up-date on Day 2....

Today has been another long day! Everyone we talk to about this IL2 has said, that the sessions 3 and 4 are the worst! Get ready!  Well they were not kidding!  Ron has not been able to walk at all today.  He's been very sick, the hard part about that is that he doesn't have anything on his stomach so all that he has been able to do is dry heave! Not very fun!

His creatine level did come down....barely but they decided to dose him anyway.  At 2:10 pm he got dose #2 and at 4:00 pm he started in on the riggers.  Now it will be the rest of today, and all through the night for him to shake off this dose, redo labs and see where things are at.  Then they will decide if he will get dose #3.  It is very much a day by day hour by hour thing.  I really don't think I have ever seen him this sick.  He stood up this morning, thinking he was going to go for a walk....thank goodness he had a great aid, standing by his side who just happened to be a young STONG man who heard Ron say "oh no," as Ron began to pass out, the aid basically cradled Ron and put him back into his bed and said, "I don't think he's going for a walk just yet!" Ron really likes the young men who are here to help him! He treats them as if they were his boys. And they treat him really great too!

Now for the GOOD news!!!! Yes there is always good things, you just have to know where to find them.  Today it was in the form of our good friend Bob Thomas.  I have spoken of him before, he lives around the corner from us.  He had exactly the same thing that Ron has.  Notice the word "had!"  He came to visit Ron this morning.  He was here getting his quarterly scans of his own, and the good news is that Bob is still no growth! It will be 2 years in July for Bob.  He did the IL2 with Dr. Agerwal, same as Ron and he is doing so good!  He is my Hero for Ron to follow!  He didn't have to have the radiation on the brain that Ron has done, but other than that, Ron is pretty much following in Bob's footsteps!  It has taken a long road to get there but the point is he is there!!! Doing great and giving Ron the much needed encouragement that he needs. Thanks so much Bob!!!!!

As always please keep praying for Ron!  I know that they are a huge part of his being able to go through this whole process! The power of prayer is such a wonderful gift that we have been given, I feel so blessed to know that we are never alone!

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Morning of day 2 - IL2 - 3B - May 30 - Tuedsay

The night was long as is to be expected up here, but not as bad or terrible as it has been.  Ron was able to get some sleep, his blood pressure keeps going way down, and they have to keep giving him things to help bring it back into a normal range.  This is not usual for Ron as he has high blood pressure, but when he comes in here nothing is normal!

His creatine is up once again! Above a 2.  This means more waiting.  Liquids, walking, and sleeping, in hopes that by this afternoon when they do more labs it will be back at a better number and he will be able to receive his next dose, until then we wait.

He has once again had the best care possible here, always the best nurses, they fight over who gets Ron, he is always so kind to everyone, I think they like that they have someone who doesn't complain! But for whatever reason we are glad they are so good to him.  I guess thats a lesson for us to all learn, when you are kind to others they are kind back.

I was told a scripture by a lady who is also fighting cancer with a loved one, it's found in Psalm 91 The heading says "The Lord shall deliver Him from terror, pestilence, and war-He shall give his angels charge over Him, and deliver Him, and honor Him." It is a great Psalm if you have time to read it.  It gives a lot of comfort!  I know that Ron has defiantly had angels around him, helping him in so many ways, both here on the earth through so many kind people, and on the other side! Thank you all for all the Love shown to us!

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

end of day 1 of 3B....

It's now 9:35 p.m. Ron received his dose 1 at 4:10 p.m. today.  He had a really good case of the "riggers" at 5:40 lasted a while.  No fever that was good! Mostly today he has slept! It's amazing to me how tired it makes him.  He didn't dose until late this afternoon but all the meds, and fluids that they pump in him really do a number on him as well.  When we walked onto the floor this morning, and walked into our room, the first thing that Ron said was, "theres that smell!"  After he was done with the riggers, and he slept some more, the nausea started up again and it came up! A LOT! Poor guy he was really sick!

