Monceaux.org

Good morning! I bid a good morning to all three people who visit this web site. It has been quite a long time since I've written anything. And I certainly apologize. It's just that I've been a little “busy”.

I would like to thank Kristie for updating the website with news of our happenings. She is doing a wonderful job. And I don't mean just about updating the website. I mean that she is doing a excellent job of taking care of me, taking care of Emma Grace, tending to all of the chores, and many, many other things. Most of all, she has done a wonderful job of being the best darn wife anyone could ask for.

As some of you may have put together that did not know, I have been dealing with cancer for the last eight months or so. I was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Mediastinal large B-cell lymphoma in mid-August 2005. Since then I have gone through six rounds of chemotherapy and have now started radiation. I suppose a quick overview of what has transpired since the last time I wrote anything is in order. You may now mentally picture that special effect they use on TV shows where the main character is thinking back about some event and the screen gets all foggy or wavy and some harps are playing some tune in the background.

This is the quick version of what has happened over the last nine months or so. I may unintentionally leave out some details, but I think Kristie may be writing up a more detailed version of all of this.

In May of 2005, Kristie (with Emma Grace in her belly) and I went out to visit Brad in Atlanta to catch a Braves game. While out there, I started to run a fever and was having problems breathing. We went to a clinic that was open on weekends, and they x-rayed me. I was told I had pneumonia and was given some antibiotics. The doctor also mentioned that there was some kind of mass in my chest and that he was going to send it to a radiologist to take a closer look at. I thought nothing of it and just assumed it was the pneumonia.

After returning home, the doctor's office calls and says that I need to have a CT scan done. So I have a CT scan done and the report shows that there is some kind of mass in my chest, which could be lymphoma, thymoma, or a teratoma. A biopsy was needed before which it was could be determined. So after turning down a needle biopsy in Vicksburg, we head to Monroe.

We meet with Dr. Minor. He is great, and we like him a lot. We decided to go with a mediastinoscopy for the biopsy, as it is supposedly much more reliable than a needle biopsy. On June 20, 2005, I have my first real surgery. I began bleeding during surgery, so they were unable to get as much of a sample as they would have liked. The lab results showed it was cancer, but they couldn't tell which type. So after thinking the biopsy was done, I found out that I needed another one.

One week later, on June 27th, I have my second biopsy. This one was a thoracotomy. The first biopsy went through my neck. This one went between ribs on my left side. This one hurt much more. The results of this biopsy was that there was no cancer and that it was a benign thymoma. A collective sigh of relief was felt by everyone involved.

Since the tumor was benign, Dr. Minor said that I had time before we had to remove the tumor for Kristie and I to help Emma Grace enter the world. The removal of the “benign” tumor was set for August 15th.

On July 8, 2005, our beautiful baby girl, Emma Grace, came quickly into our lives. Kristie's water broke around 2am and we were in the hospital by 3am or so. Labor was going well for Kristie until a little after 9am or so. The doctor felt that the umbilical cord had fallen in front of the baby's head. We learned in the birthing class that this is a very serious problem and required an immediate C-section. Before we knew it, Kristie was in the operating room where they had to put her under since her epidural had not yet had time to fully take effect. A few minutes later, they were bringing Emma Grace out to me. I was not allowed into the room since they were putting Kristie under. Needless to say, I was happy they were both fine even though I had been really freaked out just minutes before.

After a few days in the hospital, Kristie, Emma Grace, and I all got to go home. Having a new baby for the first time is quite nerve-racking. You are constantly scared that you might do something wrong. But overall, babies are pretty resilient little things. They aren't as fragile as you think they might be. I hope to write more about how the parenting thing is going in a separate post. While cliche, it truly is a life-altering experience.

Well, a few weeks came and went, and then it was time for my next surgery. This one was to be an open heart style surgery. They actually were going to crack my chest open and remove the tumor. After having two surgeries under my belt, I guess I thought I was some kind of surgery-having bad ass or something. I didn't expect this one to hurt much worse than the last. WRONG! Some advice…If someone tells you that having your ribs cracked open, spread open, and wired back shut doesn't hurt, beat the crap out of them, because they are lying! Well, the point of this surgery was to remove a tumor. Well, I awoke to find out that they didn't remove anything except a part of the tumor to be tested. Turns out that it was cancer after all. Lymphoma to be a little more precise.

Needless to say, not only was I hurting physically, but the mental and emotional pain was setting in. Little did I know that this was really just the beginning of many months of this crap.

Well, this is a logical stopping point for now, as I am tired of typing. Tune in later for “The Rest of the Story”.

Enjoy the photos in the photo gallery while you wait for part two of this story.

Wes

Well, we are back home. Everything went well with Wes' appt. The doctor said not to worry about the liver. They will monitor his blood work every week or every two weeks. He is scheduled to have blood work done next Wednesday. The dr also said he might start feeling side effects by the end of next week.

