April 19-21

Tuesday was a busy day at Huntsman Cancer Center.  Whitney has been here visiting from Connecticut, so she came with us on Tuesday up to Hunstman.  She was a big help!  She took a lot of notes so that we could really listen to everything.  I don’t know what we would do without the help of our children during this time. 

Our first appointment was with the Clinical trials coordinator.  We discussed the clinical trial that Rick will be participating in.  Next we had an appointment with Rick’s Dr.  He is such a wonderful man.  We have complete trust in him.  Everyone at Huntsman goes out of their way to make sure the patients are very well taken care of.  We have a whole team of people who review Rick’s case and coordinate with each other.  Every time we leave there, we are so appreciative of the wonderful care we receive.  Rick has been in a lot of pain the last few weeks and some of the medication can cause other problems like nausea.  Rick has not been able to sleep well for a few weeks.  He is such a trooper, even when I can tell he doesn’t feel well.  They arranged to give Rick a nerve block on Wednesday for the pain he had been having.

 

We also met with a nutritionist on Tuesday.  She gave us a lot of information and told us how important it is for Rick to eat well, especially while he is going through chemotherapy.  She said how the body works so hard during chemo, so he needs to eat well to give him energy.  She gave us a lot of ideas. 

Then we went to the same day surgery area and Rick had the port put in his chest.  Of course he asked if it could go on the left side so that he can still shoot his gun!  He is always so cheerful even when I can tell he is in a lot of pain.  We stayed in recovery for a while and then finally headed back home in the late afternoon. 

On Tuesday, the kids and grandkids decorated the house and made dinner and dessert for my birthday.  It was so sweet of them. 

Wednesday 

Wednesday was quite a day!  Kelsey came with us to Huntsman.  Rick was scheduled for an echocardiogram as qualification for the clinical trial.  He was also scheduled in same day surgery for a nerve block to reduce abdominal pain.

He felt so good when he came back to his room to recover.  After relaxing in recovery, he began to get dressed to go home.  Suddenly he became very clammy, and his blood pressure dropped to 56/35.  He was in a lot of trouble and Dr.s and nurses came from all over the hospital to help him.  After about an hour, they got his blood pressure stabilized and we had an unexpected overnight stay at the hospital.  Later we found out that having dramatic blood pressure drop was a side effect of the procedure.  He was also dehydrated, which made it difficult for them to get an IV in his arm.  Rick was able to get a blessing.  There are two missionary couples that serve here.  These two great men were here at a time we needed them.  (One of their wives, is a sister to Patty Emery, a neighbor from Alpine).

Whitney had been tending Kelsey's kids during the day so she drove up and let Kelsey drive back with the kids.  Whitney's mother in law was so kind to watch her kids overnight so that Whitney and I could stay overnight with Rick.

We are so blessed to have such wonderful care here at Huntsman.  The staff here is amazing!  We also got to see our sweet neighbor, Kerri Young who volunteers up here.

On Thursday, we had a team of Dr's visit Rick's room.  They determined it would be good for Rick to stay another night.  Whenever he stands up, his blood pressure seems to drop. Tonight they started him on a medicine to help with that.

Rick's mom spent most of the day up here which we enjoyed.  He also had a visit from a dear friend and partner from Carollo Engineers. Narayanan is the current President and CEO.  He came from the Walnut Creek office to see Rick.

Rick also had a wonderful visit from his sister Kate and a dear friend Lance Davis.

Thank you so much for the many thoughts and prayers! We sure feel them!  Every day we find ourselves trying to be #stronglikerick!!!