Thursday, July 30, 2009

Baby Steps

We spoke to Dr. Albritton & Dr. Grier briefly this morning. Bottom line is that we are to discuss with Dr. Gouw (our Huntsman onc) exactly what radiation treatment the tumor board is recommending; ie. field of radiation, amount, timing, risks vs. benefits, etc. and hear what his opinion is about this option. Nick also needs to get a ct of his chest. I'm working on setting up these two appointments. He will be meeting with Dr. Mulvihill tomorrow at 12:30 and I'm glad because Nick hasn't eaten hardly at all since we've been home and his stomach hurts, feeling poorly overall (temp is normal, tho).

We will need to rebook our trip to Boston next week or the following week to meet with Dr. Grier and get a game plan set up. Although Dr. Grier is of a gregarious and boisterous nature, he would like Nick to decide how much he really wants to hear about his prognosis. Relapse has some hard numbers, saying some patients want to know exactly what they are up against, and some prefer not to know the details to keep their heads and spirits up. Once he meets us again personally, he will judge Nick's tone, expression and response to proceed accordingly. This is a lot for Nick to process; please pray for peace in his heart and clarity in his mind to chose the course best for him.

On a fun note, crazy Nurse Mary called and left me a message today. She saw a poster of Nick and the Relay for Life event. She is working graveyard tonight and will go home to sleep and then try to come walk around with us tomorrow! We are getting really excited about tomorrow night and hopefully Nick will feel up to going for a little bit

Also, on my MSN homepage, I came across this article - about Tyler - the extreme kayak adventurer whose picture we just posted. Check out this page on MSN:
http://specials.msn.com/A-List/Extreme-sports.aspx?cp-searchtext=Extreme%20sports%20video%20clips

Thanks again, everyone! With lots of love,

Lori

3 comments:

Chris Ulvin said...

Dear Lori and Nick,
Thank you for fighting this fight! May God's grace be surrounding, helping and carrying Nick and all his Warriors in the weeks and months ahead. There will be millions of baby steps taken this weekend at the Relay for Life and I'm impressed that some of those steps will belong to Nurse Mary. Godspeed.
Aunt Chris

Kt said...

Nick, Lori,Lee & fam! I have been keeping my eye on your blog anytime I get the chance. I just want you to you I am always thinking about you and what an amazing Man you have become since I saw you last! I know from experience you couldn't be surrounded by a more amazing group of people!!! You are always in my best thoughts & am always sending you all the best wishes and Karma I have been storing up!! As always I wish you & your team of helpers the courage & strength to figure out whats right for you!!!


All the best I have~~

Katie Wilkinson

Karma & Adam said...

I haven't posted before but do check in and read every now and again. I work at Strategic Coach (Toronto) and am a cancer survivor (5 years). I'm sending as many positive healing vibes your way as I can, and hope you have a great Relay. I did the Relay for Life the spring I was diagnosed and it was an amazing experience.
Wishing you strength, hope and peace.
Karma