We Will Miss Him

On August 27th at approximately 9:15 pm, surrounded by his loving family, our Dave lost the battle that he has been waging for the past 2 1/2 years against Multiple Myeloma. He was at home, where he wanted to be. The cancer won, but not without a good fight from Dave, his wife, Kathy, and the staff at the LGH Cancer Center. And, of course, all of you 'Happy Thoughter's' out there who held them up with your unconditional love and support. I do hope that each of you have a little something in your life that reminds you of Dave's life. A memory, a letter, the 'shirt' off his back. He led a good life and each of us was a part of that.
Dave's wishes were to be cremated, and have no wake or funeral. The family has decided to have visiting hours from 4pm to 5:30pm and then a service from 5:30pm to 7pm at Dolan Funeral Home on Wednesday, September 2nd. Please join us, if you can, to say Good Bye to our Very Dear Friend.

Marilyn

His obituary is on the Dolan Funeral Home site.

A Message From Kathy

I'm sorry to say that it's been a very long time since Dave or I have read the posts on the blog. It's heartwarming to know how many people care for us. I thought I'd give an update on Dave's health.

As many of you know, I took a leave of absence from work so that Dave and I could spend as much time together as possible. It turned out to be the best decision I could have made. We've had a lot of family visiting us which has been fun. We managed to take a couple of 2-day getaways, one to Kennebunkport and the other to Newburyport. We just got back from Newburyport today. It was nice to have a little change of scenery, but it's so nice to come home where Dave seems to be the most comfortable.

I'm so sorry to report that Dave's health is rapidly deteriorating. He is no longer taking chemo or radiation. He is becoming more tired and just the smallest of tasks exhausts him. Up until about a week ago, he maintained a ferocious appetite, however I have noticed that food is not all that enticing to him lately. His pain is severe, but managed with lots of drugs.

It is very sad to watch a once very strong, very muscular man diminish. This disease has really taken away all that he strived for his entire life, however, it is because he took such good care of his body that he is still able to fight. We try not to dwell on the inevitable. We try to laugh as much as possible and think happy thoughts. We love all you "happy thoughters."

Please accept our apologies for not emailing, writing or calling all of our friends. We appreciate your respect of our privacy. Our love to all of you.
Love Kathy

A Little Info

Moe has been over to visit with Dave and what we know at this point is that the radiation treatments are done. Dr. Anamur wants him to try Thalidamide, the drug that was given to pregnant women in the 70's that caused birth defects. Needless to say, they make you watch this video and sign a paper saying that you will not get pregnant. I had to watch it with my 75 year old mother. Hilarious. Anyway, time will tell if this therapy will knock the Myeloma down a bit. It does have its side effects, but not so bad as some of the other medications that the Docs were considering. All in all, Kathy and Dave are attacking each day with a positive attitude and a hopeful future. He looks fantastic, and aside from the pain, he feels pretty good. So.. let's keep plugging happy thoughts for him.
Thanks,
Marilyn

I Had the Bump In!

I happened to 'Bump In' to Dave at the Cancer Center on Monday and he looks great. He said that the treatment is working. Thank goodness for that. The Docs are going to continue with the Radiation for now. I will let you know how is doing as often as I can. Thanks to everyone, particularly Anne, Jim and Wendy, for keeping up with the lovely comments in the Guest Book. I know that they mean a lot to Dave and Kathy.
We should all be so lucky to have such great friends.
Happy, Happy, Happy
Marilyn

Calling All Happy Thoughter's

Your presence is required. It seems that our friend Dave has entered, yet again, another uncomfortable ride at the 'Myeloma Circus'. As you know, he has been having a combination of Chemo and the new drug, Revlimid, to get the Myeloma cells under control since they discovered that the cancer was back. Neither of which has deterred the cancer cells from migrating to his T1 vertebrae and causing alot of pain. So, the current treatment of choice is radiation for 2 to 4 weeks. He seems to be doing quite well with it so far. His docs are sure that it will help with the pain. He is a tough guy. But he still could use everyone's mental power right now. Let's get it together, shall we. Pray, meditate, chant, think happy thoughts; whatever it is that you do, let's do this thing and slow this 'ride' down a little for him.
Thanks
In Friendship
Marilyn

This is a very nice commercial that Wendy sent to Dave and Dave sent to me. Enjoy!

