Prayers for Thomas Carmichael

[firstturn]

Thomas had a good Doctors visit.

From Clinta - We had a very successful trip to the doctor today.  Thomas was transported by ambulance and there was no trauma or stress, it was great.  This evening Thomas commented on how the trip to the doctor was a non-event.  

I would also characterize the doctor's visit as a non-event also.  Hannah and I went with Thomas and the doctor is going to set Thomas up to receive a 5 day dose of chemo every 28 days.  Thomas was originally scheduled to get an MRI on June 28th and the doctor has agreed that, for now, he will not have to have it.  He was very relieved about that, he hates getting into that machine.  

He had a poptart for breakfast and then slept through lunch.  For dinner he had salisbury steak and macaroni & cheese.  He's eating, not a good amount, but at least he's consistently eating now.  He still doesn't want to sit up and had Trey been home with me tonight, I would have been more stern about it, but I was by myself so it makes me nervous to try and get him to sit up when I don't have back-up.  But tomorrow night, Trey will be home so we will try to attempt it.  

We continue to be amazed and thankful for all the support and love that we get each day.  Please pray for Thomas's strength and for his caregivers.  We love you!

Ron Carbaugh

[firstturn]

We are making improvements.

From Clinta -  I have news that everyone has been waiting to hear for several weeks now, Thomas sat up in bed!  It wasn't for long and he started to fall several times, but he managed to stay vertical for 10 or 15 minutes.  No matter how tough or rough it was, it is an improvement and that's all that counts for now.  

The doctors have switched him from Loritab to Oxycontin due to his increased frequency with headaches.  I'm assuming his slight increase in confusion is due to the change in medicine.  At times, he's very lucid and sharp and then at others, he will say the strangest things.  Tonight, while eating dinner in his room, (the dining room) he asked me if I knew how to get home.  It took me so by surprise, that I didn't immediately respond and he said to use the GPS if I get lost.  

It's always been a joke in our household how bad my sense of direction is, to the extent that Thomas often says, spin me around 3 times and I can't find my way home.  I thought when he would tell me that I needed to put a cow bell around my neck, he was referencing my weight but he eventually told me it was so they could find me by sound if I got lost.  I'm still not sure about that one!

He set a new record with food today.  Breakfast was again his usual poptart, lunch was a quarter pounder with fries, and dinner was boiled shrimp and a baked potato.  (Thomas will eat shrimp in just about any form or fashion, short of raw!)   I believe he's not nearly as depressed as he's been and it's probably due to the medicine kicking in now since we're past the 2 week period.    

Thomas had several visitors today and he did well.  Hannah was with him most of the day and she said that he enjoyed meeting the Pastor from Vista Care.  He also met with the nurse today who had to draw blood, he got a bath by Dee, and talked with Barbara, our housekeeper.  So, my guess is that he will sleep well tonight.  I am going to Charlotte tomorrow and will leave the house at 6:30 so I will be getting him up at 5:30 to give him his medicine, refill his drink and get him set up for the day.  Hannah will be staying with him and because she likes to sleep late, she will let him sleep late and I don't want him to get too behind in his medicine.  He usually wakes me anywhere from 4 to 6 anyway so he might actually be up before me.

Please continue to pray for Thomas's strength, I was so encouraged for him to sit up today!  Thank you for being so good to us!  We love you!


Ron Carbaugh

[hankthecrank]

Great News!!!! We are so glad to hear that Thomas is eating more and sitting up, even for a few minutes! We are continually in prayer for Thomas and his family.
                  Hank

Hank Rinehart

[tomale]

that is really great news, Not a day goes by that I do not pray for all of you... I will write more on the carebridge site.

Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)74'
250 hare scrambler (project bike)

[sixdazed]

Way to go Thomas!Here's hoping Team Carmichael has a great weekend and the improvements keep on coming.Great news
                                                Ric

ric emmal

[firstturn]

From Clinta - Today, Chastity came to take care of Thomas.  She is taking Dee's place while she is gone this week.  Thomas liked her but said she wasn't as good as Dee.  I think the fact that Thomas has a higher comfort level with Dee influenced his opinion but I wasn't on the receiving end of the bath and massage so maybe she isn't as good as Dee.

The Pastor from Brushy Creek Baptist Church and his daughter who is the College student's minister came to visit Thomas.  Hannah visited with them also and she said that they were extremely nice, very outgoing and they really enjoyed the visit.  

