Long time coming...

This is Chris and Dara, and we would like to take a few minutes to try to bring you up to speed with what is going on. It has been a while and this will take a few minutes, so if you want to go grab a snack or drink, we’ll wait ....

Ok. Where did we leave off ... I think that it was the just before the last CT Scan. The results of the last CT scan were not what we were hoping for. The cancer in the lungs remained stable as the cancer in the liver had "worsened"...

That being said, we had to switch up cocktails, trying to find something that works on both. We switched to Navelbine and Avastin. In the meantime, since the cancer on the liver has worsened, it was causing the liver to swell. As the liver swelled, it did two things. (1) It pushed on the outer lining of the liver where all the nerve endings are (2) Pushed into the gallbladder. Both of these caused Dara very serious pain, so bad that her only comfort was in bed. We tried to manage the pain the best that we could with patches and oral narcotics.

To make a long story short, in order for the pain to be in check, Dara was so snowed that she could not function anywhere close to normal. Dara could never be a drug abuser with pain killers because she couldn't stand the "train-wreck" that came with it. Things got so out of whack, that Dara was hospitalized to try to get her pain controlled. Cindy flew in from Denver and got the grand tour of Beaumont Hospital and was a great help for the week that she was there. The Rolfsens acquired another kid for the week, and for that two, we are grateful and blessed.

We left the hospital with oral pain meds that didn't fly as well. That led us to a more invasive course of action. More invasive, but more efficient. Dara had a pain pump installed in her belly. The pump is the size of a hockey puck, and contains the pain meds. The pumps delivers the meds via a very thin tube, back to her epidural space in the spine/back. Knowing where the nerve endings from the liver/gallbladder attach to the spinal cord, it allows the placement of the catheter exactly where she needs it. This method is 100-125 times more effective than the oral meds, because the meds are delivered to the exact place were it is needed, and doesn't have to be broken down and absorbed into the bloodstream.

The pump can be controlled from a palm-pilot type device that the doc can put over her belly. Dosage can be changed/controlled with this device. Dr. Sikorsky did the procedure on 2/16/07 in Royal Oak and was fantastic to work with... very strait forward and honest...

Since then, we have moved to Colorado ... more specifics will be in the next blog entry... love and peace to all...