Countdown

1-18-2009

Another week has flown by…this week I was more exhausted from the chemo. Working and chemo can be demanding on my body!

I had my treatment on Monday, but I was able to work at school in the morning. Tuesday I was able to work all day, but by the afternoon I was running low. Wednesday I stayed home and slept, this is the day that I felt like I had hit a wall. I slept most of the day and then forced myself to stay awake until 9:00 P.M. because I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to sleep at night. No worries, I slept all night and then returned to work on Thursday, but by lunch I was running low again so I came home and slept two hours before my brain MRI scan. Then that evening I had my hair cut!!!! I am so grateful that I still have my hair!!! Friday I was able to work the entire day but I went to bed by 9:00 P.M. Then yesterday I was able to have a normal day!! I really am glad that my side effects from the chemo have been minimal.

Friday evening Dr. Harker called to let me know that the scan showed that the spot on my brain are stable!!!!! The spots are still of a concern, but they haven’t grown so that will give the doctors the green light to make my next round of treatment more aggressive. I will be doing chemo and radiation during the month of February. I pray that my body will respond well to this new treatment and that the cancer will go into remission! I want to enjoy my summer!!! I am going to countdown to summer!

Ron has started his classes at the U and is now in countdown mode, only 15 more classes until he is done! He has decided that he doesn’t want to “walk” through graduation, but he is going to have a class party at his school!

Savanna is enjoying student teaching at Draper Elementary. She has some fun stories about the kids in her class.

Marie is looking forward to sleeping in again tomorrow and Tuesday since she doesn’t have school because it is MLK Day and the end of the quarter! Lacrosse tryouts will begin this week so she will be busy with lacrosse after school now.

Thanks again for your faith and prayers as we go through this trial. We are blessed with such great friends and family.

MRI Brain Scan Results

Dr. Harker just called to let me know that the brain scan looked very "stable"!!!

Yippy...but now I will face a demanding month with chemo and radiation. On Monday I will have my last treatment of chemo for this cycle, then I will set up an appointment with Dr. Avizonis and get ready for radiation.

Today I feel normal...I have energy and food actually tastes good! Yesterday I came home and had a 2 hours nap before my scan. Thanks to Sally, Ruth, and the secretaries for insisting that I go home and rest. They are taking care of me and they notice when I start to run out of energy. They are also great to help out when I am gone!

Thanks again for all the considerate acts of kindness, thoughts, and prayers for me and my family. We truly feel strengthened by the love and support that our friends and family extend to us.

We will enjoy our long weekend, even though I have chemo on MLK Day!

Tired....

Today is my "tired day" so I am home getting some extra sleep. I seem to hit a wall the 3rd day after chemo, but luckily I am back up and around on Thursday. Last night Savanna and I enjoyed a Stake Enrichment Night with Sister Julie Beck. Savanna was asked to give the opening prayer and she did a great job. It was a wonderful, uplifting evening.

Chemo Update

My chemo went well today. It was a longer treatment since I received 3 bags of medicine. Dr. Harker has scheduled my brain MRI scan on Thursday, so now I am hoping that all will go well and that the spots on my brain won't change.

Dr. Harker also let me know that if there are changes I will be facing radiation for 2.5 weeks for 5 minutes daily! If the spots have not changed I will be facing radiation for 5 weeks for 5 minutes daily and chemo every day for 1 week and then 3 weeks off. Either way I will get to experience radiation, another new adventure for my body.

I continue to feel good, in fact I asked the doctor why I was just limited to 30 minutes of "non-sweating" exercise. He told me that I could exercise as long I didn't exhaust myself, so tomorrow I am looking forward to working up a sweat on the elliptical or stair stepper!

We received the radon tester today, so Ron set that up in the basement, on Wednesday he will send in the sample. Dr. Harker doesn't think that my lung cancer was caused by radon, but he did feel that it was a good idea to test our home for safety reasons.

Thank you for the remarks on the blog, the encouraging thoughts, prayers, and service that you have provided for me and my family. We continue to feel your love and support through this trial in my life. I continue to find small things to be grateful for each day. I am thrilled to wash my hair! I am thankful to Sally and Steve who step up and cover for me when I have treatments. The Skyline staff continues to supply me with encouragement and support daily, I feel lucky to work with such great people!

Utes are #2

1-11-09

We were thrilled to see the Utes ranked #2....they did have a great season! Ron remains a proud "UTE"!

It has been a more routine week for us! We have enjoyed returning to school and getting back on schedule. I have also enjoyed a week with no chemo!

Ron is back to work at Elk Meadows Elementary. His nights are busy with helping out with the Bingham basketball games!

Savanna enjoyed her first week of student teaching. She is working with 4th graders at Draper Elementary.

Marie enjoys high school life and had fun attending the basketball game with her friends on Friday night. She is getting ready for the end of the quarter by studying for tests that will take place next week.

I enjoyed being back to work this week. It was great to see everyone! I find that I do get more tired! I really enjoyed not having to do chemo last week. Tomorrow I will have my third chemo treatment. I am hoping that all will continue to go well and that I will have minimal side effects! I enjoyed washing my hair this morning, I just wonder if this is the week when it will start falling out!!! Hopefully I will be emotionally ready for this next phase of my cancer.

Last week Ron was watching the news and saw a report on radon gas and learned that it was one of the major causes of lung cancer. He ordered a kit, so we will test our home and see if that may be the cause of my lung cancer.

Thanks again for all of your kind thoughts and prayers. We are blessed to have such supportive family and friends!!!!

Heat Wave!

Right now the temperature is 42 degrees in South Jordan!!! This feels like a heat wave to us. The snow is melting off the roof, but the road in front of our house is still covered with ice and snow.
I love being back to work this week! I feel great and have enjoyed having a week without chemo!!!

Enjoy

New Cold Year!!!

1-4-09

Happy New Year!

We enjoyed moving to the 11:00 Sunday schedule today! Marie took advantage of the new schedule by sleeping in! It was a bitter night last night, this morning the temperature was below 10 degrees! The high today will be less than 20 degrees!!! In spite of the cold temperatures it is a beautiful day outside; clear blue skies, snow-covered mountains, and snow-covered lawns!

Our week was relaxing and exciting! Ron is still cherishing the fact that the Utes won the Sugar Bowl. He wore his Ute tie to church today to celebrate the victory.

Each of us have been able to enjoy our time off from school the past two weeks, tomorrow our vacation will come to an end! Ron will be back in the classroom and then doing extra activities during the evening at Bingham. Since is it high school basketball season most of his activities will be basketball games! Thursday night Ron will begin his last semester of classes at the “U”. He is looking forward to graduating in May!

Savanna began a new job this week. She is the assistant to the activity coordinator at a care center for the elderly. Her personality will be a benefit to this job; she knows how to plan a “fun time”! This center will be opening near our home in the next few weeks so she has been working at another facility in Sandy area these past few days. Tomorrow she will begin student teaching at Draper Elementary. This will be an exciting time for her!

Marie will miss sleeping in, but she will enjoy going back to school and seeing her friends. She has remained busy with activities during the break. Yesterday she had a lacrosse game and then she went ice skating with her friends. It was bitter outside so we were glad that she dressed warm!

I am looking forward to returning to work, it will be nice to get back on schedule, but it will be hard to get up early tomorrow morning. Tomorrow I will also be taking a break from my chemo treatments!!! I get one week off and then I will have my 3rd treatment on January 12th. I remain grateful that my side effects have been minimal; I am just really tired on the 3rd day after the chemo.

The football bowl games are almost over, what will I do in my spare time?

We hope that everyone is enjoying a new year!!!

Love ya,
Jolene