We didn't get out the other day, BUT, we did get out today since I had an out of town meeting in Orlando. Pat came with me AND went to the mall, after my meeting we went to Steak and Shake and he ACTUALLY ATE french fries and a milkshake! This morning a cheese omelet before we left. This may actually be his first 2000 calorie day! We are still pretty much in shut down mode after 5ish, that's when the gunk starts and the throat dries out and starts getting painful, any night time tips would be appreciated. Temp is still slightly up just at night but never over 100. Neck is totally healed and never looks like anything was done. We see the Dr on Tuesday and I requested bloodwork. I am also going to talk to them about taking a culture of the mucous just to make sure there is no infection since I have a sore throat and drainage (Pat thinks it is out of sympathy :-) . Anyway, GREAT day and 1 week and 2 days after the final radiation see a HUGE difference. One thing that really helped was an old school pharmacist that advised me to give him and OTC antihistamine. This has worked fantastic on the build up of mucous at night. The outing really did Pat good today and the weather is not an issue, we are in Florida and it was 84 today :-)

He seems to be one of the "lucky" ones that recovers quicker than most, at least let's hope so.

Thank you David, we are hoping so. We have a follow up today including bloodwork so are hoping for the counts to be up so we can enjoy some time with the grandbabies on Thanksgiving. Last night was a rough one that the pain pills did not even touch and slight temperature every night around 6 is still popping up. I still feel he may have some infection and will be talking to the doctor about whether the 5 days of antibiotics were enough or if he would benefit from another dose.

Hi Deb,
What happened at the Dr's? Anxious to know how you are.
Kathy

We had new bloodwork and the Dr. did not seem concerned about the counts, he also gave us an all clear to have the grandbabies here for the holidays. We are still being careful but Pat has survived Walmart and just uses a lot of Germex. No comment he has had cabin fever! We are 16 days out from the last treatment, he has lost in total 20 lbs so we are working hard to get some meat back on his bones. Challenges we are still facing: Since he lost so much weight the pain patch had to be reduced, we though he was ODing and went to the ER. He is still struggling at night with eating but the fevers are gone finally. Thanksgiving he could barely eat and the next day was able to so eating is still hot and cold. We are adding things in daily and his ultimate goal is still to be able to go out for ribs! We have decided that going to a buffet will be our next step so he can experiment with different foods without wasting them. The mucous has thinned thanks to the aforementioned Pharmacist that recommended the antihistimines. Day by day now and seeing baby steps each day.

That's great news!! Kevin has been out quite a bit the past 2 weeks. So far he's been healthy, so I think his immune system has kicked in. He has a sedation scope on the 6th and a high contrast CT on the 20th. Nervous, but praying and letting God have it!
I bet it was wonderful to have the grandbabies there! Our 7 year old granddaughter was here, but our 8 year old granddaughter lives in Alaska. She lived with us for the last 2 years, so I missed her horribly.
I'm glad the fevers are gone. That would have worried me, but it could have been from the pain I would think.
Thanks for the update. Talk to you soon.
Kathy

Be patient with his recovery. I didn't start to gain weight, despite eating tons of fattening foods, until at least one year had passed.

I wondered about that David. Kevin has now lost 40 pounds and has been eating quite a bit. He had lost 36 lbs at the end of tx. We went to the docs today just to have a spot on his tongue checked for infection and he had lost 4 more pounds. I was really surprised. He was a bit overweight to start with and now looks great, (not the diet plan I would recommend however!), but I wouldn't want him to continue to lose. Why do you think you continue to lose? Did increasing calories help. Sounds like it didn't with what you said about fattening foods. Also, how long did the mucositis hang on?
Kathy

Thanks David, he has also started lifting weights and working out again so I am not as concerned about him gaining weight as I am making sure he gets his calorie intake in. He is starting to be able to take some of his of the vitamins he was taking for his work outs so I am sure those will help with the cell repair and weight gain too once he adds the whey protein in. Every day is another eating gift and tonight's Stuffed Shells in marinara sauce went down with no problem (our first attempt at tomato sauces). Reminder the ultimate goal is Ribs! Kathy, Pat still struggles with the mucous too, the meat tenderizer gargle rinse does work as well as the over the counter antihistamines. He still has a bothersome sore on his tongue so was wondering about that and what to do about it. Will be thinking about you and praying the tests all come out fantastic!

Asking for advice on sores on the tongue. I searched the forums but could not find a specific answer on what to do for it. Pat just has one place on his tongue that stays very irritated. Is is normal protocol and should we have asked for maintenance dosage of antibiotics? I just want to be sure that we are not letting anything go that is not "right" as though any of this is "right" . I am so thankful to have found you all, thank you for your help!