What a Week!

Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to give you all an update about how all of Doug's appointments went this week! Its been a very busy week and we are both very tired and are happy to have a nice Sunday at home just to relax.
Our week started out with an appointment on Monday morning with a Neurologist to talk about the issue with Doug's hands and so that he could have an EMG test done to see if they could figure out what was wrong. Basically the test did show that the nerves in both of his hands are both slow and temporarily damaged, but the neurolgist at this point has decided that it will be much better to wait a while and see if he gets better before doing anything radical like surgery. So.....unfortunatly no magic answer there! We will just continue to wait and see if his hands continue to improve, and if not we will bring Doug back to the neurologist in a couple of months. That afternoon Doug also went to get his first CT scan done and tuesday he had his first set of Tumor Markers done.
Thursday after work Doug and I headed to New Jersey to spend the night at the Coopers before driving down to Baltimore on Friday for his first followup with Dr. Sardi. It was great to see Dr. Sardi, Dr. Nick, Darlene, and Paula briefly! It was a very uneventful visit--almost one that could have been done over the phone! However, it is comforting to see the team and to have them see that Doug is doing great. Basically this was a baseline appointment and we won't have to go back until April for a 6-month checkup! At that time we will have another CT scan done and more tumor markers and they will compare them to this set that he just had done. It is the way the doctors will be able to tell what kind of effect the chemotherapy treatments are having on his body and the cells left behind.
So moving forward our next step is Tuesday we have a meeting with Dr. Upendra Hegde, a medical oncologist at the UCONN Health Center. Dr. Sardi has reached out to Dr. Hegde just to give him some background information on Doug and plan moving forward. We have the results of the Chemo Assay so I am hoping that on Tuesday Dr. Hegde will discuss what Doug's course of treatment might be. I know I am anxious to find out what the next few months hold for Doug as far as a chemotherapy schedule goes! I am also making it my goal to really step up his calorie intake to get some weight on him and try to get him to start doing some light workouts---the stronger he is the better he will feel, and we want him feeling good as new :-) So all in all, it was a busy week, and we're glad to be done with the big round of appointments, scans, and tests for now.

On a lighter note, Doug is doing great! He has been up and about (although all the hours in the car too and from Baltimore were pretty tough for him) and has been spending time with friends and continues to improve every day! As I said before, I want to get him to get more calories and really work on starting to get some weight back on. We are going to be traveling to Saratoga to spend Thanksgiving with my family in November, and I'm really looking forward to seeing them. For the next few weeks we are just going to take it easy, see our friends, and enjoy some down time together. I'm looking forward to having him feel even better so that we can do even more fun things together!

I hope everyone is ready for Halloween! We contemplated getting Kitty a costume......but then neither one of us wanted to risk being the one to try to get her into it! I hope you are all doing well, and thank you for your continued love and support, it continues to lift our spirits and reminds Doug of how popular he is :-)

Love, Lindsey

An Update for Everyone

Hi there-
So I realized it has been a while since I've posted an update and thought I would give you guys one to let you know how we're doing! This Tuesday will mark the 6 week mark since Doug's surgery! As of Tuesday he is medically cleared to start doing more things physcially--he could go back to the gym, lift more than 5 pounds at a time, etc. Now, I don't think he'll be running a marathon this month, but its nice to know that now as he feels up to doing some different things he is now medically cleared to do them! Now I try to stress that some housework is really the key to a quicker recovery, but I don't really know how much he is buying into that one! Marathon vacuming session sounds good for the body, no?

Doug is feeling a little bit better every day, although it is a long and very slow road. Some days are better than others, but that is all to be expected. The good news is that his appetite has really been coming back a bit in the last week or two, I think he may have even put on a couple of pounds (I'll make sure that trend continues!). I'm trying to make lots of good food, and we have great family and friends that help make sure that we always have everything that we need.

We had a great weekend! For those of you outside of the CT area, the weather was gorgeous this weekend. Friday night Doug and I had movie night, it was so nice to just sit and relax and watch a couple of movies. Saturday morning I got a chance to get out and have my hair done which I always love! Then when I got back three of Doug's friends--Ant, Paul, and Matt--stopped by for a couple hours to hang out with him. It was nice to see them. After they left Doug and I went out for a while to the Glastonbury Apple Festival-a town carnival that they have in our town every year. It was such a nice day and it was so good to get out for a while. Ian and Erik came down last night to watch a UFC payperview fight so all in all a great day. Today is of course, Football day, so our friends Andy and Erin came down from Boston to watch the Giants dominate the 49ers today, and Pete was here too, although as a San Francisco fan was not nearly as happy with the outcome of the game as we were!