Apparently they offered to come mow the grass, (usually a good indication that your grass is too long) because they have a care team that will help with yard work.  I knew that our bushes were starting to mimic a rain forest and the purple hydrangeas by the front door could capture you and we never see you again!  It does seem coincidental that several people have said they were coming to visit and have never made it!!  

Thomas ate and slept well today.  I'm not noticing any difference in his strength but his spirits are still good!  Oscar is really enjoying the bigger bed too but unfortunately what originally was a love-hate relationship is definitely leaning more to the do-not-like anymore relationship.  It makes me sad because Oscar is just trying to visit and share the love and Thomas isn't feeling it, at all!  

We are appreciative of the posts and look forward to hearing from our friends!  Thanks for your prayers!  We love you!

Ron Carbaugh

[firstturn]

It is tough just laying in bed all the time.  Thanks for your Prayers.

From Clinta - A couple of people have asked about Thomas's bed in relationship to the bed sores.  Thomas does have an alternating pressure air mattress which is designed specifically to help with bed sores, but unfortunately there is nothing that is 100% when you are laid up in a bed full-time.

Thomas was down today.  He is very scared and frustrated that he's not improving at the speed he would like.  Obviously, it's not me laying in that bed, but I can feel his anguish.   Because I love him implicitly, it is so emotionally painful for me to not be able to provide the answers and more importantly the solutions that he needs.  Just like you, our caringbridge readers, my hands are tied to help him in anyway that will eliminate his anxiety.  I am able to take care of his physical needs and be a sounding board for him, but it falls way short.  There are days and times that I would just like to scream at the top of my lungs, but all that will accomplish is a stressed out vocal cord.

I've heard that you're not supposed to say Why, and instead Why Not.  That doesn't make me feel better.  There's a difference when dealing with the head versus the heart, a big difference.  Rationally, you know the reality, emotionally, your heart wants to protect you and insulate you from the reality.  

I've talked to many friends in the last few weeks.  Some are better at expressing words of comfort in critical situations like this, some will say right upfront that they don't have the words and don't know what to say.  I understand, I do.  Our friends want to be able to do something to help or say something to make it go away and of course, they can't.  I can't!  I am emphathetic to the difficulty that this situation presents for our wonderfully, caring friends.  I feel your pain when we talk and I know that some of you feel so lost about what to say.  But, know that I feel your love and your friendship and we are so thankful for it.    

Please continue to pray for Thomas.  I believe faithfully in prayer and I know that hope is a powerful medicine.  We love you!

Ron Carbaugh

[firstturn]

Here is the latest update on Thomas.  I want to thank the people that have indicated they appreciate and want the up dates on the POG site.  Prayers are appreciated.

From Clinta - Thomas continues to be very confused and struggling with even the simpliest of tasks.  I'm thinking that to some extent, if not entirely, his confusion is due to his regular use of Oxycontin.  As a test today, I did not give him his dosage for the morning or for tonight to see if his communication skills and other things got better.  Before anyone writes to tell me what I'm doing wrong, (surprising as it was for me, I've had a couple people write to critique or criticize my care of Thomas), know that if he was in any kind of pain at all or had a headache, I would be giving him the painkiller.  

He was so out of it today, at one point, during lunch, I pulled a napkin out of his mouth that he was trying to eat, thinking it was chicken.   He is saying all kinds of crazy things in his sleep and his speech is so slurred when he is talking to me, I can't understand a word he's saying.   I  could tell you so much more but it's very depressing and as I said above, I'm hoping that it's the medicine.  

Today, the chaplain from Vista stopped by.  He was telling us that as mere mortals we have so many questions that we would like answered.  But the reality is that many of the questions won't be answered until we get to heaven and then we won't care or at the very least, they will become insignificant.  His point was that, you have to put value into every day that you have because our life, no matter the length is short.  There are so many things that we allow ourselves to get hung up about, when truly, when faced with a critical situation like Thomas's, is your dillema worth wasting time over?  Because for many of us, with life's irritations, we waste precious time, using up our energy that should be and could be used for something valuable to you!  

Last night, Thomas woke me at 2AM and then again at 6AM so I'm hoping that he will sleep through the night.  He sleeps a lot throughout the day, even with visitors so that probably affects his ability to sleep through the night.  

I can't believe the week is just about over.  Thomas has visitors scheduled for the next 3 days so hopefully that will help him with his demeanor.  I will give you an update on his lucidity in tomorrow night's post.  Thanks for hanging in there with us!  We love you!

