Hello faithful blog followers. My apologies for not updating the blog in such a long long time. I was struggling during that period to come up with encouraging/inspirational messages. I had made it a mission in previous blog entries to keep things on the light/upbeat side.
In a nutshell, chemotherapy was particularly nasty for Karl after his return from Mayo in October, which is why I didn't update the blog. I didn't want to upset folks. It was pretty tough watching him go through it. He was emotional, weak, and even a little loopy. But of course there is a humorous story that goes with that...One day while receiving chemo, all he could manage to say was, "Owww." There were different intonations and inflections, but that was the only word he could speak. On that day, Laurie, the PA came in to see how he was. He grimaced at her and sharply quipped, "Ow." She asked him another question. He responded, "Owwwwwwww." She then moved his arm to check his pulse and he whined, "Owww." At that point, Laurie looked at me with sad compassion. I could have easily broken down at that point, but us Hamiltons have always used humor to shield our emotions to an extent, and not knowing what else to do, I shrugged and said, "Karl is just doing his James Brown impersonation."
Of course that was the same day he was admitted to the hospital. It's amazing that his metabolism could have changed so much, but the U-M folks thought maybe all the anesthesia and drugs he was on at Mayo affected him drastically. To offset that, they lowered and even omitted chemo doses. They even gave him "Smurf Juice," as Karl called it (methylene blue) to flush the chemo through his system faster. Regardless, we are all happy he's done with that chapter of his life. I'm happy to say he's now getting his hair back and is feeling pretty darned good! (I've attached a photo I took of him on Easter Sunday.)
He just returned from a check-up at Mayo last week and got the all-clear, although one of the bone grafts was broken. Apparently they were not concerned and had built in redundancies for such an occasion. Dr. Yazsemski was very encouraged that there is no sign of cancer. Sarcomas are particularly nasty because they have a tendency to -- although not always -- come back. I pray Karl's one of those cases where it decides it's had enough of the chemo poison.
Karl is doing well and adjusting to life as an incomplete paraplegic. Mom's house was completely renovated so he can get around in his wheelchair. The carpet was taken out and the hardwood floors were sanded and varnished. We also took out most of a wall between two small bedrooms, thanks to the help of so very many people. That room is now Karl's suite and has a tiled floor in one half with a handicap-accessible shower and sink. It's very nice.
He also bought an old van with an elevator that enables him to get himself in and out of it with the push of a couple buttons. The doors swing open, the lift flops down, and then he rolls himself on. It's a tight fit but he eventually gets his wheelchair in place and then transfers to the captain's seat, turns to face the steering wheel and then uses hand controls to accelerate and brake. It's pretty slick. And it's given him a tremendous amount of independence.
He made the van purchase so he could get himself back and forth to work. A week after the purchase he went to Adrian Steel to get the lay of the land. Instead, he was one of 30 to be laid off. He missed the first few rounds of layoffs so he feels pretty fortunate that he made it this long. The folks there have been amazing to Karl and they earnestly felt bad about it. They've told him they want to bring him back as soon as they can, but with this economy, there's no telling when that will be. Needless to say, he was pretty bummed. But, as I told him, he's already had the fight of his life so this is no big deal. Plus it will give him all the time he needs for physical therapy.
Speaking of that, he's really making big gains in physical therapy. At first he was trying to strengthen and stretch his legs. Now he's using the parallel bars to learn how to walk. He stands -- using the bars to steady himself -- for several minutes at a time. He's also getting on the treadmill with the use of a harness. His left leg is very strong with movement in his foot. His right leg isn't as strong, but he's hopeful he'll get movement there as well. The next step is to get him using a walker with the end goal of using crutches. That way he'll be able to bebop around the house.
His next job is to learn how to update this blog himself. I've tried to train him, but it's now up to him. Until then, if you have a facebook account, he's on there.
We are so very grateful for all the prayers, kindnesses and love you've shown to our family throughout this ordeal.
Blessings,
Kerry
