Second Round Of Chemo Update

So, Rob had his second round of chemo on Monday. It was a big day, starting at 6:30am with his arrival at the surgery center. He had the port placed in his chest, which will now be used to have blood drawn and to administer future rounds of chemo. After the port placement, they did a quick chest xray to make sure that the port was OK...it was! Even in Rob's haze of sedation, he requested to see the xray and asked about the size of the tumor. Of course, the technician did not want to give us any info about that tumor. (more about that in a minute.)

From the recovery, Rob went straight for chemo....6 hours of chemo! He slept for the most part. Besides the sedation from the surgery, he also had a pretty large dose of benadryl..so, no playing cards with me that day...I was on my own to entertain myself! Chemo went well, he felt pretty good with the exception of a brief moment with a hot flash and near passing out. The nurses quickly came to his aid and stopped the medications for a few minutes until he felt better.

Yesterday, Tuesday, Rob had an exam with Dr. Braden...Rob has gained 8 pounds!! The Doc was very pleased with this and said that the steroids are working. Hooray! So...again Rob asked about that quick xray they did on Monday...wondering if anything had changed in the size of the tumor. (Keep in mind...the xray was taken after only 1 round of chemo...Rob had not yet received the second dose of chemo.) Dr. Braden checked out the xray and it was noted that the tumor "had decreased in size." Thank God for this!!! We are very excited about that news. We don't have measurements because the xray was taken solely for the purpose to review the port placement, but we at least know the radiologist noted a decrease in the size of the tumor. This is such uplifting and GREAT news! We can only thank God for this, as we know he is working in such beautiful ways right now to heal Rob.

So, Rob is doing well. He is tired and doesn't have a lot of physical strength right now, but he has a great attitude and is very upbeat. His body is sore and achy from the injection they give to boost his white blood cells. This effects his bone marrow and causes aches and pains for several days, but again...we know it is working! So, please continue to pray for Rob and his complete healing. We also ask that you please pray that Anthem insurance and St. Francis hospital can resolve their differences and we are not forced to change doctors and hospitals during all of this.

Thank you all for your love and support. Our family and friends mean the world to us and we could not get through this without all of you!

"Wait for the Lord's help. Be strong and brave, and wait for the Lord's help." Psalm 27:14