Ron Carbaugh

[tomale]

thanks for the update, she makes a good point, life is so short there is no time to wonder about why things are or why this has happened to us, better to spend our time doing what we can do with what we have instead of worring about what we do not have...As always I can pray and yes I do believe that God does listen....

Thom Green,Still crazy after all these years!
76' 250 MC5 (orginal owner)74'
250 hare scrambler (project bike)

[firstturn]

Thanks Thom.

From Clinta - There really hasn't been any change in Thomas's demeanor and it's odd when he will go from crazy talk to very factual, specific information about events from his past.  Today he had a wonderful visit from a childhood friend from Charleston, Danny Smith.  Danny's brother Matty was Thomas's best friend and he was killed on a motorcycle when he was just a teenager.  Thomas was very close to Danny growing up and they got in to all kinds of adventures and trouble.  Danny worked for Thomas's Dad and shared a couple of humorous stories with us about working for him.  

Danny would ask Thomas if he remembered certain events and Thomas said that he did.  Then, he would swat at the lift bar thinking it was a cat.  He complained that the cat was bothering him and in actuality there wasn't a cat nearby.  This afternoon he told me that there was a cat trapped under his bed and even though I knew logically that there probably wasn't, I always check because he and Oscar are definitely on the outs right now.  

We really appreciated Danny's visit and look forward to seeing him again soon!  After Danny left, by late afternoon, Thomas started complaining that his stomach was hurting.  This makes me very nervous because I'm worried that he won't have the same smooth sailing as he did with the first round of chemo.  I gave him the nausea medicine around 9 tonight and will give him his second dose of chemo around 11.  

We are scheduled to have more visitors again tomorrow and I'm glad because it does perk Thomas up to visit with other people.  I'm going to be sleeping on the couch close to Thomas's bed to make sure that if he should get sick in the night, I will be there to help him.  He's sleeping soundly now but I've got to wake him in a few minutes to give him the chemo, which makes 2 down, 3 to go.  

Please pray that Thomas won't have side effects with this round of chemo.  We know that we have lots of friends and family praying for us and we are grateful.  I hope you have a wonderful Sunday.  We love you!

Ron Carbaugh

[firstturn]

Update for the weekend.

From Clinta - Thomas had some wonderful visits today.  This morning, we had a visit from Mike Gasque and his father, Mr. Gasque.  I've known Mr. Gasque for years and years, and all of Team Carmichael love him!  He is so awesome and until today, we had not seen him in many years.  Thomas, who has been childhood friends with Mike, has always thought the world of Mr. Gasque.  He's just one of those men who are honorable, full of integrity and as solid an individual as you could ever hope to know.  Mr. and Mrs. Gasque were in town visiting Mike and Susan and to attend the graduation of their grandson, Pierce.  Mr. and Mrs. Gasque live in Charleston and aren't in this area very often so we feel blessed that he made the time to come see us.  

Later this afternnon, Michael and Alissa Jones came to visit and brought with them a wonderfully delicious dinner.  I always thought my spaghetti was reasonably good, but not any more.  The spaghetti that Alissa made was the best I've ever eaten.  As I write this, I want to go eat another plate of it.  The dinner also included a salad with all the fixin's, garlic bread and sliced canteloupe.  Yummy!  Thomas especially loved it!

My sister, (not by blood), Barbara Pittsenbarger arrived this afternoon from Columbia.  She brought a goodie basket for Thomas which included candy, foot cream from Bath & Body Works, a crossword puzzle book, a CD with sounds of the ocean and other soothing sounds.  For the household, she brought homemade crab dip, chicken salad, broccoli salad and canteloupe.  I can be found in the vicinity of the refrigerator for the next few days!

So far so good, Thomas has not thrown up because of the chemo.  He's still not feeling good in general though, telling me a couple times tonight that he's sad.  As strange as it may seems, but his telling me he's sad is almost more painful to me than if he had a physical ache.  I guess because with a physical ache, I can give him a pain killer and it's just not that simple with sadness or despair, another word that Thomas used tonight.  

Please continue to pray for Thomas.  We are so thankful for all your prayers.  We love you!

Ron Carbaugh

[firstturn]

If you have time to send Thomas a card it would be appreciated.

From Clinta - Dee came back today and Thomas was glad to see her again, although by last week's end, he had developed a fondness for Chastity.  He has been eating well, particularly since Barbara has brought some incredibly yummy food.  He really loves the Hershey candy bites!

