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...

So it's been a while...

Hey everyone! Sorry it has taken me so long to post an update. Chad has been doing really well and there hasn't been much change so not much to report. This is a GOOD thing!! He is still very tired and weak but this will be normal for a while yet. It will just take time. His hair hasn't started growing back yet and he's even lost some of his eye lashes but that will all come back in time too. He has some doctor visits coming up in the next few weeks so I'll keep you posted on any changes or new information.

A very special thank you to all of the wonderful people that made the benefit for us in Lynchburg happen last weekend. I hope you all know how much it really means to us. We have the best friends in the world and can't even explain how thankful we are to each of you. We were sad to miss it but heard it was a really fun time, like a big reunion. We love that! We have a couple of friends that hadn't talked in a couple of years that were brought together that day (you know who you are;) and it makes me smile to know that. God works in mysterious ways!

We recently had a short but wonderful visit from my big (she's actually much smaller) sister and her four kids, Adrianne, Jack, Amy & Michael. My sister, Georgette drove all the way from NY by herself with four kids in the back AND got stuck in horrible traffic just to see us!! It should have only took her about 7.5 hours to get here, it took her 12. She is amazing and she's my best friend. My whole family got together including Chad, Justice & I, my big (he is bigger;) brother Keith, my sister-in-law Melissa and their kids Carter & Walker, and our Mom & Dad & my Dad's wife Easa. It was really nice to have everyone together. Seven kids all under the age of 14! I think we created some memories for them that will last their whole lives. Thank you Keith for putting it all together, it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't.

Justice is HOME for good now and we are so happy. He had a fantastic summer and loved every minute of camp and staying with his Nanny & Papa ( Chad's parents) but it is so nice to have him home. There are a couple more weeks before school starts so it will be nice to have the down time together before the craziness starts. We are planning on enjoying every minute!

Chemo is DONE! The final stretch....

Hey Everyone! Chad finished his last round of chemo on Friday!! WOO HOO The nurses sang him a song and had him ring a bell when he was done on Friday. It was pretty funny. He tried to get them not to do it haha. He goes on Monday to get a shot that boosts his white blood cell creation. This is normal, just a precaution to keep his body making enough. After that, he has a visit with the urologist just to make sure everything has healed the way it should from his original tumor removal surgery. He also has a follow up visit on Wednesday with the doctor that put in the blood clot Vena cava filter to see if they can remove that yet. He is not scheduled to see Dr. May (the oncologist) again until the first week in September. I assume they will run more tests at that time.

Chad's parent's & Justice came up Friday night and stayed the weekend. It was nice to have them all here. We had a good time just hanging out and doing whatever. We went out to eat and did a little exploring around Richmond. Chad's not feeling very good though, seems to be fighting a cold or something. He doesn't have a fever and isn't throwing up or anything so we are just keeping an eye on it. It's hard on him to not feel well, he tries to push himself for everyone else.

Justice went back to Lynchburg with Chad's parents for another week at camp. He just loves it! It makes us happy that he has had such a wonderful summer regardless of everything going on. Chad & I are both ready to have him home again for good though and to get our lives back on track. It was hard to say good bye to him today. We are both ready to move on from this and get back to normal. We know it won't be long now, but sometimes the last stretch of anything you have been working on and waiting for, is the hardest part...

Reason to Celebrate!!

Hello everyone! Today is Monday August 2nd and I'm inviting you all to celebrate with us! Do a dance, jump up and down or have a drink in Chad's honor today!! Chad met with Dr. May today before his 4th and final round of chemo treatments started. Dr. May went over results from previous blood work that had been sent to a lab last month. Dr. May said that Chad's tumor markers have almost all returned to normal levels!! Tumor markers are found in the blood and are what doctors use to monitor the amount of active cancer cells in the body. We don't know what they all stand for and there are many but for example one of his tumor markers called HCG was 87 when he was diagnosed in April. The normal, cancer free range for this marker is between 0-3 and Chad's in now a 1!! Another example is the AFP marker, when he was diagnosed it was 2,389.7. The normal range for this one is any number less than 8.1. Chad's is currently 324.1. Look how far it's come down!! Dr. May said that this number is right on track and will continue to go down after this final round.

We learned today that the actual tumors in his lungs may take a long time to go away. Dr. May said he has seen them show up on scans for years after a patient is done with treatment. He said they don't go by the tumors themselves but rather the tumor markers in the blood to determine if there is active cancer in the body. Basically, the tumors themselves may be there a while but as long as the cancer cells are dead and not growing it doesn't matter.

So Chad Lovers please join me in a prayer to thank God for all he has done! For hearing our prayers and requests and for loving us all so much. To thank him for bringing Chad so far already and to pray for Chad's continued healing. Please pray for God's healing for all people that are dealing with illnesses or other life struggles. Thank you all so much for believing, praying and for never losing faith!