Suck, leave me alone 2007

[gwilks98]

2007 has been the worst year for me.

The background:
My job that I love is becoming more and more frustrating by changes in other teams I work with.

The dog my parents had since I was in HS died in March.

My parents quit their well paying jobs to take care of my MR brother. They had to fire the help they had because of dangerous health problems. Dad gets sick with a fatal brain tumor in July.

I get hit 'n run'd twice on the back bumper of my car. (Never had an accident before.) Of course, they waited for the bumper to get replaced before it got hit a second time.

I had a ct scan done for a pain in my groin area that turned out to be a pulled muscle behind the hip bone. (Still not sure if that's accurate - it's been over a year.)

Well yesterday:
I find out the insurance doesn't want to cover the CT scan, saying it's part of my deductible. (That may get resolved, but if it doesn't, we're talking $1000-1500.)

I get home and decide to take a quick 30 minute power nap before taking the dog on his nightly walk.
While sleeping I hear him start to vomit white foam.
While keeping him on the hardwood for easier cleanup, he starts having a seizure, flopping around, breathing heavy and crying.

Never seeing a seizure before, it looked totally different than I expected, so I wasn't sure that was it until I called the vet.


My girlfriend is out of town (technically, he's her dog though I spend more time with him) so I have to break the news to her over the phone. She's now freaked out and I'm trying to talk her out of coming home early.

The best part: ANYTHING could have caused it. I doubt it was something ingested because there wasn't any volume to his vomit.
It could be liver, blood sugar levels, dehydration, epilepsy, or (God help me) a brain tumor.

He's only 2.5 yrs old, and he's purebred, which makes him a ripe candidate for epilepsy to show it's head.

Holding your pet (or anyone) in your arms while he loses all control and appears to be in terrible pain is probably one of the worst feelings in the world.

What a rotten year.

[Jenny]

You seriously just need some big hugs. :( I hope the dog starts feeling better and I hope 2008 goes much better fro you. :(

[oblongmelon]

Hope the new year will be better for you.

[johnnymk]

Wow, that is a lot to handle.

[mechmike0034]

Dude, this year's sucked for me, too, but not as bad as that! Hope it gets better!

[chrissy]

Dude, this year's sucked for me, too, but not as bad as that! Hope it gets better!

:stupid:

cancer sucks.

It might not be tomorrow, but good times will come around.

[uncledaddy]

Good luck in 08'. Hope things get better for you.

06' and 07' sucked for me so I'm looking for a better 08' as well.

[Kevster]

Dad gets sick with a fatal brain tumor in July.


I really feel for you on this one.

I haven't talked about it here, but my Dad was also diagnosed with Mesothelioma (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mesothelioma) a couple months ago, and he has a cherry-sized tumor between his left lung and heart. It's stage II, so it's not the normal six-months-left death sentence that normally goes with Mesothelioma. He's on his 4th round of chemo with 2 more to go, then they see where it's at with another MRI.

My family can only hope and pray on this, as we know there's likely a long road ahead.

I really hope your 2008 is much better than your 2007. That goes for everyone here.

[Jenny]

Oh man, big hugs for you too, Kev! :(

[cruelpupet]

I assume this is the thread you meant...and I see now how youd think DCA is a chemo from what I wrote

DCA isnt a chemo she just had it in conjunction with the chemo, its actually meant for another disease, but works well against cancer in some situations. There also dont seem to be any side effects or issues with other meds.



Oh and check out DCA here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dichloroacetic_acid or here http://www.thedcasite.com
An ex's mom went from a 20+cm mass on her pancreas down to 5cm after just 1 round of chemo. She's currently at one of the large cancer institutes and her doctors have never seen someone react that quickly to chemo.

[gwilks98]

I assume this is the thread you meant...and I see now how youd think DCA is a chemo from what I wrote

DCA isnt a chemo she just had it in conjunction with the chemo, its actually meant for another disease, but works well against cancer in some situations. There also dont seem to be any side effects or issues with other meds.

do you know if it can pass the blood brain barrier, or if it's been used in brain cancer patients?

FYI...dad is recovering from his second surgery. They think they removed all of the glioblastoma this time, so I don't know what kind of therapy plan that puts him in. 100% of the time, it comes back, it's just a matter of when.

[gwilks98]

Blah, my mom posted this on dad's carepage which I quoted from facebook:


Thoughts and prayers would be much appreciated. Glioblastoma is unforgiving and merciless when left unchecked. My mom posted to the Carepage this week:

Posted Sep 12, 2008 12:36am
This was the first chance we had to read the radiologists report regarding the MRI, wow, all I can say is, seeing it in black and white makes reality hit home hard. The size of the new tumor is bigger than the original one removed last July. It is 7.1x5.6x3.7cm. The report also indicates the tumor has very irregular margins and is associated with a large amount of edema. There is a new 5mm shift of the midline of the brain to the left. The edema was so severe it caused the brain to extend through the craniotomy site. Since he has been back on the dexadron, the edema has gone down enough that the craniotomy site no longer appears swollen. Dr McCarthy, our GP, wants Keith to see an oncologist at Siteman(Barnes), I do not think that is the route he will decide to go. For now, we will see what Duke comes up with along with Dr. Salacz.

