Sorry, sorry sorry!

So sorry I have neglected keeping you all posted on these "stone" issues!  Ha...right now I am waiting for a 4mm stone to pass!  Yikes you say!  Well no worries, I am NOT in pain...unbelievable as that sounds!!  I had an x-ray and it showed that stone to be fairly close to the bladder...so I am now I on Flomax to help relax things so that it will pass easily.  I guess the x-ray also showed some obscurity in the kidney, which could mean more random floaters around...not sure, but I will have a CT scan on July 15 to determine if everything got cleared out or not!

In the meantime, life goes on, right?  The Foelker's house did NOT sell, we were so sad about that.  The potential buyer could not get financing for the back empty lot.  In the meantime, we have spent several days cleaning and hauling things to either the dump or the Goodwill store.  We discovered an empty garbage can cemented into the ground in the storage area off the family room.  It is one of those old garbage cans that was buried and had a lid that you step on to pop it up...not sure how the garbage people retrieved all the garbage in a hole, but there it is.  Scott is going to fill it with gravel and then pour cement on the top...hopefully we can make it look a little better..it does have a rim about an inch that sticks up above the ground so he is planning to pound it down to make it flat!  Bill had all sorts of man made platforms, covered with many carpet pieces (of course) in this back storage space...it was an accident waiting to happen, for sure!  So we hauled everything out of there, it is a really nice storage area.  Things are looking good though...the house is finally all clean and we will go over today for some "staging" to get it ready for showing!

Sunday was Father's day...can you believe I did not take a picture of the "Big Father"?  Not sure how that happened...my thought was on getting a picture of Dina and me with our short hairs.  She looks so beautiful (of course a mother always thinks that!!) and I know this will be the last time she will ever have short hair..so I wanted a picture of us together...can you figure out which is the daughter and which is the mother?  *wink

I pulled out my camera and the first thing she said was, "What are you doing?"  She told me she didn't look pretty...no make up on today!

 

We not only celebrated Father's Day with a BBQ in their backyard (notice all the Tiki lights behind them?) we also celebrated their 14th anniversary!!  They left the next day for three days in Coeur d'Alene for a little golfing and relaxing without any children!!  We cannot be happier and thankful to Our Lord for giving us good health for Dina...the latest scan still showed remission!!

Thanks for checking in with me!  We are heading to Arizona on Thursday to watch Ellie play some volleyball in a big nationwide tournament in Phoenix...Dina is going and will have Lily and a friend of Lily's...we decided to join them...the weather will be hot for sure.  We understand it is above 100 even way north where our house is...YIKES, record high temperatures for north Scottsdale!

A birthday celebration...63! Now how is that possible?

These are a few of my favorite "people"!

(Did I plant that little song in your head?  These are a few of my favorite things.....)

Okay, I turned 63 and my BFF, Linda from Seattle came down to spend the week with me.  You will most likely find us in the "studio" making cards, crafting, laughing, having a grand time.  Of course my celebration would not be complete without my two girls.  Isn't Lacey just the cutest with her short pixie hair?  And look at Dina?  WOW, without hair, with a scarf (by the way, the scarf is one I sewed up for her.  We went to the fabric store and bought five pieces of fabric for less than the price of one we bought in the store and I hemmed them all and now she can wear them on nice sunny days instead of the knit hats!) she is just beautiful.  She is so radiant...she feels fantastic!  NO pain she says!  Yeah!  Tomorrow morning (Thursday) we see the oncologist to get the word from all the scans.  But on Friday she has her bone marrow biopsy...that will be telling for sure!

The other favorite person in my life is taking the picture!!  Yes he joined us for lunch at LaProvence...yummy food, my birthday, my pick.  And you may notice I now have glasses...seems I needed them not only for reading, but for distance!  Amazing how clear the world looks now!  I wonder what I have been missing?

Thanks for stopping in and checking on us...more news on Thursday and then later next week the result from the bone marrow biopsy!

Dina update

We are counting the days, folks!  14 more days until her FINAL (we are praying) chemo!  January 25 is the BIG day...but really 30 or 40 days later is the important one...the one where she will have the PET scan and we can see that everything is GONE!

