time.

Take care and take advantage of the free eating card. You won't have it for long.

Unknown said...

Great News! We are all thinking about you from San Antonio and sending positive thoughts and prayers your way. Keep going!

Brian

Unknown said...

Glen,

If you need to put on a few pounds, I recommend "Bo's Barbeque" in Lafayette -- always works for me!

Larry

Anonymous said...

You guys just make me smile...How incredible the team has been and how amazing Glen has withstood all of this gruesome stuff...I will take lessons from you both...Love always...K

ann said...

that's great news - what a summer for you guys!!
i hope you felt all the positive thoughts we sent your way!
xoxo,
a

Anonymous said...

Great news....HORAY!!!!!...you and your family are a true inspiration to us all. You have become part of the Karmann family prayers at dinner and we will keep them coming.
love & hugs
Lisa

Anonymous said...

Hey Glen, the storm is over. Here comes the sun. You're the man.