He's Home!

 

Chase is home and released from his 2 year missionary service in the Nevada Reno mission.  

 

Here is Elder Chase Hebdon with his mission president&wife just before leaving Nevada.

I found that last photo on the Nevada Reno Mission Blog - click on links for more photos of Chase's last days in the mission field.   Departures here, and Transfers here (some of you will recognize the Sister in the first photo - she's from Royal!).

It's good to have him home, he is doing well, and out to work already. 


 

Medical News

We had a doctor visit today, but there really isn't any new information.  No improvement at this point, except that Terry didn't have a fever this past week.  That's good! 

We went to the third floor for red blood cell and platelets transfusion and things went quite smoothly there.  It was the quickest transfusion we've had there. 

I left for a couple hours to do a bit of shopping - that's about the only time I do any shopping and I do only what is necessary, except today I stopped at the Pennsylvania House because ..., well, because I could.  ;)   They are closing up and selling things at great prices - the sign says 50% off, but I got so much better than that on a pretty antique bowl, a pretty vintage sheet, and several doilies.  It was a quick shopping trip because I really do hate to leave Terry there in the hospital alone, even if he does sleep the majority of the time. 

The nurses are getting pretty familiar with us by now and expect to see us next week.  They are all quite friendly and kind. 

Well, I'm too tired to keep going tonight and we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow, so I'll sign off here with a fun quote from a sweet lady.

from here

"The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it.  You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh.  Crying gives me a headache."

Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Returning With Honor

Our lives have been quite busy the past few months, and it doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon.  Much of what has kept us busy has been family coming home to visit ..., visits that we cherish and enjoy.  This week we add another family coming home - Chase will return home from his mission (Nevada, Reno) on Wednesday and will report in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday (29th).  
Needless to say - WE ARE SO EXCITED!

Join us if you'd like - He will be happy to see you - and so will we!
Sac. Mtg begins at 9:00am and after our meetings we will have a luncheon at our home.

This is among the last photos we will see of him on the Mission Blog.  Do you see him in the center front ... thumb up?  It is possible he will be in a photo as he leaves the mission, but we may see him before we see those photos.  ;)

Chemo Week Ended

Our week of chemo (Dacogen) treatments is complete.  It went well, though towards the end of the week Terry began to feel more aching and less energy, as is common for him anyway. We hope that we can see some results in this drug, but realize that there could be several more treatments ahead before we begin to see any.  This 5 day infusion has a 3 week rest before it begins again.

 

We will continue our Tuesday appointments and blood product transfusions until further notice, taking life one day at a time, as we all do.

 

 



found on pinterest

"The One who had the power to calm the elements of earth has power to calm our souls"

-Elder Robert D. Hales

 

And He does! I have felt of that power! 

The Struggle is part of The Story!

Terry started the new chemo Monday - Dacogen or Decitabine (dee sye' ta been) - and tolerated it rather well.  Side effects are minimal with this drug so I hope that doesn't mean the results are minimal too.  He was feeling a little more bone ache by Tuesday, but we aren't sure what to blame that on (like we need something to blame it on) - it could be the chemo, or it could be the weather, or it could be the disease itself, or it could be the low blood count, or it could be a number of other things.

He has had some trembling chills and a few fevers thru the previous week but Monday was a pretty good day.  He still has one week of the IV antibiotic/Ertapenem left.

Tuesday was another full day with a blood draw, doctor visit, chemo infusion, and then to the third floor for red blood cells and platelets transfusions.  We left the clinic about 7:30pm, which means things went quite well for the transfusions - no waiting for three hours before seeing our first bag of product.  It too was a pretty good day, though he did have some low grade fevers a couple times.   That doesn't delay things because he has them quite often and they are not related to the blood products he is receiving. 

We have 3 more days of Dacogen to go and we hope and pray that it does some good.  It is my observation that this morning (Wednesday) he is a bit slower and possibly not feeling as well, but he is still doing all he can to make the day a good one, and he responds to the question "How are you today" by saying "I'm fine"!   He is having a good day, like it or not ..., ;).