Dina has had a rough week.  Even with the red platelet shot, she is having the symptoms of low red cells...dizzy and kind of blurry vision.  After the white cell booster shot on Tuesday her bones really ache for about three or four days...even her jaws hurt to touch!  Today is one week from the chemo and today is predicted the lowest count for red cells...she will have blood drawn on Monday and they can see how she is doing...she is hoping that by tomorrow it will go up by itself and she will not have the dizzy, blurry symptoms.  Today was just a lay around on the couch all day kind of day.  Her saint of a MIL was at her house ALL DAY cleaning, washing, mopping, everything and anything to help Dina out.  She has been doing this for Dina since the day we found out about her cancer.  And her FIL has a bouquet of flowers delivered every week...fresh flowers...beautiful bouquets...such a thoughtful and kind gesture!  They are those kind of people...giving and caring and they love Dina so much, it is heartbreaking for them to know she is going through this struggle.

Both Ellie and Lily have VB tournaments tomorrow...opposite directions naturally!  Scott coaches Lily's team, so he will take her bright and early and Dina is hoping she can get up and go North to watch Lily's  first two games, then go home and rest and head South in Salem to watch Ellie play...that is the plan...but she will do what she needs to do to take care of herself.  She does love watching the girls play though and she loves keeping her family life "normal"...a new kind of normal as it is!

I am still hanging on with this cough...really just annoying now...when I talk I cough...how annoying is that?  And unfortunately my urinary infection did not clear up, so I am back on antibiotics and the tummy just feels yucky!  HOWEVER, I am so much better and I am exercising every day to get my lungs back to good working order!

I never did post this picture from October 29...I started to count, but lost track...I think close to 100 people showed up at our church grounds to take this Group Picture of so many friends from the church and the community who are supporting Dina in this battle.  Dina's family is NOT in the picture because this was a surprise.  Amanda, who organized it, framed the picture in a BIG frame and everyone signed the mat around the picture.  Dina has it hanging in her house...Amanda also made a book for her with just random shots of families and friends together, it is really cool.  If you look close, you will see both my brothers and their wives, Kyle, Teale, my DAD, Lacey's whole family,  Jamie's parents, sister and children, nephews...and all the wonderfully kind people who are walking this journey with Dina and Jamie.  After the group photo, we went to Lacey's house and met Dina's family there and that is where Jamie shaved the heads of Lacey, Aaron, Caleb and Lily...all in support of Dina who had already shaved her hair due to the massive loss from the night before when she washed her hair.

I just can't thank you all enough for the prayers coming our way...I am on the mend, but my Dina could still use the prayers...we are not in the clear yet until we get the final results from the scans...thank you for the "persistent' prayers asking for complete healing.  I know our Lord is listening, we just have to trust in Him and pray that He has more work for Dina to do here...

The latest news...

I will start with Dina...some of you may have read the latest post on the Caring Bridge from Ellie, but if not, then I will share it here.  Dina had a CT scan last Friday and was told on Monday, New Year's Eve, that the scan showed the cancer 'stable'...now that is not the words we were praying for...we were hoping more of what we heard after her second chemo and PET scan...dramatically reduced.  However stable is good...it means no more growth, it just might mean no more decrease either.  Although to be fair, a CT scan is different than a PET scan...the PET scan will show ALL the activity, a CT kind of measures the disease.  On the "hopeful" side, the doctor was really positive about the results and said she is very close to remission.  Now that word we definitely like to hear!  She had her FIFTH chemo Friday, Jan. 4 and all went well.  She was chastised a bit by the doctor for not getting the blood transfusion, so he made sure she took the shot for the red cell booster (it is called something else...but I am a dummy when it comes to medical jargon!) also...hopefully this will alleviate the bone pain she experienced the last time.  She will have the trial drug infusion on Monday, the white cell booster shot on Tuesday and then wait until the 25th for her final chemo.  She will need to wait 30 - 40 days after her last chemo to take the PET scans and get the results...so that puts it around the beginning of March!  Keep the prayers coming her way!

Okay, now for news about me.  I am doing so much better in terms of the lungs and being able to move around.  However, I did get a urinary tract infection and went through three different kinds of drugs to clear it up.  The second set of drugs caused a lot of nausea and stomach cramping...all on Christmas Eve and Christmas day...I was in my PJ's until 4 PM on the Eve and I think I stayed in them all day on Christmas...Scott and I just watched movies from the Hallmark channel all day...Christmas movies that he had recorded.  Scott was feeling a bit under the weather those two days also...he caught a cold..sore throat running a low grade fever and generally achey all over.

And Bless his Heart, he shared it with me!  Yes, so now I am coughing, I am just glad that I have it NOW and not two weeks ago.   But there is light at the end of the tunnel...I can cough today without a lot of pain...yes still coughing...but I can tell it is better.

We did manage to go out and celebrate a BIG birthday on December 29...11 Years Clean and Sober for Lacey and 3 years for Aaron...Yahoo...such a blessing. 

the birthday couple!  What an achievement!  so proud of them.

