I'm B-A-A-A-A-C-K! It's all Bruiser's fault! LOL

[DocRags]

Well, I promised an update on Erags, so here it is: To recap the situation, we were on our spring/summer journey West, on our way to SITR, when Erags got sick in Cheyenne WY and ended up in Hospital #1. Not just a little sick, but major sick...as in resulting in a mad 1700 mile dash home to go into Hospital #2, where surgery was performed after a relatively rare cancer (mantle cell lymphoma) was diagnosed. He managed to spend twelve days in the hospital...including my birthday as well as most of our anniversary before being discharged home. He had the most beautiful flowers delivered to our room on my birthday...I could be the first non-patient, non-employee with a flower delivery in a patient's room! :thumbup: Our time home was but a brief reprieve, because the doctors at home referred him to MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston (Hospital #3) for a consultation. We spent four (outpatient) days there getting all sorts of tests done; we actually met another SpyderLover's parents in the hospital lobby (:pray::pray::pray: going up for them, as well). Erags was in hog-heaven in Houston, managing to eat at three Triple D (Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives) eateries in two days:bbq::bbq::bbq:. We had a few quiet days at home before returning to see the local oncologist for hospitalization. We managed to get in some :spyder2: riding and had a :spyder2: riding group lunch at a local restaurant the day before hospital admission. Erags was admitted to our local hospital again for Chemo Round #1 on Aug. 13th. He's on a very aggressive chemo regimen, with an immunotherapy drug as well as six chemo agents (4 for 5 days, 2 for 4 days), plus whatever drugs are needed to counteract the various poisons he's getting. He will be in-patient for a minimum of 9 days for each round of chemo, (possibly more if his blood counts drop too much) with 3 or 4 cycles to be done before repeating tests to see if more chemo is needed. I've got my own hospital bed in his room (I just need to make sure they don't think I am the patient!)

We're still planning on seeing where things are at when it comes time for Lamont's BBQ...if it's right before Cycle #2 begins (when his counts should be highest) and we can figure out where daily bloodwork could be drawn and the doctor agrees, we'll come to Tennessee. If we can't manage that, or if he's just not up to it, then we have Spyderfest 2013 pegged as our next Spyder event. :yes::yes: He should hopefully be in remission by then and off medication. We're on Chemo Cycle One, Day Two now and he's tolerating things well. :thumbup: His appetite is (still) great. Nurses and staff are wonderful.

We thank all of you for your support and prayers; hope to see everyone soon. Be safe when you are riding. Cherish each day...there's no telling what roadblocks lie ahead in this journey called Life. BTW, Bruiser...thanks for noticing our absence lately. I was pulling a CyncySpyder disappearance! :roflblack:

[Lamonster]

Thanks for the update and hope to see you here for the BBQ :bbq:

[Moosemanj]

Hope things go well for ERAGS. :2thumbs: Hope to get to meet you guys soon. We are new Spyder owners and would love to meet and ride. We are on the west side of Pensacola.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

MANY PRAYERS..:pray::pray::pray::pray::pray::pray::pray ::pray::pray::pray::pray::pray::pray::pray::pray:: pray::pray:.......Mike

[DynamoBT]

Hoping very much for a great outcome from chemo. Positive healing thoughts headed your way. And many hugs for the two of you.

[currin20fan]

Many thoughts and prayers coming your way! :pray::pray::pray::pray::pray:

[Netminder]

Being a cancer survivour myself, my prayers go out to you both.

[Cal777]

:pray: from south central Va

[harrypottar]

Please keep us all up to date, praying for a speedy recover.

harry

[DocRags]

We have just been so overwhelmed with all the love, support and prayers from you all (or y'all as we say down here)...thanks for everything. Spyderlovers are the absolute best! :thumbup:We are both trying to be as positive as we can with everything...when I mentioned the bill for 4 days at MD Anderson to our local oncologist he told us that was just to get us prepared for the sticker shock of the chemo bills!:yikes::yikes::yikes: He was NOT kidding! Good thing Tricare has been covering things so well...definitely a big benefit of 22 years of military service. (Of course, we're tempering that with :gaah:...Agent Orange in Vietnam could be the culprit in this "adventure").

[SpyderAnn01]

Thanks for the update. Take care - both of you.

[Holly]

You are both in our prayers.:pray::pray::pray:. Stay positive. We missed you at Spyders in the Adirondacks this year.

[bruiser]

I'm sorry Doc, I just couldn't contain myself any longer. NOT!!! :roflblack: Just like CyncySpyder, you can't escape the prying minds of Spyderlovers. Seriously though, this is a very rough time for you and Ed so we just had to hear whats going on. We will continue to lift you both up in prayer. And know that we stand ready to help if we can. We all hope to see you at the BBQ but understand if y'all can't make it. Blessings and Peace to you both. Oh, where's the whip?? :shocked: :roflblack:

Keep pressing on with the VA. I know how hard it is to get them to do anything.

