Stent

This is Heather again. Mom just received a phone call that her liver count is higher and they feel there is a blockage. She needs to go get a shot for white blood cells today and they are trying to set up an appointment for her to get a stent put in either today or tomorrow. This will help the liver work better as they continue to give her chemo. She is discouraged by this, as you can imagine. On top of that she is feeling quite sick today. Please pray for our little "Glow worm" as Krissy and I have jokingly called her...she is so yellow.

chemo

Hi, all! This is Heather again! Sommer is helping to keep this blog updated since we no longer have internet at our house. I am at my mom's house today getting ready to leave so I can go get my kids ready for cousin camp with their other grandparents next week!
Yesterday Krissy and I took Mom to her second round of chemo. They did her blood work first and discovered that her white blood count was low, so she needs to go back in today to get a shot to boost that count. It is just a quick visit, but I think it takes a toll on Mom to be in the car so much because it is a 45 minute drive over the mountain each way! She tends to get a little nauseaus in the car.
The chemo yesterday seemed to go well. She slept deep last night and is feeling a little sick this morning, but not too bad. The big thing right now is that she is still not able to eat anything or keep any liquids in. She was pretty dehydrated yesterday and they put on her a saline iv to get some liquids back in her body. Her veins were flat and they had a hard time getting a good spot for the chemo iv. Please pray that she can at least eat a little something a drink each hour. She lost another 3 pounds this week.
She is also severely jaundiced. The doctors seemed to be concerned that it is worse this week. They had said that if the chemo does not shrink the tumor enough by next chemo (Aug 11) they will put a stent in. She does not want this...the thought of another surgery, regardless of how minor, is too overwhelming.
As always, we ask for continued prayer for her strength, stamina, and faith. We ask for prayer for complete healing. We ask for prayer for her family members and all the extra traveling safety and turmoil of emotions swirling. We are so thankful for each of you and your love for us and Mom.

Last Tuesday July 21, 2009 Mom went in for her first chemo treatment. The first one went well although it changed from its original plan due to high liver counts. She will be administered two the first week, one the second week and off the third week. This is one set and she will go through six sets. Please continue to pray as she is struggling with tiredness and still not being able to eat.

I was happy to go home and serve my mom this week although it was a little bit emotionally stressful between taking care of my very active children who do not understand things and bringing myself back to reality with my mom. Heather had previously mentioned the overwhelming feelings from all the cards being sent to mom. There is so much encouragement from everyone and we are truly blessed. I think I felt even more overwhelmed my the gifts that were being given to her from baskets of pampering products, money, a beautiful quilt and even a new comfy chair. The quilt hit me first. This quilt was made by Tuesday Quilters from Tioga and Bradford Counties of PA. They make these quilt and find people to give them to. They know that with chemo you often feel cold and so they thought of mom and presented her with one. The second thing I personally got to learn from as well, was to trust God with some financing. My family was talking about how mom really needed a new chair to be comfortable in especially once she started chemo. But who has the extra money? I spoke with my pastor about our church being apart of this service. He was all for it and presented it. The catch was I had to get the chair before I left and trust God that the money would come in and guess what....it was right on the dot! Thank you Beacon! God is awesome! And just so everyone knows...she has gotten her best rest in that chair since. Thank you so much for everyone who is serving our mom with gifts, words of encouragement but most importantly for lifting her up and the rest of us in prayer. I know that I personally feel it. Keep the prayers flowing! Love Sommer

each day is a new day...

Today we spent the better part of the day in the ER because mom had not had a bm in over a week and the doctors were worried. It turns out there was no blockage, but she does have a bladder infection (which could account for her sore back and lack of appetite!) So at least we got antibiotics for that. She was given more meds to help her go and hopefully that will be cleared up before too long.
Thanks for your prayers!

some good news...

Well, I am visiting mom right now, and we have enjoyd our time with her. Shawn and the kids go home tomorrow and I am staying so Krissy and I can take Mom to her first chemo treatment a week from today! Thanks to my wonderful in laws for helping so much during all this!!!

Mom called to get her result from a bone density test and a chest x ray and the doctor said that both were normal! Yay~this means that the cancer has not moved into the bones or the lungs. We are very grateful for this since the type of cancer she has is aggressive, and that would not be good.

She has not been able to eat much and has lost 25-30 pounds. The last few days she has managed to keep a half a piece of bread and some applesauce down...and a third of a sloppy joe! :) We are praying that she can get more in her to get some strength before chemo next week!!

I was overwhelmed at the cards and gifts that she has received...hundreds of them! Thank you all so much! (Keep 'em coming...the hard part begins soon!) You are all wonderful answers to prayer!

So...my crazy sister called me last night to ask me a question that made me laugh - do I want to get a tattoo with her??? LOL! Krissy, Sommer, and some cousins and aunts are going to get teal cancer ribbons (for uterine cancer awareness) tattooed on themselves. Andrea and I opted out...I have nothing again tattoos, but I don't want one myself! :) The guy doing them told mom he would do hers for free, but she opted out too! hahaha! Can't wait to see pics of the final results! You go, girls! And if any of you want to join them, I think they got a special price!

update...

Ok, hopefully I will get al lthe details on this right. I talked with my mother today, who had her first oncologist appointment. Things are not as positive as we had originally hoped.
Mom has unterine cancer, but it is stage 4. The type of carcinoma that it is (I hope I got that terminology right) is the most aggressive kind. Since there is still a mass of cancer cells around the gallbladder, it seems that is not a good thing. She has a bone scan tomorrow to see if it has spread into her bones already, and will be having a chest xray to see if it has gone into her chest.
She said that she starts chemo on the 21st, and it will be a powerful cocktail of things. She will have to plan on being there several hours for her first treatment, so they can see if there are any side effects. If it shows that it has spread in to the bones and chest, they will have to make it more aggressive.
The cure rate for this type of cancer is only 40%. I am not going to lie, this has affected my family in a great way emotionally. To see our healthy, active mother be diagnosed with stage 4 cancer is a shock. The doctor she has is a gentle, soft spoken man from Ghana, but he is honest and direct. The nurse is a Christian and reminded them that there is a spiritual aspect to this.
We continnue to pray for my father the way he deals with this. Please pray for strength for him. He is not the healthiest man himself!
I will be there next week with her and we are all taking turns spending time with her over the summer months and beyond. We will keep you updated, and appreciate you!!!
Love,
Heather

Good News!

I just heard from Mom. I do not have a lot details, but apparently the cancer started in the uterus. The doctors feel that they removed all of the cancer other than what is around the gallbladder. Their hope is that after chemo that mass will shrink and they can remove the gallbladder. Mom was worried because she has been feeling ill and sore and cannot eat a lot still, but they told her that she just had major, major surgery and she is expecting far too much too fast! (Glad they old her!) LOL!
She is not looking forward to chemo...just the word is scary. But we are so thankful for all your prayers, love, and support! There is still a long road ahead, but we are thankful for a positive outlook today!
She should hear from an oncologist in the next week to know what the chemo schedule is!

Tomorrow we know...

Tomorrow (Thursday) is the day that mom goes for her follow up appointment and hopefully we will find out more info about the type of cancer and the treatment options. Keep her in prayer. My sisters, Andrea and Krissy, and my nephews and niece are all going.