We're Still Here

Wow! Where has the time gone?

Sorry it's been so long since we've updated the journal. We have been busy. Busy with Christmas things and with Donna's medical situation.

First, we hope everyone had a wonderful CHRISTmas. We had a great time with family and friends for Christmas and the girls got some great gifts. Rachel got a unicycle, which she totally loves. She keeps riding it around the kitchen and living room. She is getting pretty good on it so far too. One of Emily's favorite gifts was a bunk bed for her American Girl dolls. Donna made the bedding for it too. She got the fabric from JoAnne's and made it special for Emily. Emily really like that.

Second, the stone is still wreaking havoc on Donna. There have been times of severe pain and discomfort. She says it is the most pain she has ever felt. It also has occurred during the most inopportune times, like the middle of the night. Last night was pretty bad. She was not able to get comfortable, the pain was excruciating. She ended up taking a bath, which helped, and some pain medication to help, but that really wipes her out, and she does not like doing that if she can avoid it. But, this was unavoidable. Yesterday, we went again to have the stone zapped with the ultrasound machine. They said there was still a small stone in there, and this should take care of it. We'll see. We have not been really thrilled with the care she's received from the urologist during this time, but we are hopeful the end is in sight. She is scheduled to get the stent removed next Monday. We hope that this will all end then. Get this stent out and get back to fighting the cancer. She has not had a chemo treatment in awhile. She was not able to get one at the last appointment, because her white blood count was too low. The next one is scheduled for January 9th. Check the calendar at the bottom of the journal for times and dates.

We still need to tell all of you how covered in prayer we feel. God is good. Even when we feel like we cannot do this anymore, God is faithful and something happens that renews our hope. We are also very thankful for the time off I have right now from my job. I don't go back to work until January 5th, so I'm able to stay with Donna and be with her all the time.

We are truly blessed with people who love us and care for us. I have to also tell you what a trooper Donna is. Her persistence and perseverance is quite amazing!

Thank you all for your comments and prayers. We are having a tough time right now and need prayer for peace and hope that there is an end to this.

For specific prayer, please pray for:

1. No nausea for Donna from either the pain of the kidney stone or the pain medication itself.
   
2. The kidney stone fragments would pass quickly and easily in the next couple of days.
3. The stent would come out next Monday.
4. Donna would renew her strength spiritually and physically.

Thanks!
~Scott

Its Still There

We visited the urologist again today and found out that the kidney stone has dropped back into the kidney, so the stent will remain in until the stone passes. The pain has been less severe over the last couple of days, but it had been the most intense pain I've ever felt. More than childbirth without drugs! I'm going to repeat the lithotripsy on December 29th.

Going for chemo #10 tomorrow, then I get a week off! :) I'll start another cycle of 3 rounds after the new year.

There was an article in the Clarkston News about the company that does our complimentary cleaning service, Cleaning for a Reason. Check it out here.

(Click the image)

Let It Snow

We got a foot of snow here today! It's beautiful and the girls enjoyed playing in it.

At my appointment with the urologist, I found out that the kidney stone has not passed yet. He believes it is broken into bits, but it sure looks whole on the x-ray. He couldn't remove the stent, so the pain continues. The medication he gave me for the pain makes me very sleepy. So much for my plan to do some baking, wrapping and laundry today, but I had a great nap!

We are just about ready for Christmas. I've had to change some of my expectations, and I've done less than I normally would, but it will be wonderful just the same. I'll get chemo on Tuesday, so I should still feel pretty good for Christmas, as long as this kidney stone is gone. Thank you for continuing to pray for our family.

Monday Night Update

According to the doctor, my procedure went well this morning. I was sedated to keep me very still, and an ultrasound was used to break up the kidney stone into tiny fragments. It's amazing technology. I was expecting to leave the hospital feeling perfectly fine, so maybe the pain will go away tomorrow...

I'll go to a follow-up appointment on Friday, and if an x-ray shows that the fragments are gone, he'll remove the stent. Please pray for that, okay?

Also, we found out that our insurance won't cover two precedures in the same day, so my chemo was rescheduled to 8:00 tomorrow.

Nothing went according to MY PLAN! It is so comforting to know that God's plans are perfect, that He loves me, and that nothing surprises or worries Him.

