http://www.trinity-evangelical-church.org/webpages3/tribute.html

There are links at this website for the funeral home online obituary as well as the audio of the memorial service. You may need to copy and paste them in your browser to get there.

Thanks again for all who have followed this beautiful lady and shared in her journey!

Mike

A Tribute to Cathy

This lovely tribute was written by Suzanne Baker in honor of Cathy's life here on earth.

Today (June 17th) is the funeral service of our dear friend Cathy. I wanted to share the beauty of her life. First, I rejoice that Cathy lived a life in faithfulness to Christ, and thus, she is with him now.

"Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and by his wounds we are healed." ..."by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities..." Isaiah 53

When I think of Cathy, I think of Titus 2:3-5, "Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

Cathy partnered with her husband Mike in raising seven, beautiful, godly children. She poured her life out for her family, as she lived quietly, being busy at home. Cathy was kind to everyone, leaving behind many who call her friend. She was diligent, keeping an organized home, as she home schooled her children. She loved God and his creation.

I don't ever remember Cathy complaining about her cancer. There were times when she was afraid, but she never said, "why me?". She clung to her faith and fought so hard for her life.

She leaves behind the fruit of her work .... her beautiful seven children. We could all observe how she lived, and glean wisdom.

"But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory. O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR VICTORY? O DEATH, WHERE IS YOUR STING?

Here is to you Cathy! I love you! I am so glad to have called you friend! I look forward to seeing you again!

Final Arrangements

We invite everyone to join us at our church from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm on Monday 6/16 for a time of remembering and sharing about Cathy's life. A Memorial church service will also be at our church on Tuesday at 11:00 am 6/17. All are welcome to attend either day!
 The location is as follows:
Trinity Evangelical Church (TEC)
2715 American Way
Fort Wayne, IN 46809


We are working with
Klaehn, Fahl, Melton Funeral Home
6424 Winchester Road
Fort Wayne 46819
260-424-1525


Cathy will be cremated, and there will be no actual 'viewing'. We prefer for everyone to remember her life as it was prior to the last days of her battle with cancer.


Thank you for following this blog--your thoughts--your prayers--and your support. We are grateful, and thank God for all of you. I will post a link to the funeral home website that will contain pictures and an on-line memorial for Cathy, when that becomes available.

Mike

Today's Update (Thursday)

Thank you for all that have followed Cathy's fight these past 2 years. Thank you for your monetary support, your thoughts, your faithfulness, and above all your prayers.

As of 3:00 this afternoon, Cathy continues to "fight the good fight". The medical realm says that she has "hours" before she goes home to be with our Lord. She is resting comfortably and taking pain meds about every hour--mostly to help with the breathing as she is not really in any other visible pain (Praise God!).

The children have all been here day and night surrounding her with music, songs, Bible reading and yes--tears.  Her siblings have been able to share time with her as well. ALL are welcome to come by our house (day or night) to visit. Family and friends have been her life (our life) since the beginning. You are all so special to us!

The kids have enjoyed watching an old VHS recording of our wedding as well as Cathy's mom and dad's 50th anniversary (1997). Also on that tape is a snippet of our family around Christmas time in 1997 (minus Jacob & Bekah who were not born yet). Memories are so precious!! (The kids always laugh at the home video snippet!)

We will be signing off with the final arrangements in the next couple of days.

"I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand." John 10:28

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.'" John 11:25, 26

Mike

Tuesday at Home

Dear Family and Friends,

     I spoke with Mike at lunch time. Cathy is only taking a very small amount of food and water and does not want to take any medicine. She has breathing apnea. The hospice nurse had been there through the morning hours. More family members are arriving and along with friends they are surrounding her with love and prayers.

Lori

Hospice at Home (Saturday evening)

Cathy and Mike are just leaving Parkview. After a good morning they made the decision to continue hospice at home. While all the details were put into place, Cathy enjoyed a picnic lunch and a long, sunny afternoon. But everything is ready, the hospital bed has arrived, so they are now driving home.

