We'll be seeing you...

I've been informed that since I started this thing I get to finish it. I think Mom & Dad said at some point that they were impressed with how tech savvy all of you are blogging and all. For the record, I believed in you from the beginning. This project started as a way to streamline communication and be sure the real facts were out there and easily accessible. It became a wonderful way for Mom to share her thoughts and for all of you to share your encouragement. This is officially the last post, a few closing thoughts from this blog administrator.

If I counted right, today is almost 8 months to the day from when we found out about Mom's tumor. Her team at St. Luke's was great, but doctors can only heal so much. This journey would have been much harder without the prayers, bright encouragement, listening ears, humor, and multitude of meals that you all and others have provided. Thanks for loving us well and walking what seemed like a small eternity with us.

It's tempting to say that God is more good or more faithful or to praise Him more because Mom's news was good and not devastating. We often do it unconsciously, I did it Friday, but by doing so we undercut the greater truth. That God is good all the time, regardless of circumstance. He is good and faithful to those who are healed and those who will die of their illness. In these 8 months God has showed us over and over again His unfailing love, the steadfast truth of His Word, His mercy, kindness, and protection. We praise Him for who He is. His promises are true every day, good and bad, and that's great news.

I've read the Psalms a lot since March. I wanted to end with some of God's great promises I've been holding on to this year. May we taste & see that He is good in every season of our lives. We'll be seeing you around.

"You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble;

you surround me with shouts of deliverance."

(Ps 32:7)

"When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all."

(Ps 34:17-18)

"Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good!

Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Oh, fear the Lord , you his saints,

for those who fear him have no lack!"

(Ps 34:8-9)

"You make known to me the path of life;

in your presence there is fullness of joy;

at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

(Ps 16:11)

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice."

(Philippians 4:4)

Great news!

Mom saw the oncologist today. Her PET scan was clear and she has been declared cancer free!! Mom will make an appointment to have her port catheter removed hopefully before the end of the year.

We were all relieved to hear good news today. Thank you again for all of your prayers, kindnesses, and support. Please continue to pray for Mom as she goes to physical therapy and works on building up her strength and stamina.

Katie
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Fisherman Dave

Our big adventure of the week was surf fishing on Saturday. About a dozen people met on Bryan Beach a mile from the mouth of the Brazos River. We cooked hot dogs over the bonfire and a lot of fishing went on. David caught a 37" bull red, the biggest he's ever caught! Some one else caught a 36" one and we ended up with both of them, plus several other smaller fish because no one else wanted them. It took David a long time to get them all cleaned and packaged, but we'll be having fish for a while. I'm already looking for different recipes to try out so we don't have to always eat fish prepared the same way. The photo is compliments of Mike Golden and the sunset was beautiful that day.


Physical Therapy - nice people doing mean things to others. That's my definition! I had my first day of therapy Tuesday and it wore me out. That's a pitiful description since anyone watching would have laughed at how little I did. I rode the exercise bike for a whopping 5 minutes, practiced stepping on and off a raised wooden platform and threw a weighted ball while attempting to balance on a foam rubber surface. There were a few other things in there, but nothing earth shattering or hard. So why did I leave feeling like someone ran over me?? I'm afraid I'm still a long way from standing all day while demonstrating how to make a pie crust!

I see the pulmonary specialist next Monday, Nov 2nd, to check on my bronchitis and then I have my PET scan the next Monday. Later that week Lynnette Martin and I are going to the Nutcracker Market in Houston. That should be a physical therapy workout all by itself and my goal is to stay out of the backseat of patrol cars. Read last week's blog if you missed that story! So, life is seldom dull in the course of chemo recovery. I can always count on doctor appointments to liven things up!

Love, Rhonda

Greetings from SPI!

South Padre Island is beautiful and relaxing - we hate to return to reality. I'm typing this as I look out the window of our 11th floor condo, where we have an ocean view of the Gulf of Mexico. Of course, it's NOTHING like the Gulf of Mexico we see from the top of the Surfside bridge! We have enjoyed the view, walked on the beach, gone bay fishing in a boat named Danny B, seen a sand castle contest, and eaten a boatload of seafood. Anne Mueller gave us a list of restaurants to try and she never steered us wrong! The only unfortunate thing about the stay has been the red tide, or algea bloom, that is drifing down from south of Corpus. Everyone has a little "red tide cough" and we never went into the beach water because of it. Instead of sitting on the beach we sat on our balcony and watched the beach since the air was better eleven stories up.

This leads me to the explanation of why I rode in the back of a patrol car yesterday. David and Brian were going to go wade fishing in the bay while Lynnette and I checked out the completed sand castle competiton. The competition was on the beach of the county park, so they drove us the 2 -3 blocks from our hotel to the park. When we got there the line of cars waiting to go in was really long so we told them we'd walk the rest of the way so we didn't hold up their fishing. Little did we know, the competiton was still a long way from the entrance, at least in terms of chemo legs. Before we even got to the beach I knew I'd made a bad mistake and was already trying to figure out how on earth I would get back to the entrance of the park, much less the hotel. The red tide was also worse at beach level and my chest was working hard to breathe. Lynnette got a good dose of living w/ a chemo patient - we had to stop and rest my legs, she had to give me a hand up and down steps AND she had to help me get back to the park entrance.

