Lucky for us -- a passerby snapped this pic of Scott rejoicing after his clear report from the doctor!  

Yes, U of T. has done a lot with the medical center's landscaping budget since I was there in August. Amaaazing!

Nothing scary to see on the tests done at MD Anderson this week; they'll treat this round as a baseline and repeat again in three months.  Assuming that the next set is identical to this set of scans, the 'rotation' might be moved back to testing every six months. :)

We are without adequate words to explain just how much every email, every pat on the shoulder, every petition sent to our Heavenly Father on Scott's behalf means to our family.  You are not just making someone's heart melt a bit when you do these things....you're altering a life. :)

Instead of cueing the crickets to start chirping on the Malone Moment blog, ;) I really do plan on regularly maintaining the blog, so don't give up on me yet.  ;)  Thanks again for your support.

Elvis Has Left the Building (and has flown to Houston)

Scott made it to Houston no worse for the wear. Well, save that nagging emptiness he feels when he's not with me. . :) In case anyone reading is in a hurry and needs the 'cut to the chase' version, we basically won't know any test results until Friday morning. He's been able to text me throughout the day (except for right now..something or another about 'lead walls' ..eyeroll.)  :)

Wednesday was 'travel day'...the only flight w/ Conoco-Phillips a 7 a.m. flight -- which means that he had to leave our (new-to-us) home in Edmond, OK at 3:30 a.m. Today, Thursday, is 'testing' day....started at 7 a.m. and kind of paced throughout the day. He just texted me with a falsely delighted tone about the barium "smoothie" he was consuming at the time. (Just between us....why even call it a 'smoothie' and get some naive, smoothie-loving patient's hopes up? Scott, of course, knows better than to get excited about anything resembling food or drink offered during a medical test...but what about some poor kid or little lady who loves her Jamba Juices??) So far he's had bloodwork, CT of chest, abdomen, and pelvis, X-ray of chest, and now the smoothie drinking business and, yes, I think you can guess what might accompany the smoothie. He is pumped. :)

Then Friday morning he sees his physician, the oncologist who's also the head of the melonoma clinic at MD Anderson. (I hope you know me well enough to know that any 'credential dropping' in last sentence is done in an almost tear-filled tone of 'You will not believe how awesomely God did here!' And he takes a 4:50 pm flight back to Bartlesville on Friday night.

Thank you for prayers! May I ask that my prayin peeps throw it into overdrive this evening and/or tomorrow a.m. as he has to wait to talk to the dr. I'm really not fearful of these 3-month test results...it's kind of a weird combination of feelings -- nervousness partnered with thankfulness that he can even go have the tests done at all, I guess. Can't wait for him to be able to head home with a lightened heart and be able to relax in his excitement and enjoyment of our new home, etc.

I'll be back with a post tomorrow. Leave us any questions or feedback! And please forward the blog to anyone you know who's going through anything similar....or dissimilar...we're flexible. :)

What?! Back So Soon?? :)

I know. There's absolutely no excuse for my having taken soooo long to post an update!! It's shameful blogging...absolutely shameful. But don't you dare stop reading!

I confess. I selfishly chose now to get back to blogging to ask for prayers for Scott's next trip to MD Anderson. There...I admitted it. :) He leaves on Wednesday to be there for a full day of tests on Thursday; then on Friday he sees his oncologist to go over results from the previous day's tests. Sadly, he's going by his lonesome this time....just trying to pare down the cost of the trip. We're blessed again to be able to utilize Corporate Angel Flights -- http://www.corpangelnetwork.org -- they find companies willing to donate any 'unused seats' on corporate jets for folks heading to oncology appts. Conoco-Phillips is our local 'donor'....you just have to get yourself to Bartlesville, OK (about 2.5 hrs from us) and then travel in style! This was how we got to rub elbows with Ben & Jen Affleck on our last trip. Yeah, she lets me call her "Jenn" now. :)

The purpose of Scott's trip is to have tests that will reveal if any melanoma has 'popped a squat' anywhere in his body. In May of this year, we discovered that a suspect mole on his back had gone unnoticed for too long; when biopsied, the mole turned out to be the dreaded cancerous melanoma, and a peek at the nearest lymph node (in his left armpit) showed that melanoma had traveled there as well; this finding prompted the need for a "lymph node dissection", which is really just the removal of a certain group of nodes. His body had to have a chance to heal a bit between surgeries, so we had a pretty rough May through August, with surgery...recovery...surgery...recovery. Surgery..well, you get the point. ;)

