Gobble Gobble

Thanksgiving was delicious. Our menu consisted of:

turkey

tofurkey

green bean casserole

mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy

dinner rolls

stuffing

sweet potato casserole

cranberry sauce and relish

apple pie a la mode

pumpkin pie with cool whip

Amazingly, everything was vegetarian...except for Marjorie and Terry's turkey of course. For Andy's sake, I posted a picture of the turkey along with the tofurkey. The tofurkey is the one that is darker in color. It even comes with stuffing inside and a fake wishbone. We haven't gotten to the wishbone yet. It tasted really good and is much easier to cook than a real turkey. Jason wasn't able to eat a lot, but luckily he was able to taste a little bit of everything.

When we were planning our thanksgiving menu, we were trying to figure out how to do a vegetarian version of the sweet potato casserole. It requires marshmallows, but because marshmallows contain gelatin, Jason can't have them. So we looked for vegan marshmallows online, but the company that used to sell them went out of business. I found a recipe on how to make them. Instead of using gelatin, you use agar. Those of us in science are very familiar with agar, we use it on a daily basis to grow bacteria. I was able to purchase agar through amazon and Marjorie followed the vegan marshmallow recipe exactly. Well, our marshmallows never got firm enough. They tasted good, but never got to the proper consistency. We were debating if we should try the recipe again, but decided to check the internet for tips first. We were soon to find out that many people had tried this recipe and failed. One person tried 4 times and never could get it to work. So we gave up and ended up buying marshmallow creme. We used a few spoonfuls on top of the casserol and it came out great. It didn't get toasty like it does when you use real marshmallows, but it was still scrumptious. I think it was the best sweet potato casserole I have ever had! I'll have to have Marjorie post the recipe if anyone is interested.

Jason was just commenting on the names of stores in Houston and how ludicrous they are. There are 3 furniture stores with the worst names possible.

The Dump

Fingers

Conn's

Would anyone buy furniture at a store with one of these names? And the commercials come on all the time...they make us laugh.

Today we went to the hospital because Jason was scheduled to have another blood draw. We got there and the lab was closed. It looked like it had been closed all day long. Nice of them to tell us! Oh well, it got us out of the house for a while. The rest of the day has been spent watching Ninja Warrior on G4. Marjorie and I think its time to watch a chick flick after being exposed to man tv all day long.

The final picture I have posted is Jason in the new beanie that his mom made for him. She has been crocheting all week. The beanie looks so cute on him!

I'd like to thank everyone for their great ideas on what Jason should eat when nauseated. Keep sending those ideas, we will probably try them all. Also I wanted to thank the Beals for the Thanksgiving care package they sent. The popcorn and candy theme is perfect for us with all the movies we have been watching lately. Also, we have no Christmas decorations, so Ramona and Randy Reindeer are a great start. Thanks again!!

Sleepless in Houston

Well, yesterday turned out to be a little more eventful than we hoped for. Jason was pretty nauseous during the day. So we spent much of the day just trying to get him to eat and drink and keep his medicine down. So much for fancy and expensive anti-emetics, Jason was just as nauseated as usual even after all the new medications he was prescribed. We went to the hospital for blood work and came home planning on a nice relaxing night. As soon as we sat down to watch Heroes, I got a phone call from a nurse at the melanoma clinic and she said that Jason needed an emergency infusion of Magnesium because his levels were dangerously low. We went back to the hospital at 8 pm and the infusion took 4 hours. Jason and I didn't get home until 1:30 am. Then, I tried to get him to eat again because he had hardly eaten all day. After a small meal, we finally were able to get to sleep...at around 2:30 in the morning.

Today we luckily were able to sleep in until noon. We didn't even make it downstairs until 2:30 this afternoon...it takes a while to get Jason showered, iron both our clothes, and then get showered and dressed myself. So we were eating breakfast at 3. Our schedule got pretty screwed up. Jason still isn't eating really well. If anyone has ideas for foods to eat when feeling nauseated, I would love to hear them. I guess chemo changes your taste buds too, so some things that Jason used to like don't appeal to him anymore. He lost 17 pounds since his last treatment, so I am trying really hard so he will not lose any more weight. So if anyone you know went through chemo, please ask them what tasted good to them.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving! Terry is flying in tonight and we are all very excited to see him. We have all kinds of delicious foods we are going to make, so hopefully some of them will taste good to Jason. I can't wait to bite into our delicious tofurkey!

Happy Thanksgiving...we will miss not being with you!!!