For those interested in the CBC/Complete Blood Count -

WBC = 0.2(LL)
RBC = 2.46(L)
HCT = 22.7(LL)
Platelets = 4(LL)
ANC = 0.1(LL)


I saw this quote on pinterest - "The Struggle is part of The Story"  - and thought "That is so true!" 

image seen on pinterest

 

 

It has been a very large part of our story the last several years.   There are many messages from our general authorities and scriptures that would remind us of that fact, and give us encouragement and inspiration to endure.  I add one scripture here (because it is in the list of scriptures I have been studying recently)

"And ye cannot bear all things now; nevertheless, be of good cheer, for I will lead you along.  The kingdom is yours and the blessings thereof are yours, and the riches of eternity are yours."

D&C 78:18

The Lord is my strength!  He does help us through our struggles!  I am so grateful for that fact!  He also sends us joy and peace and good times throughout those struggles - we've had many of those times the last few years as well.  And for those, I am grateful!

Father's Day

We had a nice Father's Day yesterday ...

Thomas & Dana and Michael & Tawnee and grandchildren came for lunch and a visit.  We did enjoy our visit, and lunch was wonderful too.

Last week I asked Terry what he might like to eat for Father's Day meal and of course he said whatever I wanted to do would be fine.  I encouraged him to help me decide on something that he might like since I know his taste buds don't work very well (due to meds).  So after some thought he shared his meal plan with me, and this is what it was -

meatloaf in cupcake tins
mashed potatoes (with butter and sour cream)
creamed carrots
grape salad

 

I mixed up the meat loaf ingredients and prepared the carrots and grape salad on Saturday, so Sunday was pretty easy just putting the meat in the pans and cooking them and peeling the potatoes and cooking them, and then warming the carrots.   The girls brought their husbands favorite or chosen desserts and we had a lovely meal.  Michael chose a graham cracker pudding dessert (don't know the name of it) and Thomas chose brownies.  Yum!


It is always fun to be with family.

And, for me,  it's always fun to set a table with the mismatch china and stemware. 
I purchased nothing new for this meal and tablescape.  I had everything already, though some of the items had not been used before. 

 

I chose the table cloth from my limited supply and then used some linen napkins that I had purchased a while ago but never used.
I set the plates on and then chose the stemware to go with them.  I was trying to keep it masculine so I stayed away from any pink and purple, and I tried to use plates without flowers.  I did make an exception with my plate ..., it did have a pink flower in the center of a grey/blue edge. 

I loved using the colored bottles for centerpieces, and tried to keep those colors in the same hue of the stemware I had chosen.  Everything was earth tone and I was pleased with the final results, especially since it wasn't pre-planned.

 

I thought I was done, but then remembered I had purchased some Chick-o-Sticks for something - maybe it was for Easter, but I forgot to use them, so knowing that they have been among Terry's favorite candy in the past, I got them out and put one at each of the plates.

It seemed then that my table was complete, and I liked the look I had created, but it was all for not until family came to be with us and Terry sat at the table ..., and then it was beautiful.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

LIFE AS A FATHER   
by Terry Hebdon 
written May 1984


A father is born on the self same day
As his first born child, together that way.

They start new life, so scary to ask,
But together they grow to meet the task.

And with a mother come to be
What we all know as a family.

So through the days and span of years
They calm each one, the other's fears.

Until behold the father looks,
He isn't looking, he's reading those books.

And many other things does see,
"This child of mine is just like me!"

So time has flown, the child once small,
Is grown up, not young at all.

At last the father in quiet does confess,
I'm slower than he, I didn't progress

Nearly as fast, nor as much as he,
For look at him now, a father he'll be.

So he seems disappointed but still he can say;
"We both were born on the self-same day."



We send our love to all the fathers in our family and in our lives. 
WE LOVE YOU!

Terry doesn't read this often, but I still want to express my love for him ...
I LOVE HIM - THE FATHER OF OUR CHILDREN - MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE!
It's as simple as that ..., yet so very complex.  I don't know what more to say ....

image found on pinterest

Terry's Appointment

We had a 12:30 blood draw and 1:30 doctor visit yesterday. 

We learned a little about the bone marrow biopsy.   The doctor said it wasn't really good news, but it wasn't really bad news either.  FYI - MDS turns into acute leukemia (that's bad), and the good news (so to speak) is that we are not there yet.   The bad news is that the percentage has increased since February.  MDS is now approximately 12%, up from about 5 or 6%.  We were hoping and praying that those numbers would have decreased instead of increased, but that was not in our favor I guess. 

