Birthday Visitors

The last couple of weeks have been good, at least as weeks go for us. Kristine started another 5 day Cyberknife radiation cycle last week to shrink another tumor in a lymph node on her neck. This one is much smaller than the one on her shoulder, but was causing discomfort nonetheless. The treatment seems to have already relieve some of the pain.

She's also started another type of radiation to tackle a small subcutaneous tumor on the back of her head. There are about eight tumors that have formed just under the skin on her head. Most of them are very small, but one has reached the size of a garlic clove and causes pain when she sleeps due to its location. This new treatment emits radiation to only a very targeted area limiting its impact on healthy cells. Kristine will only receive this treatment for 5 days.

Last Friday was Kristine's birthday and the two year anniversary of her heart surgery. Her three sisters came into visit and celebrate over the weekend. Things stayed pretty relaxed, but we did manage to get out to dinner each night they were here. Kristine's cousin Cris is also in town at the end of this week. So, as always, we have the visitors rolling into Philly.

New Discovery

This has been an event filled week. I hoped not to have any more to talk about after the last few posts this last week, but unfortunately there's more to tell. After getting out of the hospital on Wednesday afternoon, Kristine decided that she needed a little adventure. So we hopped in the car and headed to the King of Prussia Mall. This is truly one of the unique qualities about Kristine. She can have a heart procedure done one day and be ready for shopping the next. Her heart rhythm has been fine since the cardioversion procedure (and the trip to the mall).

On Friday, I had my own doctors appointment in the morning, which thankfully did nothing more than to confirm my good health. I worked from home in the afternoon jumping on several conference calls. My last call of the day was just about ending when Kristine yelled my name from the next room. I ran in to see her clenching her left arm as she told me she was starting to have another seizure. I abruptly hung up the phone and ran to her side. The seizure seemed to last a bit longer than previous episodes. Fortunately, there were no lasting side effects and Kristine quickly regained her muscle control.

That evening we sat outside to get some fresh air and relax after the earlier event. Kristine was rubbing her back when she felt a hard lump on the lower right side. This new discovery, which we surmise to be a likely tumor growth potentially in or near her kidney, is very concerning. The finding sent Kristine into a depressed state the rest of the weekend. She's had trouble staying positive the last few days and started to lose a bit of hope. I'm sure she will bounce back. She just needs some time to regain her energy and strength again after a tough week.

This upcoming week we will be talking to our oncologist and the CyberKnife center to discuss some next steps. Here's hoping for a good, uneventful week ahead.

Without Missing a Beat

Kristine's day at the hospital went off without a hitch. She was a little groggy at first but bounced back to herself in no time. The procedure was successful. Her heart is beating in a steady, normal sinus rhythm at about 70-80 bpm. She is spending the night in the hospital for monitoring, but everything looks good so far.

Shocking

As promised here is an update on Kristine, the second this week.

We were able to get into see the cardiologist on Monday to discuss Kristine's irregular heart rate. Our regular doctor is away on vacation this week, so we saw another cardiologist, Dr. Wong. After reading Kristine's history and the print out of the ECG, she jumped right into describing the problem and the game plan to correct it.

Kristine has a cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm) called atrial fibrillation. As an effect of the extensive scar tissue left from her earlier heart surgery, the electrical paths that travel around the heart and make it beat in a proper rhythm have been interrupted. This results in the top chambers of the heart (atria) beating too fast and quivering, leaving them out of sync with the bottom chambers (ventricles). This is cause for concern because blood can pool in the heart increasing the potential for blood clots to form. Atrial fibrillation presents several risks. The pooled blood in the heart can form clots that can travel to the brain and clog arteries, which in turn can cause a stroke. Additionally, the increased heart rate can weaken the heart's muscle and cause heart failure.

There are a few options to correct the condition. For otherwise healthy individuals, surgical or catheter-based options are often used. For Kristine, a less invasive method will be explored. Her condition will be treated with synchronized electrical cardioversion. This is basically a shock to the heart to reset the electrically impulses to a normal rhythm. Additionally, Kristine will be treated with medication to help regulate the heart rate.

Kristine was admitted to the hospital today (Tuesday). The procedure is fairly routine lasting only about an hour. Kristine will be under anesthesia for just a short time while they apply the treatment. Typically this would be handled as a day patient procedure, however, our doctors want Kristine to stay overnight for monitoring to ensure that she tolerates the medication and that her heart rate is functioning normally.

I am in the waiting room as I type. Kristine's name is still not on the status board, so it may be some time before she is done. I will post another update this afternoon to let you all know how she fared.

Beats per Minute

Kristine finished the last of her five Cyberknife treatments on Friday. We will not know for sure if the radiation worked to shrink the tumor for a couple of weeks. It does look as if the tumor is flatter than before and the Radiation Oncologist said that it felt soft to the touch. These are good signs, however, the area is still pretty swollen so only time will tell.

Toward the end of the week (Thursday and Friday) Kristine started complaining of a sharp pain in the right side of her head and another in her left thigh. Both sharp, stabbing and acute pains that seemed to start simultaneously. Additionally, her heart rate began to beat rapidly. On Friday, when they took her vitals at the Cyberknife clinic her resting heart rate was 160 beats per minute. To put that in perspective my resting heart rate is 60 bpm. The doctor expressed his concern and advised that she go to the ER as a precaution. He explained that the radiation was not the likely cause of any of the symptoms she was having and that they could be indicators of something more serious. Kristine debated going to the emergency room Friday evening. In the end, she refused and decided to wait and watch her symptoms despite the push from me and her parents to take the more conservative path.

Kristine's parents went back home to Michigan on Saturday, leaving Kristine and I to ourselves for the first time in a few weeks. It is always fun and helpful to have them here, but we also enjoy are private time together. By Sunday, Kristine's head and leg pain had vanished leaving us to question the coincidence in timing of the pain and the radiation. Her rapid heart beat had also slowed to a resting rate that fluctuated between high and normal (100-60bpm). Kristine finally did agree to see our cardiologist as soon as possible on Monday. She dreads what's in store -- EKG, Echo cardiogram, Holter monitor and potentially a hospital stay -- but acknowledges the need to take the precaution.

Provided everything goes well tomorrow I'll post as usual next week. If, however, there is news to share I'll try to add a post in the next few days.

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I also wanted to share a couple of interesting articles and clarify some recent news that has been published. Recently British researchers published findings that organic foods were no more nutritious than non-organic foods. While this very well may be true many people likely took away from this news that organic foods have no benefit at all. In fact, what the researchers concluded was simply that the nutrients found in organic and non-organic foods were very similar. They explicitly stated that the purpose of their research did NOT aim to understand the long term impact to humans of insecticides, herbicides, hormones, antibiotics or the genetic modification of foods -- these being the leading drivers for people to switch to organic foods. While many claim that the amount of chemicals found in non-organic foods are found at "safe" levels, the definition of safe and accumulative impact of these chemicals over time is what needs to be called into question.

Here is a link to information on the differences between organic and non-organic foods from the Mayo Clinic. Organic vs. Non-Organic

Kristine has at one time written about the potentially negative impacts of microwaves. Here is an article that dispels some of the myths. Notably, while radiation emitted from microwaves is deemed to occur at "safe" levels (there is that word again) it is considered dangerous to cook your meals in plastic of any kind, even if they say "microwave safe." Microwave Myths

Finally, WebMD has a great interactive mirosite that shows you some hidden hazards in your home. I was surprised at some of the things that were listed. WebMD Health eHome