[RAYYOU]

:pray: Prayer coming your way. Glad you were able to stay close to home, but if needed Ya'lls extended spyder family is here if you need them in TX

[fastfraser]

:pray: God speed in a full and quick recovery .

[rhansen309]

Prayers going your way from Southwest Michigan!! Stay strong.

[exwinger]

Best wishes on your recovery . A strong will and a positive outlook goes a long way and it sounds like both of you are on the positive side. Wife went through chemo , wasn't fun but she's been spot free now for 7 years. Hope to meet both of you sometime down the road. :pray:

[bruisersbaby]

Prayers coming your way!! Sometimes the healing takes longer than we would like, but just know that He is with you. Take care and God bless!

[NancysToy]

Just talked to Ed and Cheryl via Skype. Ed looks and sounds real good, and his attitude is fantastic! So far so good. Keep those prayer coming. Many thanks to DocRags for taking time out to keep us all updated along the way. :clap:

[Cavman]

I was at MD Anderson with my sister on the way to Durango. Great people there. Many :pray: coming your way.
Hope to see at the BBQ!

[dick574]

:pray::pray::pray: Can't get too many prayers. Take care of yourself too. Caregivers can lose their zip if they're not careful. The Lord's watching over you both.

[GloryRyders]

Thanks for the update.............keep them comming! The prayers will continue until Ed is fully recovered!:pray:

[CyncySpyder]

I was pulling a CyncySpyder disappearance! :roflblack:
Teddy says Ed needs to get better soon, cause he wants to play fetch:yes:
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=51387&d=1345026681



You are both in our prayers.:pray::pray::pray:. Stay positive. We missed you at Spyders in the Adirondacks this year.
Teddy & :agree: We had a good time but it just wasn't the same without you two :yes:
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=51388&d=1345026741

A blast from the past :bbq: Good Times :cheers: With Good Friends:chat:

[Bob Denman]

Just tell him to keep up the good work and keep healing! :thumbup:
Thanks for keeping all of us in the loop!

[murphybrown]

:pray::pray::pray::pray::thumbup: from No Central WA state...

[DocRags]

Teddy says Ed needs to get better soon, cause he wants to play fetch:yes:
http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=51387&d=1345026681





A blast from the past :bbq: Good Times :cheers: With Good Friends:chat:

We certainly had a good time up there last year, even if you Northern guys didn't care for Erags' Florida campfire! (I forgot about Holly's disco ball till I saw the other picture).

Teddy should have never tried to play fetch with Erags over the computer...when he threw the ball back towards Teddy, he managed to knock his laptop to the ground, causing one heck of a crash. :cus: Wonder how much a new screen will cost???:yikes::roflblack::roflblack:

[DocRags]

Boy, I'm surprised Erags didn't comment on my last post! (You know, one of his ":hun:, she's pulling your leg...I didn't DO that" responses). Day #3 has been quiet...no new drugs today or other surprises. I decided I was tired from staying up too late reading and being awakened by the daily 4 a.m. blood drawing with every light on in the room. So I came home after meeting a friend for lunch. It's really quiet at home since a)I'm by myself, b)the house phone is forwarded to the hospital room and c)Ed has the book that says how to "un-forward" the house phone in the hospital room! I thought he'd text me by now or something. I can call out on the phone but hadn't tried calling the hospital room. (Can I call the number that the phone is forwarded to? :dontknow:) It's going to be one of those relaxing "I can eat whatever I want and watch whatever channel I want" nights, while doing the laundry. Time to catch up on a few neglected chores before I go back to the hospital in the morning. If the roads weren't so wet I'd be inclined to look up Arntufun's video of teaching Holly to ride; I could try going for a spin after watching the video again. :ohyea:

On another note, Erags heard from an old shipmate...they have the same rare lymphoma. Their ship was a destroyer so there weren't that many guys on it (it's not like one of the huge aircraft carriers)...there might just be something to the Agent Orange stuff. Good news is Gary's had it for 16+ years and looked really good when we saw him last year. (His doctors have been amazed). Keep the :pray::pray::pray: and positive thoughts coming...thanks.

[spydaman60]

MANY PRAYERS..:pray::pray::pray::pray::pray::pray::pray ::pray::pray::pray::pray::pray::pray::pray::pray:: pray::pray:.......Mike\\

plus 1!!!!:agree: haven't met you guys yet, but looking forward to at spyderfest 2013!

[pro10is]

Very best wishes to both of you. Please get well soon.

