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Hi Everyone
Let me update you on a few people:
First is Elaine Ropp, I want to get this right. Elaine's maintenance chemo was stopped due to her kidney functions. I think it is her right kidney has only 20 or 25% function. After many test and long hours of waiting for a reason why. The dye used to do the scans to check for the growth of her cancer spots is one thing that has damaged her kidney, then add the cancer treatments also damaged the kidney. They put Elaine on a very restricted diet which they have adjusted since then. The kidney specialist told Elaine that they had to get the chemo going again. He told her not to worry about the kidney's that he would take care of them. She may have to go on dialysis if things continue this way. Elaine's attitude is still positive. They have taken a small apartment in Kansas City where Doug works. They are usually home on the weekends. This has been a difficult road for Elaine as it is for all those who suffer with cancer. Please continue to keep this dear Christian woman in your prayers as well as her husband who suffers from so much upper back and neck pain.
John Rogers a member in the Kansas City area is doing great right now all the infection has cleared up in his leg. Thank God for his recovery! John & Sharon are going to become grandparents again soon, so lets pray that the new mom and baby will do well.
Rita Burns a member here who has B Cell Leukemia had her counts elevated really high, they have gone down a lot, but still high. Her husband Ken is having back issues and has had a couple of injections to see if that will end the pain. Thus far those have helped, but have not taken care of all the pain.
This is the email that Stacey King's brother sends out for her. She tells us about herself, Kelsey & her dad. It is difficult when one family member is dealing with cancer but for Stacey's mom to have a husband with brain cancer and daughter with cancer and both have it to come back or continue to grow. This dear sister in Christ has got to be one of the strongest wife & mother that I've heard of in a long time. Please remember to pray for all the family members of each of those who suffer this horrible disease.
All,
I am sending out periodic updates from Stacy King (my sister)on the status of her battle with cancer. I have continued to add people to the list for future updates, but if you are aware of someone that would still like to be added to the list, have them send me a note at walkertt@comcast.net. As always, please feel free to forward this on to other interested people. Contact information for Greg and Stacy is listed at the end of this email.
On behalf of our family, I want to say "Thank You" for all of the continued prayers and support! We appreciate it so much!
Todd
Update #37 from Stacy King - November 12, 2008
Happy Fall! Can't believe that it's almost Thanksgiving! Where does the time go? Well, we just got back a little while ago from Indy and the first treatment (2 drugs) of round 2 of chemo. I'm not feeling too awful bad right now and I'm thankful for that. My white count is still too low for a full dose of treatment so both of the drugs that I got today were dose-reduced. I was one of the last patients there today and because of that I was able to get my CA-125...it is 69. My number has done something kind of weird, in my opinion. On September 26, it was 66....4 days shy of a month later (before any chemo) it was 65? Who knows what that means...Dr. Greenspan was kinda puzzled by it. Then today, I got my CA-125 and it's 69 after my first round of treatments? I will never claim to understand the mechanics of this number!...it's nuts!
My hair is really coming out. It's not to the point yet that anyone else is noticing but I am definitely losing a significant amount. Dr. Greenspan said not to shave it yet, as he still has hope that it might hang in there so for now, we wait. A HUGE thank you to Meagan Willis for taking some family photos of us yesterday in case my hair lets go!
Greg's parents are getting to come for a visit next week from Texas and we are all so excited. The kids have a count down posted on the wall. Brenda, Greg's mom is scheduled to take me to chemo again on Tuesday while they are here...We are looking forward to spending time with both of them. The kids are doing good...they have teary times as their little minds try to understand all of this, but they are brave little souls and we continue to remind them that God is taking care of us and that He is in control. I am so very thankful for them, as so many women who develop ovarian cancer when they are young, never have the blessing of having children.
We have received so very many encouraging emails, cards, and calls from you. Even though I am unable, at times, to reply to them all, I love reading them and they really sustain me! I am making a binder again, like I did last time around, with my emails and cards to get me through those rough days. I love re-reading them and so do the kids!
Thank you so much for all of the acts of kindness that you continue to show to us from gas money to help with the costs of travels to and from Indy (we have been so relieved the price of gas has dropped, as we all have been), to use of vehicles that get better gas mileage than ours, to meals for the freezer for when I'm too sick to cook, to keeping the kids busy when I'm too sick to play, to words of kindness and especially prayers! What would we do without all of you, our family and friends? We love you all and appreciate you very much.
Also, a special thank you to the Pekin Home School group for our tshirts with the quote from Kelsey Harris on them. Kelsey is a young Christian teenager, for those of you who may not know her, who is fighting brain cancer as well and has an indescribable, wonderful attitude. We hold both her and her family very dear to our hearts! Please pray for this family. The quote on the shirt was something she told a child life specialist at St. Jude in Memphis,TN. The quote says, "Life is more interesting when you are happy." We will enjoy wearing our shirts. Thanks again!
Please pray this chemo will work and that if surgery is necessary it will be an option. In order for surgery to be an option, chemo has to work well enough that the benefits of surgery will outweigh the risks.
Also, please pray for my parents, Ron and Sandra Walker. Dad started chemo again today ,as well to shrink tumor that was left behind after surgery and has continued to grow. Their days can be quite a struggle to get through sometimes. There are so many to remember in our prayers...again, we are so thankful for you all!
