Back At It Again

Amy and I came to Effingham for chemo with Mom today. She started the treatment around 9:20 a.m. and she's not finished yet (it's 4 p.m.).  It's been a pretty fun day, though. Lots of laughing and poking Amy's belly and unborn child. Dr. Dy was very excited to see us, and even gave us hugs. He's also happy with Mom's progress and the news from MD Anderson.

The new dosage instructions from MD Anderson specificy that the treatment be given very slowly to minimize the risk of Mom's veins burning (which is why she's here longer than usual). Today when they gave her the gemcitabine (which is the burning drug), her vein was freezing cold (which is good, but really weird to feel). The cisplatin also went by like a breeze. Hopefully since Mom hasn't had chemo for six weeks, this treatment won't make her as tired as the last one.

We took these photos this afternoon. They're not the most flattering of any of us, but oh well. Gotta love auto-timers. :)  ~Jen

A Photo Shoot

We took some pictures last night while mom is feeling good and before she starts the Tarceva..which causes her rash. They turned out beautifully and Rylan, my husband, did a great job!! Check out more of the shoot at AR Photography.  -Amy

Starting over....

After returning from Houston, I have started walking again (encouraged by the dr to keep it up) so Amy and I walked two days (2 miles each day), and Pat and I walked two miles this morning. I am cleared for chemo this Wednesday so I am not sure how long I can keep walking two miles, but I'm going to try.
I will also return to work tomorrow (YEAH!) but then miss Tuesday and Wednesday. My hair is thinning and although I tease it alot so people don't notice how thin it is, the docs advised I go ahead and get a wig just in case I start to lose it after starting back on chemo. My last treatment was about 6 weeks ago. So Tuesday, I will head to Evansville and get one ordered......just in case.
I plan to work Thursday and Friday of this week also. Just gotta play it by ear....my life is day by day....not week by week anymore.
I want to list a few things I am thankful for in the past three/six weeks :
First of all, God...without Him, I would be SO lost through this journey.
My husband and family....who trecked to Springfield for my surgeries. This includes my mom and sisters,too. Not to mention Jennifer who met Pat and I at MD Anderson in Houston.
I am thankful for one of the best places a person could work and the employees are right there calling, sending cards, bringing food, emailing, praying, and being like a part of my family also.
I am SO thankful for all the prayers...some from people I don't even know. I know in my heart that the good report from MD Anderson, the good doctors I had at Springfield (who made me 100% better and ready for treatment again) were all due to the power of prayer. God has continually been right beside me just as he promised on that very first consultation at Mayo Clinic. I will continually thank Him and praise Him!
I am thankful for each day I can get up, make it through the day with no pain (which is a good sign my tumor is shrinking), and even though I might be dead tired, I am still alive. I thank God each day I can wake up, talk to my husband, see my daughters/grandchild. Oh....how I used to take such simple things for granted. Now I thank God each day I get to enjoy on this earth!

"Remarkable Progress"

We met with Dr. Javle and his P.A., Jackie, this morning around 9:30. Mom's cancer is stable. The main tumor and satellite tumor in her liver are about the same size as at the last PET Scan in April. The edges of the tumor are less dense then in April, which could indicate a willingness of the tumor to start shrinking.
On the April PET Scan, one lymph node was FDG-avid (it lit up/was hot) indicating a strong possibilitiy that it was cancerous. On the new scan, no lymph nodes were hot. She still has some large lymph nodes, but that could be inflammation.
No cancer lighting up anywhere except in the liver mass!! Aside from the tumor, they are no longer concerned with her lymph nodes, lung nodules, or anything else!
Mom's labs look great. Her hemoglobin was 8.2 when we left Springfield six days ago. Today it is 11.1! Her bilirubin is normal. Her cancer marker is up a little, but still pretty stable. Her alkaline phosphatase is normal now!
Dr. Javle is "quite happy" with the scan. She will start back on the chemo and Tarceva next week. She will start a different antibiotic today, so hopefully the rash will be more under control from here on out. She will receive the chemo in a peripheral IV, using the initial orders Dr. Javle gave (which were to dispense the drugs very slowly). He doesn't think Mom will have problems.
She will have periodic CT Scans to be sure no more blood clots are forming. She will also stay on the Lovenox for the entire time she's on chemo.  She may drop down to one injection of Lovenox, instead of two, after three more months. Coumadin's failure rate is too high to risk using it. Mom is at a high risk of clotting, but using the Lovenox, hopefully, things will remain stable.
If she encounters problems with the chemo, then Dr. Javle would like to do Proton Therapy. Proton Therapy is a type of radiation. It's a much higher dose than external radiation and doesn't affect much of the normal liver cells. There aren't many side effects; some fatique & some liver injury.
She will return to Houston in three months for another PET Scan. Dr. Javle expects some change by that time. Obviously, we're still hoping for 30% or more shrinkage, and then the tumor may be removed.

