new meds and fluid...

Hey ya'll.  Behind on blogging, once again.  We will do a quick two day recap from Dad...

Yesterday, May, 21, 2012...
     Dr. Barrett just came around and said the reason she wasn't going home today was because her pain levels were up and down, not consistent.  They want her pain to be more evenly controlled, unlike last night.  It spiked agin, just like the night before, about midnight.  Her doctor is also concerned about her Vancomycin levels.  There is going to be a team of infectious disease doctors coming by today to see if they can recommend a different drug to help fight the cellulitis in her arm.  This is also the drug being used to treat her ear.  They might recommend a totally different drug or something to use in addition with the vancomycin.  Dr. Barrett says her sypmtoms are very hard to treat because the symptoms of her blood clot complications are very similar to that of cellulitis, and each can cause or even complicate the other.  He is so concerned because he has another patient on another floor that has the same symptoms that mom does.  He lost the use of his arm for an extended period of time.  That's where his main concern comes from.  He did say he wanted her sitting up more today, as long as the pain was ok.  He wanted me to take her on a "date" so I pushed her in her wheelchair to Subway, inside the cafeteria of the hospital.  Her nurses will be in shortly to help her bathe, and then she is going to try and sit up a little.  Hopefully she will get to come home tomorrow or Wednesday. 


Today, May 22, 2012...
     Mom has gone to get an ultrasound now.  Her doctor came by and spoke to me for about 30 minutes.  He answered a lot of questions I had, but there are some that just can't be answered at this point.  They are still debating on what kind of drugs to send her home on.  If she has fluid shown on the ultrasound, they will remove it either today or tomorrow.  If no fluid, they will release her today for sure. 

Well...they are still there tonight.  Here's hoping that she will get to come home tomorrow.  She is still pretty swolen tonight.  Update again tomorrow.

   

no words...

Really no change with mom today.  Dad said she had just an ok day today.  She sleeps a lot from all the pain medicine that she is on.  She tried getting up to walk a little today, but got sick and had to go back to bed.  Here are some pictures from her stay so far...

That's all from our camp tonight.


I am at a loss for words tonight for my little buddy, Noah.  I met Noah and his sweet mom and dad this past summer on the Lighthouse ministry retreat.  His smile and laugh were infectious.  The love that his mom and dad had for their little boy was contagious.  The huge scar that reached from his forehead to his neck from his brain surgery had NO affect on how much fun he had that week.  You couldn't help but fall in love with him.

I am not a mother just yet, but I like to think that my 18 babies that I teach each year are "mine."  I love each of them as if they were my own.  That's the only thing I have right now that I  imagine to be anything comparable to a mother's love.  Although I can't fully describe a mother's love just yet, I do know what it is like to see someone that you love so much suffer in pain and discomfort.  It is agonizing and tugs at your heart like no other.  However, with that being said, I have no idea the pain that Noah's parents are experiencing at this very moment.  Please lift their family in prayers. Here is the link for Noah's blog.  I hope Jessica's testimony during this nightmare touches you.  She is a true reflection of Christ. 

http://www.prayfornoah.com/

still here...

Hey Ya'll!  Sorry it has been so long.  Mom has been doing the usual since we left off, chemo every Monday.  Life has been pretty regular and rutine until this week. 

In the words of Dad...

     Mom had a new scan on May 7th.  These scans came back negative.  Her cancer is still in remission and the fluid that has been around her lungs seems to be not increasing, and actually decreased by a small amount.  Praise God!!  This is great news and a huge blessing!  Thank you Jesus for her chemo drugs, Tigatuzamab and Abraxane.
     She struggles with the fact that even though she is in remission, she has to continue chemo from now on.  Like indefinitely.  Positive to that is that she is still living and the hope that we find in the advancement of the fight against this horrible nightmare with medication.  The development of these two drugs allow women to have Hope.
     However, she is till having problems with her right ear and left arm.
     Her ear has been diagnosed with MRSA (click here to learn more about MRSA) about two weeks ago.  She has been waiting to see an Infectious Disease doctor since then.  This past Monday, May 14, before her chemo treatment she was finally able to see the doctor.  He seemed to be more concerned with her arm than her ear.  (Her arm has been very red and swollen since last week.)  After chemo that day he decided to put her in the hospital at UAB to do some tests on her ear and arm.  After all, her ear has been hurting her for about 7 or more months.  We were ready to find out what was going on. 
     Yesterday, they did a CT Scan of her head and an ultrasound of her left arm.  The news was not very good about either, but at least maybe now, her doctors can create a game plan going forward.
     First, her ear has an infection in the bone behind her ear.  Her ear has been draining since November and hurting very much.  Doctors have tired tubes, lancing her eardrum, and a series of antibiotics, but nothing seemed to work.  We found out a few weeks ago that it was indeed MRSA, but what the CT scan showed yesterday was that the infection is actually in her skull that is around her right ear.  They will treat this right now with drugs, but at some point in the future, she will have to have surgery to fix this problem.
     Right now, her doctors are more concerned with her right arm.  After many ultrasounds, this has shown a rather large blood clot.  This explains why last Tuesday her arm became swollen, red, and hot.  This is also the arm she has the lymphodema and cellulitis in.  They are giving her drugs to fight the infection and to also try and dissolve the blood clot.  She will be on these drugs for sometime, as she will have IV treatment at home twice a day.
     We have been in the hospital since Monday, and do not know when we will be home.  We are hoping sometime next week.
     Tonight, we are thankful for so much. We are thankful that her doctors found both of these problems.  She has felt so bad these last few months.  We finally have answers as to why now. 
     Thank you for ALL your prayers.  I ask that you continue to lift up our family, and most of all, my wife and best friend.


