Napper News

A long time

2009-06-26T12:16:00.001-07:00

Long time Hi Friends!

I have had several requests to update the blog...it has been awhile and some things have changed. I finished chemo the beginning of May and I am truly getting stronger. I feel like I am finally outta of the "chemo cloud" and can think clearly and process info better now. :)

It has been a process to get of the meds however. My awesome oncologist was decreasing my pain meds when we hit a glitch. My body basically went into withdraw for three to four days. Withdraw for all who don't know about it is awful. I can honestly say it is worse than chemo. You have no control over your body, I was crying for 3 hours straight, hot and cold flashes less than 2 minutes apart, your kinda in an illusion state with no control. So...my mom called my doc one day when this was going on and they then increased my meds to get me outta this problem.

From there they contacted a pain med specialist or addiction specialist really, and set up an apt. for me b/c they no longer knew how to get me off this med safely. Little did I know this drug, Oxycontin, is a very popular street drug :) Man I could have make a lot of money if I only knew...HA Anywho...this apt. was very interesting to say the least, I am in a waiting room with some druggies and very interesting yet somewhat amusing people. The guy next to me wanted to know if I was on meth. :0... and all I was thinking was why in the world am I here and thank goodness the kids aren't with me!!!

The doc i saw was interesting too. He left the door open during my apt. and made several phone calls in listening distance away, which I thought I should definitely not be hearing about these other "patients". In my mind I was thinking HIPPA is out the window here. :) A learning exp. to say the least.What the doc told me was my opioids in my brain were not functioning the correct way without the Oxycontin that I had been on for 7 months. It wasn't that I was addicted or opioid dependent it really wasn't even my fault, it could be genetic or just some freak thing that happens occasionally. So we switched drugs ( there goes my extra income :)) and now I am on a drug that they are slowly weaning me off of over 12 weeks.

Right now my mom and sister in law Jillia are rotating and still helping with the kids on a daily basis from 8 to 5. Thanks to them more than they know. Annabelle is now 3 1/2 and doing quite well, she has gone through the ringer with me and has understood most of (too much in my opinion) what has been going on. She has grown up a little too quickly but has done wonderful through this all. She has been past back and forth to numerous caregivers and has had to figure what is expected of her in each situation, no easy feat by any means. She will be attending two days of preschool in the fall, where does the time go. God bless that little girl.

Talin is now one and walking and tearing the house apart. He has been hard to watch him grow up before eyes and miss so much of it, thanks to all who loved him so much for me when I couldn't even hold him on some days. It truly takes a village to raise a little boy!

Hopefully, if this new drug doesn't have too many side affects I am going to cut my help for the kids in half and only have them come from 8:00 to nap time around 1:00 and care for the kids myself until Seth gets home around 5:00. Then maybe every other day or something like that, we will see. I am planning on teaching again at New Branches in the fall. I will be teaching P.E. again for two full days and stay at home the rest and love up my kids.

i am right now going for blood work every other week instead of weekly. I will do this for two months and then I will get tested monthly for a year and then God willing no more pokes for a long long time!!!So right now I am still living day by day but trying to regain the normal life whatever that may be. I can cook dinner again, and mainly care for my kids again, and we can go to the store, and church, take small walks and things I couldn't do for a long time. I am starting to grow some hair :) and I have to shave my legs again go figure, but this time around I look at it as a blessing believe it or not.

I appreciate the life I have been given and the people who God has sent into my life. Seth and I have been through a lot and are still adjusting everyday to the situation we are in. Some days are tougher on our marriage and it is very hard. But then God blesses us again. Someone once told me that years 6 and 7 are the toughest years of marriage. On June 28 God will bless Seth and I with 6 years of marriage. I now know and believe that we can tackle anything, even years 6 and 7. Seth has been outstanding through this and has been a rock for me to lean on. Nothing is easy in life, esp. cancer. But I know God has brought us together and together we will go forth and live a great life.

I want to thank all my readers and all my prayer warriors together you have helped fight the toughest fight I have ever had. God is good all the time and all the time God is good. I won't be updating the blog again unless something major changes. I truly think I am on the road to recovery and God is blessing me every day with more strength. I am certainly not 100% yet, that could take a full year, but well on the way. You have all touched my heart and my family in many many untold stories. We love you all and CAN NEVER thank you enough for all you have done for us and on behalf of us.

Feel free to contact me if you choose: sterkenm@student.gvsu.edu or I am on facebook as well.
I love you all-Meg, a cancer survivor!

All Done

2009-05-01T12:20:00.000-07:00

Well I am here at home and offically done with chemo. It seems a little odd to be closing this chapter but there will still be enough blood tests and appointments to keep it open I guess. I start blood tests on monday and then have a cat scan on the 11th (hopefully my last one) then next week an appointment at the oncologist. So we will see what goes on from here. Thanks to all for prayers, rides, support etc...We could have never done it without all of you.

One more to go

2009-04-24T07:17:00.000-07:00

Starting Monday I enter hopefully my last round of chemo...ever! I went to the oncologist and got some more information.

This will be my last scheduled round of chemo unless my numbers start to go up again. I will have weekly blood tests for awhile (a few months) then move to every other week etc...

I will have another cat scan and chest x-ray to see if some spots on my lungs/back are changing. I have one spot on my back that they still want to watch closely. Then depending on the results of that a PET scan if necessary which is kinda like a cat scan but more detailed and if that still shows a significant spot, surgery to get the spot out. The PET scan and surgery are last resorts and kinda unlikely. Just throwing that out there to let you know that cancer is never really done, there is always something.

It is kinda hard for me to get really excited about being done, when the docs always give the what ifs and never the 100% you're done. I am very hesitant going forward but yet sort of happy.

It is going to be very hard to go through this next round of chemo knowing that I already hit zero and I have to feel like crap again for a week.

To tell the truth, it is very scary to go into recovery after I have been living the cancer life for 6 months or so. I realize that with time I am going to be responsible for making dinner, taking care of my kids all day by myself, and taking care of the house etc...These are things that I have done nothing with for half a year, and now I have to teach myself again how to do them and balance them with normal life. So prayer requests in this area.

I will let you know of any changes in the next few days.

2009-04-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

Well I am home. I was released from Butterworth on Sunday evening. I am still on meds for several days and plus new addititional meds then sent home with me. Things are going ok, still plenty tired and still need constant help with the kids. I have an apt. thursday with the oncologist and we will go from there. That's all for now. :)

More news....finally

2009-04-18T10:18:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened since the last post...My count was at three for many weeks and we thought I would have to have my chemo changed. That was not the case however.

Thursday: I went to an appointment at the oncologist and found out that my count was actually down to two. Yea two. After lots of discussion between Dr.'s they decided that my baseline number would be two. Which means that they pretty much were counting two as zero. Also they were planning only one more chemo round for good.

