03/10/2025
Once again, I've failed with trying to keep everyone up to speed with what's going on with me and my health. It's been a crazy last few months and I'll do my best to keep the events sorted and some type of order.
Back in December I had hip surgery to install pins and rods into my left femur to prevent an "impending fracture". The rod and pins would support the femoral neck as it would get treated by radiation to reduce the tumor found on the neck, further weakening the bone. The surgery went well. I was told no restrictions and recovery time would be short and sweet....
Except when you're the less than 1.5% that can suffer from a condition called "heterotopic ossification" This is a rare condition that causes the body to create literal bone amongst the grains of the muscle near the area of trauma (surgery in my case). As I would find out, this bone growth is EXTREMELY painful, you can touch, feel and see the boney masses, some days the size of a dime, some days flare up to the size of a small bottle cap, those are the most uncomfortable. Always feeling like you're sitting on a golf ball.
After following up with the surgeon and discussions with others, it was determined that there is nothing that could be done as surgery to remove the ossification would be the same "trauma" that caused it in the first place, and likely to cause it to return. And it's possible that after it matures (9mths) the pain may stop on its own.
While that was going on we had wrapped up chemotherapy, and moved back to radiation on the lung, the hip and the lesions on the skin, with only radiation showing any type of success of keeping tumor growth "slowed" or "under control".
We had started an inhibitor call Lumakra. I had taken it for nearly 12 weeks with no indication of side effects. I began to display some digestive issues which would ultimately get me admitted and test would should elevated liver enzymes, indicating that Lumakras plus the Tylenol were starting to beat the liver up. We stopped both for 2 weeks, only to restart with reoccurring symptoms. We are no done with the Lumakras and even Tylenol at this time.
During that same period I've been admitted to the hospital for both IV fluids as well as blood transfusions, the most recent was last week.
Last weeks trip to the hospital started as an e.r. visit due to shortness of breath. It was actually very difficult for me to string words together to create an actual sentence. CT SCAN would indicate that it could be the cancer or pneumonia. I was treated for pneumonia with antibiotics and sent home with a prescription for oxygen.
We actually stuck around the hospital for an extra day or two to try to find a balance of pain medication for the hip. We were able to settle on a medley that seems to keep the hip mostly comfortable, including the ability to walk on it.
That should be the jist of the last few months. I want to thank my friends for helping with things I'm no longer able to do, and especially my wife, she's been by my side every minute, helping me keep this stuff sorted and straight.
I'll try to keep the page more up to speed, but unfortunately, I don't think there will be any substantial y different than the path we're on.
Thanks for taking a minute to read along, hopefully it doesn't cause anyone a punctuation stroke! LOL
