Hey everyone,
Laurie has felt so much better this past week. This last 3 week cycle of A/C was much more like the 1st and 2nd cycle rather than the 3rd one which came with all the extra illnesses. Her cough is now very infrequent, and she has been able to get back on the treadmill during the past week, which in turn helps her energy level and ensures she gets hydrated. After her experience of picking up those germs last cycle, she has limited her “away from home” activities so that her immune system stays strong, and we thank each of you who helped make that possible by taking our children to various activities.
We look forward to another good week and anticipate the beginning of her 2nd round of chemo which consists of Taxol and Herceptin on April 6th. We will be remaining in town for Spring Break this year which allows us the opportunity to go to Washington, D.C. to see some of the monuments and museums and do some of the tourist stuff. Sadly, this is something we have never done. Better late than never, I guess.
Since we also have included “educational” information on this blog, we will admit there have been some small side effects, which Laurie calls the “small stuff.” For example, the chemo has brought on menopause and the hot flashes that accompany that. And she can’t sleep through the night since her bladder cannot last that long anymore. She does get weak from standing long periods (so she just doesn’t do that!) and she eats kids portions now so her digestive system doesn’t go into overdrive. Her allergies are more pronounced, and most importantly for her kids, she cannot wear her wig in the kitchen as sudden heat could singe it so their agreement is that she will stick to bandannas and turbans at home.
As far as me and the kids, we are busy trying to get rid of their coughs (Brooke & Forrest XIV) and sinus infections (me) and staying healthy (Ridge). We were all excited that Laurie was able to sneak out with all of us to a significant milestone for Forrest . . . his bridging ceremony to Boy Scouts! And this weekend was supposed to be the start of all 3 kids starting their baseball seasons, but only Forrest played a game last night and then the rains came. While we’re disappointed about games being cancelled, there is something nice to be said for “found” family time. Laurie decided to bake this afternoon so the house smells of cinnamon bread. The silver lining on the cloud of rain!
Our community has also experienced some strong reminders of how fragile life here on earth is over the past few weeks, and our prayers go out to the Stamps and Brewer families in the loss of a parent. We also praise the Lord that Mrs. Ricks (Wes’s mom) and Mr. Inglert (Tammy’s father) and Taylor Goodloe are doing better after serious hospitalizations. We will continue to pray for comfort and healing for these families.
We were treated three times this week to meals which meant I didn’t have to cook dinner. You don’t know how much that means when you’re trying to coordinate dinner either before or after baseball practices and games.
Monday was a surprise from Debbie Nelson, our neighbor, who brought us pork barbecue with buns, Coleslaw and corn. This was a welcome surprise that we all enjoyed. Thanks Debbie!
Tuesday the office staff at Floris ES put together a great meal of the kid’s favorite. Chicken strips from Chick-fil-A, macaroni & cheese, chocolate chip cookies and tossed salad. Thanks ladies!
Thursday's feast from Michele and Nikki at Oak Hill ES included chicken enchiladas, refried beans, sweet corn cake, Spanish rice, chips & salsa and Laurie’s favorite, Apple Crisp with ice cream. Thanks Michele and Nikki!
Once again the network of support we have is beyond incredible. Each day we receive supportive and encouraging emails, letters and cards via the post office, comments from the blog and phone calls. We continue to rely on the many prayers on our behalf. The words of encouragement make all of us smile and strengthen our resolve to move forward in this journey to completely heal Laurie now and reduce any chances of recurrence.
As always, thanks for all your continuing support.
.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Monday, March 16, 2009
Success! Check it off!
Hey everyone,
Laurie's cough is less frequent now and her blood work came back favorably so she was able to receive her last Adriamycin and Cytoxin chemo treatment today.
This is a great milestone in her road to recovery. Three weeks from today she will begin the next cycle of 12 weekly treatments of Taxol and Herceptin which should not impact her as severely as the Adriamycin and Cytoxin did. Her blood counts should not drop like they did during the first cycle and her susceptibility to infection should decrease allowing her to be the social butterfly we are all used to.
Last Tuesday the Floris ES fourth grade team provided us a great Mexican meal which included taco soup, tacos with all the fixings, Tostitos chips, corn muffins, chocolate chunk cookies and fried ice cream. I did not know that Breyers made fried ice cream. The entire meal was wonderful and so were the leftovers!
