Check This Out

Dr. Einhorn is interviewed about Lance in the MSNBC report. See if you can catch the reference to me.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8589268/page/2/

Trip Summary

Well late Wednesday I began my flight to Seattle. I had a connecting flight in DFW, and true to form it was delayed for 45 min! I actually ran to my next gate, I surprised myself that I was able to run as well as I did. I haven't attempted anything that physical since the surgery. Since my flight to Seattle was also leaving DFW, it was delayed an hour before take-off (turns out I didn't need to run). I arrived at 2:00 AM Central time, met up with my Dad, and crashed at the local hotel.

Thursday: Appointment day. Still adjusting to Pacific time, I woke up at 6:00 AM. Once we made it to the hospital and met the staff I was very impressed with their radiology department and Dr. Laramore. Dad and I ate some lunch at a nearby mall and returned in time for the appointment for the planning CT scans.

The CT Scan process: They had me lay on a different kind of table then I am familiar with in Tulsa. I had to lay my legs onto a plastic bag filled with a substance that would cool and form a mold of my leg position. This way I will be able to always lay in the same position. Using a series of lasers, initial marks were made with a sharpee and the scans began. Once the scans were done I waited for the scans to be processed. The computed adjusted the location of the lasers for my anatomy and permanent marks were made with a tattoo needle by hand. These marks will be used at every treatment to ensure that the same tissue is shot with the neutron beam every time.

The best news of the day was that the new CT scans showed NO NEW CANCER!!!!!

The major risk of this treatment is that the radiation could damage my femur head and neck, however that is why they are so careful about my positioning. Otherwise I should just have some fatigue and possibly a sunburn effect on my skin.

After all the appointments were done, my Dad and I checked out Pike's Fish Market and had dinner.

Friday: The flight back had a layover in St. Louis, never been there before, but apparently they follow the same plan as DFW. My plane was about hour late, but it was good to be home.

I want everyone who sends me e-mails and has supported me and my family that we truly do appreciate it. I feel blessed to be a part of a community such as this.

Almost Home

One more flight and I'll be back in Tulsa. Things went really well in Seattle and my treatment is scheduled to begin 7/26. The best news that I heard was that the CT scans showed no new tumor growth. I expect these Neutrons will kill every microscopic cancer cell in my pelvis and I'll finally get a long lasting remission. The whole scanning/planning experience was cool, I'm going to work on another post for blog that will go into more detail.

Made it to Seattle

Despite American Airlines best efforts. My plan landed at DFW on time but we were delayed 45 min due a ground vehicle accident at our gate. I literally had to run to my next flight, which should have already taken off. That was the first time I have tried to run since the surgery. Fortunately AA is consistent and it was running late too. I meet with the Doctor in about 2 hours. More updates to come.

LIVESTRONG

Busy Day

Lots of stuff had to get done today, and I still get a 6 hour flight to Seattle to look forward to. I was able to see Liam for a while this afternoon. He is coming out of the fog and made eye contact with me. It made me feel great to see him responding again. My car should finally be coming back from the body shop, the hood has taken forever to get shipped.

I'm feeling ok, I get tired and I think I am still anemic. I just rest when I can and try not to push myself too hard.

LIVESTRONG

Andrew

Liam is stable

Liam has been moved to St. Francis Intensive Care Unit. They seem like a top notch ICU and we are very pleased with the attention that he is receiving. Last night he had an MRI of his brain, and he is currently in the middle of a 24 hour EEG exam. The doctors believe that he has Encephalitis
but that he will make a full recovery. The hardest part is that it just takes time for the virus to run its course.

His vitals are all good, his sodium level is almost normal now, and the results of MRI and EEG at this point are all good.

Tomorrow I fly to Seattle to setup my neutron therapy.

LIVESTRONG

Liam is very ill

He has been in the hospital since Friday. They think he has viral meningitis. There is no real fix for it, just lots of fluids and waiting. Amy has been here with him non-stop, she is amazing. I feel mentally overloaded. I feel powerless. This is a miserable situation.

I have always told myself that I would go through all of this again as long as I never had to see my children go through it. Granted, cancer and meningitis are very different, but watching him go through the hospital "experience" is devastating to me.