Lori

Saturday Morning

I called Mike for an update. Cathy was moved to room #2343 at Parkview Hospice. This is in the Women and Children's Bldg, entrance 2A.

She was stable during the night and even woke Mike up at 4:45 a.m. for more strawberry yogurt. She was able to take a wheelchair ride and sit in the sun yesterday afternoon. There is a family room where some of the children spent the night.

She continues to take the lactulose in hopes of remaining clear in her thinking. Mike said that right now, she does not need much pain medication.

I will try to add another update this evening.

Blessings,
Lori

Friday Afternoon Update

I went to visit Cathy this afternoon. They have weaned her from the blood pressure meds and she has able to maintain a good rate. They were able to give her lactulose which will help pull the ammonia from her body. She was having some pain but unable to communicate exactly where it was. The dilaudid shot helped to relax her which in turn stimulated her appetite. We could not get the strawberry yogurt to her quick enough!!

Mike was able to walk over to the Parkview hospice ward for a quick tour. This is an option if Cathy's blood pressure remains stable. It was nice to see the friends and family who came to visit.

Lori

Morning update

Dear Family and Friends,

    I just spoke with Mike. Cathy is still in ICU at Parkview North. Her ammonia levels are quite high and the toxic effect on her brain makes her incoherent. They can give her a drug to help remove the ammonia but first they need to "coat" her stomach to protect it.

Her blood pressure is still being supported by medication. Her breathing was a little erratic last night but Mike said it was better this morning.

We are grateful for your prayer support for Cathy, Mike and the children. Cathy's mom, sister and brother have also driven up to visit and be with her.

Lori

"But God said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." The Apostle Paul, 2 Cor 12:9

Update

Dr Dempsey performed another endoscopy this morning. The big blood clot that he saw in Cathy's stomach was gone. She does have 2 ulcers in her stomach. There was no active bleeding in her upper G.I. She still has the varices in her esophagus but he choose not to band them because they are only grade 3. Due to the changes in her liver from the cancer, she does have portal vein hypertension which they may be able to relieve with medication. No surgical therapy was performed today.

They are trying to wean Cathy  off the medication that assists her blood pressure. If this is successful and she continues to maintain her hemoglobin count she may be able to go home soon.

We are grateful to God for His continued mercies!!

Lori

At Hospital

Cathy went to Parkview North hospital at 3 am this morning. She was vomiting blood. They opted to have an endoscopy. Due to the risky nature of the procedure for someone in Cathy's condition, Dr. Dempsey asked for the family to be present.

Cathy made it through the endoscopy which revealed a big blood clot in her stomach. It also showed several esophageal varices and an ulcer with a small blood clot on it. There was also some fresh blood in her small intestine.

Currently they are giving her 2 meds to control the abdominal bleeding and one medication to help keep her blood pressure up.

Tomorrow the doctor will perform the same procedure with the support of an operating room and full anesthesia. He will try to see if he can stop the bleeding.

In the morning, we will find out what time that is scheduled. I will try to have a timely update.

Please keep Cathy, Mike and the family in your prayers along with the medical staff.

Gratefully,
Lori

Update on Treatment Plan

Cathy and Mike met with Wilma on Wednesday. Her initial approach will be to strengthen Cathy's adrenal and digestive systems. This focus will help Cathy's body regain energy and fight the cancer. During the first 4 days Cathy will eat a soup that is rich in mineral content and she will not take any of the supplements that she has been on. According to Wilma, this will "rest" her system. Then Cathy will introduce supplemental enzymes along with other pills to help her adrenal system. She will also begin protein shakes and other foods in addition to the mineral soup. Cathy will meet with Wilma on a weekly basis to assess her body's response and make adjustments accordingly.

After such a long winter, God has been gracious to provide "sunshine therapy" for Cathy and she is taking advantage of it by gardening or resting outdoors.