I also went into the oncologist fighting a fever since Monday and having a (yet another) nasty cold. Plus fighting blackouts and being dizzy when standing. So after some blood cultures I found (once we got back home ) that I would need another blood transfusion pretty fast. My hemogloban number was 6.8 and normally they start to consider giving blood at 8.2ish, so needless to say I needed some blood, the problem was I was considered symptomatic and I needed to go to the hospital to have a private room, no rooms were currently available. So we had to wait. Later that afternoon we got a call and we headed to Butterworth.

Thursday evening I got two units of blood and some magnesium again and that made me feel only a little better because my cold was so bad. I continually was fighting a fever and that lovely freezing to burning instantly phenomenon. I originally was only suppose to stay in the hospital over night for the blood, but that was no longer the case.

Friday: Nothing spectacular happened I was still fighting fevers and now I wasn't keeping any food down. We were waiting on the results of chest x-ray to see what was going on. The doc finally ordered some antibiotics, but that takes hours to finally make it to the patient, so I was still in bad shape.

Saturday: I am not sure how much of the following happened in the middle of the night or not, it gets a bit foggy after awhile. :) I found out that the chest x-ray revealed that I have pneumonia, not to fun. So I am here at least until my fevers are gone and I can keep food down, the antibiotic I currently am on can be transferred to pill form to go home.

I also found out my beta count actually went to zero if not negative numbers. THANK THE LORD and thanks to all you for praying all the time GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!
I still have one round of chemo to finish and timing of that will depend on my health and condition ( it currently is suppose to start Monday but might be delayed a week). Then hopefully this will start to be behind us and I can start the long road to recovery and hair growth. :)

I will try to keep you all updated in the next few days with changes. thanks

Change and no change

2009-04-02T08:42:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,
No huge updates to give you but some little ones. It's been 12 weeks with the chemo i have been on so they finally took out the bleomyicin which has been giving the high fevers and many many blistering areas all over my body. The bleo was the realy toxic stuff I was on, so it's nice to be off that.

My beta count has stayed at 3 for three weeks now so....we are glad it's not going up but it's not going down either. Our guess is that when I go back to the oncologist they will most likely switch my chemo again to something else. Which can change my schedule and who knows what else. So prayers in this area would be appreciated. Thanks

2009-03-26T08:17:00.000-07:00

Okay sorry again about the lack of updates but I have been busy. Busy by running to appointments and to the ER etc...

Last week Sunday we made the trip to the ER because I wasn't feeling good and ended up getting some potassium and then being sent home.

Monday I was in for my chemo and then was sent back to the ER because I needed blood and my magnesium was critically low so almost five hours later we got to go home.

Then on Tuesday we had to go to a follow up appointment at my Oncologist's office for a check up.

Friday I had a cat scan on my pelvis, ab area and chest. All this well I was fighting a terrible cold and wasn't eating much at all because my throat was really swollen. What a week.

Which brings us to this week Monday I went into my regular scheduled chemo and found out my blood was low along with my magnesium again.

So on my "down" week I went in on Tuesday and wed. to get blood and magnesium. Along with an eye dr. apt., brought both kids to check ups, and had another apt. at the oncologist. I am telling ya busy busy busy.

My beta number stayed at 3 for two weeks now. I am starting to finally feel back to normal now that chemo is almost here again for 5 days. :) My cat scan results were looking good and everything that was there before has decreased. So that is a good thing.

Where we are now is that we are hoping that my number is not leveling off. If that is the case a switch might have to be done in the type of chemo I am getting. We want the number to go down again and then the road to recovery can begin.

God is in control of everything and this is in his hands. I know the road of suffering is long but the glory at the end I can only imagine :) Please keep praying!

New week and new numbers

2009-03-10T08:13:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Time for the new update. Zero escaped us this week but we didn't go up either. I was at 6 and went to 4. This is good, but I know we have a great God and He is all powerful and can get me to zero. I just need to have more patience. Please keep praying because my numbers are still going down. This will come to an end eventually.

kids update:

Annabelle: Was very excited that Aunt Cassie is staying with us this week. Unfortunately this is the last week Cass is going to be able to stay with us. The Workmans have bought a house in Ohio and are moving very soon. So we thank Cass for all her willingness since about January to live with us every couple of weeks--it has made all the difference in our lives.

Talin: A trooper as always, has 3 teeth coming in and you wouldn't even know. Still as naughty as ever getting into EVERYTHING possible including the trash, which now resides on our counter most of the time-yuck. He is not walking yer but it come sooner than mom wants. HE will pull to stand on anything and is now standing with flatter feet than before for more balance....so we all know it's coming in time. He now is just short of 9 months.

Thanks again for all your continued dedicated support and prayers.

Another week of numbers

2009-03-02T15:07:00.000-08:00

Hola (hello for those that need translation) :) hehe

Last week I didn't post anything because there was minor changes and therefore not blog worthy in my opinion. :0 My beta count was 10 and last week it went to 13 and that was about it. I did get some more blood, but that's about it.

This week my number went down again to six. Single digits now guys. Remember I have at least 2 more sessions to go once we hit zero. As glad as I am to hear six, to me it's not zero and therefore I need at least 6 more weeks of chemo and more time to get to zero. This is a long hard road for me and I and emotionally ready and needing zero more than anything now. Spring is on the way and I am ready for a change in a major way.

So please pray because this is getting harder now more than anyother time, or at least it seems that way. I am going to boldly ask that everyone pray that my beta count does not go up anymore. If it goes up that just prevents me more from getting done with this all. So please pray and pray earnestly and with conviction. Thanks in so many ways.

Still going down.

2009-02-18T06:33:00.000-08:00

Well we will start off with some good news :) This past Monday my beta count was lower again! I am now down to 10. Pretty exciting stuff. God is good all the time and all the time God is good. So we are still working towards hitting zero and then I will have two more rounds of three weeks each so we are looking maybe sometime in April wrapping this all up, that is if we stay on course. So keep praying please because once again this is working!

Kids update:
We are always battling colds as everyone of course. Talin is officially 8 months old now, crawling around the house as a mad man and recently found the steps so the baby gates are going up :)

Annabelle is close if not potty trained already, we made the big step of willingly pooping on the potty FINALLY. That's what we get excited about in the Napper house now :)

That's all for now. We wish happy and safe travels back from Calf. for most of the Napper family. We will see you soon.

Count back down

2009-02-10T12:00:00.000-08:00

Well good news for everyone! My beta count went back down again. It was 47, then went up to 74 and back down to 29! There is light at the end of the tunnel that spring will be more refreshing than we thought. :) This week I have an apt. on Thursday as a normal check again and another lung test on Friday, so let's hope these apt. go well. Next week I might need help with a few rides in the morning around 8:00 to 9:00 and one in the afternoon around 2:00...we will see if we can get it figured out. Keep praying guys we are close to beating this thing!!!!!

2009-02-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

The hair is finally gone, refreshing!

count up a bit and puke puke puke

2009-02-03T12:06:00.000-08:00

Another quick update for all.

