1 March, 2008
Kirk's been running a fever since Tuesday...at times it's been 102
o. Mom and Dad are still in Tomball. Kirk goes for his scan on Tuesday
(4 March) and should get the results by the end of the week. Maggie and i will go to visit them on Saturday and on Sunday go to a shooting competition in Rosenberg.
(Click here to read about Maggie's latest shooting match.)
16 February, 2008
Kirk's boss Nancy Loving called Diane Monday to check on Kirk. She said that no one at Oracle is pressuring her for Kirk to go on long term disability - that he shouldn't worry about it.
Dr. Erwin, Kirk's hospice oncologyst, gave Kirk a prescription for extended relief Oxycodone, which Kirk can take twice a day. It should keep him from having "peaks and valleys" in how he feels. He can still take the hydrocodone for breakthrough pain if he needs it. The Oxycodone doesn't have Tylenol in it like the hydrocodone does, so it might be better for Kirk's liver. Kirk is going to try it and see if he likes it. He just got a 2-week supply to try out. Kirk didn't want to try any different nausea medication, and he didn't want anything to help him sleep, but Dr. Erwin talked about different options and said those drugs are just a phone call away if Kirk decides he needs them.
He didn't think Kirk's liver felt enlarged, so that's good. He said the stomach bloating could be from his pancreas not releasing enough enzymes, and he liked that Kirk is taking enzymes and bile salts. It could also just be more tumor growth in the liver.
Mom and Dad went to Tomball on Thursday. They'll stay for quite some time. They celebrate their 53rd anniversary this week.
9 February, 2008
Kirk went to see his nutritionist this week...quote from Diane's email
"-Spent a long time with Stuart talking about death, and that Kirk might not be dying (or he might not be) but that it's not in his control. It was refreshing to talk about what might (or might not be) be going on."
-Kirk he has an appointment with Dr. Erwin
(the hospice oncologist)on Tuesday and an appointment with the nutritionist on Wednesday. Mom and Dad are driving down on Thursday and will stay at least until he has his scan
(early March). Kirk has had a lot of pain lately.
26 January, 2008
Mom and Dad spent last weekend in Tomball with Kirk. He was feeling bad most of the time...running a fever and in pain. They are talking about going down again in February for an extended stay. Mom says Kirk has more bad days these days than good days...she feels he might need someone there all the time. Diane, bless her heart, takes such good care of him...but she has a job and 2 kids...
12 January, 2008
Happy New Year...Kirk and Diane called on New Year's Day...he sounded in good spirits...it was a good day for him. He went in to work some this past week.
23 December, 2007
Sorry it's been so long since my last update. No real changes...i'm in Dallas, we had a "Christmas" last night at Kara's house. Mom and Dad, Kara and her family, Kirk, Diane and Tori and i. Kirk opened gifts from us and Diane opened her gifts...She and Tori will return to Tomball today. Mom and Dad will take Kirk back after Christmas, i'll go back to SA tomorrow early. It was fun...the Kohls always put on a spread for us.
Kirk's doing OK...good days and bad days. i'm thankful he's still with us...we feared Christmas '06 would be his last...we're blessed to have him and even more blessed he has Diane.
Merry Christmas everyone...if you'd like to read the Savage Christmas letter click
here
24 November, 2007
Happy Thanksgiving!
Kirk and Diane went to her sister-in-law Beth's parents house for dinner.
(Diane said Kirk didn't know she had any relatives left to meet...) A great meal - lots of people - a couple of babies to hold. There were 25-30 people there and they had a good day. He's seemed good this week. He'll have a day of being really tired...and then a day of seeming pretty okay. Yesterday was the most normal day they've had in a long time. Kirk and Diane watched the UT-A&M game and ate turkey/veggie chili. After the game, he took her on a really good date: to the brand new HEB on Louetta...she'd been wanting to go and they had fun.
17 November, 2007
Mom and Dad are back in Tomball this weekend. Kirk's doing well...he decided not to go back on the enzymes and has decided to stop "rifing"...apparently he realized he was "living the cancer, not his life". He's now going to concentrate on quality of life. The enzymes made him feel bad
(even though they are supposed to help his digestion) and the "rifing" took many hours a day. He's also decided to add more to his diet than just fish and veggies...more protein in particular. He'll stay in Tomball for Thanksgiving and spend it with Diane and her family...we'll be here as the girls will be home from college, Mom and Dad will stay in Dallas and have Thanksgiving with Kara and her family.
10 November, 2007
David and i saw Kirk last weekend. We were in Houston for David's brother's 50th b'day. We had breakfast with Kirk and Mom and Dad. Diane was out of town at a wedding. Kirk seemed good...very tired...i think he doesn't sleep well.
He had a scan on Tuesday and got the results on Thursday. The pancreatic cancer has not changed much, but the tumors in his liver have grown some, maybe 10%. He took it well...decided to go back on the enzymes. Mom and Dad will return to Houston on Friday...Diane will be out of town again and they like to be there when she's gone so she won't worry about Kirk. He's still working but it's very tiring for him.