Thursday was Oak Hill's turn. Diane and Pam put together a wonderful meal of chicken and rice, green beans, carrots and turnips, tossed salad, Italian bread, chocolate chunk cookies and a two liter bottle of ginger ale.Someone must have leaked our love of chocolate chunk cookies to the world. Yum yum!
The whole family really appreciates the efforts and support from Floris ES and Oak Hill ES as well as that of Ox Hill Baptist Church. Not having to prepare a meal and getting the chance to relax for a few minutes really does help a lot!
Now that we have completed the first cycle of chemo we check that one off and anticipate the beginning of the next one. We know that we could not have made it through this time without the love and support from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and the prayers and support we have received from so many of you. Thank you again for the love and support you have shown us!
.
Laurie's cough is less frequent now and her blood work came back favorably so she was able to receive her last Adriamycin and Cytoxin chemo treatment today.
This is a great milestone in her road to recovery. Three weeks from today she will begin the next cycle of 12 weekly treatments of Taxol and Herceptin which should not impact her as severely as the Adriamycin and Cytoxin did. Her blood counts should not drop like they did during the first cycle and her susceptibility to infection should decrease allowing her to be the social butterfly we are all used to.
Last Tuesday the Floris ES fourth grade team provided us a great Mexican meal which included taco soup, tacos with all the fixings, Tostitos chips, corn muffins, chocolate chunk cookies and fried ice cream. I did not know that Breyers made fried ice cream. The entire meal was wonderful and so were the leftovers!
Thursday was Oak Hill's turn. Diane and Pam put together a wonderful meal of chicken and rice, green beans, carrots and turnips, tossed salad, Italian bread, chocolate chunk cookies and a two liter bottle of ginger ale.Someone must have leaked our love of chocolate chunk cookies to the world. Yum yum!
The whole family really appreciates the efforts and support from Floris ES and Oak Hill ES as well as that of Ox Hill Baptist Church. Not having to prepare a meal and getting the chance to relax for a few minutes really does help a lot!
Now that we have completed the first cycle of chemo we check that one off and anticipate the beginning of the next one. We know that we could not have made it through this time without the love and support from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and the prayers and support we have received from so many of you. Thank you again for the love and support you have shown us!
.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
A minor bump in the road
Hey everyone,
I mentioned last time the nagging cough Laurie has had the past few weeks and that is the reason her chemo scheduled for yesterday had to be postponed until next Monday. Since she had a slight fever yesterday, her doctor was concerned that she may be getting a secondary infection. Since chemo shuts down her immune system, getting a secondary infection would be quite serious and they decided to be “safe” and delay the chemo. So instead of chemo, she has an inhaler which should take care of the cough and or her "reactive airways". And she gets an extra “good week” before her 4th, and last, treatment of Adriamycin and Cytoxan, next Monday.
Three weeks after her next treatment she will begin her weekly treatment of Taxol and Herceptin. Some people have asked me where we are in her recovery so I'm including the stages of her recovery as outlined by her oncologist below.
The stages left are:
1) Chemo therapy -- 3 months of aggressive therapy with 2 meds: Adriamycin & Cytoxan. This will be 4 treatments over 12 weeks. 1 every 3 weeks. Her 1st treatment was Jan 5th, she had her 2nd on Jan 26th, 3rd on Feb 16th, and hopes to have the last one next Monday, March 16th.
2)Chemo therapy combined with biological treatment - 3 months of Taxol & Herceptin. Weekly for 12 weeks. At this time, she hopes to start this on April 6th (Spring Break) and continue through June 22nd.
3) Radiation - 6 weeks of daily radiation (#4 is happening at same time)
4) Biological treatment - 9 more months of Herceptin, every 3 weeks
5) Hormonal treatments - for the next 5-10 years
So while this throws her schedule off a week it is always good to be cautious and we accept that. We look forward to a good week of recovery and thank God for his constant love and care.
Laurie wanted me to post the following which was given to her by Carl Bradley, a dear church friend whose wife dealt with cancer as well.
What Cancer Can’t Do
“There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 15
One of the most dreaded sentences a patient might hear is “You have cancer.” These words bring a chill to the ear. Although great progress has been made in treating cancer, recovery can be long and painful and some people do not survive.