We left Houston around 1, and made it to Crowville by 9:30. We stopped for gas, food and diaper changing. Emma Grace slept most of the way. She is such a good travel so far. We will be heading back on Monday after she gets her shots.(if I don't talk myself out of giving them to her…

Well, my eye is better. I got a new pair of glasses, which cost around $200. Thank goodness for insurance or they would have cost A WHOLE LOT MORE. We had to pass time while they made my glasses, so we walked to the ice skating rink that is located in the Galleria Mall. Emma Grace loved watching them skate. She especially loved watching the machine that comes out to smooth the ice out. She is getting so big. She can sit up a little on her own. She loves giving out kisses, and loves to fight sleep. She is afraid she is going to miss something. Well, we are going home tomorrow. Wes has his treatment at 9:45, and then he has to see the dr. We will leave as soon as we come back to pick up my mom and Emma Grace. We will not be back until Monday afternoon. Wes doesn't have radiation on Monday, b/c of MLK day. We are taking Emma Grace to get her six month shots ( I am not looking forward to it) and check-up on Monday, and then we will pick my mom up (that is if we haven't driven her crazy and she doesn't want to come back with us)and head back to Houston. That is all for now, since it is almost 1 am and we have to get up early. I will post this weekend to let everybody know what the dr said. Later, Kristie

Not much has been going on. Wes started radiation yesterday. It didn't take long to do. His appt was at 9:45, and we were back at the apt by 10:30. They said that was the longest the appts would be. Today was the same. It took longer to get valet parked and the valet to get the truck than it did to do the radiation. I have an eye appt today to make sure the abrasion on my eye is better, so we will be adventuring out to do that. Nothing else planned today. We will head home as soon as Wes gets finished with his treatment tomorrow. All for now. Kristie

Well, we finally heard from the MRI. They said everything is ok with the liver, and his radiation will start as schedule on tomorrow. Thank goodness. Now, there is one less thing to worry about. We didn't do much today. We went to see my cousin. He is leaving Thursday for Afghanistan . We made our way back during 5 rush hour. It was quite an experience. All I can say is, I don't know how people get home to enjoy life. By the time they get home, it is time to go to bed. I guess that is all for now. We are going to work on scrapbooking tonight. Wes has radiation at 9:45 in the morning, so no sleeping in. Later, Kristie

Well, we don't have much to report today. The nurse said the MRI results will not be ready until tomorrow.
Yesterday, we didn't do too much. We went to Borders, so Wes could find a book he wanted. We also visited Target, Dollar Tree and Wal-Mart(we will NOT go back to that Wal-Mart, even though it is close). We haven't done much today either. Wes has been working, I have been cleaning up and playing with Emma Grace, and Grammy has been cleaning up, playing with Emma Grace and took a nap. It has been very warm here today, so we have had the windows open and the balcony door open. It is suppose to rain tomorrow and cool down. Well, that is all to report now. Kristie

Wes had his test on Friday night. He said it wasn't too bad. We were the only ones there, since it was at 8:45. When we got there, they were waiting on us b/c several people didn't show up for their test. When we always get to appts early, we usually have to wait an hour or longer so we decide not to go early. Oh, well, it was very quiet in there. On Saturday, my mom and I went to Hobby Lobby and Target to get a few things we forgot to get on Thursday. Later on that afternoon, we went to pick my cousin, Shannon, up to take him out to eat. He is down here waiting to go to Afghanistan to work. Crazy, but he will make lots of money. The trip there was an experience. I don't think the traffic here is ever slow. The way we were suppose to go had construction on it, so we had to get off or we might still be sitting there. We just navigated our way north and finally made it to I-10. Luckly, the neighborhoods we were traveling in were very nice until we got to the interstate. I-10 wasn't so bad, but oh my, I-45 was like 5:00 rush hour.
I-45 takes you to Dallas from Houston. There were six lanes and all six lanes were FULL, but we finally made it. We ate at Saltgrass, which is VERY good. On the way back, it was no different. There was a wreck at 610 and I-45, so traffic was VERY backed up. I-45 travels through downtown Houston, and the traffic never let up. We finally made it to an exit close to where we needed to get off and GOT off and made our way back. My sister, Tammy, would have been in the floorboard screaming like a baby. Emma Grace slept through the whole thing.

Well, today is Emma Grace's six month birthday. We are about to go out and find some party hats and a cake to enjoy. Well, we will enjoy the cake, and she will enjoy a tasty bottle and some type of tasty baby food. Hopefully, tomorrow we will know something on the MRI. I will post as soon as we know. Kristie

Well, we are in Houston. For those of you who don't know why, Wes is having radiation. For those of you who don't know why he is having radiation, he was diagnosed with large b cell non-hodgkins lymphoma in August. He finished up chemo in early December. We have rented an apt here in Houston, and it is very nice. He might put up photos in the near future. We arrived in Houston on Wednesday, January 4. He had an appt on Thursday, January 5 with his radiation dr to find out how long we will be staying here. He also had blood taken and a chest x-ray done that morning to check the liver enzymes. The reason for this was b/c they saw something on the liver when we were here two weeks ago, but his blood work was fine, so his lymphoma dr was a little confused. The liver enzymes yesterday were slightly elevated, so they have order an MRI tonight at 8:45. If everything appears to be fine, he will start radiation on Wednesday, January 11 and end on Friday, February 10. He got his tattoos this morning, so they will make sure they are hitting the right spot. I don't think he enjoyed it.

Emma Grace is loving her new home away from home. Bless her heart, she has been in more places in her 6 months of life than most people have in a life time. She doesn't seem to mind. She is the happiest baby, except when she is hungry or she thinks she needs attention. She has been enjoying hanging out on the balcony with her grammy the past two days. It is really nice, and the weather has been too. Well, it is almost time for us to leave for the MRI. I will try to post everyday to let everyone know how things are going. Please pray that we will get good news from the MRI, which should be ready late Monday or Tuesday. Kristie