And our sweet 'chemo girl' and husband!

 Thanks for taking a look...Dina is laying low this weekend, although she did go to Ellie's volleyball tournament and that was exhausting for her...so today, Sunday she was very tired and did just what she needs to do...NOTHING!

update

Wow, I looked at my blog and saw that it was two weeks since my last post.  How did that happen?  I am so sorry people for leaving you all 'hanging' like that...you are probably wondering how we are all doing here.

I will fill you in with Dina first.  She had her fourth chemo treatment on Friday Dec. 14.  She was told very early in this process that each treatment will bring a longer recovery time and her fatigue will increase.  HAH!  They were right!  I think what hurts the most for her is her bones...they all just ache.  Yesterday she spent most of the day in bed.  She is anemic and we have been told that is the reason for the bone pain.  The doctor is watching it closely and right now even though she is anemic, the level has not gone to the point of requiring a blood transfusion.  She continues to receive her blood booster shot.  So what is wrong with staying in bed, all snugly warm among flannel blankets and soft down pillows with a TV in the room and maybe a good book too?  NOTHING!  As long as the kiddos are all in school!  ha ha...otherwise I think they would all be in bed with her...and trust me, that wouldn't be as relaxing!

I am praying she will be back to her new 'normal' by the holiday.  Oh and she should be having one more CT scan here in another week...we are so anxious to hear the report from that...we pray that even more of the cancer will be eliminated from her body...wouldn't that be the best Christmas gift EVER?  I will definitely post a report once we get the news...so stay tuned!

Now about me...I don't think one can even imagine all the parts of the body that is effected when one takes out a little old lobe of lung!  The whole left upper back feels so 'numb' yet at the same time it aches and is very uncomfortable...standing for any time puts a lot of pressure on the back...at least that is what it feels like.  It feels like the whole left side is hard, like the muscle has gone into spasm...And I don't know, maybe that is what is happening.  The nerves are all very extra sensitive...not only in the back, but right around to the breast bone in the front.  Now, please don't take this as "whining"...I'm really not!  I guess I just want to keep this real and document how this is feeling to me.  Because we know the saying:  You don't remember pain!  Well, you can maybe recall the pain, but you cannot relive it....that is what I always heard about having babies...(for some).  And that is a good thing - to not remember the pain!  So getting back to what I feel - lots of tingling in a not very comfortable way.  Lots of pressure in the back and around to the front...Scott will catch me with my hand over my left breast...I don't know why, I cause I feel if I apply pressure it will ease off a bit, it seems the bones just ache around there..Well, of course you know they had this four inch tube separating my ribs to get to the lung and so I imagine lots of things are trying to heal inside there...lots of damage to the nerve endings.

Okay, enough of that, how about some good news!  I saw the oncologist on Monday and the biopsy results showed NO other diseases in the area...!!!  So they got it all!  We can all do a happy dance and Praise the Lord!  I will have some follow up CT scans in the years to follow...this type of cancer is very slow growing, so I imagine even if another one did pop up, it would take a while to actually show up.  And just to remind you all, it was a low-grade cancer tumor, however after the lung biopsy, it was raised to a higher level within the low grade spectrum.  And it is also a more rare form...so we will just watch it.  The doctor said it could be 6 months or more before I actually feel like I can do what I did before...but I think I will try a few minutes on the illiptical...just to get my lungs working, you know!

I did have one set back in that I developed a nasty urinary infection...that has kept me laying around even more...the whole tummy feels yucky and maybe a little low grade fever...And you know me...offering it up to the Lord.  He is my Comforter and Healer...I give it all to Him!  So today is a new day...I always seem to wake early (sometimes way to early) and I just need to get out of bed and sit up and move around a bit.  I am so looking forward to laying on my right side.  Actually I have a funny story to tell...yesterday morning I was up early...like 4am...I read a bit on the couch, sat up and then finally around 7 decided I could go back to bed and catch a few more winks.  I so desperately wanted to lay on my 'bad side'...so I gently went from my back ever so slowly towards my left side...now I was not completely on my side...no way could I do that...but just a little bit.  Oh...heaven, felt so good to lay my head on the pillow with my left ear!  (do you know how tired my 'right ear' gets from laying on it all day long?  ha...trust me, it is getting annoyed!!).  And I immediately fell asleep, for maybe 40 minutes.  I woke up and tried to go to my back and I couldn't move!  Just shifting my right shoulder to slowly lay me on my back caused great pain...I was once again a "beached whale" on my side!  I think I must have moaned because Scott was right there to help me sit up and adjust myself.  Okay, I tried, I guess I will have to wait a while longer to lay on my missing lung side!

