Called for Chemo; Canceled; Connecting With Friends

Dad was called at the last moment from the doctor to come down for chemo (Wednesday). They got a call that morning before coming down, that they were canceling it due to the last minute scheduling and things not being processed.

It came as a blessing in disguise. Dad and Mom got to go to a barbecue that the Apple Valley Sheriff's Department had invited them to. They were so excited that they could go now, since chemo was postponed. Dad got to see a ton of his friends/co-workers. What a blessing it was for them to be surrounded by so much love and encouragement from dad's A.V. station.

Dad was also stoked to tell me that he drove today. I loved watching his face light up telling me that. Because he's been off of morphine now, due to NO more pain, he was able to drive. I hadn't thought about the fact that he wasn't driving at all anymore. When I was there, he drove sometimes. When I asked about it, mom said "he stopped driving after you left." Then with a lil cute sass, Dad said something like "well your mom chose that I stopped driving." We all laughed about it. I joked with him that he was like the senior citizen that gets their keys taken away from them. But now he's got them back!!!

Home Sweet Home

Dad was released yesterday (the normal five hour process). "We'll discharge you at 11:00 am." 4:00 pm rolls around.... "ah, headed home!" It was so nice for them to come home to their nice cozy house and get the fire started together. They also had the blessing of soup being prepared for them by their good friends the Buzzards. What a blessing! On skype tonight, "grandma" was showing Koda the fireplace, and Koda said "Mommy I want to go to grandma and grandpa's house and lay on their couch by the fire, it looks cozy." Too cute! But not the part after where I have to explain how we have to fly for 2 to 3 days to get there and that it costs 5 arms and 5 legs to pay for the plane tickets ;) "Grandma and Grandpa" quickly reminded Koda that they were going to be coming out to Sri Lanka to see them just as soon as grandpa gets all better. She started naming off all of the places they've heard about from us and seen pictures. Koda reminded them that we were gonna take them to see elephants and of course the monkeys in our front yard, oh and crocodiles too. My parents had tickets booked to come see us September and October. They were able to get a refund; thankful they purchased the insurance. But I dream and continue to pray that my dad will be able to come see the place that I now call "home," the place where God has brought us, and the place that captivates our hearts. I remember the first time we found out my dad had cancer after his MRI. I remember one of the first things my mom told me was that my dad was crying saying, "I just want to go to Sri Lanka and see my little girl thriving."

Please make this your prayer, as it is our prayer.

Bringing Back Whole Foods

My dad had a good day again today. He walked three times with mom, 20 minutes each time. Its so good for him when he's feeling able to get up and get out to breathe in fresh, crisp air and get those muscles working.

He also enjoyed holding down all three meals again today. Not only did he enjoy keeping them inside, but they tasted great! He was able to start having more solid foods today, such as pasta and salad, eggs and bacon, hashbrowns. He was stoked on food today!

They will be finding more details out today on what lies ahead of them. Based on dad's good condition at this point, they might send him home. Will let you know :)

Praying that mass is shrinking!!!!

Let's Play Pretend :)

I played "pretend" today like when I was a little girl. I put myself in between mom and dad in the photo today on skype; pretending like I was right there with my arms around them both.

But since I wasn't, dad had a nice day with some visitors. He got to laugh with family and had a good day. Since he's been "vomit free" for three days now, he felt much more like having company. Dad and Mom also got spoiled with many gifts; when my Uncle Steve and Aunt Diane asked if they could get mom and dad anything, their one or two requests turned into bags full of nice goodies. Grandma and Grandpa Mortimore and Uncle Donny and Aunt Vicky also blessed them with a visit and some goodies. They most of all brought a bunch of laughter that uplifted mom and dad's spirits and left smiles on their faces. Thanks for love and support. Its such a blessing to have such supportive family.

Unsure what tomorrow holds. They should want to do the next round of chemo on Wednesday, since that will be a week. We're not quite sure if they will keep him there until then or have him go home a few days since he's doing well holding things down and seems that the "pinch" or "blockage" has let up.

Thanks for your continual support and precious comments and notes to mom and dad. They feel completely blessed and so do Travis and I.

Going On 2 Days!!!!

Well dad has officially had two days now vomit free. He can feel the prayers! He had another good day and was able to get caught up on all his sleep that he lost the night of chemo.

