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].

radiation is finished! and please pray...

dad had his last dose of radiation yesterday... that's something to give thanks about! he is tired now, and will continue to be for awhile, but he has finished his 17 treatments.

also, several friends have discovered they have cancer over the last weeks/months and i am going to mention only first names and where the cancer was found so that you might pray with us. let's face it -- cancer sucks! but our God is bigger and more powerful than that nasty stuff. so please pray for the following folks along with us, as dad's heart is with them also:

*Mike -- kidney/bladder
*Sam -- stomach
*Judy -- lung
*Karen -- colon/liver

may God continue to bless you in this season of Thanksgiving... and we thank God for life in abundance!

physical therapy and radiation

mom had her first physical therapy appt. yesterday and it went well. she can move her forearm and hand and bend her elbow with little pain. yay, mom!

dad started his second week of radiation today and he's looking good. just a little bit of redness on the area, nothing too noticeable. the kids and i had a nice treat today of having blendeds at the coffee bean & tea leaf in chino hills after his appointment. a nice time for all of us! though the kids did miss grammy :(... hopefully next time she can join us!

photos previously promised

here are some photos from dad's surprise 80th birthday party:

what the...

gotcha!


omg... i can't believe....

grampy and his little buddy ian

the hosts

i just can't believe it...




happy birthday to you!

blow out the candles on my birthday cake






a bounty of blessings: family, friends, and life!

good friends

grampy and 2 of his grandgirls... what a night!

surgery successful

mom's surgery was 3 hours long yesterday and successful. they were able to mend her own bones so no artificial shoulder was needed. if the bone does not heal like it should, the artificial partial shoulder is always an option.

she is home now and doing well. i shall find out more tomorrow when the kids and i visit. thanks again for all the prayers, help and well wishes.

dad is continuing treatment and doing well. please continue your prayers for them both!