Monday I went in for my hour long chemo and got called back the minute I got home because my potassium levels were extremely low and needed to be replenished immediately, so back I went in for another 2 hours during which i got an horrible swollen throat. Reaction? We are not sure. The potassim really helped my energy anyways, just not fun to go right back to chemo after you just got out!

Monday night Seth started to get really sick and throwing up etc... and stayed home on tuesday pretty unseen all day. Let's hope this clears quickly. Plus Annabelle was spitting up in the morning and pulled out a lovely throw up in the middle of Target on Tuesday! What fun luckily my sister was with me for some extra help. She is staying the night on tuesday thank goodness.

News about my counts...last monday I was at 47 and went up to 74 since then, which is horrible but not what we really were hoping for. We are thinking it could ust be the new chemo adjusting in my body yet so I am being watched carefully and tested again next monday to see where I am then.

Until then we need everyone HEALTHY again for the zillionth time this winter :)
Keep praying everyone....

2009-01-26T11:16:00.000-08:00

Hello all again,
A lot has happened since the last post, we are having some tech. problems so it's been awhile. The following monday since the last post I was sick again, which means it was not the blood but a certain drug from the chemo called blyominicin. Again I had the high fevers, head aches and sickness but this time all at home. So something that is not fun to deal with. Toward the end of the week I went to my cancer OB for a semi-normal check up, he just sent me to go get some blood work done to make sure my port wasn't infected and therefore causing the sickness on Monday. All that came back normal, but my blood levels are low again. So this week Tues and Wed I am scheduled to get more blood which will extend my chemo day from 8:00-4:30ish instead out getting out at 2ish. Talk about a boring day sitting in a chair and watching TV. :( At least I will get some rest from the kids. :) The most EXCITING news is my count, (remember we want to hit zero) last count around 1800 and my count on the 26th is 47, that's right 47! Praise God again and again!!!!!!!! Keep praying that the rest of the treatments go quickly and I hopefully might beat this thing BEFORE spring! We can do it everyone! Until later....

2009-01-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

Well things continue to go well off the chemo. I feel good, still need a nap everyday but feel good. I was able to pack and take the kids to daycare on Thursday with minimal help from my mom and Friday I got them to her house alone. So it felt good to be a normal person again :) I am scheduled to go in Monday for fluids and one drug. That should only take about an hour and I can drive myself. So this coming week should be more of "normal" again. I still have someone everyday to help with the kids cause I just don't trust myself alone yet. The next week after the coming is back to 5 days of chemo. Until then we are somewhat enjoying watching Talin learning to crawl (he will be 7 months on Sunday) and having fun washing sheets because Annabelle is allowed no more diapers. :) Always fun at the Napper house. Keep praying because it is working!!!! Thanks again prayer warriors!!

A brand new start

2009-01-13T13:33:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,
Sorry I have been meaning to update this sooner but time slips away. Anywho...I finished my my five straight days of chemo. Towards the end it got a bit draining and by the weekend I was totally exhausted beyond belief. But with help from family we were still able to give Annabelle a wonderful 3rd birthday party on Saturday. Sunday was a really really tiring day for me as well.

Then on Monday I went to get fluids and a blood transfusion. Turns out I ended up having some sort of reaction to the blood-fevers, headaches, lots of pain in the back, light headness, and nausea all came. So I stayed almost an extra hour and a half at chemo to relief the symptoms before heading home. I ended up getting probably a little more than half the blood I was intended to get. Good news however...my beta count...last time we knew it was like 4300 something, now it has gone back down to 1400 something!!!!!! The new chemo is working!! That has given me the strength and hope to keep on going . :)

Tuesday has been a semi normal day for me. The new blood has given more energy so it seems good to be able to walk from room to room without getting tired. Thank the Lord for He is good, His love endures forever!!!!

Since last Saturday and look ahead

2009-01-02T15:13:00.000-08:00

This is Seth writing....

A lot has happened the last 6 days since the last post. I will attempt to summarize without writing a book. Last Saturday and Sunday, Meg was having a lot of problems with her legs. Her hamstring and calf muscles were very weak and were causing her pain and she was having problems getting around. A trip from the living room to the kitchen was difficult for her and very frustrating as her legs were to weak to get her around. As Sunday morning progressed it was getting to the point that we were both concerned that something more was going on with Meg. Meg called her doctor and based on his recommendation we headed into the ER for some tests, the concern was that cancer had spread to the spine and that was causing the issues with the legs. We spent about 4 hours at the hospital on Sunday and the CT scans showed no cancer in the spine, the diagnosis was that the weakness and tingling in the legs must be a side effect of the chemo-it was a huge answer to prayer that the cancer was not in the spine, but it was still frustrating for Meg to leave the hospital with her legs still barely working. Monday Meg was feeling a little better and her legs were working for her better. Tuesday was another ok day-Meg was very tired and weak but her legs were feeling decent. Wednesday was another chemo day-outpatient at the cancer center downtown. At this appointment is was brought to Meg's attention that her Beta count was back up (twice in the last 3 weeks). This time the count was back over 3800 from the previous 1200. Wednesday night was a very tough night as we were contacted by Meg's doctor who wanted to set up an appointment for us Friday to discuss other chemo options as her current chemo treatment was no longer effective. We know God is in control, yet it is tough to hear that the chemo treatment that we thought would remedy this cancer is no longer working. Thursday we enjoyed the day as a family, but it was tough knowing that a Friday morning meeting with Meg's doctor was looming. Friday (today) was a very long day. We met Meg's doctor this morning and discussed the different chemo plan going forward. The change in chemo is to more "toxic" drugs that were not the first option, but now seem to be the approach needed to take care of this cancer. This approach is going to be tough as Meg has chemo treatment all 5 days next week. The following 2 weeks she will have chemo on Monday only and then another week of 5 days of chemo. This will continue for probably 12 weeks. Due to how tough one of these drugs is on the lungs, Meg had to go to the hospital today for a test to show that her respiratory system is strong enough for the treatment. Based on the results we received at the hospital it looks as though her lungs are very strong. Some other notes about the new chemo treatment include the fact that this chemo causes lots of nausea and causes some possible spikes in temperature, it also increases the risk for some other diseases in the future. Please pray for us.

Thanks to so many people for your love, support and most importantly prayers
The last week in particular I want to thank Jillia, Cassie, Mark and Becca, Dani and Jeremy, my mom and dad, Meg's mom and dad, Melissa and Scott V (I'm sure I missed some people)

Specific prayer requests:
-Strength for Meg this next week as she has 5 straight days of chemo
-That quickly this new chemo treatment decreases the beta count (to under 0 by or before the end of the next 12 weeks)
-That Meg will not get nausea from the chemo
-That Meg's lungs stay strong
-That Meg's temperature does not spike during these treatments
-That the kids will stay healthy and protected
-That I will be able to coordinate rides for Meg to and from chemo along with care for the kids along with hold down a job
-That Meg will be able to do all this chemo outpatient and not have to be admitted to the hospital for 5 days every 3 weeks

God is good all the time and all the time God is good.