Thankfully, that particular group of nodes is as far as the melanoma got, and brain and PET scans showed that no other organs were involved. The involvement of an original tumor along with any lymph involvement placed him at what's called "Stage IIIa"; if he'd had any other organ involvement, the stage would be considered IIIb, and survival rates become a bit grim. Melanoma is the kind of cancer that, when caught early, can be very easily treated and has very high survival rates. It's when it hits a lymph node that it can turn into a monster. A very scary monster. Treatment options quickly disappear once melanoma has metasticized at all; no chemo, no radiation, as a rule...the only FDA-approved treatment for "metasticized melanoma" are a couple that are considered "immunotheraphy" drugs, which really are geared to lower the recurrence rate. However, these treatments haven't proven very 'exciting' because recurrence rates are just lowered by 10-15%. Well, that and the "high toxicity" that makes life juuust about unbearable for the patient undergoing treatment. It gave me a chance to see firsthand what 'quality of life' really means when deciding on the treatment of an illness. And it's the patient, and the patient alone, who earns the right to make this call. 'Nuff said.

So, now that everyone's up to speed, we'd appreciate prayers for 'negative' tests on Thursday, Nov. 11th. Scott is now under the care of the head physician at MD Anderson's melanoma clinic. (MD Anderson is the U. of Texas's teaching hospital devoted solely to cancer and cancer research...located in Houston, TX.) As an absolute curiosity, we checked to see if our insurance might cover Scott's care there....and voila...it did! We traveled together in early August to get him established as a patient, and until further notice, he'll be seen every 3 months for testing to make sure he's still cancer-free.

Neither of us can adequately verbalize the feeling of 'aaahhh' when we walked into a huge, bustling clinic (w/in the huge, bustling cancer hospital) devoted solely to Scott's type of cancer and clinical trials for his kind of cancer. He went from being 1 of 3 stage III melanoma patients at a (pretty big) oncology practice here OKC to one of hundreds...and a hub for research. There's nothing like the terrifying realization that, especially when the cancer is 'rare' at all, there's really no one knocking down your door to be your advocate....if you don't do it and absolutely dig for information until your hands are bloody....it ain't gonna happen. Correction: dig for info AND hit your knees praying that God will reveal what questions to even search for. It's great to have an oncologist who's patient and willing to answer any questions you have, but if you don't even know the questions to ask, the result isn't much different than having an impatient, unwilling-to-field-questions oncologist.

Here's my long-winded point to this entire post: God has given me a gift..or at least wired me to be a teacher; I know w/out a doubt that in His eternally beautiful way of working all things for the good, God will use this year's nightmare, along with the power of the blogosphere, to allow the knowledge we've collected to bring peace to someone with a new diagnosis, or to prompt someone to get something checked out a little earlier. No, it's not knowledge that he or I ever had any desire to collect, but I've already seen God work through it. So please feel free to forward this blog to anyone you feel who might benefit from our journey...I know it'll end up where it's supposed to.

I commit to blogging frequently again...and I will update with news from Scott's Houston trip that starts on Wednesday. Thank you for your prayers...and please let us know of your needs too. Don't hesitate to leave a comment with news about your life...we want to hear! Let's use this blogosphere, baby!

Hmm...Should I try this on Scott? :)

Home Sweet Home - but oh, that hotel bed was heavenly!

I typed a bit during our flight home...and then finished it just a minute ago:
In the skies above Texas as I type. Noticing that if I worked in the oil industry, it’d be very similar to the tech industry...80% male. Not complaining. Just noticing. It was news to me that private flights had flight attendants. I’m tellin ya…this is the way to go – no dilly dallying – if everyone’s present, then the plane takes off and away you go!  No celebrities this time, darnit. Ben/Jen would be hard to top, celebrity speaking…hmmm….Branjelina, maybe? I’ll promise to get a pick with Brad if that happens. That way I won’t have any of you squawkin about the picture next time. ;)

