Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Hello,
It has been a while since my last update, and I don't want too much time to drift between posts, so I thought I'd better fill in the gaps. Michele's new occupational therapist came for the first time last Wednesday (the 21st). He gave her a pretty agressive workout, being here over an hour. Michele did the routine twice a day for a few days without any ill effects, but yesterday a resurgence of nerve pain hit with a vengence. This morning her arm and hand hurt when touched, and her elbow hurts. We talked about options and decided to take a day off, just to see if the discomfort lets up.
We are in a quandry because it feels like we are in no-mans-land medically. This is not an issue for the Oncologist, but we haven't been to the Neurosugeon since October. Cancer questions could be answered pretty quickly, but I'm afraid we might have to get in line to see the Neurosurgeon again. In any event, we appreciate your prayers for her arm and hand. It is possible that she may wake up one morning with things greatly improved. She was actually experiencing that before the heavy chemotherapy un-did the healing process, so it could happen again. The therapist returns this Thursday (29th), so we'll see what he says.
Monday we need to be in Zanesville at 7:25AM for Michele's PET scan. We will be heading to the Oncologist shortly after the scan to hear the results. We are expecting a 'clean' scan, in other words, no more cancer. Appreciate your prayers in that regard too. I'm sure we will be talking about the nerve pain in that meeting, so perhaps the Oncologist can put us on an inside track to the Neurosurgeon, if needed. We will let you know.
Your companions in the journey,
Tim and Michele
Tuesday, January 27, 2015
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Hello,
We met with Michele's Oncologist this afternoon. Praise God, the pathology from her spinal fluid is clean! The doctor feels that she is done with treatment. She is scheduled for a PET scan on February 2nd (Groundhog Day). If the scan confirms no tumors, then she will be officially cancer-free.
The next step is to restart her therapy for her arm and hand. Now that she is not being infused with poison, we are looking forward to some serious progress with her left arm and hand. Regaining the use of her arm and hand will be the icing on the cake, so please pray to that end.
Thank you all for praying. The Lord has heard and answered. Blessed be the name of the Lord!
With much love,
Tim and Michele
Hello,
We met with Michele's Oncologist this afternoon. Praise God, the pathology from her spinal fluid is clean! The doctor feels that she is done with treatment. She is scheduled for a PET scan on February 2nd (Groundhog Day). If the scan confirms no tumors, then she will be officially cancer-free.
The next step is to restart her therapy for her arm and hand. Now that she is not being infused with poison, we are looking forward to some serious progress with her left arm and hand. Regaining the use of her arm and hand will be the icing on the cake, so please pray to that end.
Thank you all for praying. The Lord has heard and answered. Blessed be the name of the Lord!
With much love,
Tim and Michele
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Thursday, January 8th, 2015
Greetings,
Yesterday Michele had her last scheduled Intrathecal procedure. Before injecting the Methotrexate into her spine, they withdrew a generous amount of spinal fluid for pathological tests. After the procedure, we made our way to the Oncology suite where Michele received a bag of saline solution to give her a boost. The next scheduled appointment is for January 15th to meet with the Oncologist. He will have the results from pathology by then and will tell us what our next course of action will be.
The intrathecal procedure does leave Michele with a few days of discomfort, although nothing as severe as the massive Methotrexate treatments did. Her left arm and hand are always the most affected, but the nerves going to her legs get agitated as well. If this turns out to be the last of the treatments, she should be able to start taking vitamins again in 2 or 3 weeks and see some hair begin to grow back. Michele is anxious to restart her occupational therapy for her left hand and arm, which we will do soon, Lord willing.
We are now in the 7th month since we began incurring medical expenses, and Samaritan Ministries has been great about publishing our needs. Other Samaritan members have faithfully sent their checks, which has enabled us to keep up with the steady flow of bills. But there is a catch, which has me (Tim) concerned. The plan we are enrolled in has a cap of $250,000.00 per event, and we are rapidly approaching that amount of published need. Now I want to go on record that I am quite certain God will meet all our needs, but at the same time, I need to confess that this situation increases my pucker-factor. I share this for two reasons: (1) So that you may pray with us for God to glorify Himself in this situation; and, (2) That you can follow along as God answers prayer and meets our needs. I'll keep you posted. It should be exciting.
Pray too for Michele's mom, who was recently hospitalized with a congestive heart issue, but is now home again. We have not been to see Michele's family in California for more than 3 years and are really looking forward to Michele being able to travel again, so we can visit. My mom turned 92 in November and it's been a year since we've seen her too, so that will be another much anticipated trip.
Thanks for following us on this journey.
With love,
Tim and Michele
Greetings,
Yesterday Michele had her last scheduled Intrathecal procedure. Before injecting the Methotrexate into her spine, they withdrew a generous amount of spinal fluid for pathological tests. After the procedure, we made our way to the Oncology suite where Michele received a bag of saline solution to give her a boost. The next scheduled appointment is for January 15th to meet with the Oncologist. He will have the results from pathology by then and will tell us what our next course of action will be.
The intrathecal procedure does leave Michele with a few days of discomfort, although nothing as severe as the massive Methotrexate treatments did. Her left arm and hand are always the most affected, but the nerves going to her legs get agitated as well. If this turns out to be the last of the treatments, she should be able to start taking vitamins again in 2 or 3 weeks and see some hair begin to grow back. Michele is anxious to restart her occupational therapy for her left hand and arm, which we will do soon, Lord willing.
We are now in the 7th month since we began incurring medical expenses, and Samaritan Ministries has been great about publishing our needs. Other Samaritan members have faithfully sent their checks, which has enabled us to keep up with the steady flow of bills. But there is a catch, which has me (Tim) concerned. The plan we are enrolled in has a cap of $250,000.00 per event, and we are rapidly approaching that amount of published need. Now I want to go on record that I am quite certain God will meet all our needs, but at the same time, I need to confess that this situation increases my pucker-factor. I share this for two reasons: (1) So that you may pray with us for God to glorify Himself in this situation; and, (2) That you can follow along as God answers prayer and meets our needs. I'll keep you posted. It should be exciting.
Pray too for Michele's mom, who was recently hospitalized with a congestive heart issue, but is now home again. We have not been to see Michele's family in California for more than 3 years and are really looking forward to Michele being able to travel again, so we can visit. My mom turned 92 in November and it's been a year since we've seen her too, so that will be another much anticipated trip.
Thanks for following us on this journey.
With love,
Tim and Michele
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)