Chemo 3 & 4, but mostly wedding

                                                                                                                     September 23, 2017


Chemo last week and this, was a piece of cake . . . the wedding preparations, were exhausting! – but so much fun!!  Our only son and 3^rd child, Adam, got married on Sunday.  God gave us a beautiful day to celebrate and He was present in all the details.  It really was more than I could ask or imagine.  (Eph 3:20)  I was so proud of Adam and his wife, Katie, along with some family and good friends, who did an amazing job planning the event.

Stephanie, our 1^st daughter, took this:

and made these:

and boutonnieres of which I don’t have a picture. Maybe I'll have one next week when the photographer's pictures come in.  I'll post one of Adam and Katie too.

Stephanie helped me out so much.  She came up the weekend before and planned the decorations for the rehearsal dinner for me.  It made the dinner so elegant. 

I couldn’t have done it without her. . . she is so talented if not somewhat of a mother hen and cane-cop.  

Love Her!

I had a full house for the weekend.  Every bed was full plus 3 mattresses on the floor.  My sister, Debbie, slept in the screened-in porch (her choice) and my brother, Doug, and his wife, Deb, bunked in the attic room with my mom! The wedding party got ready at our house too.  The house was bursting with anticipation and joy.  I thoroughly enjoyed it!! When everyone left though, the house looked like it went through a war.  Mom and my sister, Debbie stayed a few days after to visit.  My mom is a gem!  She washed everyone’s bed linens and all the reception table cloths and helped put my house back together.  I am so very thankful for her hard work. I wouldn’t be able to get it all done for another couple weeks by myself.  I only get to see my sister about once a year so I was happy to have time to visit.  The last night we went to the beach to watch the sunset. 

It was so beautiful and relaxing and a wonderful memory. 

     God has been so good to me!   I am blown away by the sheer number of people that tell me they are praying for me.  It is so evident that God is answering those prayers.  The chemo treatments have been a breeze so far, but more importantly, my tumor is shrinking.  I can tell by just feeling it, but also my hip is better with the shrinkage.  My hemoglobin has gone up from low 7 to low 10, which is significant and also almost in the normal range.  I get fatigued quickly, though, but God has put people around me to help.  I am so very thankful to God for his care and thankful to so many of you who take time to pray specifically for me.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I feel very loved and cared for.   God bless you too!

Ephesians 3:20-21

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

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2nd Chemotherapy and alls well!

October 8, 2016

I got my 2nd chemotherapy today here in town at Porter Regional Hospital.  It is very convienient and easy to do.  I don't liked to get poked but thats the worst.  I am thanking God for last week-no side effects!  They added another drug this week so I will see how it goes.  I don't anticipate any problems. I told my nurse I have so many loved ones supporting me and praying for me - I am so thankful and blessed.  It really makes me feel confident.  Thanks to all!

I have been teaching Pioneer Girls at church  for several years.  I have 15 to 20 1st and 2nd grade, cute as buttons, germie little girls on Wednesday evenings.  It has it's rewards, but it is also exhausting.  I contemplated not teaching this year with my compromised immune system and anemia.    As the year progresses my treatment will become more rigorous.  I really didn't want to let the director, my dear friend, and my co-teachers down.  It is hard to get people to volunteer and I didn't want to leave a hole.  I prayed about it and reluctantly called my friend to tell her.  I knew it really was too much for me.  She was so sweet and told me not to worry about it.  She had a person text her the day before and asked if it was too late to volunteer!!  God had provided a teacher even before I bowed out.  I am thrilled when I see Him working things out before we even ask sometimes.  Giving God thanks and praise.

I have one more thing to tell you that I learned today.  Recently, Kerstin asked me if I had chosen a verse for my cancer yet?  I thought, really?? that's weird.  I told her I would think about it.  - How do you go about choosing a verse??  I have been praying Psalm 51:10 for a few weeks and this morning when I was praying it, the Holy Spirit pinged my brain and I felt - that's it, that's my verse. I know it was Him because I haven't been thinking about that at all.  So, I guess you don't have to pick a verse, He will give you one . . . . they are His words after all.  These are the words He gave me:
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.   Psalm 51:10  Thank you Holy Spirit and thank you Kerstin!

