C Diff is Gone, Hello Back Injury

Craig's feeling better.  The good bacteria is winning the battle and the c. diff seems to have left his system after 2 weeks of Flagyl.  Luckily no fecal transplant needed!  We cross-country skied up Millcreek Canyon last week with Scout and Craig did pretty dang good for an old guy.  Unluckily, the next day we had icy rain and Craig fell on the driveway and probably cracked a rib.  He's moving pretty gingerly now.  Not much you can do but wait for it to heal.  We're escaping the cold and yucky air in Salt Lake and heading to Las Vegas this week.

C.Diff

Craig has had a sinus infection for the past few months and has taken 3 different antibiotics to try and get rid of it. Now after all the antibiotics he has Clostridium difficile, known as "C.Diff". To understand what C.diff is I've copied the definition from WebMD:

The average human digestive tract is home to as many as 1,000 species of microorganisms. Most of them are harmless -- or even helpful -- under normal circumstances. But when something upsets the balance of these organisms in your gut, otherwise harmless bacteria can grow out of control and make you sick. One of the worst offenders is a bacterium called Clostridium difficile (C. difficile, or C. diff). As the bacteria overgrow they release toxins that attack the lining of the intestines, causing a condition called Clostridium difficile colitis.

Poor Craig has been suffering the last week with increased pain in the abdomen and relentless diarrhea. Last Thursday (1/10) he had a test that determined he has C. diff. Now he's on another antibiotic (Flagyl) that is supposed to cure this. He has little appetite and is dehydrated but is feeling a little better day by day. C.diff can be hard to cure with a compromised immune system. He'll be on a two week course of antibiotics which should hopefully make it go away. Otherwise there's another antibiotic he could take that's very expensive (Vancomycin) which he'll have to take if the first one doesn't work. He's also trying to eat yogurt every day (not his favorite) and taking a Probiotic pill to help balance the organisms in his gut.

2012 Wrap Up

Well, we made it through 2012 without much incident.  Craig is still kicking (and throwing up) almost daily.  His body is still going although his stomach is weak and not enjoying the normal rich foods of the holiday season.  Luckily he's not losing weight so that's miracle in itself.  He has been cross country skiing twice and has amazing energy at times then crashes for awhile.  But he's always moving at some point during the day.  His last doctor appointment the end of October was positive mostly.  The scan showed the tumors are still not growing.  Amazing after 2 years and 2 months of being on Sutent.  His blood work was good except for the Chromogranin A which has gone from about 8,000 to 13,000.  That is the tumor marker number that has been all over the place.  But since he's been on Sutent it's been way down.  So the upward trend is not a good sign but we'll reserve too much judgment until he has another appointment the end of January.  This will not include a scan, just blood work.

The rest of the family is doing well.  Chase will be starting his final semester at the U of U in Economics.  Graduating in May!  Craig was diagnosed right before Chase graduated high school.  We're almost 4 years later so we are shooting for Craig being at Chase's U graduation. That will be a momentous day and truly a miracle for all of us.  Maddie is in her 2nd year at the U and is majoring in Biology.  She plans to be a Physician's Assistant one day.  She will be a T.A. in Anatomy this upcoming semester.  She loved the class last semester so is thrilled to be chosen to T.A.  I am enjoying my "off-season" from work and going to Pilates 2 times a week and walking/hiking with Scout most other days.  Running doesn't sound fun in the cold cold air we're experiencing now.  Looking forward to Spring.  Maddie and I plan to run another half marathon in 2013.  She's great to prod her mother along. Wishing everyone reading this a Happy 2013!  We didn't send out Christmas cards because we didn't have a photo I loved so sorry about that.  Here's a few photos from Christmas...

Chase, Suzy, Craig and Maddie at Harmon Christmas party at Hatches. 

Maddie made beautiful gingerbread cookies.

Chase and Maddie with her beautiful chocolate dessert

 Craig and Lisa (little sister) making the traditional ebleskivers.

 The original Doutré family:  Grandma Greta with (left to right) Lisa, Greta-Ann, Scott, Craig and David.

 The five Doutré kids.