Joan his main nurse told me today that she had one patient who would come to get his treatment, get all set up and ready to go and Joan would walk in the room and he would have to vomit! She said she had to work hard to not take it personally! This stuff really does mess with your head!

Ron did get up and go for 1 walk today just a bit ago.  Now he's sleeping again!  But that's ok.  He wont dose again tonight so I'm praying he gets some "GOOD" sleep.  As good as you can get in the hospital ICU.  Labs again in the morning, they take them at 4 a.m. after we get the results back he should dose again tomorrow.  But then I never try to predict anything that goes on in here.

Thanks for all the love and prayers as always! We will take all that we can get. Sweet dreams everyone.

April 29, 2013 IL2 3B.....

Ron is always saying that I post not so good pictures of him, so this is one is for him, aren't we such the cute couple. (haha)   This was taken yesterday in our backyard.  It was a beautiful day, sunny and ALL of our children where there for dinner, and time to spend with their dad before he had to come back to the hospital for more treatments.  It was also Ron and I's 30th wedding anniversary WOW 30 years and in love more now than 30 years ago.  What a blessing we have been given to have each other! Like they say in Princess Bride "Love True Love" it really is!!!!

One of the things that we have been told through all this journey is that we need to spend time with our loved ones.  We had been planning on going to Hawaii to celebrate our 30 years together for a long time.  Then when Ron got sick we thought we might need to put it on hold.  Our doctor and nurse said absolutely not!!! In fact they said quit the opposite, and really encourage us to go and have that time together. So we decided that we would take it one step further, and take the whole family with us! That is what we are doing in a couple of weeks we will be on the beaches of Hawaii, I can't think of better place for Ron to spend recovering than there! It will be a great time to have our entire family with us! We are so blessed that we have this wonderful opportunity.  We figure we had been saving for quit some time for this trip for just the two of us, then we realized, why should this year be any different than years past, you see we brought home our sweet daughter Lindsey on our first anniversary, and it's been all about the kids ever since!  I will say though that Ron always seems to find time for me, and me for him, not to brag but again I am so blessed!!! 

We are now back in the ICU at the Huntsman Cancer Center.  The pic line is in, labs are back, and already his creatine level is too high to dose (1.9)! Yep he hasn't even got his first dose in and they have to fill him with more fluids and hope it comes down enough to start dosing. I can already tell this is going to be an interesting week.  

However we prayed this morning for a blessing, that the nurses would be the ones that we know, and that know Ron and his needs as well all the people who put in his pic line, that is a really hard part of Monday for Ron, the pic line is no fun!!! When we got here we find out that Shauna who is a good friend of mine from High School and was Ron's very first nurse, and truly a blessing to me on that first day is Ron's nurse for today, that made us both very happy! Then the gal who did Ron's pic line was again in Ron's opinion the best here Pat, she did it so quick and with no problems, that really makes it easier on Ron.  We are now back in waiting mode, labs will be redone at 2 pm and we will see from there.  Sorry this was a long post but I had a lot to say! haha

Please as always keep Ron in your prayers, I have such a testimony of the power of prayer, and have felt it so strongly through this whole trial.  I have no doubt that the Lord is on our side, and will not leave us alone! What a blessing to feel such Love! Thank you is just not enough! But Thank You, Thank You from the bottom of my heart! I don't want to over do it but, I can't express in words how much he really means to me, and all the prayers going out on his behalf are so appreciated!  I'll post more when I know more! 

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Quick Up Date....

It's April 25th and it is also our sweet daughter Lindsey's birthday.  We are so lucky to have her, she has brought so much joy into our family! We really have been blessed with such wonderful children who help us in anyway that they can, and we have been in need of lots of help lately!

Ron is doing well.  Everyday is a little bit better than the next.  By the time Monday comes around he will be feeling much better I'm sure, just in time do it all over again! But do it we will!

Prayers are woking! We know it and feel the power of prayer every day!!

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!!!!

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

It was a very cold rainy morning but we did it for Ron!!!