There's no place like home...

Thank you for the prayers during my unexpected hospital stay. It was wonderful to sleep in my own bed last night and much of today. I'm feeling okay, but will be glad when the kidney stone is zapped tomorrow. Please pray for me at 8:45 am.

I'll also get chemo tomorrow at 1:00. Please pray that my blood counts will be good enough for a full dose.

Your comments are very encouraging to me. Thank you for stopping by to check up on me!

We're Coming Mama!

Donna called and we can come and get her ASAP.

We are all excited, but guess who is most excited?

The Boy

A Slight Change of Plans

Ok. We just got a change of plans.

Seems that some kidney test that was done has come back elevated to the point they want to keep her overnight. They will put her on an antiboitic and do a re-test in the morning.

I'll be getting the girls from my mom tonight, and then we will go and get Donna after the tests in the morning.

~ Scott

Like a piece of spaghetti

Just talked with the Dr. after Donna's procedure. She did great. She'll be in recovery for an hour or so, but she get's to go home tonight! The Dr. said once the stent is in, there is nothing more they will do here in the hospital.

The stent goes right around the stone and into the kidney. The Dr. described it as a piece of spaghetti - "al dente" - but more firm. She should not have much pain. He didn't even prescribe a pain medication for her. She can take Tylenol for pain if needed.

Then, we wait for the zapper machine to come to town. They will use a machine that travels around to different hospitals that will use ultrasound to dissolve the stone into many small ones. Small enough to be able to pass without pain.

(I just got the call as I was typing this that they scheduled her for Monday @ 8:45 to have her stone zapped! - that was quick!)

Once that is done she will have the stent removed in a Dr. visit a week or so later.

~ More later.

Going Under

Donna is in her procedure right now. Shouldn't be long. She has not eaten now for about 27 hours. She can't wait to be done with this thing. She can't wait to eat.

The TV in her room was not working... so we let the nurse know. They came in and replaced the TV (a wall mount). It looked like a construction site. Ladders, people, tools everywhere. Kinda weird. IV constantly not working, beeping, people coming in and out.

If you need rest, don't plan on getting it in the hospital.

Between a rock and a hard place

Donna and the girls went to Henry Ford Museum yesterday. They had a great time with another homeschooling family. They said there are some cool new exhibits there right now. The girls particularly like the "Star Wars" stuff, since we recently introduced them to the IV, V, and VI series.

On the ride home from there (around 4pm), Donna was not feeling right. She was having some pretty severe waves of pain in her abdomen. She took a bath which helped, and waited to see if it would go away. Around 6:30 pm, she'd had enough, so we called my mom to come and get the girls (Thanks Mom!) and I took her to the emergency room. We were a little sad because we were scheduled to go and watch Emily's ballet practice, as it was parent watch night. But Emily came up with the great idea of Rachel videoing the practice with her new camcorder she got for her birthday.

After waiting a couple of hours in the ER and getting an X-ray and a CT scan, it was determined she has a 7mm kidney stone! Yikes.

She stayed overnight and finally got into a room around 5am today.

So, here's the deal as it is right now.

She was scheduled for chemo today. Her chemo Dr. came and saw us this morning in the hospital just as we were wondering what was going to happen with that today. He basically said that she would not be getting her chemo today, based on the timing of the procedure for the kidney stone. She will get in on Monday instead.

She is scheduled to get a stent put in to help move the kidney stone more down the path. Because of where it is located, they need to do this before they can zap it and break it into smaller pieces.

She may need to spend another night in the hospital, but we will wait to see. I'll update more later, as I'm working from the hospital as well (as much as I can).

Please pray for this wonderful woman… she knew something was not right and wondered why she was not feeling quite right over the last couple of days. We are rejoicing that this is not due to her liver and that it can be taken care of quickly.

Be back later…

~Scott

Busy Week!

A dear friend told me she had been worried about me because I hadn't updated much last week. I'm sorry for the absence. I didn't have chemo last Friday, so I was feeling great and I filled each day! I did some shopping and stayed up until eleven o'clock a couple of nights. My sister's family arrived from Japan, so we've had some good time together. We finally met our nephew that was born in March, and my niece enjoyed playing in the snow for the first time in awhile.

