Dina Update

It has been a little difficult keeping up this blog I know I tried to reach out to many to go to the Caring Bridge site to read all updates that the girls post concerning their mom's progress.
You can go here to sign in and then get notifications of any new blog posts:  https://www.caringbridge.org/visit/dinasnook

But since you are here, I will fill you in!  She is currently back up at OHSU doing the infusion.  She went in last Wednesday and will most likely be able to come home on Monday.  It is a longer stay this time because it is new drugs and some of them have to be given 24 hours apart.  they are also flushing her with a lot of fluid.  Yesterday she told me she gained 10 pounds in 2 days from all the fluids.  the fluids are to help get rid of the dead cancer cells and a very important part of this treatment.

Her hair started falling out last Friday, she said it was making a big mess in the hospital room, on her pillow, in the bed and all over the floor. She was happy to get home and have the kids help shave her head.  She cried.  But her sweet sister in law had a friend come over on Tuesday and give her false eyelashes and boy did her spirits lift and she just felt good about herself, even without hair.

Attitude is half the battle and if this little thing like eyelashes can make her feel better, than I am all for it, I told her to sign me up for a month to help pay for them.  But I just found out the young lady that did them wants to do it for free...it is her way of giving back, especially after she met Dina and came to love her as much as we all do!

She had another lumbar puncture, that is taking out fluid of the spinal column and replacing it with chemo...once again it came back negative for the disease.  Apparently those little burkett cancer cells are clever at finding hiding places...so another important step in eliminating this cancer from Dina's body.

They are also pumping her with lots of fluids to flush out all the dead cancer cells.  She gained 10 pounds in two days!  And she just felt yucky all day yesterday from being bloated and having to go to the bathroom all day long.  Small price to pay for getting rid of those bad boys!

The good news?  After this treatment, she is half way done with chemo!!  She will go back in the end of this month, in a little over two weeks, then she will have two sessions close together and then this long one again.  Her last chemo is scheduled for March 20 (if all goes according to schedule) and she should be released on the 25.  Then she has to wait a month before doing a scan to see how things are looking.

They were concerned with one of the lymph nodes on her appendix, thinking that as it shrunk and released fluids it would feel like a ruptured appendix and she would need to rush to the hospital.  They haven't taken any scans to see how anything is looking.  I think Dina is hoping she is in the hospital when/if that happens!

I think the drugs and side effects have all improved since the last time in 2011/2012 when she had chemo.  She has had nausea, but not thrown up!  The one major pain that she did have last time is the bone pain from the white cell booster shot.  Every time after chemo she has to give herself the shot for several days and it causes severe bone pain, everywhere, including her teeth and jaws.  The chemo kills good cells as well as the bad ones, so they need to give her the booster shot to increase her white cells to help fight infection.

I would say Dina feels hopeful and so touched by the outpouring of prayers.  She definitely feels touched by angels and has had God wink moments during this bout of cancer.

Thank you all for your support and your continued prayers and for any that purchased the Team Dina gear (not necessary at all!, prayers are the most important!)  If you did buy a Team Dina shirt, please take a picture and send it to me, as Lacey is going to put a collage together of everyone that bought a shirt in support of Dina.  I think the last day to order from Kyle is Monday the 11th.

Scott and I took Lily up to see her Mom on Thursday night:  I snapped a pic of the two of them in her bed!

Here is a picture of her family just prior to her losing her hair:

The back of the shirt has this bible verse: "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

Thanks for stopping by!  Heart Hugs to you all!

Dina's story continued....

What prompted me to write in this blog again was my daughter Dina.

If you may remember back in 2011 she was diagnosed with stage 4 lymphoma and proceeded to have chemo.  She ended her chemo in February of 2012, it took several more months for the last bit of cancer to leave her spleen, then she was considered cancer free.

This last spring she discovered she had a hernia by her belly button, it was fairly small and not necessary to remove it, but she noticed when she got a cold and coughed it really did hurt, so she decided it would be best to have it removed.  She scheduled the surgery for December 12.