Our experience with MD Anderson was as great as people said it would be. It’s an overwhelming place, but they operate like a well-oiled machine. But not well-oiled just for the sake of being well-oiled. I think we’ve all experienced being on the consumer end – medical, commercial, whatever -- where operations can silently take precedence over all else, and an occasional-to-frequent ‘stepping on of souls’ is tolerated or even mundane. Every employee (at least the ones we encountered) were what I’d call a ‘quality’ individual…even down to hotel staff. People are just pretty friendly in general there – even on the streets. Sorry, Northerner friends, but the south can’t be beat for its hospitality. ;)

As I’d mentioned before, MD has its own melanoma clinic. We didn’t see anyone below an R.N. rank (no offense to my LPN/MA friends o’ course…jus sayin). First we saw the doctor’s RN, then a ‘fellow’ M.D. (also melanoma specialist) who did the bulk of the physical exam, then dr., who's also the head of the melanoma dept. (Everyone under the age of mmm...33, I'd guess. ;) We are officially on the 'watch and wait' path now.  His Houston oncologist agreed that interferon was not a good fit for Scott.  The only other option of proactive things 'to do' to lesson chances of recurrence was the possibility of getting in to a clinical trial for one of the vaccines.  This was a 'no' answer.  We already knew that he had missed one trial because of not knowing about it...needed to be certain amnt of weeks from first surgery.  Other possibility was a 'no' because Scott is not technically "interferon naive".  This one doesn't allow a candidate to have had any interferon treatment - and Scott's one day makes him no longer 'interferon naive'. (low growl.)  That would've been nice to know...definitely would have been a factor in the whole interferon decision.  So my heartfelt suggestion would be to anyone dealing with an aggressive cancer diagnosis:  Get your second opinion at some kind of teaching hospital, with a clinic that has a specialty in what you're dealing with, if at all possible.  And if you're not sure where that would be, email me and I'll help you research it.  Seriously. :)

So we're moving forward with just keeping a super vigilant eye on Scott.  (Can you believe the Houston docs were the first ones to give him a head-to-toe skin exam?)  We'll need to find a dermatologist here in town, and then we go back to Houston for whole-body scans again in three months....(and at 3-month intervals after that.)  The Houston oncologist is considered 'his doctor' until further notice.

So overall, it was priceless to have Scott leave with the lifted spirits of feeling very confident and 'taken care of' by the new doctors.  I don't know if you've ever seen it, but MD Anderson's logo is genius -- and it's on every white coat you see in the building.   It's their name -- M.D. Anderson Cancer Center -- with the word "cancer" crossed out.  Fabulous idea!!

Thank you to every single one of you for just reading this blog, for your prayers, for financial help, for meals, for hotel points.....we are so thankful for every single thing.  I'll keep you posted!

My Ben Pic :)

What is this…the‘Make a Wish flight?

Just had a totally surreal experience.  (Besides the fact that I’m traveling to MD Anderson for cancer reasons with my 41 year old hubby.) 

 We arrived at the ‘terminal’ for our corporate jet-setting…arrived about half hour early and we were first travelers there.  It’s just an itsy bitsy airport in the middle of almost nowhere… self-standing building…very nicely appointed, mind you…definitely the way to travel…all of two employees.  It was just Scott and I and an older couple in the little waiting room at this point;  I look up to see a tall handsome guy in sunglasses (tshirt, skinny jeans, boots….he’s pretty thin…not in a bad way) who looks a ton like Ben Affleck, especially after sunglasses are off.  He is asking a question of the one employee, an older gentleman (also ‘head of security’) some questions about a flight.  I looked at him again…and flicked my eyes over Scott, telepathically asking him “Are you thinking the same thing I am?...that that guy looks just like Ben Affleck?’ and Scott telepathically answers ‘yep…but please don’t embarrass me.’  So I stroll across the room, pretending to get another coke at the refreshment station, and position myself where I can be out of “Ben’s” eyeshot and telepathically exclaim to my husb and, ‘What on earth is he doing here??’  Scott shrugs his shoulders, and Ben thanks the employee and walks out to his black suv and pulls around to where you can drive on the tarmac and pulls up to a jet that’s landed.   (in the meantime, the employee, whom I’ve befriended by now has verified that it is him.)  

