Friday, December 28, 2012

Chemo

Terry had his last chemo of the year 2012 ..., but that's really nothing to celebrate ..., he will have his first chemo of the year 2013 on the 3rd. 
 
Wanna know how it went?
Well, I'm just going to say that we did some waiting, but eventually got it all done.
 
Blood counts:
WBC = 3.3(L) same as one month ago, pre-treatment and July was 2.6(L)
Platelets = 41(L) last month was 54(L) and July was 35(L)
Lymphocytes = 59(H) last month was 72(H) and July was 45
Ab Neutrophils = 0.8(L) last month was 0.5(L) and July was 1.0(L)
 
So, you can see that nothing is really different enough to claim the chemo is doing anything, except they did mention that the Lymphocytes could be because of the chemo.  Okay, it could be, but it was 59(H) in May.  I hope to see greater change after all this, but I guess we take what we can get.
 
 
:)
I should have posted this last night, or this morning, but I've been busy.  Well, sort of.  I've also been puzzling.  ;)  Completed the last puzzle of the year 2012 - a puzzle we got for Christmas from Terry's sister.
 


 

Have you ever seen a puzzle with an extra piece?  This one has one!  Two of the exact same piece.
 
 
 


Christmas Phone Call

We got our Christmas phone call from Chase ..., and loved it ..., of course!
He sounds good!

I've been spending a lot of time uploading some photos he emailed.   Here is one -
(He's on the far right)



Monday, December 24, 2012

Some fun stuff for Christmas Eve -
Skyler and Lisa brought these out (extra's from her family) ...


this is one of the cute favors (my personal favorite) that was inside with some jokes and a paper crown ...


And,
look at these cute things ...
aren't they adorably sweet!
Lisa called it her "Pinterest moment" - oh the things we can find and enjoy ....


We opened gifts with them a few days before Christmas Eve, because we didn't know better. ;)




 

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Nice Surprise at the Clinic



Terry seems to be tolerating the oral med, Revlimid.  At this point, he has had no terrible side affects because of it.

Usually the Rituxan infusion is an all day thing, but yesterday we had a nice surprise.  They decided that since Terry had done so well with his last dose, and previous doses a few months ago, they would speed up the rate.  They did so, and he accepted it fine.  YEA!  Happy Day!  
(We went for chemo Friday instead of Thursday this week because we wanted to attend a funeral of a friend/neighbor. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Allred family during this difficult time. We love them.)

Some of the side affects he feels from the Rituxan include:
1st and 2nd day - a red flushed face where he can feel a sort of heat that lets him know it's red, and he feels sluggish and achy.
3rd and 4th days - much more aching and discomfort everywhere. (Christmas Eve and Christmas day will be painful, but if I know Terry, he will not let that stop him from helping everyone have a good day.)


Look at this cuteness ...
Claire spent a few days with us.  Oh, so did her parents ;).
It has been so fun to see her happy disposition and have them here with us for a few days.  We seemed to have several places to go while they were here, but we so enjoyed having them ..., and look forward to next week when we can see them again.


Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Lovin' Christmas ...

Decorations are complete ...
 (I'm loving the look of my bowl of snowballs, and I'm loving the few decorations that used to belong to Keith and Idris - they warm my heart.)

The trees are all lit and decorated ...
(I'm loving the ornaments given to us from family and friends throughout the last 32 years, and I'm loving the lights too.)
 
The look and feel of Christmas is present ...
(no pun intended)
and I'm loving it all!
 
One puzzle just completed this morning ...
(I love puzzles at Christmas time.)
 
Gifts are wrapped and those needing mailed are sent ...
(I love giving gifts, just wish I could always come up with the best gift ever. I just wanna help make everyone happy.)
 
Most newsletters are sent, except for a few I need to make sure I have correct addresses for ...
(I usually love writing newsletters, and even have an idea for next year that ..., wait for it ..., could even include pictures of our family ..., yip ..., it's been a couple years since I've sent a newsletter that included any kind of photo.)
 
FYI - If you didn't get a newsletter this year and would like one, please send me your address.  I had a computer crash earlier this year and lost my address data base (and many other things too) and might not have your current address anymore (same for email addresses).  Oh Bother!  But hey, this post is about Christmas, not crashed computers ..., so ...,

We attended the band Christmas concert last night, where Anthony played the drums ...
(I love it when our children perfect a talent or enjoy a hobby.)
[sorry no photo]
 
And, I love Christmas music!
(enjoying it even as I write this)

I'm loving the occasional snow - it's whiteness and pureness is sometimes simple, but other times breath takingly beautiful.  It can remind me of the pureness of that Baby born in Bethlehem, who is still among us now.


I am loving this holiday season and all the joys that come with it.
My heart is grateful for the reason for this season.
 
 
There’s Christmas in the home and church,
There’s Christmas in the mart;
But you’ll not know what Christmas is
Unless it’s in your heart.
The bells may call across the snow,
And carols search the air,
But oh, the heart will miss the thrill
Unless it’s Christmas there.6
 
Full message containing this poem found HERE,
Christmas is Love, by President Thomas S. Monson
(image above is from here)

I am grateful to feel
Christmas in my Heart!
 
 
I love wishing you a
very
merry
CHRISTMAS!



