Happy Tears

Hello Chad Lovers! Well I have GREAT news to share!! Chad’s latest MRI showed that 6 out of the 7 cancer spots on his brain are either gone completely or are shrinking the way they should after treatment. The 7th one hasn’t gotten any bigger and the best part… there are NO new ones!! Also, his latest blood work showed that his tumor markers are all very low. Measuring tumor markers in the blood is one of the ways doctors determine how much cancer is active in a persons body. Dr. May told us last week that there are 3 types of tumor markers they watch closely in Chad’s type of cancer. Of those three, two are now down to 0 and the 3rd one is down to 39!! This is HUGE. To help put this in perspective, the one that is now down to 39 started at over 1,500 when Chad was first diagnosed! At this point Chad is done with treatments and they will begin to monitor his tumor markers every 3 months for any changes. The blood test that reflects the 39 was taken right after he finished his last round of chemo so we believe it is actually even lower than that right now.

So here I am jumping for joy and praising the LORD who has made all this possible!!! I truly believe Chad’s healing is a miracle from GOD and it brings me to tears to think about it (happy ones for a change!). Chad has come so far and to have seen him go through all that he has first hand has been nothing short of amazing. Chad is definitely a messenger of faith. His strength and unwavering desire to trust in God’s will in his own life has inspired me and many others to do the same. As anyone that knows him will say, he is truly one of a kind. Chad is the most unique, interesting and genuine person I’ve ever met and I am so grateful to be able to call him my husband.

So praise the LORD with us for this happy news Chad Lovers! Thank you, thank you, and thank you some more for all of the love and never ending support you’ve given us through this journey. Friends and family are lifeboats from God and we wouldn’t have made it through without you.

Love Always,
Adrianne

Merry Christmas!

So it’s been a long time. Sorry guys, just haven’t had much to update you on. Things have been quiet, which is a good thing! Chad has continued to do really well with his chemotherapy treatments and will have another round next week. Don’t worry though, there will be no chemo on Christmas Eve! Dr. May said no way to that and instead Chad will get the 5 days worth, in 4 days. He is scheduled to have a MRI on his brain December 28th and will see Dr. Sanni after that to go over the results. We’ve enjoyed the last month or so of no news is good news and although we are nervous about the upcoming tests & results, we both have a really good feeling that there will be great news to share with you soon.

Our faith in the Lord’s will has never been stronger and we know that he’s in control. Unlike us, he see’s the big picture of our lives and the reasons behind everything good & bad that happens to us. It is a wonderful feeling to just let go and trust him and it brings us a peace that can’t be found any other way. We believe God is steering the boat and that we just have to keep paddling. He’ll lead us exactly where we are supposed to be.

I don’t mean to sound like I’m some kind of superhuman on this blog nor am I trying to paint a false picture of everything being just peachy all the time. Those of you close to us know we have our struggles. I mean, Chad is 32 and has cancer. There isn’t a minute that goes by that we forget this. It sucks in every possible way you can imagine. It sucks every minute of everyday. We get mad, we get upset….I’ve been known to do some serious crying….

But what can we do? We can roll over and wallow in it or we can choose to keep paddling, to have faith, to try to be positive, and enjoy every minute of everyday- regardless. We may have hard days, but we have days and now we appreciate all of them in a new way.

We wish all of you this same appreciation for life and the people God has placed in your life this holiday season. Go hug someone you love, or better yet someone you don’t! Merry Christmas Everyone!!

chemo shmemo

Hello Everyone, today is Sunday October 31st. Chad starts his 2nd round of chemo of this second run on Monday. We found out a couple weeks ago he will be having 4 more rounds of chemo again instead of just 2. Dr. May didn't elaborate too much as to why, and we didn't ask. Dr. May did say that Chad's tumor marker numbers are looking good and that they are on track. We've decided not too ask too many questions. We feel we have two choices, trust that Dr. May knows what he is doing, or don't. And we do. So with that said, I'm sorry I am probably not answering many of the questions you all may have. I'm not withholding any information, we just haven't been into the details lately. We believe that God is in control and that gives us peace everyday. We choose to pray, focus on the positives, and enjoy each other and everyday to its fullest extent. After nearly six months of treatments, we've learned to live around cancer. We refuse to let it take over our lives and prevent us from enjoying life. I mean sure we have good days and bad days but we really do have many more good days than bad. Chad has felt great after the last round, he hasn't felt sick at all. It was hard for him to start losing his beard again after it had just come back but he's feeling better about it now. He's been tired but not too bad. We've done lots of fun things lately including participating in the Light the Night walk last weekend. We raised $375 for cancer research and it was really cool to see so many people gathered together for the cause. Last night Liz had a Halloween party that we all went to. Justice dressed up as Eminem, Chad was a gang member, and I was a witch. We had a great time! We also recently cleaned Chad's music studio up and it looks great. Since then he's been super inspired and has been making lots of beautful beats. We've talked about creating a website so he can share them with everyone that wants to hear. I'll keep you posted on that. I hope everyone has a happy & safe Halloween and thanks again for your prayers & support!