 Off a nearby jet on the tarmac comes…no way….Jennifer Garner and two blonde kids…and they hug and he hugs his kiddos like any normal daddy…and then he puts the car seats in the suv, like any normal daddy.  He thanked the crew that had flown his family.  They were probably on the tarmac for about 10 mins….with just me and a 60  year old woman taking pictures....we were far enough down on the tarmac that I tried to tell myself I might not look like a freak.  And then off the little Bennifer family drove….who knows why in OK??  Not worth my husband having to deal with melanoma, of course, but still cool.  

Keep in mind....this is Bartlesville, OK....teeny tiny private airport with his whole family....so surreal. Scott said his boots were really muddy and someone else thought they'd heard of 'film locale scouting' being done somewhere in the area.  I honestly hated to cut in to their family's privacy and hated to instantly FB it, but I did wait til they were gone.  teehee :)  

Now back to reality....the flight was perfect...and we had volunteers from a sister organization (of Corporate Angel Network) pick us up at the terminal and drive us to to the front door of our hotel.  Which is beautiful!  We're in the heart of downtown Houston, connected to the Texas Med Center.  When we checked in, the lovely girl behind the counter asks with a smile, "And will the 17th floor be satisfactory?"  Oh, I guess.  It is beyond fabulous....and if you know my friend Schmissy, please give her a loud smack right on the cheek for me.  A kiss, not a slap.  And on her face..not..oh stop it.!

Love to all and I'll update as we go.  Oh, dr's appt was at 9 am and they called to bump it to 1 pm.  Yea...get to sleep in!  God is good. :)

If You Just Took Out the 'Visiting the Oncologist' Part of the Trip.....

So....aside from the fact that we're traveling to Houston to consult with an oncologist who routinely deals with more advanced issues of melanoma, there are bits and pieces that could be interpreted as enjoyable    It really has been a joy to watch details fall into place as friends and family meet our needs for this MD Anderson trip.  Latest awesome thing: a friend (whose name rhymes with 'Schmissy') called and asked if her husband's Marriott hotel reward points might be helpful -- seems she'd found a Marriott that was listed as being quite near MD Anderson.  Actually,  as I'd looked online a few days before, I'd scrolled right on past this hotel, since its convenience to the hospital was reflected in its nightly rate.  We now have reservations at said hotel, thanks to Schmissy and Co. :)

We also had a family member call and insist on taking care of the kids' school supplies and enrollment fees for our activities.  :) They'd both been getting a little antsy, asking when 'the back-to-school' shopping trip was going to happen....and I'd been stalling a bit, trying to see what effect Houston was to have on the ol' budget.   God is good. :)

Last thing I'll mention....and you'll have to put this in the context of the past few months: (as a patient or patient's loved one) having to be your own advocate every inch of the way, assuming that you'll have to remind this person to tell that office about these results and not those.... you know the drill.  It was with delight that I read the following email from an MD Anderson clinical trial contact person named Sheila.  Since our first inquiry into a set of vaccine trials, she has responded promptly and kept Scott informed of which trials he might be eligible for.  Again, coming from our experience of the left hand sometimes not knowing what the right was doing, this email brought a smile to my face:

Hi Mr. and Mrs. Malone,

 

I see you have an appointment with Dr. Homsi on the xxth.  I will make sure I am there when you get to your appointment.  I will let Dr. Homsi know we have been talking about the trials.

 

Thanks,

Sheila

Who knows....maybe no one else reading that would feel all warm and fuzzy like I do...and that's okay. :)  But I read it, knowing that Sheila is part of a huge place of business where left hands could very easily not know what the righties are doing, and I love that my hubby/my main squeeze is being taken care of. :)

 

Tomorrow/Friday should be the day we find out for sure that we can fly on the Corporate Angel shuttle out of Bartlesville.  Thank you for your prayers!

Donations through Paypal

I've had several people ask if they can offer financial assistance, so I'm going to go ahead and make it a little easier. ;)  The trip to Houston has removed any qualms I had before....it's a walk by faith at this point.  I actually even joked with a friend about this topic of having a "Paypal donation" button on the blog about a month ago -- she was concerned about Scott's being off work and knew we were a homeschooling, one-income family.  Man, I need to stop joking about stuff like this. :) 

Although I am very hopeful that we'll get seats on the "Corporate Angel" flight, we're required to have a contingency plan in place, and we'll have to pay for lodging and meals.  My mind can't even conceive of what we'd do if he were enrolled in a clinical trial, which can require visits once/month to Houston for vaccinations.  And then there's the whole 'back to school' list of textbooks and supplies and yada yada yada that makes my tummy churn....but...deep breath..."One day at a time",  right??