Tonight he got some steak and eggs (bag on the right) and milk (bag on the left), or so the nurse joked with him about it. Cody said, "Dad you better get some A-1 sauce to go with that; it doesn't look that great." They all got a kick out of that. They sent the food straight through his hick-man to make sure he's getting that nutrition he needs. He was also able to eat broth, mashed potatoes and jello today. Mom wanted to make sure his mashed potatoes were thinned enough and went to grab his spoon to mash them, when out of no where dad grabbed that spoon so fast with a look that said "don't touch my mashed potatoes" and gobbled them down. She said it was so funny. He was stoked to have some "normal" food again today.
One of the precautions of the chemo that dad is on, is staying away from cold things. Because of the chemo that he got, anything cold on or in his body could cause nerve damage. He cannot drink or eat anything cold (which is hard for him to get used to), and thus the beanie! Thanks Aunt Vicky and Uncle Donny.... he's staying warm with his beanie and blankets in his hospital room.

One of the great things that we are believing and standing in faith in, is that things seem to be flushing and that gagging and choking feeling is gone. Because the doctors x-rays did verify the mass pinching off the intestine, we are believing that this chemo is already working to minimize that mass.

Please continue to pray that the mass will shrink and disappear with this chemo, so that dad will not have to endure any more poisonous chemo going into his body.

First Day- No Sickness

Thanks to prayers (yet again.... they never cease to amaze us), my dad had one entire day of no vomiting. PTL!!!!! It had been over two weeks that not a day had passed without being sick.

He had a rough night through the chemo though. Him and mom stayed up the entire night because the benadryl that they gave him did the complete opposite then its supposed to do. Instead of knocking him out, he was wide awake and his body had jitters and convulsions most of the night. They monitored him the entire night and mom stayed awake with him the whole time. He got a little sleep today and mom had a couple hours also.

The doctors did confirm the blockage of the intestine and decided to weekly treat my dad with this chemo to break down that mass so dad's intestines will begin to work properly. He ate broth today and drank gatorades and kept them down. They will begin tomorrow most likely on the food going through the hick-man catheter.

Thanks for praying! He was stoked to have a "vomit-free" day!

Pray that they can get caught up on sleep, as that can begin wearing down both of their bodies and they need high immunities right now!

Blessings!

Come On Chemo!!!!!

Please pray as my dad is enduring yet another chemo treatment at this moment. This is crucial to get this mass to shrink! They have tried many types of different chemo's and they are trying yet another. We are praying that this is the one. The cruciality in getting this cancer down has now come to the point that it is now pinching/blocking the small intestine, thus causing my dad to never hold down food. Along with not being able to hold the food down, the bile gasses are now coming up. My dad is to the point of gagging and choking, with that feeling of something rising up in your throat. I can't imagine living with that feeling, but he is. We've got to get that mass down!

Today they kept him on ice chips and by late afternoon tried the first broth with a gatorade. As he was okay with that, they gave him jello to add a little substance. Well that didn't take long, and it all came up. Later on they tried the broth again, with no jello this time and with the gagging it was causing my dad, it too came up.

Tomorrow they will start him on liquid food through his hick-man catheter. He's got to have some nutrition. He's lost over 10 pounds this last week and we've got to keep him strong to fight off this cancer.

My mom can't stop bragging on how strong and brave he is. Though he looks at his body and selflessly apologizes to mom for what he looks like now, she continually builds him up. He IS still her knight in shining armor and will always be. "Through sickness and health" they vowed on their wedding day 32 years ago, and are a living example of just that to so many out there. Mom says that he maintains such a good attitude and still has that "fighter mentality." If I've ever seen anyone with "the eye of the tiger," its my dad. He's my hero! Today my mom said "I don't have in me what he has in him." There's something about the way he has made it through all he's been through thus far with the attitude and composure that he has had. A man of Courage.

Yet with all that's going on, he's kept his wit. Yesterday he saw pizza on TV and asked the nurse "does that count as a liquid?" You see, he wants to eat; he's hungry. But's its miserable, and he feels better after vomiting. Some of the nurses have been so sweet to them. One of the nurses came in to dad's room to invite my mom into the staff lounge to enjoy a veggie tray and some home-made chocolate chip cookies that she had brought in. She was grateful for the offer, but stated "if he can't have chocolate chip cookies, then I won't have them." Those are dad's favorite, and so I love that mom even supports him in ways like that. Thanks mom for taking such good care of my daddin'. I'll never be able to thank you enough.

It was a rough morning and dad wasn't stoked to get out of bed. His only sadness was coming from wanting to eat and feeling hungry. But after some time relaxing in the room and turning on the TV, mom got him convinced to get out and they took a nice 20 minute walk outside all bundled up. They came back to the room and mom had dad doing some easy exercises. Dad with his lil' wit was joking around with her and moving his arms funny to make her laugh. Love them!!! They got in one more evening walk before they began the prep for the chemo.

Praying now as the chemo goes all night until morning (Thursday). Then we'll see what's next.... hopefully a test with results showing the mass is GONE!!!

Still praying for a miracle......