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KHK2971

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Posts posted by KHK2971

    H.M. Knowles 1944 - 2003

    in GRIEF

    Posted

    All -

    Thank you so much for all the kind messages on the loss of my Dad. I really appreciate your support over the last 7 months.

    The holidays were really tough on us. Christmas Eve was the one month anniversary of Dad's death. We tried to be strong and celebrate in our own way, but there was a huge void in our hearts....I don't think that void will be filled forever.

    I know the holidays were challenging for all of us, and I said a prayer that God would send us all peace.

    Take care & thanks again,

    Kelly

    My mom passed away today

    in GRIEF

    Posted

    Kristy,

    I am so sorry about your Mom. Please accept my sympathy - I know what you are going through. I lost my Dad 5 days before your Mom died. I am praying that we both find some peace...

    Take care,

    Kelly

    H.M. Knowles 1944 - 2003

    in GRIEF

    Posted

    All - I just wanted to let you know that two weeks ago today my Dad passed away. He died in my arms at the hospital. He was admitted the Friday before with what seemed to be an infection, weakness and trouble breathing and he just couldn't beat it this time. He died peacefully and I thank God for that. He fought so hard.

    It's been so tough on my Mom and I...we loved him dearly and now he is gone. He was so brave through everything and it's so unfair that he lost his battle at just 59 years of age. There was so much living left to do and time that we three deserved together. I don't know how people pick up and find the strength to go on.

    We had his funeral Wednesday, November 26 and it was a beautiful service - a real tribute to my Dad. Several friends spoke and there was an outpouring of love from so many. I was able to speak as well, and that has helped me a great deal.

    I want to thank you all for your support and advice over the last 7 months. You are truly a blessing in my life. I will keep you all in my prayers.

    God bless us all,

    Kelly

    Blood clot

    in NSCLC GROUP

    Posted

    All - My Dad has been having shortness of breath for about two weeks. He was hospitalized with what we thought was pnemonia, but he was sent home when his xray came back clean. We were told the SOB was due to his emphysema. Well, a couple of days later his right calf was swollen and it ached. Mom called the dr. and he had Dad come in for a sonogram. It turns out Dad has a blood clot in his leg. He is currently taking daily shots for this.

    Have any of you had any experience with this? We have a friend who also had a blood clot in his leg and it caused him SOB. Once they placed a stent in his leg, the SOB went away.

    Any feedback you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks,

    Kelly

    Taking My Buddy On Vacation

    in GENERAL

    Posted

    Norme,

    I hope you and Buddy have a great time in Myrtle Beach with your family. You deserve the break and I'm thankful that Buddy feels up to making the trip. Drive safely and have a wonderful time and be sure to remember all the fun details to tell us about when you get back.

    Take care,

    Kelly

    Chemo and nausea

    in NSCLC GROUP

    Posted

    Get your Dad a relief band...you wear it around the wrist and it stimulates the nerve that controls nausea. You can buy them at any drugstore. They are around $100, but worth every penny. The band has really helped my Dad. He takes kytrile and zofran for nausea, but he can turn on his relief band and get almost instant relief.

    Good luck,

    Kelly

    Lucie and Pneumonia

    in NSCLC GROUP

    Posted

    Don - You and Lucie are in my thoughts and prayers. I know she will make it through this and come out stronger in the end. Please take care of yourself, too. We are all pulling for you both.

    Keep us posted,

    Kelly

    The suffering is over

    in GENERAL

    Posted

    Rayroy, Thank you for letting us know about the death of your Dad. I can only imagine the grief you and your family are going through and I hope that you know you all are in our prayers.

    Your Dad was blessed to have you as his son.

    Take care of each other,

    Kelly

    Cough and pain?

    in GENERAL

    Posted

    Hi - I don't want to scare you, but my Dad also had shooting pains in his back and lungs when he coughed and it turned out he had pneumonia. I would be sure to let your dr know this. It probably isn't pneumonia, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I hope your Dad gets better, keep us posted.

    Kelly

    Nausea hint - Relief Band

    in NSCLC GROUP

    Posted

    Hi All -

    A friend of ours who is battling breast cancer told us about this thing called the relief band for nausea. You can get it at any drug store and it has really seemed to help my Dad. You wear the band like a watch around your wrist and then you dial it up when you feel sick. The band stimulates a nerve which helps fight the nausea. My Dad is also on Kytrile and compazine, but with the relief band, when he starts to feel sick, he can turn it on and almost immediately get relief. I know that the band alone would not work, but it has definitely been a helpful tool for him. I think it mentally helps him too.

