December 30, 2008

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to our our friends and family. We praise God for each new year together with all of you.

I’ve had two chemo treatments since my last post, with the second one today. I didn’t feel very good last week, so they gave me a lot of extra medicine with my chemo to help. It really worked, but it also made me very tired. Mom and I shopped for some last minute gifts after chemo, but neither one of us felt good, so we skipped lunch and she took me home. I think I slept from 3:30 till almost bed time!

This weekend I must have had the flu that is going around because I was throwing up all day on Saturday and felt awful. Not even my nausea medicine would stay down, so I just went to bed. Sunday was much better, and I stayed home to rest in the morning. That evening we had Christmas with Mark’s family in Hicksville, and it was wonderful, too. Mary always makes sure that her girls are spoiled, and she outdid herself this year with a new Wii! They were thrilled, and we’ve all been having fun learning how to play it:]

I’ve been a little sick and more tired this week, but overall, I’m much better than last week. Today, I felt nauseas at chemo, so they gave me the drug that makes me sleepy. It worked, and I slept from the time I got home from chemo until Mark got home at 6:30 p.m.! Since I’ve had dinner, I’m feeling good again.

All of this up and down with my stomach is getting old. It really is a gamble every day to see if I can eat anything and keep my pills down. I’m glad that I’ve had the month off to rest and go through this new chemo without having to work. Dr. Aggarwal says I’ll be okay to return next week to work, and I’ll be able to drive to Fort Wayne on my own. The month has gone by so fast that I almost wish I could be home longer.

I started reading The Christmas Sweater (thanks, Peggy C.!), and it is a great book. I really wanted a copy but never got one while shopping. Peggy suprised me with an autographed book that she got while Glenn was in Fort Wayne. Wow…great minds think a lot alike!

My time with the girls has been both sweet and stressful. They have tons of new presents, and they are having great fun opening and setting up everything in their toy room. It’s shocking how fast kids get bored…even with all of their new toys. And when they’re bored, they usually fight. I’m trying really hard to keep them occupied and having fun when I feel up to it, but I don’t always do a very good job. Shelby told me that she’s ready to go back to school.

May you be blessed by all of the blessings and prayers that you offer on behalf of my family and other loved ones. We love and appreciate all of you dearly.

Sandy

December 16, 2008

I’ve now had two chemo treatments, and I’m wearing the 24-hour pain patch. I’m feeling pretty good most of the time, but I get very tired easily. I have been eating a little more each day, but randomly I’ll vomit everything up that I’ve eaten. I don’t think there is a pattern based on what I eat, and it hits me very quickly. My next treatment is on Tuesday next week.

This Sunday, we’re taking the girls to the new Splash Universe indoor water park in Shipshewana. They’re really excited, and so are we! It will be part of our Christmas, and we expect to have a great time.

Thanks for keeping updated on the blog and for encouraging me with your very kind words. I wish that I could give all of you a holiday hug!

Sandy

December 10, 2008

We met with Dr. Aggarwal on Monday to get the scan results. She told us that the spot on my liver had grown three times the size as the last scan, and there were several more new spots on the liver. She also believes that this rapid growth in my liver would cause most of the symptoms that I’ve been having…pain, nausea and vomitting. She’s treating me aggressively with a new chemo plus my Herception that I’ll have weekly. In fact, we started the first dose on Monday. She’s also prescribed a pain patch that works for three days because nothing in pill form was lasting long enough. Because of the pain patch and chemo, she doesn’t want me driving for a while, and I won’t be able to work for the next four weeks. She’ll repeat scans in a couple of weeks, and there’s another chemo she can add if we don’t see a quick response. She called this a “very serious” situation, but she didn’t take away the hope that it may respond well and I’d be back to normal.

This week I’ve been VERY tired, but the patch has started working and my pain is much better. I still cannot eat much without throwing up, but I’ve been able to get down some food. I’m at work today for a few hours to meet with my boss and see how I can leave the projects I have for a while.

We are grateful for some answers, but we know we’ll need to fight again and lean on our faith to make it through this time. I’m resting in the hope that God will provide what we need and carry us through a difficult time. We ask for your prayers also.

Sandy and Mark

December 2, 2008

Dr. Aggarwal’s office called me back, and I’ll be going in for a CT scan of my abdominal area tomorrow at 2:00. Hopefully, we’ll find out what is causing the pain that I’m in. Please pray for answers.

Sandy

December 1, 2008

Our family had a wonderful Thanksgiving at my mom’s house, but we missed Thanksgiving with Mark’s family because I was sick all day yesterday. I threw up several times in the morning and felt terrible all day. Mark knows that I’m really not feeling well when I don’t even touch the laundry machines if I’m home! It was a day on the couch watching sappy holiday movies for me…yuk. I needed extra pain medicine to make it through the day, too, so I called the doctor today and will hear from her tomorrow.

Mark and I don’t ever give up hope that I’ll be cured of cancer and completely heal, but we both wonder and worry about how things will change when the doctor tells me I won’t win the next battle. I’m not sure if anyone can understand this feeling of dread, but it reappears every time something is wrong. We have put my cancer into God’s hands, and we still have complete faith in Him, but I’m being honest about this dread. The pain that I’ve been having hasn’t been explained and now seems to be getting worse, so we’re back here again.

The girls and I will be in the holiday program at Church this Sunday night. It’s called the Hanging of the Greens, and we love participating in such a beautiful event. The girls will be angels for their first time, and I’ll be a reader. My task is very simple and allows me to sit through the program and not attend very many rehearsals. It is fun!

I pray that your holiday season is blessed in a very special way. Thanks for keeping us in your constant prayers and thoughts.

Sandy