For only having four chemo treatments, Dr. Javle says she's had "remarkable progress".

I'm not sure we could have asked for better news. We're overjoyed and incredibly thankful. Mom's been on a rollercoaster of bad/good news the past five weeks. Hopefully, this will give her and us some stability for awhile.

Please continue praying that the chemo shrinks the tumor, and the cancer remains stable. Mom and Pat will be flying home early tomorrow morning. Her chemo will resume Wednesday. I will be visiting some friends in Dallas and then heading back home.

Thank you for your prayers and thoughts. Obviously, they're getting through. God is good!
-Jenn

Houston......

Well.....I have to say we flew on the smallest plane I have ever been on PLUS there was bad weather we had to fly around so there was some turbulance on top of that. It made our flight about 20 minutes longer also.  We are staying at the Jesse Jones Rotary House which is right across from MD Anderson so it will be sooo handy on  Wednesday and Thursday. They also have a wonderful restuarant here with buffet at night.
Tomorrow, I start at 9 am with bloodwork, then a PET scan which lasts appr. 4 hours or so. Then I am done until Thursday morning when I see Dr Javle at 9:30. He will have the results of the PET scan (I hope) and please pray with me that it is good news. I might see a genetic counselor to see if my cancer is somehow inherited from all the men on my fathers side who have had prostate cancer. It will be good for my sisters/brothers to know PLUS my girls if it does happen to be inherited.
When I was at St. John's in Springfield last week, I prayed to the Lord to draw me closer to Him and make my faith even stronger. I have faith that the Lord is right here with me in this battle but when do you know you have ENOUGH faith in the Lord? Does that make sense?
I know I feel like a totally different person than before this cancer battle began so I do thank the Lord for that. I shutter at the times I have "spat" at co-workers or judged them when it was not my place. I have asked God for forgiveness and I also apologize if you were one of those co workers. I have read in the Bible that this is a very bad habit to have so I feel I have worked alot on this mentally and when I go back to work, I hope I shock people with how kind and gentle I now feel inside.....I know it is due to the inner peace I have with God now.
Tomorrow and Thursday are very big days for me. When I was at St. John's, I said the Lord's Prayer all the way to each surgery I had up there (4 total). I said it several times a day in my room. I said it on the airplane all the way here.....and I will say it atleast 50 times while here at MD Anderson......that doesn't include praying about other people with cancer, life in general, and prayers for my daughters. I ask all of you to say the Lord's Prayer both days and also pray for good news with my cancer tests. I seem to be rambling....you can tell Jenn and Amy have been doing my blog since I was at St. John's!! Peace and love to all of you!!
Patty

Going Home Again

Dr. Goswami came in this morning around 9:30 to discharge Mom. She has some swelling in her feet. He thinks its probably caused by sitting and lying down for eight days or the tumor compressing her inferior vena cava. At this point, he isn't concerned about it. The clots probably won't be an issue again since the port is out and Mom's on Lovenox. She will be on the Lovenox for at least a month. She will see Dr. Goswami again in Effingham in early July. He's still waiting to hear from Dr. McLafferty, but if we have to come back to Springfield to meet with him, we'll do it. Mom's been fully released on all activities, just no heavy lifting for a week or so.  Her hemoglobin is steady at 8.8, so she won't receive any more blood while we're here.

