9/29/09 - 3/15/10

I can't believe today has arrived. Well that is not entirely true. Today has arrived because of all the love and support from each of you reading this blog and all those who have supported us that are not reading the blog.

Today is Liz's LAST chemo appointment.


We are really excited but will need to curb our excitement for a week or so while she recovers from the treatment, but we will not be coming back for a 7th treatment.

I admittedly have not written as often as I had planned but I also recognize that after the initial shock and call out for support, Liz and I got into a good rhythm and the only real change in news was the date on the calender.


Liz and I were talking the other day about a discussion that she had supported at church for the youth group. The topic was "why bad things happen to good people". Liz and I share the same belief on this topic - The question is not why bad things happen to good people but instead "Where is God in what you are going through"? We both know that God was apart of the last 6 months through all of our friends and family who supported us and will continue to be in our lives after this last chemo appt. Several people have asked what we do after the last treatment. My answer is simple: We live the "new normal" whatever that is but Liz and I know that whatever it is, it will include God and all of you.


Mark





Thank you again for this

Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure

We have decided to form a team and walk in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk for the Cure on October 8-10. 60 miles in 3 days - time to start training!! We are looking forward to Liz getting back to full health and participating in this great event.

If you would like to make a contribution, please donate here:

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Woah we're half way there!

Sorry for the Bon Jovi lyrics as the post but hey, it was appropriate.

January 11, 2010 marks the 1/2 point of the chemo treatments! Things are going well and the family is getting settled into the 3 week rhythm. As a matter of practice at each chemo treatment we leave with the schedule for the following month but with the way the 3 week treatments are scheduled we have #4 and #5 scheduled! Really great to know that our last treatment is going to be March 15!

January 7, 2010

Good visit with the oncologist's RN, blood counts were great followed by the monthly expansion treatment. Things are good to go for Monday's chemo treatment which will be the 1/2 point!

Next Treatment

As we start this new year, I wanted everyone to know that the next treatment is January 11th. Liz had a much improved 2nd treatment and we are hoping that the effects of the remaining treatments will follow the same way. Thank you again for your thoughts, prayers, phone calls, food and visits.

21 inches of snow...

Hey everyone, a different type of post for those who have been following. Enjoy the pictures as much as they did.


Carter and Mom sleding on the hill out back


Buddy trying to navigate the snow




The snow brought them together with no barking

1/3 of the way done after today!

It is December 21st and as I sit in the chemo room with Liz it is great to think that when we leave she will be 1/3 of the way through this stuff. Liz had a great week last week that ended with 21 inches of snow and an oven baking wonderful baked goods. Believe it or not we got all the Christmas shopping done (blitzed it all in 1 night) and Liz wrapped everything over the weekend.


The end of the week also brought on the hair loss side effect, and to show my support and affirm that WE are in this together, I gave myself a hair cut.



We are not sure how the rest of the week will go but with positive attitudes, awesome doctors, a box full of meds and all the friends and family praying for us... we will get through it

Keep up the prayers - they are working

After four really tough days, Liz is doing is doing much better. While the nausea has subsided and she's eating again, she's still exhausted and moving slowly.

Please keep the prayers coming. In Liz's words, "Thank you so much to everyone for the outpouring of prayers, love, and support - it really really helps!!! I feel so blessed to have such an amazing support network surrounding me. :) I'm hanging in there!!"

Please enjoy this picture of Liz and Harrison at Carter's first basketball game of the season earlier today.

Chemo sucks

Today is the first day after the chemo treatment and the effects are starting to kick in. It is brutal to watch someone get sick from the medicine that is in her body to make her better. It is even more difficult to know that she has to go through this 5 more times.

Chemo sucks

One chemo treatmant down! Liz is a superhero

We made it through our first chemo treatment today. Liz did awesome with an attitude like no other. The nurses at the practice are amazing and definitely helped to make the 4 hour appointment as good as it could be. Liz felt good leaving the appointment and through the rest of the day, she is sleeping comfortably now. While we don't know for sure what the next several days will present, we are prepared for a difficult Wednesday. Thank you to everyone who posted messages on our Facebook pages, at last count Liz had 40 on just one status update. The prayers and positive thoughts continue to help us through this process.

Stage 1 done, onto Stage 2

Liz has made it through the first stage of the process successfully! She is up moving around, feeling good and getting mobility back in her arms. Tomorrow she begins stage 2 of the process - Chemotherapy. For those who don't have any experience or know of anyone who has gone through it consider yourself blessed. The treatments are straightforward and scheduled, the effects of the treatment are not. We have heard many stories from different people about how "it went for them" but we are reminded of what one of our doctors told us early on "while others will share their stories, each person is different and the journey is unique". Please continue to keep us in your prayers. Updates to the blog to follow.

SHOWER DAY!

