Rain Delay

 

 

 

The ground crew has put the tarp on the infield, some players are taking cover in the locker room and others are using the tarp as a giant slip and slide while Larry is using this time to recover. To him it feels like the longest rain delay in the history of baseball!

 

Since his surgery on June 5th, Lar has put all of his energy into recovering from a brutal surgery. Recovery means he can start chemo. The major opponent keeping him from recovering has been infection. And with each new infection comes another hospital stay and another round of antibiotics. I am truly grateful that we have antibiotics to fend off these infections, don't get me wrong, however the side effects that they bring to a cancer patient are extremely frustrating. The biggest being appetite. It completely disappears. After having the HIPEC done during surgery, his appetite was already pretty non-existent, but then to add on heavy antibiotics, his appetite has been extinct! If a guy can't eat he does not have the strength to recover. And the vicious cycle continues....

This rain delay is taking place in a beautiful room with a view at Northwestern Hospital.

 



 

It looks like he will wake up to this view a couple more mornings, until all his tests results come back and the doctors feel confident they have the infection under control.

Larry was anxiously waiting to meet with Dr. Stein, the oncologist, on Friday to go over next steps with his treatment plan. Now that he is in the hospital, I am not sure this will happen. Just like any typical rain delay, the outcome is out of our control.

once the rain delay is over and we get word from the commish, I will update you all. In the meantime, please keep my brother in your thoughts and prayers (if that is your thing)....he is the strongest person I have ever met and it is so DAMN unfair that he has to go through this.

 

 Please join us..It would mean a lot to my family and especially my brother!

and if you can't join us please consider making a donation.

 

 SAVE THE DATE....

GET YOUR REAR IN GEAR 2017

 

 If you haven't already please sign up for the Get Your Rear in Gear 5k on Saturday, September 23rd at 9:00am at Montrose Harbor. Here is the link to sign up: SIGN UP HERE 

We have a great time, celebrating Lar and his journey. It would mean a great deal to him, my mom and me to see you there.

 

Sox it to it Lar...



Bumps in the Road

 

 

The last few weeks have been a bunch of Bumps in the Road for Larry. I guess that is to be expected when a guy gets his entire colon removed, tumors removed (in very complicated areas) and a last minute HIPEC. After being home for a week, Larry developed an infection and had urine leaking into his abdomen. As hard as his doctor tried to keep him out of the hospital, the infection proved to be too strong to fight without the help of round-the-clock care. While in the hospital, they got the infections (yep, more than one) under control with heavy IV antibiotics. He also had an abscess drained and another drain put in to stop the urine leakage. After another week in the hospital, he broke out feeling much better than when he went in. He is still trying to find his appetite and strength, but is feeling stronger each day. The next step is to get him healthy enough to start another round of chemo.

 

 





Lar breaking out of the hospital last week

 



 



 SAVE THE DATE....

GET YOUR REAR IN GEAR 2017

 

 If you haven't already please sign up for the Get Your Rear in Gear 5k on Saturday, September 23rd at 9:00am at Montrose Harbor. Here is the link to sign up: SIGN UP HERE 

We have a great time, celebrating Lar and his journey. It would mean a great deal to him, my mom and me to see you there.

 

Sox it to it Lar...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 





Recovering AT HOME

 

 

 

Larry came home Sunday and is officially starting his recovery. Management of the pain and eating is his primary goal for the next few weeks. Once he is healed from surgery, another round of chemo is up next.

 

 

Sox it to it Lar...

5th Surgery is in the books

 

Larry's 5th surgery is in the books. It was the longest and the most complicated to date, but in true Larry fashion he is already sitting up and actually walked a little today.

