Dotsie....what do you mean, STILL believe?

Lynn, my heart goes out to you and your husband. I'm sending positive thoughts for him.

When I was on chemo, my motto was "have little pink plastic barf pail, will travel." It's somewhat embarrassing and definitely not fun, but it's practical. If your husband has trouble holding down liquids -- I would throw up EVERY time I tried to drink water -- go for high water-content foods, like lettuce or watermelon. Whatever stays down. Also, he can ask for additional fluid drip when he gets his chemo infusion. No one told me about it until my last time in. My normal infusion time was 2 hours and the water drip was an extra hour, but it was worth it because I couldn't hold down drinking water at all.

Lynn,

I'm sorry, I have no alternative to avoiding the flu except avoiding anyone who has it. It is airborne and spread by human contact so anyone with a compromised immune system should stay away from large crowds and anyone with an infection. Sometimes the most contagious time is at the beginning of an infection, so it is important to be very vigilant. Actually an excellent place to catch the flu is the doctor's waiting room. Maybe you could call ahead and make arrangements to get your husband into a room quickly if the waiting room is crowded.

The measures prescribed by Dotsie's pediatrician would probably be helpful for anyone already exposed or infected. I copied them below.

-Double the daily fluid intake
-Use Ibuprofen for aches and pains
-Lower the temp at home 68-69 during the day and 63-64 at night...brrrr (but bundle the little one)
-Use Zicam cold remedy nasal spray, full of antioxidants
-Use Elderberry tablets (it increases the immune system's ability to fight viruses
-Use Oscillococcinum homeopathic remedy as directed.
-Lots of sleep, rest, and TLC
Dr. Blotny, pediatrician.

Echanacea and Golden Seal are additional natural products that I take. I believe they have some effect, but they are to be taken for only about 3 weeks at a time and they should be started prior to infection if possible. Also, they might interfere with some pharmaceutical medications so it would be best to check with the doctor first.

Dotsie also stated, "the only hitch was that none of it's covered by our insurance." Insurance reimursement is another incentive for physicians to prescribe over priced pharmaceuticals. That plus the fact that they get almost all of their pharmacological education from pharmaceutical companies both during med school and after they enter practice. It has been estimated that the pharmaceutical companies spend 80% of their budget on marketing to physicians which they do in the form of education. Until only recently when it was outlawed, they paid kickbacks to physicians for prescribing (or over prescribing) certain drugs.

Don't get me wrong, I believe pharmaceuticals can and do work miracles and I certainly wouldn't want to do without modern medicine. However, I think we as medical consumers, like Dotsie's sister, should educate ourselves about medications, their side effects and other dangers and go to the doctor armed with information and insist that they "listen" to us.

And, isn't the internet a wonderful tool for research.

Lynn, I'm still praying for you and your family. Prayer is the one thing that I know for sure works.

smile

Dear Lynn ~
I don't know you but I am praying for you and your family.
I'm sorry, I don't quite know what to say. I have plenty of thoughts on people who screw up their life subconciously but I just never know what to say or what to think when it's just "something", something that you had no say in, no control over. I'm sure it's difficult, beyond explanation, to endure what you're going through, all of you. I feel for you. I wish there was something, something I'd heard, something I've experienced, someone I know, who could tell me what to offer you that would help.

I can only tell you not to let your faith waver, stand strong, go through the motions and you'll come out on the other side gracefully and strong.

And I will pray for you, and your husband and your son.

Kate

Lynn,

Will be praying for you and your family. Wish I had words of wisdom but its just hang in
there.
Maggie

Thanks so much ladies! Each of you have helped just in wanting to.

Dotsie-John's doctor did prescribe him Zofran the second day of treatment. So we have it! But the doctor prescribed 60 pills and the pharmacy could only dispense 12 because the 60 were not approved by insurance. The cost was $2,000! I'll get a second mortgage if I have to!

The second treatment went better. And the week-end was ok. Back to treatment today. John has radiation every week day and is hooked up to a continuous feed pump for chemo. He wears it around his waist all the time even to bed. He could sit it on the night table but the cord would just get wrapped around him and probably choke him. His sheets are wrapped around him like a cocoon in the morning. He must just keep turning in his sleep. A latent mummy!

He is feeling sluggish and has the mettalic taste in his mouth. We can live with that!

He was in the dumps last night big time. Your support helped me help him. My words went no where but we just hugged and gathered strength there. He turns 60 next week - I just want him to turn 61!

Hope today's treatment has mild side effects. Every day is an adventure.

Thanks gals, you saw me through a hairy four days and I'm sure we will all do it again before it is over.

Dotsie- Nathan is a steam engine freak. Ever since he was one year old and his uncle gave him Thomas the Tank Engine-bingo it hit! We have all kinds of locomotives and catalogs around. I can't believe my kid takes catalogs to pre-school to show his friends. With some divine intervention, we hope to go to Durango, Colorado next May or June and ride the rails there. I hear (and we have a video) there is a stunning 2 hour steam engine ride into the canyons etc. Nathan is getting a Santa fe steam engine for his new train table that my husband built while recuperating from surgery. He and Nathan "work on it" almost constantly. Thanks for asking. And yes, he is jumping out of his skin in anticipation.

Lynn,
Our prayers will not stop. With God's mercy and love, we will ALL see John's 61st birthday and celebrate life with him. It's a date.

Now, tell me about this Conductor you have in the family. Is this a table that runs his engines and has houses and trees, villages, etc...and the train runs around the town?

Lynn, glad to hear about the Zofran. Has it made a difference?

I can just picture the two of you clinging to one another. Aren't you grateful for your strong relationship with your hubby right now? What a gift. Not everyone who is married is as happy as the two of you. I can just tell from past posts that you are connected at the heart.

Now tell us a little more about this train garden....

This is a train continent! It has taken up our playroom entirely. I insist that the couch stays but it is really in the way.

The train has one large tunnel that is made from chicken wire and plaster stuff. Rocks are being made from molds in my kitchen. So I have white dust all over the place. The rocks get plastered onto the tunnel to make mountains.

At the bottome of the mountain is the quarry with The Mill our friends have in Utah. The building is not made yet. Iam told all buildings will be made by hand. Nothing pre-bought. Whcih leaves me out completely. But I am told I can stick the trees on the mountains.

We also have a rail yard with warehouses (soon), lots of switches so the train can move from one track to another.

There will be a stream and a bridge going over it but it is not near completion. The whole thing is a work in progress that my two men do in their spare time.

So far, I think we will have Utah, a Kansas small town and a rail yard from I don't know where and a stream that will try to resemble Colorado. There will be a bit of the est coast also. They were trying for a sea side section but ran out fo room.

The table is 5 feet by 10 feet.

With whistles and all. From what I can tell, it is a dream come true. My husband's brother is in on the magic also. He ehlped build the table etc. and is feeding the frenzy by sending videos and puzzles of trains. We just finsihed 300 pieces and will start 1000 pieces tomorrow.

I don't know where we find time for hygiene around here! But it is good times! Thanks for asking.

And Dotsie psst"he is an engineer not a conductor".

If I can shrink myself down, I wanna go for a ride