Listen ... I think I hear the morning dishes calling me ... yip ... off I go ...
have a great day! 
 

Monday, December 17, 2012

Let Christmas Begin!

We had a fun time last night with a few of our kids ... an early Christmas ...
 
Auger opens his gift from us ...

 
Akleigh opened her gift ...
 
She loved her new baby ...

 
but not as much as she loved the real baby ...
Auger and Akleigh both love Elsie. We all love Elsie.
 
Thomas and Dana opened gifts from us and from Gregory and Adena ...

 
Michael and Tawnee opened gifts from us and from Thomas and Dana ...
 
We opened gifts from Thomas and Dana ...
It's a cool BBQ grill for our fire pit ...
 
After the gifts were opened we were visiting and having a good time. Akleigh was being coaxed to walk on her own, and after a couple times of taking a couple steps on her own, and some clapping and excitement from us, she began to take more.  She finally decided that she can walk on her own and was taking off and turning around and even shuffling sideways a bit.  Once she realized that she really could do it, she was walking all over.  We all laughed so hard because she was so dang cute.  We knew she could do it, and now she knows she can too.  Look out world ... Here she comes!  I guess this was one last gift for the night ..., and a great one at that.  You go girl!
 


Saturday, December 15, 2012

Medical Report

Another treatment began for Terry Thursday (13th).  I'd like to say it went smoothly and as expected, but really ..., well, it was a rather frustrating week.

We understood that it was important that Terry begin taking Revlimid (pill form) the day he began the Rituxan (IV). We planned to make it happen, but our plan could only take place if their end of the plan was put into place.

Revlimid is a mail order only medication and we hadn't received it by Monday, so Terry called to find out about it.  They told us that the order was at Walgreens and we should pick it up.  Great - we were in town and went to get it, only to learn that they had no such order, nor could they receive it.  It's a specialty pharmacy order only.  So, he called back to the doctors office.

After four days of calling, waiting, calling, waiting ..., and still no drug nor sign of it coming, we suggested that we wait for the treatment until we had the Revlimid.   They told us we should go to the treatment anyway.

So we went to treatment Thursday and talked again to the case manager about the Revlimid and she said that the company sending the pill to us would call us that very day.  She made sure to ask 3 or 4 times if Terry had his cell on him and if we'd make sure that one of us would answer it, and that it would be sent overnight to us.  Well, we had been hearing that for 4 days now, but tried to not give up hope. 

The Rituxan infusion went well.  No phone call though.  And, no lab reports - they didn't do a blood draw, even though we asked them about it.  I am going to be honest here and say that we are feeling a bit frustrated and concerned at the moment.  We've wondered a couple times, "who's looking out for Terry and are they really looking out for him?"  

We had to go into the clinic Friday too (for appointments for me, Elaine, this time) and decided to go talk to the case worker again, since we hadn't heard from the pharmacy.  She called her contact and then Terry spoke directly to them.  After several minutes on the phone, he finally found out that the pill will get to us on Tuesday. (Sounds to us like we should have waited a week for the chemo.) 

The pharmacy gave Terry some instructions and told him that he should have weekly blood draws - so why didn't we get one Thursday (even after asking about it) and why isn't one set up for next week?  I promise to make sure that he gets a blood draw before chemo starts next week, and to check it before he continues his treatment!!!  We  want to be Christlike in our dealings and are worried about being too rude to our caregivers, but I'm feeling pretty offended myself and finding it rather tricky right now. To me, these are important decisions and they shouldn't be let go as we feel they have been. We want to see more "care"ing.

This weekend has been a bit tricky for Terry - I'm not helping him like I usually do.  The tables turned and he's been helping me.  I needed a driver to and from my appointments Friday, and being the good husband that he is, he took that responsibility and then had to sit in the clinic for several hours waiting for me.  Not so fun when your body aches from chemo the previous day. 

After two days of prep and testing I'm looking forward to a better day today, and hope to let him find some much needed rest.  Oh how I hope that happens.  The good news is that the doctor gave me a good report - no colon cancer, all is well.

Now, on to better days ..., for all of us hopefully!

Disclaimer - this report may seem a bit negative ..., it kinda does to me, but I have written it over and over again this morning and that is just the way it's coming out ..., and in fact it is better now than the first time I began. :)  (If I come to my senses a few hours or days after I post this, I might have to delete it, but for now, it's going up.)
I'm just giving my (shortened) opinion of the events of the week and probably influenced a bit by how my physical body is feeling, and mental capacity after the last couple days.  I'm kinda tired myself, having been up and feeling crummy all but two hours of Thursday night.  I had a good night last night though, and look forward to accomplishing a lot today.  I HOPE!

Thursday, December 6, 2012

He's Got Mail!

Connor got a large white envelope today ...,
 

with a call to serve in the Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Mission
He will report to the Provo MTC on January 30, 2013.
 
 
 

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

PINK

I was able to pull out some pink stuff again this time for Elsie's blessing dinner.  I didn't get very many photos taken, but here are a couple that will help remind us of the special event. (Confession - I stole the family photo from their blog, cause I didn't get one here.)
 
 
We love our family!
 
 

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Shout Out!

Happy Birthday Skyler!
We Love You!