[d.o.spyder-rts]

:pray: and best wishes for a speedy recovery from Panama City. Thanks for keeping us updated. Dale

[Sunshyn]

Hope things go well for ERAGS. :2thumbs: Hope to get to meet you guys soon. We are new Spyder owners and would love to meet and ride. We are on the west side of Pensacola.

Hello from Navarre! I have had my :spyder2: for over a year, and have put close to 2K miles on her. I met Ed and Cheryl (ERags) recently before he started his treatments. Wonderful people.

Do you ever ryde east? Maybe we could meet for a ryde, and/or lunch sometime.

Sandy

[Sunshyn]

Boy, I'm surprised Erags didn't comment on my last post! (You know, one of his ":hun:, she's pulling your leg...I didn't DO that" responses). Day #3 has been quiet...no new drugs today or other surprises. I decided I was tired from staying up too late reading and being awakened by the daily 4 a.m. blood drawing with every light on in the room. So I came home after meeting a friend for lunch. It's really quiet at home since a)I'm by myself, b)the house phone is forwarded to the hospital room and c)Ed has the book that says how to "un-forward" the house phone in the hospital room! I thought he'd text me by now or something. I can call out on the phone but hadn't tried calling the hospital room. (Can I call the number that the phone is forwarded to? :dontknow:) It's going to be one of those relaxing "I can eat whatever I want and watch whatever channel I want" nights, while doing the laundry. Time to catch up on a few neglected chores before I go back to the hospital in the morning. If the roads weren't so wet I'd be inclined to look up Arntufun's video of teaching Holly to ride; I could try going for a spin after watching the video again. :ohyea:

On another note, Erags heard from an old shipmate...they have the same rare lymphoma. Their ship was a destroyer so there weren't that many guys on it (it's not like one of the huge aircraft carriers)...there might just be something to the Agent Orange stuff. Good news is Gary's had it for 16+ years and looked really good when we saw him last year. (His doctors have been amazed). Keep the :pray::pray::pray: and positive thoughts coming...thanks.

Thank you for the update on Erags. So far, so good, it seems.:clap: I just love the way you write.
:clap::clap:

I'm glad you were able to get in some "at home" time.

Sending my :pray::pray::pray:s,
Sandy

[DocRags]

We got a big surprise this morning when the oncologist started talking about the possibility of Ed (Erags) going home in the morning. We were expecting a minimum of 9 days...could it be we both heard 9 when the oncologist actually said 5? :hun: (Good possibility, when spoken with a heavy Indian accent). I actually ended up going online to research chemotherapy regimens & make sure we weren't being led astray. One of the drugs he is getting was listed as being given daily from days 5-7...I questioned the oncologist about the doses for days 6 and 7; he said that Ed's been getting the total dose of days 5-7 all on day 5, which is another way to give it. The higher daily dose could explain why he's having some problems with poor appetite today...he couldn't stand the smell of my seafood dinner tonight and I ended up eating in the lounge. (I told him I had the same problem when I was pregnant...I couldn't go in any restaurants that served fish for four months! He told the next person that came in the room that I was accusing him of being pregnant...which is NOT what I said! :roflblack:) In any event we're ecstatic over the thought of going home until he starts the next cycle, which will start sometime after 2 1/2 weeks from now (depending on how quickly his blood counts get high enough). We'll have to come in for daily lab work and shots to boost his white cell counts (and one dose of outpatient chemo next Friday). But we would be sleeping and eating at home! HOORAY!:yes::yes::pray::pray::pray: We'll be that much closer to being able to go for a :spyder2: ride! Will post an update later...now we've just got to figure out whether the timing of Lamont's BBQ and the chemo schedule will work right together. Hope to see you in Tennessee!

[PCBeachBum]

DocRags, I found out last October that I was exposed to Agent Orange in DaNang in October 1970. I thought how nice for the Gov. to let me know this 41 years after the fact. Erags and I were on the same kind of Gearing Class Destroyers and both ships were stationed out of Pearl Harbor at the same time. I didn't know Ed than but remember his ship when the forward gun mount blew up. They had just relieved us on the gunline and we had just returned to Subic after 45 days out and were recalled back out to the gunline that night.

So far I have no effect from the exposure and I feel great but, I do remember being around the drums that we were told contained JP-5 and I didn't buy that line, since we had tanks for that to refuel helo's and JP-5 has a different smell. I can even remember guys leaning up against the drums smoking and if it was JP-5, I know that wouldn't be allowed. :yikes:

I do pray that Ed is okay and your both doing well.

Brian.







We have just been so overwhelmed with all the love, support and prayers from you all (or y'all as we say down here)...thanks for everything. Spyderlovers are the absolute best! :thumbup:We are both trying to be as positive as we can with everything...when I mentioned the bill for 4 days at MD Anderson to our local oncologist he told us that was just to get us prepared for the sticker shock of the chemo bills!:yikes::yikes::yikes: He was NOT kidding! Good thing Tricare has been covering things so well...definitely a big benefit of 22 years of military service. (Of course, we're tempering that with :gaah:...Agent Orange in Vietnam could be the culprit in this "adventure").