And the BIG news....  drumroll please.....
Mom's been released to travel to MD Anderson next week!!!!!!!!!
She will keep the appointment that was set in April, and we will probably leave for Houston on Monday!! WOOOO HOOOOO WE'RE HOUSTON BOUND!

 Thank you so much for all of the prayers and thoughts so far. Mom is incredibly happy with the care Dr. Goswami provided and that she's headed home today. Please keep praying that the good news continues and that the cancer hasn't spread.
-Jenn

"Everything Is Clear"

"Everything is clear" were the first words Dr. Goswami said after surgery when he walked into the consult room. Even the clot that was in Mom's right arm two days ago was gone when Dr. Goswami went in today. There is one small clot in her chest with about 30% blockage, but he thinks it will be gone in the next couple days. And just to be clear: besides the small blockage in her chest, every, single clot (including residual clots from the balloon) is gone. Dr. Goswami did have to run the catheter through her right femoral artery, because the vein in her arm was too small for the catheter. But I think two sore legs are better than two sore legs and a sore arm.

As far as we know, Mom will be discharged tomorrow morning. If Dr. Goswami still doesn't want her to travel for a few weeks, she will probably have a Pet Scan performed here in Springfield tomorrow. The Pet Scan will allow Dr. Dy and Dr. Javle to assess the cancer and determine if mom needs to continue with the same treatment regimen or if it should be changed. Hopefully, she can travel and we will be headed to MD Anderson very soon.

We will keep you posted, though depending on what time Mom gets home tomorrow, she may or may not post.

Today was a day of fantastic news. Please pray that the results of the Pet Scan yield good news, as well. Mom needs all the good news she can get.
-Jenn

Dr. Goswami

This box of cookies was delivered to mom's room today. When she opened the card, it was from Dr. Goswami. I am consistently impressed with how fantastic he is. He always has time to talk, answer questions, and generally brighten Mom's mood. He is obviously a great surgeon who cares about his patients. And then he sends a gift. I'm not sure she could have found a better cardiologist in the country.     -Jenn

No News

Mom finally got moved to a private room today. She didn't sleep well last night, so hopefully the quietness of this room will allow her to sleep tonight. No new news here; pretty quiet. Dr. Goswami is at a different hospital today, so we haven't seen him since yesterday. Mom's walking further each day as the pain in her legs decreases. Hopefully Dr. Goswami will be in tonight or tomorrow before the procedure. Please pray for good news tomorrow and departure from Prairie Heart Institute on Friday morning.

Fingers Crossed

Dr. Goswami came in this afternoon around 4:20 p.m. Mom's been in a really good mood since coming out of surgery, and she and Dr. Goswami joked around for a long while.
He will do a venogram Thursday at 3 p.m. He will go in through her right brachial vein and use a catheter to inject dye in the middle and right part of her chest. While he's in the vein, he will use an 'egg-beater' catheter or a mini-vacuum catheter to clean out 3" of clots in her right brachial, near her armpit. The venogram will allow Dr. Goswami to see all of her veins, valves, and residual clots using an X-Ray. It will be a less serious surgery (probably). He doubts that things look as bad now as they did when she got here. She will resume Lovenox (blood thinners) injections tonight, and then stop them after tomorrow morning's injection. She will probably be on Lovenox for another month, but it could be up to three months (for those of you who don't know it, she's been injecting herself in the stomach twice a day with Lovenox in the stomach for almost two weeks). She will most likely be on Coumadin until the cancer is gone.
Dr. Goswami also commented "NO MORE PERMANENT CATHETERS OF ANY KIND. Period. Regardless of where or why." Her blood has issues with clotting, and another catheter would likely cause the same problems. If the chemo does burn her veins, Dr. Goswami suggested a PICC line. At least we have another option.
On a potentially brighter note, Dr. Goswami talked to us for about 45 minutes today. He asked how the cancer started, about its progression, and where Mom's been for treatment. After a bit, he asked why Mayo Clinic wouldn't take the tumor out. I told him that the surgeon at Mayo said she wouldn't touch the tumor due to mom's inferior vena cava being completely enclosed in the tumor. That surgeon said that if the tumor could shrink 30% or more, then she would take it out.
Dr. Goswami knows a top-rated vascular surgeon in Springfield, Dr. McLafferty. He has performed other surgeries that Mayo wouldn't perform. Dr. Goswami said he "has sent Dr. McLafferty some real messes. And he’s fixed them."  Even though we haven't talked to Dr. McLafferty, the prospect of a vascular surgeon cutting the tumor out around her veins makes sense. Dr. Goswami says he is an agressive, state of the art surgeon who is one of the best in the country. Dr. Goswami was calling Dr. McLafferty tonight, and hopefully Dr. Lafferty will be in to talk to us tomorrow. :) We're trying not to get our hopes up until we talk to him, but it's pretty exciting, all the same.
The nun next to mom got discharged today. We were hoping for a night alone, but about five minutes ago they moved a large, disheveled woman next to mom. As you can imagine, mom is mouthing already. She says God is testing her. :)  Mom is first on the list for a private room, so as soon as one opens up, she'll be moved.
Dr. Goswami anticipates that Mom will be discharged Friday morning. Keep your fingers crossed; WE'RE READY TO GET OUT OF HERE!! :)
-Jenn