Today was a big day. Liz got to take her first shower in 2 1/2 weeks. She is doing great and making wonderful progress - a true fighter. On Friday she will have a Medi-Port put in. The Medi-Port is implanted beneath the skin into the central line to your heart / blood system. It helps the chemo to distribute more effective and saves your arm from the number of sticks. If you are really interested (it is kinda cool) follow this link - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port-a-Cath.

Recovery in Progress!

We've got a few bits of good news to share:

First, we are one week into recovery from the surgery and things are going well. Every day Liz gains more strength, but her arm mobility is still very limited. She's up and walking and definitely feeling back to herself, but isn't able to lift more than a fork or remote control and still has bulky (bothersome) bandages. Liz is hoping to get the bandages off by the end of the week - this will mean she gets to take a shower!! She can't wait for that.

Next, we received a great call yesterday from Liz's surgeon, Dr. Akbari. We knew coming out of surgery that Liz's sentinel lymph node tested positive, requiring them to remove more lymph nodes for testing. You can imagine that this was not news we wanted to hear. We felt very relieved yesterday, though, when Dr. Akbari told us that of the other nodes, only one tested positive - and it contained only a "speck" of the cancer. Bottom line is that this was the best possible news to hear given the news coming out of surgery.

Finally, we had an appointment with the oncologist today to learn about Liz's treatment plan. She will be receiving chemotherapy every three weeks for 4 1/2 months - starting on Monday, November 30 and ending in April. Treatments will last 2-3 hours - the doctors told Liz to expect fatigue and hair loss but do not expect much nausea. We are hoping this is the case, and are very happy to have the plan laid out for us.

We want to close by thanking all the family and friends who have helped us over the past week to keep food on the table and the house in good order! We are also so grateful for all the prayers, cards, flowers, emails and support that we know we are receiving from you all. We are truly blessed.

We'll leave you with a picture of Carter at his last soccer game of the season this past Saturday - he loved his fourth season with Coach Lamb, and he can't wait to start basketball next week!

1st night at home, under our belt

Her first night was much better than I thought. Liz slept comfortably with stretches of 1 1/2, 2 1/2 and then 1 1/2 hours. The itching finally subsided and after realizing the Percocet was making her nauseous and switch over to Advil, sleeping came easier.

Home from the hospital

We got home today around 4:30 after a long stay at the hospital. It is great to be home, the boys are happy and Liz is sleeping comfortably.

Surgery Went Well

Today was the big day - Liz's surgery. It went well. The day went as expected, with Liz in her recovery room by dinner time. While she was still coming out of anesthesia and quite grogery, she insisted on telling us a joke that was told to her by one of the excellent medical professionals who cared for today:

"A business man boards a plane, takes his seat and opens his laptop. After a few minutes in the air, he hears a voice say 'Nice Tie!' He continues working and, after a few minutes, hears the voice say 'Nice shoes!' He looks around and cannot tell who is speaking to him. Again he hears the voice say 'Nice suit!' He rings the call button and says to the flight attendant 'I'm sorry, but I keep hearing strange voices tell me that I'm dressed nicely.' The flight attendant responds 'Oh, that's just the peanuts - they're complimentary.'"


Her doctors all said that they would love to bottle Liz's positive attitude today and share it with the rest of their patients. We're expecting to come home tomorrow afternoon, and will spend 3-4 weeks recovering at home. This won't be easy - Liz is not to use her arms except to lift a fork or remote control for 3-4 weeks.

The highlight of Liz's day was talking to Harrison, who was at the Lego Store with his Aunt Celeste, Uncle Tee and cousins Kennedy and Colin (and Carter). Harrison loved hearing his mom's voice and learning that the surgery was over and that she was doing well. We hope you enjoy the picture of Harrison talking to his mom tonight.

Many thanks for the prayers and support - it has been overwhelming and uplifting to know that so many of you are with us in spirit every day on this journey.

On the Job Support

We received an email over the weekend from a friend who works in marketing and the client they serve is NASCAR. She sent a heartfelt email that last week, below is a segment of the email:

"Tomorrow M&M is running their Susan G. Komen car in the Charlotte race. We have hospitality at the track and will all be dressed in our Komen gear (including Kyle Busch), pink M&M's, the works! I realize you can't turn your head this months without seeing a pink ribbon but I just want to let you know that this event has meant more to me than any other this year and I will be thinking of you all weekend."

Way to go NASCAR!

Date Announced

We just received word that the surgery is scheduled for November 3 at 12:30

More Good News

We just received a call this morning from the doctors office that the genetic test that was run last week on Liz came back completely negative. For more information on the BRCA test -

Thank you for all the cards

We got home from our camping trip yesterday and checked the mail, outnumbering the junk mail were numerous cards for Liz. She was extremely moved by the show of support in the funny, serious and heartfelt cards that she received. We are continuing to do well as we await the surgery date. The cards, emails and prayers mean more than you could imagine.