It is apparent that the Vidasa infusions did not do as we hoped - there will be no more of them. There is another drug called Dacugen that we will try, starting next week ... we will continue to fight this thing until our miracle takes place.   This chemo is once a day for five days, every four weeks, and will be done in the infusion room at Wenatchee.

Blood results were not changed much ...
WBC = 0.3(LL)
RBC = 2.67(L)
HCT = 24.6(LL)
Platelets = 4(LL)
ANC = 0.1(LL)

So we stayed forever to get red cells and platelets transfusions.  The first bag didn't come until after 5:00pm.  Sitting there for almost three hours before they do anything is not a pleasant thing.  There has got to be a different/better way.  Where did we hear "you get what we get and you don't throw a fit"?  That is what we are trying to do.  However, we did ask a few questions and expressed disappointment in such slow going.  We are grateful for the pleasant nurses we had.

We left the clinic around 9:45pm and went straight to bed when we got home. I was so sleepy, but always wake up too early, even when I go to bed too late.  So ... GOOD MORNING!

"Every trial and experience you have passed through is necessary for your salvation." 

Brigham Young

(FYI - I found this quote because Bonnie Oscarson pinned it on pinterest a while ago, and I follow her there.)

Patience

 

 

I follow Come, Follow Me and found this great message there.

 

 

Graduation!

Now the main event - GRADUATION!

The beginning of the evening - Mr. Ellis (HS Principal) and the high school band - do you see Anthony?  He is center of the three standing in the drum line.

Here she comes ...  BrittanyJo

The Class ... BJo is sitting in the second row, first person on this side.

Receiving her diploma (cover).  (Camera lady was in my way ..., Oh Bother!)

OUR GIRL ...

We love her!

We are going to miss her, but we are not going to think about that right now.  We have a few months before she heads off to BYU-Idaho ..., but it's a busy few months so I hope we get to have some time together.

By the way - the weather was wonderful so Terry was able to stay through to the end.  It was one of the best graduation events we have been to. 

Graduation Party!

We had a luncheon/dinner just before graduation and enjoyed the company - thanks to all who came to share in BrittanyJo's special occasion.  And we send a loving THANK YOU to all who helped with our preparations for this event and to those who checked in on us to see if there was something we needed.  We are so blessed to have such awesome family and friends ..., we truly are, and we know it and feel it.  It is because of family and friends that we were able to pull this off.  THANK YOU!


Here is the look ...  (pictures are from BJo's phone, Elaine's camera, Anthony's camera)
We set up our tent again - it is so fun to use - and here is the overall look.

 

The tables were fun to create.

 

 

The books were fun to create ...

Everything was fun to create ...

The tablecloths and bunting were created from vintage sheets I had purchased from thrift stores over the past couple years.

 

 

The bunting was fun to create too, but it took me all day to serge tablecloths and bunting edges and sew the bunting together.  I guess I had no idea what I had gotten myself into.  The cloths and bunting triangles were already cut and I thought it was going to take a few hours ..., it took a few more than a few hours.   I was pleased with the overall look when we got it completed, so I guess it was worth it.

 

 

 

 

THANKS to all who helped and attended! 

 

 

 

 

 WE LOVE YOU!

 

 



Wonderful Weekend!

We had a wonderful weekend!
Terry started with a few more red blood cells due to an extra transfusion on Thursday, so Friday was a pretty good day for him, though his energy was still low.  He was able to get around okay and be with family and friends on our only daughter's special graduation day.

I'll begin with the project we had in the front yard when I posted the last post.  

 

 

 Did you see the object or color behind Dana in that photo?  Here it is in finished form.

Some of our older boys will recognize this bike before it was this bright color.  It was a fun bike many years ago.   ;)

This was a favorite quote we found for BJo's graduation announcements and we had the perfect bike to create a centerpiece for graduation.  I posted this quote before on this blog, HERE.  I really like it!

 

 

I was planning on making this a longer post, but I'm out of time, so more about our weekend will have to come later.  Sorry!  There is more to come - another day another time ...

BMB and GRAD

Terry had a bone marrow biopsy at 8:00 Thursday morning and the dreaded procedure went quite well for what it is.   It was one of the easiest he's had, but remember that doesn't mean it was painless, just not as difficult as some have been.  That was a tender mercy!