Me, Chase and Kaylee got up early this morning and went and ran the Salt Lake Marathon's 5K.  It wasn't the marathon but for me it felt like one! We ran for Ron and we did it! Not too bad of time either if I do say so myself! Chase and Kaylee could have been done a lot sooner than me, but they were so kind and stayed by my side the whole time!!! I have to say after a week in the hospital, doing that run actually felt really good!  I couldn't have done the race if Lindsey hadn't come and stayed with her Dad while we went, but I was so glad she did because she brought Maggie with her!!!  Lindsey says thats all she's good for haha we love her too but it is fun being grandparents!! 

Ron is doing amazingly well! He is very tired, he feels like he has been run over by a truck. 

 But we are so blessed!!!! And again glad to be home! 

We are HOME!!!

We are home! So glad to be here! Ron now gets to recover as much as possible for the next week, so that he can be ready to go back and do it all over again on the 29th of April.  One week left of session three! The Doctor was very pleased with all that took place this week so hopefully the next one will be just as good!  It feels so good to be home! Thank you again to everyone for all the love and support!!!

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Day 5 IL2 3A

We made it to day 5! I don't want to wine too much, I'm not the one laying in the bed! BUT last night was the longest night I think we (I) have ever had here boo:( Ron had a really hard time! After his 5th dose he did his dance, then he danced some more. By the evening his fever was back.  Then his blood pressure dropped 70/55 pretty low, his heart was racing, yep Ron was a mess!

BUT.... a new day is here and what a difference a day makes!!!!  Fever broke this morning, blood pressure back to a normal range and Ron is starting to look like the Ron I know and LOVE! Me on the other hand well lets just say Joan Ron's nurse in charge of his Il2 doses said and I quote, "Lori you look worse than Ron!" gee thanks Joan!!!

Labs looked good this morning and the plan is that he will be coming home this afternoon! Lindsey is coming to help this weekend and bringing Maggie! I'm so excited to hug that little girl I can hardly wait!!!  WB we are coming soon!!! Thanks as always for all the prayers sent our way we really needed them!!!!

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Day 4 cont...

Today has been a very long day! Ok all the days in this hospital are long! Here is Ron before his dose #5.  He said to me, "no one wants to see me looking this bad."  I said you don't look bad and everyone wants to see you thats why I'm posting this picture:) I think he looks adorable! Love the no shave look!

Dose 5 knocked him out hard! He did his dance and then danced some more.  Now his temp. is up again and so they have him with ice packs on him again.  Poor guy this has been a rough one!

On the plus side look who came to visit:)

I'm not sure who was more happy to see who Ron to see Rocky or Rocky to see Ron, either way it was great and I think it was good for Ron to feel that love from Rocky.  We have some great friends taking care of him for us! And he loves them too which is so great! 

We also had some good visits today we are so very blessed to be surrounded by so many great people!!!! 

One other fun thing that was brought to Ron today! The jar is full of Riesen candy, and Reasons for Ron to FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT he loved it and it has been so nice to read the wonderful and kind words from so people that love Ron, and that we LOVE! Thank You all so much!!!!

I also have to give a shout out to our dear friend Pres. Martin he's been in Russia this week and sent his love to Ron.  Ron said to make sure to ask Doug to say a Russian prayer for him.  I don't know if Doug knows any Russian prayers but I'm sure he will come up with something:) 

It is now 7:30 pm Ron is laying in his bed sleeping again, and covered in ice packs and cold cloths because, yep his fever is back.   He did manage to go on 2 walks today.  A bit less than yesterday and only a total of 5 laps around the floor, but we will take any that we can get!  The day is about over, we are waiting for lab results to come back, but my guess would be that he is done.  However I have been wrong before! So we shall see.

Thank you so much for all the kind visits, FOOD, treats but mostly the LOVE.  It is so very much appreciated!  We couldn't do this one alone and we know that we are not! The Lord has blessed us with  the most wonderful people around us, and we truly feel his love through each one of you!!! Please continue to pray for us we need it!  Ron will continue to Fight he is amazing!!!

Day 4 IL2 dose 3A...

