Marshall Vic's "Drip Repair" Medical Minute

Villagers...Brenda and I have stopped laughing long enough for me to post this wonderful "Medical Minute" provided by our favorite Jill of all trades....Marshall Vic.

Warning: DO NOT have anything in your hands, like hot soup, electric tools, or sharp instruments, as you watch this pearl of wisdom.

Can't wait to hear the comments, so don't be shy about posting!!! God love ya Marshall Vic!!

We sure do...
Princess Brenda and her Executive Assistant.

All Is Fine with the Fair Princess

Hi Everyone...Just wanted you to see with your very eyes that Princess Brenda has recovered from her ordeal yesterday and is doing quite well this fine Houston morn.

She's a thing of beauty and grace...don't ya think.

The Chief Princess Keeper...
Dee

Locating the Leak!!

TGIF Village People...add another day-long stay at MD Anderson getting this "leak" test done. Thank heaven this is done. It wasn't the most pleasant experience and really stressed poor Bren out. It was all that gunk being pushed into her spinal canal...remember she hates needles...the pressure (mental and physical,) the weird positions they had to put her in to get the gunk up into her brain and then out her nose...to put it in her words..."It WASN'T a do-over!"

But it's over and we're back at the apartment with instructions that Brenda is to be treated like a "princess" for the next couple of days...no lifting, nothing strenuous, just couch-potato time. Imagine! So we have movies, the baseball game, and football to watch this weekend. I'm totally up for the "princess challenge!!" Ha!

We know they found the leak but the radiologist said he had to study the films and then would contact Dr. Hanna. So we haven't seen Dr. Hanna yet and will do that next week I'm sure...so more waiting. GEE!! The thing we love to do the most...NOT!!

Other than that...we're doing OK...anxious to get this totally over with, but we're OK. Brenda had a fabulous nurse this afternoon who took really, really good care of her. We also ran into Paula's husband, Jason, who is a nurse at MD Anderson and had a little breakfast with him. He is such a wonderful guy...thanks Jason, for being such a love.

So there ya have it...watch for another update early next week. Have a wonderful weekend wherever you are.

Off to care for the "Princess!"
Brenda's personal assistant...
Dee

Hi Ho Hi Ho...It's Off To Houston We Go!!

You can tell everything is getting back to normal on the healing front when all our Village People don't get any e-mails from the nurse! Brenda has been doing great with her rehab...she's put on a little weight, her energy is slowly returning, she's getting a few more muscles, and the best news of all...she's cancer free!!! That was again the case when we went back to Houston for her check up 2 weeks ago...YEA!!! Double YEA!

So there we were in Dr. Gillenwater's office (that's Brenda's neck surgeon)...and Brenda mentioned that her nose keeps leaking...as in dripping fluid...as in all the time...like a drippy faucet...one drip about every 10 seconds...drip...drip. Man! Dr. Gillenwater's attitude changed and she seemed to get real concerned...OH! MAN! Was the air going to be sucked out of the room again! NO! A thousand times NO! After a couple questions...the good doc said that she suspected a leak in the dyke! (I just couldn't resist...sorry!)...a "CSF LEAK!!" That is a "cerebral spinal fluid leak." What on earth!! With all the surgery, tumor, and radiation, the docs think that there is a small crack or hole in Brenda's skull base where the cancer was that's leaking the fluid. The risk is that she is open for an infection like meningitis. YIKES! That's a really bad boy we want to stay away from...FAR AWAY!!

So they gave us a specimen cup and off to the airport we went while Brenda collected the fluid coming out of her nose! You should have seen all the looks we got as Brenda leaked into that little cup!! I'd love to hear all the mental comments folks were thinking. So when we got home we took the stuff to our ENT and he sent it in for tests. After a week of waiting and waiting...that's the absolute worst part...we heard back that...YEP...Brenda's spinal-brain fluid was coming out of her nose! HEAVENS!! Ya know we just have to keep this in perspective...there is no sign of the nasty disease...she just needs to get a patch!...sooner rather than later.

YEP!!! It's back to Houston we go...UGH! In fact we're there NOW! Dr. Hanna's office...he's the skull-based surgeon that is the expert at repairing this kind of thing...called us last Friday and asked if we could be in Houston on Tuesday morning for an appointment. We chased around and around and around and with the help of all our fabulous friends and the good Lord, we arrived in Houston on Monday night and saw the doctor yesterday.

