Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Chemo on hold

Today was to be the start of my fourth round of chemotherapy.  We showed up at the doctor ready and dreading but willing.  They took a sample of my blood, like always, and then we went to wait in the consult room.  Dr. Tudor came in and began the conversation with "You know, Eric, you are highly unusual".  Why do I always have to be weird?

So, my white blood cell count has continued low and has actually gone slightly lower since last week when it was too low to proceed.  Since it has been four weeks since my last treatment that is not what we would have expected.  In his opinion my body is not responding well to the chemotherapy and he wasn't comfortable going forward with the way things are going.  He knew that we were going to Mayo this next week and wants to wait and hear their opinion before doing anything more.  He then said that perhaps we should stop at three rounds and call it good.  We will have to see what the doctors at Mayo think of all that.  He then said that he thought it was divine inspiration that we chose not to do Methotrexate way back at the start.  In his words, "Had we done methotrexate, it is quite likely it would have killed you....okay, maybe I could have saved you but it would have been close".  For those who follow this blog you may remember that the doctors were split 50/50 on whether or not I should do methotrexate.  It was a hard call for us but we took our question to the temple and asked the Lord.  We received a very clear answer back then that we shouldn't do methotrexate.  It should be no surprise that Heavenly Father knew from the start what would be best.  I am so grateful that once again I have been divinely protected.

Cute little birthday girl
Well, after the doctor left I was dumbfounded.  JoLynne stood up ready to leave and I was just sitting there speechless.  I guess I had an expectation that I would need to suffer for so much longer and now I am being told that perhaps I won't.  I guess it is too early to know that for sure.  We will see what they say at Mayo.  So, here I sit, feeling great when I expected to feel lousy.  I'm not complaining.  Today is Elizabeth's eleventh birthday and it seems I got the nicest present.  When I mentioned that to her, she said, "Having you feel good is the nicest present for me too, daddy".  Boy, I am blessed with good kids.

We leave for Mayo on Monday.  We should have answers from them by Tuesday or Wednesday I would think.  I don't want my cancer to come back but I don't want to die from chemotherapy either.  I am sure the doctors will figure out what balance of risk is best.  In the meantime we are praying that they will be inspired as they consider my case.

8 comments:

  1. I will pray for that for you as well. That the Dr's will know what is best for my dear brother. What a great feeling of relief (almost) for you.

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    1. Thank you Kelly. You are the best sister ever!

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  2. I thought of you all week but just checked your blog. What an amazing turn of events. All the best with your visit to Mayo on Monday. Follow the Spirit as you work though options.

    I've had a good mix of running, swimming, and snowshoeing this week. I'm up to a mile and a half barefoot running. Let's go running this Spring. I might be able to keep up.

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    1. Thank you for being such a good neighbor Steve. If I can just get this leg wound healed up I almost feel well enough to run. Maybe a few more weeks if I don't have to start chemo again.

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  3. We're praying for you Eric and JoLynn! Good luck with your visit to Mayo. I wish I could just make it all go away! :(

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    1. Thank you Nancy. I was in the third ward last week for ward conference. I was looking all around for you and then remembered that you had returned to Jerusalem. Thank you for your support. I am going to be fine. Heavenly Father is looking out for me and it will all work out. I'm glad you are still feeling well. I think about you often. Sometimes when I'm not feeling too cheerful, I think about you walking around the block with a smile for anyone. I want to be more like you.

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  4. We appreciate the updates Dr. Vogel! It's to be expected that you wouldn't feel like writing when you feel so lousy. We continue to pray for you and your family. We feel blessed to have you in our lives, and hope for the very best news next week.

    The Steffensen Family

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    1. You are so sweet Marilyn. The friendship of your family means a great deal to me. I saw your husband at the store the other day. He was so nice and kind, like always. I appreciate you.

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