Karl update

Karl might have another staph infection- he spiked a 104 temp today and they did a culture on his blood and it came back with staph. He had an EKG today to make sure his heart is not affected (no news on the results) and they continued to push antibiotics by IV. He also got a blood transfusion today.
He's tired and spent most of the day sleeping. His blood counts are low but not septic. He will try to continue his chemo in the hospital and got his interferon tonight. No news on when he will be home, but I am sure he will be in the hospital for the 4th. They will probably take out the medi port and put in a PICC line. Karl hates the PICC Line but he's got no choice in the matter. At least it will be temporary...we hope.

Karl back in the hospital

Karl was doing fine at home, started up chemotherapy and radiation again on his arm and back. He was feeling kind of weak yesterday, today at infusion his blood pressure dropped suddenly and he started running 102 degree fever his counts are down and we had no choice, he had to be put back in the hospital.
Doctors are not sure what's going on, if he has an infection(pneumonia or bronchitis) or if his counts are dropping from chemotherapy. So he's back at Presbyterian Plano for an undetermined amount of time. New room on the 6th floor, room 687 - 972-981-2687.

Karl should be out Monday

Karl saw the neurologist, oncologist today(Sunday) and they said Monday he can go home and start chemotherapy/radiation again on Tuesday. Yeah!
Here's Anika and Karl taking it easy Sat afternoon watching cartoons. He's doing a lot better now that the medications are figured out and he's not on such a high dose. He's also eating better and has his taste back.

Karl Is Back In the Hospital

Karl was released Monday night, doing fine Tuesday morning- He went to do chemo at the doctor's and arm radiation. About 3:30 or so at home he started feeling ill and dizzy. He tried to write some things down while he was on a conference call and couldn't as he started having tremors. We called the doctor immeadiately and Karl had to go to the ER. So it looks like whatever is going on with his brain or medications is not solved. We spent 4:30-9:30 in the ER waiting for a bed and orders. Luckily our wonderful neighbors were able to take Anika to her Little Gym class and watch her after while I dealt with Karl. No news yet on what they will do or how long he will be in.

He's in room 685 at Presbyterian Plano phone 972-981-2685.

Karl Coming Home Monday or Tuesday

Karl had a nice Father's day.. we brought him Tex Mex from Abuelo's and he opened his presents. Oncologist thinks Mon or Tues to go home. His Steriod and Anti Seizure levels are at a good level, his brain swelling has gone down (still no signs of cancer in his brain) and he's looking and Acting a lot more like Karl.
He will still have some slurred speech and short term memory issues from the radiation/drugs. When he gets home he starts more radiation on his brain,arm and back. It appears the back pain he's been suffering from is from a quarter size melanoma mass on his original site on his back where he first had melanoma- not anything else (we thought maybe an inflamed disc or muscle issues) So they are adding that to the radiation roster. He also will start another round of chemotherapy. 3-4 days of infusion and then 1.5 weeks of supporting fluids.

We are due for scans again but I don't see those happening for a while until we get through all this.

Karl Doing Chemo in the Hospital- Docs Still Exploring

Well, Doctors are not sure which medication is causing the brain swelling.. Radiologist says it's from the radiation and recommends staying on the anti seizure and steriods a little longer...Neurologist thinks it's a matter of getting the right steriod/seizure combo and that Karl might have too much anti seizure. So they are playing with the medications to see if they can get a better result for Karl. He's slurring his words, short term memory loss, exhaustion but no other major maladies. No more tumors in the brain!
On a side note, Karl has been having very bad lower back pain, Oncologist called in an orthopedic and it appears to not be spine related but muscle related. See Karl has had a lot of melonoma tumors taken off his lower back and side and it's messed up his back muscles and they are looking at taking care of that while he's in the hospital with some minor surgery.
So no sign of Karl coming home anytime soon- Father's day in the hospital, hopefully he will be home for the 4th!

Karl in the Hospital

Karl was admitted to Presbyterian Plano this morning with brain edema. His follow up MRI showed that he has some brain swelling and bleeding. He is also showing outward signs of this with short term memory loss, loss of balance and paralysis of the left side of his face.
Besides that the steriods and chemotherapy are making him very depressed and withdrawn from daily life to the point that he had stopped eating and had to be cajoled to even get some protien shakes down.
The MRI did NOT show any Cancer- Yeah!
The neurosurgeon and neurologist are being called to unsolve the mystery and we should have more details and hopefully a solution in the next couple of days.

He is in the same room at Presby that he stayed in last time, 679. He can be reached at 972-981-2679

Please keep him in your prayers and give hime a call to brighten his spirits!

Chemo on Tuesday Maybe

Karl's counts were down this weekend, so much that he missed Anika's dance recital. The combintation of the heat here and the lack of energy makes it hard for him to move around much. He is going in today to get his counts taken and if he's improved, he will start chemotherapy tomorrow. MRI of the brain soon to see if the last tumor is gone...Karl is off the steroids and he isn't having any problem with paralysis on his left side so we think his brain swelling is down and they got it but we will know for sure after the MRI.

Chemo Delayed

Karl was suppose to start chemotherapy today but Dr. Wyzinski hasn't cleared him. We are not sure what we are waiting on, it could just be a quick check with the Oncologist and he will start later this week. Karl has been feeling really down lately...a combination of the chemo drugs effect on him and the daily chemotherapy grind. It looks like we need to switch up the antidepressants and hope that it helps the situation.

Round 2 of Chemo on Monday

Karl is enjoying his week off from chemotherapy with continued radiation treatments to his brain and his arm (the one we had surgery on to remove more lumps). No idea if we will have radiation on the other "spots" or on his leg bones. We will check in with the doctor some time this month to follow up. He should be feeling pretty good next week as it takes a while for the chemo to hit his system. We had a lovely Memorial day weekend with Ben, Erin and Morgan. Karl went with us to Hawaiian Falls and enjoyed the lazy river and wave pool.