Thomas told me this afternoon that his head was hurting again but it was a 3 on the pain scale so fortunately it wasn't too bad.  He doesn't seem to be as depressed, but he's still down.  I've been thinking that it might be nice if he got some get-well cards in the mail.  So, if you feel so moved, I would really appreciate, (and I know Thomas especially would!) it if you could send a card to him at 27 Summer Valley Court, Greer, SC 29651.  

Tonight, was Thomas's 4th chemo treatment, tomorrow night will be his last.  I'm so glad that he hasn't gotten sick!  Thank you for your prayers!  We love you!

Ron Carbaugh

[tlanders]

He is still in our prayers. Thank you for the updates.

Teddy

[firstturn]

Thomas has had another problem with infection, but his attitude is Great and Strong.

THURSDAY, JUNE 17, 2010 11:30 PM, EDT

From Clinta - This is the first moment I've had to write in the journal tonight after spending the afternoon at the hospital with Thomas.  

Last night, (technically very early morning), at 1AM, Thomas woke me and I took care of him with bathroom needs and thirst.  At 3AM, he woke me to tell me that he had blood dripping down the back of his head.  This statement was not uncommon or unusual for him to say to me, so although I did not think it suspicious, I wiped the back of his head with a kleenex.  The kleenex came back wet, (it's fairly dark in the room but I could tell that the wetness was not dark, like blood), so I assumed it was sweat.  Thomas will sweat profusely and at the same time tell me that he's freezing.  According to our nurses, this is due to a disconnect caused by the brain cancer, it's seen with a lot of brain cancer patients.  So, I didn't worry about it at the time.  He woke me again at 5AM and at 6AM and I finally got up at 7AM.  Pretty rough night.  

Barbara was feeding him breakfast and doing a crossword puzzle with him while I was getting dressed.  When I came down, she said that he had mentioned that his head hurt.  I walked around the bed to the left side and I was shocked by what I saw.  For reasons "officially" unknown, (I have my own suspicions), Thomas had 2 different places in his surgical suture that erupted.  Literally, there were 2 open places on his head that were draining blood and puss in substantial quantities.  

I was floored.  I immediately called the nursing service and requested a nurse come as soon as possible.  After considering it for about a minute, I call Dr. Matthews, our radiation oncologist who is also the medical director of Vista and explained the situation to her.  She went in to action also.  A nurse was dispatched to the house and upon examining Thomas, an ambulance was sent and he was taken to the emergency room at Greenville Memorial hospital.  

The doctor that we saw at the hospital is also on the board at Vista and he sat down with Barbara and me and said that we had 2 choices.  He could arrange for surgery again to try and clean out the infected area but that choice would require that Thomas stay in the hospital for a week or so and he said that he felt that there was a high likelihood that the new suture may not heal.  The second option was that he would open Thomas up in the emergency room with a local anethestic, clean out the area the best that he can, put a drain in and put him on high doses of antibiotics.  With either method, he has concerns that they will not be able to get on top of the infection.  I went with Option 2.  Thomas has been terrified of going to the hospital and it creates extreme anxiety for him.  I medicated him before we left today to help him with dealing with all the turmoil.  I knew that he would not want to be in the hospital for a week and the results with  Option 1 did not sound more promising.  

They gave him morphine before he was transported back home this evening and I have been advised to keep him on oxycontin because when the local wears off, there's going to be pain from the suture.  The nurses will start coming every day now to moniter his progress.  A nurse and a home health care aide came yesterday and neither noticed anything.  I honestly believe that the infection had probably be brewing but the outburst did not happen until early this morning.  

I am so angry.  I know that everyone tells me I'm not supposed to ask why and instead why not? but that's not comforting to me.  I know that I'm supposed to take these things in stride, but I'm not and I'm tired from watching Thomas have to go through these constant challenges.  Why?   I don't want him to hurt anymore or have to deal with the what if's.  Today, while waiting for the ambulance to arrive, I watched my children's eyes and I knew they were scared.  

Thomas told Barbara and me today in the emergency room that he's lucky every day.  That will tear you up or at least it did me.  He has such a tremendous attitude and even when he's scared and wondering what's going to happen, his concern is far more for the children and me than himself.  

Another setback but we will plug along again tomorrow and the next day and the next.  It has been incredibly comforting to have Barbara with me this week, she's been my pillar of strength. I've had to make all kinds of decisions this week in areas that I've never dealt with before so I'm grateful that she spent this time helping me.  

I think with all I've said, you have lots to pray for on behalf of Thomas.  Please do.  We love you!


Ron Carbaugh

[firstturn]

Happy Father's Day to all the Fathers out there and thanks for your Prayers for Thomas and his Family.

Ron Carbaugh