Go Steve - Steve's Updates

Updates from Steve’s cancer-free life

October 21, 2009

The Art of the Possible

Filed under: Video, living life — Tags: , , , , , , — By Libby @ 4:31 pm

Cancer is a diagnosis feared by many, its treatment understood by few.

The Art of the Possible invites audiences into the worlds of five families living with cancer, its treatment, and what remains in the aftermath. At once humorous and haunting, producers Hayward and Harter present a narrative portrayal of families trying to create “a new normal” in the midst of cancer, and the care providers that serve them. The Art of the Possible offers the public and medical community-at-large a glimpse of cancer care that couples conventional therapies with humanizing communication practices.

Art of the Possible Demo from Casey Hayward on Vimeo.

May 14, 2008

waiting for another surgery

Filed under: gallbladder problems — Tags: , , — By steve @ 8:17 am

I’ll find out on thursday between 1 and 3 what time my surgery will be on friday. I’m pretty excited to get this done and in my past.

The pain has been coming and going, it wasn’t too bad for about 2 days but now it’s been rough in the mornings again.

Not much else has been going on…no news is good news though!

If you see my parents you can wish them each a happy birthday, they both had theirs in the last week and a half. My dad is a year older and my mom is a year younger!

onward!
SDS

January 17, 2006

(mom [carla])

Filed under: chemotherapy — Tags: , — By steve @ 6:37 am

Dad and Steve have had some good “bonding” time this last week as Glen was in Minneapolis. He even gave Steve the neulasta shot!!

January 13, 2006

(mom [carla])

Filed under: chemotherapy — Tags: , , , , , — By steve @ 6:36 am

Glen and Steve returned to Fargo around suppertime, but by around 10 pm Steve and Libby were in the Meritcare ER. Steve was running a temperature, nausea, vomiting, headache, etc. He was admitted to the 7th floor at Meritcare Hospital. The Minneapolis doctors were in close contact with the Fargo medical personnel so Steve was able to follow the same protocol–more antibiotics, more blood, & many lab tests! He was discharged Tuesday noon–hopefully he can have some quality days before starting chemo again next Monday in Minneapolis. We are looking forward to some tasty fish at the benefit to be held Sunday January 22 from 11-2 at the Masonic Center in Langdon.

October 7, 2005

(lib)

Filed under: chemotherapy — Tags: , , , , , , , — By steve @ 6:20 am

The past two weeks have gone by with hardly a problem. The chemo drug Steve received in mid-September (called Cisplatin) knocked him out, but the last two weeks Steve has gotten Methotrexate, which is pretty easy for him to take – the only side-effect being possible mouth sores and a little nausea. After Cisplatin Steve stared losing the bit of hair he got back after surgery, so his mom got the honor of shaving his head! Not an easy task, let me tell you.

Steve got to spend about 5 days at home, where he got to know our new cat, Persnickity aka Percy. He is the friendliest cat he’s ever seen, and he even likes to play fetch! He likes Llibby best tho. We ate pizza, tacos and ice cream: Steve has been steadily gaining weight back, however he is still 30 lbs less than when he came to the hospital in April.

We’re currently in the hospital awaiting discharge, and hope to spend the weekend relaxing before Cisplatin starts again Monday. We’ve been on a different floor than usual, 7D. This is a change of scenery from bright colors and crying babies that we had before on the Children’s floor. We even had a quiet roomate up here.

Every day seems to be getting more normal, but we still have a long road to go. We’re both excited for the GoSteve fundraiser this weekend and will be with you in spirit on that day. We listened to the radio spot on Froggy 99.com and were impressed that the event is getting such good coverage. Thanks Brandon, Stacy and Liz! And thanks to all those who helped out!

June 30, 2005

(lib)

Filed under: chemotherapy — Tags: , , , — By steve @ 8:07 pm

Steve is currently out of the hospital, and staying at the Town Place Suites in downtown Minneapolis. His second round of chemo went LOADS better than the last one. He got sick a few times and didn’t eat for a few days, but now he is eatin like normal (almost). His cast is pissing him off, but overall things are right on schedule. The only downfall about not being in the hospital is someone has to be with him 24-7. Hopefully this weekend Steve’s mom will take some time off and go up to their cabin on Ottertail lake: she deserves a good relaxation.