[DocRags]

We are waiting for the weekend oncologist on call to come by and discharge Ed from the hospital. Actually he's got just a little bit of the doxorubicin still left in his IV bag, so I imagine it will be after 10 before we can go home. He is on Skype with his son and 7 month old grandson right now...that should perk him up (almost as much as seeing Teddy wanting to play fetch)! He isn't wanting to eat much since they started the doxorubicin, so I'll be glad when it's out of his system. He didn't even have any coffee this morning. Haven't ever seen him turn down that! Well, I've gotta go...grandbaby's calling me from Ed's computer! :yes::yes:

[bruiser]

Well, hoping that that news pans out.

[DocRags]

Well, I am thrilled to be able to say Erags (Ed) is finally home from the hospital! Oncologist didn't make it in until almost 5 o'clock last night. We made it out around six and stopped in at one of my Mardi Gras krewes' new member party for dinner and a little socialization. We both ate too much food before making it an early night and heading home. His blood counts were so good (basically normal except for the anemia) the oncologist told us we could skip the daily lab tests for 2 days. He has to go in for a shot to boost white blood cells on Monday and one last chemo infusion on Friday. That will officially end chemo cycle one! :yes::yes: It's been a lot better tolerated than either of us was expecting it to be. Looks like cycle two should start around Labor Day, provided his blood counts stay up enough...which would rule out this year's :bbq:at Lamont's. :(. Ed's energy is pretty low but he looks great. Hopefully he'll get enough energy back to go out on the :spyder2: in a few days.

[dancogan]

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: Good news!

[bruiser]

Yes, very good news. Hey, if you can't make Lamonts then so be it. Health and family come first in my book. You will be missed, but we all understand.

[DocRags]

We spent Sunday doing absolutely nothing...it was so tiring, we both had to take a nap in the afternoon! :roflblack: We are heading in to the doctor's office shortly, for Ed to have a shot to boost his white blood cell production. Then we're headed off to run a few errands. It's a little too overcast for us to ride the Phantom this morning...hopefully we'll ride it soon. :yes: Hope everyone has a great day.

[GloryRyders]

Great News :2thumbs: Hope that you can ryde the :spyder:soon, that'll perk you up!:yes:

[Rar]

Superb news that Erags is home. :yes: I agree with Glory in that a :f_spider: ride will perk both of you up. Prayers and best wishes for continued improvement. :pray:

[CyncySpyder]

Teddy should have never tried to play fetch with Erags over the computer...when he threw the ball back towards Teddy, he managed to knock his laptop to the ground, causing one heck of a crash. :cus: Wonder how much a new screen will cost???:yikes::roflblack::roflblack:
If all that happened with Teddys' ball:yikes: I could only imagine what would have happened if Teddy wanted to play fetch with Ed with his 6 foot stick instead :gaah::yikes::gaah:

:roflblack::roflblack::roflblack:Go ahead ED, Take It!!! I DARE YA!!! You Feel'n Lucky? :hun:http://www.spyderlovers.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=51741&d=1345552218

[DocRags]

Ed will have to pass on the six foot stick, Teddy...too much stuff in the living room for it to hit!

Thought I'd give an update since it had been a few days. Erags is doing great. He had a shot on Monday to boost his white blood cell count (which was in the normal range at that time). We have to go in daily for lab work to check blood counts. (Well, we in this case really means he!) Overnight his count went to 16,800! :yikes: Doctor said it would drop rather rapidly, and it has...to 12,500 then 7500...as long as it's over 4000 tomorrow morning he will get a dose of Vincristine. That will officially end Chemo Cycle One! Hooray!:yes::yes: Unfortunately the end of Cycle One means...the start of Cycle Two ten days later! Different drugs are used for the even numbered cycles but the doctor said it's not any worse than the regimen he's just completed. We are :pray::pray::pray: that he is right about that. We're expecting Erags to be spending another four or five days in the hospital for Round Two. Oh, boy...more free hospital food for me! :bbq::roflblack: We have been able to ride the :spyder2: three days this week...the riding has been great at night, with relatively low humidity. We've visited with friends this week, which helped with our spirits. Also picked up more books from the library to keep us busy during the boring hospital days.

If Erags is feeling up to it we're planning on riding over to the 20 ft metal spider in Elberta AL on Saturday morning...Gulf Coast Spyder Riders get ready for a ride! Hopefully tropical storm Isaac will not throw a wrench in our plans next week. Looks like the latest predictions have it coming up to visit us next Thursday.