Larry has made a bit of progress, according to his oncologist earlier this morning. He is more alert and has backed off of his pain pump just a bit. We're still looking at a few days in the hospital to try and get him up and moving around while still controlling the pain.

He went downstairs for his radiation assessment earlier today and did amazingly well. They dosed him up a bit before taking him, which was a great thing to do, but even at that I was surprised at how well he tolerated the procedure. His radiation treatments begin on Monday and they will target his spine. This should help with pain, too.

Many ask if Larry is continuing his chemo, and he is. We have seen no obvious side effects from it so far and we are so thankful for that. It has been 2 weeks today since he started chemo, so I think they will evaluate him in a couple more weeks to see how things are progressing.

I'm sitting in Larry's room and he asked that I tell you all that he's had a couple of good days and he's thankful for them. He looks forward to a time when he can see everybody and get back in touch with you all. I read the entire blog to him today, along with all the comments, and he enjoyed it so much! He sends a big "Thank You" to all who have responded to the blog.

I can't remember if I've posted this before, but we have moved to Room 307. Calls can still be made directly to him by calling 336.822.7307.

Thanks!

Terri

I'm writing this from Larry's hospital room. He asked me to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Larry had a pretty decent weekend, with his pain fairly comfortable. His pain increased significantly Sunday evening and they had to increase his meds to the point where he slept most of the day on Monday. His surgery started around 4pm and he wasn't back in his room until 8:30pm. It took quite a bit longer than I expected, but it went well. They were able to repair 4 of the fractured vertebra instead of the 3 that they had planned, which is great. His pain today seems to be less than it has been, and we are very thankful for that.

The issue now is the tremendous swelling in his abdomen. An ultrasound was ordered this morning and there was nothing indicating a problem, so they still believe that the narcotics are the cause of the sluggishness in his GI system and thereby the cause of the swelling. They are trying to decrease the pain meds in order to help his system to "wake up" and start moving again. This is a double edged sword in that one problem can be as big as the other, so they are working diligently with the anesthesiologists to get it all coordinated and worked out. At this point the Dr. doesn't see Larry going home as early as we had hoped - at least not until he is alert and the pain is controlled.

Larry is up and in his chair today and anxious for improvement now that the kyphoplasty is done. His attitude is better today, too, and we're very, very thankful for that!

Sorry for the delay in updating since last week. Hoping for a better week that allows for more time (and energy) to keep you all informed!

Thanks,

Terri

Today was a very difficult day for Larry. Actually, for all of us. His pain is again nearly unbearable, so the anesthesiologist and neurosurgeon consulted and presented us with a new plan. We agreed for Larry to have an epidural that is supposed to manage the pain very well until his procedure on Monday. We were so optimistic that this would help him to rest and to allow for a nice weekend. It worked for a couple of hours and then the pain returned. The anesthesiologist, who is also Board Certified in Pain Management, came back and increased some meds, changed a couple of things and we're hoping that the changes will allow Larry to rest. For those of you who pray for him, please pray that he is comfortable enough to relax and get some sleep. I have to think that the lack of sleep is certainly not helping him - especially emotionally. It seems as though he is getting weary, so please continue praying for him.

Terri

A bit of progress was made today. A neurosurgeon talked to us about the compression fractures in his thoracic vertebra and explained how they affect the body. On Monday they will perform a surgical procedure called a kyphoplasty and that should give him nearly immediate relief from the pain. This procedure basically injects a bone cement into the compressed vertebra and restores the integrity of the vertebra. Larry has four compression fractures and the FDA only allows surgeons to repair three at a time, so he had another CT scan today so that they can make sure they are working on the three most damaged vertebra. It is not very invasive, for which we are very thankful. He was also measured for a body brace which is supposed to help provide upper body support. As you can imagine, with so much bone deterioration in the ribs and spine he has quite a bit of trouble standing or sitting upright and a brace should help considerably...at least until the chemo has more time to indicate some positive results.

He had to take Ativan today so that he could lie flat for the CT scan, and this is the medication that really makes him loopy. He woke up briefly for me to feed him dinner and kept insisting to Justin that he play a note on the instrument. We tried humming, singing, pretending that our voices were instruments and Justin finally picked up a cell phone and used a tone from it as the note from his instrument. Larry was so impressed and told Justin that if he kept practicing he would become an excellent musician (what a joke!), and then told Justin to give him the instrument and let him show him how to play it. Wow - Justin just froze and wasn't sure what to say! We played it off and Larry soon forgot it. Shortly afterwards Larry sat in his chair and began playing his imaginary clarinet - even blowing into it and he had perfect finger positions! We got the biggest kick out of it. The first time he took Ativan was a couple of weeks ago, and he sailed all around the world on a big ship. This time he was a musician. It's just so bizarre the way medications affect people, but we get such a kick out of Larry's adventures!

Larry is still in quite a bit of pain but he's such a trooper. This most recent experience has been a bit frightening for all of us but he somehow manages to rise above the fear and keep a positive attitude. Thanks again for all the calls, cards and prayers. I continue to hear from people all across the country who are praying for us and have Larry on their prayer lists. It is very humbling to be lifted in prayer by so many people.