Christmas and beyond

2008-12-27T15:39:00.001-08:00

Hi again to all. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year or soon to be. WE are looking into the new year with many blessings to come and God on our side. Our small family Christmas was celebrated on tuesday with a little surprise. Church brought over many gifts that we are so very thankful for. God bless all those givers :) So our present opening took a little longer than expected. Talin slept through most of it with Aunt Jillia loving all the cuddles. Annabelle enjoyed it and I believe even was overwhelmed by all the gifts.

Wednesday I went into the hosp. again and was expecting the same old stuff. Plans changed a bit. First Seth was able to come and spend some time up at the hosp. b/c my parents took the kids. Next I found out that my beta numbers actually went up the previous week, which is NOT a good thing. Thank you all my PRAYER WARRIORS because that wed. when they took my blood again, the # went down. So we were around 1700, then back up to almost 3000, then back down to 1200 or so. A few details for all here. When the beta # goes up that is when they look at changing the course of treatment becasue something isn't working. For now...I am staying on the same treatment b/c the #went down again. We do not want this # to continue to go higher, I will continue Chemo until the beta # is zero. As the # goes lower the process becomes a bit longer. So going on into Jan. and Feb. I most likely will still be in chemo. Not necessarily something I was wanted or expecting. So this is a huge emotional adjustment for me personally. I am also to the point of shaving my head with is an emotional battle as well. :)

Well onto my wonderful husband! He, without me knowing set up a special Christmas breaksfast for me in the hosp. Seth talked to the nurses before he left on Christmas Eve and has also talked to my parents and his parents all ahead of time. At 9:00 both our parents showed up with all kinds of Christmas breakfast treats, and the best surprise the kids were there too in reindeer ears and all ! :) Nothing could have been better on my Christmas morning in the hosp., a memory I will never forget and I am deeply thankful to Seth for this!!!!
On Christmas after I got out of the hosp. I was able to go over to my parents for a party which was great, tiring but awesome to be with family! Unfortunately we had two other get togethers planned on friday and saturday that I did not feel up to at all. But Seth being the great daddy he is brought the kids by himself to both the parties!!

So we go into the new year cautious but excited and asking everyone to continue to pray

*mom is extremely tired on most days and is struggling with not being able to take care of her kids by herself...it is so hard to let go!

*we NEED the beta # is continue to drop for chemo to ever come to an end

*emotional adjustments to continued chemo and losing hair (again)

*continued strength esp. for Seth to carry on with day to day tasks, life is still difficult with 2 little ones and one tired tired mommy

thanks for all the support we love you all!!!

2008-12-15T09:29:00.000-08:00

Hello again to all,

Sorry about the lack of updates. Here is the thing not... a lot is going on :). We are still fighting sickness. Annabelle has been feverish since friday (100-103) so that is never fun. Not eating much, and pretty much a lump on the couch. But we here there is a lot of sickness going around. Talin is pretty such good to go, and starting to sit on his own which helps mommy out a lot. I am still on some pretty strong cough medicine and constant sudafed but blessed because I can at least take some meds for relief!

This Wed. I have a two hour chemo treatment at the awesome Lemmon Holton Cancer Center. That is an amazing building just to check out sometime if you are downtown. Most likely I will wiped out that night again but we have helped already lined up.

Overall, I am starting to feel a bit better besides a cold. Still tired here and there, but doing good. I have driven a few times to the store and such, which makes me feel normal. :) Now I know it still takes me twice as long because I still move a bit slow, but it is a sense of accomplishment. Seth and I were able to get most of our Christmas shopping done over the weekend which is also a relief to me.

As of now, I will go into the hosp. Christmas Eve morning and get out Christmas afternoon anywhere from 1:00 to 3:00, and still be able to celebrate with family that evening if all goes well. Our family (Seth, me and the kids) are planning are celebrating our Christmas on Tuesday before I leave again. Not the best but we make do, and I will be out of the hosp. part of Christmas at least!

That's all for now :)

From the hospital 12-10-08

2008-12-10T13:38:00.000-08:00

Hello to all the loyal readers...

Well to update everyone and to clarify my count which we want to fall is....I think we got some numbers mixed up last week :) We reported 35hundred instead of 35thousand what a difference a zero makes...sorry anywho the count started at over one million in November and Tuesday at my apt it was at 8000 (the correct number of zeros) and on wed in the hosp. it has dropped to somewhere in the 1700's! GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME AND ALL THE TIME GOD IS GOD! So there is a big praise for us! So let me explain this "count. This is the count from the molar preg. (which started the cancer) which basically is telling us how much cancer is left in my body. Eventually we are looking to getting this back to zero someday. Right now we are well on the way!!

It has been a rough go for us the last couple of days. If you didn't know, the kids were sick. Annabelle has cleared up and is off meds. Talin has not and actually went back to the Doctor a second time for a double ear infections, then this past Sunday we headed to ER because mom (meg) was worried of dehydration, the previous day he only ate about 10 oz of his normal 35 or so. The trip was uneventful, thank the Lord the little guy is okay and since the trip is slowly returning to normal. Now we just want him back to sleeping the night because rest is so important in our house now. I have also come down with a monster of a cold which is not the greatest thing. It is sucking every little bit of energy I have left. Making nearly impossible to take care of the kids which is very hard and emotional for me. It is so hard to watch someone else do everything else that you used to do. Thanks to all who are in the house and helping we appreciate every little bit you do! So very sorry for all tears that are uncontrollable at times :) Seth and I are very run down and tired which is just making life hard.

Chemo treatments are working but getting harder and harder to recover from. Emotions are always running high and I just can't stop the tears anymore. Someone once told me that chemo brings you to the brink of death and then brings you right back to life. I can see it starting to happen. Which is a scary thing quite honestly.

I still have hair it is just thinning on the top fast. I really have given up on it. The more I touch the more it falls out. I pretty much just wear a bandanna everyday now, just makes life easier.

Seth and Annabelle were able to go and get a tree which I was very happy that they could do that. Annabelle is enjoying decorating and having all the lights on. That is joy to watch the awe and wonder in her eyes.

Well this is getting long so I will wrap up...let me say this, Seth normally "edits" my thoughts because I have chemo brain so I am sorry if parts do not make sense.

More news from Meg

2008-12-06T07:44:00.000-08:00

Hello to everyone, hope you are all doing well. This past week honestly has been a tougher one for us. Sick kids adds a huge draining effect to you even when you are healthy. My parents stole our kids on Friday night :) and let Seth and I sleep the night something that hasn't happened in weeks! Thanks mom and dad.

