WHAT A SURPRISE BIRTHDAY!!!

Hi Everyone,

Well to say that my little birthday get together with my kids turned out quite different would be an understatement!! We had planned on grilling steaks so when everyone showed up I was a little short of steaks...LOL.

You could have knocked me over with a feather when about 70 people showed up!!! It was a wonderful day seeing everyone. Friends from high school, work, Target Motorcycle Club and family. There were some people I has not seen for 15 years so it was great to catch-up!

I want to thank all of you for coming all the way to Northern IA to join us!

I want to thank my sister-in law Katy for handling all the email correspondance! I especially want to thank my wife Elizabeth for pulling off the best surprise birthday party ever! Thanks Honey!

Take care and have a good week!

Jim

Latest from Northfield Medical Center

Hi Everyone,

On Friday we met with Dr. Amatruda who is submitting me as part of a study that will help me in my battle with cancer. If I am not able to be a part of the study there are several altenatives as well so I will receive treatment no matter what.

By the way Dr. Amatruda is friends with Dr. Spurduto. They use patients like me to pass smart comments and jabs back and forth to each other. Funny!

As you know a week ago I went into the hospital for pneumonia. It has been a week now and I feel 100% better. I am going to work for the entire day tomorrow and looking forward to it!

Take care....Jim

Home!

It's so nice to be home! I got released from the hospital late this afternoon. Of course on the way home we had to stop at Target pharmacy to add a few additional bottles of medication to my ever-growing collection. We finally broke down and bought a giant pill bandolier. Just call me Poncho Cooper!

I am feeling so much better. The wonderful nurse I had yesterday was so good to get everything organized last night so I could finally get some solid sleep with the new sleeping medicine - she took my vitals before she left at 11:00 so they didn't have to wake me up later and she put a big "Do Not Disturb" sign on my door. I took the new medication and went right to sleep. THEN at 12:30 the night nurse came in and woke me up to introduce herself. WOW! Luckily I went right back to sleep and got more rest than I have been getting.

On Thursday we are meeting with a New Melanoma Specialist that has a lot of possible studies that I can participate in to help in my recovery.

For those of you reading from different parts of the country you will be glad to know that it is -8F with a wind chill of -20F!

Everyone please take care and thanks for your continued support and good wishes!

Jim

A bump in the road...

Hi everyone. This is Elizabeth again. Jim has had kind of a rough weekend. What started out as the routine virus that everyone has struggled with (sore throat, cough, fever) hit him harder than it normally would. Yesterday (Saturday) he took my advise and slept a lot during the day and we thought he was getting on top of it. But, last night his cough got worse and he hardly slept a wink. I didn't see any improvement today. After he took a bath, it appeared he was starting to get a bit unsteady on his feet and he was feeling a dizzy. Of course this scared me big time! So, we didn't mess around. I took him into Methodist Hospital ER and they gave him a full exam, chest x-ray, and head CT scan. Come to find out he has some pneumonia in his right lung. His brain is also showing some signs of swelling - which could be from lack of sleep or just a natural reaction to the procedure he had Tuesday. But, needless to say, they went into full treatment mode. They admitted him to the hospital for the night and started him on 2 heavy duty IV antibiotics along with strong steroids to reduce the brain swelling. When I left him he was already starting to feel better. I'm sure that he will sleep much better after his "cocktail" of medications. So, after my white-knuckle drive home in the blowing snow, I'm trying to relax and get some rest so I can head back into the hospital early Monday. Not the weekend we were hoping for. But, we are happy that it appears we caught the pneumonia early. You know, Jim, he'll be chomping at the bit to get back things in no time at all. Thanks again for keeping Jim in your thoughts and prayers. We continue to be comforted by the support you have all shown.
With love,
Elizabeth

Hurry up and wait.....

Hi everyone! This is Elizabeth. After our long day, I thought I would step in and take care of updating the blog for Jim tonight. Jim is doing great! As always, he handled the day like a champ. We left this morning at 5:45. Jim had the halo put on by the first neurosurgeon and had an MRI all by about 8:00. Then we waited...and waited...and waited. During this time all the doctors were coming up with the plan of attack with the focus radiation. Jim was scheduled to begin the treatment at 4:00 - but (big surprise!) Dr. Sperduto was running late and he didn't start until about 6:00. Once the treatment began, it was quite easy. They clamp the halo down and give him a series of focused radiation treatments at different angles. Other than the longggg wait, the worst part for Jim was having the halo removed. He's quite sore tonight where it was clamped to his head. The clamps go through his skin so he's got some bandages covering the 4 sites. Poor guy. I continue to be so proud of him and his wonderful attitude. He is able to come through these long days with his spirit and sense of humor in top form. We are going to both work from home tomorrow. He needs some extra rest so that his blood counts improve a bit so he can be ready for the next round of treatment (chemotherapy-pill form). He has had such trouble sleeping through the night and just HAS to get some rest. He can be a bit resistant to the idea of slowing down...good thing I can be kind of bossy (lots of experience from being a big sister....right, Katy??). So, all is well at the Cooper home. Time to tuck him into bed. Thank you so much for your continued support of my Jimmy. He draws such strength from all of you.
With love,
Elizabeth

Getting ready.....

Hi Everyone. Elizabeth and I are getting ready for my big day with Dr. Sperduto tomorrow. We are both very optimistic about this procedure, and commented to each other that we are not nervous at all. Elizabeth has "grounded" me lately, making sure I eat well and rest a lot in preparation for all that is to come. I will update you following the procedure.

Take care...Jim

Friday's Doctor Appointments

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all are having a nice relaxing weekend as we are. We had Deb and Dean Berg out for dinner on Saturday night. I went to high school with the both of them and have not done a very good job in keeping in touch with them so it was great to reconnect and spend some time together. It was funny to talk about all the bad stuff (drinking) we did in high school. We are lucky we survived that time...lol.

On Friday I had an MRI in preparation for my procedure on Tuesday. Then we met with Dr. Menge and got the results of the CT scan and it all was good news! The tumor in my chest had remained the same size. I am also being referred to a doctor that specializes in melanoma and Dr. Menge says I am an ideal candidate for this particular study. The worse side effect would be losing the rest of my hair. Needless to say this does not bother me at all. I am just trying to figure out what kind of tattoo I should put on my head...just kidding.

Take care and best wishes!

Jim

"Rock Star" Picture - Yea Right - LOL

Finally, I wanted to post this cool picture my sister-in-law Katy snapped of me on Christmas Day.

Thanks Katy!

Latest News

Hi All!

I hope everyone's New Year started out well!

Elizabeth and I celebrated our 5th Wedding Anniversary New Years Eve and went to Murray's in downtown Minneapolis. We has a wonderful meal and had great service! I would highly recommend Murray's!

I spent the day at the office today which was very enjoyable. Nice to be back in the swing of things at work! It is alright to work from home but I could not do it on a regular basis because I miss the people!

I had my CT scan yesterday which was not a big deal. The purpose of the scan is to see the status of the tumor in my chest. I will get the results of the scan from Dr. Menge (My Oncologist) on Friday afternoon. Nothing better than having a whole team of doctors are your disposal. I am hoping to add and Plastic Surgeon and a Pediatrician to fill out my medical staff! LOL!

I wanted to mention that the procedure I am having done next Tuesday is not going to have a negative impact on me physically or mentally. Dr. Spurduto says he has many people go to work the next day, some people have traveled the same night, pretty much anything. He says I might have a slight headache which can be take care of by Tylenol.

I continue to feel great and appreciate all the good thoughts, prayers and support from all of you! You all mean everything to me!

Take care.....Jim