The new address for Steve is: Steve “Billy-Ray” Symons Town Place Suites, Room 131 525 North Second Street Minneapolis, MN 55401

June 9, 2005

(from Drew Paris)

Filed under: chemotherapy — Tags: , , — By steve @ 4:08 pm

Stopped by and saw Steve at the hosptial this afternoon. His mom is now back in the Cities for awhile, so she was in the room with him as well. Libby is still staying with him at the hospital. She is only a 20 minute bus ride from her job downtown Minneapolis. Steve seemed to be in great spirits when I saw him, so keep up the calls and visits.

He finally got his laptop computer setup, and he was busy playing Doom 3. Nice new computer – Dell XPS Laptop with all the bells and whistles. He’d probably appreciate any new games people can send/get him. The only problem is he has terrible internet access, so he can’t do online gaming. Also some games that need internet access (Half Life 2) won’t work at all (at least that’s what he said).

Also, Steve is back to eating normal food again for the past week or so, although his stomach has shrunk considerably after not eating solid food for 1+ months, so he gets full easily. His doctors want him to have 3000 calories a day! So if you visit, call and ask him what food you can bring for him. His doctors seriously told him not to waste time with vegtables and fruits, and just get a lot of fat and protein. Basically pizza, hamburgers, burritos, etc. are good. Since they took him off the IV feed, he needs those calories.

Also, they have him on these “Boost” health shake in a can things. Remember those from like 1993? They look terrible, if someone has a better suggestion please get them for him. I think he can keep them in his fridge and have those instead (make sure you ask him first).

This is basically the first time he’s felt normal in a long while. I suppose it will be this way until his next Chemo intake. Let’s hope it’s not as bad as last time. Again, keep up the calls, packages, and visits.

May 28, 2005

(from Ben Crockett)

Filed under: chemotherapy — Tags: , , , , , — By steve @ 4:02 pm

Wednesday, May 25th – Saturday, May 28th:

When I got there Wednesday Steve was feeling pretty much normal, aside from being stuck in his bed that is. On Thursday, Steve’s mom had to go back home. That night he started chemo again. He was warned about the posibility of developing mouth and throat sores with this batch. He has to take good care of his mouth and brush his teeth often. They also have him drink some not so tasty medicines to coat his throat every four hours. He felt a little queazy when they initially started the chemo but didn’t have much trouble sleeping. On Friday, he still felt really good. He felt very little mouth or throat irritation, and hasn’t thrown up for several days. They are starting to cut back on his IV and he is regaining his appetite. He had some pizza and chicken yesterday. When I left today (Saturday), he was still feeling good. So, things are looking up for now. He will have chemo again next Thursday and that will complete his first “round”.

May 24, 2005

(from Mike Rybak)

Filed under: chemotherapy — Tags: , , — By steve @ 4:00 pm

Steve is in great spirits as he is starting to feel like eating again. The sooner he feels better the sooner his next round of chemo can start and he can get the heck out of the hospital.

Steve’s mom in now in town indefinitely to be with him when Libby is at work during the day.

May 18, 2005

(from Josh Malnourie)

The endoscopy showed what appears to be some fungal growth right above his stomach in the lower part of his throat. This seems to explain the constant vomiting and soreness that Steve has been experiencing. This also means that the Chemo treatment has been delayed at least one week. Steve is on anti-fungal medication right now for this, and it will be monitored to ensure it goes away.

Sounds like Steve will be moving rooms soon, as they are remodeling the section of rooms that Steve is in now. More info to come in the next week.

Timberwolves cheerleaders were visiting folks in the hospital today. However, they were not able to stop in and visit Steve in his room. This didn’t really bother Steve at all, but Glenn and I were pretty disappointed as Glenn had his camera ready

Today for the first time certain food smells were pretty bothersome to Steve. So if you can help it, don’t bring in a juicy steak to eat in front of him, as that smell (or others) could make him feel ill. (not to mention it’s mean as Steve has not been able to eat anything for over 2 weeks!

no vomiting today (so far – yesterday he vomited right around midnight)

4 weeks down ~30 to go!

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