The 1040 Window

First of all, I am feeling a whole lot better. Praise God! This last discharge was a very tough one because of pain medications and neupogin. I was on a pretty high level of pain meds in the hospital and starting having really bad withdrawals after going thru most of Friday with nothing. As Natalie mentioned, I then put on a pain dispensing patch that did not sit well with me. So I took the patch off after half a day, and put myself on a much lower dose of pain meds and then just suffered thru the withdrawals and the neupogin-crummyness for a few days. Not fun! Now I should be sailing on smoother waters as I am done with the neupogin and continue to gradually decrease my pain meds. Secondly, we arrived back in Ojai yesterday afternoon! It is so nice to be home. Well, not exactly home because we are out of our old apartment and staying with Natalie’s parents until we find a new place. But great and wonderful thanks to Alden and Sue for taking us in for a few months! We are still hoping for a place at the Montgomery Oaks apartments; we will see… So, it nice to be back in Ojai for a few weeks!

Okay, and now for a little “Fun with Hair [falling out].” The doctor said I should not loose my hair this time, but… he was wrong! When it got nice and loose, a few days ago, I had a little fun giving myself an unmohawk. Fun!

As it got looser, it started to really bug me with it just sitting there slowly falling out all over the place, so we helped it along a bit! This is Natalie peeling hospital tape off my head, taking gads of hair with it. Fun!

Thirdly, YES INDEED, ONLY ONE ROUND OF CHEMO TO GO! WOOHOO! And then a lifetime of remission…

Nolan, I think the plate cover design was originally a bed pan. But that whole in the middle was a poor bed pan feature! :) So they realized the design was better suited for a plate cover.

Walt and Melanie, sorry we missed you! Maybe come and stay at my parents for couple nights some time soon. Hmmm???

Pastor Scott, God has and is indeed using this for His glory! It cheers my heart to no end to hear that our adventure has blessed so many people in a myriad of ways. I have often thought, “Wow, God is using me to bless people, and all I have to do is lay here and suffer.” It really makes it worth it.

Rebecca Kerr, Yeah, I know how you feel with a lack of trust and expectation and continued faithlessness in the midst of God’s continued and perfect faithfulness. But all the more reason to rejoice (and I will say it again, REJOICE!) in His marvelous grace!!! Oh, He is so wonderful to us…

Pastor Lyn, we do rest assure because of your (and others) love and prayers!

Marsha Penrod, yeah, I get a “kick” out of the whole chemo thing too. It is NOT like alcohol where it is poisonous if you have TOO MUCH. The chemo drugs are extremely poisonous right away! As soon as they enter the body, they start killing you. The trick is that the cancerous cells are always the weakest cells, so they get cooked first! It is just a very controlled destruction. And it is crazy!

Laura Burton, I am so glad that our adventure has refreshed your faith. Praise God!

We were kicked out of our hospital room last night because Aaron’s neutrophils increased rapidly due to the Neupogin shots he has been receiving. This means that Aaron has an immune system now and is not covered to stay in the hospital any longer. We are at the Tiverton until Wednesday, at least. During the other two rounds of chemo, Aaron didn’t receive neupogin shots so this is his first time getting them. The shots are supposed to make your neutrophils/white blood cells come back faster so that you are get your immune system back faster. The shots have given Aaron some unpleasant side effects: extra nauseous, huge bruises where the neupogin is injected and petechiae (broken capillaries that look like a rash–which by the way was our first sign that anything was wrong back in May). He feels awful and had to ask me again to post because he is not up to it. So, even though it is good that Aaron’s white cells are coming back, it is a little unsettling leaving the hospital when he is not physically strong enough and ready to do so. He also switched to a different pain medication (because he is now outpatient) and that did not agree with him at all. He started getting shortness of breath and a rapid heartbeat. Now, that we figured that out and got his medication swithced, we are praying he will start feeling better. He has two more days worth of neupogin shots and an appointment with Dr. Paquette on Wednesday. After that, we hope to return to Ojai for a few weeks before the next (and hopefully final!) round of chemo.

Your calls and posted comments continue to be much appreciated. We also would appreciate your prayers for Aaron to feel better. He is such a tough guy–he has to put up with so much. I think it is starting to make him a little weary so please pray for strength and encouragement. We love you all so much and cannot even begin to express how thankful we are for your support.

I have been thinking a lot these last few weeks about just how big a miracle God did for us. I was determined from the very beginning to take Aaron to Jesus and trust Him with Aaron’s life. And, He did not disappoint me! When Aaron was in ICU for those 4 weeks, sedated, I got a sense of what it would be like for him to be dead. There were no signs of life from him except the numbers on the screens. But, praise be to God! In a way, He raised Aaron from the dead for me. This is huge–it is our very own healing miracle just like we see in the gospels. And as for Aaron’s continued recovery, I am excited and encouraged as I think about the fact that God does not do half-miracles. He parted the Red Sea the whole way across. When He healed those who were lame, they didn’t just slowly start to regain some of the use of their leg and hobble across the room, they started leaping! My God is great–stand in awe and wonder at what He has done for us!

He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it! Philippians 1:6

Just to give you an idea of how exciting hospital life gets…

I just recieved one of my delicious meals and the plate was covered with a brand new clear and shiny lid! It was my thrill for the day.

Also, I have discovered that I can watch Law & Order pretty much anytime of the day. This is made possible by there being multiple versions of the show and multiple stations carry them. Sometimes it is even on different channels at the same time! That is really nice because then I can pick which episode I want to watch.

So that is my exciting life in the hospital! (I guess I should mention fevers and vomiting and stuff, cause they do mix things up a little.)

nstryker, *smack* (our hands hitting)

Scott Travis, I am glad someone is taking my advice. :)

Rebecca Kerr, I hope you and your family feel better!