Seems like I'm always updating!
Rassie had his oncology appointment on July 13th. Everything checked out well. His numbers are low!!! Close to remission in my personal opinion. At this point, there is no need for a bone marrow biopsy. Hooray!!! I did not want Rassie to have to go through that pain. The only downside to everything, Rassie will most likely be on Gleevec for the rest of his life. That I can live with! Although Gleevec can send you into remission, once you stop taking it, it become highly likely that the leukemia will come back. So, what we were told thus far is that once Rassie is in remission he will continue on the same dosage of Gleevec for ??? months to follow and then they will eventually lower the dosage to what they feel is a comfortable level. They will also continue to follow up on his treatment and watch for any changes.
On another note, Rassie had another 8 rounds of physical therapy approved. Thank you God, you are awesome! He starts those next Tuesday 27th. Rassie had a little set back about a week ago, Thursday night. We spent that night in the ER wondering what the heck was going on! Turns out it was nothing too major. Rassie bent over to pick something up and apparently severely strained his muscle. His physical therapists said she had a feeling there was only a matter of time before something like this happened. If you don't know, you're supposed to squat to pick things up, not bend from the back! But with Rassie's right leg being locked in a brace he can't exactly squat, therefore, putting more strain on the back. Rassie was in alot of pain. He was having difficulty breathing because of it and so we were really worried. The pain caused him to have some passing out episodes. So we thought an ER trip was in order. They ran two EKG's, and did a CT scan from head to toe pretty much. They also ran labs. Everything came back A-OK! That's when the emergency room doctors gave him a higher dose of pain meds, prescribed him some muscle relaxers and sent him home with a diagnoses of sever muscle strain and told him to follow up in 2-3 days. Rassie's doctor is out of town for the week but the physical therapist saw him Tuesday. She felt all long his back and sides and confirmed his muscle was strained and all out of whack! Rassie seems to be doing a lot better today, up and moving and walking! The first few days he couldn't hardly get out of bed to go to the bathroom. He goes back to see Dr. F on August 4th and they put off therapy until next Tuesday so that he can rest up and give that muscle time to heal. Lots of ice and heat!
That's about it for now. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I have a job interview this coming Monday and Tuesday so add me to your prayer list!
God Bless!!!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Hello! Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying their summer. We're making the best of ours and with Rassie's improvement its been pretty great.
I continue to watch Rassie get better in leaps and bounds and I am so excited! Yesterday, Rassie saw the 3rd party doctor for worker's comp. (issued by the State of Texas). Once again, this doctor agreed with what Rassie's PM&R doctor has been saying all along. He was extremely impressed with the improvement Rassie has made since last seeing him. After all, Rassie has come a long way! He agrees that we should keep pushing for more and more therapy until the job is done! Dr. G says he believes that the next time he sees Rassie (in about 4 months) that he will come waltzing in the front door without a brace on. Or any support at all for that matter. How exciting is that?!
Rassie is about finished with another round of therapy. Two appointments left. So the staff is getting the ball rolling for the next round of approval. Dr. F had said he didn't think we would get anymore out patient therapy out of the worker's comp. insurance (PT at the hospital). If that's the case they will push for home therapy (PT at home). Either way, we will be happy to accept any and all therapy!
Oh yeah, Rassie was supposed to have an oncology appointment this week. It was postponed. The staff doctor could not be there for some reason and the resident could not see him on her own....soooo...postponement was in order. The bad news? We did not find out until the day of the appointment that it had been changed. There would have been a lot less rush if we had known in advance but it's done and although it was a bit annoying we're way past that. New appointment date: July 13. Bad news: I may not be there. Good news: I will be taking a test for a job with hopes of passing and getting an interview!!!
Thank you for all your prayers and support. I ask that you continue to pray! Pray for Rassie's full recovery from his back injury. Pray for Rassie's leukemia to be sent into remission. Pray that our family holds strong through all of this. And last but not least, Pray for me and the job I am going for. It's a little hard to be getting back into the job world after being home with the babies for the past 2.5 years but I know that God will be with me all the way. Thanks again for your continued support.
God Bless!
I continue to watch Rassie get better in leaps and bounds and I am so excited! Yesterday, Rassie saw the 3rd party doctor for worker's comp. (issued by the State of Texas). Once again, this doctor agreed with what Rassie's PM&R doctor has been saying all along. He was extremely impressed with the improvement Rassie has made since last seeing him. After all, Rassie has come a long way! He agrees that we should keep pushing for more and more therapy until the job is done! Dr. G says he believes that the next time he sees Rassie (in about 4 months) that he will come waltzing in the front door without a brace on. Or any support at all for that matter. How exciting is that?!
