Monday July 25 through Wednesday August 3, 2011

Okay after the latest lengthy missal I'll try to keep this short and to the point.

I really appreciate all of the phone calls, prayers and well wishes, but I figure if I can get a bunch of folks keeping up with the symptoms and daily developments on this blog it will leave more time on the phone for positive conversations, prayer and general catching up. Please feel free to leave comments and to call me at any time. I'll do my best to get back with you as soon as I possibly can. Please understand if it takes awhile, just bear with me.

So, Monday the 25th was fairly uneventful as I worked from home, adjusted to the new meds and a different sleeping schedule than normal (it seems like I didn't really get good sleep until about 4AM) still coping with some sporadic itching.

Tuesday Morning the 26th I woke up with a terrible eye infection in my left eye. I got right in to the eye Dr. and was diagnosed with an ulcerated cornea. Which is the result of wearing a soft contact in my left eye (only) for way too long. Anyway it hurt to keep my eye open and it hurt to close it. I got antibiotic drops and went home. It was a very painful experience but I kept putting the drops in every chance i got and by the time I got up Wednesday everything with the eye was good.

Wednesday I kept up the drops, worked from home and continued to make appointments for the following week (actually this week).

Thursday a return to the eye Dr. confirmed that my eye was doing well and I was scheduled for a follow-up a week later.

Friday I worked from home in the morning and had a Dr.'s appointment in the afternoon with the general practitioner who tried to wrangle all of the specialists together for me in the hospital. We chatted about the plan which was to work with Dr.'s in Burnsville, The Mayo Clinic and The U (University of Minnesota) hospital to triangulate on a solid diagnosis and develop a comprehensive treatment plan. He ran some blood tests (I've had quite a few of those lately, kind of surprised I'm not tapped out) and we generally agreed that we would make sure that all test results were forwarded to him and we would continue to use him as an advisor through this process.

The one weird piece of the puzzle is wildly erratic PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) numbers. On Monday the 18th the blood test showed that it was about 8,300 (remember 0.0-4.0 is good), in the hospital it was taken at least twice with one test showing 99 and another that showed 4,000+, another test showed it was immeasurable (off the charts). So it would be nice to get some answers regarding this. Although in any case the number is not good.

The weekend was very chill. Braden came over Saturday, we went to the store and bought a bunch of stuff to grill and eat (and He split the grocery bill with me, which was an awesome gesture) then we headed home and got to fixing dinner: Grilled steaks, chicken and shrimp; cilantro lemon marinated asparagus and green beans; sweet corn, coleslaw and potato salad. It was a great time. Braden did all of the grilling and did a masterful job!

Sunday we went to church, got blessed and prayed for then headed home for some leftovers and a big nap. Again, thanks for everybody's phone calls, facebook posts (to sherry's wall), texts, emails, etc!!!! They mean so much. Especially the prayers of Faith everyone is offering up. See James Chapter 5 regarding the prayer of faith.

Monday the 1st I headed in to NPC to work for the first time in weeks. Thanks Norm, Rich and the rest of the great team for all of your incredible support and understanding. It is overwhelming!!! I worked from 10ish to 4PM and was pretty worn out, so I headed home.

Tuesday Morning the 2nd I had an appointment with the urologist I had seen a few years earlier. He listened, evaluated what he could of the test information we could provide and recommended hormone therapy (drugs which stop testosterone production which tends to relieve symptoms and shrink testosterone positive tumor tissue). I'm not too keen on the hormone thing since it induces Manopause and can lead to hot flashes and other similar symptoms and the results of the therapy are strictly palliative (deals with symptoms but doesn't cure the disease). He didn't seem too concerned with the continued jaundice and/or kidney function. So we really didn't feel he engaged too much in the process.

Tuesday night (last night) Sherry and I drove down to Rochester to stay at her parents since my appointment was at 6AM at The mayo Clinic. My Mom and Dad were gracious enough to stay at the house with Breanna and the dog. Thanks Mom & Dad!!!

This morning Wednesday August 3rd we showed up at the Mayo Clinic, with our 20 pages of paperwork filled out. I gave a blood sample and a specimen then we headed up to see the urologist. They work as a team of 3 a Dr. a Physician's assistant and a nurse. The Dr. introduced himself and his team we had a brief chat regarding the seriousness of the situation and he excused himself and left me in the capable hands of his PA. After an hour and a half of various questions, his recording previous tests in their database and a prostate exam he set up: extensive blood testing and another specimen; a Lupron Depot hormone shot 7.5mg(a one month dose), an EEG and an appointment for tomorrow to have some shunts put into my kidneys. This is in order to help them drain properly and relieve them of the pressure they have been under for the last month. The shunts will come out my back and run into a bag. Not my idea of a great time but... I'll deal with it.

The idea is to restore optimal kidney function so that they can move ahead with high contrast diagnostics. The contrast dyes they use put an excess burden on my kidneys and they didn't want to do that while the kidney function was compromised.

So tomorrow morning I will report to St. Mary's at 7AM to have the surgery performed and then they want to keep me overnight for observation to make sure there are no complications from the shunts. I'm okay with that!

I'll update this as I can in the next few days, so that you all are on top of the situation. I should be home sometime Friday. Current plans call for further testing the 17th of August at Mayo. In the interim I have a few appointments in the Twin Cities with Oncologists and at the U to continue to sort through things!

In the interim I know a few things:
1. According to Deuteronomy 28:61 Prostate Cancer and Metastasized Prostate Cancer are part of the curse of the Law and pertain to the Old Testament (Covenant).
2. According to Galatians 3:13 Christ has redeemed me from the curse of the law and made me (through my confession of Him as my Savior) an heir to a better Covenant with better promises!!!

Therefore, I am redeemed from Prostate Cancer and it's metastasis and consequently it has no place in my body. If you are not a Christian and are reading this it may be confusing, I am happy to explain it. If you are a Christian, then I appreciate your prayers of agreement, which line up with the fact that it is God's will to heal me and everyone who believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ!

Thanks again for all of your prayers and support!!! I Love You All!

PD aka Bucky