An enthusiastic believer in Christ, Dan Richardson, lost his battle with cancer. But his life demonstrated that even thought the physical body may be destroyed by disease, the spirit can remain triumphant. This poem was distributed at his memorial service:
Cancer is so limited …
It cannot cripple love,
It cannot cripple hope,
It cannot corrode faith,
It cannot eat away peace,
It cannot destroy confidence,
It cannot kill friendship,
It cannot shut out memories,
It cannot silence courage,
It cannot invade the soul,
It cannot reduce eternal life,
It cannot quench the Spirit
It cannot lessen the power of the resurrection.
If an incurable disease has invaded your body, refuse to let it touch your spirit. Your body can be severely afflicted, and you may have a great struggle. But if you keep trusting God’s love, your spirit will remain strong. – D.G.E.
Why must I bear this pain, I cannot tell;
I only know my Lord does all things well.
And so I trust in God, my All in all,
For He will bring me through, whatever befall – Smith
Our greatest enemy is not disease, but despair.
We wish everyone well and thank you again for all your prayers and support.
.
I mentioned last time the nagging cough Laurie has had the past few weeks and that is the reason her chemo scheduled for yesterday had to be postponed until next Monday. Since she had a slight fever yesterday, her doctor was concerned that she may be getting a secondary infection. Since chemo shuts down her immune system, getting a secondary infection would be quite serious and they decided to be “safe” and delay the chemo. So instead of chemo, she has an inhaler which should take care of the cough and or her "reactive airways". And she gets an extra “good week” before her 4th, and last, treatment of Adriamycin and Cytoxan, next Monday.
Three weeks after her next treatment she will begin her weekly treatment of Taxol and Herceptin. Some people have asked me where we are in her recovery so I'm including the stages of her recovery as outlined by her oncologist below.
The stages left are:
1) Chemo therapy -- 3 months of aggressive therapy with 2 meds: Adriamycin & Cytoxan. This will be 4 treatments over 12 weeks. 1 every 3 weeks. Her 1st treatment was Jan 5th, she had her 2nd on Jan 26th, 3rd on Feb 16th, and hopes to have the last one next Monday, March 16th.
2)Chemo therapy combined with biological treatment - 3 months of Taxol & Herceptin. Weekly for 12 weeks. At this time, she hopes to start this on April 6th (Spring Break) and continue through June 22nd.
3) Radiation - 6 weeks of daily radiation (#4 is happening at same time)
4) Biological treatment - 9 more months of Herceptin, every 3 weeks
5) Hormonal treatments - for the next 5-10 years
So while this throws her schedule off a week it is always good to be cautious and we accept that. We look forward to a good week of recovery and thank God for his constant love and care.
Laurie wanted me to post the following which was given to her by Carl Bradley, a dear church friend whose wife dealt with cancer as well.
What Cancer Can’t Do
“There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.” 1 Corinthians 15
One of the most dreaded sentences a patient might hear is “You have cancer.” These words bring a chill to the ear. Although great progress has been made in treating cancer, recovery can be long and painful and some people do not survive.
An enthusiastic believer in Christ, Dan Richardson, lost his battle with cancer. But his life demonstrated that even thought the physical body may be destroyed by disease, the spirit can remain triumphant. This poem was distributed at his memorial service:
Cancer is so limited …
It cannot cripple love,
It cannot cripple hope,
It cannot corrode faith,
It cannot eat away peace,
It cannot destroy confidence,
It cannot kill friendship,
It cannot shut out memories,
It cannot silence courage,
It cannot invade the soul,
It cannot reduce eternal life,
It cannot quench the Spirit
It cannot lessen the power of the resurrection.
If an incurable disease has invaded your body, refuse to let it touch your spirit. Your body can be severely afflicted, and you may have a great struggle. But if you keep trusting God’s love, your spirit will remain strong. – D.G.E.
Why must I bear this pain, I cannot tell;
I only know my Lord does all things well.
And so I trust in God, my All in all,
For He will bring me through, whatever befall – Smith
Our greatest enemy is not disease, but despair.
We wish everyone well and thank you again for all your prayers and support.
.
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