So much to be thankful for!

Hey everyone!  Hope your Thanksgivings were happy and filled with family and joy.  I am happy to report that Dad has had two days in a row of feeling "pretty good" he says, which is rare. Brooklynn made her Papa a grateful tree, and wrote on each of the leaves qualities about him that she is thankful for. He loved it!

His appointment on Wednesday went well, he didn't need any blood products.  On Monday the 24th his white count actually dropped to .9 from 2.0...which we weren't expecting it to but it's a good thing that it is, it will just take a bit longer to recover.   He doesn't need to go back today and will go back Monday Dec 1st.

In the midst of how surreal this whole journey still seems, we stop and are reminded constantly how grateful we are for the blessings and miracles that he has been granted through it all. We are so thankful to people all over the country literally who are praying for him continually - we know it is working!!

Thank you so so much!!

Last week's happenings

Hello All!

An update to let you know that Dad is hanging in there and trying to remain as positive as possible.  He hasn't felt very well all week, lots of nausea and aching all over.  He made three trips last week to City of Hope - didn't need blood but needed platelets on Friday.  His white count is climbing already (above 2.0) and didn't get down as low as we are used to it dropping, primarily because he didn't receive his last three scheduled chemo doses at the prescribed strength while in the hospital.  His care team says he is NOT at any higher risk for it coming back because he didn't finish accordingly, which is great news.  We have a wonderful case manager who has been following Dad's case from the very beginning and has built a very genuine and caring relationship with my mom through this....in very simple terms, she explained that these rounds are equivalent to an insurance policy for dad, rather than 150% percent insured he is more like 120% insured.  She reminded us that the important thing to remember is that the cancer has not come back in between rounds, to which we are so grateful to God.

The next steps remain to be seen - dad will finish traveling to City of Hope every other day in about 2 weeks and at that time the doctors will instruct my parents what to expect in the coming months and what the care plan consists of.

I also wanted to share some "feel goods" with you that really touched my dad's heart this week.  Number one, a video shot by a concert goer of Garth Brooks - he spotted a cancer patient in his crowd and what he did and said to his entire audience is moving - please watch, worth the two or three minutes!

http://youtu.be/AsPjyDtr3C8

Additionally, my cousin who is a fifth grade teacher out of the blue received the following from one of his students.  She wasn't asked to make anything for my dad, she doesn't even know my dad, but apparently he was on her heart.  So incredibly touching!

Cover Page of the Card

Inner left of card

Inner Right of Card

Thanks again for reading everyone and for your love and prayers.

Homeward Bound

Hello all! It has been 8 days in the hospital for dad's fourth chemo round, and he is very ready to be discharged...which he will this afternoon.   He took three doses of chemo out of the scheduled six,  as you read from our last post. The doctors say that the amount he did receive should still fully take the bone marrow all the way down, which is the goal so he can begin producing new, clean and cancer free blood cells.

After the chemo was stopped his neuro effects subsided and his 103 constant fever finally broke.  He has spent the weekend recouping and getting strong enough to walk and get around so they can go home.

He and my mom will now for 2 or 3 weeks be driving back every other day for check ups and blood products.

We will continue to update you during his recovery period.

Thanks again for all the prayers!! Please know how appreciated each of them are.

Mid Round Road Bump

Hi everyone. Dad's crossing a road bump right now. He is three doses in out of six, and he has developed neuro side effects so any further chemo at this point is halted. Please continue to pray for my dad and my mom, who are out of town away from family when I'm sure it would be nice for them to have some around right now.  His body is tired but he continues to fight. As of now, we aren't sure if he will get more chemo or not. He had a CT scan of the brain which came back clear. He has had a high fever that will not break. They are trying different medicines, cooling methods, and have even gotten out a water/cooling mattress to help. We will know more tomorrow and will keep you updated.

Jen and Nicole

Push for Prayer

The power duo

Hey guys! It's been a little bit since we have updated the blog- we were on overload with our Light the Night event.  Let me first start by saying bless you all and thank you so incredibly much for supporting this event - whether it was monetarily, physically coming out and walking with us, helping coordinate everything, or one or all of the above....your support was overwhelming, felt, and so incredibly appreciated.  We thought we could maybe raise $5,000 total - turned out we raised nearly $18,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society via this event! Unbelievable.  More importantly, my dad got to see for his own eyes all of the support he has behind him; his spirits were boosted and he now has more ammunition to keep fighting the fight.  We were there to celebrate him, his strength and his survival, and I'm proud to say that was done successfully!  Below are some photos - big group team photo coming soon!

Today, mom and dad headed back down south to City of Hope for the fourth round of inpatient chemotherapy treatment.  As you know from reading this blog or from your own experiences with this type of disease, the inpatient part (well, none of it for that matter) is no walk in the park - in fact its pretty much hell.  As anyone would be, they are both nervous and scared but they both have an admirable calm about it all and trust God to get dad through it.  It is my request that we all pray that dad's round goes as planned, his recovery is the best that it can be, and most critically that he STAYS in remission after this round.

We will keep you posted on his status.  He should be down there for about 7-8 days, then will be discharged but will go through the entire process again, for the fourth time - bone marrow gets down to nearly 0, neutropenic state, blood and platelet transfusions, organ monitoring, etc.

Thanks again everyone for your positive thoughts, prayers, and well wishes for my dad.  It has carried him so far and will continue to!!

XOXO, Jen and Nic

Dad holding his survivor lantern 

My awesome family. 

Dad and Papa Bill

My dream team, Sis and Dylan

Cousins Katie and Kristy

Dad and Gran

Dad's team of walkers

All of the survivors recognized from the podium

Marcus with some of the kiddos