Monday, August 18, 2008

Fatigue

Nate's been having a hard time with fatigue. He was hoping to return to work today but is going to have to put it off at least for another week. He goes to bed between 9-10 each night which is extremely early for him and wakes up between 4-6 a.m. He naps once or twice a day and spends all of his waking time on the couch taking it easy. His appetite is great and he is trying hard to put some of the weight back on that he lost during treatment. He has decided to abandon the vegan diet he was on during chemo in order to do this. He is also experiencing itchy rashes and a numbness in his upper left leg along with uncomfortable swelling in his liver area. It is uncertain if these are caused by the treatment.

I want to mention that in July we did find out that his liver tumor had nearly doubled in size in the six weeks post chemo. We also found out that his lung tumors had shrunk considerably and are now hardly detectable. More good news was that the cancer had not spread anywhere else.

His next scheduled appointment is Oct.7. IL-2 requires a long time to determine if it is having an effect. He was told to call and make an appointment if he had any concerns so I imagine we will do that if he does not improve this week. Please pray for him to have a great turnaround this week and to be energized and ready for work come Monday as this would really help raise his spirits.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi Deb! Thanks for keeping us up to date with everything. Fatigue and lots of rest, eh? I don't know about you, but the whole lots of rest thing sounds good to me! So kick back and enjoy yourself! I do know that is a lot easier for me to say because I am not in your shoes... I do pray that you get your strength back and are able to go to work, all kidding aside. You and your family are on my thoughts and in my prayers.

Love, Charles aka Chuck in Sarasota...

Jimmy Hoogewind said...

i know i speak for the rest of the 1Thingers when i say that we're in your corner, Nate!

we're looking forward to praying with you guys again soon.

Anonymous said...

Hey Nate,

I heard a rumor that perhaps you may be coming back to cell 5. I'm looking forward to chasing around some more voltage leakage with you.
Cell 5 is cursed. Anyways, I just wanted to check in with you and let you know I'm thinking about you. I hope you feel better soon! You are in my prayers.

Jason