He Is Quite A Guy

I know, I've said this before, but he really is! Last Tuesday, commonly referred to now as a historical day because of the Inauguration of President Obama, Dave called Moe in the early am and wanted to know if he could come over and use his lathe for a project he was working on. That was about 7:30 am - I was leaving for work. When I came home from work around 1:30 pm, Dave's van was still in my driveway. At first, being the little mother that I am, I was a little worried that he was in trouble. Not so. When I came into the house, I was surprised to see the two them, Moe and Dave, working side by side, in my kitchen, doing cabinetry, listening to good ole' Howard Stern and smiling from ear to ear, like they were getting away with something. And they had lunch together! It brought me to tears. Dave looked great and he was so happy. When I asked him what the heck he was doing, he said that he felt so good, he was gonna keep on trucking through the day. It was a truly fabulous thing to see!
It was a mere 2 years ago this week that we all got the news about Dave's situation. Reading some of the old Blogs really puts things into perspective, and enforces the fact that 'Happy Thoughts' do work. Yours, His and Ours. Keep them coming!
Marilyn

He is Still Waiting for Some Answers

Sorry guys. Haven't had time to write. So let me fill you in as best as I can. Dave has been trying that new drug, Revlimid, which seems to have some side effects that are not pleasant. What he doesn't know, is if it is working on the Myeloma. So far, he has had no confirmation of results from any tests that have been taken. In the meantime, he is keeping a positive attitude, although a little frustrated. He developed some painful bumps on his back, which they think are a side effect of the Revlimid, but these test results have not come back yet. For now, he has discontinued this medication and is just taking the Velcade. Hopefully, he will get some answers soon.
Stay in a Happy thought for him,
Marilyn

And the Doctor Says...

The test results are in again, and one of the tests that Dave has (24 hour urine) showed an improvement in the number of protein cells. That's good news. The MRI, however, still shows some dark spots on the spine and the Doc says that they look a little bigger to him. He also stated that it could be a bone in the way or a shadow on the film, but in Dave's case they will err on the side of more treatment. So, his Velcade has been upped, and he will start a new drug called Revlimid, which has had some very encouraging results in recent studies, but unfortunately, comes with the price of having to take Coumadin to deter blood clots. Dave is a little disturbed about having to add more drugs to the already cumbersome regimen, but he will, however, do what he always does and face it like the positive dude that he is. He spends a few days feeling blue when he hears news that isn't great, and then he gets right up off his duff and shifts into 'DRIVE'. He is such a positive person, Kathy too. We can all learn a few things from the both of them. They are MY heroes!!
Keep them in your Happy Thoughts.
Marilyn

He Still Looks Great!

As you can see by the new photo, Dave is doing great, despite the setback. He said he feels pretty good, except, of course for the fatigue that comes with Chemo. And the pain in his back. But for the most part he is well, physically and mentally.
It's all good.
Happy thoughts, please.
Thanks
Marilyn

Treatment is Going Well

I just spoke with Dave yesterday, and he said so far his treatments are going well, aside from the fatigue and the nausea from the Velcade (chemo). But he expected a little of that so it was no surprise. Today he went for his treatment and the nurse told him that he would be starting his vaccines for all those childhood diseases. He was a bit surprised that they intended to give him about 9 vaccines today. I will let you know how that went when he calls to tell me. Still no word on the amount and severity of the relapse, but he is feeling pretty good, a far cry from when he was first diagnosed, so the Myeloma must be at a low count. His cage does not seem to be rattled much, and for that, I think we can all be grateful.
Keep him in your Happy Thoughts.
Marilyn

The Results Are In

It's not the news we were hoping for. After looking at all of the test results for the past year, and the blood tests that were taken at Dana Farber, the docs have put him back on Velcade, which is chemotherapy. Dave was a little surprised this morning when he went into the Cancer Center for his Zomeda injection. They told him that the Velcade was ordered and they may as well get it started. He will be having the chemo twice a week for two weeks with a week off in between for probably about 3 months. Dave really didn't indicate how bad it is, but the Myeloma is back enough to warrant chemo. Although this form of chemo is fairly mild, he still has some side effects. He has been on this before. No hair loss, though.
He may be in the 'early' stage of the Myeloma, which means that the chemo will knock it back. Dave still feels pretty good and is hopeful about the treatment. He's just a little be-miffed at how he came to this point after feeling so well for the past year. He was so close, having been cancer free from the stem cell transplant. But Multiple Myeloma is a sneaky, stubborn from of cancer.
Let's all keep those Happy Thoughts for Dave, that his treatment goes well without too much discomfort.
I will try to keep you as informed as I can.
Thanks for checking in.
Marilyn

Dana Farber Docs Say 'Relax'

Dave's visit at Dana Farber went pretty well. He was sure that they would want to do another painful bone marrow biopsy and to his delight the Doc said 'not necessary'. They drew blood and are looking over all of his records from the past year from the Cancer Center and they said that they would get back to him on Monday with the results.
So far what we know is that Dr. Anamur was concerned about the spots on the MRI and the protein in the urine, the blood tests from the Cancer Center showed no change. The Doc at Dana Farber told Dave that the spots on the MRI could be just a bad reading. So Dana Farber at this point is going to look over all of those records and check the results of their blood test and let Dave know what the next step would be. The visit was very upbeat and it looks as though, IF, they find anything they will start him on some oral medication for now.
The Dana Farber staff wants to look into his bone issues to see if they can't do something more permanent to help with the pain. The bone discomfort that he is currently experiencing is different than what he had before. Dave, actually, feels soooo.. good right now, physically and mentally. That is a very good thing.
I will keep you as updated as I can.
Thanks again for your Happy Thoughts.
Marilyn

