Devin and Owen

Devin and Owen

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Update 10/27/15

Here we are at the beginning of week 5. 10 more radiation treatments to go! The pain meds Devin got from the doctor last week seem to have helped. They don't completely relieve the pain but they do make it bearable. The exhaustion continues and this week we have added some nausea to the mix. Today was doctor day and dr. Lin was very pleased with how Devin is tolerating the treatments. I can't imagine how she would feel if she was not tolerating them well.

Her spirits have improved with the help of the new meds and some gifts from her amazing co-workers at Good Shepherd. Thank you all!!

Tomorrow is Devin's 27th birthday! She is looking forward to putting 26 behind her and setting her sights on 27 being a much better year.

Thank you all for your encouragement and for keeping her in your prayers. If you would like to donate to help Devin with her medical expenses here is a link to her Go Fund Me site.

Hugs,
Rose

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Update 10/20/15

Today was the start of week 4 and the side effects are not getting any easier. Devin is exhausted all the time. She can no longer eat by mouth and is totally dependent on the feeding tube again. The doctor added a 4th pain med to try to control the pain in her mouth. The thrush has cleared up but has been replaced by lesions that Dr. Lin says will only get worse for the next 3 weeks. I pray that the pain meds work. Also her hair has begun to fall out :(  Dr. Lin says all this is normal and that since her cancer is a aggressive one they must treat it aggressively. He says she is handling it all very well although keeping her spirits up is becoming difficult. We are looking forward to November 10th when she can ring the bell in the office and be done with this stage of treatment.

Please keep her in your prayers and if you would like to donate to help Devin with her medical expenses here is a link to her Go Fund Me sit.

Hugs to all,
Rose

Wednesday, October 14, 2015

update 10/14/15

Good Morning all,

Well week 3 of radiation had started and the going is getting rough. Radiation is tough let me tell you! Devin is having a lot of pain and her tongue is very swollen so talking is hard and eating by mouth almost impossible. Thank God for the feeding tube!  She developed thrush so is on additional pain meds for that long with meds to get rid of it. Four new meds just in the last week. The exhaustion has set in so she sleeps a lot.  She is 1/3 of the way and the end is in sight. November 10th cannot come soon enough! Please keep those prayers coming!!

If you would like to donate to help Devin with her medical expenses here is a link to her Go Fund Me site

Hugs,
Rose

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Update 10/7/15

Good Morning All,

Well week one of radiation is behind us! Devin is feeling good so far. Side effects have been minimal at this point. The worst this week was the dry mouth and she is tired. I'm not sure how much of the tired feeling is the treatments and how much is the late nights.

Driving was a bit rough last week as all her appointments were at night. With the traffic caused by rush hour and the heavy rain we had last week, complicated by the hospital playing "catch-up" from the Pope's visit everything was running way behind schedule. And added complication was Devin's mask was to big as the swelling in her face and gone down more since it was made. So a new mask had to be made Thursday night. All of this combined for some very late nights. We were getting home about 9:30 so by the time you unwind it was late to bed for all. Thank you Carol for driving on a night run!

On the up side Dr. Lin did allow the treatments to proceed while the new mask was made and yesterday started week 2 so her appointments are all around noon time for the next 5 weeks which helps greatly with the traffic! It was nice driving in yesterday! All was running on time and since Tuesday is "Doctor Day" we saw Dr. Lin and met the nutritionist. The team is very pleased so far and the new mask is ready and they will start using it today which will speed things along. The down side of yesterday? We came out to get the car to discover that we had a flat tire! On the up side the valets were very helpful, AAA got to us in about 15 minutes and there was a tire store a few blocks away. Even better was that Siobhan came to Firestone and waited with us so we got to have a great visit while we waited!

Thank you again to all the drivers who have volunteered to help out with the driving. Your help is much appreciated. We have only 6 more days to fill and all her treatments will have drivers! If you are at all interested in or able to help with transportation to and from Philly, please PM, call or email  Devin or me :) !

 If you would like to donate to help Devin with her medical expenses here is a link to her Go Fund Me site.  Enjoy your weekend and keep those prayers coming!

Thanks again for all the help and prayers.

Hugs,
Rose