Recovery

Dr. Goswami ordered a doplar test on Mom's legs last night to check blood flow and clotting. Everything looked good, though she said it was the most pain she's been in this far (the tech had to push on the veins where the catheters were). Her blood count was about 10 when she got here Thursday, yesterday it was 8.4, and today it was 7.2. Dr. Goswami ordered her to receive a pint of blood this morning before surgery. The transfusion went better than the last one she received when she gave birth to me almost 27 years ago (she had an allergic reaction).
She went into surgery around 9:40 this morning. The procedure only takes 30 minutes from start to finish, and about half of that is holding pressure on the hole caused by the port's catheter removal. The surgeon said the procedure went very well; no excess bleeding and there was no clot attached to the port :)
The inflammation and fluid continues to decrease. When she had the balloon catheter done, they put tape with a ruler on it on her back. It didn't get taken off until the next evening, and when the nurse finally removed it, it left twelve blisters about four inches apart all the way down her back. The bottom two spots are large sores, so we're watching those very closely.
Mimi and Sarah came up last night and stayed overnight, so Pat, Amy, Samantha and I went home for the night. It was nice to sleep in my own bed and not on the waiting room chairs or in the hotel. I know Samantha and Pat feel the same way. Mimi and Sarah will go home this afternoon, but Pat and I will stay in Springfield until Mom goes home. Samantha will probably come up later this week, and I'm already looking forward to company. Deb and Erin also drove over yesterday afternoon, and I know Mom loved seeing them.
We haven't heard anything about leaving since Dr. Goswami said it would probably be Friday. He will order a CT Scan before mom leaves to be sure there are no more dangerous clots. She's looking better each day as the swelling leaves her face and neck. We haven't heard that she will be staying longer than Friday (and personally I'm hoping she gets out on Thursday), so HOPEFULLY she will be home before the weekend.
-Jenn

Countdown to Getting Out of This Joint

Dr. Goswami came in this morning around 8:45. Mom has a pain in her side, under her lower left ribcage. He thinks it may be a blood clot in her lung. He isn’t very concerned about it, since it is small and the Lovenox/Heparin will help her body dissolve it. Her right arm is still very swollen due to the clot. They will wrap it tightly today to try and get the swelling and clot to move out.

She will go into surgery tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. to remove the port from her chest. There is a risk of the clot at the end of the port moving to her lungs when he pulls the port out. There is also a risk of bleeding and infection. However, if the port isn’t removed, the clots will continue to form. The procedure will take about 30 minutes. She will have local anesthetic and laughing gas, but it should be easier to take out than when it was put in (& putting it in was pretty easy).

Dr. Goswami thinks that doing the Angiovac is still a possibility. He has contacted the heart surgeon from New York who has performed the procedure. If it needs to be done, that surgeon will fly in to do mom’s surgery. The equipment for the procedure is on its way from Massachusetts, just in case.