That's it for me my dear family and friends.  I am just taking one day at a time...trying to do little things, like walk a bit...Scott makes sure I get out...you know we always have to run to Home Depot...sometimes I get out and walk in the store (which BTW really poops me out!) and sometimes I just sit in the car...I do like getting out for the fresh air and being a part of the world.

If I don't post before Christmas, I do want to wish you all a very blessed one...one filled with joy and love.  Treasure each other...don't take anyone or anything for granted...cherish time spent with your loved ones.  My Christmas cards will be sent out, although they may be a bit late in the coming!

Thank you for your continued prayers!

A New Me... Minus one Lung

Hi everyone...let me fill you in with what has been happening since I came home.  First I thought it would be much easier to do things, to sit and read or knit or be on my new tablet.  Well, that has NOT been the case at all.  I am really tired and tend to sleep a lot.  Scott says he cannot believe how long it is taking me to finish this book I am reading, normally I can whip those out in no time.  But post surgery every time I pick up the book I fall asleep!  ha ha!!

I came home Thursday night and discovered that I could not move on my own.  I could NOT get off the couch by myself.  I certainly could not lay down by myself and NO WAY could I get myself out of bed.  I seriously felt like a beached whale and I did NOT like that feeling of helplessness at all.  Halfway through the night, I grabbed my pillows, water, etc and headed for the couch.  I could prop myself up with the armrest and be half sitting/half laying on my 'good side'.  And then it was manageable.  Friday night we decided to try propping me up in bed, so gathered all the extra pillows in the house and I had 5 of them under or around or on me!  That did the trick!  I could sleep in bed!  Yeah!

Saturday I woke with a bit of a headache and throughout the day it just kept getting worse.   I took several naps and even after sleeping for several hours, I still had that pounding headache and it was beginning to make me sick to my stomach...and I did make a dash to the kitchen sink and threw up some water and I knew instantly I did NOT want to do that again!  By the time we were going to bed my blood pressure was quite high and Scott did not like that, so he called the surgeon's office to talk to someone,  they suggested going to the ER to have my blood pressure checked out, they did not think it was related to the surgery itself.  So we were in the ER until 4 in the morning and they helped get the headache pain under control through an IV.  They were so kind and so helpful at Meridian Park Hospital.  They weren't sure, but thought the headache caused the high blood pressure.  The ER doctor checked with an anesthesiologist up in the birthing center and thought the headache may be a result of the epidural I had for the surgery.  After several hours of an IV with the great drug dilaudid  we managed to get the head pain under control...I did throw up at the hospital and let me tell you that was NOT a fun experience...as much as I tried hugging my sides, it just was very painful.  Scott and I both came home and crashed into bed and slept away the morning.

A dear friend brought communion to me, so I was able to hear the gospel and receive Our Lord.  We had a nice visit.  Then I took another nap in time to receive two more guests...my girl friends from high school.  I must show you what they brought for me:

Silky Zebra Print Pillowcases!!  How awesome are those (there are two of them!), an angel night light from IKEA!  LOVE it!, candy, books and an awesome, hand made purse/bag with zebra print and two pockets in the front!  I tell you, I am so blessed to have such wonderful friends who take care of me!  And zebra print...now didn't I pick the right kind of cancer...so trendy right now!  ha ha!



After they left I slept for a couple more hours and then watched a little TV with Scott, but we both were ready for bed by 8:30 Sunday night.  Monday morning I woke feeling okay...no headache....had a bite to eat so I could take my pills and then amazingly enough I fell asleep on the couch for two more hours and when I woke, I had the headache again.. GRRR...the doctor's office said it was okay to take more oxycodone to get the pain under control...so I did that, went back to bed and slept soundly for three more hours.  And when I woke, I felt really good.  In fact, I did not take any more pain pills the rest of the day, not until I was going to bed did I decide I should take something to make sure I stay on top of the pain.

And that is where I am now...each day is getting a little better.  A little less pain in the surgical area...I have a 2.5 inch incision on the left side of my back where they pulled out the lung.  I have two other small circle like incisions ...one on my side and the other under my left breast...I will be so happy to be able to sleep on my "other side".  For now...no driving until the 12 of December when I will get the stitches out...no lifting of 10 pounds or more for 6 weeks...so a fairly decent recovery time.  And I use the breathing apparatus to build my lung capacity and each day it is getting better.  Prior to the surgery I had a pulmonary function test and I scored 112%...so with 20% of my lung gone now, it still puts me at 92 %...so I feel like that can be quite doable for me...after all, I do not run marathons!  I don't think I will miss this lung too much, of course I wish I did not have to have it removed, this has not been a pleasant experience, but a necessary one...just hope I don't get another one of those carcinoid tumors someplace else.

