Cancer Journey

health status update

sgtsnyper — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 00:15:09 +0000

sleeping much better now that i am not worrying all night about going to hopkins and the lengthy and stressfull drive to baltimore ( i am not a long distance commuter type of person. being on the interstate during the rainy november month brought back memories of the time in spring 1997 in alabama that laci and i hydroplaned and spun off the interstate backwards going only 50 mph in very light rain . and yes it was rainy and slick nearly every day we drove to and from hopkins. i just buried my ptsd emotions from that1997 incident and dealt with them as additional sleeplesness during the night. all better now though.felt healthy enough to be out almost the whole day today with laci doing some last minute shopping for the boys.going to this on sunday with my family and my sister and brother-in-law and their youngest daughter. love to all of you keeping us in your prayers.

chemo and radiation DONE!!

sgtsnyper — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 19:28:48 +0000

Dec 4th, 2009 no more day trips to hopkins and 4 weeks off the chemo poison pills I am looking forward to getting rested and gaining at least 15 pounds back and having enough time during the day to prepare the healthy meals i need to fight the cancer with my own immune system while waiting for the brain swelling from the radiation to subside.

ok, here’s that updated picture i promised. sorry to all my military friends if i look like that mujh who shot at you from that hillside or top level of that walled compound. i promise it wasn’t me!!!

sgtsnyper — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:25:43 +0000

in terms of good medical news, i will be done with the intial round of radiation on dec 4 skipping thanksgiving and the friday afterward included. ok so nothing i do will show the photo of me…

nov 12, about halfway done with chemo and radiation at hopkins.

sgtsnyper — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:49:43 +0000

so I am basically halfway through the initial and hopefully final round of radiation and chemo at hopkins. i need to post an updated picture of myself so everyone can see my bald/shaved head.i had a few fun days being able to pull out handful clumps of hair to make the boys and laci laugh but all the hair that was accumulating on my pillow at night started getting into my mouth so i got out the electric clippers i use every summer to shave my head and beard and just made it official.as far as my health,it’s pretty good although my weight is down more than i like and the siezure meds are barely working as i tremor and tremble all the time and have lost most of the fine motor control in my hands .also my digestive system isn’t great either but i have an appointment due to be scheduled with a hopkins nutritionist that should help me find foods that i will both crave and be able to keep down. i was finally prescribed ambien and last night was the first night i had ambien together with my oxycodone pills and i slept the whole night through. first time in over 35 days that that has happened.

wish i could, but cannot get much rest at home.

sgtsnyper — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:44:35 +0000

i have a couple of annoying contributing factors to my cancer/ siezure story. in 2003 i was diagnosed with chronic hyperacusis(extreme sensitivity to some sounds and frequency ranges which in my particular case is higher frequency engine noises such as those that eminate from 4 cylindar lawn tractor engines. well my next door neighbor apparantly chooses the fall to buy and plant lots of trees and bushes so for the last couple of weeks he’s been going all out all day every day diging and moving said plants and trees all over his yard. Here’s a picture of his tractor(he has all the accessories in addition to the front end loader, like the auger and the ditch witch. i estimate his total investment as being around $25-35K into this thing which is fine by me, it’s his money and his right to spend it how he wants. i just wish he would hurry up and finish his project. also, some old news to report. old news but with a positive outcome given the last two times i had to make a visit to the Frederick ER. Last thursday my headache pain started ramping up to the level it was at when i had the brain bleed so after consulting with the hopkins neurosurgery on-call doc we drove to the ER and got yet another cat scan. thankfully this time there was no indication of a brain bleed, just more edema due to my decadron taper. after a couple of iv injections of decadron and some dilaudin pain meds they let us go without having to ambulance it over to hopkins for another surgery/ admittance…i also got my sutures removed in a clinic visit at hopkins on tuesday where we strenuously reviewed my steroid taper and decided to go a lot more conservative on the speedof the taper. 3mg 4x a day was just not enough. now i am at 4mg 6x a day and that seems to be working fine for me. i am also taking hydrocodone every 4 hours to help. it’s a biiiiig help

Harsh words and observations of the priorities and worries of my fellow americans who are fighting cancer

sgtsnyper — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 23:15:53 +0000

looks like one reason why cancer kills so many victims in america is the roll-over and die mentality seen everywhere these days. every cancer clinic i go into features soothing pablum for the shallow american who is so afraid of his / her hair condition and physical appearance. I mean you have cancer there you might want to focus on strengthening your body to deal with the chemo and radiation… your friggin hair will grow back eventually…stop looking for simple solutions and government care of your life… take responsibility for yourself

i know this sounds really harsh but i have been fighting like hell to maintain my strength and resolve and it just pisses me off to see the weak sheeple in the waiting rooms tugging at their hats and wigs and do-rags trying to hide their condition from their neighbors like cancer is some kind of sexually transmitted disease

Yeah, another complication and another hospital stay at hopkins 24 sep to 29 sep.

sgtsnyper — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 15:19:00 +0000

Turns out my tumor had already started aggressively regrowing and was causing a lot of bleeding in the cavity where it was originally removed by my neurosurgeon and into the ventricles of the two hemispheres This was a completely new level of pain in my life i felt like grabbing my pistol and ventilating my head myself a couple of times….but then i would just pray for the pain to subside and it would enough for me flop over into another position on the bed and make it through another 10 or 20 minutes of relatively tolerable existance. Here’s the profile on my neurosurgeon in case anyone wants to know a little bit more about this woman who keeps saving my life.

Need to get back to work as much as i can…

sgtsnyper — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:50:48 +0000

Thankfully my management team in the Army civilian workforce is very supportive of me and they are going to have me work on a software application that the organization needs. I should be able to do quite a few hours of productive work a week writing this program. God brings trials and tribulations but he also brings blessings and wonderful people that help to get you through the trials. This whole experience has REALLY re-affirmed my faith making God the center and focus of my life and the need to keep faith in him no matter what!

Current cancer story here

sgtsnyper — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 21:14:07 +0000

Really click to the left there. Should come from my google docs library. Here!