Much to long since I have updated. Sorry. I have said it many times before, I am a horrible blogger. Hopefully most of those who are following this have some other source of info about mom! If not, good news, she is still here!!

She was scheduled to have her last chemo on July 31. When she went in to the Dr. for her check before her treatment, the dr. was very concerned about the numbness she was feeling in her legs. I believe that I have mentioned before that numbness and tingling in the hands and feet can be a side effect of the chemo. She has had numbness and tingling most of the time since she started the treatment, but it had moved from her feet, and had traveled up her legs to just under her knees. The doctor told her he did not want her to continue with chemo if the numbness did not subside. Just yesterday mom noticed a difference in her legs, she does believe the numbness is going away.

Please pray with us that she will know what to do next. The doctor told her if the numbness got better that she would be able to finish her last chemo treatment, and she would still be able to be a part of the study that she was in. If she does not get her last treatment, she will not be eligible to continue in the study. The doctors cannot promise her that the numbness will not come back, and if it does, they cannot promise her that it will not be permanant. She has been pretty well disabled these past couple of weeks, and I know it scares her to think that she might be that way forever.

Pray that the Lord will give her peace about whatever decision she makes. The study will follow her very closely for the next five years, and she really likes that, but the risk may be to great.

Thank you all for your patience with me!! Sorry i have been so bad about keeping this updated!

We are all hanging in there, and anxiously awaiting mom's 70th birthday October 7. Can't wait to celebrate a cancer free mommy.

Okay, I really do know that I am a terrible, horrible, and really unfit blogger! I don't know why it seems to be so difficult for me to update this thing, but it is. Sorry to all of my relatives who rely on this for information:)

Mom did have her fourth chemo treatment on Friday. It went well, and she only has three more to go. Malia graduated on Saturday night, and mom and dad were able to go. She would have been so sad if she would have had to miss it, but God was good, and she got to go. She also was able to come to church this morning, but by about 2:00 this afternoon, she was in quite a bit of pain. She is taking her pain pills, and counting down the days. Hopefully by Thursday, her pain will be gone, and she will be doing better.

This is the first round of chemo that she has not had a bladder infection. Hopefully she will continue to stay infection free.

Mom is really doing well, she is weaker, and more tired now, but I think that is to be expected. I will really try to update this more frequently.....sorry :)

We found out today that mom has yet another UTI. This has been continual for the past several months. I do believe they are going to send her to a urologist this time. She has been in bed the entire day, and really not feeling well at all. Please pray that the doctor will be able to determine why she is getting the infections, and be able to treat it effectively.

We went out to lunch with mom and dad today after church. We celebrated Jonah's birthday, and had a good time. She is not feeling so well tonight, she is nauseaus, and getting some leg/foot pain.

She finished up her medication for her UTI today, but she still does not think it is completely gone. Please pray specifically that the doctor would be able to figure out what the cause of the infection is, and that he will be able to find something to get rid of it. She has been fighting this infection for so long, and it is wearing on her.

Morgan is in a play this weekend, and mom really would like to go, so please pray that she would feel well enough to go see one of her performances.

Will try to update again soon if there are any changes. Thanks for praying.

Another chemo down :) Only five more treatments to go!! Chrisi went to chemo with mom this morning. They changed locations for her treatment this time, and for some odd reason, it went much faster. She went in at 8:00 this morning, and I called Chrisi about 12:30, and they were on their way out!!

That was a nice surprise for mom! I kept asking her if they forgot to give her something, it was just so much quicker than last time! One huge praise, they were able to access the port for chemo! They still were not able to get a blood return, but at least we seem to be making progress. By the time we get to treatment number seven, everything should be perfect :)

Mom was also encouraged because both of her chemo nurses seemed surprised that she hadn't lost her hair yet! Of course, she has lost her hair, but she has an amazing wig, and they couldn't even tell!!