Rachel turned twelve on Friday. We took some friends to Chuck E. Cheese on Thursday to celebrate. We also had family celebrations on Friday and Saturday evenings. I also attended a beautiful ladies' tea with my Mom and sisters on Saturday. Yesterday we went to the girls' piano recitals. They both did a great job on their pieces.

Chemo on Friday went fine, and my doctor told me that the comparison of the two CT-scans showed good progress. Hooray! Thank you for your prayers!

I'm feeling pretty well. I just get really tired and my bones ache. These are side effects of the chemo, not the cancer, so I try not to complain. Yesterday, my sweet Emily told me I was getting "just a little whiny" and that a nap would help a lot. Who's the parent here??

Thankful

My last post was almost a week ago! Our Thanksgiving was wonderful, and our time away was fun, yet restful. The girls had a great time with our family, and we are all together again, turning our attention to "decking the halls."

My sister's family arrived safely from Japan today, and we are so excited to see them. This afternoon the girls did all of their school work for tomorrow so that we can get to my parents' house early.

We have gotten several inches of fresh snow today. It's beautiful!

Scott sang a solo at church today, and I want to share it with you. It clearly expresses the source of our strength during tough times. Our church usually only records the sermon, so the recording is rough, but I think you'll be blessed anyway! It may take a moment to load.

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Thank you for your prayers and the comments that you leave here for us!

Monday Night Update

We saw my oncologist today. We were anticipating a report of the comparison of the two CT-scans, but the hospital lost the disc with the scan from September. I'm trying to be understanding, but they've only had it since Friday, and mine is the second one reported missing today! I stopped by the radiologist here in Clarkston to pick up another copy and will deliver it to my chemo nurse tomorrow.

My doctor explained his long-term plan. He said that I'll have chemo for six to eight more weeks, then we'll do a third CT-scan. If things have continued to improve, he will discontinue chemo and give me a different anti-estrogen drug in hopes that it will take over the control of the cancer. This is just one option, and things could change along the way, but it's good to have a plan in mind.

We're looking forward to this week. We're celebrating Thanksgiving with my family on Wednesday evening, then Scott and I are heading to Petoskey for a little getaway until Saturday.

On Sunday, my sister, Gail, and her family are coming in from Japan. They'll be in this area for December, and will move to Columbus, Ohio in January. We will finally meet our new nephew. He's almost nine months old. The girls are really anxious for some good time with our ten-year-old niece.

Thank you all for your prayers and encouraging comments. It has been fun to hear from old friends, make new friends, and have contact with those of you who are far away.

Sunday Night Update

My chemo appointment on Friday went well. My liver enzymes were back down, so my sister and I celebrated with some hot cocoa from Starbucks and a stop at Target. 'Tis the season!

My white blood count was a little low, so Scott has injected me with two shots of Neupogen this weekend. When he did the first one yesterday, it didn't hurt at all, so I was sure I could do it myself today. Needles really don't bother me anymore, yet I found it impossible to inject myself! Scott actually seems to enjoy it a little, and he does a good job. My wonderful chemo nurse, Lisa, was willing to come out both days and do it for us if we preferred. She does far more than her job requires, and I thank God for her.

A radiologist was comparing my last two CT-scans on Friday, so we should get another report when we see my oncologist tomorrow afternoon. We don't expect to hear any new or significant news, but I'll update tomorrow evening anyway.

I'm feeling well, except for some aching bones caused by the shots. It's really cold in Michigan this weekend, so I'm headed to the sofa to snuggle with my family. What could possibly be better?

24

Today I will have my twenty-fourth round of chemo in all. Along with a total of ten surgeries and 34 rounds of radiation, it surprises me that this battered body still functions. It also amazes me that I feel so good!

Many people ask about the side effects of my chemo this time. The fatigue is most prominant, yet it really isn't debilitating. The others are just annoyances; my nose runs all the time, except when it's bleeding, food tastes strange to me if I can taste it at all, and sometimes my bones and joints ache a little. The hair loss doesn't really bother me anymore, although I must admit that I would like to keep my eyelashes and eyebrows. So far, so good!

Each moment with my family makes it all worthwhile. God is hearing your prayers and is meeting all our needs. Thank you.

More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that sufferings produce endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. Romans 5: 3-5