Long post/overload on picture alert September 23-27 2013

September 20th, Ron finished his last radiation, and started his new chemo.  The new routine is chemo every day, two times a day for ..... as long as its working.  How will we know its working, more test!! Ron has become a pin cushion.  When this all began I wan't sure how he would do, because he HATES needles, yep the poor guy would have such a hard time when this all began, but now....he is a pro and although it still bothers him he has learned to handle it much better! 

We were so happy to leave the huntsman after being there every day for a week, we went home and began to prepare for the DEER HUNT.  Ron of course knew that going on the deer hunt would not be the "normal" hunt for him that he has been able to do in years past.  But having that said he wanted to go to the mountains and be able to do all that he could, knowing he would have limitations, but that is why we go with such good people, friends and family who are always so willing to help!  I had my phone alarm set and he could take his chemo in the trailer as easily as he could at home.  With much excitement and lots of anticipation we prepared the trailer, bought lots of food, got the guns ready and the camo in the trailer.  Sunday we got an unexpected call from our son Logan, he is living in AZ now and wasn't going to be able to make the hunt this year. (if you know Logan at all this was killing him) Lauren, Logan's sweet wife who by the way, I told Logan you will know you have the right one for you when you are willing to give up everything including your hunting for the one you love more than you love the hunt.  Lauren is that girl for him and so moving to AZ was not hard for him to do with her by his side.  He Loves her very much!  She is a wonderful wife and also knew how much it meant to Logan and so she helped to work it out for him to come.  We were so excited!!! And hope that the next time Lauren will be able to join us too!!!   

We left for the high Uintahs of Utah on Monday September 23rd.  We were joined by Logan that evening.  Ron's brother Mark came and brought their dad and his son Keaton.  Mark was such a  blessing to have with us, he made it a special effort to be there with Ron and it was not un-noticed!  We made it there, found our favorite spot waiting for us and the camping began.  The weather was great the first day, but we knew that bad weather was forecast, and so we were keeping our fingers crossed that it wouldn't come until after the week was through....

This is Ron and I with Rocky of course who loves to camp as well.  In front of our trailer:)

Ron, Logan holding Rocky, Mark, Joe and Keaton, this is day 2, waiting for the morning hunt to begin.  

It's getting cold and yes that is a skiff of snow on the ground.

Logan will not let the snow get in his way! I quote Logan, "I didn't drive 14 hours to let some snow get in my way!"

Ron got up and went with Logan!!!! I could not believe it,  and Ron said, "My son came 14 hours to go hunting with me and I'm not staying in this trailer and letting him go out alone!!" And he went out, no deer but they had a good time together!! 

This is what we woke up to on Wednesday morning!! Not too bad so they said but just wait....

The end of the day on Wednesday, looking a bit tired.  This is our good friend Pres. Doug Martin, Logan and Ron sitting in his trailer Susan, Doug's wife fixed us an amazing dutch oven chicken and rice dinner! All I could say was YUM!!!!

Ron's brother Mark:)

Susan, Justin, and Blake the Martin's boys we love this family so much!!

Rocky looking out the window he loves the snow and its coming down hard now!!!

Chase and Kaylee came up for a night and a day.  We were so happy to have them for any time we could get them, work and school takes up most of their time these days! 

Logan getting warm! He's not use to this cold weather living in AZ has got his blood warmed up and he's not use to the cold anymore. 

Rocky got a bit of snow on him! 

Logan going out yes we got more snow!!!!

SNOW SNOW and more SNOW

Kaylee is NOT a fan of Rocky and this is a once in a lifetime picture! 

 The snow kept falling so we played games in the trailer.  Ron and Blake have a long standing game of battleship going from many years now and the games didn't stop this year! I think Blake gave himself a promotion to Admiral.  I'm not sure what Ron is.  But they sure had fun! 

This is Blake on his way to play!!

Ron and Blake

 Kaylee always putting Chase in his place!! 

Chase and Kaylee braving the snow for at least one ride!!

Shoes are not allowed on in the trailer and with the snow falling outside this is where they all ended up! 

This is the cars that the kids drove up.  They couldn't make it down the trail to where we had our camp set up and so they parked them here.  This is what they looked like on Friday the day we gave up and headed home.  

