Postponement

This morning Kavan had his check-up with his oncologist, Dr. Chu. The good news was that his blood counts were within normal limits. The bad news is that his chemotherapy, originally scheduled for Monday, will be postponed due to his foot. Dr.Chu is worried that giving Kavan chemo on Monday would lower his ability to fight infection, leaving the door WIDE open for an infection in the open sore on his foot.

Ouch! Kavan's VERY swollen foot & leg

While I am upset that this will delay treatment ANOTHER week, I recognize the need to be careful with Kavan's fragile body. It's best to ensure that he is well enough before subjecting him to another round of chemotherapy.

Kavan's also been started on an oral antibiotic, Keflex, to ensure no infection develops in his foot. Though I feel that it is slowly starting to improve, there remains significant risk of infection. Better to be safe than sorry because Kavan's sorry could involve a week in the hospital.

Let the healing begin....more blisters and a bad sunburn

Kavan will also have home care nurses visit him to tend to his wound. I am relieved to hear this as the responsibility is off me to make sure things are not getting worse. Better to have the experts deal with this!

As I was curious, Kavan also spoke with his oncologist about when the next scans would occur. Right now, because of the large amount of swelling in his ankle, a scan would not be that useful. It would show lots of activity in his ankle because of the swelling and you would not necessarily be able to see if there were cancerous cells present. Dr.Chu told Kavan that he will have another MRI and PET scan in about 6-9 weeks when the area is completely healed. I am hoping it doesn't take that long!

So with that, Kavan is off to work. Despite my recommendations that he stay home, he wants to go to work. What resilience!


And now, on to the weekend!

Our small but beautiful christmas tree

Week 21, Day 3

Kavan remains in considerable pain. He says that his foot is extremely swollen and the sore on the back of his ankle remains open and oozing. He continues to have difficulties in mobilizing and just really wants to sit and elevate his foot. Ouch!

Despite all of this, he gets up and goes to work each day. I actually told him this weekend that maybe he should consider staying home this week. He felt that he wanted to go because he didn't want to let his employer and clients down. If that isn't a prime example of perseverance, then I don't know what is. Words cannot fully express how proud I am of him. He's truly a model for all of us.

Today Kavan and I had a conversation about how he's been doing lately. Of course, as per usual, Kavan said he was doing well, "I'm good". I said back to him, "you know it's ok to say that you're not doing well, right?".  He replied that he thought he was good so that is what he would tell people. While I am happy that he is "good", I think that some people forget the gravity of Kavan's situation. At the end of the day, he is fighting a life-threatening cancer and it is alright to not be "good" each day. I appreciate his positive nature and will to proceed with normal life but hope that he asks those around him for help when needed. I know that this past month and a half of radiation treatments has really taken a toll on him. Kavan is an active individual who so much enjoys sport and exercise. He really hasn't been able to engage in any of those activities since the start of radiation and I believe it's been really hard on him. He might not say so outright, but I can see it. So, let's all hope that these next few weeks pass quickly, his ankle heals, and he may resume the activities he so loves.

I guess this is one of the perks of radiation....a scooter at Wal-Mart

Congratulations....you've won a walker!

So, finally some good news. Kavan's foot is NOT infected. He zipped off to the Cross Cancer this morning and had an opportunity to meet with his radiation oncologist. Despite the stinky smell, she's confirmed that he does not have an infection. I was overjoyed to hear this news as the nurse in me had my mind going wild and thinking about widespread sepsis.

Kavan was given an anti-biotic cream to put directly on his ankle to prevent any infection but the doctor , right now, is happy with the way things are healing. In other news, Kavan has received a walker to help him get around. True to Kavan fashion, one of the first things he did upon telling me was crack a joke. Gotta love the positive attitude. Kavan remarked that when using the walker outside the Cross that some seniors had been extra nice him and even stopped to wish him a good day. I never knew what power a walker really had. It's nice to see him bonding with those who he now shares some commonality.

Kavan was also given the prized disabled sticker for his car. This is something that he's been needing for quite a while now. It's been hard seeing him struggle while mobilizing through snow-filled, icy parking lots. Just yesterday, he almost wiped out on the ice as his cane slipped. Eeeek!

There's the good news for the day. I, myself, must now get back to my final paper of the semester.

Kavan and I at his graduation