update Feb 28th

Rach has decided to wait to make a final decision about the new "chemo" med until our next appt on March 12th. By then she will have experimented with only taking her current "chemo" med only 5 days/wk vs. 7 days/wk. Plus we will have more CT scans done on the 5th, so we'll have those results as well. Then she can decide if it's really worth switching. If she's sick a lot less, AND her tumors have shrunk a lot more (which I completely expect they will have) then it may not be the best idea to fix what ain't broke LOL
I agree with her 100% :)
Tomorrow our wonderful friends Libby & Rick Webster are bringing up the ramp Rick has built for us, so hopefully her neurosurgeon gjves the ok for us to go outside here and get a little sunshine on her face.

Your continued prayers for the Lord's guidance about this are much appreciated. ♥

More Rachaelisms

A commercial for the Maury Povich show was on and he asked, "Is your husband sleeping with your babysitter?"

Rach replies, "YES, MAURY! Can you help me???"
Then looks over at me and says, "You know I'm talkin about you!"

She's hysterical.


First of all I have to say there were too many today for me to keep up with. And I have to admit that I know there was a really funny one that this old fart brain just can't remember ;-)

Ok, so her gparents were here visiting this evening, and Rach wanted to show them her AJ Hawk jersey (from the benefit) that she got back this weekend in a really nice frame (thank you to my Daddy) but she didn't realize they had already looked at it. So then she tried to show them her beautiful Pandora style bracelet my Mom had given her this past weekend. But she forgot they already saw that too....
So she throws her blanket over her face and says in her best grumpy pouty baby voice, "then I have nothing to show you!"

Cutest thing EVER! ;-)

update Feb 23rd............

Her tumor marker is down again by 51 this time (PRAISE GOD!)

But we have a decision to make. Her body is not tolerating the "chemo" any longer. She is sick with nausea & vomiting way too often and as you can well imagine, that's pretty rough on your body. Not to mention how it's also very rough on a person mentally & emotionally.

So Dr. O wants us to consider trying a different "chemo", one that won't make her so sick all the time. We have to consider the risk that it won't work as well as the one she's currently on, but on the other hand it could work better. Understandably we are afraid to change what's "working", but then again is it really working if it's causing too much stress on her body and her mind.

We are going to research it, and mostly pray about it. Please pray with us for wisdom and for what God wants us to do.

We so appreciate your faithful prayers and loving support. God bless you! ♥ ♥ ♥

Rachaelisms Feb 20

She got to start taking her "chemo" again this evening (it was still on hold from having her endoscopy Friday) so when I handed it to her she touched and was telling it in her baby talk like voice, "oh there you are, I've missed you."

What nut! hahaha

We were watching The Voice, and when they show CeeLo he's always holding that big fluffy cat. So Rach gets aggravated with it. She says, "I don't understand why he always has to have that cat! Is that really necessary?!?!?!?"

She cracks me up! :)

good results...

She did very well during he endoscopy, and they found no ulcers or metastatic disease-YAY!
Now we will be curious to see what Dr. O wants to do about her nausea/vomiting. We're thinking he will probably want to decrease her "chemo" just a little. He mentioned this at our last appt if we couldn't get it under control.... we'll see.

p.s...................

p.s. endoscope scheduled for Monday morning. No "chemo" for 5 days- she is less than thrilled, but I it will be fine. They have do that as a bleeding precaution.

on a more positive note, she received a thank you note in the mail today from Dr. Caliguiri himself (CEO of the James Cancer Hospital, and her former boss's boss). She had sent him a condolence card when his mother passed last month.
In his note he told her that he is wearing one of her armbands. HOW COOL IS THAT????

just keep praying us through :)

Never a dull moment....

Rachael update 2/15:

Well, there's never a dull moment around here. Had to make a call to the doc today b/c Rach had "coffee ground vomitus" ... this could mean an ulcer or an off chance that it's metastatic.
they are scheduling her for a (non-emergent) endoscope, so it will be a 2-3 weeks before she gets in for that. This makes her really nervous not only b/c of the procedure itself and all the risks involved due to her spinal condition, but she has to go off of the "chemo" for a few days to have it done. She HATES that part.

Please pray that this is just a simple ulcer (which I'm sure it is), but really pray for Rachael's peace of mind. She already has enough going on without this added stress.

Here are some verses I will praying over her if you'd like to join me.

"And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can't, and life can't. The angels can't, and the demons can't. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can't keep God's love away."
Romans 8:38 (NLT)
"But the person who loves God is the one God knows and cares for."
1 Corinthians 8:3 (NLT)
"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you." 1 Peter 5:7 (NLT)
"Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done."
Philippians 4:6 (NLT)

Thanks so much for your faithful prayers. Love to you all and God bless ♥

Rachaelism 2/13:

We were discussing what would happen if I do indeed need surgery for my bladder, and who would take care of her and such. She says "Shady Pines, Rach, Shady Pines!"

you gotta be a die hard Golden Girls fan for this one to make sense ;-)

3 months ago today....

3 months ago today, our lives changed forever. We've been on a roller coaster of events and emotions. Never in a million years did I think I'd hear the word "cancer" in the same sentence as "your daughter."

While we have experienced so many ups and downs- so much fear, anxiety, and uncertainty- we have always had faith, hope, and love. We are SO blessed!

We are victors, not victims.
We are not fearFUL, but full of faith. (we have our moments of course)
We have "lost" a lot- but we have gained much more. We have a renewed & revitalized relationship with God- and with each other.
We have learned to appreciate one another, and to never to take one moment for granted.
We have learned a lot about our family, friends, and community. And we know that we are extremely blessed to HAVE each and every one of you prayer warriors.

We are merely on a detour- and not a dead end.

We may have cancer but CANCER DOES NOT HAVE US! :)