Dr. Salti started at 10:30am and finished around 7:00pm. Here's all that was accomplished:

• Colon removal ✅
• 2 known tumor removal ✅ (with the help of a urologist)
• Ostomy ✅
• Explore the abdominal cavity and remove any tumors ✅
• HIPEC (heated chemo) ✅

 Larry definitely got the full service surgery. With the help of a Urologist Dr. Salti was able to remove the 2 tumors that were by the prostrate and the tailbone. They were causing him a lot of pain so good riddance!  If you remember the doctor was worried he wouldn't be able to get to the tumors, however once he decided to remove the colon it made it much easier. The two doctors felt it was NOT necessary to remove his prostrate, so he at least got to keep that organ!
The ostomy was a success and he was able to place it in a much better spot than his previous one. This will help greatly moving ahead while Larry gets used to shitting in a bag again.
Dr. Salti also did an extensive exploration throughout Larry's abdominal cavity making sure the cancer did not spread to any major organs. Colon cancer likes to spread and spread quickly. We are happy to report that there were no tumors on anything major (ie. liver, lung, etc.). He did find a couple tumors floating around so he removed those.
After Larry was all cleaned out, Dr. Salti went ahead and did another HIPEC. We were not expecting this, however Larry's body responded very well to the first one, so we welcomed the second one.
As you all can imagine it was a LOONNNGGG day. I don't know how surgeons do it...we were exhausted and all we did was sit and wait. We did have a little excitement while in the waiting room. Probably 2 hours into his surgery the lights went out. Literally the electricity went out at the hospital! Not what you want to happen when your loved one is in the operating room. I've never been more grateful for back-up generators! We asked Salti about it and he said that was the first time that has ever happened to him. 

So now what?!?! 

Larry will be in the hospital for maybe a week. As you can imagine his body is in complete shock with everything that was done. Salti did 3 surgeries in 1. Larry's pain is manageable but intense! It seems to be getting better each day. Today he even got up and walked! (Sometimes I think he is not human).
 After he gets released from the hospital he will recover at home for a couple more weeks. Once his doctors feel that he is healed and  his body can handle it, Dr. Stein will start chemo. The tumors that Dr. Salti took out were sent out to be tested. The lab will extract the mutation that is causing the cancer to grow and match it with the best chemo to fight the cancer. In some cases, the best chemo might be chemo that they use for a totally different cancer. THANK YOU to modern medicine and cancer funding!

Again, thank you to the LRM Crew and supporters for all of your positive thoughts, encouraging words, prayers and good vibes. You will never know how much we appreciate it and how much it keeps us going. Please keep them coming as Larry recovers!
As always, I will keep you posted on his recovery.

xoxo

Sox it to it Lar...

No Colon Still Rollin!!

 

Who needs a colon, anyway?! Apparently not my brother.

 

 

 

WOW! Time is such a weird concept when dealing with cancer. I felt like I just typed the previous post, but looking back its been over a month and a half.   

To refresh your memories, I broke the news to you in the last post that Larry's cancer had come back-they found two tumors outside of the colon. We were waiting for the team to meet to discuss next steps..blah blah blah... Well, in the meantime he had a colonoscopy done and they found two more 'spots' inside the colon that we now know are also tumors-one in the ascending colon and the other in the descending colon. DAMN YOU CANCER I HATE YOU! I just want to keep screaming that!
These tumors are quite sizeable and need to come out ASAP. Luckily Larry, had a surgery scheduled for Monday, June 5th already set to remove the other two. So, all the tumors will be removed, as well as, his entire colon! Yep, you read that right - as of Monday afternoon Larry will be colonless. His team of doctors feel this is the best course of action. DAMN YOU CANCER I HATE YOU!
He will sport another colostomy bag.... I don't want to say it will be permanent - there is a 5% chance that if he can go cancer-free for 3 years, they may be able to lift his small intestine and reconnect again, so for right now it is one of those 3 year temporary bags.
The tumors they remove will be sent out and studied to determine the type of chemo needed to fight this cancer FOR GOOD! After he recovers from this surgery he will start yet another round of targeted chemotherapy. DAMN YOU CANCER I HATE YOU!!

As always, keep Larry and my family in your thoughts and prayers. We really could use them right now. This is definitely not the news we were expecting. Like he always does, Larry is facing this news with bravery and optimism but let's face it this all really sucks! DAMN YOU CANCER I HATE YOU!

I will be driving up to Chicago tomorrow to spend some much needed quality time with my family this weekend and then staying for the surgery on Monday.
I will update you after the surgery.

xoxo

Sox it to it Lar....
 

My brother fights cancer what's your super power?

Got off the phone...grabbed my computer....sat on the couch...opened computer...typed the URL for this blog...let out sigh...sitting here in disbelief that I am typing another entry on this blog...tears roll down cheek...scroll through pictures of my brother....see this one...

..wipe my tears...type.