Now let me give you an update on Dina.  She is halfway through her chemo and gosh darn that girl looks so good it is unbelievable!  She is getting the white cell booster shot every time after her chemo now and it is causing some bone aches for about a week.  She still has not gotten "sick"...yes she gets very tired and always nauseous after her chemo, but it has not kept the girl down...she still keeps going and going.  I think she takes after my mom and even me (I hope)...if we can do for ourselves, it is best for our psyche to do so, it really makes us feel better to get up and be "normal" or as normal as we can be.  We just need to know when to slow down and take care of ourselves.  For now, Dina is going to basketball games for Ellie, taking Ellie to volleyball practices, and thankfully Lily gets to walk out the door to the backyard "Barn" and have her VB practice.  Actually Ellie has one night a week of practice in The Barn also.

The timing for her chemo is really working out for the Christmas celebrations.  Her next one will be Dec. 14 so that means by the time Christmas Eve and day rolls around, she should be feeling pretty good.  Her fifth infusion will be Jan. 4 and finally her last one is scheduled for Jan 25.  Of course all of this will be checked with more PET scans and CT scans and blood work.  Also she will be having another bone marrow biopsy about 8 weeks after her final treatment...those results will determine if indeed she can be done or if she needs further treatment.  So continue with the prayers "lifting her up" to the Lord that she may be done with this journey and go out and become a testament to the Power of Prayer.  We thank you all so much for the prayers and good wishes. 

Thank you for walking beside us on this journey.  Every day we are shown the love and support from YOU, our dear friends and family!  Thank you for supporting us and thank you to all who are a part of Team Dina...be sure to take a picture of yourself wearing the Team Dina gear and send it to me or even Dina...we are going to make a BIG poster with all her supporters...You all are loved so much!

The Surgery is on the Calendar!

I saw the surgeon today and learned that the whole lower lobe of my left lung will need to be removed..  The left lung has two lobes, the right lung has three lobes...the tumor is in the middle of the lower left lobe, so the whole thing needs to be removed.  I certainly didn't like hearing the procedure but it seems he will have to cut both the vein and the artery that comes from the heart to the lung and staple the ends...they will no longer be in use.  Then he will have to take the airway from the lower lobe and connect it to the upper lobe!!  Gives me the shakes just thinking about this!!  (So my question is this:  about the vein and artery with the staples at the end...are they just hanging there?...just wondering about that now...of course I didn't think of it at the time to ask the doctor.....)

The surgery is scheduled for Monday November 26 at 7:30 AM...at St. Vincent's in Portland, they have blocked three hours for the surgery and the hospital stay is 5 - 7 days!  I will have three incisions and he will have to 'spread' my ribs apart (not crack or break them) and because the ribs have nerve endings, I most likely will have pain radiate out from those incisions.  Sounds like a piece of cake, right?

But I am ready to move forward and both Scott and I really liked this doctor and have a lot of confidence in him...he is Italian, after all!!

Dina news:  you know the saying:  "No news is good news" and that is what I am going to report...although I guess I am telling you that there really is no news...for the most part she is feeling pretty good...she is trying to lay low as she has had a sore throat for the last two days.  She is already on antibiotics, so it most likely is just a virus, but she is keeping a close eye on her body and how she is feeling...and YES she has a very good thermometer and knows to call the doctor ASAP if she runs a fever.

She said yesterday that her scalp felt tingly...we are wondering if this is something that happens prior to the beginning of hair loss...she has her next treatment next Friday, Nov. 2...and so far she has no hair loss!

So that is the news from here for now...I guess I won't have any more news about me until December...but I will continue to keep you informed about Dina right up until I go into the hospital...hmmm, do you think I should get an Ipad to take with me to the hospital...kind of like a 'surgery gift'???  hint hint...anyone reading this???   

The Good News...

I will not keep you in suspense any longer, although I do have a story to tell (have you ever known me not to tell stories?)  but I am going to cut to the chase with the news that you all are waiting for:  NO OTHER DISEASE DETECTED IN MY BODY!   Good news, right?  So we are all celebrating that news.

