They’re here…Images of a Tumor

Monday, April 26, 2010 – Kellee had his bible study last night and one of the guys asked to turn the lights out, he wanted to see if Kellee would glow in the dark from the radiation treatments. Just to put to rest any tumor rumors, Kellee does NOT glow in the dark!

Heidi and Kellee left for Iowa City at 1:00 pm. They did not use the valet parking because they were going to go to the pharmacy and pick up some more zofran (anti-nausea meds) for Kellee after the treatment. Since the treatment today was scheduled for 3:00 pm which is not the normal time, they had to wait for about 30 minutes before he was called in. Heidi was able to go into the treatment room today and see the set-up. Heidi called me to report while I was still at work. They had no trouble finding the Extended Stay and were all checked in and moved in when talked. Kellee was still feeling pretty good and was making Mac & Cheese.

When I got home from work, I took the dogs out and at the front door was a small package (basically a CD case) from the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics with the words imaging Information Enclosed on the side. The MRI images had arrived via UPS this afternoon. After a quick loo at the many images, few of them are now posted below. We may add more later as we look at them more.

I spoke with Kellee around 9:20 pm Monday night. He was doing pretty well, tired and occasionally a bit butterfly-ee but otherwise not bad at all. In addition to the Mac & Cheese, he had a sandwich. He told me he wold keep me posted on whether eating all that was a good idea.

MRI Side View 1

MRI Side View 2

MRI Top View 1

MRI Top View 2

Treatment Day 3

Thursday, April 22, 2010 – I went into work at 3:15 yesterday afternoon. Even though I can connect to the  network in Iowa City and from home, there are a few things that seem to work better when connected inside Pella Corp. So I figured since I was in town, why not go take care of that and clean out my in box some! While at work I was contacted by a co-worker who told me she (Kim) wore the SeaBands to fight morning sickness when she was expecting her twins Ella & Ezra and the bands helped her! She also told me her twins and made some drawings for Kellee and she would be bringing them in, can’t wait to see those! Last night Kellee did play at The Mix and said it did go pretty well, but he wasn’t as energetic as usual (totally understandable). Kellee decided the times he would take the zofran would be 7, 3 & 11 so he wouldn’t have stay up until midnight every night.  Kellee’s cold seems to be getting a bit worse so we need to ask if having a cold would impact treatments in any way. Kellee mentioned his jaw hurt some, maybe it was the glands that are back there and either cold or therapy related, another question to ask.

We left on our trip east @ 6:45 am and got to Radiation Therapy before 8:30. Once again when we got down the stairs the guy behind the counter said, “Kellee, back again..” (Later at lunch Kellee said how much he appreciated being greeted like that. I want to remember to tell him (I better learn his name) how it impacts Kellee and therefore in turn also me, I hope I can talk to him without getting watery eyes.) The treatment went fine. Kellee says during the treatment he gets this copper taste in his mouth. Kellee asked about the cold and the nurses told him he would not change the treatment in any way. About the jaw, they said to ask the doctor on Friday that question.  (Gotta love the Valet Parking service they provide the radiation therapy patients!) After treatment we stopped a Walgreen’s again, this time for a thermometer and more saline solution for Kellee. We went to Mike & Beth’s to hang out for a while. Kellee napped, while I worked. When Kellee woke up he said he did not feel very “solid” and wanted to rest a bit more before we went to grab a bite to eat. On the way to eat I mentioned to Kellee how nice it was to have a place to go like we did at M&B’s. He said, “oh you don’t even know how much I needed that!”  We used a gift card we were given (Thanks Jana) and ate at Pizza Hut. Any Pizza $10.00! It was nice to eat at Pizza Hut again for a change and have it be fairly decent. The Pizza Hut in our hometown is very nearly hit or miss or miss or really miss whenever we go there.  We then moved from Mike and Beth’s to the Holiday Inn Express in Coralville, (Thanks Mark! – more on this later or in an upcoming post about the awesome things people have been doing for us).

Tomorrow is “Doctor Day” – each week on Friday we meet with the doctor which is a chance for him to check in with Kellee and for us to ask questions.

We still haven’t finalized next weeks accommodations, we hope to touch base with Hope Lodge tomorrow and get an idea when they will have a room available so we can make the necessary reservations, etc for next week.