Round 5

Hey there! Today is Friday October 15, 2010 and the last day of Chad’s 5th round of chemotherapy. Chad met with Doctor May on the 5th and he let him know he would need two more rounds of chemo since his tumor marker numbers had gone up a little bit. Dr. May said everyone’s body is different and that some people just need more than others. He will get a week or two off before the 6th round.

Chad has been feeling really good, no sickness or anything! Last weekend we went to Bryan & Erin’s wedding in Scottsville VA. It was beautiful! They got married on Sunday (10-10-10) and our 11th wedding anniversary was on Saturday the 9th. We stayed at the Scottsville Inn on Saturday night and it was so nice to get to spend time with good friends. Chad and I can’t stop talking about how much fun we had! We laughed and danced and just had a really, really good time. It was an anniversary and weekend we will always remember.

So… life is good! We see and feel God’s blessings and love everyday. Chad is feeling great and is handling everything in his one of a kind, laid back style that we all know and love him for. Thank you to everyone for the continued prayers, love & support.

Long over due update

Hello Everyone, Today is Tuesday September 28, 2010 and we have some catching up to do. Chad's been doing really well the last few weeks. Other than the Vena Cava filter not coming out when they tried a few weeks ago. Things had been quiet. They decided to leave the filter in and say that it will be just fine to do so. It can stay in there indefinitely. They never could say exactly why they couldn't get it out.

Last week Chad had a follow up MRI done on his brain. Unfortunately, we did not get good news. The MRI showed 5 or 6 new cancer spots. I know, the news took our breath away too.

Chad is actually in the head hallo again as we speak and will be getting Gamma Knife surgery any time now. I am not sure if I have mentioned what Gamma Knife surgery is in the past so I apologize if I am repeating myself. Basically, it is pin head precise radiation, kind of like laser radiation. Without this technology, the alternative would be whole brain radiation which can cause damage to the healthy brain tissue. They said they would consider doing that if Chad were an older patient but that since he is so young, it is best to do the Gamma Knife again.

Things are going smoothly so far today, we came to the hospital at 6:30am this morning and it is about 10am now. The plan is that he will go home this evening. The first time he had Gamma Knife back in June was a horrible experience because Chad's anesthesia wore off too early. The doctors and nurses seem to be doing everything they can this time to make sure he has a better experience. He is pretty out of it right now and we are all watching him closely to make sure he stays that way until they have finished. Chad's Mom is here with us and Justice is at school right now. Justice is handling everything really well and is always good at making us smile and laugh. He always tells Chad, don't worry Dad, you'll be okay!

We meet with Doctor May again next week. We don't have answers to a lot of questions but that's ok for now. We trust Doctor May & Dr. Sahni fully and even more importantly we trust the Lord. Sometimes there are never enough answers to the questions we have as humans. Sometimes, we just have to fully put our faith & trust in God and let him take care of us. This is our choice and it brings us peace.

positive thoughts

Chad had surgery on Monday to remove the vena cava filter. It didn't go as planned. Unfortunately, after two painful and awake hours of them trying they could not get it out. It was supposed to be a fairly quick & easy procedure so he was only under light local anesthesia but for some reason the doctor couldn't get a crib on the filter. The doctor said he thought there might be a blood clot in it that was blocking the little hook at the top of it he was trying to latch on to. I am not so sure if I believe that was the case since when they did the ultrasound a week earlier it was clear of clots. My personal opinion is that the doctor just couldn't get it but who really knows . We don't know what this means exactly yet. We have to wait until he sees Dr. May on the 14th to hear what his plan is. Will they try again, will they leave it in, what are the risks of both, etc. For now, they have him on both the blood thinner shot and the pill. We assume this is an extra precaution in case there was a clot in it. He has been feeling up and down since the surgery, good days and bad. I believe we are seeing small but steady improvements, he is getting stronger and less tired little by little.
Everyday we have the choice of focusing on the positives, or dwelling on the negatives. Some days are harder than others to go with the positive choice. Thank God for our faith and our love for each other and our family because without those positives, we would be lost. We know in our hearts that God is doing his thing and Chad will be feeling better than ever very soon.

filer removal & shots

Hi Everybody! Today is Sunday August 29th. Chad is scheduled to have out patient surgery tomorrow to have the vena cava filter removed. The good news is that he doesn't need it anymore! When they did an ultrasound to see it last week there were no blood clots in it. They will not put him completely to sleep to remove it but he will be pretty out of it.
In order to have the filter removed he had to go off the pill form of blood thinner for 5 days before the surgery and in it's place get shots of blood thinner in his stomach. In order for it not to be in his system during surgery and possibly make him bleed too much he had to go off the pill form. Apparently, the pill stays in your system for days after you stop taking it while the shot does not. So I have been giving him the shots the last few days. Not fun. Let's just say I am no nurse! Chad has purple bruises on his stomach from my lack of shot giving skills. Poor guy.
We think the shots must be whats causing him to not feel well too. He has been even more tired than he has been, he's had an upset stomach, a runny nose, mild headaches and his ankles are swollen so bad they hurt again. We looked it up online last night and all of these symptoms are listed as possible side effects of the shot. He will have to take the shot for another 5 days after surgery before going back on the pill form. We are not sure exactly how long he will have to be on some form of blood thinner. Doctor May hasn't said...