Now for my story:  I was taken to a back room and placed in a comfy chair with my feet up.  The the technician put in a little IV for me as I was getting a die and a little more radioactive medicine to help with the scanning...low lights, quiet...no phone, no texting, just relaxing.  So I close my eyes for the 45 minutes of quiet and begin saying the rosary...a very nice way to pass the time and reflect...sometimes I admit to my mind wandering, but it is all good!

Finally the 45 minutes is up and I am taken into the scanning room.  I lay on a narrow bed of sorts and I must keep my arms above my head, except this time, there was a foam pillow that had sides and it pressed my arms into the side of my head (no wiggle room, if you know what I mean)...now I am NOT claustrophobic, so I knew I would not have a problem with that, besides, I just keep my eyes closed anyway and decided to say another rosary.  Is it my 62 year old body or what, but with my arms above my head I get a lot of pain in my shoulders...Oh, Lordy, I was thinking to myself that I would have to call out to the technician for a break, I really didn't want to...but my shoulders were killing me  and I could feel the tension in my neck and was so afraid of getting a tension headache.  So of course my mind immediately went to the Lord...What did He do for me?  How did He suffer?  Yes...NAILED to the cross...arms outstretched...OMG, can it be any worse for Him?  Yes, he suffered the most and all for me.  So I offer up my pain to Him and asked Him to give me strength to finish this session (now, according to my calculation...I was on the fourth decade of the rosary, so that should have put me at about 20 minutes or so into my scanning and it was suppose to last 30 minutes).  HELP me Lord to be strong...I give this pain to you...and just when I think I can no longer handle it, the technician comes up to the side and says, "Okay we are all done!"  Oh THANK YOU, Lord!!  YES!!

The technician had to slowly lower each arm from above my head down to my side.  BUT I survived and He was with me through it all and He helped me when I called out to Him!

And that is my story...do you ever offer up your pain to God?  Try it sometime...it really does help.  I do it at times when I have the flu and just ache so bad...all of a sudden it is not so bad...I take a deep breathe and offer up my pain and suffering to the Lord, remembering all that He went through for me.  And all of a sudden a calmness and peacefulness radiates from me and I do feel better...it may only last a few seconds or moments...but it is Him responding to my call.

Dina had a pretty good week I would say...some nausea moments...but she has pills for that and once they kick in, she feels better.  She is off the 100 mg. of prednisone now, so she is sleeping a little better and not feeling like she is coming out of her skin.  She is learning to pace herself and not do too much because it does tire her out.  Her two best friends from Seattle, Emily and Jenni came down for the weekend to spend some time with her...on Saturday Jenni went with Dina to Ellie and Lily's volleyball games.  I took Jalen to his soccer game.  Then we all met up at Wells Wigs in Tigard to try on some wig, Lacey joined us too....Dina is not sure about the whole wig thing, but we will see how she feels when her hair actually falls out.  All the girls got into the act and put on synthetic wigs...except they went totally out of their normal color and style...I will post some pictures when Jenni sends them to me...All in all, she had a great weekend and of course feels so blessed to have such tremendous friends who make a point to come down and spend time with her and laugh with her...She is truly blessed!

The next news will be on Wednesday when I see the thoracic surgeon and we can get on his surgery schedule...and I will know more about the location of this tumor in relation to other body parts and how easy or hard it is going to be to get to it to remove it.  Dina's next infusion is November 2...the doctor thought she would be losing her hair by that time or within the next week...we will see if she is going to be a miracle chemo girl and NOT lose her hair...so until later...thanks for all your support and prayers.  They are truly lifting us up and filling us with your love and the love of Our Lord.  God bless you all!

Before I go...I thought I would post a picture from Thursday, October 18....that was my Dad's 91st birthday and he came over to my house for lunch.  I made roasted Tomato Basil Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches.  We did not have the whole family, most of the kiddos were in school, but whoever was around, we gathered and sang to him and shared a birthday meal.  What a blessing to have him still be with us and doing so well.  He is very concerned about Dina and me...he makes us oatmeal and muffins and other goodies that he thinks is healthy for us...He is great!  And do you see the T-shirt he is wearing?  It is the Team Dina shirt...It says:  Fight Like a Girl and team Dina is on the ribbon.  If you would like to get a Team Dina  T-shirt or sweatshirt, you can go HERE to Home Town Sports, click on "Spirit Wear" and scroll down to the near bottom where it says Team Dina and the password is "believe"...Her friends are planning a BIG GROUP Picture on Monday, Oct. 29 at Stafford Grade School, 5 pm on the playground (and the covered area if it is raining), so please join us if you have a Team Dina shirt or just a purple shirt to support Dina's battle with cancer!