Dr. Hanna stuck that dang scope up Brenda's nose...like everyone else has...and no one...including him... can find where the actual leak is coming from. So they have prescribed another test which will pinpoint where the leak is. The test injects some radioactive material into her spinal fluid...ick...spinal tap...and then they hang her upside down...or something like that...and take pictures to see the leak. He thinks it's a small crack someplace and hopefully it can be fixed through her nose. AMAZING!!

So now we're waiting for the scheduler to call us to arrange the test and we see Dr. Hanna again on Friday. Then we'll really have more info...we'll know where the dang leak is and the doc will have looked at his schedule to know when he can actually get her in for the repair. He knows we're here from out of town and it's really expensive to just sit waiting for an opening in the schedule. He said she would be in the hospital for 2 to 3 days and then we'd need to stay in Houston for an additional 7 to 10 days for the healing process to work it's magic.

So now you might ask...where are you guys staying. Well, we have again rented an apartment...we're at a place called The Esplanade, and it's right next to the apartment complex we were in when we had to come for Brenda's neck surgery. The apartment is nice and we have internet right at the apartment and not in some wifi hot spot. We brought our wireless router and Ms. Tecky Me hooked us all up so now we're wireless...YEA!! For all of us that are hooked on our computers, you know how important that is. Ha! The good news is that the apartment complex has a Cyber Cafe with an automatic Starbucks brewing machine...YUMMY!!! I'm saved! Ha!

So now we wait...we hate this part!! Brenda just called Mary...our guardian angel and main tree shaker to see if we can get the scheduler off her butt. I guess I've had too much of that free Starbucks bold roast this morning!! Ha! Let's get this show on the road...we want to go home already!! More coffee please!!! Ha!

We're now trying to find something fun to do this weekend...maybe the Renaissance Festival or maybe going back down to Galveston. Anyone have any suggestions?

So dear friends...consider yourself updated. Watch the blog in the days to come for the continuing story of Brenda's Adventures in Recovery.

Toodles from Texas..
Dee

It's Time To Celebrate!!! The Scans are CLEAR!!

Hi to all our favorite VP's ...remember me? The Nurse? I know...it's just been way too long but actually that's a good sign since Brenda has done nothing but make slow and steady progress toward rebuilding herself after those last nasty rounds of chemo.

Many of you know that this past Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, we had to go back to Houston for Brenda's PET-CT scans to see if she was winning the battle again that horrible disease. To say that we were really nervous would be an understatement! Actually Brenda didn't get nervous until Sunday morning when we had to leave, but she felt really confident that the scans would come back CLEAR. Having come from a very long line of worriers, I, on the other hand, have been nervous for about 2 weeks. By Sunday when we were ready to leave, I should have been on medication!! Ha! There's just something about going back to the place that caused all that trauma...

Anyway, we maneuvered the halls of MD Anderson like pros and got the scans done by 10:30 am on Monday. Dr. Gillenwater, her surgeon, was running late so we had to wait for an additional hour but when we did get in to see her the scans were already in the computer and had been read and the report written...amazing! Why it takes 7 to 10 days in most other locations really baffles me. Anyway...we looked at the scans and the report...I was holding my breath and ready for the air to get sucked out of the room again...when they informed us that the SCANS WERE CLEAR!!! Thank you Jesus and all our dear, dear friends who have prayed and sent us all the healing moe-joes!! There was no sign of the disease. LORD!!! You just have no idea how happy we both were. Maybe now the horrible memories of Houston could begin to be reframed.

Dr. Gillenwater said that the minute she walked in the door and looked at Brenda she knew that she had diligently been working on regaining movement and strength in her shoulders, arms, head and neck. She said that whatever she was doing...keep it up. Our sincere thanks and appreciation go to Scott, our trainer, for all his work in helping to rebuild our gal. He's doing a fabulous job. The doc said that it was excellent that Brenda was able to continue her workouts even while going through these last rounds of chemo because that kept her from freezing up with all the scar tissue. Way to go Brenda...what a trooper.

So then we went to see Mary, Dr. Hong's assistant. We found out that Dr. Hong had been called away on a family emergency but he told Mary to send the scans to him in an e-mail (amazing!!) and he would look at them but he said that he really wasn't worried because he KNEW that Brenda's scans would be CLEAR...doubly amazing! The level of care at MD Anderson is unequaled!!

Both Mary and Rita told Brenda she looked fantastic and said that they were talking about her the other day and said that of all of Dr. Hong's patients Brenda was absolutely, hands down, the best. She never complained, she never gave up, she never said she couldn't take any more, she just kept going. Everyone is convinced that's why she has done so well. Brenda has truly been an inspiration to us all. So they said that we would need to come back in another 3 months. Everyone was so happy...we just had a nice visit with them.

