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
Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Tuesday, December 30
Greetings,
Hope everybody had a Merry Christmas. The day before Christmas we went to the Oncologist for intravenous fluids for Michele. They checked her blood white cell count, which was still very low, but she was feeling okay. We had a nice Christmas day. I managed to surprise Michele with two gifts that she was not expecting, even though I am hardly ever out of her sight. For lunch we had a turkey breast, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie for dessert.
Michele was feeling pretty good by Sunday, so we decided to make our Oncology visit for Monday into an outing. So yesterday we had lunch at Pizza Cottage in Zanesville, then spent some time in Hobby Lobby. Michele's energy reserve isn't very deep, so I pushed her around in a wheel chair, but it was still great to get out. We also spent some time in the mall before heading over to the Oncology suite. They drew some blood, then gave her saline. When the blood results came back, her white cell count was up to 3,600! This is a great encouragement, as it proves her body is doing what it is supposed to do to rebuild. With this good report, they cleared her for the Intrathecal procedure scheduled for tomorrow morning.(Intrathecal is where they inject Methotrexate into her spinal fluid.)
At this point she is scheduled for one more Intrathecal procedure on January 7th. Beyond that, we must wait to see what the Oncologist's plan is for determining if all the cancer is gone. We are anticipating a happy, cancer-free new year, and appreciate your prayers to that end. I am looking forward to getting back to work, although I don't really know when that will be.
Have a very Happy New Year!
With Love,
Tim and Michele
Greetings,
Hope everybody had a Merry Christmas. The day before Christmas we went to the Oncologist for intravenous fluids for Michele. They checked her blood white cell count, which was still very low, but she was feeling okay. We had a nice Christmas day. I managed to surprise Michele with two gifts that she was not expecting, even though I am hardly ever out of her sight. For lunch we had a turkey breast, mashed potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie for dessert.
Michele was feeling pretty good by Sunday, so we decided to make our Oncology visit for Monday into an outing. So yesterday we had lunch at Pizza Cottage in Zanesville, then spent some time in Hobby Lobby. Michele's energy reserve isn't very deep, so I pushed her around in a wheel chair, but it was still great to get out. We also spent some time in the mall before heading over to the Oncology suite. They drew some blood, then gave her saline. When the blood results came back, her white cell count was up to 3,600! This is a great encouragement, as it proves her body is doing what it is supposed to do to rebuild. With this good report, they cleared her for the Intrathecal procedure scheduled for tomorrow morning.(Intrathecal is where they inject Methotrexate into her spinal fluid.)
At this point she is scheduled for one more Intrathecal procedure on January 7th. Beyond that, we must wait to see what the Oncologist's plan is for determining if all the cancer is gone. We are anticipating a happy, cancer-free new year, and appreciate your prayers to that end. I am looking forward to getting back to work, although I don't really know when that will be.
Have a very Happy New Year!
With Love,
Tim and Michele
Monday, December 22, 2014
Monday, December 22, 6PM
Hello,
We just returned from the doctors office in Zanesville. Michele's appointment was at 1:30 this afternoon. She was so weak and dizzy that I was afraid we weren't going to get her in the van, but we did make it. When they took her vitals, her blood pressure was 100/68 and her heart was beating pretty fast to keep it at that. The doctor drew blood and started saline to bring her blood pressure up. When her blood results came back, her white blood cells were again very low, so they cancelled the Intrathecal procedure scheduled for Wednesday and scheduled her to come in for intravenous fluids instead. They also started her on an oral antibiotic to hedge her against infection.
If she can build back up out of this slump, it should be the turning point for recovering her strength, since there are no more major chemotherapy cycles scheduled. The most important thing at the moment is to keep her from contracting any infection. For those of you who have wanted to visit, this is the reason for the moratorium on visitors. Thanks for understanding. Please continue to pray for the white cell and platelet counts to rebound. For perspective, normal white cell count is 4,300 to 10,800 cells per cu/ML. Michele's were 400 today. When she was hospitalized three weeks ago, they had fallen to 200. If she can rest, and avoid infection, she should be fine.
We can't begin to thank you all for the many ways in which you have ministered to us with gifts and sentiments of encouragement! Bless you all, and have a very Merry Christmas!