CHEMO - First Treatment

Friday morning, October 12...getting packed up and ready to leave for her first Chemo treatment.  Thankfully it is at the local hospital campus...in her(ours) doctor's office...so very close by!  She packed her pillow, a soft blanket, her laptop, an I-Pad from FIL with movies downloaded, books, magazines, bible, pills...and other miscellaneous things.  She is very positive and very ready to get started on this treatment.

Scott and I brought lunch for her and Jamie, first we had to stop and get a prescription from the pharmacy for her.  Jamie and Scott went to the cafeteria to eat their lunch and I sat with Dina and shared an Avocado Delight sandwich...she ate all of hers, and chips and even a donut!  The room was pretty packed when we arrived, but after even 30 minutes others were done with their treatment and the chairs were opening up.

Lacey came after we left...she had a haircut appointment and she cut her hair like Dina's.  The word is that by her next treatment (which is in three weeks - Nov 2) Dina will start to lose her hair.  Lacey's plan is to shave her hair too in support of her sister!  I told Lace that everyone will think she is going through chemo also!!  Do you see Lacey's sweatshirt?  FIGHT LIKE A GIRL  ... and the part you can't see is the ribbon symbol for all cancer...on the one side of the ribbon it reads:  TEAM DINA.  It is all from a local sporting goods store called Home Town Sports in Willamette.  The sweatshirts are $24 and the T's are $12 and all the proceeds are going to the Snook family.  Dina says she plans to donate it to the leukemia foundation.  This morning a friend sent Dina a picture of a Dad out on the soccer field with his little 5 year old son and he was wearing the Team Dina T-shirt!!  How awesome is that?

This morning Dina asked if I would come make breakfast for Jalen and Lily...SURE!  She woke at 3:30 AM and couldn't go back to sleep.  The doctor warned her of this reaction because she is taking 100 mg of prednisone for 5 days (she will do this for every treatment) and it will make her wired!  But...it is better than being sick and vomitting, right? And we must admit that she was beginning to get what we always said to my mom:  "chipmunk cheeks"!!  Not too pronounced...YET...but just a little puffy.  Probably when she starts to lose the water retention it will be time for another treatment!  Again, a small price to pay for one's life, right?

So, Day 1 of treatment is behind her, she is not sick, she is tired, but she is still staying very positive and taking each day at a time...!!  The first treatment took almost 7 hours...others will be closer to 5 hours.

I will just give a quick update about me...I really don't know a lot yet, just know that I will have a PET scan next Wednesday the 17th, and the following Wednesday the 24th I will be seeing the thoracic surgeon.  Then I will know more about how we will proceed with this tumor on my lung and when we can schedule to have the surgery to remove it.

Again, thank you ALL for your continued prayers as Dina struggles with daily life, three children, two pets, a husband (who btw is very supportive and right beside her every step of the way) and now this chemo...She has a whole village to support her and help her...I asked her if she imagined little "ninja's" inside her battling these cancer cells.  She told me she imagined having pink boxing gloves on (she received a card from a friend with pink boxing gloves - to FIGHT this cancer) and hitting each cell in her spleen, in her back, in her neck...pretty much everywhere in her body...the visualization is really helpful.  So the ATTACK is on and she is up and FIGHTING!  So proud of her!  So love her!

My diagnosis

First I am going to tell you about Dina.  She had her hair cut on Tuesday...just shoulder length, but it looks so cute.  Scott says it makes her look younger!  She was surprised to hear that!  Her bone marrow biopsy came back positive for the lymphoma in her bone.  The doctor said he was not surprised as it was quite hard to get the "drill" into the marrow...it was "packed with lymphoma"....he also said not to worry about that, it does not change the game plan at all.  Okay, but I could see her face and it was a let down to know that it has truly invaded her bone.  But we already did know that the lesion was eroding the bone, so it makes sense that it has taken up residence in there.  If her back didn't hurt so much, she really would not know that she is filled with lymphoma throughout her body!

She and Jamie had a date night last night.  Teale, my niece came over to be with the children.  Dina wanted to have a night out with Jamie before all the chemo starts (THIS FRIDAY, October 12)...I don't know what movie they saw, I hope it was a funny one!!

Now about me.  I will cut to the chase:  yes, I have a cancerous tumor of the lung.  Yes, it needs to be removed ASAP, although if I have to wait 4 - 6 weeks, that is not a problem.  The good news is that all that high tech OctreoScan did NOT show any other abnormalities in the pelvis, abdomen, or chest!  But I have to interject here that it also did NOT show (non - visualized was the wording on the report) the one tumor that is already known!!  Ha, how is that possible?  I know it is a low grade tumor, maybe that is why, but seriously, one gets radio active substance in their body and I lay for hours on a table and it doesn't even show the existing tumor?  That seems crazy.  Not to mention that I did it for THREE days!!