The night was one of the better nights Ron has had in the hospital:) Had to get up once in the night, and other than that, he really got some good sleep.  Labs this morning showed improvement in all levels and so he is back on for dose #5.  This should be given around 11:30 am this morning.

When he woke up he had breakfast! First time he had eaten since Monday morning when he got here, so that was really good.  Then he got up and went for a walk.

Just a side note we were told that 12 times around the floor is a mile, Ron did 4 walks yesterday 3 laps each time which if you do the math Ron walked 1 mile yesterday, not all at once mind you, but 1 mile none the less, and that is so great considering all that he has been through in these last few days!

Dose #5 is about to start what will this day be like I wonder??? (where is that line from)

day 3 cont....

Labs came back around 1:30 pm kidney function is still not where they would like it to be.  A discussion took place to dose or not to dose that was the question??? And the verdict NOT, at least for today.  The reason, Ron only has one kidney and we would like it to last him a long time.  The hope is that by giving him today and the night to rest from IL2, his kidney will recover and he will be able to get one maybe even two doses tomorrow.

He has still been fighting the nausea, so it may also help that to stop that as well, because he won't have to have as many drugs going on.  We shall see.

So as for the rest of the night rest, walk, rest, walk, walk, walk, walk, the more the better, it helps keep everything moving and is over all just a good thing for Ron.  But we are here for doses so we will hope that his kidney cooperates and gets back to a number that will be safe for another dose.

As always keep us in your prayers.  I know that you are and we both feel them working! Thank you so very much for it all!!! Much love is felt!!!!

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Day 3 of IL2 3A

Good morning all:)  First time in all the doses that Ron has had that his rigger was not even really noticeable, too bad that he has to be sick in other ways, just can't win I guess.  So his night was ok like I said he didn't really rigger last night after his dose #4 but his blood pressure dropped really low, so they put him on some meds that will help to keep his blood pressure stable.  And he is still very nauseated which is hard he really hasn't eaten since Monday! I will make sure to make up for that when we get home for sure!!!

Labs this morning came back not too good:( His creatine (kidney function) is up above a 2 which is not good, so they are going to wait a while re-do labs around noon, and if it has gone down then they will dose him this afternoon.

All in all it's going about the way it is expected to.  I am so thankful for all the nurses who are here they are so FANTASTIC!!!! I can't express the love and kindness that they show Ron.  And Dr. Agrewall, his oncologist, and Joan who is the nurse over the IL2 they are amazing!  I still think back to when this first started and I knew where Ron needed to be, I am so very thankful that it was able to be worked out to get him here, he truly is under the best of care!!! And that again is just for me more evidence that we truly are in the Lords hands.  All this could not have worked out so perfectly without his help! Blessings are found everywhere, we just have to look and they are there!

Ron just went for his 2nd walk of the day! So all I can say about that is "Go Big Daddy" even when he's feeling so sick he just keeps on going!!!

end of day 2...

A big Happy Birthday to Ron's Dad today!!! He turns 89 years old! We love you Joe and hope you had a fantastic day! And thanks so much for coming to visit!!!

Ron at the middle of day 2... You can see his hand is already starting to swell. 

Chase came to visit and keep me company today:) He did a great job don't you think haha!

Love ya Chase!

Heres the day in a nut shell. . .

After Ron received his 3rd dose his riggers came as planned.  They have been doing a good job at keeping his riggers from being as bad as they were last time, the down side of that is that it is from giving him more pre-medicine before and to counter act the riggers it has made him very nauseated, and when he is not vomiting he has been sleeping. So Ron's day has been this dose #3, riggers medicine, sleep, wake up be sick, more medicine to counter act the sickness/vomiting and then more sleep.

It's 10:10 pm right now just got his labs back and it looks like another dose will be give shortly.  So I'm not really sure what kind of a night he will have it could be a long one if he gets sick/vomiting again, or he could just fall asleep with all the meds they give him and it could be an ok night for him.  We shall see.  I did get him to get up before they are going to dose him and he went for a walk, it was much shorter than he usually does, but I'll take whatever I can get from him!