27 October, 2007
Kirk leased his condo...Mom and Dad were here visiting San Antonio this weekend for Dad's b'day. They will go on to Houston tomorrow to help him move the rest of his stuff out. Thank you for your prayers, this will be a big help to Kirk financially. David and i will go to Houston next weekend for his brother's 50th b'day...we'll get to see Kirk on Sunday...on Tues he'll have another scan...can't believe it's been a year since we first starting realizing he was sick...we're so thankful he's still with us and still feeling as well as he is.
13 October, 2007
Kirk worked two days this week and said it was hard...but he's trying.
6 October, 2007
No real news or change...Kirk's still taking his enzymes so he feels good and then feels bad...but doing pretty well altogether. He'll go back to work next week. Prayers for strength are requested.
24 September, 2007
We celebrated my 50th b'day this weekend. Kirk, Diane and the kids came...it was such a sweet time. Kirk was feeling pretty good and looking well too. Details are posted on my family website.
Kirk went to the doctor this week. The doctor was very impressed with Kirk's health. Said his spleen was feeling abnormal on his last visit and this visit it seemed back to normal. They gave him the go ahead to get back to work. He'll probably work from home and go in maybe twice a week starting the 8th of Oct...exciting news.
16 September, 2007
Kirk went to Dallas this weekend...he's still driving and apparently feeling really good...
here's an except from an email from Kara...
8 August, 2007
Sorry i haven't updated in a while...but not a lot has changed. Kirk's settled into his new place and gets to see Diane quite a bit more now that she's 5 minutes away. She spoils him and that's ok with us. She goes on walks with him and says he even runs a little. He has trouble sleeping sometimes and that makes him feel bad. Keep praying...he's beat the odds so far.
24 July, 2007
i went to Houston this weekend to help with Kirk's move. Got up early Sat morning and was at his place downtown by 10am. The movers had already loaded everthing that was going to Tomball...but we left a few things in the Houston apartment...he will put it on the market soon. Please pray for a speedy sale...the market is slow right now but it would be a real blessing if he could unload that. His new place is not as luxurious as the condo but it's nice and the location is the thing. Now instead of 45 minutes to an hour for Diane or him to drive...it's 5 minutes...i think they are both excited about that. It's got 2 bedrooms so that Mom and Dad can stay with him when the need arises. He's on disability now and not working.
Mom and i cleaned his place and arranged his remaining furniture to look nice for showing. We also cleaned out the fridge and that sort of thing. Saturday Diane's sister, Peggy, had us over for dinner. Diane's brother was there with his family and we had such a good time. Peggy and her family live right behind Diane on a large property. We even went swimming. Mom and Dad and i stayed with them...they have a garage apartment, talk about luxurious!
The electricity at the Tomball apartment was not to be on until Monday...so Mom and i unpacked in the morning while it was cool. Kirk and Dad left to go downtown, they painted one whole wall, touched up several others and Dad gave the shower a thorough scrubbing. Kirk spent the night in Houston. Sunday afternoon Mom, Diane and i went out and bought him things like shower curtains, bedspreads...black out curtains for his bedroom...ect.
Monday we worked in the Tomball apartment putting up the curtains etc. but were glad to leave for lunch because the electricity still was not on. Kirk stayed in Houston and Dad joined him there. After lunch i headed back to San Antonio.
It was work and tiring but also fun and good to see Kirk and spend time with that precious Diane. i got a call from Dad about 6:30, said they finally had electricity and Kirk was on his way to Tomball...success.
19 July, 2007
Kirk sent this email out today...he sounds good.
12 July, 2007
Mom called today about Kirk's scan...the good news is there is no bad news...they were expecting bad news but the tumors have not grown (not any smaller either). Kirk's decided to move to Tomball, he's already found an apartment not too far from Diane. Since he's not working right now there's no since in being so far away from the one he loves...i think it's a great idea. Mom and Dad will return to Dallas tomorrow and go back when he moves to help him. Mom says he's doing pretty good and she was in a great mood...so that says a lot.
7 July, 2007
Mom and Dad are in Houston this week. Mom says Kirk is doing OK. He's changed his pain meds and seems to have a little more energy. He did go to his nutritionist and is down to 149 lbs...we think maybe he's not metabolizing his food...he's working on something to help that. Diane's out of town so Mom and Dad are staying there and taking care of all the animals. She and Kirk talk several times a day. Kirk goes for a scan this week...Tuesday...should get results of that by Thursday or so. He seems to have recovered from his trip.
30 June, 2007
Kirk and Diane are home again...think they had a good time...he's totally exhausted.
24 June, 2007
Kirk's week was OK...i think he got lonely and the seminar wasn't quite what he hoped for.
Diane met him there on Sat and she says he's in good spirits. Here's her latest email.
Kirk and I have had a really nice day. He has smiled and laughed and has been funny. I think the seminar might have been good for him in that he seems more relaxed than I've seen him for a long time. I told him he seems more like the old Kirk. Not so cranky. (That made him laugh.)
We drove around this morning...visited a gorgeous chapel, had lunch, moved hotels, (Now we are at the Amara Creekside Resort). Kirk has napped this afternoon - we walked around a lot and he's tired. We'll have dinner in our room.
