June 13, 2016

What a lovely weekend we had. It was so nice to get a break from radiation. Steve had a little more energy. He ran a soccer meeting and this morning he coached a practice. He loves those boys.

Our church service was really really fantastic yesterday. It was really encouraging....just what I needed.  I've found recently that going to church gives me strength in a way it never has before. The sense of community and love and support that I feel really fills my cup on top of feeling the love of my Heavenly Father and the comfort of the Holy Ghost.

Yesterday the overriding theme was "you're doing better than you think you are".  Sometimes we need to hear that instead of all the things we SHOULD be doing.  Our neighbors have been so supportive and loving and we are so blessed.

Steve went down to my parents' with me last night so I could cut some heads of hair and he even watched some soccer with my dad.

We are both dreading this week, but the sooner we get going the sooner it will be behind us.

Thanks for checking on us.

June 10, 2016

Caitlin and Patrick left for California at 3 o'clock this morning. We will miss them immensely, but I know they will have a lot of fun. This is our last day with our cute little Adams Clan, as they are going to their new home now.

We really enjoyed having them in our home for a little over a week.

Steve is feeling very bleh and is excited to get a short break over the weekend.

June 9, 2016

Steve was crazy yesterday. After radiation, while I went with Caitlin and Emily to get their hair cut, he went down and cleaned up the basement. Whoa. I got home and I was SHOCKED. He was getting it ready gor his sister, who arrived last night.  What a good brother. I was dreading going through everything and making all those decisions (what to keep....what to chuck, etc) seemed overwhelming. He went and just stacked the boxes out of the way so I can deal with those decisions later. Cool, huh?

Maybe now I can tackle the bottom level one of these days.  It is such a relief.

Yesterday afternoon we met with the chemo doc.  Steve's levels are ok for another round.

Hopefully he can enjoy today with his sister. 

PS We got really good news right after I originally posted this....the tumor is DEFINITELY responding to treatment.  It's smaller.  YAY!!!

June 8, 2016

Good morning! Here we go again. We are officially past half way. Steve is really struggling with insomnia. His sleep schedule is really messed up. It is encouraging to be past half way. We meet with the chemo oncologist this afternoon and they're going to draw some blood and check levels as well as do an iron study. We should have results on Friday. We stay the course for now. Steve's little sister, Sami, will arrive today and leave Friday with Daniel, Caitlin and Patrick. She'll bring them back on the 22nd. How fantastic for them to get away and do some fun things. I'm going to miss them a lot, though.

June 7, 2016

Another day, more radiation. Having a little bit of a hard time with Steve's port. It will flush, but it won't draw back. I'm trying to coordinate paperwork to make it so we can go to IV therapy straight from radiation to get the issue resolved. Steve's feeling a little better these days....he hasn't taken any antinausea meds for 2 days. He's gained back half a pound. We're dreading chemo starting again next Monday.

Update: Steve weighed on our way out....his weight was down and he needed antinausea medicine....

June 6, 2016

Here we go again....back at the hospital for radiation. Church was lovely yesterday. I always feel so loved and supported when I go to church. We have a special congregation that really reaches out to lift each other up. We have been lifted and lifted and lifted.  It really does help to fill my cup and lift my spirits. I'm sorry Steve doesn't get to feel it.

We celebrated Father's Day yesterday. It was wonderful to honor Steve and the wonderful father that he is.

Thank you for checking on us. Thank you for your prayers and love. We feel it. We appreciate it.

June 4, 2016

Yesterday was a hard day. It just was. My emotions were on the surface and I was overwhelmed. My lovely neighbor and friend cut a rose from her garden for me.

Isn't it beautiful? Every time I've looked at it today, I've been reminded of all the lovely people who love us and are supporting us on our journey. I truly appreciate it. Thank you.

Steve went to soccer tryouts today. He was a rockstar. He loves those boys. I'm so glad he had a reason to fight today.  I know it's hard for him to fight, but I'm so glad he's fighting. Today is my parents' 45th wedding anniversary. I'd like to have one of those someday, too....

June 3, 2016

Steve had a better day yesterday, except for a nagging headache we couldn't resolve. Today he feels pretty marginal and still has that dang headache. The reality of the situation is sinking in, and that's a hard pill to swallow.

Thanks for checking on us and praying for us.

June 2, 2016

June? How is it June? Yesterday marked 7 months since I called 911. Wow. Steve is sick and tired of being sick and tired. Geesh. Sweet man.