In Christian love,
greg, stacy, shelby, and mitchell
Ok, for me and where I stand with my back, hand and ears: Sounds really minor compared to the battle all the dear people above are dealing with. Though it has been a long year dealing with the extra pain that at times just simple leaves me unable to do anything except lay in bed or in the recliner. I try to have a good attitude and think of others when things get really painful for me. The doctor has given me 3 levels of pain medications so that I don't have to reach for the hard stuff when not needed. Though they all really make my stomach sick and cause pain, thus it has left me not able to use the pain medication very often. I really weigh the risks to the relief that is given by any of these medications. And yes I have two anti nausea medications, but they don't always help. And I take medication with meals, take things for the stomach. To explain how bad the pain is, a 15 mg of morphine doesn't take the edge off the pain, neither does demerol, and darvocet N-100 is not useful at all. So last week I called the doctor, because he had told me that he could give a stronger dose of each. I asked about the next amount in the dosage. It was 30 mg so I was told to try taking 2 of the 15 mg that I had. I did so and it took the edge off, but still in a lot of pain. So my philosophy on medications is if it doesn't work I don't put it in my body. So lots of prayer and self relaxation, focusing on scriptures really help me.
At any rate, now as of Monday of this week, the same numb spot that I have on the outside by the right knee & pain radiating down the sciatica nerve path down the entire leg, is now on the left side. I guess the spine at L-2-3 that has the spinal stenosis that is preventing 75% of my spine from going through the opening is getting worse.
My hand has been bad since May, it was so strange that in my orthopedic appointment for my back in May I did not pass the neurological test on my left hand and that is the hand that is in need of surgery now. I can still lay light things on it and can use my thumb and index finger to hold small things, but can not grip or bend with the ring finger. I have to depend on my hands for my physical therapy after back surgery. So I will have to be careful. I will see the hand specialist after my back surgery. I know I will have to wait till after my physical therapy for my back to have the ear surgery. I suffer with vertigo so I can't take the chance of the ear surgery causing problems with my balance during the rehab with the back. So I am just looking at 2009 as a year of successful surgeries and rehab to get me back to a functioning level in life.
Here is how my fund raiser for my medical is going. The bow sales are good, but it is getting increasingly more difficult for me to use my hands to make the bows. I will continue and pray that all those who order will be patient and know that a lot of love goes into each bow. And so far I have made bows for a mom who is having her first baby, I made a bow for her outfit to bring her home in, her bow to wear to church the first time, and her bow for thanksgiving! That feels really good. I've made bows for a first baby after many miscarriages and this baby is such a blessing! I've met a mom who ends up being the daughter of one of the women my father-in-law baptized many years ago. Another mom that married the son of the woman who took our daughter-in-law into their home and loved her as she was one of her own when Jenny was in college down in TX. To know I will be making bows for their granddaughters just warms my heart!! Do you see that even in pain so many wonderful experiences comes out of from it!!
The next effort has been selling the Herbalife brand nutritional products!! I must admit this is so much easier on me!! So if you have the need for any nutritional products, such as Calcium, Vitamins, Omega 3's, support for heart, cholesterol, womens health, mens health, children's health, weight loss etc. Please consider ordering from me for the next few months to year. I know you will love the product it is the best in the world. And I'm so impressed that their prices in the last 7 years have not increased like other companies have!!! So you can go to www.herbalife.com and look at their products. Write down the product name, number and cost and email me with the information or if you have any questions or call me toll free at 1-866-521-5673 then I will call you back!
The last effort is to contact a auction company and see if it will benefit us to sell through them, our old RV & many things that have been collected over the years and we don't need them. No it is not something that we want or even feel like doing, but God has really helped me through His word to put things into perspective. And as far as for me, I am limited on the things that I can do and that means if it takes a lot of cleaning it needs to find a new home!!! Life is so very precious and there is nothing like experiencing health problems to put things in this life into perspective. This has been a process for me which has affected both of us and the way we do things in this temporary life. I can't even begin to imagine how a single injury or disease that changes a life all at one time is handled. I am sure that God gives that person everything they need as they need it. I feel blessed that I had to give things up in stages. First was my sports and exercising, which at the time was so difficult for me, but God was right there. Then I sold most all of my sewing and craft items, I thought what do I do now, again God was right there and helped me to know it was ok. Then I sorted through the things that I called keepsakes and thinned them out. I remember holding a piece of artwork from one of our boys or a keepsake from when Joe and I were dating or a trip we took, or a piece of artwork a little family member or friend gave us at a certain congregation. And once again God helped me to let go and know I had my memories. Then 7 years ago I sorted through house hold items and realized that it is just too much for me to handle, God touched my heart once more and said, this world is not our home. Now I look around me and see that even more must go, because I can't handle it. God once more tells me through His word to not make the things of this world my desire, these things will break, rust and get old. He helps me to see that I have been blessed with so many things, but the most important is my family and my time is so precious and I want to spend that time with my family and my family in Christ. Thus “Things” must go to give me time for what is important!!! I am so thankful to the awesome God we serve!
If you are one who has health problems, or if you have just started with a health issue, please know that God is right there He is ever present in our lives and will give what you need as you need it. It does sound simple, but with God all things can be simple. Often times it takes reflection to look back and see where God held you up and gave you the strength to take the next step. To stand in awe of the thought of what you went through and how God made you stronger. Know and be still and wait upon the Lord, He will see you through. God bless & keep you each in His care!
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