This week will be a busy one for us. Tomorrow we go to see the Neurologist in the morning to get Doug some EMG testing--basically it will test his nerves and muscles in his hands to see if they can figure out where the damage is and what they can do to fix it. Needless to say, this is an appointment we are very anxious to go to as his hands are not getting any better! Then in the afternoon its off to UCONN to get his first followup CT scan. Tuesday will bring a trip to get bloodwork and Tumor Markers done. Tumor markers are substances that are produced by tumor cells and are used to tell what is happening with the cancerous cells in his body. We use these first set of tests as a baseline---they are a way that we can non-invasively tell if the abnormal cells in Doug's body are shrinking, stable, or if they begin to grow again. It is a way to monitor any possible reoccurance (or in our case, hopefully the NON-occurance) so that we can respond to it if need be. He'll have them done every three months or so. Yet another amazing way that science has progressed in a way that really helps his medical team make the best decisions for him! They will study the trends in the numbers to see what is going on in his belly. These tests are painless for Doug which is always great too--its no different than getting regular bloodwork done for him. Finally, on Friday we will trek down to Baltimore for Doug's first followup appointment with Dr. Sardi. We're looking forward to seeing him and everyone on the team, and can't wait to brag about how well he is doing! Then the following Tuesday we have an appointment with an oncologist at UCONN--this doctor will become a critical part of Doug's health care team, as he will be the one overseeing the chemotherapy treatment that he'll be starting in the relatively near future. We hope that Doug likes him!

Of course along with all of the appointments we have plans with friends and family sprinkled throughout the next couple of weeks. Tuesday after work my friend Kristen will stop over for dinner and a visit, and Doug's dad is going to be around in the beginning of the week as well to hang out with him for a while. Next weekend we will see Amy Cooper and Ileana on Saturday, and the following week will bring visits from my friends Rosie and Kathy as well as Doug's brother Jason and Barbara. We are so lucky to have such a huge support network around us, and it gives Doug a much welcomed break from all of the "On-Demand" television watching!

So all in all, more of the same for us! Pain medication is now only taken as he needs it, so the fact that that has been hugely scaled back is great as well. I have been and continue to be so proud of him--he's a real trooper and continues to have nothing but an optimistic view of his recovery. I'm so lucky to have him--we all are. I can't wait until he gets fully better so that we can continue moving on with our lives together and so that he can be good and ready to hit that golf course in the spring! Right now we're trying to decide where we may possibly want to take a vacation at the beginning of the spring :)

Hope all is well with everyone and you are all enjoying what is arguably one of the prettiest fall seasons I have ever seen! We love you all and continue to thank you for the support and good wishes.

Love, Lindsey

One Month Anniversary

Hello everyone!

I thought I would write an update today---it is Doug's one month anniversary from his surgery date! Four weeks ago today we were all waiting anxiously to hear how he was doing every few hours, and now we are comfortable and settled in at home working on getting him better.

We've now started to settle into a routine now that we're back, with my primary focus being on trying to get enough calories into him! For those of you who have seen him since we've been home, he's pretty skinny! I'm trying my best to fix that with lots of smoothies laced with protein powder, the occasional ice cream treat, and as much food as I can possibly get him to eat! Its tough for him since he really doesn't have much of an appetite at all.

Doug is doing very well in his recoevery, and has had visitors come to see him to cheer him up!We've seen Jason, Aunt Dolores, and the San Pietro family along with his friends and some of my girlfriends. I have returned to the office and am working full time which has been great to get back into a "normal" swing of things. I've ben doing about 3 days in the office balanced with a couple at home, depending on how our week looks. Almost every day we try to get out of the house to go for a walk outside somewhere (while we still can---it was 38 degrees outside this morning!) just to get him out of the house. Fresh air is such a help for getting better I think. He is getting a little bit better every day--its a very slow and frustrating process at times but he is being tough as always and trying to get through it.

Coming up Doug has several doctors appointments that we will be going to. We will be going to see a neurologist that will do some tests regarding his hands, as they are still the thing that bother him the most! We will also see Dr. Sardi down in Baltimore at the end of the month for a checkup, and we will be meeting with a local oncologist at the end of the month as well. We are hoping that Doug really likes the oncologist at the UCONN medical center that we have an appointment with, as that would be the easiest place for him to receive his chemotherapy treatments beginning in a month or two.

So things are good here, we are really trying to take it easy, make sure he gets enough rest and food, and are both looking forward into the future to him feeling better and nice and healthy! I can't wait until he's feeling more like his old self again and ready to have some much-deserved fun :-)

Have a great week everyone--we'll keep you updated periodically on how all of Doug's appointments and everything go!

In the meantime, here is Doug relaxing with his favorite girl:

See everyone soon!

Love,

Lindsey