Rassie is about finished with another round of therapy. Two appointments left. So the staff is getting the ball rolling for the next round of approval. Dr. F had said he didn't think we would get anymore out patient therapy out of the worker's comp. insurance (PT at the hospital). If that's the case they will push for home therapy (PT at home). Either way, we will be happy to accept any and all therapy!
Oh yeah, Rassie was supposed to have an oncology appointment this week. It was postponed. The staff doctor could not be there for some reason and the resident could not see him on her own....soooo...postponement was in order. The bad news? We did not find out until the day of the appointment that it had been changed. There would have been a lot less rush if we had known in advance but it's done and although it was a bit annoying we're way past that. New appointment date: July 13. Bad news: I may not be there. Good news: I will be taking a test for a job with hopes of passing and getting an interview!!!
Thank you for all your prayers and support. I ask that you continue to pray! Pray for Rassie's full recovery from his back injury. Pray for Rassie's leukemia to be sent into remission. Pray that our family holds strong through all of this. And last but not least, Pray for me and the job I am going for. It's a little hard to be getting back into the job world after being home with the babies for the past 2.5 years but I know that God will be with me all the way. Thanks again for your continued support.
God Bless!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Upcoming Appointments
No real updates to give. I guess that's good news though :)
Rassie has some up and coming appointments. On July 6th, he sees his oncologist again. Not much to say about that until we go to the appointment. I'm making Rassie write out a list of questions early so we don't forget to ask anything this time. Of course, I'm adding all of my own questions too! Feel free to give your input, I just might not know the answer to your questions and I can ask the doctor!
On July 7th, Rassie sees the 3rd party doctor on the worker's comp case. This is the same doctor he saw back in February. This doctor was assigned by the state to give a second opinion. And at that time he agreed with Dr. F that Rassie needed therapy and would improve and get better! He was right!!!! I am so thankful for that second opinion or else worker's comp may not have pulled through for us and Rassie may have never gotten approved for physical therapy.
I am so thankful to be sharing my life with such a wonderful man! We've had our ups and downs but I must say, Rassie has stayed strong and pulled through all of this fairly well! Keep the prayers coming! You never know just how strong the power of prayer is until you're in a fragile situation. I am so thankful for all of you who continue to pray and support Rassie and our family.
Good Night & God Bless
Rassie has some up and coming appointments. On July 6th, he sees his oncologist again. Not much to say about that until we go to the appointment. I'm making Rassie write out a list of questions early so we don't forget to ask anything this time. Of course, I'm adding all of my own questions too! Feel free to give your input, I just might not know the answer to your questions and I can ask the doctor!
On July 7th, Rassie sees the 3rd party doctor on the worker's comp case. This is the same doctor he saw back in February. This doctor was assigned by the state to give a second opinion. And at that time he agreed with Dr. F that Rassie needed therapy and would improve and get better! He was right!!!! I am so thankful for that second opinion or else worker's comp may not have pulled through for us and Rassie may have never gotten approved for physical therapy.
I am so thankful to be sharing my life with such a wonderful man! We've had our ups and downs but I must say, Rassie has stayed strong and pulled through all of this fairly well! Keep the prayers coming! You never know just how strong the power of prayer is until you're in a fragile situation. I am so thankful for all of you who continue to pray and support Rassie and our family.
Good Night & God Bless
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Time for an Update
First off, Rassie has 8 more sessions of therapy approved! So four more weeks. He's going twice a week now instead of 3 times. AND after these 8 sessions he may be moved back to home therapy. Which shouldn't be a problem. We have a treadmill and a bike at home plus he has all that stretchy rubber stuff to do his exercises and should be able to do everything he was doing at physical therapy here at home with the therapist.
Rassie saw Dr. F this past week. Everything is looking good. We saw lots of improvement in Rassie's right leg. I love being there and watching to doctor go through all the movements. You are really able to see the strength building up in Rassie's legs. He's able to lift his leg. Kick it out some at the knee. He was able to bend his ankle up and down some. It's just AWESOME to see this considering he couldn't do any of these things a few months ago. He still has no feeling in his right leg from the knee down but he is able to get some movement out of it now!
I feel like I'm forgetting something... I just can't remember! So I guess I'll remind everyone that Rassie has an oncology appointment coming up on July 6th. Thanks for the continued prayers and support!
God Bless
Rassie saw Dr. F this past week. Everything is looking good. We saw lots of improvement in Rassie's right leg. I love being there and watching to doctor go through all the movements. You are really able to see the strength building up in Rassie's legs. He's able to lift his leg. Kick it out some at the knee. He was able to bend his ankle up and down some. It's just AWESOME to see this considering he couldn't do any of these things a few months ago. He still has no feeling in his right leg from the knee down but he is able to get some movement out of it now!
I feel like I'm forgetting something... I just can't remember! So I guess I'll remind everyone that Rassie has an oncology appointment coming up on July 6th. Thanks for the continued prayers and support!