She solved this problem by going up to a Cameron County Constable car and spinning a tale of woe about her friend who was recovering from chemotherapy. I helped by whipping off my wig before he got a good look at me and after much discussion he agreed to take us to the front gate of the park. I apologized profusely when I got in the backseat of the cruiser, but he wasn't real chatty. If he had only been a little more friendly we would have taken photos for our kids! When we made it back to the entrance Lynnette and I tried our best to open our doors and he said "I'll have to let you out". PROOF that this was our first time in the back of a patrol car! There is a free shuttle that runs the length of the island and we sat and waited for it to pick us up and deliver us to the front door of the Sheraton. That's my story and I'm sticking to it!

We've had a great time, are glad we weren't here for Spring Break, and can't wait to come back. Unfortunately, we'll see you all back in Lake Jackson!

Rhonda

Doctor's Visit

Last Monday I had my CT scans done and then saw the doctor 2 days ago. When I went to do the scans they drew blood first and said they wouldn't be able to use the contrast like the doctor ordered. Something in my blood work indicated my kidneys weren't filtering as efficiently as they should be and the iodine contrast would make that worse. It's always something!

When I saw the oncologist Monday she was upbeat and said things looked good, but the scans weren't as definitive as she would like because of the lack of contrast. As a result, I'm going to have a PET scan done in a month and then see her again. I have to keep my portal cath until then so that was a disappointment, but better safe than sorry. She told me "the recovery period is just starting" so I guess she thought I needed that reminder. They drew blood to check on my kidneys and other things, but I haven't received those results. She did tell me my white count was good and my red count was so-so. I'm still a little anemic and could have had another blood transfusion. Instead she gave me a shot to stimulate my red blood cell production. Hopefully the shortness of breath and lack of energy will start to subside.

David and I are leaving in the morning to spend 3 nights in South Padre. I'm looking forward to getting away but not looking forward to the drive. Brian and Lynnette Martin are going with us, so the marble board is going as well! We bought my fishing license last night and I couldn't believe what it costs to just be ready to fish. I guess I'll have to really wet a hook considering what I paid for the thing. Of course David bought his hunting/fishing combo license at the same time, so that's probably the real reason for the sticker shock. I'll post a picture of all my fish I catch while I'm there - I'm sure there will be lots of them!

By the way, I want to apologize in advance to Katie for the hat I bought to wear. It's one of those ugly ones with the flap that hangs down in the back to cover your neck. Combined with my bald head it's a true fashion statement. We've always given David a hard time when he wore his, and now I've gone over to the Dark Side. Sorry! I'll try to not be in any pictures while wearing it.

Katie is heading to Denver on Saturday for the American Dietetic Assoc. national conference. It's been snowing in Denver! What a nice change that will be from heat, humidity and mosquitoes.

Have a great week!
Rhonda

CT Scan Day

Hello Everyone!

Today is my CT scan day. I'm going to have "photos" taken from my neck to my knees today to be certain no more tumors are lurking anywhere. I see the doctor next Monday to get the results. If everything is clear then I can schedule out-patient surgery to have my portal cath removed. YEA! I'll be glad to see it go, but don't look forward to surgery again, no matter how brief.

Yesterday David and I made a quick trip to College Station to take Kevin out to eat for his birthday. It's hard to believe he's already 20. Time does fly where some things are concerned. It was the most time I've spent in a car in one day since my surgery. By the time we got home I felt like someone had beaten me with a stick, but a good night's sleep helped a lot. I have to remind myself that the doctor said 4 weeks to get rid of all the chemicals and THEN 4-6 weeks to build stamina. I'm afraid I'm impatient and anxious to feel better right now.

The decision has been made, jointly and by many people, that I will stay home from work until the beginning of the new year. Deborah Williams is doing a FABULOUS job as my substitute and I appreciate her so much. She probably won't appreciate ME about the time she has to put 28 kids on 24 sewing machines and teach them how to sew. Not an easy task, but I know she's up to it. She had years of 4H training and it will pull her through!

My Sunday School class continues to bring meals to the house and we appreciate them so much. Like I said, the stamina thing is still a challenge so not having to cook as often has been great. Thanks, Ladies!

Love, Rhonda

Recovery Week One

I made a few changes to the header entries above.

Rhonda did have last treatment on Monday, 9/14, and a blood transfusion on Wednesday, 9/16, for good measure. We realized it had been several cycles since she was able to go straight through all four treatments without skipping a week. The total cumulative effect caught up a bit last week, and it was a rough one.

This week is better, just to check in and let folks know. We are still making it pretty well. Rhonda went to Wednesday night church dinner last two weeks in spite of everything. She also made it to a quilting class this morning but was used up after that hour. Energy comes in spurts. Stamina will be short for weeks to come. She is hanging in there.


Best regards,

David