With Love,
Tim and Michele
Hello,
We just returned from the doctors office in Zanesville. Michele's appointment was at 1:30 this afternoon. She was so weak and dizzy that I was afraid we weren't going to get her in the van, but we did make it. When they took her vitals, her blood pressure was 100/68 and her heart was beating pretty fast to keep it at that. The doctor drew blood and started saline to bring her blood pressure up. When her blood results came back, her white blood cells were again very low, so they cancelled the Intrathecal procedure scheduled for Wednesday and scheduled her to come in for intravenous fluids instead. They also started her on an oral antibiotic to hedge her against infection.
If she can build back up out of this slump, it should be the turning point for recovering her strength, since there are no more major chemotherapy cycles scheduled. The most important thing at the moment is to keep her from contracting any infection. For those of you who have wanted to visit, this is the reason for the moratorium on visitors. Thanks for understanding. Please continue to pray for the white cell and platelet counts to rebound. For perspective, normal white cell count is 4,300 to 10,800 cells per cu/ML. Michele's were 400 today. When she was hospitalized three weeks ago, they had fallen to 200. If she can rest, and avoid infection, she should be fine.
We can't begin to thank you all for the many ways in which you have ministered to us with gifts and sentiments of encouragement! Bless you all, and have a very Merry Christmas!
With Love,
Tim and Michele
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Tuesday, December 16th
Greetings,
Michele had her last major infusion of chemotherapy today, her 6th RCHOP.
Fittingly, the nurse who gave her the first infusion, administered her last
today. That nurse, Holly, has been a real treasure and blessing for us. All the
nurses have been great, but Holly is special. Michele got hugs before she left,
and shed a few tears, just because the folks in Oncology get to be like extended
family during trials like this. We will see them again, tomorrow to be exact,
when we return for Michele's Nulasta shot.
Even though the infusions are over, treatment is not. Thursday, the 18th,
she must be in Radiology at 7:30AM for an injection of Methotrexate in her
spine. She has another one scheduled for December 24th, and again on December
31st. It looks like we'll be spending Christmas Eve and New Years Eve days with
our hospital 'family'. Just so we don't forget how to get there, we have an
appointment with her Oncologist to follow up on Monday the 22nd. One additional
item of praise is the current price of gasoline. The price at most stations in
Zanesville today was $2.22 per gallon. I filled the van for $36! Haven't done
that in a long time.
Please pray that:
Michele's immune system rebounds quickly
For the feeling and strength to return to her left arm and hand
That the blood clots in her lungs and left leg would dissolve harmlessly
Once again, we thank you whole heartedly for praying for us and
encouraging us with your concern. We hope each of you have a Blessed Christmas.
Thanks be to God for His precious gift of Jesus Christ, our Lord and
Savior!
Because of Him,
Tim and Michele
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Thursday, December 11th
Hi,
Michele saw the Oncologist today and had another blood draw to check her platelets and white cells. The doctor has postponed the intrathekel treatment scheduled for Monday (that's the shot of Methotrexate in her spinal fluid), but has given the green light for her 6th and last RCHOP treatment on Tuesday! This is good news for a couple of reasons; first it means her blood counts have come back to a safe level, and second it marks the end of the heavy chemo treatments.
Another bit of good news is that Michele will be starting on oral blood thinners beginning Saturday, so I will no longer need to give her a shot each morning. That is a multiplied blessing also, because the oral drug is less than half the cost of the injectable drug.
The sun shone today for a while. It was the first time in a long time, so all in all it was a pretty good day. I hope yours was too.
With love,
Tim and Michele
Hi,
Michele saw the Oncologist today and had another blood draw to check her platelets and white cells. The doctor has postponed the intrathekel treatment scheduled for Monday (that's the shot of Methotrexate in her spinal fluid), but has given the green light for her 6th and last RCHOP treatment on Tuesday! This is good news for a couple of reasons; first it means her blood counts have come back to a safe level, and second it marks the end of the heavy chemo treatments.
Another bit of good news is that Michele will be starting on oral blood thinners beginning Saturday, so I will no longer need to give her a shot each morning. That is a multiplied blessing also, because the oral drug is less than half the cost of the injectable drug.
The sun shone today for a while. It was the first time in a long time, so all in all it was a pretty good day. I hope yours was too.
With love,
Tim and Michele
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