That will conclude today's telethon....going to go look in the medicine cabinet for a very large band-aid for my pride. ;)  Love to all.

Houston, We Have an Appointment!

Okay....I promise I was totally planning on dragging myself outta the mullygrubs and making a new post, but since we do have some noteworthy news, perhaps my blogging won't be quite as mullygrub-ish. :)

We got a call today from MD Anderson (cancer specialty hospital out of U. of Texas in Houston) and we have a consult appt next week!  I'd never, ever had any idea about how this kind of stuff worked -- never crossed my mind that insurance might cover things that were out of state...'cause why on earth would anyone ever go out of state unless you needed an ER while on vacation, or something??  So it was with total cluelessness that I searched our insurance's allowable providers online after looking at MD Anderson's website (check it out...it's fabulously informative) and was elated to figure out that it was a possibility.  We got the ball rolling, and thanks to efficiency, grace, and compassion on their end and Scott's local drs' offices, we have a consult next week.  

The beauty of seeing an oncologist at MD Anderson, with no slight to any of our local providers, is that MD Anderson has an entire department of oncologists dealing specifically with melanoma...probably even docs who specialize in certain stages of the disease.  Docs also have instant access to clinical trial info going on there.  We missed out on a trial, simply by not being aware of it, that involved testing the original tumor tissue; however, that particular trial had to be done w/in a given period of time of his original tumor excision.  You can't get worked up about every missed trial....just citing a benefit of being at a cancer research "hub".

We've also already stumbled onto an organization called Corporate Angel Network that, given available seating, charitably flies cancer patients to MD Anderson on corporate jets!  There's a 'shuttle' that runs from Bartlesville to Houston, Monday thru Friday!   (I'm sure that the Bartlesville-to-Houston run would have to be oil biz....what a fabulous use of empty seats in a corp jet! Who knew?!)  Downside is that you can't find out for sure that you're 'confirmed' until 72 hrs prior to flight -- the execs get first dibs.  We'll also have to pay for our own lodging and meals, of course...but getting there for almost free is brings-tears-to-my-eyes wonderful!  God is good.

One more thing I have to shout about -- our Keystone friends who got together and made a ton of meals for our fam to put in our freezer!!  Oh my goodness....what a fabulous-ity (my word) it is to look on our printed out 'menu' on the fridge and choose a 9x13 meal from the freezer, following the conveniently labeled instructions on each one.   These sweet ladies probably wouldn't want to be blogged about (although the label-makin' ring leader's name rhymes with "Shmeanna") -- and they just couldn't possibly know what a blessing their work has been.

I'll keep you updated on Houston stuff....thank you for the encouragement and prayers.  I'm working on getting an 'add on' to Blogger that lets me respond to each comment specifically.  Thank you, thank you for your sweet words.  xo

Quick Update - Having to Go Different Route

The Interferon side effects were a nightmare.  Worst headache of your life, nausea that repeated doses of Zofran wouldn't even touch, 102 fever, shaking chills...you get the picture.  Maybe someone could muddle through (I honestly don't know how with symptoms like his) by knowing that there was a big payoff at the end, but not so with interferon for melanoma.  Here are a couple of articles that explain it better than I can:


http://theoncologist.alphamedpress.org/cgi/content/full/10/9/739

http://skincancer.about.com/od/treatmentoptions/a/ifn_debate.htm

Scott and I are both at peace about stopping the Interferon treatment.  His oncologist wants to now do radiation on the armpit where the melanoma showed up, and then we'll move forward with trying to find where trials of the vaccine are being done.   Several people have suggested a consult with MD Anderson in Houston, where they have an entire department devoted to melanoma...and I'm checking to see what our insurance will cover.  Feverishly trying to become educated on the nutritional aspect as well so we can make big changes in diet.

There are days when my own back is screaming at me so loudly that I can't stand to sit at the computer long enough to get an update typed out...and my plantar fasciitis has flared back up for some reason.  We'd make an interesting pair to watch if we ever made it out the front door. :)  This said so you know that updating our friends and loved ones is always on my mind but sometimes just can't get done.  Keep us in your prayers, please. :)

imPORTant Things!