So what do you do when this enormous weight has been lifted from your shoulders and your future looks really, really bright?....you go SHOPPING!!! Yep! We left MD...went to Starbucks (of course!! The Nurse needs her "juice of life,") and then went over to Whole Earth Provisions, a really cool outdoor store, and did our part to stimulate the economy. YEP! We had to buy some "LIFE IS GOOD" shirts!!

That evening we went out to dinner with Paula and caught up on all the things happening in our lives. It's always wonderful to see her...she is so positive and just brightens up the room. We flew out of Houston yesterday and now we're getting ready to go up to our cabin in Strawberry for the holiday weekend.

And speaking of our wonderful little cabin...if anyone would like to buy it...it's up for sale. We just bought an acre and a quarter of beautifully wooded property in Pinetop, AZ in the White Mountains. Once we sell the cabin, we are going to build on this piece of land. We would like a bigger place for entertaining and we just couldn't pass up the great deal we got. Brenda said she has a whole new life now and wants to build new memories...PERFECT!!

So dear friends...I think that has you up to date on the important stuff. Hope you'll go out and do a little celebrating on your own for us. You will never know what a huge part of Brenda's healing process you all have been.

Thanks from the bottom of our hearts...
Dee and Brenda

Put A Fork In It...Chemo is DONE!!!

Hi VP...It's amazing what being shamed publicly on Facebook will make a girl do!! I know Cathy...I've been horrible about keeping the village up to date and YES! it's partly due to my obsession with working on my Spit...Bad Dog Dee!!! So here I am to bring you all up to date with the latest hap's here in Arizona.

OK...so the most important info first...CHEMO IS NOW HISTORY!!! Brenda is SOOOO over all this. There have been a few bumps in the road lately but she'll be back to her feisty self in no time, I'm sure. Just before Chemo #5 she went for her regular ENT visit and they found she had a sinus infection beginning and she was running a low grade fever...NOT GOOD AT ALL! She had been feeling really bad for a couple days prior and so we got her into the oncologist who ran a blood test and got her on some antibiotics and steroids. She was feeling much much better in a couple days...heck...just in time for chemo #6. Now that's just mean! We'll get you feeling so much better and then we're going to poison you again!! Damn!

So here we are with chemo #6 history last Tuesday. The problem is that Brenda has gotten another sore throat, she's horribly fatigued, she's got more sinus build-up, and she just feels crappy. No fever this time so that's good. We have her on some additional meds and tomorrow we take her in to see the PA in the Oncologists office to see what we can do to get her feeling better. I just feel so helpless when she's so under the weather. I'm sure we'll have her back to her old self soon. With no more chemo she can get over this hump and then start really healing from all that poison.

We heard back from Mary at MD Anderson and we go back to Houston on Sunday June 27th, the PET scan and all the doc appointments will happen on Monday June 28th, and we'll fly back home on Tuesday the 29th. I know that we'll get only good news that the cancer is history and they'll tell us to go home and heal...so after some BBQ...we're GONE! At least for another 3 months! Keep those prayers and positive thoughts coming as that will help this dream turn into reality.

Life here at home had been good...busy, but really good...we are so blessed that we could be home during this last part of the CURE. For the most part it's been good, but again...as with life...it's had it's ups and downs. The "UP'S" certainly have been Brenda's continued healing...most of it has been positive...our dear, dear friends and their love and support, the dogs...they just make you smile...our home in the desert...well you get the picture. The "DOWN'S" have been a few of those really low days for poor Bren, news that my sweetie Abbie's (our 6 year old Dobie) heart condition is worsening...DAMN!...and a medical emergency with my Mom last week that ended her in the hospital with a gall bladder attack and gall bladder surgery. She's here at the house recouping and doing just great so that's all good. She went through the surgery without a hitch...thank the LORD! It's hard to keep a good woman down!

Of course I've been busy playing Nurse Ratchet to all my patients...the list is growing!!! STOP! And of course I've been busy with house work, errands, time at the gym, visits to Starbucks...thanks to all of you that sent me Starbucks goodies for my b-day...YUMMMM! I'm in heaven! Of course I've really been busy with my Spit. I met this wonderful woman through the Triumph club who has been restoring British cars for years...she's a retired mechanical engineer and is an absolutely amazing mechanic! She came over to help me install a new steering column and steering wheel and it turned into 8 days of fun, grease, laughter, swearing, and parts, parts parts when we ended up fixing a whole bunch of stuff on the car. One thing just led to another...and another...you know the drill....after all...it's a 33 year old car. Marie and her partner Betsy are wonderful folks and we have talked them into coming to Amsterdam with us in 2011...more on that in a minute.