Now that we are all up-to-date now, I want to thank you for not giving up on us.  This has been such a LONG journey and we are not done yet!  Thank you for being our faithful friends, encouragers, and prayer warriors.  Your kindness and the loving spirit that you have shown our family during these trying months will never be forgotten. 

Here's promising to be a better blogger...xoxo,

c

His grace...

From Dad...


Everyone keeps texting, calling, and emailing to find out the results of Peggy's test this week, as well as the ones that were pending. 

But first, let me take you back to December 17th of 2010.  She was put in the hospital for pain in her arm and on the left side of her chest.  On Monday, the 20th, doctors confirmed the cancer.  She had a tumor in the left side of her chest wall, as well as other multiple spots outside the chest wall.  The tumor in her left chest wall was about the size of a swollen golf ball.  On December 24th, Tullie, Sami Jo, and Ciara decided they would go home for Christmas at Nana's.  We were going to stay in Birmingham for Christmas in the hotel because Mom had began chemo on the day before.  Shortly after they all left, the doctor came by and ask me to step out into the hall.  I will never forget what he told me.  He said she may never have another Christmas.  If it were him, he would take her home.  My heart left me at this point and I absolutely forgot all that was going on around me.  I was so tired.  I had been up for two days at this point.  I had to go and sit down by myself, where I cried a lot and tried to gather my thoughts.  It was not a very good time, but we made it home and lived in Birmingham until February 16th. 

At this point she had been give 36 treatments of the strongest dose of radiation.  It was now time to go home and wait.  Oh, it was so hard on her!  The pain, and waiting THREE months before they would do a test to see how much and if the radiation worked.  The mental part of not knowing can be as hard or harder than the pain itself.

Finally the day had come and, much to our anguish, the cancer was still very much there.  The tumor was still healthy, vibrant, and killing her.  Now her doctors wanted to try chemo...Again! She had done chemo in 2005 and 2006.  It was then that her doctors told us her surgery and cancer was a "textbook case."She should never have a problem with this again.  WRONG!  Her cancer, Triple Negative HER2, was back and worse that we could have ever expected or anticipated.

Before she allowed UAB to go forward, we sought out a second opinion from MD Anderson in Houston, Texas.  They said her best bet was the clinical trial at UAB.  We were amazed at the technology and attention that they gave us there, and trusted their opinions fully.  The experimental drug, Tigatuzamab, combined with a drug that is already FDA approved, Abraxane, had shown promising results on the type of cancer that Mom had. 

Only about 20% of caucasian women have this cancer.  It is most commonly found in hispanic and black women.

Back to Birmingham we went, doing more tests to prep and prepare for these new drugs.  She had a port implanted and began mentally preparing for the pain.  I saw it the first time 5 or so years ago, and I know cancer HURTS!!!

Treatments began August 30th and continued for three weeks in a row and off a week.  Then she starts all over again.  She has been a trooper and when she thought she couldn't do it anymore, something would inspire her to go on.  Be it the hundreds of prayers lifted or cards received, her family, friends, children, or Baby Rob, she pointed her faith straight ahead and willed herself through many, many pinful days and nights.  They are not over yet, but maybe, just maybe, they are on the decline.

As of March 12th, Mom is cancer FREE!!!!!  No cancer to be found!!!!!!!!  No evidence of disease!!!!!

She is only the second one in this study that has had this success.

This is nothing that we have done.  We have prayed selflessly at times for her to be healed, but most of all, we have prayed that His will be done.  His will has been done, and we give Him ALL the praise and glory!!!  WE continue to pray that He will keep her cancer free and allow her pain to be controlled and eliminated.

She starts lymphodema treatments next weel.  This is very painful, and she will be going to Dothan 3 times a week for these.  Her chemo will have to continue for preventative maintenance from now on, or until something better is discovered or approved.

To all who have been faithful with your prayers, support, visits, cards, and friendship, thank you seems so inadequate, but it comes from our hearts.  WE love you all, and may we give God the credit and praise!

photo dump...

Everything is ok on the home front.  She has been resting and catching up on much needed rest since she returned from Birmingham.  We learned while she was in the hospital that there is fluid around her heart and lungs.  They drew some of this fluid off while she was there and doctors told us it was malignant.  Her oncologist called Friday and said that he did not think it was malignant.  All of the tests he ordered, proved otherwise.  Praise God!!  So, the next step is surgery.  Hopefully sometime this week, we will get the call that she has been scheduled.  The surgery will use a scope to draw more fluid from around her heart and lungs.  Their goal is to not only get fluid, but also some tissue to biopsy and confirm cancer or no cancer.  So, until then, we wait and pray.  Continue lifting her name up.  We love you!

While we wait, here are some photos of what's been happening. 

lots of resting...

waiting for doctor appointments...

SO happy to hear some good news...

found out grandbaby #1 is a BOY..

Christmas time with Pop...

cried a lot during Christmas...

Christmas time at Pop and Nana's...

We love you Mike and Julie...flag flown over Afghanistan...

had fun watching this daddy-to-be open tiny little surprises...

cancer issues...

She has been at UAB in the hospital since Tuesday. Here is a quick update...

Keeping arm elevated and continuing breathing treatments this weekend. We are supposed to meet with her oncologist Monday. The tumor in her left arm is gone, or so that's what they say. It appears now that the cancer has spread to the area around her heart and lungs. This is causing the cough, shortness of breath, and making it hard to breathe at times. She has what they call pleural effusion, which is fluid that is between your lungs and the lining that surrounds the lungs. The same with her heart, its just not as bad as the lungs. When, and if, we see her oncologist Monday, I hope we have a better understanding of the extent of it, what to expect, and where else this could lead. I do know it's cancerous. She has been upset about this since Thursday. Just now blogging about it because we wanted to make sure family knew first.

Think the plan today is to let her out of the hospital. She will stay in Birmingham tonight at the hotel for appointments tomorrow at the clinic.

Thank you for your prayers. Not the news anyone wanted to hear.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

how precious did that grace appear...

the hour I first believed.  Not just when I thought I believed, but when I really, dug way down deep, and with everything in me, believed in Him and His faithfulness.

It was a big day.  Huge day to be exact.  One that we will never forget.  Here's a recap of the day:

What a day!  Mom had her CT Scan early this morning at around 8:30.  The CT Scan showed fluid around her heart and lungs.  She had labs after that and then met with her new oncologist, Dr. Forero.  We instantly knew we had made the right decision after talking with him for only a few minutes.  He has put her in the hospital to see if the fluid around her lungs is from the cancer.  This is there concern, but I believe it is from so much fluid that she received while staying at Troy.  She will have several tests tomorrow to find out more about this fluid. 

They are also concerned about the swelling and irritation in her left arm after so many rounds of super strong antibiotics.

So, no poison today.  Looks like we will be staying here for a few days.

Back to the CT Scan.  NO TUMOR TO BE FOUND!!!!!!!!!!  We know that this is because the power of prayer.


My heart sank to the very bottom of my big toe the instant that I saw dad calling this afternoon.  I knew what he was calling about.  Was it good news or bad news...

To say we are rejoicing tonight is an understatement.  We know that He reached down and laid His healing hands upon her.  There is simply no other explanation.

With that said, she still has a long way to go.  The fluid that has built up is a very serious condition.  The next few days will tell us just how critical things are.  She still is experiencing lots of pain in her left arm.  Please continue to lift her up in prayer that things will continue to work out beautifully.

Tonight, as I sit here and "ugly" cry, I can't help but to miss my momma.  How I wish I could just give her a hug.  She has been through SO much.  It is kind of hard for me to really understand tonight that the tumor is completely gone.  She has got some pretty serious tests tomorrow.  I will be back tomorrow with an update.