Get it??  Scott got his PORT put in on Friday...and I titled this post "ImPORTant Things??"  :)  You don't get this kind of witty writing just anywhere.  

Okay...let me redirect my frustration from a horrible Friday into some helpful tips for someone else.  I'll title this post "5 Things You Want to Avoid When Having Your Next Out-Patient Surgery".  And in no particular order.....

• If at all possible, avoid having your procedure scheduled on a Friday afternoon.  Lots (maybe the majority?) of surgeons take off or don't schedule anything for Friday afternoons and the outpatient facility very possibly has less-than-their-normal amount of staffing.  This could result in longer wait times and (just possibly) the staff that is left behind to work might give off a vibe that says 'I'm irritated that the surgeons regularly add on patients without checking with nursing staff and I really wish that I had gotten off four hours ago when I was supposed to".  Understandable....jus sayin...four other perfectly good days. :)

• If at all humanly possible, even if it's a 'minor procedure', bring along a loved one or friend for the whoole shabang -- yes, even if it’s just local and not general anesthesia.  This may seems like a no-brainer...but we've experienced it both ways.  I’m ashamed to admit that I actually let my sweet, nervous hubby be by himself for his first round of surgery.  SOB!  Here’s what I learned:   there is no possible way that the patient can have the same eyes, ears, and extra set of needed hands that the accompanying person can have.  With absolutely no horn-tooting intended, I was able to pick up on things that Scott never would have (and didn’t,  for his 'alone' surgery) that were to his benefit -- help he either wouldn’t have thought to ask, didn’t wanna look like a needy baby by asking for help, or he was asleep and didn’t know he needed anything. :)  Nope, not trying to imply that sub-standard care happens when the patient is alone; but I know my husband well enough that I can tell by his expression, etc. if he’s hurting, mad, nervous, you know what I mean. (All the spouses in da house say ‘hollah’!)  These were things that the staff very likely wouldn’t have minded doing; they just can’t always read minds. :) Oh, and speaking from experience, the patient may not remember all the post-op instructions if he’s alone!

• Be aware that, because of a growing abuse of narcotic pain medicines, you may not be actually and technically offered the narcotic pain medicines unless you specifically ask for it.  Again, not the fault of a “lazy” nurse who doesn’t think you need anything stronger....but the fault of the system that narcotics abuse has left us with.  A patient may have no  idea that his surgeon/anesthesiologist considers it common practice to make him comfortable with something in the IV or by mouth, both before and after surgery.  Don't interpret the absence of an offer for add'l pain med as an assumption that no one thinks you need it or it's not common procedure.  Be honest with your pain level...they’ll ask you to ‘rate it’ on a scale of 1-10, and there you go.  Furthermore, try not to blindly assume that the nice lack of pain you feel at the hospital doesn’t have a tendency to start rearing its ugly head around midnight, when that local is worn off.  ...and that’s not pretty for any of us.  Take the piece of paper...you don’t ever have to fill it!

*Disclaimer: if patient has a history of any kind of addiction issues with narcotic meds, I’m not so much telling you that for this special day at the hospital, you have every right to just     get loaded to the gills.  Nor do I believe that a narcotic problem in the past means that you     can’t ever receive anything more than an aspirin for pain -- you just get to be much more         purposeful, accountable, and transparent with your doctor and staff.  

• Ever had a...shall we say..bit of a ‘personality change’ after anesthesia?  If your answer was ‘heck no!’....just double-check with your spouse before going on. ;)  There might very well be a drug that you could do just fine without, if your anesthesiologist agrees. Certain perameters are no doubt involved...like a shorter amnt of time that you’re ‘out’ is my undoctorly guess.  A drug named Versed (2 syllables)...or one very similar in its ‘family’ is very routinely given either right before surgery or in the OR; it’s used for drowsiness, help with anxiety, and so that the patient will not remember the details of surgery. Have you ever noticed that a loved one might remember more than you’d think on the day of surgery, but as days go by, he remembers less and less...til they pretty much don’t remember much about the day at all?  Many patients also live their lives fearing a surgical procudure, simply for the fact that they’ve been told they turn into swearing sailors or flirt with all the nurses.  (Irks the wives.)  Anesthesia Scott didn’t do these...he just had a bit of an ‘attitude’ and might want to argue with anything and everything.  Bless his heart, he looked at me forlornly when they wheeled him to surgery and said “I apologize now if I’m a jerk afterwards. :)  However, from the moment that I locked eyes with Scott in post-op, I knew that we weren’t going to have a visit from “Anesthesia Scott”.  :)  He awoke much less groggy than ever before, and without the edgy feeling. And after asking a few times if the nurse could peek at the meds Scott was given in OR, which one was missing??  Yep...Versed! But don’t take my word for it in your own cases...visit with your anesthesiologist.