My Story

August 29, 2016

This blog is created to keep my family and friends up to date on my health as I have been recently diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma.  Multiple myeloma is a blood cancer related to lymphoma and leukemia. Though it can’t usually be cured, there are treatments that slow down its spread.

I would enjoy talking personally with each one of you but I really don’t want to “tell my story” so many times.  I love to hear about what is going on in your life so if you want to call or write, “my story” is out of the way and we can enjoy a visit catching up!  A couple friends have called to talk after hearing through the grapevine that I have cancer, and those conversations have been priceless.  Just so you know, cancer is not a taboo subject for me.

            Before I start with my recent background story I want you all to know my feelings about my cancer.  God has given me so much peace about my cancer.  I have anxious feelings at times but they are quickly replaced by His peace, which truly surpasses all understanding.  I know that my life is in God’s hands and I trust Him completely. I have seen in my own life how He has worked out impossible situations for good so it is easy for me to trust His promises.  I am not afraid of this cancer.  I am not being naive about treatment, I realize it will be brutal, I’m not looking forward to that but I am not afraid.  I am in God’s will and that is the safest place and most joyous place to be. 

            June 15^th this year, I woke up sick.   Kriz took me to the emergency room and later that day I was in the ICU diagnosed with pneumonia.   As it turns out, I was really sick.  Six days in the hospital and two weeks on my back.  It was bad but, God healed me, He always takes care of me.  My lungs were at full capacity and I felt great!  Except for the anemia of course, minor detail.  I saw how God was working in our family through this illness and I was thrilled.  It was a huge blessing.

      My discharge orders were to follow up with a Hematologist, Dr. Klein, for the anemia. That didn’t happen until Aug 10.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, I had another issue going on.  When I started to move around again my right bum ache returned from an old injury I acquired in early April. I had difficulty walking, managing stairs, and bending forward.  Since my initial treatment didn’t do the trick, this time I had a steroid injection in the SI joint and PT.   It was my physical therapist that first noticed a hard mass just on the inside of my ilium bone. 

 Fast-forward now to Dr. Klein.  She ordered a CT scan, among many more invasive tests.  The scan showed a mass along the iliac bone with extensive destruction of the bone.  There are other lesions in the pelvis, spine and leg bones. After testing, Dr. Klein wanted to start treatment right away and encouraged us to choose one of 4 reputable hospitals in Chicago for the transplant therapy.  Kriz researched and asked around his colleagues and decided Dr. Mehta at Northwestern was a good choice.  I trust Kriz and agreed Dr. Mehta was a great option as he is really focused on Multiple Myeloma. 

September 1, 2016

Our trip to Chicago to meet Dr. Mehta was so amazing.  God had gone before us and choreographed our visit so beautifully.  We only had planned to see the doctor, but God had much more on our agenda that day than we imagined.  I am so thankful to be under Dr. Mehta care.  He had reviewed my case before he came into the examining room.  He spent considerable time with us explaining the tests, the cancer, treatment options, and answering questions.  He told us I was stage III out of 3 stages.  The mass was a plasmacytoma attached to the bone with extensive destruction to the bone.  Multiple Myeloma is inoperable because it is found all over the body.  Radiation is not appropriate to use for the pelvic site because the chemotherapy will act faster and will not retard healing of the bones like radiation can.  Most importantly, the second part of treatment is stem cell transplant and radiation would deplete the stem cell reserve from the pelvis, which is the largest reservoir of stem cells. 

1st Chemotherapy

Dr. Mehta wanted me to see an Oncologist/Orthopedist for my hip.  We walked across the street and was seen right away.  Dr. Attar felt no surgical intervention was needed, and suggested using a cane to take weight off the bone.

I had blood work done and “things”; test results, insurance approval, treatment room space, and various other logistics came together like magic.  I was able to get my first treatment that day! Our appointment was at 1pm so all this happened in one afternoon.  It was amazing to see everything flow smoothly, our time was maximized to get a great deal accomplished.  God has blessed me so much.  I am so happy for His provisions everyday.