42 years together and the after-effects of radiation

today is my mom and dad's 42nd anniversary -- wow! congratulations you two love birds...

on another note, dad finished his radiation treatments Christmas Eve. We were able to spend Christmas together, enjoying traditional Swedish feast on Christmas Eve, opening gifts from Santa Christmas morning, then visiting Brian's family and mom's sister's family on Christmas Day. it was action packed but so good for all of us as we were able to remember 2 precious lives who were lost to us this year -- my husband Brian and mom's sister Nancy -- with those who loved them. we ventured to the OC to commune with Brian's mom, brother, and sisters. Nancy's husband, Joe, drove up from the desert to spend the evening with mom's other sister Priscilla and her family and friends in Pomona. it was a really good day despite the loss of two dearly loved ones.

now, for dad, the aftermath of the radiation is setting in. burning and pain -- worse than the worse sunburn you've ever experienced -- and because it was on a portion of his face, he has extremely painful sores in his mouth that basically limit his eating ability -- he barely eats enough for a bird. he is in a lot of pain and doesn't quite know what to do. please pray for him. he is intense need of it.

we hope you all had a merry Christmas and that the new year will bring health, happiness and God's blessings to you in abundance.

home sweet home

don got out of the hospital on 12/11 -- just in time to see the grandgirls in their performance of a christmas carol at APU. he expressed to the docs how important it was for him to be there, and after assessment, they let him go home after a week's stay in the hospital.

thank you for your prayers. he has started up chemo again and radiation too. he'll be having radiation until Christmas eve... [merry Christmas to you, donald! hehe]

anyway, he still has a bit of a cough and finished up his antibiotics today.

oh! on a kind of fun note, don's son gregg and his wife cindy came over for a visit and brought him a yummy homemade carrot cake filled with pineapple, raisins and all the yummies... it was delish. that was their Christmas present to dad... that and a pleasantly lengthy 4 hour visit :)

pray for a restful holiday time with family as we all are dealing with events of the past year and that God is clearly made known to those around us, in us and through us. have a wonderful holiday season!

time for an oil change

yup, it's that time again... white cells are high and hemoglobin is low so don had another bood transfusion last night. that means that he'll be in the hospital until at least tomorrow. mckenna and avery are a little sad because there's a chance that he'll miss their performance in a christmas carol tomorrow night... be praying he'll be able to join the live audience!

anyway, here's a photo of him getting that oil change and mckenna keeping him company :)

at least there's a smile!

God's goodness

don is still in the hospital as the docs deduced that he had pneumonia in one of his lungs. he'll be there for another day or two while they give him some antibiotics via IV and just monitor his overall health.

as far as the memory loss, they think it could have been fever spikes, as there is no tumor action happening near the brain -- thank God! he will be resuming radiation & chemo treatments next week.

God is good and prayers are being answered. will post more when more is known... thanks so much!

hospitalization for monitoring

this afternoon, dad was taken to the ER because his fever was persistent from last night and the docs all warn that fever could be the sign of infection. so with all of the happenings of yesterday, mom decided to take him in.

he had blood tests, CT scan, chest x-ray and a couple other tests to see what was causing fever. he has also contracted a cold with deep chest cough. because of these things, he will be kept in the hospital for a few days so that his fever/symptoms can be monitored, and they can be certain that there is no sign of pneumonia.

please continue to pray for him; i will make it a priority to keep posting re: his condition.

chemo, radiation and confusion...

administered. since the journal was last written, don has had 3 different and new chemos. none of them have seemed to work, as the MCC is growing and his hair is growing back -- sure signs that it isn't.

dr.p has returned and she says the only way to slow its growth is to couple chemotherapy and radiation together. so radiation started this past week. he will continue to have radiation for a total of 10 days over the next 2 weeks, focusing on his neck area. this latest version of chemo seems to be working on smaller tumors but the large one on his neck is still growing, though at a much slower rate, and new smaller ones keep appearing on his head, neck and face.

today, we had a couple of disconcerting moments where don was struck with long bouts of confusion where he seemed befuddled as to what to do, what to say or where to go. then, when the moments would pass, he would have no recollection of what happened in the time passed. mom and i are concerned and deduce that it might be due to sudden changes in temperature [from hot shower to cold house; from cold outdoor weather to toasty indoors -- each one happened after these incidents] that may cause some swelling near the brain. mom will be contacting dr. p tomorrow regarding this. he is also experiencing chills/shivering and sweats, likely side effects of the chemo.

please ask our God to guide you as you continue to pray for don, rachel, heidi and the kids as we face new challenges day by day. God's ear is not deaf to the prayers of His people!

life, cancer growth and a change in medication

most of you probably know what has gone on in our family over the last 2 months and it obviously has not been easy. heidi and the kids moved in with don and rachel after brian's passing in september. rachel's sister nancy passed away just 2 weeks after brian. so in the midst of it all, don has continued to receive chemo treatments and have doc appts with dr. wong, dr. p's temporary replacement until december.

about 2 weeks ago, at one of those appts with dr. wong, there was the realization that dad's chemo treatments were ceasing to work. his tumor had begun to grow again [really at an alarming rate, as the cancer was becoming immune to the meds and got aggressive -- one can see it growing]. at that point, dr. wong put the brakes on the treatment and set don up for MRI and CT scans and a new chemo regimen.