• On a lighter note:  If it's not offered, ask if the facility as a patient-warming (or -cooling if you're my husband) system called "Bair Paws".  You may have seen a youtube video I posted after Scott's 2nd surgery.... but I was ticked to discover, moments before we were to leave for home, that it was available the whole time!  Scott told me that I  seemed to be much more smitten with the system than he was...maybe I just have a thing for gadgets, but for patients who tend to freeze at the hospital, it's worth asking for.

• This one applies to patients as well as spouses, who often have job of communicating with nursing staff:  Treat your nursing staff with an appropriate spirit of humility and appreciation.   This  should be a given principle of how you treat others, but if that's not the way you treat people by default, know that any rudeness, condescension, ugliness (yes, even when you don't feel good) is only shooting yourself in the foot.  No, I'm not insinuating that your nurse is going to spit in your IV if you're rude to her, but when your nurse or nursing assistant knows that you truly appreciate his or her work, skills, and just 'help'....you might be blessed by the natural outpouring of his/her appreciation for being appreciated.  Nurses have to put up with a lot....way too many patients and family who take any frustration out on the ‘messenger’ a nd this is a biggie 'v: I’ve had many a u known many nurses who felt they could do very little about treatment from the very doctors they have to work for.  Of course I know there are plenty of gut I've had many nurse friends who felt they had to put up with insults, profane and sexually-laden comments and even behavior.  Those of us not in that field (and surgery can be the worst, for some reason) would just assume that no one has to deal with this anymore, but it happens.  So if the golden rule fails to motivate you, understand that rudeness towards your nursing staff, simply because he or she is available for you to vent frustrations upon, is just foolish.  

Be well and may you stay out of the hospital for a good, long time! :)

Next Step in Our Journey

Although a surprise that we were getting Scott worked in for his "central line port insertion" on Friday afternoon (today!) hubby was relieved to be making even a small step in his long journey of interferon treatment for melanoma.  The surgical insertion of this catheter will eliminate the need to search for a new vein each time during his month of IV treatment.  It'll be removed after that month, not needed for the months of injections of the interferon at home.

Surprise phonecall #2 informed us that the actual treatment starts this Monday morning.  After hanging up, i took a little moment to panic/cry/stomp on the floor, subconsciously assuming that this has all been an elaborate Ashton Kutcher prank. (Hey, it could happen.). But alas, no Kutcher or Demi to be seen. 

So prayers appreciated for smooth portin' on Friday afternoon....but especially for what weighs heavily on my mind... this first month of 5 day/wk treatment. Will keep posted!

(If you'd like to leave a comment and you don't see the box to start typing it in, just click on the number...I.e. "0 Comments". That'll take you to a comment box!)

And we love your comments! (hint hint) :)  

My Friend in the Little Red Farmhouse!

My son Jake is spending the night at the cutest little red farmhouse tonight.  My friend Kim and her husband and three boys have worked hard and were finally able to move in to their dream  farmhouse this past year.  When I dropped Jake off this afternoon, visited with Kim, and checked out her blackberry bushes, it dawned on me that I have plenty of friends and family who would be interested in their work.....and she does already have an awesome blog with lots of pics!  Check it out at http://www.redfarmhouse.blogspot.com/.

The saga of building their dream farmhouse, dreamy not because of square footage but because of design and decor, is quite a tale.  It caught the interest of The Daily Oklahoman, where the family's work was described as a "not-so-big masterpiece".  And the chicken coop ain't so bad, either.