Preparing for Tofurkey Day

As Terry mentioned yesterday, we escaped the hospital...barely. Jason was nauseated first thing in the morning when the nurse was in the room. She told the doctor that she didn't think Jason was ready to leave. Luckily, we had everyone already convinced that we were going to be leaving Sunday. When the nurse practitioner came in, Jason was seated in a chair with a smile on his face watching television. He had his game face on and it worked...we got our freedom! We also managed to aquire an increased and more effective dose of pain killers and new nausea medicine to try out during his recovery period to make it as enjoyable as possible.

Today was Tofurkey preparation day. Marjorie came home with an SUV full of groceries. Boy I hope Jason will have his appetite ready for Thursday! Jason spent most of the day asleep, but this is a good thing. We have both been sleep deprived for a week, so it is definitely nice to catch up on some ZZZZs. We also gave him a dose of Lasik to try to get some more of the water weight off. I'm not sure how effective it was. It works a lot better when given through IV at the hospital. They must be using a much larger dose. So for now we are letting Jason rest and trying to feed him mini meals all day long so as not to upset his stomach. Later this week, we will really focus on trying to help him get his strength back. He says he is feeling very weak and it is a battle for him to make it up the stairs each night.

Jason has a lot of distension (looks like beer belly but isn't) from the cancer in his liver. The full belly doesn't allow him to eat much at any one time. The doctor kept talking about tapping it off. He kept bringing it up everyday...he wants to tap Jason like a keg of beer. I guess this involves using ultrasound and a large needle to pull water from the ascites. This doesn't sound fun. The problem is, he will just fill right back up with water when he gets IV fluids during the next round of chemo. We might consider doing this procedure after he has finished his final dose of biochemotherapy because the results might last longer.

One interesting thing that happened yesterday when we were leaving the hospital is we ran into the nephrologist that treated Jason when he had kidney failure due to the high dose Interleukin treatment. He told us that because of Jason, they started a program at MD Anderson to study Interleukin and its affects on the kidneys. Hopefully someday they will be able to better protect patient's kidneys when giving this kind of therapy. It was cool that this was started because of their experience with Jason.

Well, that's all I have to write for tonight. We go into the hospital tomorrow for blood work and the rest of the day we will play by ear depending on how Jason is feeling. Marjorie and I might make a quick trip to Target to pick up some last minute Thanksgiving items. We miss everyone. And we are glad to be back at the townhouse!

Its Good to be "Home"

Jason came home today, a day earlier than they had expected. He is still very tired.

The internet is still down but they are supposed to come tomorrow and replace the modem. Debby will post when the link is back up.

Dad

Sleep's a Good Thing

Jason was really tired today but he did manage to get out and walk. Most of the day he just slept and slept and slept! Debby and I got a lot of reading done.

Jason was sleeping when an all too chipper physical therapist came in at 8:30 this morning and asked him if he was ready to do his exercises. He told her NO, and she turned around and left. I think he scared her away because she never came back.

All of the staff are talking about him going home on Monday. Jason said if we tell enough people he’s going home Sunday, they’ll start believing it!

Did You Get The Number On That Truck?

Since Jason's chemo is started in the evenings, he and Debby don't get much sleep and have found that usually the best time to sleep is from 8:00 - 11:00 AM. Except today they had visitors in and out all day long. Two different therapists came in. Pain management came in a couple times to discuss more effective medications.

He's feeling the chemo more now. He's more tired and finds it harder to walk. They told him the first two days he would feel like a Toyota truck hit him and the last two days he would feel like a Mac truck hit him. That's probably pretty accurate. So far he has weathered this round better than most of us thought he could. He is pushing himself to do what he can to help, such as going for walks at least two to three times each day.

They are trying out new anti nausea drugs because the ones he has been using at home were not working that well, and they told him that with the medications they have today he should not have any nausea. They also started him on Dopamine to help lose the water weight he has put on and he hopes to be out by Sunday.

Marjorie

Another Good Day

Jason's hemoglobin was low this morning at 8.5, but this afternoon it had gone up to 9.5. So at least for now he doesn't need a blood transfusion.

He's walking two to three times a day this time trying to keep his legs and body in condition to move.

Kristy, I made your Banana Nut Bread before Jason went into the hospital - delicious! It made enough that I'm bringing it in them this week, so they are still enjoying it. You spoiled Jason with your potato soup too. He likes your's better than the hospital's and the hospital usually has pretty good food.