Dr. Goswami expects her to be out of the hospital by the end of the week, though probably not until Thursday or Friday. He told her that he will try and get her into a private room today, which will be nice.  He will do a CT Scan before mom leaves Springfield to be sure there aren’t any more dangerous blood clots.

Mom’s up walking around. This morning when she was in the hallway walking, Dr. Goswami walked by and didn’t even recognize her (he had only seen her when she was really swollen). The swelling is almost entirely out of her face and it’s much reduced in her neck and chest. She’s looking better every day. Continue to pray & send good thoughts; she’s not out of the woods, yet.

-Jenn

Movin' On Up

Around 11 a.m. today, mom was moved from the Cardiac Care Unit to a regular patient room. Unfortunately, regular patient rooms have two people in them. Her roommate is a nun from the Springfield Nunnery. She's a sweet, older lady who I'm sure will be good company. Mom's been unhooked from the vast majority of machines that she was hooked on. Only a portable heart monitor and an IV, at this point. The swelling in her face and chest continues to decrease. Hoping for good news tomorrow when Dr. Goswami comes back; maybe she will be able to go home... :)
-Jenn

Up and About

Mom ate dinner tonight - the first time since she's been here that she ate the majority of her meal. They got her up at 8 p.m. tonight to walk and sit up in the chair. She says she feels really weak, but that's expected after three days of lying down. Her spirits are up and she's joking around; getting back to her old self pretty quickly :)
-Jenn

Update from Springfield

They took mom in for the balloon catheter procedure at 12:30. At 2:45, Dr. Goswani came back to the CCU waiting room. There are lots of residual clots, but they are pushed out of the way, so her blood is flowing in the previously blocked veins. The previously blocked left subclavial vein was open today. He did balloon her right subclavial vein from her armpit to her vena cava, the vein in her neck, and the vena cava. The veins aren’t perfect yet, but they are better. Her deep brachial vein (from her armpit to her wrist) is still blocked, but two other superficial veins in her arm are moving blood to her subclavian vein.

She has been started on Lovenox (blood thinner) and will stay on it until Monday maybe longer. Dr. Goswami is hoping that the residual clots will stay where they are or get better until then. If that’s the case, then her port will be removed by a surgeon, here in Springfield, on Monday.

If the clots reform, Dr. Goswami will use an Angiovac. They will put a catheter up to her heart, suck the blood out of her body, filter it, and pump it back in through a bypass in her heart. It’s a brand new device/procedure and has only been used once in the United States. A profusionist team and a heart surgeon will be required. It is a risky procedure, but Dr. Goswami is confident that it will work and that they can do it here.

Hopefully the clots will stay where they are or get better, she will stay on the blood thinner until Monday, and then her port will come out. After the port comes out, the risk of new clots forming will go down immensely. Until the clots are gone, the risk of pulmonary edema will remain.

She is feeling better, now that the procedure is over. She will be able to move her legs for the first time in 50+ hours at 8 p.m. tonight. She will be up and walking then, as well. Most of the swelling will disappear in the next 3-5 hours. She's back to talking and joking around, and we're definitely happy to see that.

Please continue to pray that God will keep Mom safe, and she will overcome this obstacle very soon.

I will try to continually post updates until Monday. Stay tuned. -Jenn

Good Lucks & Prayers

A sonogram was performed around noon today. Dr. Goswami came in about 2 p.m. to discuss it. While it appears that part of the clots are breaking up due to the 'clot buster', the main clots haven't budged. They will gradually decrease the 'clot buster' tonight so that Dr. Goswami can use a balloon catheter to push the clots to the sides of the vein and let the blood pass. That procedure will occur at 11 a.m. tomorrow. If the balloon 'takes care of' the clots, then she will have her port removed Sunday/Monday. If the balloon doesn't work very well, then he will put the catheters back in and the 'clot buster' will continue to be pumped into the catheter, in hopes of breaking up the clot further. Hopefully, the balloon will clear up the clots and this will all be over tomorrow afternoon.
The balloon catheter will be riskiest part of this obstacle, so please pray hard tonight and from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. tomorrow. We will post as soon as possible tomorrow afternoon. It will probably be close to 3 p.m. Thank you for all the prayers and good thoughts so far.
The last exchange that Dr. Goswami and Mom had today was as follows:
Mom: "Good luck tomorrow"
Dr. Goswami: "We need it. We'll take it."