I have been put on potassium twice a day, not sure why but I am hoping it will give me a little more strength, which I have been lacking a lot more of. I also have been having a tough time regulating my body temp., either really hot or super super cold. I talked to my Doctor and found out that it is actually hot flashes which is kinda silly. The chemo is suppressing my hormones which is sorta putting me in a menopause state. Along with that comes emotions and lots of them. I am crying all the time and really with no reason which is very annoying. I try not to break down in front of the kids but sometimes I just can't help it. So that just makes life a little harder to deal with.

This week I have an apt. on Tuesday with my oncologist and then on wed morning I go into the hospital again for a 12 hour chemo session and I will be home again on Thursday at some point. My goal is to start on my research paper that I have to finish for my grad class that I have taken an incomplete in so far. One day it will get done....

I have gotten the ok to drive small distances like the store etc... which is liberating but I haven't actually driven yet :) It will be helpful when I need to bring kids to daycare on Thursdays instead of having someone drive to my house just to drive them to daycare. So that is a BIG praise for me :)

Prayer Request:

*Seth and I are TIRED!!

*Talin has a double ear infection and if it doesn't go away they already are talking tubes

*Annabelle's behavior and sleep patterns

*Strength---I am having a tougher time dealing with everything lately.

*The snow-safety for those driving to help with our kids and those driving me to apts

Update since Thanksgiving

2008-12-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

Seth writing

Sorry for the time between blogs, but life has been very busy.

I am back to work, I worked a few days last week but am working a full week this week. Last Friday and Saturday went relatively well-just trying to stay up on the house, entertain the kids and help Meg get as much rest as possible. Meg was very tired those two days coming off the Wednesday-Thursday chemo and Thanksgiving. Sunday was great for us as we were able to get to church as a family (it was nice to be back). Thanks for all the encouragement and prayer. Monday I went to work during the day and Meg's mom came over to help with the kid's for the day. Starting Monday Annabelle has started to really fight taking naps which adds challenge to Meg's day. Tuesday my sister Jillia was helpful in coming over and helping with the kids. Meg was also able to rest alone a few hours Tuesday night and I was able to play dodgeball with my work team as the Suhy's watched the kids (thanks Dani and Jeremy). Wednesday Sarah Holwerda helped out with the kids and my mom helped get Meg to chemo, stayed with her and drove her back home after. This week was the first time she had her outpatient chemo-it took place at the Lemmen Holton Cancer Center-Meg says it is a beautiful facility. Thursday (today), Annabelle was taken to daycare (a day Meg use to teach) but Talin was not able to go as he was spiking a high temperature. Meg and her mom took Talin to the doctors and he was found to have a double ear infection. He is on meds, but there is talk of having to put tubes in his ears.

Update on Meg
-still continues to be very tired and not full of energy
-starting to lose hair at a faster rate
-has more of an appetite lately
-night after chemo is been very tough on her physically and emotionally
-continues to be thankful for all the help, prayers and encouragement

Thursday-Thanksgiving and a bit of wed.

2008-11-28T13:18:00.000-08:00

Meg writing...

Well going back into the hospital is a hard emotional, lonely thing to do. I decided that there is no point in Seth staying at the hospital on my 12 hour cycle of chemo so he stayed a bit but then went home for some good sleep! :) So first prayer request, it is going to be very hard going back to the hospital every other week for me.

Everything continues to go as good as possible...the cancer count or beta count that started at over 1 million is down to 3500, praise GOD! Now at some point this will level off but that I guess is an expected thing.

Nurses are a continued blessing with all their love and happiness they bring to the profession, wow what a hard job!

Wednesday the chemo started and I quickly remembered how much it hurts to continue to get poked with needles. Every session I have a new poke into the port is required, they say because I don't weigh that much that is probable hurts more, lovely. Also the tape from the removal of the chest tube came off...very painful, my skin on my chest has become hyper sensitive to all the tape and ripping tape off all the time leaves a burning like you can't imagine and even small blisters at times, yuck!

The chemo session went semi normal, my blood count is too low and at some point (sometime soon most likely) I will be getting blood transfusions to help in the healing process of my body, a little scary there. I am also having low blood pressure which could be from many things including my weight. I also think I am starting to lose some hair which is harder to deal with than expected, nothing noticeable but to me it is :) So those were some of the downers to deal with but as always there is a good side.

My mother in law has given me a book...praying through cancer, which has been very uplifting while staying in the hospital. Thanks so much Barb! I also got out of the hospital a little early on Thanksgiving 1 instead of 2, so I was able to go to at least one side of the family and enjoy the day, a day of so many blessings (my emotions got control of me for awhile) :)

Continued prayer requests....
*The kids, they are sick esp. Talin, which is hard to deal with and not the best situation for me to be in. This week begins the open door of people coming in to help with caring for them which will be very hard on Annabelle who has resorted to mommy only mode. Bless her heart.

*Seth is also run down and has a nasty cold

*Blood pressure is low

*Blood transfusions may be needed

*Dealing with hair loss

*Just the emotional toll it takes to continue to go back into the hospital and seeing the same patients there week after week

Wednesday

2008-11-26T16:54:00.000-08:00

I took Meg back to the hospital this morning at 8 am for her chemo treatment. She will be in the hospital overnight tonight and should be out around 2 pm tomorrow. She is feeling decent today, but it is tough for her to be back at the hospital and not at home. Her blood pressure is running a little low today, so pray that this regulates itself soon. Also pray that the chemo she is currently getting does not cause her a lot of nausea and does not lower her blood count drastically. Finally pray that this round of chemo is very successful killing cancer cells and that the doctors will be amazed with how quickly her body heals. Again thanks for all the prayers and love and support.

help

2008-11-25T15:58:00.000-08:00

Starting next Monday we will need some help from about 7 am to 4 pm for sure on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to come to our house and help Meg out with the kids. I will be back to work and Meg still needs significant help when she is home with the kids. If anyone is available to help for a day or part of the day please get a hold of Meg or myself and we will make arrangements. Remember if you are sick please do not sign up to come over to help as Meg's immune system is not very strong and she can easily get sick right now. Thanks to everyone for the love and prayers as we step through this challenge.

Tuesday

2008-11-25T15:54:00.000-08:00

Today was a good day for Meg because she had no trips to a hospital. She was very tired all day and continues to be very tired. Tomorrow at 8 am, she will be admitted back to the hospital for chemo treatment (Blodgette). She will have 14 hours of chemo treatment and will have to spend the night Wednesday at the hospital. I will be able to take her to the hospital tomorrow and get her home on Thursday. Pray that she will be able to atleast visit family on Thanksgiving.

