We Took a Week Off: Family, Medical Appointments, and What's Coming Next on Darla in the Desert
We Took a Week Off: Family, Medical Appointments, and What's Coming Next on Darla in the Desert
If you've been checking in and finding tumbleweeds — we appreciate your patience more than you know.
The past week was one of those weeks where real life didn't ask permission. Daughter and grandkids came to town, and we weren't about to miss a single minute of it. We even managed to wrangle everyone into a movie — good clean comedy, which is harder to find than it should be these days. Worth every minute.
On the medical front — questioning two oncologists on the possibility of cryo treatment for Dave's largest lung nodes has finally paid off. The pulmonologist and oncologist consult resulted in scheduling (with our whole-hearted approval) a procedure to attempt to kill the largest nodes with 30,000 volts of electrical shock. The hope is that the larger ones go, and his medications and immune system handle the smaller ones from there. This should give his body the opportunity to stabilize.
We want to be honest with you: this procedure does not work every time. And as far as we know, this will be the first time it has been used on adenoid cystic cancer. It is not curative — until it is. We are going into it clear-eyed and hopeful, which is honestly the only way we know how to go into anything.
On the supplement and medication front — everything goes on hold five to seven days before the procedure and resumes three days after. Regular medications to control Parkinson's and acid reflux are allowed but the anticancer med is on hold. They call it minor surgery. We call it anesthesia and 30,000 volts, but we appreciate the confidence. 😄
As for the blog — a posting schedule has never really worked for us, and we've stopped pretending it will. We write when we have something real to say. You'll always find us here.
Stay tuned. 🌵
— Darla
More from our caregiving journey:
😴 Parkinson's Sleep Crisis: What Gabapentin Did For Us
💙 When Hope Costs Everything: Our Cancer Journey
🥦 The Anti-Inflammatory Aisle: What We Actually Buy
🎣 Fishing With Parkinson's: How Tenkara Changed Everything
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