Dave Needs Your Happy Thoughts

Unfortunately, I must report some 'not so happy' news to all of you. The routine tests that Dave has been having for the past year have been, obviously, to check the status of the stem cell transplant progress. Up until the last tests that were taken everything was fine. There was no sign of the Myeloma. The MRI that he had done just a week ago has shown two spots on his vertebrae, and the urine test came back with a high protein count. This could mean that the Myeloma is back, but we will not know for sure until he goes to Dana Farber on Thursday, October 2nd for more tests. He probably won't have any answers on Thursday, but I will let you know as soon as I do.
After the initial shock, and the all day cry fest, he and Kathy have an extremely positive attitude towards this set-back. Dave is going to do whatever the Docs tell him to. He still has enough good stem cells 'on ice' to have another transplant, and he really has felt good for the past year, so he may do that again. We will have to wait and see.
When I spoke with him, he said that he feels great, and is a little surprised by the results of the tests.
So.....we wait, thinking Happy Thoughts for him.
Marilyn

Happy Re-Birth Day

I was just looking back to a year ago in the posts and it was almost every day we had a little something to say. And now here we are at the one year anniversary (already)-September 13th-of Dave's stem cell transplant. It's hard to believe. He has had an up and down year, but for the most part better than last year. And better than most people expected, including the Docs. He still continues to get the usual tests done; MRI's, blood work, etc. And because of bone damage, he still needs to rest during the day. I heard tell that brother Ray is coming for a visit at the end of September.
Other than that, not much news, only that our Dave has made it through this past crucial year.
Happy thoughts for a healthy life.
Marilyn

I Miss Posting...

I'm going through withdrawals from Blogging (giggle), but it means good news when I don't have anything to say. So, here I am and I am going to say something. We are approaching the one year anniversary of the very successful stem cell transplant. And so far so good. Woo-Hoo! When the year is up, Dave will be able to stop taking the antibiotics, but will have to be vaccinated for all those wonderful childhood diseases. That should be interesting. He is still doing great, and they are both enjoying the summer so far. It's still hard to believe what they have been through.
Sign the guest book when you can. Dave still looks at it.
TaTa for now. I will update you all as the 'one year' anniversary becomes a reality and let you know how he is doing.
I still have to say it-Keep a Happy Thought.
Marilyn

This is Quite Fabulous

Davids' last visit with Dr. Anumar was very much a wonderful thing. Dr. Anamur is quite pleased with the way things are in respect to the Multiple Myeloma. As of this date, they can find no signs of the cancer in his urine, blood, or MRI scans. The Doc actually used the word remission. This is fantastic news. It means that the stem cell transplant was a definite success. However, his bones (his poor bones) are still quite fragile. They are no worse than they were, but they are no better either. The Doc is expecting that they will get stronger, but it will take some time. So what that means for Dave is that he has to listen to those bones and rest when necessary. He was telling me that when he wakes up in the morning, he feels great and he has good posture, and then after about an hour of puttering around his posture starts to droop and he gets a tight feeling in his ribcage and his muscles start cramping. So he needs to lie down for about an hour. And that's what he does all day. Up for an hour, down for an hour. But he said, he'll take it compared to what he was dealing with. He is still going to need anti-biotics at least until October.
So, life at 2 Flying Rock Road has changed. Dave is a very strong willed person, as we have learned in the past year and a half. He does do what he is supposed to do in order to stay on the right track. And he will prevail. Thanks to the love and compassion of his family and friends, and the knowledge of his medical team.
Thoughts of Happyness to all.
Marilyn

A Nice Surprise

Moe and I had the pleasure of a visit from Dave and Olivia a few weekends ago. It was so nice to have Dave drive to our house, get out of the van and hang around. Life is good again. Isn't Olivia a cutie. We all had a blast, checking out the fish in the pond, playing with the cat (Olivia's personal favorite!), and just getting a chance to yak about nothing in particular. I wanted to share the image of him out and about.
Enjoy!
Happyness is in our thoughts.
Marilyn

Yikes!

I had another David sighting today. It's a miracle. (for me, that is!) It's a blast bumping into him. He still looks and feels great. He did good, we did good!
Later,
Marilyn


Happy thoughts should never stop-give them to someone, somewhere!!

It Was A Pleasure

I had the pleasure of bumping into Dave at the Cancer Center. He was on his way up to see Dr. Anamur to get the results of his last MRI. He was actually running a little bit because he was late. That was nice to see. He looks fantastic!! His hair has grown back in (a little darker), and, like I said, he was running. A far cry from where he was just a year ago. His visit with the Doc was good, but there is still bone damage. The Doc likened some of his vertebrae to that of 'swiss cheese'. Dave wasn't bummed, he said that he just needed to figure out how to strengthen his bones. All things considered, he is doing well. I hear that Kathy's Mom is back in town, as well. She is feeling much better.
That's all folks!!
Happy Thoughts to You!
Marilyn