Faith

On Tuesday we received the results from John's PET scan. They were not the results that we had been praying for. There are multiple new tumors. Two small ones in his lungs, and multiple new ones in his belly area. (Explains why he is having such a hard time eating and the shortness of breath).

The doctor told him that there is one last treatment that he would be willing to do for John, one that he has hesitated to use because it will be so hard on John's body. This treatment consists of one oral chemo tablet taken once a day, and an IV treatment taken once a week - three weeks on, one week off. The side effects of this treatment are: skin rash, flaking of hands and feet, nauseousness, vomiting, diarrhea, and low blood counts. John will most certainly have to have blood transfusions while on this treatment plan.

The other option the doctor gave him was no cancer treatment at all, and live out his life as comfortably as he can. John asked him how long he thought he would live if he chose that option. Dr Choi makes it a point that he is not God and can not tell anyone the time line of cancer, but given how this disease has behaved with John, he feels that it would be highly unlikely that John would live a full calendar year.

John has decided that he is going to continue to fight this and give it everything he has. Please keep our family in your prayers as this is going to be a very rough road ahead for our family. Pray for John's body that it will be strong enough to handle the chemo, and that the chemo will do it's job and kill the cancer. Alaina will be turning 10 years old and going back to school the same week that John will be starting this, keep her in your prayers as well.

Over the last year there has been a verse in the Bible that expressed more than I can explain how I feel. It is Romans 8:26 "We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."

My Man is Hot :)

Even when John is feeling awful - he is still looking good! This was a rough one though so we asked Amber if he is feeling this bad again if she could come to our house and cut his hair. She said absolutely! :) John really likes the way she cuts his hair, and she has done mine too! If you need a great hair stylist let me know!
When we got home this is what we saw outside :)

Thanks for all of your love

Alaina's Turn for a Ride in an Ambulance...

Be still my heart! What started out as a semi normal day went a bit crazy! OK the day didn't start out that good either...
First when we all jumped in the truck to hurry and get John to dialysis, and Alaina to an eye doctor appointment. Went to start the truck - but the hot summer day had put an end to the battery. Luckily it was not "dead enough" and we were able to quick start it with a battery charger that plugs into the wall. So off we go. Get John to dialysis walk over to the next building for Alaina's appointment. She did great - the doctor dilated her eyes we went to see if the glasses she liked fit her face - the next thing that is happening, Alaina is passed out and having what appears to me as another seizure. It lasted for about 1 minute. Her little face was turning blue - and my heart was breaking! She slowly came to and was very scared!
The paramedics were called, they pricked her little finger to test her blood sugar - that was fine. And they gave her some oxygen. We decided to take her to Phoenix Children's Hospital just to be on the safe side!
When she got in the ambulance they had to put an IV in her, she was amazing! They let me get in the back and hold her hand for that one!
Thankfully John's mom was with him at dialysis, and my mom was very close by as well. My mom followed the ambulance, Rosemarie stayed with John, and Russell took my battery and got a new one at Costco! And people wonder how we manage! It is because of our AMAZING family!
By the time we got to the hospital she was talking the paramedics ear off (I was talking the drivers ear off. We both talk a lot when we are nervous.)
At the hospital they ran an EKG and pricked her finger again (she thought that was a bit much) but still she was a great patient!
We are going to get her in to see a neurologist before schools starts so we can see what is causing them!

Alaina busting out of PCH! She was sooo brave!

I am really praying that we can all stay out of the hospital for the next year!!!!

PET Scan Day - Started Out with the Smell of Smoke

When we got to the hospital and were headed to the PET scan department there was a strong smell of smoke! The girl that was doing John's procedure was running down the hallway as we turned the corner... but apparently they found out what it was! Made for little adventure anyway!

John drinking the "yummy" drink before PET scan! Could there be a more handsome man? I think NOT! :)

John getting wrapped up like a burrito! First they do a CT scan that is like 5 minutes - then the PET scan starts and I can go in and sit with him. They have a stereo with some jazz music. They try and make it as relaxing as possible!

We should be getting the results of the scan on Tuesday.

Summer Time Update

The last few weeks have been very hard for John. On July 6th John's white blood count was very low. He was given an injection called Neulasta. It works with his bone marrow to make more neutrophils. Because it is stimulating bone marrow it made him feel very sick, but it did the job and brought his white blood count up! His hemoglobin level is not reacting as well to the epogen that is given at dialysis so his levels there continue to stay on the low side. - The hemoglobin is the the oxygen in your red blood cells - when that is low his energy level is low too. The doctor at dialysis just increased his dose last week so hopefully that will do the trick, if not John will have to have another blood transfusion, and he does not want to have to do that again.

John is also having a very hard time with eating consistently. He never really feels like eating and then when he does it is a 65% chance it is not going to stay down :( The best day that he eats is usually on Sunday night then it starts all over again! Probably the biggest prayer right now would be that John's appetite would increase and that he could gain some strength back!

When his white blood count was low Dr Choi (Oncologist) had him stop his treatments for two weeks. Two weeks have now turned into five! Because John is feeling so bad right now Dr Choi decided he should have another PET scan. So back to Good Sams we go! But because he will be getting it done early in the week we should get the results quicker! Waiting for results from the scans can make you crazy! So with all this being said John's physical body is really being put through the ringer. John's attitude continues to be an inspiration to all, but there are days that he just does not feel like getting out of bed - I am actually sitting in bed next to him while I do this blog because it is just one of those days.

I can't believe that our summer here is almost over (mainly because it is 115 degrees outside) But we only have a few more weeks before Alaina goes back to school! She is also freaking her dad and me out by going and turning 10 soon! She has had a very active summer with her grandparents and friends! God has really blessed us by providing an amazing family and awesome friends, that have really made her summer not boring at all!

Thank you all for your continued prayers, I will update the blog as soon as we get the results from the PET scan!