October 16 Update

Just want to let you all know how Nick is doing.  

The main update I can give is that on September 29 he had a procedure done to drain the fluid out of his stomach.  2 days prior to that we had met with a Physicians Assistant who FINALLY heard our plea that something needed to be done about it.  When he went in to the doctor he literally looked like he was 6 months pregnant and could barley walk, when he came out he had lost his entire belly and could sit up on the couch.  They said that they took a liter and a half out, and once it was done he immediately had an appetite again.  He sent me out that afternoon to get him McDonalds and he ate it all (a happy meal and egg mcmuffin ... but still!)  It had been a month since he could eat more than a few bites of anything before feeling stuffed.  What a relief to at least have something back to normal.  

Nick and I went to his second chemotherapy appointment on October 4th and it was very scary for me.  It was a much better experience than when he received the drugs in the hospital, the nurse he had was so calming, knowledgeable and sweet.  That being said, watching toxic stuff being injected into my husbands chest (he has a port there, so that they don't have to do an IV every time) is very difficult for me.  His lung function had not improved, so he was still only able to receive 3 of the 4 chemos that are recommended for his treatment.  They will reevaluate every two weeks and decide whether or not he is able to get the fourth one.  

Nick has definitely been having some pretty good days in the last few weeks.  He has more energy, is talkative, and is able to spend time interacting with Nora.  We are grateful for every single good day that he has, and we just power through together on the bad days.  We are looking for patterns in symptoms and side effects so that we can try to plan ahead and be prepared.  This is all so new to us still and we are trying to figure out these "cancer normals" ... which are not normal.  

We want to send a big thank you out to everyone who has participated in the meal train for us thus far and those of you that are signed up for the future.  It is so helpful for me after a 10 hour work day with Nora in tow.  When we get home, being able to sit down as a family and spend time together rather than worry about what we are going to eat is such a blessing.  If anyone reading this is interested in signing up, email my mom at: maplegrovejan@gmail.com and she can invite you to the calendar.  Thank you in advance.  

We also have the fund raising website still up and running at: 
https://www.gofundme.com/nickcarney?ssid=759943173&pos=2 and we are so thankful for all of your donations, they are so helpful while Nick is out of work.  

Thanks for taking the time to check in on us. 

Chemotherapy #3 is tomorrow (Monday Oct. 17).  Wish him luck!