Sooo, I decided to start a blog. Sometimes I can express myself a lot better when I just type something rather than expressing it in words. I also thought this would be a good way to keep everyone updated on Dave. So let’s get the big one out in the open, Dave has cancer. We have known and been dealing with things for a little while now. It’s scary and has changed a lot of things for us, mainly because this was not something we saw coming (but really, no one see’s this coming). There has been lots of tests and He will be meeting with the oncologist next week, and hopefully 🙏 there is a plan….we need a plan. Dave and I are a great team and we have tackled a lot of stuff together, we just need to know exactly what we are up against so we know how to tackle it. So there is my start. I will try to keep everyone updated per this blog….and I will probably just post random things as well (I’m good at random)…………….Brandi

My good friend Dana sent me this. I thank god for Dana every single day, because without her I really don’t know how I would handle so many things in my life. Between the two of us we have dealt with so much over the last couple of years….but she reminded me yesterday that this to shall pass. That we will conquer whatever is put in front of us and to take each day as it comes – and she always sends me the best quotes…they will either make me laugh…..or cry, but they are always what I need right at that moment 😻

Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.

So today was the day, and what a long day it was. You know I’m exhausted when I fall asleep laying on a cat bed cuddling kitties, and when I wake up I contemplate just using one of their blankets and staying there 🤦‍♀️. I just got up and moved to my bed….with all the kitties moving with me. So they admitted Dave to Huntsman and are doing a bunch of tests and procedures. They did an EKG, another ultrasound and put in a pic line. Tomorrow they are doing a pet scan and a swallow test. Then they will be doing a spinal tap and inserting chemo into his spinal fluid. They are giving him meds to stabilize things that were off on his labs. We talked about treatment and a clinical trial he could be part of….a lot is still riding on what the pet scan says. We have a tentative diagnosis, but I will wait until everything is in to know for sure what we are dealing with 🙏

July 27, 2022

I should be asleep….but I have to much on my mind. I am going to the hospital really early tomorrow so I can be there when all the doctors come in…I have 4 people giving me wake-up calls 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️. I got all my little monsters food ready tonight so I can make it out the door, we live about an hour from Huntsman Cancer Institute, but I thank god we live that close to such an incredible hospital. I’m lonely, I’m scared and I just can’t believe this is happening, I’m just sitting here thinking “why” and more importantly “how”. 8 weeks ago he was perfectly fine, so how do you go from fine to “Hey, you have cancer all through your body”. Well enough of the pity party, this is where we are at. Today they did the pet scan, which showed everywhere the cancer is at. It’s in his testicals, surrounds his kidney, in his whole chest-not his lungs, his shoulder, his tonsils and the lymph nodes in his neck and shoulder. What’s amazing is the kidney works fine and it’s not in most of his major organs. They took him in for an MRI tonight so they could look at his brain. They said they would be shocked if it wasn’t in his brain. The testicals and tonsils would spread to his brain. They started steroids today and are pumping fluid in him non-stop, Both of those are making him feel 100 times better. The steroids are helping the swelling in his throat so he actually ate a pretty good dinner. That’s so nice to see, because he hasn’t been able to eat for quite a few weeks. They have a plan of attack, and every new thing that pops up they say “we have a way to treat that, it’s just going to make treatment a little more intense. I don’t know what that treatment is yet….but whatever it is, we will fight it together…I will be there every step of the way…..he is my person, my best friend and my soulmate, he is the strongest person I know, he is the love of my life. Well I better try to sleep, I have lots of furry creatures wanting to snuggle (thank god) they do make things lots more bearable 😻

July 28, 2022

So, I think we have a plan,..it’s an intense plan, but it’s a plan. Tomorrow they are operating and will remove a couple tumors. They will then start chemo. It’s a pretty intense regime of chemo. He has to stay in the hospital for 5 days every time they do it, but they have promised us that it kills this cancer. The cancer is diffuse large B cell Lymphoma. It has been very aggressive and very fast growing. Even though there are no lesions on his brain, they are saying its in the fluid. They took fluid out of his spine and put chemo in. It’s been a rough day for both Dave and I. We appreciate everyone who comes to visit and spend time with us at the hospital. We don’t ask for help, ever, that’s not who we are. Dave and I just handle things on our own. My girls Dari and Bailey came and started deep cleaning my house 🙏. Hunter stayed with Dave while he had the spinal procedure done. Dakota calls multiple times a day, but he is on call, so he is stuck right now, and Taylor is in Maine 😌, but I talked to him multiple times today….I miss them. My mom and dad are like the lifesavers of the world, they are the ones who listen to both of us🤦‍♀️…but they have very sound advise, and I usually listen to them. And my Brother Mark, Dave appreciates your friendship more than I think you know….thank you for calling him or visiting every day 😇 – the adventure continues tomorrow.

