Various Updates

 I realize I haven't kept you updated on things going on around here.

First of all, Chuck's MRI came out clean. He's still cancer free!

 

Thank you for the ideas on the card game. Pokeno was the only one I recognized but after googling the games, I didn't remember the rules of any of them! The way Ally and I play it is a lot like Pokeno though. 

 

The email subscriptions: I've started adding everyone to my blog list but it might take a while to get all of you on it. Please forgive me if I haven't commented on your posts in a while.

 

I've been enjoying these quiet summer months. Work is about to get super busy so I'm taking Fridays off while I can and I'm loving having two days off in a row! It makes a huge difference!

 

Beth overslept on Monday and missed her bus to All Aboard. I think she set her alarm for PM instead of AM. She texted me at work about the time her bus was supposed to arrive. She's usually really good about being upstairs and ready so I expect the driver waited the required 5 minutes then left. That's not the first time that's ever happened to a driver! 

 

Sharaya and Ally will be moving soon. They found a place about 10-15 minutes from here, a two story, two bedroom condo. Ally was showing me some pictures and it's really cute. It has a fireplace, a small backyard, it looks perfect for them. 

 

We all went over to Diana and Peter's for lunch a couple weeks ago. They took us out to their garden. They share it with their neighbors, one side for them and the other for the neighbors. They have zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes cucumbers, pumpkins, various spices... and we've loved reaping the benefits of their hard work!

 

 

 Just some of their harvest

 

 The bunnies sure have been multiplying lately. There are so many in the backyard now, I'm wondering if we should be doing something to control them. I saw these three out last night: it's hard to see but there's a tiny one just in front of mom's nose.

 

 

Then this other little guy hopped closer to me

 

Mom was checking on the rabbit hole.

I don't know if there's more in there!

 

I know there were some living under a bush in a different part of the yard, I don't know if it's the same bunnies or a whole new family. I'm starting to get a little concerned. Do they eventually move on? Are they here for the long term? Have you encountered bunnies in your yard?
 

What We Know So Far

We had a Zoom meeting with the immunotherapy doctor last week and he showed us the MRI scan they did on May 15th. Looking down through the top of his head you can see the tumor very clearly on the right.

The white spot in the center is his spinal cord and the round spot on the right is the tumor
(The tumor is actually under his left ear, this picture might be flipped. I quickly snapped a photo when the doctor showed it to us during a Zoom meeting.)

* I went out and bought a 3-ring binder to keep all of our notes and doctor's contact information, lists of medications, appointments... our calendar has never been so full.

* I've printed out the photos and names of all the doctors so I know who we're talking to, who we're meeting with...

* Melanoma doesn't respond to chemotherapy. So we're not going that route. We're actually happy Chuck won't have to go through chemotherapy.

* Radiation will target only specific areas and Chuck has so many nodules plus the tumor, that radiation's not the best treatment.
 
* His cancer cells have mutated to BRAF G469R and they're not sensitive to pills, so pill therapy's not an option. (I've read about BRAF mutations but I still don't understand it.)

* With the doctor's recommendations we've decided on IV immunotherapy and he begins treatment this week. Each session is 45 minutes and he'll have one every 3 weeks. They'll monitor the meds closely to make sure the side effects don't become overwhelming.

* None of the doctors have said anything positive or encouraging. They just give us the facts. 

I was up until after 1:00 in the morning earlier this week reading about BRAF genes and melanoma and different medications... there was nothing positive. Everything I read about Chuck's cancer was negative and scary. 

You know how you click on this link and that link, well after a while I found myself on a list of testimonials - page after page of people who have this type of cancer who have survived! Some were from people who are still going through treatment but the rest had survived and were now cancer free! Those are the ones I read over and over.

I copied some of them to a Word document, included the website, and saved it to my docs. Then I printed them out and put them in our notebook. 

It gave me hope!

Our pastor spoke on David and Goliath this last weekend. A seemingly impossible fight. How Goliath was massive and scary... and Goliath thought he was preparing to fight the Israelites but he was actually facing their God. The Holy God of Israel. Guess who won?

That gave me hope!

God is on our side and He's so much greater than the enemy who only wants to steal, kill and destroy us.

Hope!

The enemy's strategy is intimidation and fear. Which is what I got when I was going through all those websites. But my God is a warrior. Zephaniah 3:17 - The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves.

Hope. Encouraging hope!

Saturday Snippets

Here in Washington State we are flattening the curve so our governor has created a 4-phase approach to opening the state back up. We're headed into Phase 2 soon.

With everything that's going on in our family we've decided to relax some of the restrictions just between us. Sharaya and Allie came over this week and we played some Mexican Train. 

She won that round!

Allie recently got her own cell phone and during the game I caught her taking a selfie! 

We've been texting a lot with Diana, talking about Chuck's appointments and tests so I finally called her to see if she'd want to fly out. But she was already planning to! So now she flies in tomorrow afternoon. We are all SO excited to see her and to just have the family all together again. 

Raiders of the Lost Ark was recently on TV so Chuck and I turned out the lights and watched it like we were in the theater. It's what we did on our very first date. 💓 It was in 1981 at Grossmont Center in San Diego, back when most theaters only had one screen. We stood in line a long time and when the showing before ours got out, we asked them if they liked it, was it good?!

My mom took this right after we started dating.

Today was Chuck's MRI and he told me that he got to choose the music - Contemporary Christian. He heard WayMaker, Surrounded (This is how we fight our battles) It is Well With My Soul... he was weeping by the time it was over. He said God's presence was so strong in that room! His next appointment is on Tuesday, when we get the results.

I want to thank all of you for your prayers. The Lord heard and answered every single one! Even though we haven't met most of you, we could not do this without you! You have blessed us so much, we're so thankful for all of you!

Falling Apart

I've been fairly healthy my whole life, but since I turned 50, I've been falling apart at the seams. In the last two years I've had pneumonia for the first time; I've had my first migraine, my first biopsy and today, my first MRI. My legs have ached deep inside for more than a year now and my doctor thinks I either have arthritis in my spine... or nerve damage. Getting old is a pain in the butt.

Now for the rest of the family -

Ryan is in detox again. I think this is his 3rd time. From talking to others that have been through this, being in detox numerous times is common. It's really taking a toll on his family and we're all praying that THIS is the key that sets him free from his drug use. Sharaya is under so much stress. Oh Lord we need a miracle.

Chuck and I took Allie to the park last week. She's growing and changing so fast. And she's saying things that surprise us. Her latest is "Shimmy Shakes." It makes me think of the movie Enchanted cause I hear it in Amy Adams voice. :)

Chuck and I also went to a high school football game last Friday. It was actually mild outside and the sunset was gorgeous! Of course, I forgot my camera. Our phones are so old and don't take good pictures. We don't even get the internet. In fact, when I pulled mine out to send a text, our friend M started laughing at us! The ironic part is, Chuck works for the phone company!! We had planned to get new phones last January but then my hours were cut at work... oh well, one of these days we'll upgrade.

Beth starts Special Olympics bowling this weekend. We're having to coordinate her DART bus between bowling and work. I'm not sure how it's gonna work this year, bowling starts at 2:30 and she has to be at work at 5:00. Her job is about 40 minutes north so she may only be able to bowl one game before her bus comes to take her to work. We'll try it this weekend and see how it goes.

There's so much going on. So much more I could write, but Allison will be waking up soon and I still have some housework to do.

I guess I was more nervous about the MRI this morning than I thought because I locked my keys in the car. For the first time. Sharaya and Diana came to my rescue.

To be honest, I'm probably gonna just go read for a while. :)