God Bless
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
No News...
Now news is not always good news. Still waiting to hear back on that physical therapy. My guess is that Rassie is now up and walking pretty well so they (the worker's comp ins.) figures they don't need to approve anymore physical therapy. Guess we will just continue to work on that at home. Rassie knows all his workouts and can do just about everything but the pool here at home. Including the bike! With that being said, he shouldn't fall behind.
Rassie has two appointments coming up this week. First, he is seeing an ENT. He's been having some funky drainage in his tonsils. They swell up and then this green gunky stuff comes out of them. They treated him for strep once but the tests never came back positive and this has been going on for a while! The first time he noticed the "mystery gunk" was back in September when he was first diagnosed with CML. That appointment is tomorrow, Wednesday, and I am hoping they can figure out what is going on. Shouldn't be anything too serious is my prediction.
Rassie's second appointment is with PM&R again. He sees Dr. F. The same doctor he has been seeing since his arrival at S&W for the accident. I am really curious as to what Dr. F will have to say. Rassie has been having some burning/tingling going on in his right leg and foot. It's few and far between but it is something. Not to mention, he woke up in pain the other night because, for a moment, he could FEEL the bottom of his right foot. To me, this means that the hematoma is starting to go down some more. I can't wait for that thing to just go away completely so Rassie can feel everything again! Guess we'll find out Dr. F's thoughts on Thursday!
Rassie's next oncology appointment at the Glenda Tanner Vasicek Cancer Treatment Center is on July 6th. For some reason I wrote on the calendar July 7th, so if I told you the wrong date before you now have the correct information.
Oh! I almost forgot. I haven't updated about Rassie's blackout spells in a while. He is doing great. I guess the stress is slowly melting off. He hasn't had an episode in at least two weeks. Probably more. And by episode I mean no going into a daze or passing out. He's doing great. With that said, I'm considering going back to work. I'm handing out a few resumes today so keep your prayers with me! Rassie will be able to watch the kids on days he doesn't have therapy or appointments and family will be able to help out on the days he does. Plus, I'm hoping to put our oldest into daycare/preschool at least part time so he won't have to worry about her so much.
I think thats about it for now and that I've covered everything. If I've forgoten I'm sure I'll be back on to blog about it. Make it a great day.
God Bless
Rassie has two appointments coming up this week. First, he is seeing an ENT. He's been having some funky drainage in his tonsils. They swell up and then this green gunky stuff comes out of them. They treated him for strep once but the tests never came back positive and this has been going on for a while! The first time he noticed the "mystery gunk" was back in September when he was first diagnosed with CML. That appointment is tomorrow, Wednesday, and I am hoping they can figure out what is going on. Shouldn't be anything too serious is my prediction.
Rassie's second appointment is with PM&R again. He sees Dr. F. The same doctor he has been seeing since his arrival at S&W for the accident. I am really curious as to what Dr. F will have to say. Rassie has been having some burning/tingling going on in his right leg and foot. It's few and far between but it is something. Not to mention, he woke up in pain the other night because, for a moment, he could FEEL the bottom of his right foot. To me, this means that the hematoma is starting to go down some more. I can't wait for that thing to just go away completely so Rassie can feel everything again! Guess we'll find out Dr. F's thoughts on Thursday!
Rassie's next oncology appointment at the Glenda Tanner Vasicek Cancer Treatment Center is on July 6th. For some reason I wrote on the calendar July 7th, so if I told you the wrong date before you now have the correct information.
Oh! I almost forgot. I haven't updated about Rassie's blackout spells in a while. He is doing great. I guess the stress is slowly melting off. He hasn't had an episode in at least two weeks. Probably more. And by episode I mean no going into a daze or passing out. He's doing great. With that said, I'm considering going back to work. I'm handing out a few resumes today so keep your prayers with me! Rassie will be able to watch the kids on days he doesn't have therapy or appointments and family will be able to help out on the days he does. Plus, I'm hoping to put our oldest into daycare/preschool at least part time so he won't have to worry about her so much.
I think thats about it for now and that I've covered everything. If I've forgoten I'm sure I'll be back on to blog about it. Make it a great day.
God Bless
Thursday, June 10, 2010
PICTURE POST !!!!!!
OUR LUBBOCK TRIP TO SEE RASSIE'S PARENTS
Daddy & Scarlett feeding the ducks
Daddy, Lane & Scarlett Feeding the ducks
OUR TRIP TO THE PARK
I thought I would throw this one in to show how happy Lane was that Daddy was pushing him on the swings!
