A Tough Turn

It has been great to have Q home these past two weeks. She has been the most alert and engaged that I have seen her in a long time. She has really enjoyed having her sister, Kathy, stay with us for a visit as well as a couple of crazy, wonderful, "cajun" friends (John and JJ) who made Q "squeanky-eyed" laugh as we reminisced about our days working at the C Lazy U ranch where we met.As the cajuns and I walked into Starbucks last Saturday morning I ran into Susie's oncologist and told him that she had expressed that she didn't think she wanted to endure another round of the IL2 chemo. He suggested we take another scan and then decide from there.

On Thursday we got a CT scan and awaited the call from Susie's radiologist-oncologist for findings. Later that evening the doctor called me with the bad news: The cancer had spread badly in Susie's liver. We didn't have to decide about the chemo, the doctors said they did not recommend it now, as it would be too hard on Q and probably not effective. Aside from a miracle, our treatment options are done. I told Susie the news, and then the girls. Everyone came home. We talked openly and cried...hard. It's surreal. Isn't this supposed to be happening to someone else? Or 30 years from now? Damn it!

What now? We do what we've always done. We look to God and we learn as we go.

You know what to do.

Love,
Scott

Q is Home!

Finally, after an extra day's delay I got my girl home last night. She is SO glad. Hopefully she will be able to get out on our deck this afternoon to enjoy a little of the beautiful Spring-like day we are having. She is still very weak and is having some side effects from her time in the hospital, but we can work around that. If all goes well, she should be home for two weeks before the next treatment.
Thank you again for your prayers...seriously!

-Scott

Q Going Home!

So my dad just called me and said that Mom can be picked up from the hospital now!! We all are so thrilled, especially my mom, because she just wants to go be at her HOME. We expect that she will be home for at least two weeks before they would decide to do another round of treatment, though I can tell you that none of us are looking forward to that again. My dad was right, and even "nice," in describing this last week for us. It was...the opposite of heaven. Really. It was so hard on all of us to see my mom so very sick. We all are tired from this rollercoaster of emotion, but we will certainly take two weeks of "up." Please pray with us that this break will give my mom strength, relaxation, great time with family (and maybe even some friends?), and a renewed sense of God's deep love and care for her now that she is off most medications and has a clearer mind.

This journey has been so hard. So hard. But God has been tenderly teaching me about just how deep his love is for us. Oh, how he loves us! I praise him that I am even able to FEEL that during this deep valley in our lives. Just this weekend, I was reminded of the promise that "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:28) Wow.

He holds and protects ALL of us in the center of his hand.

Molly

Hopefully Home Soon

After an incredibly difficult week, we are still trying to get Susie out of here (the hospital) so she can enjoy sunshine, fresh air, and being in her own home. She is still very weak after the chemo treatments (way worse than anything she's had up to now). Her lab work came back pretty close to normal this morning, so now we are waiting for her doctor to visit and tell us whether or not she can go home soon.
Please pray for that. Thank you so much.

- Scott

The Next Round

It was great to have Susie home for several days and she was really glad to be there. We had a scare at 2:00 a.m. one night when she was having some pain and a low grade fever, but we called the doc and got things under control enough for her to stay home.

We checked back into the hospital last night and have started the next round of chemo. The stuff they're using this time will be roughner than what she has had in the past. Q should be in until Friday if all goes well. She is not feeling any serious pain and has cut way back on the morphine - thank You, Lord.

My prayer is that she will get through the next four days with minimum discomfort and narcotics, and will be in good shape and clarity of mind when she goes home. Also, please continue to ask our Lord to bring healing to Susie or at least to put this cancer into an extended remission. That would be so great!

Thank you all,

Scott

Wow!

Several co-workers from Q's office building showed up at our door shortly after I'd brought her home from the hospital. They were bearing gifts: balloons, assorted baked goods and $2,066 in cash (proceeds from the bake sale they'd just had). Thank you again, ladies, for all of your work and thoughtfulness in putting that together for Susie. We just received a bill of over $1,000 for some out-of-pocket expenses for Q's treatments, so I already know where half of that cash is going for sure.

Q is still kind of "woozy" (that's a medical term. It's kind of like "thing-a-ma-jiggy" is a plumbing term) from all the morphine she has been on. I got permission yesterday from the doctor to turn down the dosage on her pump, so hopefully she will begin to perk up a bit over the weekend before going back on Monday for four days of chemo.

Thanks to all who gave to the bake sale. . . you're very kind.

- Scott

Q Comes Home!

Hey everyone!

My mom gets to come home tomorrow for a rest period before her next big treatment. She will be going back in for chemo on Monday, but we are SO very excited that she will get to spend a long weekend at HOME. I personally, cannot wait to just sit with her on the couch and be semi-normal for a few days. I wasn't able to see her tonight, but Josh told me that she looks better than ever (as far as her spirits and mental clarity go). It is such a nice little "up"time.

Praise the Lord for that!

Molly