Thank you all.

Terri

Well, Larry's homecoming was very brief. He had a very restless, painful night last night and neither of us slept much at all. He was in such an incredible amount of pain this morning that I called his doctor and was told to bring him in. It didn't take long for them to decide to admit him again. Both of us are just baffled as to how he could feel so good at 5pm yesterday and hours later make such a turn for the worse. I have an unofficial report that there are some fractured thoracic vertebra, so I suppose that would account for the excruciating pain.

The good news is that he is where he needs to be and is receiving excellent care. Our hope is that he will be in the hospital for only 2-3 days, until they adjust his pain medications, and then he'll be home in time for the Easter holiday.

For those of you who call or visit, he is now in Room 301 and you can call him directly at 822.7301.

Thanks again for keeping him in your thoughts and prayers.

Terri

Great news! Larry is coming home today!! All of his meds have been switched from IV to oral and his pain is very well managed. He had a good weekend and is very, very ready to be home. I hope he will be able to read the blog later today and maybe even post some notes of his own.

Stay tuned...

Larry continues to improve! He started the chemo yesterday and I think that did more for him mentally than anything so far. He had a very deep, restful sleep for a little over 2 hours yesterday afternoon and we are very thankful for that. I think this was probably the best he's slept in about 4 months. He is more alert than he's been and has even been making some jokes.

We don't know yet how the chemo will affect him. The doctor tells us that 5% of people have no side effects, 5% have every side effect and everyone else falls somewhere in between. We'll just have to wait and see. I'm just praying that it doesn't make him very sick because it is so painful for him when he throws up.

We are still hopeful that he will be able to come home by Tuesday. It would be nice for him to be home before Easter, plus the boys will have some time out of school and I know he would like to spend that time with them.

Thank you again for the cards, phone calls and especially your prayers.

Larry has had a couple of good days now. Thank God!! We found out today that the pneumonia has cleared up enough to start the chemo on Friday, and we're all so relieved! He is still having quite a bit of pain and they are continuing to regulate that. He is off all of the IV's except the one for the antibiotic that they continue to administer. All of his pain meds are now oral and he's adjusting to them. They are trying to keep the pain at a minimum and at the same time try to keep him as alert as possible. It's nice to actually carry on a conversation with him now.

He asked me to thank all of you who have visited with him. He said he realizes it's not easy to sit with him since he continually drops off to sleep and it's often in the middle of something he's saying. I also appreciate the visits.

The plan is for Larry to come home sometime next week - hopefully by Tuesday. He's definitely better than he's been, and we're trusting that he will continue to improve.

There was a bronchoscopy yesterday to try and determine what, if anything, is causing the cloudiness shown on the CT scan of Larry's lung and we're anxious for the results. We are very hopeful that there will be no signs of infection and the chemo can begin. Meanwhile, Larry is in a great deal of pain and they have him on quite a bit of pain medication. Josh and Justin are anxious for him to get home and feeling well enough to share some of his hallucinations with him! He is traveling extensively (mentally, anyway), and seems to travel by ship most of the time. We aren't making fun of him, but we have to find humor just to ease the tension.

We appreciate the phone calls and cards that he continues to receive. Most of all we are thankful for the prayers. Please continue!

Latest news is that Larry will be in the hospital through Monday, at least. There is something new showing up on the x-rays of his lower lung area that wasn't there previously so a CT scan has been ordered to try and determine what it is. Could possibly be more infection or a collapsed lung. The bad news is that until this is diagnosed, the chemo is delayed again. We were so hopeful that he could get that treatment started as early as today. A pulmonologist is scheduled to see him this afternoon or tomorrow.

Please pray with us that there is no infection.

We may actually have a bit of a break - finally. We're hoping today for the approval to start the chemo as early as tomorrow. Once that starts, we should see gradual progress. They are still working to get his pain managed so that he can function normally, so he's still in the hospital. For those of you who really know Larry, you must know how much he hates being stuck in the same room for nearly 2 weeks! Last night he felt good enough to walk up and down the hall, which was good for him. He's having a bit of trouble with his left hand but we are seeing improvement there, too, over the last couple of days.

Larry's a fighter and wants things back to normal. I'm hopeful that he'll be home by this weekend.

There's been a bit of a set back. Larry was not able to come home Friday as expected because he's still in so much pain. They've put him on a pain pump, so we're hoping that will help. They've also had to put him on oxygen in order to help him breathe.

I woke up Friday with the flu so they will not let me visit him. The timing couldn't be worse. I'm getting all the information from my mom and Aunt Judy (don't know what we'd do without them!!). I speak with Larry numerous times throughout the day and night and he doesn't sound good, but I realize that the pain meds certainly affect that.

The good news is that the radiation treatments on his leg were finished up yesterday. They saw some new growth on the xrays and we're very thankful for that!

He will remain in the hospital throughout the weekend and then be re-evaluated on Monday.
Please continue praying that the chemo treatments can begin on Monday or Tuesday and we will have no further delays.