About the first of November both of her ankles got very swollen, she saw her doctor and he diagnosed Achilles tendonitis and he referred her for some PT.

That didn't help a lot, so he gave her prednisone for 5 days and thought she should see a rheumatologist even though her blood work came back negative.  The prednisone really helped take care of the inflammation.  The rheumatologist diagnosed her with Psoriatic Arthritis.  The doctor gave her a prescription for prednisone to have available if she had another flare up.

The two drugs that are often used for this arthritis has side effects and they say "May cause Lymphoma"!!  NO WAY was she going to use that drug, she said she would rather have swollen joints!  But when she took the prednisone, she had to postpone her hernia surgery.

Throughout the fall months her stomach was bothering her a little bit, some days not at all, others a little bit more.  She thought it was probably the hernia and was thinking she needed to reschedule for the surgery.  However the day after Christmas she had severe stomach pain that doubled her over and had her in tears.  She went to the ER and they did a CT scan and the ER doctor told her it looked like a recurrence of cancer. Her stomach lining was all inflamed and she had enlarged lymph nodes. That sent her into a real tailspin and she was in tears for days.  Her oncologist wanted to have a PET scan and that took 8 days to get scheduled.  The PET scan showed the cancer is back.  It looked like a mass in her stomach, but it was actually several lymph nodes clustered together.  She has another spot under her left arm and it is deeper into her body. Today she consulted with a doctor to have a biopsy and remove the hernia.  The doctor assured her that it would be a pretty normal procedure, she should be able to leave the same day, which is next Tuesday January 8th.  Unless she has a 'bleeder', then they would keep her to monitor her. Her oncologist told her this would be a harder chemo than the last time, and he knew last time it kicked her butt (his words!).  He was shocked that the cancer came back.  It usually takes 10 days for the pathologist to get word back to the doctor so a treatment can be put in place.  She is guessing with all the other protocol to follow, it may take 4-6 weeks before she can start her chemo.   She kept this from her kids until she knew conclusively that the cancer has returned.  She just told them on Thursday Jan 3rd.  They are ready to support their "Mama" and help her "kick cancer's butt" (their words!).

I know this is going to be really hard on her and yes she is strong and is ready to fight this, but I sure remember how awful she felt, how nauseous she got and how the first week after chemo she was mostly in bed.  She had chemo every three weeks.  We don't know yet how long she will be doing chemo.  I just wanted to ask for prayers for her to have the strength to get though this, to fight it and to remain positive.  The has been hard on Jamie as well, he is doing what he does best:  calling in favors with doctor friends to  do everything they can for her and to do it quickly.  They have come through for him, but he is a mess emotionally just as much as Dina is.  Please keep the whole family in your prayers and for Dina to have a complete cure this time and to know that she is not walking alone.  We are trusting God and His plan and praying that she can get back into remission.

This was the main story I wanted to share today, it will be 7 years in February that she completed her chemo and we are all heart broken that it has come back.

While I am here I will share a few pictures of the family from this past year:

 I guess the most memorable for me was the total knee replacement in August, I had 29 staples in my knee, I used a continuous passive machine to keep bending the knee, I had that for three weeks.  I can tell you this was NOT a fun experience, I had to have 2 manipulations and during one of them an arthroscopic surgery to see why my knee kept losing flexion.  Now after 5 months it still is not good, but I am working on it without PT.  I ride my bike for an hour a day and I have a splint that I use to bend my knee.  I will be so happy when I can walk without pain and without limping.

 How about celebrating my Dad's 97 th birthday at Ellie's last home volleyball match?

All the seniors were honored on this night and family members were called out to join her on the court. 

 We had to get a picture with the two girls ! Look how tall my little Lily is?

And here is the birthday boy with his great granddaughters.  He was announced to the crowd as celebrating his 97th birthday...I don't think he heard it or understood what was being said.