The contrast CT Scan that I had directly after the octreoscan showed everything...right down to the size! 1.7 x 1.4 cm!  Oh, and surprisingly enough it showed more kidney stones  (8 to be exact...with their sizes)!!  OMG!  So now I am thinking, maybe I was not crazy and really did have a kidney stone back in August which is what brought me to the Kootenai Hospital in Coeur d'Alene and which in turn prompted a CT scan showing no kidney stone, but oh, "we do see a 'nodule' on the lower left quadrant of your lung that should be checked out"  and that in turn led me to where I am today!!  Do you suppose "someone" had a hand in this?  I have to believe so...I guess with this type of cancer I could have developed something that is called "carcinoid syndrome" and the symptoms would be flushing and diarrhea...but I would have believed I was having flu symptoms...so this is not just a coincidence.  This is my Comforter and my Healer looking out for me.

The next step is a PET scan; because the octreoscan did not show ANYTHING the oncologist wants to confirm with a PET Scan.  Then I see a thoracic surgeon on Oct. 24 and find out when I can be scheduled for surgery.  I will know a whole lot more after that office visit...lots of questions for him.  The oncologist did say I would be about a week in the hospital and at least a month if not more to recover...oh and he used the word "pain" in there....I guess I will be offering up a lot of suffering to the Lord!!  Seems a small price to pay for my life, though, huh?

I know this was a HUGE relief for me and my family...just knowing that it was something that had not metastasized is huge for my husband and kids (not to mention me).  So we all walked (yes, the whole family was in the doctor's office...we invited Lacey to join us) away feeling like this was good news and something we can deal with and move on.  The doctor's office staff were so nice and so helpful in setting everything up ASAP...they had NEVER had a case with a mother-daughter (any any two family members) at the same time.  It was really unbelievable to them and they were so quick at getting things scheduled for me so that we could proceed.

So there you have it...good news mixed with the inevitable bad news.

Stay tuned for more updates about Dina, Friday will be a big day for her...over 6 hours sitting in the chemo chair!!  Pray for her...please.

Playing Catch-up...

Let's start with day 3 of the Pre-Chemo treatment...which would make it last Thursday.  All went well, Dina had her echo cardiogram and an EKG.  And bless her heart, when she was at the doctors she scheduled an appointment with her oncologist for me...we now have a "family oncologist doctor"...not that we are bragging or anything...because really we would have just as soon never met him...although he is a terrific person and we really really like him as a doctor...so it is a win/win for us.  He was wondering what the heck is going on?  Now he has to see Dina's mom?  He was leaving town the following Friday and not returning until Tuesday, so Wednesday, Oct 10...that would be tomorrow, is my appointment with him...

From reading past posts about how quickly this doctor likes to facilitate pre-procedures...he got right on scheduling some for me.  Yesterday I was in for a nuclear medicine scan, first I went in the morning and had an injection with the nuclear medicine, then later that afternoon I went back for a series of three scans: pelvis, abdomen and the chest area.  I was back today for the same series of tests, but they added a 360 degree scan...they took 2 and each were about 20 minutes...with my arms above my head...OH Lordy...the technician had to help me bring my arms down to my sides after we were done!  Tomorrow I go in at 10 am for the same series of three scans, then I drink a ton of water and get a CT scan...from there I head to the oncologist where we will meet up with Dina and Jamie.  So tomorrow is the BIG day for me.

Dina starts her chemo on Friday, Oct 12...she was in a chemo class today and learned all about the drugs and how she will react to them...She is actually receiving 5 drugs and there was no doubt that she will lose her hair.  The teacher of this chemo class was able to give them timelines for things happening and what to expect...like the nausea, the hair loss, the appetite, etc.  So I think she feels good about knowing what to expect and will not be surprised and NOW, she is just ready to start this process and get all this behind her.

And me too...I am ready to get news that I can live with (ha, yeah, hope I can live with it!!)  the ideal would be that there is only one and it can be surgically removed and Dr. Scott (that would be my husband) believes I will be having surgery on Friday!!!  (I believe him to be overly optimistic about how quickly the oncologist can schedule something like that!)  But we can still hope and pray!!

So tomorrow we will know a lot more about what the inside of me looks like and if this can be an easy fix!