We watched the movie "Amazing Grace" today. It was a good movie.

Marjorie

Second Day

Today went pretty well for Jason. He got in a couple walks and except for some nausea he felt pretty good. The drugs he gets for nausea while in the hospital are quite effective. He did have a bout with abdominal pain but the drugs they provided knocked it down fairly quickly.

He has a new doctor this week that he hasn't had before. This doctor is actually the head of the melanoma clinic.

A nutritionist came in who was very helpful in giving us ideas for foods to fight nausea and how to add protein to his diet. She was especially helpful because she is a vegetarian herself.

Debby brought in a candy jar she labeled "NURSE FUEL". Everybody loves it!

Terry for Marjorie again. Network problems at the condo.

The Bell Rings on Round Three

Our internet is down so the Team Jensen is posting tonight. Debby and Marjorie wrote the post, Marjorie dictated it to Terry who finally is posting it.

We saw Dr. Kim today. Jason’s test results came back with mixed responses. Regarding his blood work, the LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) improved tremendously. LDH is a blood marker representative for tumor load and stress on the body. It went from 8,005 on October 1, to 972 last Thursday. The normal level is 313 to 618. He’s close.

All the other blood work has also improved except for ALP (alkaline Phosphatase), which is a measure of liver disease. It was 530 and it is now at 1,204.

His MRI shows no cancer in the brain, which is excellent! It did show a slight increase in the tumor in his eye which was expected because Jason lost more of his vision since the last MRI. But we’re still hoping the next one will show a decrease in tumor size.

The CT scan came out with mixed results also. In the lungs the largest tumor shrunk but three smaller tumors increased slightly.

In the liver the largest tumor shrunk but there is still quite a bit of tumor load – a lot of small ones. We are hoping the smaller ones will follow suit. The spleen has been problematic. It has been a difficult organ and we are not happy with it. That tumor grew.

The kidneys and pancreas were clear and suspicious nodules (random subcutaneous bumps) on the CT scan are stable, and no new tumors have been found.

Also noted in the CT scan – he still has a blood clot in his pelvis, and they also found one in his left thigh, which we suspected, because he has had a lot of pain in his left leg.

The CT scan also noted increased ascites – increased fluid in the stomach, which is from the liver.

The plan is for Jason to have two more rounds of treatment then re-evaluate his progress. He has been admitted tonight for round three to the bio-chemo therapy. This is NOT what he was looking forward to, but we have high hopes for improving results.

Shawn, send Kristy back, and Carol, send cheese, because Jason has lost seventeen pounds. Jason said he is almost back to his high school weight.

Lake Houston State Park

Yesterday, we decided to take advantage of the last day of warm weather before a cold front is scheduled to hit Houston. We hit Blimpies to get sub sandwiches for picnicking, and headed 30 miles north to Lake Houston State Park. Lake Houston State Park is located near the city of New Caney and is comprised of almost 5000 acres of rivers, creeks, hiking/biking trails, equestrian trails, campgrounds, and a nature center. The land was bought by the state in 1980; they increased the size in 1990 when they bought even more land from the girl scouts. There used to be a huge girl scout camp there. So there are multiple lodges with many bunk beds for large groups to rent out.

Even though it is called Lake Houston, we didn't see a lake, nor do I think a Lake Houston even exists within the park. There is a lake called Lake Isabella but its a 4.5 mile hike to get there. A ranger told us there is even a resident alligator that lives in that lake. We picnicked in front of Peach Creek. The creek looked like a great place for kayaking. The current was strong so you wouldn't have to do a lot of paddling. Then we took a short walk to the nature center. The center was great. It had all kinds of poisonous snakes and turtles on display. It also had a stuffed mountain lion and coyote and some skeletons of other resident animals. The best display was the poop display. It taught you how to recognize animal droppings...I had to take a picture! The people that worked there were so nice. The nature center wasn't even open, but they saw Jason struggling to get there and they opened it up for us. They even gave us a ride back in a golf cart because we wore him out with all the walking.

It was a great day trip! The only downside was that when I went to get the car so we could load up our picnic gear, Jason fell trying to help Marjorie carry some stuff. She couldn't get him up by herself, so he had to stay on the ground until I came back. Between the two of us, we got him up and luckily he didn't hurt himself. Thank god there are two of us here for Jason! Another downside was mosquitoes. We did not bring any repellent and they were there in full force. At the nature center, they had a mosquito gauge and it was set at level 3 (moderate). I would hate to see that place at level 6 (war zone). You would get eaten alive. We are having a contest to see who has the most bites this morning. I think Marjorie is winning with 3. I only have one, but more might show up. Jason hasn't noticed any bites yet...he's keeping his fingers crossed.