July 29, 2022

So today we have officially started the process. They operated and took out some tumors that will not respond to the chemo. But the tumors they are removing are not part of the lymphatic system, so that means this cancer has gotten smart and has figured out how to get in other organs. The only way to make sure to get all the cancer cells out of the places the cancer has crossed the barrier is to remove them. Dave has never had surgery so his anxiety was pretty high. But he got through it and they have him on good drugs tonight. We met with the oncologist and the pharmacist today to go over what we are looking at next. The pharmacist that works in the BMT unit is so smart and I really like her. I also like the oncologist that works on the floor, everyone is super helpful and they explain everything. They are starting chemo tomorrow. It is a very intense regimen that includes 3 different chemo drugs. I’m sorry We are looking at him being hospitalized for 5 days and home for 8, then hospitalized for 5 days and home for 8. On the 8 days home he goes for labs every other day and will be seen in clinic one day of the 8. We are looking at this regimen for 4 months. There are lots of other medications that are added in just to keep him stable. There are 3 anti-nausea drugs, pretty much any pain killer he wants and I had them start him on anxiety meds and depression medication. He will also be on two antibiotics, and steroids, it’s a lot. But to put things in perspective. We asked some tough questions last night. You have to ask some questions that you never want to ask. Dave was thinking he could take a break in-between the surgery and starting chemo, or he could stay on prednisone for 6 months and then start treatment. Without starting treatment immediately he would only live for 2 weeks to maybe 6 weeks, not starting treatment is not an option. I am staying home tomorrow to try and get some stuff done, my mom then my dad will both be there with him, but he knows I am a phone call away and will drop everything if he needs me. My kids are coming over to help me get some stuff done and then I will be back up there. Once again thank you everyone for calling, texting and wanting to spend time with him. He doesn’t like being alone, so every little thing helps 🙏

July 30, 2022

Well I stayed home today and got quite a bit done. Dakota and Morgan came over and worked their asses off. I was still asleep when they got here and they let me sleep for awhile longer….I needed it. Dakota mowed and edged and pulled the weeds off our stupid hill, he worked from morning until 9 pm tonight. I finished pulling weeds and Morgan took photos of the kittens and collard them, I vaccinated them. I have talked to Dave a couple of times (I was having anxiety not being there this morning). My mom was there this morning and afternoon and my Dad and Rose were there tonight, I have talked to him 3 times tonight. They started the chemo, it was actually 4 different ones, he was nervous. But they stayed in there while it was running through him and he handled it well. His blood pressure went up a little tonight, which made him nervous. So they gave him his anxiety meds and his pain meds and I just talked to him and he is going to sleep. Today we were told he could be in the hospital for 18 days this first time. Then I will have to ask what the rest is going to look like. He has already been in there almost a week and he has to be admitted every time they do this…this is going to be a long 4 months. But in the end he should be cancer free and I will still have my favorite person by my side….that’s all that matters 😻

August 1, 2022

So I stayed home all weekend so other people could go see Dave, it was okay I got a lot done at home. They ran chemo through him all weekend with the scariest one being administered yesterday. We knew that one was going to be the scariest, and the one that could cause the most reaction. They start by loading him up on Benadryl. He ended up dealing very well. This morning he was retaining about 17 lbs of water weight. They gave him a diuretic and he has now peed out about 20 lbs 🤣. Today they did another spinal tap and inserted chemo in his spine…..I’m pretty sure he is glowing now. The fluid in the spine looks good, and looks cancer free, so this may be the last spinal procedure 😁. They are talking about letting him come home in a couple of days, then he would do all his labs in the sattalite office in Farmington. Then on the 14th he would be readmitted to do it all over. During these off times he has to have shots in his stomach and he takes numerous medications to build his blood cells back up. So he has no immune system right now, so we have to be a little careful 😇

August 2, 2022

Well he is home….and we have to be back there at 8 am tomorrow 🤦‍♀️. He isn’t feeling the greatest and his immune system is at 0 right now. I never thought I would be so nervous about Covid, but Dave cannot get it. My son flew home from Maine to help me out (and I actually love having him here, I never get to spend this much time with him. Dave will be home until next Thursday, then he will be re-admitted for 5-7 days for another round of chemo. They are doing another spinal tap in the morning and will inject more chemo into his spine….that’s rough and he is not looking forward to this at all. Below is a picture of all the meds he came home with, it’s a lot. I’m exhausted

I don’t know if I’m going to be good at this 🤷‍♀️

August 3, 2022

Well….today was both good and bad. We had to be back at Huntsman at 8 am….my hair is starting to look pretty sad at this point 🤣. Dave’s first appointment was labs, he went in and when he came out, he looked at me and leaned against the door jam, he had started sweating. We walked to the bathroom and on the way back he was very light headed and felt like he was going to pass out. We were back at the same place because he needed a shot in his belly that makes his bone marrow start to produce new white blood cells. They came out and took one look at Dave and got him right back and three people were working on him. His blood pressure was really low and because he was sweating, they couldn’t get a good read on his temperature. They took his blood sugar and called his team to have them come look at him. Sugar was good so they started having him drink water and Apple juice. The team decided to put a bag of fluids through him…they were deciding if they were still going to do the spinal tap and put chemo in his spine. Of course he wasn’t getting out of that. Dave was very nervous to have that done today. The one they did two days ago did not go well and his back was still sore. I left the room because how they do it is brutal. They guaranteed me they were the best….well, they were not. When I went back in there Dave was in so much pain, it was really upsetting. When the doctor came back in I asked if there was anyway they could do this under anesthesia. They said it can be done by a robot actually, while under anesthesia…..I said make that happen. So will see, it better happen, he can’t go through that again 😇 – The positive thing about today is we are almost 2 weeks into treatment and Dave is home in his bed tonight ❤️