It was not like any other deer hunt we have ever been on.  This is my final picture but I do have more if you want to see them. haha We didn't get a deer, but what we did get was more memories! 

My mom use to say when things didn't go the way we planed "its ok, we are just going to have a new adventure" and that is for sure what we had this week a big adventure!!!  Although riding the 4-wheeler causes Ron pain he did manage to get on it for a few short rides.  But that was all he could take! But with the snow it really stopped everyone, (but Logan of course) from going out anyway.  So all in all we did have some fun times.

Ron has been on his chemo for just over a week now and a few of the side effects have begun to show themselves Boo!!! We will be going to have him checked in another week to see if all is going well for him, and then in November he will have more scans which is always a stressful time waiting to hear real results!!! So until then we will continue to do what we do! Have fun when Ron is feeling good, spending time with our children and grandchildren.  We have so many blessings to be thankful for and we will continue to thank our Heavenly Father for what we have been given! And as Ron continues to say....

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT 

Radiation, new chemo, and fun weekend with Emma:)

It has been a while since I have updated the blog so I thought I better get on it!  It has been a long few weeks! We are learning patience in a very big way! But things are finally starting to come together.  We have to go through a lot of different channels to get the new chemo approved through our  insurance and for the doctors office to get all the paper work taken care of, it  is a process and it takes time.  So in the mean time we decided to have a fun weekend with our oldest granddaughter Emma.  We take turns having  the girls come and spend one on one time with us and it is always a fun time!!!! 

Emma came on Friday night, so we planned for a big day for Saturday, here are some of the highlights...

Bowling!!! Yep it was really fun...for Emma anyway! Ron tried but he threw that ball down the alley 3 times and he was done!!! Not the best for him, however that did not stop him from having a great time with Emma, and teaching her a thing or two.  Then Emma was thrilled to take Pop's turns for him.  She did really good! And loved that she didn't have the "pumpers" up when she took Pop's turn and she did great! Didn't even have too many gutter balls! It was lots of FUN!!! 

Go EMMA Go!!!

Then we took Pop home so he could have a rest and Emma and Grandma had some fun getting pedicures!!! Emma loves to be pampered. (so do I!) 

That night our Stake put on a luau, Emma is not shy!!! They had the kids get up and dance and she was great!!! Is she not the cutest little girl ever!!! We Love her so much!!! 

With Emma gone Grace was the big sister and loved to help out taking care of Maggie! Grace is reading a book to Maggie. Love these girls!! 

So the weekend came to an end and Emma had to go back home.  Lindsey told me that in Grace's prayers that night she asked that Grandma and Pop would be able to think of a really fun thing for them to do with her, because she knows her turn is next! So we are going to have to come up with something good for her turn!

Radiation began on Monday.  It is now Thursday night.  Ron has one day left of radiation, which I know he is glad that the week is almost over.  The hope is that the pain will lesson when he walks and he will be able to be more mobile than he has been lately.  They said it could kick in and feel better a few days after the radiation is complete or it may take a few weeks. So we shall see.  He finally got his new Chemo today and will start it tomorrow.

The new routine is 2 times a day (12 hours apart) every day with no breaks! He will be monitored very closely by the doctor going in after the first 15 days and then more after that.  The official name of the new chemo is INLYTA.

And side effects (SE) oh there are many as always....constipation; cough; diarrhea; dizziness; dry skin, mouth, or eyes; headache; hoarseness; indigestion; joint pain; loss of appetite; mild hair loss; mild stomach pain; nausea, taste changes; tiredness; vomiting weakness; or weight loss.  And this is just to name a few!  But as I have said many times before, Ron is amazing and just says we will do what we can and keep on fighting!!

The deer hunt starts next week and although I don't think Ron will be doing much "hunting" we are going to go up into the mountains and enjoy the beauties that are there.  We figure he can take his chemo in the mountains as easily as he can at home, and if he's not feeling well, the trailer has a great bed, and lots of fresh air!!! We will be with some great friends, as well as his dad and brother.  And Chase and Kaylee are going to try to come for at least a day and a half! So it should be a great week. Rain or shine we will be together and thats all that matters!!!

