by Judy Handley | Feb 10, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 94, Year 7: Mark Meets His Cape Oncologist
Date: Friday, February 10, 2012
Weather: Sunny and Beautiful with Temps in the High 30’s
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Today was all about meeting Mark’s oncologist here on the Cape. We thought we were meeting a man named Dr. Aviles. But when we arrived we were told that we were meeting with his colleague, a woman named Dr. Crook. When we got home from our last appointment at Mass General where we met Mark’s Boston oncologist, Dr. Kwak, our daughter exclaimed, “Oh my. My father has a silly (Dr. Sylla), a quack (Dr. Kwak), and a cutie (Dr. Cutie) for doctors at Mass General. And now we can add a crook (Dr. Crook). I’m certain she is not a crook, Dr. Sylla, our hero surgeon, is certainly not silly, and Dr. Kwak is certainly not a quack. Dr. Cutie, Mark’s urologist, is a nice looking man, but cute is not a word that I would use to describe him. But even Dr. Crook had to admit that she just has to meet a doctor named Dr. Cutie. Dr. Crook has worked with Dr. Kwak, Mark’s oncologist at Mass General, and has had patients who told her that they really messed up by calling her Dr. Quack (should be pronounced as Kw-ock). Dr. Crook rounds out Mark’s colon cancer team of all female doctors. At first we were hesitant to accept anyone but Dr. Aviles, but after spending two hours talking to Dr. Crook, she won us over. And by the way, her father was a lawyer and she assures us that having a ‘crook’ for a doctor is better than having a ‘crook’ for a lawyer! Note: I’m having a little fun here with the names, but believe me, we are eternally grateful to our team of doctors that have brought Mark through to this point.
Mark will have a blood test early on Monday morning and if the results show that the anemia is under control, the chemo treatments will begin on Tuesday, February 21. They will then continue every 14 days for almost six months. After the first treatment, his following visits will be on Mondays. He will get three drugs infused during the three hour treatment and then leave with a box in a fanny pack with a tube running into the port that will be implanted in his chest. The box will continue to infuse one of the three drugs over the next 48 hours. Then the company that supplies the “box” will come to us and remove it and the tube running into the port. Dr. Crook says that the drugs used in chemo treatment for colon cancer are “kinder” than most chemo drugs and she doesn’t anticipate many of the problems that we confronted her with. Mark’s hair might thin, but he will not lose it. He has to be careful about being around people with infections, but he can certainly still lead a normal life and be around the grandchildren unless they have a fever. There will be fatigue that is cumulative and there will probably be a side effect called peripheral neuropathy. One of the drugs in Mark’s regimen is Oxaliplatin and it causes the problem. It can cause tingling fingertips and numbness in the bottom of the feet. If the numbness in the feet continues, they actually stop the chemo treatments early to try and avoid permanent damage. Dr. Crook says if Mark is meticulous with hand washing and the use of hand sanitizers, the risk of infection from others is low and that he should be able to continue life as usual. After all is said and done, there will still be a 30 per cent chance of the cancer reoccurring in the first five years. The odds aren’t what we would like, but it is what it is. Being in good physical shape plays a large part in the outcome, so daily exercise and a healthy diet will become the rule on Windbird.
It is a relief to know when the treatments will begin and end. Now we just have to focus on the upcoming surgery on Monday. After fasting overnight, we will go to the hospital here at 7 am for a blood test and then head to Boston for surgery. We have to be there by 11 am. Dr. Cutie will perform a TURP (Transurethral Resection of the Prostate). Mark will be in the hospital overnight and on Tuesday we will find out if the procedure worked. This is a laser procedure that trims away excess prostate tissue that might be blocking urine flow. If the procedure is a success, Mark will no longer have to self-catheterize. He has high hopes for his Valentine’s Day present this year, so stay tuned on that one.
by Judy Handley | Feb 9, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 93, Year 7: Back Home on the Cape
Date: Thursday, February 9, 2012
Weather: Sunny and Beautiful with Temps in the 40’s
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Spirit Airlines got us back to Boston just after midnight which was about twenty minutes early. My niece Candi’s daughter Amy and husband Char were coming to pick up Candi and Lynn and deliver our car so we could head back to the Cape. They weren’t expecting us to arrive until almost 12:30 am and on the way to the airport, Char had to stop to put air in our back tires which delayed them. So it was almost one o’clock when we headed out. As soon as we got through the tunnel that connects the airport to Boston, we had to take a detour through Boston due to construction to the on-ramp for Interstate 93 S. And if that weren’t enough delay, we ran into a snow storm. Yes, you read that right. There was a snow storm. It wasn’t really too bad but it did slow us down. We made it home safely and all was well on Windbird when we got into bed at 3 am. We indulged ourselves and slept until almost noon. It’s been a long time since we have slept that late, but we did it and felt absolutely rested and ready to go by the time we left to pick up Sam and Jonah. Sam has been asking for weeks to come visit Windbird and I knew when I stepped off the boat into the dazzling sunshine that he was going to remember that I promised to bring him to Windbird on the next sunny day. And sure enough, he did remember. So we made a quick stop to let Sam and Jonah pretend fish off the dock and stomp around in the little bit of snow left from last night’s snow. The footprints from our different shoes fascinated the boys. Jonah’s print looked like a race car track while Sam’s looked like a aerial view of space station from Star Trek. My Birkenstocks made squiggles in the snow while Mark’s prints were interesting but left unlabeled. After all that fun, we were only 15 minutes later than usual getting down for naps and both boys slept like angels. They looked so peaceful and angelic that I had to take photos of them. We missed them while we were gone, so it was good to be back home with them.
Tomorrow Mark has an appointment with Dr. Avilez who will be his oncologist here on the Cape. The appointment is at 2:20 pm and we will both go. We are assuming that we will find out when the chemo treatments will begin and we both have lots of questions. We’ll fill you in on the details in tomorrow night’s log.
by Judy Handley | Feb 8, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 92, Year 7: Headed Home
Date: Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Weather: Mostly Sunny, Temps Around 60 degrees F
Location: Airport in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
The sun was shining when we got up this morning and it was a delightfully warm day. Mark, Candi, Patsy, and I went to Conda’s condo and returned clothes she had taken with her when she left in November to spend Thanksgiving with her children. My nephews are hoping to keep the condo to use when visiting the beach and they will be coming on Sunday to spend the night before Conda’s memorial service in Little River on Monday. So we turned on the water and generally checked things out. We found a toilet that just wouldn’t stop running and tried to fix it to no avail. So we just had to turn the water off to that toilet and the repair will happen later. Candi and Patsy went shopping at a nearby, new and huge, Goodwill store while Mark and I made the attempted repair. When we went to get them, I couldn’t believe how much stuff could be in one Goodwill store. If you had a whole day, I’m sure you could find some fantastic bargains, but in the short time Candi was there she found a new pair of jeans, a dust ruffle for a queen-sized bed, and a couple of other items, all for less than $10. She was a happy shopper.
In the afternoon, Mark and I went with Lee and Lynda Kaufman to meet their new boat, Lee(‘s) Way. The ‘official name’ is really just Lee Way, but Lynda added the (‘s) because she said Lee got his way. It is a Catalina 30 and is in really great condition. Catalina’s have lots of room inside, so their 30-footer can accommodate almost as many people as our Tayana 42. Mark and Lee had a good time digging into the inner workings of the boat, but unfortunately we didn’t have time to take her out. Hopefully we can do that the next time we are visiting.
Our flight is slated to leave here at 10:30 pm and arrive in Boston at 12:20 am. Mark and I will then drive home to the Cape. Hopefully we will be home and in bed by 2:30 so we can get a few hours sleep before picking Sam and Jonah up from school tomorrow. We are so looking forward to seeing their smiling faces.
by Judy Handley | Feb 7, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 91, Year 7: From Charlotte to Calabash
Date: Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Weather: Mostly Cloudy, Temp Around 50 degrees F
Location: At Home with the Kerwoods, Calabash, North Carolina
We are back in Calabash, North Carolina with Patsy and Joe, my sister and brother-in-law. We spent this morning finishing up the photo slide show for my sister-in-law Conda’s memorial service. It has been a real trip down memory lane looking through all the photos, and tonight we are continuing to look at my sister’s collection of family photos. There have been many opportunities to laugh and cry over the past couple of days as we have looked back over the years. Tomorrow morning we go to Conda’s condo to return some personal items and make sure everything is ready for the family to come on Sunday. They will stay there Sunday night before the Little River memorial service on Monday. Hopefully tomorrow afternoon we are going to get to see our friends Lee and Lynda and ‘meet’ their new sailboat. Then we will prepare for the flight home tomorrow night. We have had many opportunities for gladness as well as sadness since arriving here on Saturday. But now we know it is time to get on with life.
by Judy Handley | Feb 6, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 90, Year 7: Life Goes On
Date: Monday, February 6, 2012
Weather: Overcast and Cool, High Around 40 degrees F
Location: Home of Tommy and Marilou Martin, Denver, NC
Life went on today as we all know my sister-in-law Conda would want. All of us miss her presence, but we got up this morning determined to continue on. Conda’s son Todd, his wife Shelley, and their three little ones headed home to Georgia and will return here on Friday. Kaelin and Ashlyn, Todd’s six and ten year-old daughters have had perfect attendance at school until last week when they came to see grandma. So they will go back to school for a couple of days until they return on Friday. On Saturday morning they will then drive to West Virginia for Conda’s memorial service. She will be cremated here and her remains and my brother Dickie’s will be transported by Todd and Tommy to West Virginia to be interned together. Tommy and Todd promised that there would still be ashes left over to sprinkle in other favorite places. We figure at some point we will have to sprinkle some of my brother’s ashes in southern West Virginia where he was born. Conda is from a little town in West Virginia named Sissonville and she attended Fisher’s Chapel there all of her life until she and my brother moved to South Carolina just a few years ago. Conda was a Fisher, so this will truly be going home for her. On Sunday, the family will then travel from West Virginia back to South Carolina for a second memorial service on Monday at the Little River Methodist Church. Mark spent much of his day scanning photos of Conda so we can put together a slide show for her memorial services. The rest of us spent time looking through photo album after photo album, reminiscing while choosing the photos to be scanned. My sister Patsy went through Conda’s bedroom here and packed things that need to be returned to her condo in Little River. Tommy and Todd hope to keep the condo and they want all of their mother’s things there so they can go through them at a later date. My sister Patsy and I tried to keep on top of the laundry. With so many people here, there are lots of sheets and towels to be laundered in addition to the normal laundry load in a household with four children. Tommy and Marilou’s children went to school after their Uncle Todd and Aunt Shelley left and we all got to go to a basketball game late this afternoon. Tommy’s thirteen year-old son Cory was playing. His team won and he had more than a couple of shining moments during the game. After the game, Mark and I went to Staples to scan in the precious letters the grandchildren wrote to Conda last night. Then we returned home to a kitchen full of food brought in by neighbors and Tommy’s employer, US Foods. We all spent the evening together continuing to go through photos, including the kids in the selection. It was a cathartic experience for all.
Tomorrow after we complete the slide show, my nieces, Mark, and I will return to Calabash, North Carolina to spend time with my sister and brother-in-law Joe. At this point we are still planning to fly home on Wednesday night. I would love to go to the memorial service in West Virginia, but I also want to be with Mark when he goes to his oncologist appointment on Friday to set up his chemo treatments. And then Mark has to be in Boston on Sunday as he has surgery at Mass General on Monday morning. My niece Jennifer could sense how torn I am and she said something this evening that was quite poignant. She told me to follow my heart and as much as I loved my sister-in-law, my heart is with Mark. I keep thinking I can scheme some way to do it all.
by Judy Handley | Feb 5, 2012 | Cape Cod, USA, Sailing Logs Year 7 |
Day 89, Year 7: A Day of Loss
Date: Sunday, February 5, 2012
Weather: Cloudy and Cool
Location: Home of Tommy and Marilou Martin, Denver, NC
My sister-in-law Conda passed away peacefully this evening. Hospice was an amazing support throughout day and evening and they took care of all of the details. It was amazing to watch the way the grandchildren dealt with their grandmother’s death. They all wanted to be with her after she passed and I know Conda would have loved nothing more than being surrounded by her grandchildren. After leaving her side they then wrote precious notes to grandma that were taken away with her. It was wonderful to be with so many family members so we could all support each other.