this past monday, don had surgery to have a chemo port put in so that infusion of his medications would be easier -- no more stickin' him with a needle in his arm! they used it thursday and it went splendidly well. he was happy and relieved -- a wise decision, indeed!

so this week, a new treatment was started. yesterday he had a 1 hour infusion of the new med. this morning he awoke visibly tired and a bit weary, though in good spirits as ian had a cuddle on his lap. nothing like a cuddle with ian! he has been going to the docs several days weekly for neupogen [white blood cell] shots and will continue on that regimen; he will not do hydration again until the doctor deems it necessary.

don will be having a consultation for radiation on november 3rd. it is not his first choice and he is quite hesitant.
please pray:

• for wisdom on all sides.
• don's peace of mind and trust in the Great Healer.
• rachel's peace of mind and trust in the Great Comforter.
• heidi and her three children.
  
• that God will lead you to pray for issues that are possibly unknown to us all.
  

the journey continues....

dad will be having chemo again this thursday and this is his 2nd consecutive week of treatment for this round. this is typically when the side effects hit hardest, so please pray that they stay away!

dad's in good spirits -- as usual :) -- and mom is holding up well. please keep them both in prayer.

i will post more later.... thank you for your continued prayers!

the irony and the hope

after dad's hospital stay in the same room with the same nurse on the same days as last year [how weird is that?], he was able to come home with relatively no more intense side effects from the chemo on 6/15, minus the intense deep itch he has on his torso, lower legs and ankles. please pray for this as it does not go away except for short periods when an anti-itch cream is applied.

the next two treatments on 6/25 and 7/1 were of a lower dosage with virtually no side effects. the large lumps on his neck have gone down significantly in size and the one on his left temple is gone completely. he has been getting neupogen shots to increase his white blood cell count so as to not have another episode of breathing difficulty, shakes, etc. as last year.

dad's doctor, dr. p, is on maternity leave for the next two to three months so his doc will be dr. wong. please pray for this transition and wisdom and insight for both parties. dad continues with chemo treatments this week [7/16 - ian's 2nd birthday!] and next. we are praying that he will be able to join the celebration of ian's 2nd year as an incredible blessing to our entire family without feeling too tired or worn down, as well as increased stamina and healing. dad has always wanted to travel to alaska, so we are praying that there will be a period of time where he will feel well enough and have the doctor's blessing to go and enjoy such a trip - really a lifelong dream.

thank you so much for your prayers. we will continue to keep you posted!

Psalm 33:21-22 (NIV)

In him our hearts rejoice,
for we trust in his holy name.

May your unfailing love rest upon us, O LORD,
even as we put our hope in you.

chemo, another hospital stay and mom's birthday

two weeks ago, dad started his chemo treatments - one a week for two weeks in a row, one week off. this week was supposed to be his week off of treatment. no treatment but a stay in the hospital instead. the severe side effects from the chemo caused major dehydration and fever [a sign of possible infection]. so monday night, he went to the ER to get it checked out and he has been there since. side effects have not subsided much and the doctors have him on a liquid diet to keep him hydrated.

mom celebrated her birthday this year - as last year - in the hospital with dad. ironically, in the same room at the same hospital as last year! but this time, the kids and i cheered them a bit by bringing flowers, balloons, cards and a dinner of in-n-out [just a strawberry shake for dad!] in order to celebrate!

please continue to pray for dad's healing and progress. some good news: the bumps on his face and neck have decreased in size significantly. thanks to those of you who have been praying for him.

today...

...dad will be starting chemo treatments again, after 6 months of clean health. the large mass on the side of his neck is MCC, growing every day. his oncologist, dr. p, got him into chemo treatments early this morning. praise God for great caring doctors.

please be praying for healing, peace, calm, no pain, no counteraction with his leukemia. our God is greater than cancer and his healing power is deeper still.

mom continues with physical therapy and is making great strides. she has an appointment today.

just taking care of business...

6 months have passed....

...and Dad has had a relatively clean bill of health during this time, often going a month or two with no dr's appts... praise God! we had a wonderful Christmas together and he has been enjoying time with the grandkids and friends.

after his radiation, though, he found out that the treatment had killed a salivary gland in his mouth, causing two teeth to rot and become a bit abscess. this swelling extended into his jaw and his dentist referred him to Loma Linda Hospital in Riverside County. after 2 months of waiting [it's a teaching hospital so they are very busy] and oncoming pain, he was finally seen. he will be having those teeth removed at the end of May. it will have been almost another month and a half of waiting to have them removed.

meanwhile, this swelling has increased and is now a noticeable size [about the size of my dad's hand extending under his ear toward the back of his neck]. the Kaiser doctors are concerned, not only about the fact that he has not had those teeth pulled yet [this is surprising to them, actually], but that the swelling has increased and is causing pain, so they are running some tests. we will know more about what exactly is happening this week. please be praying with us that it is not MCC [merkel cell carcinoma]. we will keep you posted.

[as a side note, we lost our dear friend Sam to stomach cancer in March. we miss him so very much. our friend Judy had surgery to remove the tumor on her lung and is recovering well. Mike will find out more this week about how his treatment has been working for the cancer in his bladder].