The doctor gave her another prescription for pain. She had such pain last time with her knees and feet, they are hoping that this will work better. We are also thanking the Lord that her UTI seems to be getting better. This has been a continual struggle for the past several weeks, and we are really praying that it is gone for good!

Things are going well. We have a long way to go, but know that God is in control, and HE will bring us through this.

Mom called me this morning, and told me that she was feeling great! It has been a long time since I have heard her say anything like that! We are so grateful for the good days.

Thank you also for praying about her CT scan. We got good news today, the scan was clear. We are so grateful to the Lord to have an encouraging report. We still do not know what is causing the pressure on her bladder, but are so relieved to know it is not another abscess or the cancer :) Please pray with us that the pressure would go away, or that the doctor would be able to find out what is causing the problem.

We have so many things to be thankful for today. Thank you all again.

Mom has had a rough couple of days. She really has not felt very good since Wednesday. The pain and pressure that she felt before she was diagnosed seems to be back, so she is getting a CT scan tomorrow morning. The doctors are not sure what it is, but it could be that the abscess has come back.

She is running a low grade fever, and feeling pretty awful. I will update when we get some more information.

Thanks for praying.

Mom has had a rough couple of days. The joint pain was excruciating on Wednesday night, and Thursday. It did seem to subside a bit on Friday. We were able to go get her wig, and go to lunch. I could tell she was not feeling well at all. She ended up with a fever on Friday night, the doctor called in some antibiotics, and she is doing better today.

Her feet are killing her...wierd side affect, but she can hardly walk. So far, there has been no nausea, we are so thankful for that.

Thanks again for your prayers, please keep them going.

Please pray for mom, she is having a lot joint pain. This is one of the expected side effects, but not one she was prepared for. She is almost unable to walk because her feet, shins, and knees are hurting her so much.

They told her this should only last 24-48 hours, so we are praying that it goes away quickly. Thanks for all of your prayers. We are supposed to go pick up her wig tomorrow, I will try to post some pictures if we do!

Mom has been doing extemely well. A few minor issues today, but she is pretty tired. She went out with Lynda today. I know they had a good time, but she sounds very week tonight. We don't know if she will gain some strength over the next few weeks, or if she will continue to get weaker.

Just thought I would give a quick update. Thanks for praying for us.

Mom had her first chemo treatment today. I met her at her house this morning, and we got to the office about 8:45. Her nurse met us in the lobby, and took us down to the "Infusion Center". The nurses there were great, and made mom feel very comfortable. We picked our spot, and waited for things to get going.

After the nurse told us what to expect, she started feeling around to find mom's port. I kind of figured there was a problem, she kept moving her fingers around, and she had kind of a funny grimace on her face. She told mom that the incision was still a little puffy, but it shouldn't really be a problem! She went to get all the tubing, and pre-meds, and came back with needle in hand....

Well, the first stick, it looked like she had a blood return, and we got very excited....for a moment! Then she moved it, and no more blood. The nurse was so kind, and so was my mom!! The nurse would move the needle around, and then ask my mom how she was doing! Of course, mom would say, "I'm okay" everytime she asked!! Finally the nurse asked another nurse to come in and see if she could find the port. Well, needless to say, they tried numerous times, and were unable to get the needle into the port in the proper place!!

No need to worry though, they got the IV in with the first stick!! Praise the Lord for that. I am not kidding , I almost started praying out loud near the end of the port finding!!

Anyway, after getting the IV they gave her pre-meds, and she was super sleepy!! She would start to doze, and then out of no where start talking to me in a very messed up sort of way!! It reminded me of when I was sitting in her room after surgery, I was talking about her, and didn't realize she was listening.... She heard something that she obviously didn't like, and quickly blurted out, "You dumb head". I must say I was highly offended by her remarks, but let it fly due to her poor condition!!