Ellie was honored as the Player of the Year for the Three River's League.

The team made it to state and ended up in third place.

Ellie received first Team All Tournament.

And she also was honored with being one of 5 for FIRST TEAM ALL STATE.

She has a scholarship to play at Portland State University in the fall!

some random pictures from this last year

Caleb graduating from West Linn High School.

Caleb and his Mom, Lacey at a graduation party we had for him at our house.

 Caleb & Dina

 Caleb with Kyle, Elisa and Clyde

Caleb with Teal, Kim and Marty

So proud of this boy...he is heading to Oregon State to further his education!

 Halloween with Papa Ben and all the great grands except Caleb

Addie after making her button Bouquet!

 More to come...and especially pictures from Barcelona!!

A Thankful Day

We gathered around Lacey and Aaron's table for another Thanksgiving Feast.  My Dad is the star of the show at 96 years old!  We are missing one person and that is Jamie, he is at the four day basketball tournament in Portland...Duke is here and Oregon Ducks and many other teams, he has spent three full days watching lots of BB! Today is the final day and the final match will be tonight.

this meal was a family affair...Lacey cooked the turkey and made the gravy, Dina brought the mashed potatoes and dressing.  Robin brought the traditional bean casserole, Aaron's mom brought the Sweet potato casserole and cranberries.  I was assigned "Nana" rolls!  It is so nice having my daughters willing and able to do all the work and I can just come and enjoy the food.

Oh, I almost forgot the dessert which is really the best of all...Lacey made our traditional lemon meringue pie and a pumpkin pie along with a pumpkin mousse.  Robin also brought a chocolate cream pie with real whip cream!  Oh so good!

I am especially THANKFUL this year that I can be with my Dad, that he enjoys being around the family and surely enjoys the good food too!

A Mediterranean Cruise!

This post is dedicated to a friend who encourages me to bring this blog back to life because he doesn't do Facebook!!  So I will let you know what this year has been like and I am going to start with current and work back...why? because it is already a daunting task!!  LOL

A Mediterranean Cruise ~ 2017

 Scott surprised me with a cruise and we decided to spread the joy and invite Dina and her two daughters Ellie and Lily along.  We left July 28, flew to Seattle, boarded British Airways for our trip to London, from there we flew to Rome.  We were in Rome for two and half days.  Scott arranged for a private guide for the two days so we could see as much of Rome as possible  We walked 9 miles the first day and saw so many things my head is still spinning.

      First I have to share the seating in the British Air flight, because this was a big deal for us... the seats lay all the way back and they give you a pillow and blankets, an eye mask, little toothbrush and paste, cream lotion etc.    Our first time flying in business class...the only way to fly long distance!!
the opaque window goes up and down, just in case you are sitting with someone you don't know!                                                                               ROME
                                        

San Giovanni in Laterno (St. John Lateran) is the official cathedral of Rome (not St. Peter's Basilica).  This church is the Seat of the "Pope" and one of the first catholic churches in Rome. This door is huge!  (Did I mention Dina's luggage did not make it to Rome?  For that matter, it NEVER made it to her the whole trip!  It did get to her house the day before we got home!)

 

There are four Papal Basilica Jubilee Doors in Rome.  This is the outside of the door at San Giovanni Lateran.  The Pope stands at this door and knocks on it.  People inside the church stand at the wall where there is a cross and when they hear the knocking, they break down the wall!  Then they build it back up again for the next Jubilee Year (typically every 25 years). 

         

Isn't this door HUGE?  OMG!  Everything about this church was super-sized...the statues inside were all enormous and so impressive.  Every church we went into was like nothing I have seen here in the states.  They really knew how to build them all those years ago, such fine detail in everything they did.    Okay, who was the wise guy that took my phone and did this goofy picture??? MamaMia!                                                           

Throwing a coin into Trevi Fountain is a tradition that ensures the visitor will get a return to Rome!