Thank you for your continued support and prayers.

Gratefully,
Lori  

Looks like we are in for a beautiful Memorial day weekend--hope you all get a chance to enjoy God's wonderful creation! (I will be working Sun-Tues, but I do have today off :})

As I mentioned previously, Cathy's ammonia levels were very high and we are doing another round of lactulose today to try and keep those levels down. The lactulose is actually a laxative and not an antacid as I reported last time. I did finally get the tumor marker results from last week: 2102. Yes, that is an increase over the previous time, but we have been higher.

After consulting with two thirds of our "A" team, and visiting a Kinesiologist/Naturopath in Churubusco on Wednesday, we are strongly considering making our last stand without the aid of any more drugs. We will be returning to 'Busco this week for a more in depth discussion with Wilma. We actually met with her before we got the stage 4 liver diagnosis 2 years ago. The visit this week was just to get her 'up to speed' on our journey since then. Wilma is primarily concerned with working with Cathy to get her energy levels back up so the body can fight off this disease as God intended. Cathy has not had real good energy as of late.

One other item to note: we have not taken any fluid off her abdomen for almost 4 days now! We are hoping that this is a GOOD sign! We were getting about a liter a day consistently. (almost 156 liters ~ 310 pounds since Jan 1) I need to contact the liver specialist on Tues (after the holiday weekend) and get his take on this matter.

We are grateful for you all!! May you know Christ's strength and provision in your time of need.

Mike

Went to see the Oncologist on Thursday (15th)---originally scheduled for Tuesday, but Cathy's mom and oldest brother, Greg, came up to visit (actually to work :}). The family visit went really well and Cathy and team were able to get much done--unfortunately, she spent most of Wednesday recuperating from Tuesday!

Anyway--the doctor visit on Thursday did not contain any positive news, as the blood results continue to show a steady increase in the disease. We were able to get blood drawn to check Cathy's ammonia level, as we were fairly certain that she was suffering from elevated levels of ammonia.

"The liver removes toxic chemicals from the blood. When the liver is damaged from disease or injury, the cells of the liver are unable to function properly. They become unable to remove byproducts of metabolism such as ammonia resulting from protein digestion. High amounts of ammonium ion in the blood affects the brain with a range of symptoms from mild confusion to possible brain damage and death."

The normal range for ammonia is 7-10. Cathy's level was up around 100. We will be getting a prescription antacid that is supposed to help absorb the ammonia and hopefully improve her symptoms. 

We are still waiting on the Lord and seeking guidance for what to do next. We are considering stopping ALL forms of drugs (including the herceptin) as there appears to be no noticeable change in the progression of the disease. The Oncologist  does not have the same mindset as we do: we are in this to WIN this and defeat the cancer! They believe that death is inevitable and are not as concerned about the condition of her heart (herceptin can weaken heart muscles) and they were not interested in what the ammonia could do to her (possible coma,death). Fortunately, they HAVE been willing to 'humor' us and provide the tests and prescriptions. That is another reason of possibly cutting off drugs/traditional treatments, as we want 'teammates' who want to WIN as badly as we do!

We know that ALL things are possible with God and will submit to whatever HIS plan is for Cathy so that HE might be glorified. Cathy's cancer and life have been and always will be in the Hands of our loving Creator. HE will ultimately decide the outcome. All we can do is pray and trust in HIM. Thank you for standing with us. Your prayers keep us fighting!

Mike

Consultation at the Block Center

On Tuesday, we drove to the Block Center in Skokie Illinois. The last time Cathy visited was on December 18th. We met with Dr Keith Block. After talking with Cathy and reviewing her case he did not have any new treatments, medical trials or natural solutions that might be "outside the box."

