Hello everyone! Once again, I apologize for not writing more regularly. The Schmit family has some busy days and days/weeks fly by before we know it. Cassandra is doing great. I am happy to report she is completely off the steroids and she has not had a pain pill in 2 days. Cassandra's days are still spent mostly in bed or the living room recliner because the steroid reduction is robbing her energy. However, she is getting more active!
Cassandra's main complaints now are being tired and soreness. She is having to build all of her muscle again which means lots of little rehab sessions. She said it reminds her of running a long distance and waking up the next day. So we call it a good pain.
Cassandra's third treatment is coming up next week. Once again, the doctors are amazed by her recovery. We think that since she has little to no pain in her head and she is on no steroids that there is a possibility Cassandra could be cancer free right now. We wont know till after the 4th treatment and we do a scan but everything right now points to Cassandra heading towards a remission. This would be her third remission in 2 years. HOPEFULLY this one will stick!
Elliot is also doing well. Everyday he learns more words and is helping around the house. He is a great little helper. Most days he helps bring Mom snacks or extra blankets. He loves helping Mom and it makes his day to be apart of everything.
Thank you everyone for your continued messages of support!
Eric
October 25, 2014
October 13, 2014
On the Mend
Its been a bit since our last post. Cassandra had her second treatment without any problems. Tomorrow we see our oncologist for her mid treatment review. It was at this point where we were going to decide if she needed scans or not. That fact that Cassandra continues to get better everyday means that we will hold off on scans until all 4 treatments are completed. So tomorrow should be a pleasant "Hello, how ya doing?" and back home.
As far as Cassandra goes, she is still doing amazing. We have continued to lower her steroids so that she can get some strength back in her legs. Its still early yet but she is seeing some improvement. Her pains meds are strictly 12 hour extended relief drugs with nothing needed in between. Her seizures have gone down to about one a week. Her spikes of pain are also about one a week. She still spends most of her days in bed watching TV and trying her hardest to read. Cassandra used to be an avid reader so this is the hardest thing for her.
Cassandra has been talking about how much she is looking forward to the holidays and seeing all her family for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Her outlook is pretty bright these days.
Eric
As far as Cassandra goes, she is still doing amazing. We have continued to lower her steroids so that she can get some strength back in her legs. Its still early yet but she is seeing some improvement. Her pains meds are strictly 12 hour extended relief drugs with nothing needed in between. Her seizures have gone down to about one a week. Her spikes of pain are also about one a week. She still spends most of her days in bed watching TV and trying her hardest to read. Cassandra used to be an avid reader so this is the hardest thing for her.
Cassandra has been talking about how much she is looking forward to the holidays and seeing all her family for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Her outlook is pretty bright these days.
Eric
October 6, 2014
Some Good Days and Some Bad
Since our last post Cassandra has had some very good days. Days where she almost needs zero pain meds. For Cassandra this means more days playing with Elliot and being involved in day to day activities. Cassandra spends most of her time in bed but when she is feeling good that means she can move to the living room and enjoy being apart of Elliot and I's chaos.
There have been some bad days. A couple of days ago Cassandra has a seizure at 6:00 AM and was not able to speak for 15 hours. It wasn't until the next morning that she was back to 100% on speaking abilities. There have also been some intense spikes of pain. The pain was so intense I had to give her syringes of pain meds just to keep it under control.
Today is one of the good days. Cassandra spent the day doing puzzles with Elliot and playing with trucks in bed. She also spent some time reading more of your comments on her own and although it took a long time she was able to get through them but not without some tears. She really appreciates your words of encouragement.
Tomorrow is her second treatment. With as good as Cassandra is doing, we are 100% sure the treatment is working now. In the words of her oncologist "she wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't working." We are very lucky that she is reacting well and we are hoping with every treatment it will get better. For Cassandra the trip tomorrow will be very tiring but its worth it.
Eric
There have been some bad days. A couple of days ago Cassandra has a seizure at 6:00 AM and was not able to speak for 15 hours. It wasn't until the next morning that she was back to 100% on speaking abilities. There have also been some intense spikes of pain. The pain was so intense I had to give her syringes of pain meds just to keep it under control.
Today is one of the good days. Cassandra spent the day doing puzzles with Elliot and playing with trucks in bed. She also spent some time reading more of your comments on her own and although it took a long time she was able to get through them but not without some tears. She really appreciates your words of encouragement.
Tomorrow is her second treatment. With as good as Cassandra is doing, we are 100% sure the treatment is working now. In the words of her oncologist "she wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't working." We are very lucky that she is reacting well and we are hoping with every treatment it will get better. For Cassandra the trip tomorrow will be very tiring but its worth it.
Eric
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)