Of course we had to throw a coin into the fountain.  It is the largest Baroque fountain in the city and the most beautiful in the world. The water comes from an aqueduct originally constructed in 19 BC.

We spent the first day going to Santa Maria Maggiore, the  Ancient City (Pantheon, Palatine Hill), the Jewish Ghetto, famous squares and fountains like the one pictured above.  The second day in Rome was spent visiting Castel Sant'Angelo, Vatican Museums, Sistine Chapel, St. Peter's Basilica, the Colosseum and several more churches.     

FLORENCE & PISA 

                                          

           

Our first excursion on our Regents Seven Seas Cruise was a 10.5 hour day that included a trip to Florence where we had a local guide walk us around and give the history and point out the many churches, statues and other magnificent works of art.  From there we went to Pisa pictured above.  Of course we had to do the typical tourist 'forced perspective' photo shoot.  The center photo is Lily holding up the Pisa. (*wink)

                                                    AJACCIO, CORSICA

Our second port was Corsica Island, which is French.  We docked at Ajaccio and had a blast swimming in the Mediterranean Sea.  The girls loved it!  We chose not to do an excursion as we really wanted one day where we could play at the beach!  We walked around that very quaint town, the girls each had a crepe...Lily had strawberry, Ellie had a banana/chocolate crepe.

 CINQUE TERRE

Our third port was La Spezia, and we took a cruise boat to Cinque Terre for our excursion. The picture on the left is from the boat. The picture on the right shows Dina in the foreground taking a picture, Ellie is in the dress to her left and in front of her. All the cities were the same with many storied buildings, people living above the stores with clothing hanging out windows to dry.

MONTE CARLO, MONACO, EZE, NICE 

We are in the French Riviera!!  OMG!!  Our next port was Monte Carlo, Monaco!  We LOVED it, wish we had more time to stay longer.  We took a tour bus up to Eze a charming hilltop town on the Cote d'Azur!  We were told about 2,000 people live there but in the winter months, don't go because everything is shut down! From there we drove down to Nice; had lunch and roamed the city. Then we went to Monaco and visited the church where Grace Kelly was married, saw the houses her daughters own (but don't live full time), the girls had a STARBUCKS!! We didn't go to a casino in Monte Carlo because it would have cost about 17 dollars to get in and the girls wouldn't have been allowed, so we opted out of giving them more of our money!  LOL!!

The view from the bus on our tour up to Eze.  Isn't that water just gorgeous?   The church in Monaco where Princess Grace Kelly was married. And the girls in front of a statue in the courtyard.

 

The girls called the cruise the geriatric cruise! ha ha!!  I must admit there were not a LOT of young people, but some!  After 6pm every night we were not to wear shorts, jeans, flip flops, or athletic shoes and we had to be dressed up for dinner.  So here we are the night we were docked in Monte Carlo.  Scott and I had a room at the 'aft' of the ship with a lovely deck.  And we had our own private 'butler'!!  He brought special plates every late afternoon (I guess a precursor to the dinner) and so we invited the girls to our room to share the food and we got a picture out on our deck!

 

ANTIBES, FRANCE

We went to a glass blowing Factory and watched them blow and manipulate the glass to become a goblet...then we did a little shopping in their store.

 

After the bus tour to the glass blowing we went back to town and roamed a bit, by the harbor there were many of these sculptures on display  Scott is in the background near this bull.

MARSEILLE, FRANCE

 I had to super size this photo so you could see why I took it...look in the background over Lily's shoulder, do you see it?  "Starbucks Coffee". Oh they were so excited to see that store, of course it was the first stop.  Our plan for the day was to do some shopping for Dina as she was borrowing everyone's clothes.  And she could really use some shoes because she only had flip flops on the plane ride.  I did share one sandal with her and Ellie had a pair of Nike's, but she needed something like a sandal, but good for her feet...we do a lot of walking on these excursions!  We were successful in finding tops and dresses and even a pair of UGG sandals!!  I even bought a top in Marseille.