If Cathy wants to "pull out all the stops," he recommended a combination of Carboplatin - Taxol - Herceptin followed by a Neulasta shot. Given Cathy's current condition he would administer this treatment plan over a three day period. The first day would be I.V. nutrients to bolster her system. The following morning he would employ chronotherapy of the Taxol (the time of day when the drug is the most effective fighting cancer cells and the least toxic to healthy cells) . Later in the afternoon she would receive the Carboplatin and Herceptin treatments. The final day would be the Neulasta shot and toxin reducing therapies.

He also talked about lesser forms of treatments to choose from; Faslodex, Halaven and Navelbine.

In order to put this decision into perspective, after Cathy's last chemo treatment on November 20th she experienced swelling in the abdomen and legs, mouth and throat sores, nose bleeds, fatigue, rapid heart beat, blood in stool and anemia. Her hemoglobin dropped dangerously low to 5.3 and she received 4 units of blood over a six day period.

Cathy's vital signs on Tuesday were; blood pressure 89/49, pulse 54, temperature 96.2, oxygen 98 and weight 108 lbs.

Both Cathy and Mike ask for your ongoing intercession of prayer for wisdom and discernment as they choose a treatment plan from the Block Center, local oncologist or naturopathic medicine.

Since Cathy's ascites (abdominal fluid retention) impairs her ability to digest food, please pray that the meal replacement shakes and supplements would sustain her body.

The April weather provided an interesting mix of dense fog, sprinkles, sunshine, hail and high winds. We are very grateful for safe travel.

If you have questions please call me.

Sincerely,
Lori
260-459-0254
  

"Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,
Because He lives, all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future,
And life is worth the living,
Just because He lives!"  
Because He lives by Bill Gaither

Easter has come and gone, but the verses above give hope throughout the year: HE LIVES! and that is all that matters!!

Cathy had her 5th herceptin treatment yesterday (Tue) at Parkview Hospital. The blood work indicated 1 positive: the bilirubin dropped from 2.45 to 1.72. However, the liver enzymes both went up as well as the tumor markers.

                          Last          This
Bilirubin               2.45          1.72
AST                    178            195
ALT                     139            163
Alk Phosphates    601            787
Tumor markers     940           1347

We will be making a trip to the Block Center in Chicago on Tue (29th) to discuss possible strategies with Dr. Block. We really do not want to do any more Chemo, but have not ruled out other options. Would appreciate prayer that Dr. Block would have Godly wisdom to 'steer us' in the right direction (as well as for safe travel--this will be a LONG trip and day for Cathy). Thanks for standing with us!

Mike

As we approach this Easter season, we are reminded of God's renewing goodness. He makes all things new: flowers springing up, trees budding, grass greening AND SNOW MELTING!! We are especially thankful for the renewing of our hearts and the rebirth we have through our Savior, Jesus Christ. That Christ suffered and died for our sins is not out of the ordinary because we, as humans, all suffer and at some point are appointed to die. HOWEVER, what we truly celebrate is His resurrection through which we ALL have access to an eternal, living Savior. The empty tomb trumps our empty way of life and gives us purpose and hope. It is this season of hope that we look to our LORD for a renewing of Cathy's liver and an end to this cancer. We KNOW that He is  able to "do more than we can hope or imagine" and we pray that He is WILLING to put an end to this disease that we have been battling for over three years. We do not know His sovereign plan, but submit to His perfect will. "Lord, grant that we might love you always and then do with us as you would will it"

Cathy's Herceptin treatment will be Tuesday (April 22nd) at Parkview Hospital. We will get new blood work and share the results on the blog. We then have an appointment with Dr. Block up in Chicago the following Tuesday (29th) to discuss possible strategies. We have been able to stay local through the LONG winter months for Cathy's treatment, but now that the weather is more cooperative we want to travel back to the Block Center and re-engage them in the fight. As always, your prayers are greatly appreciated. We know that ultimately it will be through your faithfulness and God's mercy and power that we will be victorious in this fight.