So one day...after talking with Vic on the phone, Bren decided that she really needed something big to look forward to that had no relation to medicine or cancer. We can all agree with that. She was also thinking that trying to do her Australia trip next year, the way she wanted to do it, might just be a little too much. She's got a lot of healing and building to do over the next year. So we just had gotten the announcement of the Olivia Tulips and Amsterdam Riverboat Trip in April of 2011 and she thought that was a perfect adventure to look forward to. She needed something positive to work toward and this was going to be it. Are any of you Villagers going? I think it's a fabulous idea and can't wait to visit Europe with my favorite gal. How cool is this??!

So that should bring you all up to date...hopefully I'll have tons of great news to report in the future with Brenda's healing. We love you all and want to celebrate the power of the village in helping Brenda get through this journey. You are all the best!

Sending blessings to each and every one of you.

Dee, Brenda, Abbie and Tanner

Chemo #4-GONE!!!

Yea...yea...yea!! I know it's been over a month since I last blogged...oops! I've just been really busy and a little lazy about blogging. I've been reading the Haynes Auto Repair Manual for my Spitfire and researching all the parts catalogs...just obsessing on my new little hobby. But both Brenda and I thought I ought to get on the stick and give you all an update...she's so good about getting on my case by not getting on my case about things!! Ha! What a wonderful soul...she has me so figured out.

Chemo infusion #4 went well today...now only 2 more to go and we'll be done in another 6 weeks...PARTY TIME!! Brenda has had some really good days this past week...figures...it's time for another infusion. It's definitely a roller coaster ride. Brenda will be so very glad when this is finally over. We'll both be dancing in the streets. We saw the doctor today and he said all her labs were holding and looked good. She also saw the eye doctor and the ENT yesterday and both said things were looking good. This is music to our ears. Now we just have to ride this out for another 6 weeks. Keep those prayers a comin...please!

Another big milestone is that Bren went to see the ASU PD Chief and put in her resignation. There is just no way that she could return to work by the time limit and in the same capacity...it would just be too much and she's just too depleted to be a police officer. I think it's a little sad that her law enforcement career is over, but she is handling it really well and has just accepted the inevitability of her situation and the need to move on. ASU has been more than patient in waiting, but it just clear that she can't return to the rigors of that job. We all know she'll be a success in whatever she does next...go Brenda!!

Life back here in the Mesa hood is wonderful...we've had more rain in one month than we had all last year!! The desert is green and is about ready to explode in wildflowers. Temps were a bit cool over the last week, but they hit the 80's today. It's a fabulous time in the desert!! The downside is that the weeds are taking over the state!! I have got to get out with the hula hoe and rake and get these under control!! YIKES! I'll just get Brenda out with the whip to give me some incentive!! Ha!

Of course I'm obsessed with getting my Triumph in a safe condition for driving around town without worry...after all it's 33 years old. It sure does bring back memories. I had to replace the gas tank because it leaked and was patched with that putty stuff. YIKES! That just wasn't the best way to go...the tank just had to be replaced. I looked at it and decided that I could replace it myself so I called Julie...she put an aircraft engine together when she was younger so she was the perfect co-mechanic...and the 2 of use spent an afternoon and got the new tank in. Check out the pictures!!

I've had a ball with this thing and spent last Sunday over with some local Triumph car enthusiasts and they went over my new baby and we found some things that need attention but for the most part it's in good shape. Tomorrow I'm getting new tires on it. The ones that are on it now were manufactured in 1996 and are weather checked, cracked, and ready to cause me a true headache..if not worse!! I took Brenda for a ride the other day when we got the new gas tank in and she described it as a "modern day luge ride!" She still can't believe that I drove my '67 Spitfire from Michigan to Arizona (for grad school) with a vacuum cleaned strapped to the luggage rack.

Really folks...all is well...we're just loving the weather and have our eye on the end of chemo. PARTY!!! Just as a reminder, the final treatment is April 27th. Brenda will spend the next week adjusting her meds, and dealing with some of the side effects of the chemo...not drastic like the ones we experienced in Houston, but some side effects none the less. Life is good and we can see the light at the end of this tunnel. YEA! Brenda is such a trooper...this has been such a long hard ordeal for her.

So VP's...consider yourself briefed once again and if I forgot something, Brenda will let me know and I'll get you an update. Hope all is well with each and every one of you. God bless you all...

Spitfire Dee