Kristy's Visit

Kristy came out to visit from Phoenix and we had a lot of fun. She is always a welcome guest but this time she outdid herself. She brought a bunch of recipes and cooked all kinds of delicious food for us. She also had a magazine article in her magazine about a new "eco-friendly" park in downtown Houston called Discovery Green. We decided to check it out and there was a lake, a stage that offers free concerts, free yoga and pilates classes, free wi-fi, mini boats you can rent and sail around in the summer, and starting Thanksgiving weekend they will have an outdoor ice skating rink. There is also some crazy modern artwork, a cool playground for the kids (big kids included-see picture), impressive fountains, and 2 restaurants.

We all laughed when we saw a nearby crane lifting 3 porta-potties. We had to capture the moment on film. I also had to take a picture of a crazy fountain that we came across (Matt and Patty should appreciate this photo). We also had to document the completion of puzzle number two. I was joking with Kristy that it had better be finished when I woke up in the morning, and it was! What a great house guest! The only parts left were the boring and hard parts and she managed to finish it all. Some of the amazing food she cooked for us included pumpkin/cream cheese muffins, cheese enchiladas, a delicious vegetarian version of her potato soup, and pita with brie and roasted garlic. The meals were scrumptious! Hopefully Jason gained some weight this week. Although he has been dealing with some morning nausea and a few vomiting episodes for those that want the gritty but honest details.

Unfortunately it has been raining on and off here since Monday. So yesterday, Kristy, Jason and I went to the movie theater to see Kevin Smith's new film. We all loved it...but you have to be a fan to really appreciate his movies. At night, all four of us watched Clone Wars on blu-ray. The animation looked great...the story was just ok.

Today, Kristy was such a trooper and came with us to a full day of tests at the hospital. Jason had an MRI, chest x-rays, blood work, and CT scans. I think having Kristy there really helped decrease his usual anxiety of these test days. We should find out the results on Monday and we will keep everyone informed. Until then, we will let the pictures speak for themselves as to what a great time we had. We were sad to drop Kristy off at the airport this afternoon. We hope she comes back to visit again soon!!!

Monday

Just a quick post – we had a very quiet weekend, so there’s not much to tell. Jason was still nauseated and not feeling well. But we’re into his second week of recovery, so things should be looking up.

Debby’s friend, Kristy, got here today from Phoenix, so I’m sure she’ll cheer Jason up. And he should start feeling better this week, so hopefully he’ll be able to get out a little. Kristy's going to be making her famous pumpkin cupcakes and cheese enchiladas - Ymmmmm!

It calls for rain all week – but that’s okay – there are always movies!

Marjorie

Friday

Today was pretty quiet. Jason got up late enough that Debby and I were able to watch the movie '27 Dresses' at Becky's recommendation. We liked it. Jason wouldn't have.

We didn't even venture out, except for the 2 walks that Jason took. He still wasn't feeling very good.

We did get good news about his blood work and everything looks great.

Debby found a large park about a half hour away that we want to check out - Lake Houston State Park. It was too much for Jason today, but hopefully next week he'll feel like taking a drive.

Marjorie

4th Wedding Anniversary

Today was Jason and my 4th wedding anniversary. Unfortunately, we had to start the morning off with a trip to the Opthamologist. We sat in a crowded waiting room for 2 hours and they had only called back two people. I went up to the reception desk and asked how much longer the wait would be and they told me there were still 5 more people in front of us. I told them it was our anniversary and we were not going to spend it all day in that waiting room. I had them reschedule the appointment and we took off. We came home and took a nap to catch up on sleep because we had gotten up so early for that appointment...what a waste of time!!!

After the nap, we talked about going to see a movie, but ultimately decided against it because it would be a lot of walking and Jason's leg has been really bothering him lately. So then we decided we would go to Chuy's. Chuy's is a Tex Mex restaurant with a location in Houston, Austin, San Antonio, and Dallas. Our landlord highly recommended it when we moved into the townhouse. I also just finished Lance Armstrong's book and he claims it is his favorite restaurant. Well, that plan fell through also because Jason got sick to his stomach this afternoon. So we ended up just going back to the hospital so we could get his blood work done. When we came home, Marjorie cooked us some delicious ravioli and we had angel food cake with strawberries for dessert. Then we watched the "chick flick" Casanova which looked really great on Blu-ray. Jason fell asleep but Marjorie and I really liked the movie.