We continue to be so very blessed! And every time I begin to think how hard this is another prayer is answered! Knowing that The Lord is always on our side makes this journey so much easier!  As always thank you all so very much for the prayers that continue to come our way.  We feel them and are so grateful for them.

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

September 11, 2013 Radiation again...

I couldn't resist this picture it is Ron, Logan and Chase getting ready for the deer hunt.  They are all showing their muscles!!! Things have not changed much they still all like to show off their muscles and Ron is not going to stop fighting anytime soon!!  So as for the update get ready here it comes...

We met with the radiation doctor this morning to talk about Ron's right side that has been growing.  It did not respond to the chemo and so radiation is necessary to try to stop the growth.  We know that it worked on his left side, and although the growth is more than the other side there is no reason to think that it wont work on the right side.  So the plan is this...

They did the "mapping" on him this afternoon in preparation for radiation. He will go in the huntsman on Monday morning and will begin radiation again.  He will have it done for 5 days in a row just like last time, however it will be a bit deeper than last time as the tumor is bigger than the last one.  But again we are optimistic that this should stop the growth just like the other one.  And this should stop the pain that he is experiencing right now.

They are still working on getting all the insurance taken care of to begin the new chemo treatment.  I will update more when I know more about that.  As for now we are going to have a wonderful weekend enjoying our granddaughter who is coming for some grandma/pop time which is always fun!!! Emma started first grade this year, got glasses and is doing great! We try to have one on one with our girls as often as we can.  We Love spending time with our girls!

As I was thinking about all that has happened in the almost 1year from the time that Ron was first diagnosed with RCC, it is really amazing to me all the many blessings that have been given to us.  The very week that it was discovered we of course began praying for a miracle.  We have not stopped praying for a miracle, however we have learned that we have already been given many miracles!  We want a cure, we want Ron to be able to do all that he wants to do, but we have learned that what we need is to understand what it is that The Lord wants us to do.  When we can find that answer then everything else really falls into place.  Then I realized that through all this we have received so many more blessings than we ever even asked for.  And I have found that although life would be much easier if we didn't have to deal with cancer, life would also not have all the that we have been given in this last year.  Much patience, love from more people than we could ever thank, understanding of the will of our Father in Heaven.  Ron is here and that in and of itself is a miracle.  If we had not found that lump under his arm he would not have even been treated and would most likely not be with us today!! I truly know that all we have experienced this past year has truly been a miracle, and is being directed by The Lord. 

So that is my thoughts for the day.  I know we still have much to go through and much to learn and I think I can handle whatever may be around the corner because I know that The Lord is on our side.  Ron is doing well, he does still have some side effects from the chemo to deal with but he is tuff!!! And he still is my Rock! I love him so much and am so thankful for the wonderful life that we are able to share together! 

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT

Thursday September 5, 2013 Results

Proverbs 3:6 "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

So this is what we are planning on doing! We know that the Lords hand is in ALL things and we are trusting that he will direct our path.  

The results today were not great.  The chemo sutent that Ron has been on for the past 2 months basically didn't work.  The pain that Ron is feeling on his right side has gotten worse, and now we know why...the metastatic disease has increased.  His right adrenal and kidney are both larger than the last scans.  I am not going to go into lots of details, partly because he wants to keep some of it private and partly because we have to see another doctor who will determine what to do next i.e.. surgery, or more radiation to that particular area.  We should know more in the next few days.  

As for the other growth the kidney and adrenal gland they are going to try yet another form of chemo.  This one is called Axitinib similar to the last one but hoping that it will work this time.  He will have most of the same side effects, he will be taking it two times a day and there will be no breaks, so they will test him after he has been on it for 15 days.  Not sure when he will begin it all depends of course on getting our insurance on board again for the new drug.  Always have to jump through hoops of red tape to get things going.  

So the fight continuers and we will not stop! Ron is just as amazing as always.  I break down and he tells me "chin up" we will get through this together, the Lord has never let us down and he's not going to start now.  We just have to figure out what his will is! 

This is a board at the Huntsman Center I think it is great!!!

FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT