T-minus 2 days

Happy Weekend Everyone!
This past week Tessa started playing volleyball, and guess who showed up as the number 1 fan in the stands? Dad! He totally shocked me sitting there in the stands watching his oldest granddaughter play her very first game.  What a papa! I know he LOVES getting to do things like that.

I can't believe that 3 weeks have already passed and dad will be heading back to City of Hope on Monday.  He will begin his third round of treatment.  The tentative plan is for him to receive a 'lighter' chemo concoction so that he can get all 6 doses that are scheduled for this round.  Last time he got soooooo sick that they shortened the doses so that there would not be permanent brain damage. (This chemo is NO JOKE!)
Anyway, of course he is nervous and could use all the prayers, thoughts, comments, and love you can send his way!! We have appreciated all the love thus far! (and its working!!!)

Nicole and Jenny

PS- We have created a Light the Night Team for the event here in Bakersfield on Nov. 1st.  This is a great event for the Lymphoma and Leukemia Society and is an easy way to celebrate Dad's fight against leukemia thus far.  SO, get your walking shoes ready and those donations available...we are hoping to reach a goal of $5,000!! More information will be coming your way.       Thanks!

Letter from Louise

Hi All,

My mom hand wrote a message for me to post on the blog, a feel from her perspective on her life together with my dad, and this life changing diagnosis.  The first hospital stay, and all hospital stays, my mother sat next to my dad's side literally the entire time, and only left to shower.  If my mom was gone longer than an hour, my dad couldn't stop asking us when she was coming back.  Brace yourself, I'm going to get sentimental and possibly a bit cheesy - but seriously, this type of commitment is really something special.  For those of you that have taken care of a very sick person, and especially for a length of time, you know how taxing it is on the caregiver, and the need for respite.  However, my mom hasn't really taken any respite time.  She has also stepped into a new role and is very involved in dad's business transactions during this time as well.  That is one TOUGH lady.  I have included one of my dad's favorite songs by Alan Jackson about living a life with the love of your life - I remember them dancing to this song at their 25 wedding anniversary 13 years ago.  I also posted one of my favorite pictures of them, dancing their little hearts out at my cousin Dylan's wedding.  He still loves this song to this day.  Below is a letter directly from her:

I know this is about Bill's journey but Bill and I have pretty much been together on every journey since we met when we were 16 years old.  Meeting Bill changed my life.  I knew from the moment I saw Bill (wow - how handsome this guy is!) and that he was the guy for me.  We went together for 5 years and then married in a very modest ceremony.  As with everyone, we have had good times and bad, but love prevails and we were blessed with two beautiful daughters.  We also now have four wonderful granddaughters.  Bill has always worked hard and provided a great life for the girls and me.  We started in a little duplex in Oildale, and have come a long way since then.  We have been blessed but I know it was the work ethic and determination of Bill that got us where we are today.  We have been a team for 38 years now, and are facing the hardest challenge of our lives.  But I know that with all the prayers and our faith, Bill is going to get well, beat this cancer and resume living the life as the loving husband, father, Papa, son, brother, and friend that he is.  For those who have not had such a journey as this to endure, I want to let you know that it is extremely hard to see someone you love have to go through such pain and suffering.  I don't know why Bill had this burden placed upon him, but all we know to do is face it together as we have with most of life's other challenges.  I love my husband and will do anything I can for him.  He needs me now and I will do my best for him.  If some of you are wondering about what to say or do (I have been there too) I have learned through this to make your voice heard:  a card or "post" in these modern days of technology, or a phone call too would mean so much to us.  Support is such a spirit lifter and thus far has kept him going, it all helps - we truly appreciate all the prayer warriors and the love you have shown to Bill.

Thank you so much,

Louise

Update

Well, it happened again - nearly 2 weeks since an update :( Bad daughters!

The past week and a half has been hard for dad.  He is still running on a very low hemoglobin, in addition to feeling tired and exhausted in general anyway.  Dad is achy, has some pain, and is experiencing a few other dragging side effects.  When he was first discharged from City of Hope (COH), he had a hiccup with his PICC line in terms of having the dressing changed and cleaned (necessary once a week).   He has seen Dr. Nguyen since being discharged from COH, which was nice.  He is dad's local oncologist and will remain involved in his treatment plan.

According to the schedule, he is supposed to return to COH on September 22nd to begin the third round of inpatient chemotherapy, however there will probably be a visit prior to that to determine whether his body is ready.  The fine balance here is getting dad's body back to the healthiest, most stable condition as possible without allowing more than 5-6 weeks to go by before starting another round, as it is dangerous if the cancer comes back prior to the completion of all post induction rounds of chemotherapy.

Dad is trying his best to get up, get out, and live normal life while he is "off" during this rest period.  He is currently at the beach, and will stay for a few days.  It's also birthday season amongst his kids/grandkids, in fact both Nicole's, mine, and all four of the grand kids have birthdays over the next couple months. Brooklynn kicked the season off with her birthday yesterday, which made me want to pull out a sweet picture of dad and Brooklynn from the day of her birth 6 years ago.  He is an AWESOME Papa!!

Thanks for staying with us, praying, and continuing to check on this blog.  If you would like to send him a message, do it here!! Comments encouraged - always.  I have copied and pasted below the directions on posting on this blog if you are not a google account holder.  

1.  Scroll to the bottom of the post you want to comment on and enter your comment in the box provided
2.  Right under the comment box, there is a "comment as" drop down option - select the "name/URL" option.
3.  Type your name (you can leave the URL box blank) then hit continue
4. Type in the security digit code that it prompts you to type (a website security measure)
5. Hit publish

10,000 mark!

Happy labor day weekend!  This is our 50th post, and we just hit 10,000 views.  The most views received on a single post was 419, which was on dad's discharge from Mercy post back towards the end of June.....oh what a glorious day that was.  Its not about the numbers guys, my point is that this blog is flooded with supporters, people who care, who pray, who want to stay informed, which is exactly what we hoped it would be.  We feel so incredibly blessed to know that so many people are following dad and supporting him through this journey....it makes ALL the difference in the world to know that so many people are in his corner cheering him on, and loudly! Please know how much this means to all of us - Dad, Mom, Nicole and me.

Dad drove for the first time in nearly four months last night.... a testament to his physical capabilities and how far he has come.  This weekend mom and dad are enjoying that nice Pismo air and cooler weather.  Dad and his cuddle buddy Dexter are pictured below in their favorite lounge spot.

Here is a quote from dad:  "I just want to thank everybody for your thoughts and prayers. I appreciate everyone checking on me. Your prayers and concerns have been heartfelt, I will never ever forget it."