At Home

...and resting!

It will be a quiet New Year for me.

-Jennifer

Hospital Update

Greetings from Virginia Hospital Center. The surgery went well yesterday and I awoke without nausea and morphine drip that worked wonders. Since I've had no nausea, I'm feeling good this morning and will be discharged within a few hours.

Thank you to so many of you who prayed yesterday for me and family as well as offering us good old logistical support. We feel so blessed at this moment to have all of you in our lives!!

-Jennifer

Under the Knife...

The MRI of the spine came back normal. Good.

I'll be at the hospital in about an hour getting ready for surgery. It is set to begin at 8:30.
Thanks for all the words, emails, and cards of support.
More prayers needed for surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, Carson, Francesca and Paul.....

Ready to get this behind us......

One day I want to tell the story in past tense with a good ending .....

To borrow from a Seinfeld episode "Remember that time when this family was fighting cancer?...yada yada yada... it all turned out OK"

-Jennifer

A Whirlwind of Santas!

I don't know if the past week and a half will ever be topped. Following United's Fantasy Flight we have been on a whirlwind of activities - all of which brought an abundance of presents. And the presents weren't just for Carson, either. Francesca made out like a bandit, too! And all of this has me wondering...will our kids ever learn the value of giving instead of receiving?

Christmas will never be the same.

A few days following the Fantasy Flight we attended a dinner extravaganza courtesy of Teardrops to Rainbows. Enter Santa and gifts. Two nights later we had the pleasure of attending Believe in Tomorrow's annual volunteer appreciation dinner in Ocean City, MD. Enter Santa and more gifts. Of course, being on the eastern shore, we had to stop off an Mancinis - where Carson unexpectedly received several more model cars for his collection!

Two days later, the 19th Hole Grille in Ocean City hosted several Believe in Tomorrow families for a breakfast with Santa...which, of course, included more gifts. And to top things off, a few days later Ipads4Cancer presented Francesca with new Vera Bradley bag and Coach purse...and Carson with a brand new Ipad! (Many thanks to BLR Holdings for working with Ipads4Cancer to make this special day possible!!)

In Medical News...

Carson's trip to the clinic on Friday was uneventful. His ANC was still higher than what the protocol desires, so his weekly chemo was upped slightly. (The daily chemo remains the same.)

In the past two days Jennifer has visited her GP, reconstruction surgeon, and physical therapist. The results from Monday's MRI are at the breast surgeon's office, but we haven't heard anything - which we are praying is a good thing. If the results of the MRI are okay, she'll proceed with surgery (mastectomy) on Wednesday morning (12/28).

"Thank You" is simply not adequate...

While our lives would certainly be a lot different without leukemia, breast cancer, and diabetes, we see ourselves just as normal everyday family going through life's challenges with God's help. In fact, we think we are a lot like everyone else. So, when others lift us up and shower us with kindness and mercy, it really catches us off guard. You'd think we'd be used to it by now, but we aren't. In fact, every time is like the first time, with all the emotions being stirred up anew.
The generosity of our friends and complete strangers continues to overwhelm us.

We consider each and every one of you a blessing to our family!!

Paul.

One down, more to come...

Second MRI is done. Plastic surgeon scheduled again for Friday for more decision making.
Appointment for pre-op screening being made.
Things are moving, but no surgery scheduled yet. Hopefully in the next few weeks.

Thanks to all those warriors who continue to support us, sustaining us spiritually and physically!

Jennifer

Uncertain Decisions

So, yesterday was a consultation with the plastic surgeon and another visit to the breast surgeon.
I thought I'd have it all figured out now and the truth is I really don't. I did, however, make an initial decision and then, like the brave person that I am, headed off to Ocean City to try and not think about it anymore! Who knew the Believe in Tomorrow House by the Sea would be a respite for me as well?

At the plastic surgeon's office and breast surgeons office we pieced together the choice, "How much boob do you cut and what can the plastic surgeon do to put me back together?"

Some choice..............

At the end of it all, given consideration of my life's circumstances, my age, and my mother's own fight with breast cancer, I think I've made up my mind.

There are still some more pre-surgery hurdles to jump through.

• An MRI of the spine scheduled for Monday evening to check something they couldn't make out while doing my first MRI. (Not expected to be anything concerning.)

• Pre-surgery evaluations to be scheduled with my General Practitioner

I'm ready to get it over with. Meanwhile, the beach is calling.....

-Jennifer

Negative

God is Good!

The biopsy I had last Friday of a 2nd suspicious spot has come back negative. So, unless the MRI I had yesterday says differently, it looks like I will have an easier road to travel.

I meet Friday with the surgeon to discuss everything.

Thank you so much for your continued prayers and support.

-Jennifer

Patient Updates

I guess my short updates will be a bit longer these days as two updates are required.

Carson

Clinic visit yesterday. He is feeling great and looking fabulous. Vincristine, pentamadine went on without a hitch. Prednisone pulse has begun. The counts are still too high. We will reach in to uncharted territory and raise the 6MP to levels we've yet to see. I await the counts crash, but am hopeful it will not occur.

Jennifer

MRI today went smoothly. No word on the 2nd biopsy results. I will not hunt them down to tell me. I have another appointment with the breast surgeon on Friday and she can just tell me then.

Interesting questions I have asked myself lately......

How do you best explain DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)? It is Stage Zero cancer, considered pre-cancerous, but treated just like you have cancer?

How many doctors and nurses does it take to treat DCIS? I have lots of helping hands. Carson's doctors and nurses, my own docs and nurses.... I am high maintenance!