Anyway, the benedryl soon wore off, and we had a wonderful time at chemo!! Michelle came to visit (what could be more fun than that !!) Around lunch time the nurses came and delivered a box lunch to my mom. It actually didn't look to bad, and I think she enjoyed. Michelle and I went to lunch, and the my Grandpa came in to visit!! I think my mom was embarrassed be/c she was the only one in the chemo lab with visitors!! At one point , there were five of us there!! Of course, we all didn't barge in together, but it was kind of funny.

Again, thank you so much for your prayers. We had a great day, and are again amazed at how good the Lord is. I will keep you posted with her progress. We are thankful to have so many people going to the Lord for us.

Just a quick update for everyone. Mom had surgery to get her port put in today. Everything went well, and she is at home resting. She sounded great when i talked to her after she got home. She will be starting chemo next Monday.

Thank you all for your continued prayers. We are so grateful.

We finally got some news!! Mom is going in for her port surgery on Monday the 16th, and will start chemo the next Monday on the 23rd. Mom has been doing wonderful! The past few weeks have been so good for all of us. She has been able to run around and seems like she is back to her old self. I am so grateful to the Lord for giving her renewed strength.

The next few months are going to be tough, but we know the Lord is able to take care of my mom. As hard as it is sometimes, I know the Lord is working in our lives and trying to mold us each to become more like Him. Please pray for us all that we will remember to exalt the Lord each and every day for what He has done for us.

Carla, this post if for you:)) For those of you who have been trying to follow my blog.....sorry!! I don't know why I am having such a hard time keeping this updated, but I am!! Maybe it has something to do with those five things running around in my house called children!! Who knows, anyway, here is the latest news....

Mom went to the gastro dr. on Friday, and he told her that there was no change in her CT scan, and be/c she was feeling so good, he told her to go back to the oncologist and get things moving on the chemo end :)) Also, there was no sign of the cancer had returned. We are praising the Lord for that, and very anxious to get started with her treatments. She went to the oncologist yesterday. The plan is to start chemo on March 23. She has many tests that need to be done before this, and she also will have a small surgery to put her port in. I do not have any dates on anything other than chemo right now. I will try to post the dates on here when I get this information.

We have had a wonderful couple of weeks. I am so grateful that mom is back to her normal self, and feeling better. I honestly wasn't sure that she was ever going to feel better, but she does! My prayer has been that she would gain her strength back before chemo started, and I believe the Lord has answered that prayer just as I had asked.

Please continue to pray for her strength, and that she will be able to tolerate the chemo without to many side effects.

I will try to update when I have new info. Thank you all for your prayers, please continue!

Last night was the first night in months that my mom was able to make dinner :) Such little things give us such excitement. She is slowly gaining more strength, and we are so grateful to the Lord for his faithfulness. We have learned that His strength is perfect, when our strength is gone.

She goes to the doctor at the end of next week. Our prayer is that her infection will be completely healed, and she will be able to start treatment for her cancer.

Thank you all again for your prayers. WE are so grateful.

I guess I did not get all of the info about the last reading of mom CT scan. She went to the gastro doc on Friday- he said the CT had no change from the last one. That is not as good as we thought it was. She will have another CT a week from this Thursday, and go back to the dr. on Friday. I am not sure exactly what the dr. wants to see on the next CT, if he wants the area to shrink, or disappear, I just don't know.

I do know he told mom that chemo is being put off indefinetly. It is to dangerous to start chemo if there is a chance this abcess is still a problem. Mom did have a fever a couple of days last week, not a good thing. She is very tired, but does seem to be showing improvement. Please continue to pray that the Lord will heal this abcess so she will be able to start chemo as soon as possible.

Great News! The doctor called this afternoon, and the leak in mom bowel is now closed. We are so relieved that she will not have to undergo another major surgery. She is doing so much better. She is actually feeling good! She is still very weak, but she is feeling like she if beginning to heal. She is scheduled to start chemo on Feb. 28. She will still need to undergo a small surgery to put her port in sometime in the next few weeks. Please continue to pray for her complete healing.
We are so grateful to the Lord that He has brought her this far. It is wonderful to see her feeling more normal! Thank you again for all of your support and prayers.