We went straight from the biopsy to the third floor for a blood transfusion where Terry received a bag of platelets and two units of red blood cells.  We got out of there shortly after 5:00pm ..., happy to leave that bed and hard chair behind - two out of three days on those things makes a body ache too much. 

They took blood for labs, but we didn't get to see the results and they aren't on MyChart yet, so we don't know anything that way, except that his calcium levels continue to drop.  That's strange and curious at the same time.  It doesn't seem to be alarming, just something I've been noticing the last few weeks.


When we got home we had some special visitors - my mom and dad were here!   It was really good to see them!

My dad had a project in mind, which was working on the swings, but he quickly switched gears and helped Anthony fix a broken lawn mower.  (Actually, I was instructed to go to bed, so I'm not sure if they got it working last night or not. If you see the lawn mowed when you come today for BJo's grad luncheon/dinner then you'll know it got fixed.  If it's still tall grass then you'll know we might be in the market for a new part or a new lawn mower.  :)

 

 We had another project in the front yard ... but you'll have to wait to see what it is.

 

Now ... on to graduation!      Today is the day!  
BJo will officially be a high school graduate by the end of the night.  Where has the time gone?

This is the view I had at the kitchen window this morning, welcoming the new day!  It was beautiful.  We are hoping for beautiful weather tonight!

Transfusions!

We had appointments starting at 9:00 this morning, but had a hard time getting up and getting going.  Terry was lacking energy, so we knew we'd be there for the day.

The labs were much like the last couple weeks have been -  and that is not good.

WBC = 0.4(LL)
RBC = 2.15(L)
HCT = 20.4(LL) reason for the red cell transfusion today.
Platelets = 4(LL) on paper but they said it was somewhere between 0 and 4 but they couldn't quite tell, so he had platelets today too.
ANC = 0.1(LL)

We have a bone marrow scheduled for early Thursday morning in hopes to learn what is going on inside and help us determine what our next move is.  Of course we won't know anything Thursday, but will have to wait a week to learn.  We are anxious to learn!

If things continue this week as they have the last few weeks then Terry will need some platelets before getting the biopsy Thursday, and some red cells too.   He doesn't necessarily notice more energy after receiving red cells, but he does notice a lack of energy later in the week when they start to deplete again.  He never has much energy, so it's kinda sad.  

I spent some time with Terry and then after lunch I left to do some shopping for graduation dinner and make some returns (that I have had sitting around for a few weeks, so I'm glad they took them back).  It was a hurried day, feeling like I was running from store to store, but I got it done.  Or, mostly done!  

We left the clinic sometime after 6:00pm.  We had dinner (yummy dinner) when we got home and Terry went to bed.  I got the groceries brought in and put away and the kids are both home now (Anthony had a tennis banquet and a band concert tonight), so we are going to bed too.  It's been a long day for all of us and we've got more long days ahead, so ...

TTFN!

here's a little thought I found ...

"Every day may not be good ... but there is something good in every day."

from here

Missionary Report

It has been awhile since I reported on our missionaries, and I'm almost too late, but better quickly say that they are both doing well.  If we hear something when they email tomorrow that we need to update I'll do so, but for now this is our missionary report.

image here

Chase only has a few more weeks.  He will return home, with honor, on the 25th of June!  Wow huh! 
He was transferred a couple weeks ago and there are four missionaries living together in the house they are in.  He likes that arrangement because he gets along well with one of the other Elders in the second companionship and is happy to visit together when they are home.
This is his new address:
 
Elder Chase Hebdon
4348 Reno Highway
Fallon NV 89406

from here

Connor was also transferred a couple weeks ago and was called to be Zone Leader.  He mentioned that he had felt a special feeling and understanding that his mission president was inspired to send him to that area (that he was just moved from) and that he knew that his time there was complete because he had felt and heard the Spirit speak to him, telling him that he had done well and there was another job for him. This was a special experience for him and it will surely be a blessing as he continues the work. He has immediately felt a love for the people in the new area and looks forward to serving there.
This is his new address:
 
Elder Connor Hebdon
136 Oakville Drive Apt 1-C
Green Tree PA 15220




from here