Monday

2008-11-24T18:58:00.000-08:00

Today Meg went to the hospital in the morning for another chest x-ray to determine if the air bubble outside of her lung was gone. She was given the good news that the air bubble was gone this morning, but had to go home for about 4 hours with the tube clamped off to make sure that the bubble would not come back with the tube not pulling air out. She went back and the x-ray still showed no bubble and the chest tube was taken out. What a huge blessing. Thanks mom for taking Meg to the hospital twice so I could get back to work. Today both Talin and Annabelle went to the Peds as they both have been fighting sickness. They both were determined to just have colds and were given some medication to help hopefully speed the healing process up (thanks to Meg's mom, brother and sister for helping with the kids while Meg was at the hospital and also getting the kids to the doctors). Meg had a good day with pain and had a pretty positive day with how she felt. It helped that she did not need to get a shot tonight (I was ok with that too). Be praying for Meg's blood count to go up, that she would not catch a cold and that the chemo treatment on Wednesday/Thursday would go well. Good night.

Saturday/Sunday

2008-11-23T12:15:00.001-08:00

Well being home is awesome, tiring but awesome. We are so very thankful for family and help with the kids :)

Saturday I had a trip to Spectrum for an x-ray to see if the air bubble was gone to take out the chest tube. Unfortunately the air bubble is still there, smaller but still there. So I still have the chest tube and will go back on Monday for another try. Prayers for that please because it is uncomfortable to have.

Saturday i was also able to spend time with the Napper side of the family for an early Thanksgiving which was awesome to see family again! We couldn't stay all day but the time we had was lovely!!!

More family came in on Sunday to help with kids and the house, my sister Cassie will be staying with us until Thanksgiving to help with all that is needed. My brother Eric is here from Calf. to visit which is wonderful to see him again!

We also need prayers because Seth has pulled a neck/shoulder muscle that makes it hard to pick up the kids, not great timing! Prayers for healing there!!!

Also Seth has to give me a shot in the tummy every night which is painful and nerve wrecking for both of us so prayers for both of us there :)

2008-11-23T12:07:00.000-08:00

Bruises from shots

Port for chemo

2008-11-23T12:04:00.000-08:00

chest tube

2008-11-23T12:02:00.000-08:00

Here are some of my war wounds

Friday November 21

2008-11-21T12:17:00.000-08:00

Meg is home, there is no place like home. Thanks for all the love and support both Meg and I were given during her time in the hospital. Meg still has a chest tube in as the bubble on her left lung remains-but it is very small. She has a portable collection container attached to the tube that has allowed her to go home. Tomorrow morning (Saturday), I will be taking her back to the hospital for a follow up x-ray and hopefully the lung shows that it is completely healed and that no bubble remains. If so they make take out her chest tube tomorrow after the x-ray. An update on how Meg feels-she has her pain under control with the meds she is taking. She has nausia off and on and still is getting her body use to eating food. She is still very tired and needs to get her stamina back up as she has been in a bed for the last 11 days. Her blood count is way down so she is getting a shot each day to help boost that number back up. She needs to be very careful with visitors and crowds as her immune system is down and catching a cold or any other infection right now will slow down the healing process. Her next chemo is scheduled for next Wednesday and Thursday, she will get that chemo at the hospital and will have to stay Wednesday night.

20th The days are blending together

2008-11-20T10:30:00.000-08:00

One day is starting to blend into the next day after day, don't ask me what day it is 'cause I don't know. Ten days after living in any medical facility it really starts to get long. It makes me realize how strong the Iford family is, God bless them!

Good news first... the bad dreams are somewhat gone!!! Praise the Lord, sleep is a glorious thing:) I am still having some crazy dreams but nothing life changing or so frightening. I also am able to write a bit more (I am actually typing this for once, love the spell check). Reading is still very tough, one word at a time, slowly. I was able to decorate our room with favorite verses and inspirational ones too :) A much happier place now. My pain is much more managed now, I am on constant pain medication that is timed out, but my as needed pain meds are almost rarely used at this point. Nights are much more filled with sleep than pain. All pain meds are pills now and not IV which is helpful for going home. I see the kids about every other night which I look forward to each time!

Still working on speaking I am still often at a loss for the right word I want to say, but what is new there.

The chest tube as of 2:00 Thursday is still in, but they have made the collection container portable which makes going home much closer. I am getting shots which are helping me not get blood clots, which are very painful and sore after. As always chest x-rays are pretty much daily and the last one showed the air bubble outside the lung still there but very small-why the tube is still in. Blood tests come and go to monitor me for infections and track my blood count. Infections in the lungs or in the port are a huge risk now becuase my blood count is way down due to the chemo. Signs are posted on my door, regarding clean hands etc...Anyone with a cold is asked to wear a mask or not come near me. The cancer beta count which is suppose to be dropping with with the chemo, is doing that :) Praise the Lord again!

Going home is coming very close, a few more details to work out, please pray hard some of it is political and we can't do anything about :( Should possibly even be tomorrow... Love you all and thanks again for all the support!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tues the 18th

2008-11-18T11:21:00.000-08:00

Well I am officially still in the hospital and Talin is officially 5 months old. Grandma Sterken is taking over the first time baby food eating. Bless her help and everyone else as well, I'll get back that...

Medically some changes occurred. The chest air bubble has disappeared according to the last chest x-ray. Staff is still watching with caution to see if it comes back yet again, and therefore will be leaving the chest tube in for at least one more day Another rough rough night as with pain. Waking up at 10:30 and being in excruciating pain until at least 12 is not fun at all. So today has been some more blood work to check for infections, rest when we can, and trying to stabilize pain on a consistent basis, that is the only way I can leave this "lovely" place.

Now for the scarier, I have been feeling Satan in our "Healing Room". I am on A LOT of drugs and I am sure that plays a part in this at least. However, I have been having horrifying visible dreams that have got to be from the Devil. Last night I physically felt a nurses hand on my leg and this nurse told me I was going to die and then I woke up. I quickly had to wake up Seth to see what is really going on. Another example I will get into but not much because it frankly still shakes me up...I was in a car accident with the kids and Annabelle got thrown out of the car onto the road. These dream are very life-like and terrify me and I know It is Satan working, so please be praying!

On to better news, the help we have been given is nothing less than amazing. Our neighbor across the street who owns his own plowing bus. is plowing our driveway for free all winter!!!

Gentex Corp. has been more than gracious to Seth and our family in many many ways. From people I have never met, I feel their love, what a great feeling!

My school is collecting money toward giftcards for food.

Daycare has given us 1 free week plus the staff is making meals as well

Plus all the love, meals, and prayers from First and that is only a beginning and I am not even home yet!

This is all still very overwhelming and honestly hard to take in these gift but we love you all so much and God is teaching us every step of the way.

Napper Hos. News

2008-11-17T15:36:00.000-08:00

Saturday November 15th

Saturday morning started with some severe pain early, early in the morning. This was the same type of pain and location (left upper back, side and under ribcage) that she experienced the Monday night I brought her in to the hospital. It took the nurses quite a while to get this pain under control (about an hour). As with most occurrences after she had a spell of significant pain, Meg was given another chest x-ray and some blood was drawn for cultures to make sure she was not dealing with an infection. The chest x-rays came back showing no air pocket outside of her left lung (still good news) and the cultures showed all negative for infection. Due to the severe pain she was experiencing on and off all day, Meg would not be leaving the hospital as originally hoped. The doctors modified the pain medications, dose sizes and how often she could take the drugs to help hopefully get the pain under control by Sunday without the use of IV pain medications. If successful she may be able to go home Sunday. Also Saturday afternoon Meg’s parents came up to the hospital with Annabelle, Talin and Meg’s sister Cassie for a short visit. By 8 pm Meg was very sleepy (the nurse said these meds will put you to sleep) and before long she was out in a deep sleep.

Sunday November 16th

Not much into Sunday-about 4 am the severe pain was back, and by 5 am Meg again had been given some strong IV meds and was again having to travel down to an x-ray room for a chest x-ray. This time the disappointing results came back with the x-ray showing an air pocket outside of Meg’s left lung. This pneumo-thorax (or partially collapsed lung) would set Meg back at least a few days. It is still believed that this air pocket was generated during her lung biopsy that she had early last week-an air bubble originally showed up after the biopsy but quickly went away but now a bubble has reformed. By 11:00 am the medical staff had placed a chest tube into Meg’s upper left chest in an attempt to pull (suction) the air out. This was tough for both of us because Meg was so glad to get the chest drain out, just to get another tube put into her chest 2 days later. The afternoon went decent for Meg as she was able to rest relatively well. I left the hospital for the first time since I believe Wednesday and went to my parents for a couple hours. Thanks to by Big-Bro and others for looking out for me. Meg was able to get some sleep but again by 11:00 pm the severe pain was back, and by midnight Meg again had been given some strong IV meds to take the edge off of the pain.

Monday November 17th

Not much after midnight Meg was given another chest x-ray and upon the radiologist reading it, there was not much change in the size of the pneumo-thorax. We waited for some of the doctors to come in this morning to get an opinion of what to do next. The first thing one of the doctors noticed was that the chest tube was set up with the collection container but not set up for extra suction by hooking it up to an air valve on the room wall. She hooked it up to suction to see if they could reduce the air pocket size without changing the size of the chest tube. Another x-ray was taken at 3 pm and this x-ray showed the air pocket reduced in size but was still present. Right now we are just hoping and praying that the right blend of drugs will be found to make it so that Meg no longer suffers from severe pain and that this pneumo-thorax would resolve itself fast. The kids are on their way up for a visit now.

Meg Hospital Update

2008-11-15T13:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends and Family,

God is good-all the time. Thanks to all of our friends and family that have helped us so much over the past week. Thanks for the love, the support and all of the prayers. God has answered so many prayers and we trust Him to continue to lead us through this difficult time. We are overwhelmed with the response of so many people that want to help us walk though this journey. In Christ's strength we can do all things!!!

Following is a summary of the events of the last few months, mostly starting Monday November 10.

Lead-up to visiting the Urgent Care/Hospital

Ever since Talin was born Meg has been tired and has not seemed to bounce back like she did with Annabelle. We just figured it's harder with two little ones. Since his birth she has been dealing with some back pain which would come and go, we both thought she just kept pulling back muscles. She would take some Motrin and keep on with life. Within the last two weeks another problem started-she started having some blood in her urine. She worked with her OB doctor and it was thought to be a UTI (urinary tract infection) and a prescription was prescribed and Meg took it for 3 days. It cleared up for a few days but then the blood came back. She was in communication with her doctor and the plan was to drop a sample off on Monday for analysis. On Sunday Meg was not feeling well (dealing with some back pain and just really tired and was out of breath after standing awhile or walking stairs). The plan was to let the urine sample that was going to be dropped off at the doctor Monday explain why she was not feeling well. Monday came and Meg felt a little better than Sunday, but her back hurt. She took Motrin in the morning and went on with life. She dropped off the sample at the doctors office and they did not seem very concerned as they still thought Meg was dealing with a UTI, but did not want to do anything until the urine sample was analyzed. After dinner Monday Meg decided to get groceries as she was feeling decent. In a short period of time her back really tightened up on her and by the end of groceries she was in much pain. She called me at home crying in pain and upon arriving home I knew I needed to get her to Urgent Care (she could barely move her left arm and had shooting pain in her left shoulder and rib area). I had Meg’s parents come to the house to take the kids and off to the Urgent Care Center we went.

Monday night November 10th-Tuesday November 11th at 9 am

Upon getting to the Urgent Care center they quickly did a few chest x-rays and upon the doctor reading the x-rays he noticed some spots on the lungs and we were pretty quickly sent to ER at Spectrum Downtown, but not without prayers from the nurse attending to us. Upon getting to the ER more tests were done. From 8 pm Monday to 5 am Tuesday tests performed included more x-rays, a CT scan of the lungs, an EKG, many blood draws for cultures, urine sampling and testing and multiple ultrasounds. During this period of time as test results came back the diagnosis changed. The first theory was that the spots showing up in the chest x-ray were either small blood clots or some bacterial infection, potentially pneumonia. Upon getting results of the urine test, the doctor on staff informed us that Meg was pregnant. We were shocked as we just had Talin 4 ½ months ago and couldn’t figure out how Meg really could be pregnant. It did not add up to us, but the test was saying that was the case. We were shocked, upset and confused all at once. We were not ready for another baby and it was hard to wrap our head around this diagnosis. In order to verify the pregnancy, two separate ultrasounds were performed. After sitting and waiting for what seemed like hours but was probably minutes the results came back. Our emotions were running wild because we didn’t want Meg to be pregnant but worse we didn’t want her to have a miscarriage. We were informed that there was not a beating heart, but that she was still showing pregnant-miscarriage (so the doctor’s and we thought). Later on it was discovered that the uterus had a mass that resulted in a positive pregnancy test, but that the mass was never going to be a viable fetus. Meg was not going to have a baby and Meg did not have a miscarriage, Meg had a molar pregnancy (mass). We were informed that they could perform a procedure to remove that mass but as time moved forward things changed again. At this point they knew it was more than just some back pain and we were admitted into the hospital (left the ER Triage area)-around 5 am Tuesday. Now the goal was to determine if the spots on the lungs were blood clots or bacteria (they would not start on treatment until that was resolved as the treatment was not at all the same). They told us that they would start Meg on blood thinners if they figure out it is blood clots or start her on antibiotics if the spots were from a bacterial infection. From 5 am-9 am Meg had to do another CT scan of the lungs and also a CT scan of the abdomen/uterus and a CT scan of her brain. By 9 am the doctor’s had put all of the information together from the blood work, urine sample, x-rays and CT scans and had figured out what was wrong. The spots on the lungs were not blood clots and were not from a bacterial infection. The spots were part of a disease called choriocarcinoma or sometimes called gestational trophoblastic tumors-which is a form of cancer. In this disease the molar mass in the uterus is full of cancerous cells and those cells spread beyond the uterus, in this case to the lungs (those were the spots that showed up on the original chest x-ray). It is believed that this mass was generated from tissue remaining in Meg after the delivery of Talin.

Post cancer diagnosis Tuesday November 11th 9 am-rest of Tuesday

Upon receiving the diagnosis we were shocked and our emotions were running wild. Lots of questions were running thru our heads. In talking to the doctors we were encouraged that it was a curable form of cancer and that getting Meg on chemotherapy as soon as possible was crucial. Before starting on chemotherapy a few procedures needed to happen. The first procedure Meg had to go thru Tuesday afternoon was a lung biopsy. In this procedure a doctor took a needle and inserted it into Meg’s lung while using a CT scan attempting to collect a small piece of the disease in her lungs. The procedure I was told was going to take 30 minutes and 2 hours later I has not heard back. I was in prayer that the procedure was fine just taking a little longer for some reason. About 2 hrs 45 minutes after I dropped Meg off for the procedure, she was done. I come to find out that the doctor made 4-5 attempts to get a piece of the lung that was diseased but could not and all of the lab results were inconclusive. Meg was in pain for having to lay down flat on her stomach the entire procedure. Upon getting out of the lung biopsy, Meg was given another chest x-ray to make sure no air escaped the lungs during the biopsy and then she was taken to yet another room and a pick-line was inserted into her right arm. The pick-line was needed so that Meg could have chemo started the next day-Wednesday. Upon getting back to the room after getting in the pick-line, we were informed that the chest x-ray showed clearly that a small pocket of air escaped the left lung during her biopsy (partial collapsed lung) and that it needed to be watched carefully. If the air bubble did not reduce in size over the next 24 hours the plan was to put in a chest tube that would be used to help the air escape. Next we had a discussion about a transfer to Blodgett Hospital to be with Dr. Harrison and his staff, in which we ultimately decided was best for Meg. After dinner time Tuesday, Meg’s parents came up to the hospital and brought up Annabelle and Talin for a visit. It was nice to see the kids, but upon them leaving it really made it tough to think about Meg having cancer with the 2 little ones. Thursday night concluded with a 10 pm ambulance ride from Spectrum Downtown to Blodgett for Meg as I followed behind in my car. By the time the transfer was done and Meg was settled it was pushing midnight and was time for both Meg and myself to try to sleep for the first time since when we woke up Monday morning.

Wednesday November 12th

Wednesday morning started with getting a roommate in Meg’s room. A nice 70 yr old lady by the name of Lynn was moved into Meg’s room. She was dealing with a spot on her lung and was getting scheduled for biopsy’s to see if she had cancer. Even though Lynn was a good roommate it was tough for Meg as she had to deal with all the visitors of Lynn and the constant nurses in the room checking on one of them. Later in the morning Meg was given another chest x-ray to see if the air bubble was still present outside her left lung. Within the hour we had great news back that the air bubble was reduced in size and that the chest tube would not be necessary-they were just going to continue to monitor the bubble with daily x-rays. With the great news we had such relief, but it didn’t take long before we realized that while the bubble had reduced in size that the x-ray showed a problem because we heard the phrase “now for the bad news”. After that we were told that the x-ray showed fluid within Meg’s left lung and that the fluid would have to be removed by a chest drain as soon as possible. While waiting to hear when the procedure was going to happen to put the drain in, the nurses started Meg’s first chemo treatment. It started at 2 pm and consisted of getting 3 drugs thru the pick-line. The first drug ran thru the IV line for an hour, the 2nd drug also an hour and the last drug for 12 hours (started at 4 pm Wednesday and ended at 4 am Thursday). This treatment was given by a nurse named Nicole-she was such a blessing to our family taking care of Meg so well Wednesday and again on Thursday. At 6 pm Wednesday Meg was taken away to go get her chest drain put in. This procedure took about an hour and went very well. By the time we attempted to sleep Wednesday night about 65 ml of fluid had drained from her lung and she was feeling very good. She also had the ability to breathe deep without pain. Later Wednesday night my parents came and sat with Meg an hour or two and I was able to leave the hospital and get home and clean myself up-it was very much needed and appreciated. Wednesday night to Thursday morning seemed to take forever as barely any sleep was had by Meg, her roommate or I (lots of nurse traffic and constant noise).

Thursday November 13th

Thursday morning was the first time since getting to the hospital that was not full of events. Meg and I were able to rest a little bit as Lynn was taken out of the room for a few tests. Meg’s fluid catch container had filled to a total of 100 ml of fluid by 6 am but after that no fluid drained. This made us feel very hopeful that all of the fluid was out of the lungs and that Meg was finished with at least one battle. A chest x-ray later that morning verified that the fluid was no longer present in her left lung and that the air bubble outside that same lung was also gone. This was a huge relief and huge answer to many prayers. The medical staff decided to leave in the drain even with this good report just to make sure the fluid would not come back. Thursday at 2 pm Meg had her 2nd chemo treatment, this one only lasted 2 hours and all went well (Nicole-Meg’s favorite nurse had everything under control). After chemo was done another prayer was answered as Meg was transferred to a private room. This is exactly what she needed to get the rest she needed to feel better. It was a great room, large enough for Meg and me to hang out and relax in and with a sweet view of the center garden area of the hospital. I quickly deemed the room “The Healing Room”. Upon getting Meg settled I was able to go eat dinner with my kids at Meg’s parents and Meg was able to rest alone in “The Healing Room”, it was what both of us needed. Late Thursday, around 8:30 pm, the doctor of Urology came to check out Meg as by this point in the week the one symptom that did not have a diagnoses was the blood in the urine. After placing a catheter with a little probe, the Urologist found a mass in the bladder. This mass is what has been causing the blood in the urine and with very high confidence was linked to the choriocarcinoma. It was nice to understand the bleeding but tough to realize that Meg’s disease was spread not only to her lungs from her uterus but also to her bladder.

Friday November 14th

Sleep went well Thursday to Friday for both Meg and I. The morning started when we found out that Meg’s cultures had all come back clean for 48 hours and that she could get in her port (the port was necessary for her to leave the hospital and to get her outpatient chemo in the future). The port was successfully put in from 9-10 am and thankfully Meg did not feel much pain during the procedure. Also they successfully removed her pick-line, it was a great morning. By Friday afternoon another chest x-ray was taken and again showed no fluid in the lung. Great, great news for Meg as the chest drain was causing Meg tons of discomfort. Not much time after getting the good x-ray results, a doc came and took out the drain. Meg literally proclaimed her love for that doctor (even though she had known him for a total of less than a minute). Meg was uplifted and able to shower and clean up. Friday night the kids came up with Meg’s parents again and Meg and I were both encouraged to see them for a few minutes. Meg was getting closer to coming home, just needed to make sure she had her pain and nausea under control. She has not eaten much all week and continues to not feel up to eating. She also is backed up from all of the meds and Chemo, so is starting to take some drugs to help clear that problem up.

More to come