Mom is on her way to the hospital. They will be giving her IV antibiotics to fight the infection that she has. They said she will be in the hospital at least 2 days, and could be up to 7 days. Please pray that the infection will respond to the treatment, and she will get out of the hosptial quickly.

Still have no idea when the port will be put in, or when chemo will start. Please pray specifically that they will not have a hard time getting her IV in today. That is always seems to present a problem. Anyways, i will try to post more a little later.

Thank you for praying.

Sorry I have been so bad at keeping this updated. I have been posting all of my updates on facebook, and forgetting to post here. These are the past few posts that I have updated on my facebook account. Please continue to pray as she fights this infection. She does seem to be improving today, so we are so grateful for that. If you do not see an update on this blog, check out my facebook account.



Thank you all for praying for my mom. She was scheduled to have her port put in tomorrow, but due to a few complications, that will be put off for now. Mom has not felt good at all, really since she had her surgery. She just has not recovered like we had hoped. Last night she told me she thought she was getting a UTI, I told her to call her dr. and tell him. He was so kind to her, and immediately call her in some antibiotics. She had a pre-op appt. with him this morning, the appt. didn't go so well. They were unclear if she really has a UTI, so the dr. wanted to schedule a MRI for tomorrow night at 8:00. When they got the results from her bloodwork today, they called her, and told her to come back to get some more blood work. Her white counts were incredible high, and her red counts were screwed up too. They are going to do a blood culture , the results will be back in 48 hours. They put her on some very strong antibiotics, and are hoping that it will take care of the infection that is attacking her body right now. They have put a hold on chemo for right now, until we can find out why she is so sick. I will try to post another note as soon as we get more information. Please continue to pray for my mom, dad, and grandpa. This has been very hard for each of them. Our hope is in the Lord, and we know He is in control. WE are all so grateful for each of you who are willing to share our burden.






Just a quick update on the procedure my mom had this morning. She is coming home in the next hour or so, the results came back clear! WE are SO thankful to the Lord for giving us exactly what we asked for. They were able to get the IV in the first time, and the procedure was much easier than mom had prepared herself for. Thank you for lifting her up in prayer. We still have a long road ahead of us, but we know God will be there to get us through.II Corinthians 1:9-11 Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.







Thank you to all of you who have been praying for my mom. I just wanted to give you all an update on everything that is going on with her. Today she had several tests, we thought this would be pretty routine , but it turned out to be a pretty hard day for her. One of the tests was a CT scan, they had a very difficult time getting her IV in, and it was a bit traumatic for my mom. Later they also had to take blood, this seemed to be equally as difficult, and then they hassled her about her insurance. It just turned out to be a rough morning for her. As if that was not enough, the nurse called later in the afternoon, and told her they had found an abcess on the CT scan. They are going in tomorrow to drain it at 9:30. The doctor told her if they drain it and the fluid is clear, then she can go home, but if they drain it, and it is filled with pus, she will have to stay in the hospital and get IV antibiotics. This was all very discouraging to her, and scary as well. Please pray especially that they will be able to get her IV's in without any trouble in the morning, and that the fluid will be clear. She will also be having another small surgery on Jan. 28th, to put her port in for chemo, and I believe she will be starting chemo on Feb. 2. Pray that the Lord will continue to give her the strength that she needs to fight this battle he has allowed her to be in. We are all so grateful to have so many wonderful friends who are going before our awesome Lord for us. Thank you all again, and please don't forget to pray.

Mom went to the hospital this morning to get several tests done. We really hadn't thought to much about these routine tests, we figured it would go smoothly, and she would be in and out. That is not the way things went. They had a very difficult time getting her IV in for her CTscan. It took them four tries before they got it in. This is not an unusual thing for my mom, during her first cancer surgery, it took them over an hour to get an IV in her. Regardless, it was hard on her this morning.