What is the appropriate attire for a breast biopsy?

What is the best thing to wear to an MRI?

How much chocolate do you actually have to eat to feel better?

Fantasy Flight 2011

What a whirlwind of a day! We woke early this morning to head to Dulles airport for a special flight to the North Pole. Yes, the REAL North Pole!! Of course, the excitement was palatable. Carson was up and dressed way before any light in the house came on.

The flight to the North Pole was courtesy of United Airlines, Children's Hospice International, and Believe in Tomorrow. We had VIP parking, a dedicated check-in and security counter, entertaining elves, and yes, a ride in a Boeing 777 to the North Pole to visit with Santa! This was a very special 777, so it only took us 30 minutes to get to the North Pole. Check out the photos:

At the North Pole we were greeted by choirs, musicians, elves, team mascots, princesses, and the Chick-fil-A cow. Santa (and Mrs. Claus) spoke with each of the children and provided Carson with a very nice bag full of presents. Santa even told Carson he'd be sure to bring the Lego Police Station with him on Christmas eve. Talk about service!

For those who are wondering...this was a real flight. We had real boarding passes - destination North Pole. The North Pole was listed on the departure status screens throughout the airport (see pics). Passengers from other flights were even taking pictures of the screens. We REALLY took off and flew for circa 30 minutes, with the exchanges between the captain and North Pole "air traffic control" piped over the intercom for the kids to hear. Oh, and our seats were in business class. Sweet!!

For the record, I'm not sure what the official ground roll-out for take off was...but with no luggage/freight, little fuel, and an average passenger weight of circa 80lbs, a near empty Boeing 777 can get off the ground in less than 5 seconds!! In speaking with the captain afterwards, he said they actually look forward to this flight -it's a lot of fun to fly!

A HUGE Thank You to United Airlines, Children's Hospice International, Believe in Tomorrow, and the other organizations that helped to put this event together. As far as single events go, this was one of the biggest we've ever seen.

And judging from the smiles on all the little faces, it was a huge hit!

Paul.

Biopsy and the Weekend

Biopsy all done with absolutely no problems and little pain during the procedure. (The after procedure pain is a bit of a different story.) Results early next week.

Tomorrow we'll all be visiting the North Pole thanks to Believe in Tomorrow, United Airlines and Children's Hospice International. We'll explain more about it in a future post - however, those of you in the local Washington DC area should watch your local news. There will be lots of special kids taking this special flight, and fortunately, we get to go along!

-Jennifer

More Tests to Come

First of all, thank you for the many, many messages of encouragement. Once again we are humbled by the outpouring of love and support from those around us. We are truly grateful and thankful for each and every one of you!!

We met today with the breast surgeon, but we have a few more steps to go through before surgery. The mammograms a few weeks ago showed several spots. Most were considered to be calcifications, but one was suspicious enough to be biopsied. Since that particular biopsy came back positive, the doctors want to biopsy another spot before we can narrow down treatment options. Any treatment will require surgery - probably in early January. What type of surgery and what treatment follows is still up in the air.

As it stands today, the second biopsy will take place on Friday (12/9) and an MRI on Tuesday (12/13). Because of Jennifer's age (a young 41) and coupled with the fact that her mother had breast cancer, the doctors also suggested genetic testing. That was a simple saliva test, but having it covered by insurance can be problematic. We'll have to see what happens.

So the only thing we are really certain of at this point is that it's in God's perfect hands. What better place could there be? Keep praying!

Paul.

Appointment Set

Thank you all so much for your prayers and encouraging words. It really is helping us.
Please keep it up.

I have an appointment with the breast surgeon at 2:00 this Wednesday.

-Jennifer

Here We Go Again

So now that both of our children have major medical issues, I guess it was only a matter of time before Jennifer or I joined their ranks. As it turns out, Jennifer got there first. Yesterday we learned that a recent biopsy came back positive for breast cancer.

Here we go again...

All indications point to an early detection of the most common form of breast cancer. It appears small and contained and the biopsy samples responded well to common treatment therapies. What does all this mean?? Actually, we have no clue...other than we need to see a surgeon next week to find out what the treatment options are.

In the meantime, life goes on...

Ok, this goes back a couple of weeks, but Francesca served on a panel of pediatric oncology patients and siblings for a Leukemia Lymphoma Society conference for care givers to kids currently in treatment. The audience was comprised of several hundred nurses, teachers, parents, etc, and Francesca was up front with five other kids answering questions.

Francesca takes the microphone and wishes she had her guitar so she could sing, too!

Last night we went out to eat (Jennifer's parents happen to be here visiting).

Trying to keep our minds off the recent news...

This morning Francesca joined our friends Martha and Melissa for the Hot Chocolate 5k this morning. Temperature at the 8am start was a balmy 32 degrees, but they persevered and had a great race. Jennifer was supposed to have joined them, but was side lined due to a stress fracture in her foot. (Let's see - breast cancer, bone fracture, continued knee issues from running...what's next? Reading glasses??!??) Carson continues to do well and has a birthday party to go to this afternoon.

Prayers needed...

All in all, despite the current situation, we continued to feel blessed. With Carson's diagnosis we wondered what God was trying to tell us. (Sometimes we still do!) With this we are asking that same question again. Are we working on an advanced degree or are we in remedial training? And more importantly...WHAT IS THE COURSE?

Please pray for Jennifer and our family...that this next week goes smoothly and that we keep our eyes, ears, and hearts open to God's message for us.

Paul.