So all in all, our anniversary didn't quite go according to plan, but hopefully this weekend we can try to go out to dinner to make up for it. We want to make sure Jason has his appetite back so he will enjoy it. I've attached pictures of the gorgeous flowers Jason got me as well as this fantastic gift basket the Marissa got for all of us. It contained a ton of amazing things in it including candy, Suduko, poker chips and cards, a pizza kit, and bath products. Thanks to everyone that send cards and emailed us to wish us a happy anniversary! We felt very loved!!!

Thanks for all the great comments!

I just wanted to thank everyone for the thoughtful, encouraging, and funny comments written in response to Jason's blog. A lot of the time, he doesn't feel up to posting himself, so we read him what we wrote and get his input, and I guarantee you, he reads every single comment that is posted. He has them emailed to his iPhone so he gets them "real time", and I think they make his day just a little bit easier. Hearing from friends, co-workers and family has helped him to stay feeling connected to our "real" lives, which we miss very much.

Also, I wanted to thank Shirley and Colin for the beautiful card they sent. We all think Shirley should go in to business with the cards she makes. They are stunning. Maybe you could do customized wedding invitations for people? I know some rich people in the US that pay $100 per wedding invitation, it could be quite a lucrative online business. But as Stephen says, they take so much time to make, they are just for family...so I guess we prefer you keep sending them our way instead :-)
We have hung them on the wall in the living room and they really brighten up the place.

I also wanted to thank my parents and Lorren and Cora for the anniversary cards they sent. They were both beautiful cards and we appreciate them! Unfortunately, Jason has an appointment with the eye doctor and blood work scheduled on our anniversary, but hopefully we'll still have time to do something fun that day. Maybe we'll finally be able to see Kevin Smith's new movie.

And finally...thank you Patrick for the caramels. The pumpkin ones are scrumptious. And I am really liking Send Out Cards. If anyone is interested in an Internet company that will send out real greeting cards for you, and can even add gifts and gift cards, contact Patrick Ewalt. I will have him post additional information about it in the comments section in case anyone is interested...I am hooked.

Today was pretty uneventful. Jason slept about 18 hours. He is eating a little more which is good, but is still getting frequently nauseated. I accidentally left his cane at the hospital, so I went out and bought him a new one today. There were super tight zip ties around the cane and I was struggling to get them off with scissors. Jason takes one look at me and says "Careful...don't cut yourself", and so of course a minute later I gouged my finger with the scissors. The cut was pretty deep and it still bleeding through the bandage. Not fun! I told Jason that he jinxed me. I don't know about packaging these days. I gouged myself trying to get the packaging off the cane, so how do they expect older people that more commonly use canes to accomplish this feat? That is my rant for the day. I'll spare you the picture of my finger.

Hopefully we'll have more interesting stories tomorrow. Thanks again to everyone and we send you our love.

JASON’S “HOME”!

We were hoping Jason would be able to come home today, Sunday, but were afraid to get our hopes up, because they were looking at Monday.

I kept getting error messages last night when I tried to post, so I’m including Saturday’s.

I have one more picture from Halloween. Debby and I went up to the melanoma clinic because the two receptionists were supposed to dress up for Halloween and we were going to take a picture of them to show Jason. One of them dressed up – so we also had to take a picture of her with their board which shows if the doctors are on time and if not, how late they were running. This is the first time we’ve seen all the doctors on time! (That’s because it was Friday!) We’re never that lucky when we go in on Thursdays.

We also had to take a picture of our breakfast one morning. Debby and I splurged and had their Belgian waffle with strawberries and whipped cream. It’s imprinted with the state of Texas. These Texans do like their state!

We just found out Jason will probably get 4-6 treatments of this bio-chemotherapy – that’s the average treatment. And then there will be other types of treatments after that – possibly outpatient treatments such as shots or pills.

Yesterday Jason did get out of his room for a wheelchair ride and a short walk. And he already has lost 12 pounds of the water weight he gained which is great. At this time last round he was still gaining it because his kidneys weren’t working right.

We and all the nurses thought he was doing great but Jason just looked at us like we’re nuts – he wasn’t getting that “feeling” yet – he was and is still nauseated, tired and sore! But he’s home!

Susan, hope you had a great birthday this weekend with your kids in Chicago!

Marjorie