I REALLY hate that I am typing these words but here it goes.....

My brother's cancer is back.

After a routine CT scan and a follow-up PET Scan today, we found out my brother has 2 new tumors-one by his prostate and other behind his colon by his sacrum (tailbone area). As you all can imagine this was a big blow. He has been on a grueling treatment of chemo and blood thinning meds (the chemo caused blood clots in his lung) and he was hoping to actually be done with both after this CT Scan. 

We don't know the 'plan' yet. After today's visit, we are guessing Dr. Salti will perform another HIPEC surgery. Obviously, the cancer cells have found a way around the chemo that he was on. The HIPEC will get chemo to places that oral/transfused chemo cannot reach. It sounds ridiculous but I feel SO grateful that the HIPEC exists. As tough as this surgery is my brother is tougher! He has the superpowers that can deal with anything that cancer puts in his way.

There are no words to convey the strength-both physically and mentally-that my brother exudes every day of his life. He has been through more in 4.5 years than any one person should be. He has beat the odds and without a doubt will continue to beat the shit out of cancer. He continues to fight like hell, never complains, and has kept his sense of humor through out all of this.

Please keep my family in your thoughts and prayers. This roller coaster ride that we continue to be on, is taking a toll on everyone. My brother makes cancer look easy--that's his superpower. But it's not easy. It's so damn hard!

I can't thank the LRM Crew for all of your support throughout the years. I don't know where my family would be without each and every one of you. We need your support now more than ever. 

What is it?? Top of the 8th? Watch out cancer...my brother sitting back and waiting for his pitch to knock you out of the park. FOR GOOD!

Sox it to it Lar... 

Quite a Rollercoaster ride

Since you last heard from me, we have been on the craziest roller coaster ride of our lives. On February 11th we got the news that Larry's scans came back with 'no evidence of cancer'. As you can imagine we were thrilled! We knew Lar had one more surgery left-to reverse the colostomy bag and then be done with this cancer thing for good. Surgery was schedule for March 1st. Before the surgery was scheduled, Larry went in for a colonoscopy to make sure the colon and the colostomy was still healthy. During the procedure the doctor found another site that he thought may be cancerous. He took a biopsy of the area. On top of that, the doctor was only able to go 12 cm in without getting resistance. We went from putting our hands in the air while enjoying the roller coaster ride to holding on for dear life. After a round of chemo, the last thing you want to hear is that there is still cancer. And the thought that the colon may have twisted or turned and that is why the doctor's scope would not go through would mean another surgery to repair it and no reversal. The March 1st surgery was cancelled. Once again we held our breaths for the biopsy results and Larry was scheduled for a dialated anastomoses for March 4th. This procedure was to further investigate why the doctor was not able to get through the colon. 
The biopsy came back negative, and yet again we let out a huge sigh of relief. The dilated anastomoses worked and they found absolutely nothing wrong with the colon, it was scar tissue from the previous surgeries that was blocking the colon. Another huge sigh of relief. We were anticipating another surgery date for the reversal of the colostomy bag (easy peezy), so we could be done with this cancer thing for good. 
Dr. Salti was on board and wanted to take the 'monitor and see' approach-just the reversal surgery. However, after Dr. Salti and Dr. Stein talked it was determined that Dr. Salti would do an 'exploratory' surgery to take a look and see if he spotted any cancer with the possibility of another HIPEC. And hopefully reverse the colostomy. This is not what we anticipated or expected. We thought it would be a simple reversal surgery, however Dr. Stein wanted to be more aggressive and didn't want to take the 'monitor and see' approach. Since we have been on this cancer journey the greatest comfort we have had is that Larry is in the best care with the team that we assembled. We needed to trust their decision. After our disappointmet and shock wore off, we wrapped our heads around another major surgery with the possibility of the HIPEC. Although, Larry healed like a rockstar after the last intense HIPEC procedure, I did not want to see him go through that all over again if he didn't absolutely need it. 

So...I am typing this from the waiting room, while Larry is in surgery. As he was wheeled away to surgery, we have no idea what he is in for, and 2 hours into the surgery we still don't know. As always I will keep you all updated on the outcome of whatever surgery he is currently enduring. It's kind of like riding on space mountain - we are in the dark and don't know when there will be a twist or turn. 

Sox it to it, Lar....