**as said by Jen
***posted by Amy

Update from Springfield

Posted by Amy..but Jennifer typed this up last night for me. Samantha and I ran Leslie to Pana to meet BobbiJo so she could go home and be with McKenna. We didn't get back to the hotel until late last night and were completely beat..so Jen emailed me this to post for everyone this morning:

"Mom, Pat, Mimi, Sarah, Amy, Samantha, Leslie, and I all traveled to Springfield early this morning. Though mom's procedure was initially scheduled for noon, they pushed it back to 2:00 p.m. by the time we arrived (at 8:10 a.m.).  A CT Scan was performed after we talked to the doctor. The results of the scan revealed that Mom's clot encompasses both subclavian veins, a vein on the right side of her neck, and the vena cava to just above her heart.  Both of these (located in the upper chest on either side) veins merge with the other vein (I'm pretty sure it's the internal jugular) before dumping in the superior vena cava. They performed two catheterizations through her femoral artery (one catheter in each leg). One catheter was put in the right subclavian vein and one in the left. The catheters will release a 'clot buster' (thrombolytic drug) to try and break the clot into smaller pieces. They will remain in place until tomorrow between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. when they will do another CT scan and assess the situation. If the clots haven't improved much, they will either continue the clot buster meds or use a balloon catheter to aid in removing/decreasing the size of the clots. She will likely be in the hospital until Saturday, at this point. After the clots have been handled, a surgeon will remove her port. The hope of the doctors is that the port is removed ASAP, since it is the likely culprit of the clotting. The risks of the blood clots will continue until they are remedied and all procedures are over.

Last night she slept pretty well, though mostly in fits. Because she cannot move any muscles in her legs, she's completely stationary, lying on her back. She was having some aching in her back last night, but the nurse gave her some fentenol and Tylenol, and she slept most of the night.

We will post later today on her progress.

We can use all the prayers we can get."

Wednesday update.....

 Well......went for chemo but received no chemo. Dr. Dy was still too worried with my swelling in face/neck region. The CAT scan from last week showed a blood clot (well.....actually there were numerous blood clots on my chest/neck area) in the Supra Vena Cava. Dr. Dy thought the levonox. ( a blood thinner) would dissolve all the clots and I would get my chemo this week.
Dr. Dy was very conerned with my swelling this week so he called Prairie Heart Institue in Springfield and they want me there tomorrow for surgery. They will go in through the right femoral artery....inject some pretty medicine to dissolve the clot....and hopefully suck out all the clot as this happens.I will have complete bed rest 4-6 hours afterwards at the hospital there which is procedure for this type of surgery.
Before I get anymore chemo after the dust has settled from this surgery, Dr. Dy wants me to  go back down to Houston to MD Anderson for an update with my dr down there. He is hoping the cancer has not spread anywhere ut my cancer marker went from like 246 to 465 so it doesn't sound like good news. It COULD be all the blood clots/stress on my body right now....or atleast that is what I am telling myself.
You know....this one has me over a log as far as to what to think. I thought I was dealing with cancer and then BAMM....now we have blood clots in the heart area.
Here are the things I am SURE of:
God is still right here beside me.
I am not afraid one bit as I trust in the Lord.
God has a plan for me.....whether it be here on earth, or in Heaven, I will be happy.
Prayer has been my best source of "therapy" and I will continue to pray for God's healing.
ALL of you know the power of prayer so please pray one zillion times a day for me.


Amy or someone will post on here tomorrow so just check later in the afternoon for an update.