My parents just had a change in their insurance on January 1, this also became a problem. My dad did get if figured out, but it made mom very nervous. Please just continue to pray for them both.

Mom will be getting her port in on January 28, and at this point will start chemo on Feb. 2. I will try to keep everyone posted on any changes. Thank you for all your prayers.

Things are moving along! Mom went to the doctor today to get her staples out, and to talk to the chemo nurse about the study that she will be in. Things seem to be in place, and we are just waiting for her to complete a series of tests that will help determine which part of the study she will qualify for.

Our nurse, Jennie, told us that she would work on getting the tests scheduled and give mom a call. She called just a few hours later, and the tests will be on Thursday!! We are praising the Lord again that they were able to get things scheduled so quickly. She is still waiting to here when her port will be put in. It could be as late as the 28th or 29th of January, but we have not firmed things up yet. As soon as all of these tests are done, and her port is in, she will be ready to start chemo.

She is ready to begin her fight. We are praying it will not be too difficult. Please continue to pray with us. God has been so faithful to us, and we are just waiting to see what else He has in store for us.

Mom is home :) We are praising the Lord that mom made it home from the hospital Monday morning. She is so happy to be home. She is progressing well, and goes back to the doctor on Monday to get her staples out. On Monday, they will also discuss when chemo will start, and schedule her port to be put in. We are pretty sure that she will be in a clinical study for her chemotherapy, I am very excited about this be/c they will follow her very closely for the next five years!

Thank you all for your prayers and support. We are all so grateful to have so many to share in our burdens.

Just another quick update! Mom has been taken off of the i.v. pain meds, and is now taking them in pill form :) She was also able to eat a solid food menu today. We are praising the Lord for the milestones that she has reached today.

On a different note, please pray for me! Olivia is sick, and I don't feel like I can go around mom until she gets a little better. Please pray it will be quick illness for Olivia!!

Thank you all again for all your prayers, we do serve an awesome God.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and discipline. II Timothy 1:7

I have decided that I am not a very good blogger!! If I was, I would be updating this blog every day, keeping you all in our loop!! I have been so tired lately that sitting down here at the computer, and actually having to think, just seemed like too much. Sorry :)

Anyway, here is what has been happening for the past 5 days. Let me just begin by saying it has been a long week. Monday, of course, was a terribly long day, and I am still not sure I have recovered from it! Mom did look much better on Tuesday, and was continuing to progress on Wednesday. Thursday evening she seemed to take a turn for the worse. Chrisi and I came to visit, we took a pretty long walk with her, and by the time we got back to the room, she seemed horrible. She told us she had a headache, and was very sick at her stomach, she also seemed to be in alot of pain. Amy and I came in on Friday, and she was still very sick. She slept most of the morning, but when she woke up her stomach was still very unsettled. The doctors did change some of her nausea medicine, and it did seem to help. It was a very hard day for all of us, she was very discouraged, b/c she felt like she was getting worse, rather than getting better. Part of the problem was they were starting to wean her off of her pain meds, not to fun when you have had such major surgery, the other major issue was controlling her nausea. The doctors were hoping she would be able to start her on a clear liquid diet on Thursday, but she was not able to eat anything they brought her. She looked great this morning, and I was able to wash her hair, and curl it for her, that made her feel better. Finally this morning, she was able to keep down some chicken broth and apple juice. This was very exciting since this is the first thing she has been able to keep down all week. (except ice chips :)) She also had some grape juice this evening. She still is fighting the nausea. Please pray that they will be able to control that. The doctors have started her on regular medications tonight, and they are going to try to start her on pain pills and wean her off the drip.

I think she will be coming home Monday. Pray for daddy as he will be taking care of her as well as my grandpa. At this point, it looks like she will be starting chemo in a couple of weeks. I will try to be more diligent in posting what is going. Thank you again for praying, we still need it:)