Daddy pushing the kiddos at the park
Daddy Pushing the Kiddos at the park
THE ZOO
Daddy and the Doodlebugs at the Zoo Entrance
Daddy and Doodlebug looking at the Lion (that you can't see from here :)
Daddy & Doodlebug posing by the Giraffes
Daddy & Doodlebug at the Elephants
HOPE YOU ENJOYED SHARING RASSIE'S GREATESTS ACCOMPLISMENTS!
1) Doodlebug #1
2) Doodlebug #2
3) WALKING
Sorry for the Silence
It's been a little bit since I updated and I truely apologize!!!!
First off, Rassie is doing well.
Rassie had an onoclogy appointment on June 2nd. Apparently his doctor couldn't see him that day so another doctor stepped in. Overall, Rassie seems to be in good health He's slightly anemic but he has been since this all began. For some reason I can't remember the name of this but something to do with translocation. Rassie's numbers have gone from 98% to 0.04%. I feel silly not being able to remember at the moment. I'm going to have to pull out my notebooks tomorrow and refresh my brain! All in all it was a good but very short appointment. Rassie goes back to see his regular oncologist July 6th. We're going to go through more questions and answers and details of whats going on, what will go on, etc. One topic that came up was Rassie's bone marrow biopsy. It was over looked due to the back injury and although not needed to make a diagnosis they still want to do one. The answer of when is still up in the air. I have a feeling the time is getting closer.
On another note, Rassie is WALKING! He's doing great. He does alot of walking without his cane when we're home. It's when we're out an about that he uses it because you never know how the ground is going to look! Rassie is still wearing a brace on his right leg. Still no feeling. One night he did have a tingly burning feeling on the bottom of his right foot one night. This was a big sign. He hasn't had ANY feeling and then this! We were excited but it went away. Still praying that hematoma goes away. Soon than later if possible. Rassie just finished up another round of physical therapy appointments. We're now playing another round of 'wait and see' to find out if more therapy will be approved. We're not very hopeful at the moment after a call from the nurse case manager stating she doesn't believe more therapy will be approved.
We have also learned why the worker's comp insurance wants the doctor to state that "this is as good as Rassie's going to get". Once this is stated there is a cap on the amount they pay out towards medical bills weekly. If the doctor doesn't say this the worker's comp ins. has to pay 100% of the medical bills for up to 2 years. We're still learning so much and expecting a phone call on even more information tomorrow!
Oh! Thanks again for our mystery gift giver! Rassie has been using his recumbent bike daily. He uses it for about 10 minutes at time. He wants to start going longer intervals and I have faith that he will do just fine.
I wanted to share a few pictures of our outings lately to show just how proud I am of the progress Rassie has made. Watch for a seperate post full of photos to be coming soon!!!! Also, a better blog update
GOD BLESS & Good Night
First off, Rassie is doing well.
Rassie had an onoclogy appointment on June 2nd. Apparently his doctor couldn't see him that day so another doctor stepped in. Overall, Rassie seems to be in good health He's slightly anemic but he has been since this all began. For some reason I can't remember the name of this but something to do with translocation. Rassie's numbers have gone from 98% to 0.04%. I feel silly not being able to remember at the moment. I'm going to have to pull out my notebooks tomorrow and refresh my brain! All in all it was a good but very short appointment. Rassie goes back to see his regular oncologist July 6th. We're going to go through more questions and answers and details of whats going on, what will go on, etc. One topic that came up was Rassie's bone marrow biopsy. It was over looked due to the back injury and although not needed to make a diagnosis they still want to do one. The answer of when is still up in the air. I have a feeling the time is getting closer.
On another note, Rassie is WALKING! He's doing great. He does alot of walking without his cane when we're home. It's when we're out an about that he uses it because you never know how the ground is going to look! Rassie is still wearing a brace on his right leg. Still no feeling. One night he did have a tingly burning feeling on the bottom of his right foot one night. This was a big sign. He hasn't had ANY feeling and then this! We were excited but it went away. Still praying that hematoma goes away. Soon than later if possible. Rassie just finished up another round of physical therapy appointments. We're now playing another round of 'wait and see' to find out if more therapy will be approved. We're not very hopeful at the moment after a call from the nurse case manager stating she doesn't believe more therapy will be approved.
We have also learned why the worker's comp insurance wants the doctor to state that "this is as good as Rassie's going to get". Once this is stated there is a cap on the amount they pay out towards medical bills weekly. If the doctor doesn't say this the worker's comp ins. has to pay 100% of the medical bills for up to 2 years. We're still learning so much and expecting a phone call on even more information tomorrow!
Oh! Thanks again for our mystery gift giver! Rassie has been using his recumbent bike daily. He uses it for about 10 minutes at time. He wants to start going longer intervals and I have faith that he will do just fine.
I wanted to share a few pictures of our outings lately to show just how proud I am of the progress Rassie has made. Watch for a seperate post full of photos to be coming soon!!!! Also, a better blog update
GOD BLESS & Good Night
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