    They are a bit pricey, around $80, but well worth the money in my opinion if it keeps him comfortable. On the packaging it says the band is for motion sickness, but it works great for chemo patients as well.

    Hope this helps someone,

    Kelly

    Anyone using Celebrex with their chemos?

    in GENERAL

    Posted

    Gail - My Dad's onc started him on celebrex with his first chemo treatment. He's only had two rounds of chemo so far, but he takes 2 celebrex everyday. It's too early to tell yet, but I'll be sure to let you know.

    If you find out any good information about Celebrex, please let us know. I'd love to give it to my Dad to read. He's a bit overwhelmed with all the pills he has to take. It's up to around 42 per day.

    Take care,

    Kelly

    Lucie's Headaches

    in NSCLC GROUP

    Posted

    Don - You and Lucie are in my prayers tonight. I hope that Lucie's headaches are just that - headaches, and that they go away along with her cancer! I wish that for all of us....

    Take care,

    Kelly

    Aspiration pneumonia - Need feedback

    in NSCLC GROUP

    Posted

    Hi all -

    Well, I have good news and bad news to report. The bad news is that Daddy had his first round of chemo two weeks ago Friday. He felt fine Friday and Saturday and then woke up Sunday feeling crummy. He made it through the day without throwing up and slept a lot. Monday he felt better and we thought he had made it through the worst of the chemo. Then Tuesday morning came and he was in terrible pain. His fever reached 101.9 and after Tylenol it went down. I posted about this before and received some good feedback from you all. Turns out we should have carried him to the dr. that day.

    That night we went to bed and at 4am Mom woke me up saying Daddy wasn't responding to her. I ran into their bedroom and he was breathing but would not wake up. We slapped his face and screamed his name, but nothing. We called 911 and got dressed. I went back into the room to try and wake him and he stopped breathing. It was awful. I had to do CPR until the paramedics came. He was intubated and in the ER for 12 hours waiting for a room in ICU. It was by far the worst day of my life. The Dr. in ER told me the chances were higher than 50% that Dad would not survive this. He asked me if I was prepared for my Dad to die and I told him absolutely not. How could anyone ever be prepared for that? I couldn't believe all this was happening after just one chemo. They did xrays and told us that Dad had a lot of pneumonia in his right lung. His oxygen level was down to 38 when he arrived in the ER.

    The good news is this: Dad is doing well. He made it through all of that and got off the ventilator very quickly and was completely breathing on his own within 24 hours of the incident. They gave him powerful antibiotics and he was able to come home from the hospital a week ago today. This past Tuesday, he had xrays that confirmed the pneumonia is gone! So, he beat the odds and made it through this time.

    Now, here is what the Dr. said happened. Dad took too many xanax. He would take them every time he takes pain medicine and over time it was just too much for his system. Plus, he is taking thalidomide with his chemo and that is also a sedative. All of that with additional relaxers -like nausea meds, was too much. So, because he was so "relaxed" he lost his ability to gag and with his acid reflux the contents of his stomach came up and instead of gagging on it, they went down into his lungs and caused him to get aspiration pneumonia. He was sleeping on his right side that night, so it makes sense that his right lung had the pneumonia.

    Dad took a week off of chemo and then had another treatment yesterday. He has been OK, but has started to feel crummy tonight. We are all scared that the pneumonia will come back, but I do feel better about him not taking the xanax. He used to hallucinate a lot and I am convinced that was from the xanax. Since being off of that he doesn't halluciante anymore. The first few nights we were home from the hospital we were all scared to go to sleep. It's really been a stressful time, but I certainly don't have to tell all of you that - you know how it is.

    What do you all know about aspiration pneumonia and lung cancer? I have tried to read some on the internet, but haven't been able to find too much that talks about lung cancer also. I have read that it happens a lot in babies and older patients, but my Dad is just 59. I really hope it was the xanax that caused the pneumonia and the whole episode. I just don't want it to happen again. I really hope the chemo did not play a role in the incident other than to put him in a weakened stated. Have any of you heard of xanax doing this? Or similar stories?

    I'm sorry for writing such a long post, but I want you all to know what is going on. If any of you or your loved ones are taking xanax, please encourage them to take as little as possible. I wouldn't wish what we went through two weeks ago on my worst enemy! It was horrible. But I am thankful that he made it through. I hope this means he is a fighter!

    Thanks for being here,

    Kelly

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