Hi all,

Pat is stable, and today I went to the home and bundled her into her car (Scion XB), and we went for a little tour. First, to see Mom and Dad, car side visit at their house, then over to our home. At our home, I brought Chuy and Sammy out to say hi to Pat in the car. Then we stopped at McDonald’s, where I picked up my lunch, and an ice cream cone in a cup for Pat. The last stop was to a 7-11 to pick up the paper for Pat, and finally back to the home, where we ate lunch, hers prepared by the home, mine from McD’s

It has been about 4 months since she had been out in her car, and since she has been able to move around more, easier to get out her chair, it was time.

I also put a suction cup affixed bird feeder on Pat’s room window, she loved her birds, so hopefully some will stop by 🙂

I thank all of you that came and visited Pat this week, again, thank you.

I have received feedback from Duke on Pat’s MRI results, the tumor is advancing, but very slowly. She will be put on another chemo drug. I expected this, and I am very happy that it is advancing “very slowly”.

Thanks for all your support,

Scott

Yep, my fault I have been lax on posting.

Pat continues to improve, yet slowly.

I should say that she is way beyond where she was in NC. Visits from local friends have helped a lot, please keep it up. If You haven’t visited and want to , please contact me.

Pat has good days, and not so good days… but the trend is positive, her worst days are no where near hear worst days in the past. However, she has plateaued …to an extent, she does still make significant gains, but slowly

Thanks for your support,

Scott

Hi All,

I had a lot of trepidation about moving Pat to the facility in Norfolk, its not near as posh. The first time my parents went in they also were kinda shocked. Yes it is not posh, but then its also runs a little differently. We have all come to appreciate that.

Thing are a little more worn here, it is more clinical, no carpetting in rooms, etc. However there is a big focus on rehabilitation. Pat’s room is right next to rehab. It is somewhat comfortable, however, the goal is not to make it a permanent place to be, this is what makes it different from the previous place in NC.

Pat is getting rehab 5 days a week, as opposed to 3 days a week previously, and this may have a lot to do with her own progress and/or the facility. All I can say is that she is doing better and the trend is positive.

Shortly I will be contacting some of you, and if you want , you may visit her. If I don’t contact you, please contact me. I am not trying to omit anyone. Please do not go visit her without me knowing.

Pat is vocalizing a bit more.. actually quite a bit. We did have an incident on Wednesday that required a trip to the ER. It stemmed from her being found at the foot of her wheelchair and no one had seen it happen. As a precaution she was sent to the ER for analysis (CT scan, X-Ray.. etc). She is fine. Although we spent some really boring time in the ER.

Anyway, things continue to look up 🙂

Thanks for your support,

Scott

Hi All, here is the game plan.

Pat will be leaving North Carolina tomorrow (Dec 10th) , for the 4 hr drive back to Norfolk, a passenger in my parent’s van. She will arrive at a local facility where I will meet her. All of her meds and appointments are theoretically set (everything can, however, change ).

I’m not going to give out the location until she has had a chance to settle.  I know there are a lot of you that want to go visit, please have a little patience, it won’t be long.

The pups may comming home as early as next week :), and I do miss em, and I will bring them to see Pat.

The goal, is to transition Pat, from the local facility, back to our house. This will probably start with short term visits to the house. I don’t have a schedule for how long that will take, most of it depends on Pat and her progress.

Thanks for all your support,

Scott

Hi All.

Pat was sick, throwing up on Friday, all day Saturday, yet even with this, Pat was much more responsive than even the previous weekend. I can only imagine her thought processes and courage, in conversations with staff, I believe the illness is due to a “bug” that was floating around the facility and not her recent treatment (Just my thoughts)

On Sunday morning , she was not ill , and even more verbal.. yet tired. Understandable, she had been sick for 2 days… shoot I’d be tired. I left earlier than normal , by a day, as she was tired and I needed to take care of some stuff at home, most important being an insurance cancellation that I need to address in the morning (Monday).

I was stunned later after returning home , when calling Mom’s cell phone, and Pat answered. As I was confused, I asked who is this?… I had an immediate reply, “This is Pat”. I was stunned and we shared a short conversation. Pat is really coming along.

I need to thank some other people that have allowed me to focus on Pat… My Parents are a given.. but much also goes to Kim and Lisa (and Doug) for taking care of our pups for so long. I really , really appreciate knowing that our “kids” are in good hands. (Temporarily.. we do want em back…:))

I’m really hoping to bring Pat back to Norfolk next weekend.. give or take a day.

Thanks for your support,

Scott

Thought I’d throw in a quick update

On Wednesday Pat had a visit with her Dr., as well as Avastin treatment. From my parents, this went very well, and she continues to improve.

My goal is to bring her back here, and there a few challenges, but it is getting close. Right now the issues are when a room is available, and trying to keep her schedules intact.

As a side note, Mom and Dad, headed back to their West  Virginia home yesterday, and are now back at home. They really needed to do so, turn on the heat on the house etc, and take care of other things they have neglected in the last months.  Their support has been humongous. This is a short visit home, and they will return. I can’t express my gratitude for what they have done in words, its huge.

I will post later this weekend on how things are developing, there is a good chance that things could happen quickly

Thanks for your support,

Scott

We had Thanksgiving dinner with Pat this afternoon in Durham. She continues to do well. I was here last weekend as well. There have been no more infections, and she continues to do new things.

Still trying to work out a day to bring her back to Norfolk. The only holdups are her chemo schedule and room availability. Its getting close though.

Thanks for your support,

Scott

Hi All,

I’m back in Durham. Since my last post, Pat has continued to improve. She is more alert, and does not seem to have any infection. Her Avastin treatments seem also to be working as evidenced by the last MRI (Thursday). We had a good meeting with the neuro oncologist, and things are looking up.

We are back to getting Pat ready to return to Norfolk. 🙂

Thanks for all your support,

Scott

Hi All,

Wednesday last week (Oct 17th) Pat had her first Avastin chemo treatment, and the following day she had an ultrasound of her legs, chest CT, and a treatment for pneumonia prevention (all of these are routine).

I arrived in town that Friday, and Pat was tired, and not responsive, she also looked uncomfortable. We find out she needs, to well (use the bathroom), and once that is taken care of her spirits lift.

The following day(Saturday), she is again very tired and has a small fever, we don’t do much, and the doctors at Duke are informed of her fever.

Sunday morning I receive a call from the home and Pat has spiked a fever of 101.1F, she is then transported to the ER. She spends 12 hours in the ER and is then admitted to the hospital.

Pat has been there since Sunday, as they try to find out what is causing the fever, she has had a barrage of tests, and they have identified a yeast infection , but not much else. On Wednesday, Pat had a spinal tap, to rule out meningitis, we don’t have word back on that yet.

I will be down there tomorrow.

Thanks for all your support,

Scott