New Year

Here is hoping the new year will bring health and well being to all.  Now that we have started the new year, mom has a new date for her stem cell transplant;  January 12.  She will be allowed to receive cards and letters and even a few visitors if they are healthy.  I will post the address but will not have her room number until closer to the day so please remember to look again for that to put on any card you may wish to send.

As a family, I cannot tell you how much the prayers, wishes, etc have meant to mom and dad, as well as Chip and myself.  Knowing you are loved by many is such a blessing and seeing it in action has brought me to tears several times especially over this holiday season.  People that don’t even know mom and dad have read the magazine article and sent cards and prayers and her church family has done so much for them both.  Mom has a wonderful group of friends that she has known since school and they have also been generous with their time as well as financially.

I believe there was a quote by Helen Keller that says, “"Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light."  May we all walk among friends.

Postponement

Well, after consulting with the doc on the 23^rd, mom has decided to postpone her stem cell transplant so that she can do a little recuperation.  It looks as if  she will be waiting for two weeks to see if it makes any difference.  With the pain in the legs and her being tired so much, they felt a little rest would do her good.  He did prescribe Lyrica for her legs and still on the Vicodan. 

After talking with her myself, I think she wasn’t quite at peace with this transplant at this time.  I am hoping that once she feels a little better, the fighting spirit will return and she will dive head on into the unknown.

Thank you for the continued prayers and support for my family.  This Christmas has been especially meaningful….different, but special none the less.

Pain

Pain is a funny thing.  You can't really see it.  Sometimes you don't really know that a person is in pain unless they express it to you.  It can be constant or come and go.  In most cases, we don't even know what is causing it..just that it hurts.  That is what mom is going through right now.  It is located mostly from both knees down and it is a constant hurt.  She is waiting to see what Dr. Zakem says, maybe another cat scan or different meds.  Something to ease the pain.



She is really quite amazing to me the way she handles it all though.  I wonder if at times she doesn't want others to worry or fuss.  I think the only real time she has ever expressed how bad it is is when she asks me to start the prayer chain for her.  I believe her faith is what keeps her strong and knowing that God is good and will be with her through  the pain.

She and dad will be going to U of M on the 23rd to see Dr. G. and get all the final info on the transplant.  She harvested all her stem cells in two days when she was there earlier, which is quite wonderful.  Dad had a stint put in his groin area to try to increase blood circulation to his leg (and his decaying toe) so hopefully he will be in less pain and able to keep up with this journey.

Continued prayers are requested for her strength, endurance, and peace.

December

As I type, mom is undergoing her stem cell harvesting at U of M.  I honestly think that when she began all the testing for the stem cell transplant that she secretly hoped she would not be a candidate.  I believe God has big plans for her and all was well with the testing and she is underway.

Last week, she began with the shots to boost her marrow production and keep the prayers up that she will have a quick harvest.

As far as the cancer goes, all testing shows that she is in remission and that there is no more abnormal protein in her blood.  Because of the meds, she has pain and numbness in her hands, legs, and feet and also she has been getting headaches.  The doc is hoping that once she is off the drugs, those symptoms will diminish.

We had a great time with my brother and family during Thanksgiving and looking forward to his Christmas visit this weekend.  Please keep the prayers for our family as we lift up my aunt's husband, Mel to God's care because he is looking at bypass surgery this week and the doctors are not sure he will make it through the surgery.  Mom and dad are very close to them as we are and it has been a terrible blow to them not to be able to do anything for them.

Thank you for all the prayers, and well wishes.  We are truly blessed by wonderful family and friends.

U of M

November 28, 2011   

On the Eve of December another post on the blog before the month long process of the stem cell transplant.  Wednesday, we go to U of M to go through the battery of tests from CAT scans to bone marrow testing.  We are hoping that all goes smoothly and that the day is not a drag for her.  I will learn how to give her her chemo on the 27^th of December.  I believe that we will also get a better idea as to when she goes in the hospital, if she can receive visits, phone calls, flowers, etc.

She had a beautiful Thanksgiving with family all around.  She watched the youngest grandchildren bake cookies and the baby Reuben roll around on the floor.  Chip helped dad put up some outdoor decorations and we enjoyed  listening to each others stories of years past.

Here is trusting that her neuropathy will diminish and any side effects will be minimal.

Last chemo

What a ride…. the last couple of months with the chemo, physical therapy etc. and still we prevail.  As we sat in chemo, today in our cozy little corner of the world, we watched as a patient was helped from their wheelchair to the recliner to receive their chemo or blood or what have you and we found that just a short few weeks ago, we were there.  My mom was dependant on those around her for her basic needs and now, she is more independent, more confident and more capable of taking care of herself.  We are truly blessed with how her progress has made her more like she was before the diagnosis.

Now, she waits until the end of the month when she goes through the testing for U of M and then the harvesting of the stem cells and the ultimate hardship on her body…the mega doses of chemo.  I think the isolation will be the hardest part.  We go through that at the end of December so prayers are most requested then for the healing and no infection to be introduced during that time.

Mom has said that some people are asking what they can do to help.  They are requesting gift cards for gas or hotel stays while they are at U of M.  I think the gas cards are the best and money for the hotel would be the best for them.

We are so blessed that this has been a fairly smooth transition for her and that her body has not reacted negatively to the chemo except for the neuropathy.  Praises, praises.

Almost done

So far, so good.  We went to GR for chemo, my mom, my aunt Teresa and I on Friday. The ride over was very nice.  The weather still a little on the gloomy side, but it was a pretty nice day overall.  Mom is still having quite a bit of pain from the chemo drugs which causes her hands, feet and legs to burn and ache.  It is not a very nice feeling.  Most of the time it can be controlled with a med, but the med she was taking seemed to be making it all worse.  They switched her to a pain med and that has taken some of the edge off, but not completely gone.  The worst part is that when chemo is done, it is not guaranteed to go away. 

It was very nice to have my aunt here to help mom with things around the house.  She wrapped presents and put some decorations up and just spent time with her.  I am sure my dad appreciated the time away as well.  This way he doesn’t feel so guilty when he has other things to do but wants to make sure that she is taken care of as well.

Friday will be her last chemo treatment before going to U of M.  She goes on December 12 for all the testing to be done.  Then, right after Christmas, it all starts.  She has one day in which she has to have a chemo shot every hour on the hour and immediately following, she goes to the hospital for her month long stay.  I am a bit scared and excited that she may be nearing the end of this part of the journey.  Hopeful that it will be a long span in between when we will have to go through any of this again.

Prayers for less pain, endurance, and strength.