NewhouseNewz

Monday, July 21, 2008

My Dad has only ONE Chemo left!!

Today is Monday, July 21st and Mike and I just celebrated 23 years yesterday. I can not belive it. I should still be 26. Whoop!! Taylor just returned from Camp Bandina and had an awesome week. Shelby also just returned from Camp Summitt. It is in Grapevine and she made some wonderful new friends. Kendall has been gone almost one month visiting her cousins and friends. I really miss her. Tonight we will all be together at the "AREA WIDE" devo. I remember as a teenager, we would never miss the area wide devos. Taylor and her daddy leave on Friday for "Trek". They are headed to Colorado to hike a 14er. There are about 28 people from our church/youth group going.

My dad will finish his chemo this next week. We are hoping his numbers are all good and he will be able to have a body scan/pett scan in 6 to 9 weeks. We are continuing to pray for the complete healing and strength for our daddy. He has been such a trooper throughout the whole process. The cure rate for colon cancer is so great. We are believing that this will be the case also.

Mike's dad, Tom, is recovering from his corrective surgery to repair his eye lid and make it easier for the lid to close after his very extensive Melonoma surgery. Most of the feeling on the right side of his face is gone. We are praying also for his strength and fast recovery. Once this is done, Mike's mom, Beverly needs to have a knee replacement. That surgery can not happen until she gets a "thumbs up" from the cardiologist. She must have a stress test, which she can not do the walking on the treadmill one due to her bad knee, so she must do the medically induced one that she is dreading!! Pray specifically that she will have peace with this plan.

Our summer is quickly coming to an end because Drill Team starts in one week from Wednesday. Shelby has joined Taylor on Drill Team. Taylor is not happy about it but she will have to get over it. heehee.

My twins will very quickly turn "18". That is completely impossible!! We are trying to plan something very special. The problem is that drill team is about to over take every day of the next month. :{

Fun and rest to you all,

Kim and Crew

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Today is Thursday and it is Dr. appointment Day

Hey Everyone,

Today is a new day!! Hallelujah!!

Tom and Bev went to MDAnderson today. Amy drove, thank you Amy. They saw Dr. Ross, the Melonoma doctor. Dr. Ross said all margins were clear in the pathology report. He was pleased and he will not return for 3 months. Next was on to the head and neck surgeon. I failed to mention before that Tom had a syst removed on his right forearm. The stitches were not removed from there today. Pathology was clear there as well. The drain line in his chest was not removed. It continues to produce over 30 cc's of fluid in a 24 hour period, therefore, it must remain in for a few more days. Monday Tom will start therapy for his facial muscles. The doctor removed over 11 staples and probably as many stitches. Only every other external stitch was removed. The internal stitches will dissolve on their own, eventually. There are at least 11 more staples that must be removed next week. The swelling has VERY slowly started to go down. Also, as a result of the swelling, there are some stretch marks on Tom's cheek.

I can hardly believe that one week ago today, we were sitting at the hospital!! Please continue to pray for Tom and Beverly for a continued recovery.

Have a great day,

Kim and Crew

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Today is Run-off Election Day

Good Morning,

Today is Tuesday and it is run-off election day for Texas. We have a dear friend in the run-off so I will be leaving to go and "work the polls" today. Scott Golemon, we are praying for you!!!

Amy took Tom and Bev to the doctor yesterday. Only one drain line was removed. It is the one behind his ear. I believe he will sleep better with that particular one gone. It is very difficult to only sleep on one side of your head. In a few days, they will return to have every other stitch removed and some staples. Hopefully, they will remove the additional drain line then as well. The head and neck surgeon restated how pleased he was with Tom's outcome. He said that it was the most difficult surgery he has ever done and that he considered it an honor to have been there. There were probably 5 surgeons in the OR that day. Tom will not regain the ability to raise his eyebrow/forehead on the right side. If it becomes a problem, there are procedures to do that will help with the position of his eyebrow. With therapy and healing, the use of his top and bottom lips on the right side may get better. He is able to move them now but the swelling is VERY great right now and very uncomfortable. His right eye is also very swollen. Some family have seen a picture, so multiply that by 4 or 5 times. That picture was taken the day after surgery and it had not been a complete 24 hours post surgery. The surgeon restated how terrible melenoma is and why they had to be so aggresive in their search for the terrible cancer. It could have easiliy been hiding in a small place on his face and they wanted to check everywhere. Beverly is completely exhausted and will not rest when he rests. You know, it's the mother thing!! Please continue to pray for them both.

My dad went yesterday for his second round of chemo. He has ecome sensitive to cold drinks. He said that it is like putting your tongue to a 9 volt battery and that tingle is all over your mouth and down your throat. The doctors also stated that during cold weather, you will also notice the change when you touch a car door handle. The sensitivity will affect your whole body in different ways. They took blood work yesterday and we will know the results later.

Taylor went to UIL Choir competition last Friday. All the choirs were awarded "Sweepstakes" from our high school. That means they achieved a Division I in Performance and a Division I in Sightreading. We are very proud of her hard work. Shelby competed in the Top Hands Horse Show for children with disabilities at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. She received a 2nd place trophey in English Equitation and a 6th place trophey in Western Equitition. She also competed in Trail but we are waiting to receive that award. It has rained every Tuesday since the rodeo and we have not gone to the barn. All my girls competed in Leadership Training for Christ over Easter weekend. Taylor and Kendall did Bible Bowl. They have been studying I Samuel. They did great and we always have a great time. Taylor did Intermediate Interpreting and she had to interpret a 4 minute communion prayer. She did awesome. Shelby competed in Small Chorus and equally did awesome. Kendall overall did 5 or 6 events. We are happy it is over for this year and our Sunday's can get back to normal. OK, I think that is enough bragging for now. heehee!!