Posted 2 hours ago
We decided today to go see Dr Michael Bulger at Missouri Baptist. He treated Keith's mom when she was dealing with AML. Keith will see him on Thursday. Keith liked the way he dealt with his mom and I think it is so important that he has faith in whoever he sees. I am busy today getting records faxed to his office so he can review them tomorrow. We have also sent the info that Duke requested. So now we wait and pray.


apparently, 2008 is worse than 2007. My job became extremely unstable, My g/f left me and took my dog. And I find out last night this little gem:
My mentally retarded brother punched and stunned my mom this week and even grabbed a hammer out of anger while I was at work.
My parents are going to medicate his unstable ass.

And to think that I found a girl that was willing to leave me during all of this. She had the nerve to ask me if I would take her (our) dog over to her parents while she parties it up in atlanta this weekend. When I said no, she responded with, well, can you take the dog to your home and I'll have my mom pick him up?

Jesus, grant me the strength to not embarrass her any further. I'm starting to understand what adjaw was suffering from in 05. This bitch is crazy, ****ing NUTS I tell you all. I'm thinking of a word that starts with C ends in T and has a U and an N in the middle. Coconut....that's it.

Thank God I'm not thinking of doing anything crazy. This **** is bat**** bonkers at this point. And I only thought I knew the meaning of hell.

[MrGreg]

My job became extremely unstable, My g/f left me and took my dog. And I find out last night this little gem:

Maybe you could write country music songs. This sounds like a good outline for one.

[attgig]

I'm thinking of a word that starts with C ends in T and has a U and an N in the middle. Coconut....that's it.


lol.

[guiseppewv]

That coconut joke is some funny stuff. :heh:

Dude, I am really sorry that you are having another crappy year. :(

[gwilks98]

the crappy part is none of this is of any fault of mine. I'm controlling what I can, but she knows how much manufactured drama pisses me off.

[nickel]

Alright buddy... so you PMed me and I asked what was going on with you, and you didn't respond so I had to look around for the answer. :P

What the hell is it with all the cancer? Am I just more aware of it or is there more freakin cancer all around us than ever before?

Let the girl go. She isn't ready to be committed fully to you. It's obvious.

Concentrate on yourself, and doing what you have to do for your parents and your brother, but DON'T lose yourself in it so much that you forget about YOU.

Find a distraction from all the gloom. Give yourself some down time from all the bad stuff going on. Get together with some friends and do something that will take your mind off all this if even for a little while. I went on a short trip, with my father's blessing, while he was ill. It was so good for me to do.

Maybe you can pull something like that off? It would help you to regroup and come back with a clearer head.

You're still in my prayers, and as I've said, hit me up with a PM/email anytime you want or need to.

[gwilks98]

It doesn't look like 2008 will be any better on the Richter scale. My mom emailed me this news late last night:




From: Dr. Mike
Sent: Sunday, December 07, 2008 1:30 PM
To: Nancy
Subject: RE: Follow up

Nancy,

I am sorry to hear. Overall, it sounds as if the tumor is growing and the treatments are making things worse -- instead of controlling the tumor, they may be making him more fatigued and ill. If memory serves, I think this was his third infusion -- this is the point I normally repeat the MRI (but only if Keith is able to do so). This is likely to help with decision making.

This may be the point at which a switch of focus from anti-tumor treatment to maximizing comfort and quality of life is in Keith's best interest.
I would talk about these things with Dr Schultz -- he should be able to make some suggestions.

Let me know your thoughts.

Dr. Mike



Please pray this year ends soon enough. Ugh.

[chrissy]

gwilks, I won't pray for it to end soon enough for you. Because that will rob you of time and we all need more of that.

You and your family have been in thoughts and prayers for a while and will continue to stay there.

[gwilks98]

I know it's been a while since anyone's posted in this thread. I just wanted to give an update. Jack, my beloved dog, is 1 biopsy away from a bone cancer diagnosis and .75 - 1.5 years to live, with an exruciatingly painful end in store.
He's 6.5 years old and was kept in shape his entire age.

I think sometimes I'm the opposite of King Midas. Everything around me turns to ****.

[cruelpupet]

Wow. So whats the update on your parents and your brother?

[attgig]

I thought that was the ex-girlfriend's dog...

[gwilks98]

technically, he's hers. But I spent all the time taking care of him: food, excercise, brushing, petting, playing while she was out at happy hours after work.

I get a little attached. :)


As far as my parents, my dad passed in January of 2009. My mom is working part time and my brother is still a butthead, as always.