Quick Update

I just wanted to let you all know that the stint removal went well. I just came from the hospital and Josh had just woken up, and he looked great and felt great. Thank you for your extra prayers! He should be heading home sometime within the next hour. :)

Thanks to everyone for all of your support and prayers…they are working! Josh has been doing pretty well. That kidney infection turned out to not actually be an infection (which is good), but it is a problem with his stint (which is not good). On Monday Josh is going to have a short procedure done to remove the stint from his kidney. (So be sure and say a prayer around 2pm). Hopefully his kidney will function ok on its own, and the stint won’t have to be replaced.

This week was a chemo week. Lots of trips to the oncologist. His white blood count was low this week, so they gave him a shot for that today, which should bring those counts back up.

Josh has definitely been keeping busy…working from home when he can. Last week he even went shopping a couple of times, and he tries his best to eat whenever possible (trying to pack on some pounds).

Yesterday we took the kids to the zoo, which was lots of fun, and later we went to a school carnival. Jake and Caily had a great time playing everything.

So, that is basically all for now. Thank you to everyone who has shown their support by getting a bracelet. We all truly appreciate it.

Awareness

Well, it’s been a while since the last update. I’ve been pretty busy on my next endeavor. First things first, though. Josh has been doing pretty well over the last week, with the exception of the last couple of days. He seems to have developed a possible kidney infection, so please say a prayer for quick healing. Last Wednesday-Friday Josh had another round of chemo, and he will have another next Wednesday. Bobbi and Grami came into town on Monday, so that will be a great big help for everyone here.

As for my newest hobby…I have decided to begin a fundraiser for Josh’s medical bills as well as general cancer research. To do this, I have been making Cancer Awareness Bracelets that I designed. At first I made them just for Josh’s caretakers, but after some praises and requests, I decided to give everyone a chance to own one! You may recognize them from our wrists at the cancer climb. I have put a lot of work into organizing all of this, and I hope that you enjoy. The web address is http://www.memebers.cox.net/cancerawareness Pictures of some of the bracelets are online, but they look even better in real life!! Also, I can always make you a new design, with you in mind. I can also make different colors to represent different cancers (appendix cancer does not have an official color, so I use lavender which represents “general cancer”). So, please take a moment or two to check out the page, and buy yourself, or a loved one, a bracelet.

We conquered the mountain!!

The climb was awesome! Anyone who was there would tell you the same. We had a turn out of about 50 people for “Team GIANT” and we all made it the 3 miles up and then some! The weather was beautiful, and we had a great time. Once we got to the top my mom drove Josh up there to join us for some hot dogs and pictures. While we were up there I found out that our team raised the most money!! This is especially due to a very generous donation by Aunt Sharon and Len! Thank you both!!!!! We raised a total of about $3,000 for cancer research!!

After the pictures and hot dogs, we had the option of taking a bus down the mountain, or walking down. I think just about everyone on our team opted to walk! Even JOSH!! That’s right; he walked down the full 3 miles! It was great to seem him getting such good exercise. As you can imagine, we were all pretty tired after our big day. The next day Josh woke up feeling pretty good and he made the family breakfast.

For those of you who couldn't make it out this year, get ready for next year! We are definitely planning on making this a tradition. Plus, there may be more events later in the year.

I have uploaded the pictures from the Climb, look under the “Links” section.

We have a very special “thank you” to the Accounting department at The Fountains!! They put together a wonderful gift basket for Josh, Gretchen and the kids. It was a wonderful surprise, and just what they needed! Thank you to those of you in the Barney building!! :)

Get ready to climb!

…or, if you are cousin Michael, get ready to run up and down the stairs. We are all getting very excited about the Climb this Saturday. The T-shirts look great! I emailed most of you all of the pertinent information about the climb. I’m not sure that I got the info to everyone, so I will post it below.

"I am definitely going to bring the shirts on Saturday morning, but if you would like them before that, then we are going to have to figure something out. Let me know if you would like to make arrangements to get your shirt early. Remember, they are red with white writing (I'm sure you want to coordinate your outfits!!).

The plan for Saturday: Meet at Pima Community College West campus (2202 W Anklam Rd), the parking lot is on the SW side and I'm sure it will be quite obvious where everyone is. The walk begins at 8am, so plan to be there a little early to get your shirts (I'm going to get there around 7:15-7:20ish). I've been told there will be Krispy Kremes and I'm sure coffee. The walk is 3 miles up to the top of "A" Mountain. We are all supposed to meet at the top so that we can get a team picture, so please plan on that. Also, there should be food at the top. There will be free shuttles up to the top if you can't make it up there, and shuttles back down to get everyone to their cars. Everything should be completely done by Noon.
Hopefully you know what I look like, so you can find me. If not, just look for my shirt. The back design say's "Team GIANT" (I'm sure you will recognize it as the best shirt design there!!) :)
I think there will be people with water there, but I say bring a water bottle just in case.
OK, I think that covers everything. If not, email me."

Things are going ok with Josh. The chemo is very tough, so it makes him tired. This week he has a break from the chemo, and he will get another dose next Wednesday.

I wanted to say “thanks” to a few of you who notified me that you have donated blood. Michael (a regular donator), Marie, Jim and Marissa (even though Marissa had passed out the first time she donated), and Alice (who got 5 others in her office to donate with her). Thanks guys!