Pray for me as I move closer to a mediation date with our school district over educational issues with Shelby. It is scheduled for April 25, 2008.

More updates to follow,

Have an awesome day, and Praise the Lord and all things!!!

Kim

Sunday, April 06, 2008

Today is Sunday

We had a wonderful day at church and our cups were filled. We are so blessed and we try hard to remember that.

Tom's first full day at home was an adjustment period. He is very uncomfortable with the drain lines in and they are doing their jobs. I know Tom will sleep much better with them removed. His face has continued to swell and he is very uncomfortable. He has very limited movement with both top and bottom lips on his right side. Also, at this time, he has no ability to raise his forehead on the right side. We know that the swelling plays a big part in that and we continue to count our blessings. A family from Kentuckey that we met and shared our day with last Thursday is facing a very hard trial. Marcy's husband has a brain tumor. They will be traveling home tomorrow and we pray for their safe travel and the healing hands of our Lord to be with them all the way.

We are also saddend to hear today that a sweet family, Ben and Becky Powell, lost their 16 month old son yesterday. We have been praying for Ethan for over a year and they have been at St. Judes since Ethan was 2 months old. Many thousands of people have been praying for Ethan and we all still BeLIeVe. God's timing is not always our timing but the Lord knows the answers.

My father, Lonnie, starts his second round of chemo tomorrow. Please pray that both our dads continue to get stronger and remain strong through out these ordeals.

I will update tomorrow after Tom returns from MDAnderson. Pray that Tom and Bev will get some sleep tonight.

I am still thinking of you, Fran, and pray you have a peaceful nights rest as well. All my Love!!

Good Night Everyone,

Kim

Saturday, April 05, 2008

Tom is Going Home

Good Morning,

I just spoke to Mike and he said they have been released. They are waiting on Dana and Bev to bring him some clothes to go home in. The weather changed here yesterday and cooled down quite a bit. The head and neck surgeon said to come back on Monday to have drain lines removed and later in the week they would need to remove the stitches and staples. Things are going according to plan.

We are blessed,

Kim

Friday, April 04, 2008

What a Difference a Day Makes

Tom had a pretty good night. Medically, he was stable and wanted to get out of bed around 3 am. They were disturbed every hour with vitals so tonight they have requested no vitals later during the night. Tom has been out of bed and walking the floors several times today. Shelby got to speak to him this afternoon on the phone and it made her feel so much better. She was really worried about her "Pa". Tom was about to try to enjoy his dinner. It actually sounded pretty good. He has been changed to oral pain meds and his IVs have been removed. Things are looking up. We are thinking maybe home tomorrow.

Keep my daddy in your prayers. He starts his 2nd round of chemo on Monday in Corpus. He did very well with his first round. He had a little numbness in his fingers and toes and his lips. I hope he continues to do that well.

Love to all,

Kim

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Tom's Update #2 9:30 pm

Good Evening Family and Friends,

We got home a little after 9 pm and got the girls to bed, so I just now have a chance to update. Tom had a very long day. He was told it would be around 2 1/2 to 3 hours but that was a gross understatement. The nurses that were updating us felt that the scheduler left out a component and that is how that information was under on the hours. Tom went to recovery around 4 pm. We were not allowed to see him until a little after 6 pm. He was placed in a private recovery room because he was having hallucinations. I got tickled and he asked "who was laughing?" and Beverly told on me. I got in trouble. Anyway, Tom did really well in surgery. All his vitals were stable and medically everything looks really good. The only thing that was said to us was that he will have a little bit of a weak lip for a while but that things would be better with healing and therapy. We are so blessed. They removed the melenoma very early in the day and the head and neck specialist worked the better part of the day. He was with dad for about 6 hours. Once he was done, the oral surgeon removed 2 molars on the right side that will be affected by the spot radiation that will follow once Tom's recovery is complete. There was no need for a skin graft. We are so happy about that. The surgeon said that he felt like the graft would have been big and bumpy so he worked hard to not have to do that. The incision is about 24 inches long. It goes from the middle of his cheek to his ear, down below his ear then down his neck, continuing down his chest until almost to his nipple then makes a fish hook curve toward the middle of his chest. I know that is hard to imagine but he in a sense, moved the skin up his neck and face almost like putting on a pair of hose. He slowly walked that skin into place so that it will not pull at all. He was trying to cover an incision where he removed about in inch wide of tumor and tissue.

Last evening on CNN, Tom watched a story about John McCain and his surgery. John McCain had the same exact treatment for his melenoma 8 years ago. Dad felt relieved that his recovery looked so good.

It is 10:25 and I just called Beverly at home. He was finally moved to a room at about 9 pm. You are not going to believe it but his nurse's name is "Cora". She was telling Dad that she was "Momma Cora" and she would be taking care of him tonight. That was really sweet.

I pray you all have a peaceful nights rest.

All our love and blessings to all,

Kim and Crew

Update #1 3:40 pm

Tom has been in surgery since 7:30. They actually started the procedure at 8:10 am. Everything is going very well but it is 3:40 pm and he is still in. The head and neck surgeron has been working since a little before 10 am and is still going. (so we think) Once he is done, the oral surgeon will come in and remove a few teeth that will be affected by the radiation treatments that will follow once Tom has recovered from these procedures today. After he is done, the plastic surgeon will do his magic. We are expecting to hear something around 4:00 pm. Please keep Beverly in your prayers! Dana, Amy, Mike, me, and a couple from Memorial (David and Terry) are here and we have been telling funny stories to keep Beverly from crying!!

I'll try to update soon,

Love to all,

Kim