PALAMOS, SPAIN

                  

 

The Costa Brava is one of Spain's most beautiful regions.  Here we are in Tossa de Mar, a beautiful quaint and almost fairy tale type of village.  Again Dina and I would have loved more time to roam and maybe shop??  We climbed quite high to see the sites below and enjoy the view. This is a well-preserved Old Town with a Gothic church and a view from the ancient Roman fortress that overlooks the bay.  It was built in 1187 to defend the town against invaders approaching from the sea.  This Old Town is the only surviving walled city on the Catalan coast.

From here we continued on the tour bus to Lloret de Mar just down the coast.  This too is a beautiful seaside village.  We stopped for a tour of the Santa Clotilde Gardens.  It was designed in the 1920's in the manner of the Italian Renaissance gardens.  NO FLOWERS!!  All IVY!!  The guide kept pointing out all the 'ivy'...notice how the 'ivy' is integrated into the paths, or into the steps, or even into the hedges!  I guess they like 'IVY", unlike here where it is banned because of how invasive a plant it is!!

This town is full of high rises to accommodate all the seasonal visitors (mostly Europeans) on holiday.  The town will grow to over 200,000 people in the summer months.

                                   

PALMA DE MALLORCA, SPAIN

We went to the Caves of Drach (Dragon), a spectacular underground attraction.  The caves contain stalactites and stalagmites reflecting in the clear pools. It has one of the world's largest subterranean lakes and they put on a little show for us with three boats with musicians in them playing music for us and they had down lighting and lights on the boats...very pretty...they kept it dark while the show was going on so we could enjoy the lights from the boats. This is one of those pictures that is hard to capture unless you have a camera that allows you to use different lenses.  The did not allow flash!

 We also visited the Mallorca pearls being made in a factory.  These are faux pearls made from natural marine products; they are nearly indistinguishable from the real thing.  Of course we had to buy some pearl earrings and bracelets and Papa even bought Lily a necklace!

The Cathedral of Santa Maria of Palma

is often called the Cathedral of Light.

This Catalan Gothic Cathedral was built in 1229 and finished in 1601.

The rose window on the east side of the cathedral is one of the world's largest, it is 40 feet across and constructed with 1,236 pieces of stained glass.

Restoration of this church began in 1851, in 1901 architect Antoni Gaudi took over the project.  Much of his Art Nouveau work can be seen inside this cathedral.  You will see more of Gaudi's work when we get to Barcelona where he took over the construction and design of The Sagrada Familia.  

 

Many of the churches we saw in Rome as well as other cities all had magnificent construction over their altar's.  

I am not standing at the back of the church, but you can still see the stained glass "rose" and the altar with the display above it.  I have so many pictures, but I will not bore you with any more of this church.  I still have Valencia to go to finish our cruise.

VALENCIA, SPAIN

 How fun is this little scene, for a few euro's you can have your picture taken with him...do you see all the bubbles floating down?

 They had a HUGE indoor market filled with vendors who were selling fruits, vegetables, meats, fish everything you can think of...  it definitely had a fishy smell to it!  Here I am in front of some fruit, do you see those big clusters of grapes?  I bought my dad a package of Valencia tomato seeds.

 Ellie and Lily in front of a fountain.

 A statue of Valencia!

 If you know Ellie, you know she loves potatoes...any kind, hash, mashed, and fried...here is patatas fritas...a bucket of them!!

 Final night on board the cruise ship

This is our last night on the cruise ship.  We had one more picture before going to the restaurant for our final dinner.  We had the best waiters who became our friends while on board

 an avocado crab salad for an appetizer...so yumm

 caramel popcorn sundae!  Oh yeah!!

 a chocolate mousse dessert!

THE END OF THE CRUISE

I think I will start another post with Barcelona!

Thanks for hanging in there for the 10 day cruise and 21/2 days in Rome ,

I know this was picture overload and I really tried going light, just to give you a little peek at what we saw.  It was an amazing trip and I think I am ready to try another one...maybe next year!