Today is a little better so far. Steve got up and did the dishes! They'll probably zap his energy right out of him here at radiation, but it was lovely having him join us for breakfast and scriptures this morning. What a blessing. The hair cut photos are still coming, so go back and check that entry if you want to be overwhelmed with the love and support Steve is receiving.

Soccer tryouts and track meets this week....we stay plenty busy.

Thanks for checking in.

June 1, 2016

Steve weighed in at 156.3 yesterday....fully clothed with shoes on. His blood pressure was 90/64. His home health nurse, Savanna, came and accessed his port and gave him a bag of fluids.  He'll get 2 more bags this week.

Steve was awfully tired yeaterday, and he slept most of the day. I think going back to radiation took a lot out of him.

Thanks for checking on us.

May 31, 2016

10 down, 20 to go (radiation treatments). It was a big weekend...Steve and Daniel got their heads shaved and everyone is finished with school. Steve took the older boys to the track yesterday morning. It wore everybody out.

Steve continues to fight pain and nasty side effects, but he's fighting. He's managed to stay healthy otherwise, which is a tremendous blessing. He's not gaining weight, but he seems to have stopped losing...which is also a blessing.

Thanks for checking on us.

Haircuts!

I am amazed how many people are shaving their heads in support of Steve. I'll add to this post as I receive more pictures.

May 27, 2016

Another day, another radiation treatment, another sick day. This sucks.

May 26, 2016

The photo on the top right of the screen is the original xray underneath the xray they took that morning.  They take a new xray every single day and compare it to the original and make any adjustments needed.  Yesterday the adjustment was 1mm.  They can control the table from the control station, so they can adjust it without even going back into the room where Steve is.  

You can see the 3 cameras in the top screen that show Steve in the room, so they can monitor everything from the control station.

In these 2 photos, you can see the lasers that they line up to Steve's markings.  They align him every morning.  They made some permanent tatoos and then he has some semi-permanent markings as well.  They line up both sides.  You can see how far over the table moves.  The base is on the left, but the table moves over to the right so the machine can rotate around underneath.  The Xrays go right through the bottom of the table.  They move to 9 different angles in order to try to minimize any side effects to the surrounding tissues.

This is what Steve goes through every morning. He's one tough cookie. I sure love that man. 

May 25, 2016

Happy birthday to my mother-in-law Jan. I hope they're having a special party in heaven today.

Today is also kindergarten graduation for this handsome dude.

I'll add to the update after radiation and bloodwork.

Met with the chemo doc, a little thrush in Steve's mouth. His temp was elevated 2 degrees. His white blood cells are 7000. His other numbers are diving as well. We'll be extra super careful at home.

Here is a picture of Steve this morning. 

Thanks for checking on us. 

PS This just happened. I cut off enough to donate. A big thank you to Angela for dropping everything to go with me on very short notice. 

May 24, 2016

Down a little more weight this morning. :( Otherwise hanging in there. Thanks for checking on us. We appreciate all the angels in our lives.

May 23, 2016

The chemo bag is off and Steve is experiencing new side effects....but he has a little more energy. Yesterday evening we went for a walk. He's still losing weight and that concerns me. He's down 12.5 pounds since May 12th. Yikes. Hopefully he will feel like eating again soon.

This picture was taken last Friday....right before they disconnected his chemo. The shirt was a gift from the Jones Family.  

While he was at the clinic getting disconnected, they also gave him a bag of fluid because his blood pressure was still under 100 even though the home health nurse gave him fluids in Thursday. 

May 21, 2016

The chemo pump is OFF!  Yay!  Steve has felt a little better today, but far from 100%.  He's experiencing a few more side effects, but overall managing well.  He still spent quite a bit of the day in bed, but not as much as the last few days.

May 20, 2016

Steve had 3 friends from work visit him this morning. It was so lovely for them to take the time to come. It was so good for him. He misses his friends.

Nausea has been about the same.  Caitlin is home from school with a horrible cough....sweet girl.

May 19, 2016

Steve slept a lot yesterday and paid for it last night...he was awake much of the night. He is still fighting nausea, but so far the only other side effect is exhaustion. Steve has lost 9 pounds since 5/12/16. That is not good.

Sadly, all 4 of our children are coughing and struggling with various symptoms of feeling sick. That is really stressing me out because Steve's immune system is about to take a dive. Please pray for our childrens' health as well as Steve's. Next week is the last week of school....I'm sure the stress of fixing grades and thinking about Steve is a lot for them to handle.

Thanks for checking on us.