If I didn't love Kim so much, I might be childishly envious of her everyday Martha Stewart-esque abilities and her inside-and-out beauty.  Oh, I know she's not perfect -- she's cruel to her children and she drinks like a fi....oh, okay...I'm lying.  She's perfect.  ;)  But check out her blog and see for yourself. :)

"Bedside Manner" -- Icing on the Cake or Vital Component?

I think I've been guilty of trying to convince myself that a physician's personality, social skills, capability for empathy, etc should have little, if any, bearing on my opinion of his or her "skills".  But dadgummit....I think I'm changing my mind. 

Scott had a routine post-op appointment with his surgeon this morning.  I've mentioned that his pain level remains to be higher than it did with the first lymph node surgery last month, most likely due to nerve damage in the region.  I can tell that he's beginning to fear that the pain has come down as much as it's going to, and it's with this in mind that he headed to the follow-up appt this morning.  We already knew that this particular doctor had a quiet, introverted demeanor, so neither of us would ever expect an answer to a question in anything but a very matter-of-fact, unemotional manner.  However, when Scott addressed the topic he'd been dreading to ask (whether or not he could expect any more relief of pain with time), it was as if Scott had asked the doctor about his preference in "baked" vs. "regular" Ruffles potato chips.  A dismissive shrug of the shoulders, lack of eye contact, and an answer of "Could be.  Some days are good...some bad.  You'll get used to it."

Patients walk out of appointments like that lacking something very important -- hope.  Doctors certainly don't need to lie to patients, imparting false hope, but a simple addition of some eye contact, compassion for how an answer might impact a patient's mindset....these are small things that don't require much time or energy and can have huge pay-offs.

Let's don't forget (and I'm thinking of myself in my mothering and spousing) how much power is in our words and gestures.  Use that power today to let someone know they are precious and important to you!

Promise? :)

Sunday, Teary Sunday

So I was having a teary morning yesterday.  Male readers....don't bail on me yet....I'll try to be brief with the emotional stuff.  :)

I think I had that sad and weary feeling you get when a loved one hurts and you can't do anything about it.  That sad and hollow feeling when you can't recall the last time he smiled, much less laughed.

So I'm taking the kids to church, and when we arrive I notice our church's senior pastor, Craig Groeschel, happens to have 'popped in' to this particular service and is visiting with people in the lobby.  (Lifechurch has over a dozen locations with each campus/location having its own local campus pastor.)  Our family has been a part of Lifechurch since its inception 14 (or so) years ago and would consider the Groeschels "friends", although we don't regularly go bowling, or anything.  Knowing that my bloodshot, bleary eyes would give my emotions away, I vainly figured I'd take a 'raincheck' on visiting with Craig, even though another year could conceivably pass without actually talking to him in person.

However, God had different plans, I suppose, because we ended up chatting within five minutes of my 'raincheck' decision.  As I knew would happen, the waterworks started all over again when he asked how our family was doing, so I brought him up to date.  And girls, you know what I mean by the 'ugly cry' face?  Full on.   But the Malones do now have another pray-er on the job....and this one even gets paid for praying...a professional. ;) 

So I guess that even though we might get lazy, or emotionally tired, or just in a bad mood, I think I needed to be reminded that we were created for fellowship and for the sharing of burdens.  I'm often fairly quick to attempt to unburden someone else when I can see that their spirit is heavy, but I can already tell that I'm not very comfortable when the situation is reversed.   And I suppose God's not going to leave me alone. :)

(Disclaimer:  I value each and every amateur just as much...so thank you, thank you, thank you!!)  :)

I Know...I Know.. this is the last time...I promise!

I can hear the groans now.  You've subscribed to our blog and I've moved it again.  Well, this is the last time!  Although Weebly has a very user-friendly interface, it was lacking some features of Google's Blogger that I really wanted, so I'm hoping you'll have patience with me and tag along. :)  You'll see the option to have any updates automatically emailed to you, for those who aren't familiar with an RSS feed.

I'll keep a link to our former Weebly blog as one of the 'permanent' pages that you can find at the top, so if you'd like to re-visit anything, you can.

I'm sorry for any inconvenience....but we hope you'll stay!

Christy

Yea! I Found the Perfect Upper-Body Workout!

 Check this out!

At the bottom of this review on Popular Mechanic's website is a video so you can see it in action.  Anyone seen it in person?