  After his walk I had him sit in the chair for a few minutes.  He wasn't very happy about that, haha he really wanted to get back in bed.  He has always been very patient with me through this whole process but I can tell he's not at all himself! This really takes a tole on him! But as always he does what he knows is best for him, and tries to smile through the pain and feeling just really yuckie!!!

Just got told Dose #4 is here so should be given by 10:30 pm or shortly there after.  Sweet dreams to all who get to sleep! I will be able to sleep next week when we are home I'm sure a small price to pay when Ron is going through all that he is!  As always we feel the prayers and love from so many people!!! We are so very blessed, and have learned so much through this whole journey, and most of what we have learned is how blessed we really are! And that we do know that the Lord is so aware of each of us and will never leave us alone!  How blessed we are to know this is true!

 Ron really is my Hero!! Love you so much hun!!! 

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

day 2 cont...

We just had the neatest thing happen!! The man who came in to clean our room for us was so sweet.  He said "I need to get this room nice and clean for you, so you can get better!" We thanked him and let him do his job.  When he was done we again told him thank you.  He turned and said I feel such a spirit in this room, I feel the power of the priesthood, he then proceeded to bare us a most beautiful testimony of faith! He said I feel you will get better just like Lazarth (I know I spelled that name wrong) did when Jesus came and raised him from the dead after three days.  I have to say what a wonderful experience that was.  This man didn't speak very much english but what he did say was from the heart!

Getting ready for another walk before dose #3.  It's going to be a shaky day! haha more later:)

Day 2 of 3A...

Not too bad of a night:) Dose #2 was given around 10:30 pm and the riggers came around midnight.  He got a fever again and that lasted for a good share of the night.  He slept with ice wrapped around him for most of the night.  It's now morning and he has been for 1 walk, had breakfast and is now getting ready for another walk before he get dose #3.  Labs came back good so I don't think anything will come in the way of him getting his third dose.  Keep praying for Ron I'm so amazed at how strong he is.  I know that all the prayers are helping him so much! Thank you so much for everyones love and concern!!!

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

April 15, 2013 IL2 - 3A

So here we are we made it to the Hospital on this snowy, and sad day for the people in Boston! It's amazing to me how we are here in this hospital fighting for Ron's life and people think nothing of taking someone else's life.  What a sad thing!  

We arrived at the hospital around 8:00 am, and they were ready and waiting for him.  As usual he was gowned up, and hooked up to everything you can think of.  Then he was given his first set of meds and the pic line team was ready and waiting to stick him with their needles. It took a little longer than usual they couldn't seem to get the line to go where they wanted it to but, they finally got it in the right place, which we are sure of because they then have an ex-ray taken to make sure that it is in the right place, and it was.

Labs next and all seemed great.  By this time we have ordered lunch.  First dose of IL2 started at 1:25 pm today.  Riggers came just as expected and they were able to get them under control we thought but about an hour later they came again! Double dose of riggers on his first dose!

Hats from Ron's team we wore them proudly!!!

It's now 8:00 pm.  Ron is sleeping.  When he wakes I am going to be taking him for a long walk! 

This time because of his brain swelling, and the bleeding they are not going to give him Lovenox (this is a blood thinner he received on a daily basis last time) because it can make that worse.  But on the down side because he's not getting it he is at higher risk of blood clots.  It's kind of a double edge sword, but we were told the more he walks and moves around the better it is for him! Hence I will be making sure he does A LOT of walking! 

We are expecting dose 2 around 10:00 pm tonight, my favorite time haha because that means riggers around 2 or 3 in the morning.  But that is what we are here for so as Ron would say "lets do some dancing with the starts!" He always has a good attitude about everything!!! 

This is what he looks like right now!! Do you think I'm going to get him up to go for a long walk??? Yep I sure am! I will be cracking the whip! All in LOVE of course!!! In his own words we have to FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!!!! 

Thank you all for the love, prayers, and support! We feel it all! 

I will do my best to keep updated this week! 

April 9, 2013 Results....