Monday evening

Sunday was a most good day. Took a shower and went to visit will Bill & Deb Weiler.  Got home about 6 and Pat grilled some burgers. Since I haven't had chemo for 3 weeks, I even felt good enough to open a can of beans and a carton of cottage cheese.  I decided if I felt good enough to visit friends it was time to go back to work. So....Monday morning, although still a little swelling present, I went to work. I also plan on working tomorrow. Wednesday, back to Effingham and see what Dr. Dy has to say. I think I still have alot of clots to dissolve but feel it will just take time to happen. I received two new books this weekend. OR should I say I received THE BOOK (Life Application Study Bible) for Mother's Day. Rylan (my son in law) has this book and it really explains the Bible in detail where I understand it better. Debbie Weiler also loaned me The Shack so I have plenty to read right now at home.....not on my desk at work.
Pat and I walked down the lane tonight to get the mail/paper. That is probably the farthest I have walked in quite a while. I did ok until the hill and it winded be a bit. It felt good to do it and my goal is to start doing it daily.
Anyone going to Dairy Dee and want someone to go along, call me...if I am up to it, I will go gladly. My goal is to get a little more acive...little by little as I feel up to it. BUT....if I get chemo Wednesday....who knows how it will affect me. Still call...and call again!
Update you Wednesday if I get chemo or atleast an update from the dr.

Saturday evening....Sunday morning

Pat and I got cleaned up for mass (first time I had curled my hair since the Wednesday prior). Fr. Jerry had a superb homily and I thank him for that! Then to El Rancheritos for supper before stopping at my sister Sarah's for a short visit. Then we were bad and stopped at Chili Willies for ice cream. It was like 8:30 when we got home and I am usually in bed by then through the weekdays. I had texted my daughters and one of them actually called me to see if I was feeling ok since I was still up.
Sunday morning is here. Woke up to some sweliing but it usually fades mostly throughout the day. I am sure the blood thinner is still doing it's job of thinning out my blood (platelets that are sticking together). I pray for a good Sunday, healing in my body, positive thoughts, positive prayer, and a good week ahead.
Patty

The bump is almost gone....

 Friday I felt at about 70 % back to normal. Thanks to the good Lord, I am slowly gaining my strength back. The swelling in my neck is going down daily to where it is hardly noticable. I might even get brave and go to church tonight.  My daily devotional book (on Wednesday) states there is darkness before the dawn of light. God is showing my the light and each day I feel myself grow from His word (by strength and faith).
Friday, I showered, and Amy and Debbie Weiler picked me up to go see my sister~ in ~law in Lawrenceville (basically to get me of the house). I was pooped when I got back home but definately glad I went.
Saturday, Samantha and Bobbie Jo showed up Saturday morning to clean up some more landscaping/and mulch some places, too. It looks sooo much better but it also saddens my heart that I cannot physically do it myself. If I lean over for more than about 30 seconds, I feel like my eyes might pop out. I think it is from the blood still trying to thin itself out . I did blow the leaves off the deck and straighten it up a bit.

I pray for strength, healing, faith and the power of prayer as I enter a new week in the next few days. I thank God as  He continues to heal my body so  I may recieve chemo this week and get back on my schedule before going to Houston mid month. I give thanks to my family who is always there to care for me or make sure I have meals to replenish my body.  I thank all friends who have brought meals/called/or stopped by to see me. This journey would be a very lonely walk without you, my family, and God beside me all the way!  

A Bump in the Road.....

I went for chemo yesterday(but it was postponed until next week) but still had swelling in face/neck/upper back area. Dr. Dy ordered a CAT scan to see what was going on under my skin (infection maybe). He put me on Lasix and said he would call later with results of the scan. He called about 2 and said we had a problem that needed dealt with right then!
My chest and neck were filled with tiny blood clots that needed to be dissolved asap. Pat and I went to get the RX (blood thinner) and on the Weber Medical Clinic to be shown how to give myself injectios twice a day into my stomach. The nurse gave me the shot yesterday at the clinic but I did it just fine this am. The med is making me feel a little "off" but hopefully it is doing it's job. I still woke up with a swelled face/neck area which is usually the case every morning and it goes down some throughout the day. The dr said I should see some relief by Friday so please pray continually that the blood clots dissolve totally and I start to feel alot better SOON.
My mom has started a prayer chain to pray every day at 11 for me to be healed. Please join her and pass the word along.