He has a little fever right now, but says he feels pretty good.
Tomorrow we're going to explore the Vortexes here - powerful magnetic areas or something? Spiritual? We don't really know. Mostly we'll just take it easy to rest up for Tuesday...
Tuesday, if Kirk still feels this good, we'll drive to the Grand Canyon. We considered taking a bus tour, but it's just a 2-1/2 hour drive, and we can go at Kirk's pace if we drive.
It's beautiful here. I really thought we would be coming home today or tomorrow, but Kirk is happy and that makes me happy.
17 June, 2007
Kirk left for a week in Sedona, Arizona today. Please pray for his strength and energy...pray that the Lord will guide him and be close to him all week. Diane will meet him there later in the week. Dad spent a few days with him this week and he said Kirk will be ok...he'll just need to rest when he needs to.
11 June, 2007
David, the girls and i traveled to Houston this weekend. Just wanted to see Kirk and check in on him.
He's just so tired...no energy...very thin, but some what up beat. He was running a low-grade fever but not over 101o.
i cooked for him and cleaned up a bit, David and Rebecca set up his new receiver and new printer. Mostly we just hung out and spent time with him.
The next morning we met him at church and heard his pastor, Jim Jackson. He was amazing...a real Bible scholar and seemed to speak directly to my needs.
Kirk is thinking about taking a trip to Arizona this weekend, by himself. Please pray the Lord will direct his path, whether it is to go, or not to go...most of us (his family and Diane) feel he should not go.
4 June, 2007
email from Diane...
Kirk is having a good day. The hospice nurse and the chaplain came today. The chaplain had a great talk with Kirk - about healing and also about the assurance that God is in control. Kirk enjoyed it, and seems to feels good about the whole hospice thing.
The best thing he said was, "I'm sorry I'm not sicker for you today." :) They got his humor.
Dr. Erwin will come one day this week, probably tomorrow.
They said that downtown is actually a different "team" than Tomball, but that Dr. Erwin had already said he wants to be Kirk's doctor and will go wherever Kirk is. The chaplain said the same thing. Kirk is already popular.
2 June, 2007
Talked with Mom and Dad today. Kirk's doing quite well...says he's cut down to ˝ a pill (methadone) and hopes to come off it altogether. Says he's feeling so good he may move back to his apartment. He's still very weak and so skinny but has had a good appetite lately. He's been driving (with Dad) and doing errands. The hospice people have started coming and Mom says they are just wonderful. We plan to go see him next weekend if he's up to it.
27May, 2007
Mom and Dad called today...Kirk is feeling so much better, adjusting well to his meds...i think they changed them and he's being more like "Kirk". He and Diane even went on a date tonight. Said he had a really wonderful b'day...his boss from Oracle came to see him and an old friend came out to see him also. So he's had a great 3 days and is doing better. Thanks for all your prayers. i'll blog again after the hospice meeting.
26 May, 2007
Today is Kirk’s 51st birthday…i’m remembering his 50th. We had a great time. Everyone came here. Kara and her family, Mom and Dad, my whole family and Kirk…they only thing would’ve made it better was if Diane were here. We even had a family portrait taken. We went to dinner at Los Barrios…one of Kirk’s favorite restaurants when he lived here in San Antonio.
i talked to Mom and Dad this morning…he’s doing better on his meds…adjusting to them and not getting as groggy…being more alert…more himself. They have a meeting about Hospice on Monday…maybe start it at the end of the month.
19 May, 2007
Mom and Dad called this morning...Kirk's not doing well...he's been having these "rigors", an episode of shivering, accompanied by paleness and feeling cold...before a sudden onset of fever...the oncologist says the fever is probably from bile buildup and then releasing.
Dad says they'll head to Dallas later today but go back tomorrow and stay in Kirk's apartment downtown. Those wonderful friends of theirs, Pat and Trish Kelly are really supporting them through this...God has given us so many blessing in our lives. Mom and Dad may not get to come to graduation.
18 May, 2007
Kirk started on his pain meds...he's been able to sleep and his body is getting used them. He saw an oncologist on Thursday...had a good appointment. The Dr. said Kirk qualifies for Hospice care...they are looking into that. Mom and Dad spent the week in Tomball and will be back in Dallas this week. They will come to San Antonio for Lizzy's graduation
(26 May, Kirk's b'day) and then go back to Houston.
15 May, 2007
Kirk has had a bad couple of weeks. Running a 102
o fever every day, flu symptons and pain. He couldn't eat or sleep for days. He finally went to the doctor, had a CT scan and an endoscopy. The results are not good...he does have an infection which he's on an antibiotic for...but there are more tumors in his liver which is causing the pain. From what the doctor seen...he told Kirk he has 3-6 months. Doctor says he needs to have pain management, ie. drugs. He's doing better with the pain on his meds and can sleep and is able to eat more now. He says he's still not giving up. He'll see an oncologist this week. Mom and Dad are spending the week in Houston with him. He's actually moved out to Tomball in an apartment on Diane's sister's property, about 100 yards behind Dianes house. She's such a blessing...thank you Lord for bringing her back into Kirk's life.
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