First of all I have to say Happy Birthday to our son Chase! We love him so much and have been so blessed to have him be a part of our family!

Second....Results I am so thankful for all the many prayers that have been said on behalf of my sweet husband, they are working!!!! Dr. Agarwal was very pleased as he walked into the room this afternoon to give Ron the results that was so nice to see his big smile!!

There are lots of medical terms that I could write but I don't even understand them all, so I will give you the update in "Lori terms" haha so here it is.  Findings are basically his liver, gallbladder, kidney are all stable, which means that the cancer that is there has not grown in fact the one on the kidney is now even smaller than before! They did find a development of a 5mm lesion on his Adrenal gland but they think it was probably there before and they missed it on the previous scans.  Spleen is normal size, the previously seen lesion is not seen on the current exam!! Node that was not appreciated on the previous exam now measures 15mm. (this one is not so good). But over all it was a much better report than last one! And as for his lungs no new or enlarging lung metastases. And they are slightly smaller!!! And lastly his immune system is working! It is fighting off the cancer with the help of the IL2 which boosts that system and so its doing what Ron would say FIGHT, FIGHT, FIGHT!!

So where do we go from here? Why more IL2 of course!!!!! He will go back on Thursday for his monthly dose of Zomada which is his infusion to help strengthen, and protect his bones, and then Monday April 15th (tax day for those of you who haven't got yours done yet) he will enter the Huntsman Hospital for another fun filled week of IL2!

We truly feel the Lords hand in all that is taking place for Ron! How very blessed we are! He still has a looooooooooong road ahead of him that is for sure we are only half way through this treatment, but we know with faith and all the prayers that are going out on his behalf the Lord will continue to watch over Ron and all that is taking place!

 This is a picture of Ron he's talking to the man in the wheelchair who when Ron went in for his radiation on his brain, this man was also having radiation done! Ron was struggling a bit and this man was so kind and gave Ron the encouragement he needed to get through his own radiation.  Ron is just telling him Thanks!! They are standing outside the "Circle of Hope" a very fitting name!

So we will gear up this weekend, get the house in order and get ready for a long 3 weeks.  But you all know my husband he can do it! He's a fighter and will never give up! I love him so much!!! At the end of the month we will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary.  We will be going back to the hospital to do it but we will be doing it together! 

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Radiation Complete:).... April 3, 2013

So very glad to have this one done!!!! It was a very long day but he did it! I was able to go in the back to the radiation room with Ron before they began the procedure so I took a few pictures and got informed on what was going to happen.  I don't know if that helped or not, because it just made me feel worse about what Ron was going to have to go through.  But like I said he did it!

This is the computer station outside of the room that they will do the radiation on Ron, and one of the techs that will be taking care of Ron. 

This is the machine that does the radiation. If you look at the round circle on the floor, that place on the floor drops as the machine goes around Ron's head so that it can go all the way around him.  They had to warn Ron about the sound it makes so it wouldn't alarm him.  Yeah right!!!!

Here is my HERO!!! Holding his mask before the treatment is about to begin. 

The nurse thought we should take a side profile.  

This is the table and the mask that Ron had to stay in for over 2 hours!!!! I could have taken a picture of him in the mask but I just couldn't bring myself to do it! His head is in the mask and they literally screwed his head into it as he laid on the table and then he could NOT move! 

Once he was in place the radiation began. He had 5 spots, so each spot was radiated for 15 min., which for Ron seemed like forever!!! They gave him some breaks in-between but still it was a very long day! When he was done he got the shakes as he was coming out to me, but he was very happy to be done and said just get me home!!!

Next.... Monday he has his CT Scan and we meet with the Doctor on Tuesday for results.  Please as always keep him in your prayers! We are very hopeful that all will be well and he will be able to continue with the third dose of IL2 beginning on April 15th!

We have been so blessed and are so thankful for all that we have!! We have had our grand-daughters with us this week and they love to snuggle with POP and I know he loves it too!!! We never thought we would have this kind of battle on our hands but we can do what ever the Lord puts before us with his help!!!

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT