Visitors

Josh had a fairly nice “off” week last week. He was even feeling good enough last Saturday to go and watch Jake’s last soccer game of the season! Josh got another round of chemo this past Wednesday. It hit him pretty hard. The nausea has been unbearable, even with all of the medications. Josh’s diet has been upped to clear liquids when he is feeling up to it, so he has been partaking in some Jell-o when he feels ok.

We had some wonderful visitors yesterday! Remember Kevin from NY, who had the big surgery with Dr. Sugarbaker? Well he and his wife, Roni, came down for a short visit (they were in Phoenix for a work conference of Kevin’s). It was wonderful to see how well Kevin is doing. He had the BIG surgery back in February and a secondary exploratory surgery in July. He looked great! He is still recovering from things, but he is currently cancer free!! They have been a big help to us through email and prayer support. We had a very nice visit with both of them and you can see a few photos in the new picture album.

Also in the album are some pictures from June that I just got a chance to scan.
Jake loves school now, by the way.

Please continue to pray that the chemo kills the cancer in Josh’s body and that Josh can have continued strength (mind, body and spirit).


P.S. The blog has a new feature. Clicking on the small envelope icon at the bottom of the post allows you to quickly and easily email a link to the post to a friend.

Today was a scheduled chemo day, but it didn’t quite go as planned. First, I’ll tell you that last week Josh’s ileostomy started to work again (yea!), and that helps to greatly reduce vomiting (double yea!). The problem remains, however, that everything is diarrhea. This is expected because of the chemo, but it would be better if it were not so constant. Because of the amount of fluid Josh is losing through his ostomy, the oncologist decided to skip chemo this week (also his White Blood Cell count was low). He was scheduled to have a week-long break in chemo next week, but instead that will be this week. Hopefully this time off will allow his body to recuperate and be ready for the next doses.

Jake started pre-school last week. It took lots of effort on Gretchen’s part to get him to go, but he finally gave in. I think he’s getting more used to it, so hopefully it will actually start to be fun soon.

Crystal survived hurricane Charley from her hotel room in Orlando. She went on a trip with some friends, and luckily the hotel structure was strong. The worst they had to deal with was no electricity for a night.

A quick plug for myself: I’m currently looking for some part-time work. So, if you know anyone who might like to hire me, let me know. I’ll send over my resume! :)

Birthdays

Not too much has changed since the last post. The new chemo is pretty strong and requires 4 shots a week in order to help Josh’s bone marrow produce white blood cells (so he can fight off infection). So, Gretchen has added giving shots to her long resume of nursing duties. Josh will have another dose of chemo tomorrow. Please pray that the chemo attacks the cancer cells, and that the blockages will clear.

In an attempt to keep a sense of normalcy in our lives, we had a busy weekend. On Saturday Jake had another soccer game and then Gretchen and I took the kids to the Tucson Children’s Museum. They were hosting a special bug exhibit (Jake loves bugs!) where the kids were allowed to touch and hold certain bugs. We also got to try out some of the other things the museum had to offer. I’ve posted pictures of the day.

On Sunday we had a mini-celebration for Crystal’s and my birthdays (I turned 23 on the 7th and Crystal turns 18 on the 12th). The family got together for dinner and cake at Josh and Gretchen’s house.

Click here to see the pictures.

Chemo change

Things seem to be continuing about the same, and nothing has improved. It seems as though the chemotherapy that Josh was undergoing was not working well. Because of this, the regimen has changed. He is now on the SALTZ regimen: leucovorin, 5-FU and Camptosar. This is once a week for 3 weeks, and then one week off. He will also need 4 shots throughout the week.

Yesterday was his first day of the new chemo, so we are not yet sure how he will react. Please pray that this new chemo is the answer, and that it relieves his problems. We can’t wait for Josh to start feeling better. He does what he can, but understandably, he doesn’t feel up to doing much.

I've also added some new pictures taken with Jake's camera. If Jake isn't in the picture, then he was the photographer. Enjoy!