Mike

A Time To Ponder

During this week I thought I would share these thoughts  (Lori)

Title: We Do Not Belong to Darkness

Author: Elisabeth Elliot

There are times when we cannot see our way, and it seems that darkness is about to overcome and hold us. It must have seemed so to the Christians in Thessalonica. Paul spoke of their grave suffering because of having welcomed his message. Must the coming of the light of God's truth bring suffering? Yes, often it does, and the one who has received it with joy is plunged into darkness. But darkness is not his master! He does not "belong" to it (1 Thes 5:6 NEB) but is in fact a "child of light," having been given word of things to come--resurrection, the sound of an archangel's voice, God's trumpet-call, the descent of the Lord Himself. "God has not destined us to the terrors of judgment.... He died for us so that we, awake or asleep, might live in company with Him" (5:9, 10). 

A small child is at peace even in the dark if his father or mother is with him. He has company. How different the darkness feels then.

Take the word of the Lord in your darkness. If He died to let us live in his company, is He likely to abandon us just because things look dark?

For some reason, I had in my mind that Cathy's herceptin treatment was every 4 weeks, so we showed up on the 27th only to find out that: 1) appointments are NOT automatic--like at the Block Center, and 2) We did NOT have an appointment scheduled for that day and couldn't get in until TODAY (April 1st). The herceptin is actually every 3 weeks IF an appointment is made at the previous visit.

Today's visit was not as I had hoped. The blood results showed that the high dose vitamin c is having NO effect on the cancer and Cathy's bilirubin has crossed the 2.0 barrier which means that we wouldn't be able to do chemo even if we wanted to (which we don't). However, it also means that her liver is failing and increasingly unable to do its job. We won't know the tumor markers until Wed or Thurs, but I can't imagine they have improved when all else has not. We are now at another crossroad as to where to go from here. We are stopping the vitamin c (effective immediately) and will begin to search out other alternative treatments. I have a couple of leads to pursue. Cathy did get a herceptin treatment today, but if her blood work does not show improvement or at least stabilization at her next appointment on the 22nd of April, we will also discontinue that, as well. The only thing I know for sure is that we need your continued prayers for guidance and healing. I have not chosen a correct path for Cathy, yet and we cannot afford another dead-end path.The battle is not going well, but the war is NOT over!!

For those who would like the blood work results, here they are:

                              2/27/14          4/1/14
Albumin                 2.1 low          same
Alk Phosphates      473 high        601 high
ALT                       126 high        139 high
AST                       122 high        178 high
Direct bili              .76 high          1.61 high
Total bili                1.39 high       2.45 very high
Total protein           6.2 low          6.4 bottom of okay

Haven't had anything new to report, except that we are waiting for Spring to show up and STAY (like everyone else). We have completed 22 vitamin c infusions thus far. This Thursday, we will be going in for Cathy's herceptin drip and blood tests. We would greatly appreciate your prayers for the blood results to show some type of improvement from all this vitamin c. If we do not get a positive  result, we will have to look at pursuing other avenues.

On a personal note: got to visit with our precious little granddaughter and our son, Adam, for a few hours on Saturday--always a fun time! Also, our other son, Chris, just got back from his homeschool high school baseball "spring training week" in Georgia Saturday night. Nice to have the family back home again to rally around mom and keep her lifted up in prayer.

Thanks again for the faithfulness in prayer and look forward to what our God has in store in the near future!

Mike

"Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land." Song of Songs 2:12

Well, the flowers may not have appeared yet, but the birds have been singing (except for Wednesday). 'They' say we will see the 50's on Friday---we can always hope! Nothing new to report, except we did NOT make it to our Wednesday Vitamin C infusion due to the weather. All the kids were out of school as well (even Abbie--the oldest daughter--who is on spring (?) break this week). We continue the daily fight. Cathy continues to get drained about every 30 hours. So far this year (2014), we have drained off 91 liters of fluid (approx 183 lbs!) We are very thankful for the catheter which allows us to keep the fluid off, and to do so here at home. She still has occasional swelling in her legs, but not as bad. Noah, the 17 yr old, has learned how to massage her legs just the way she likes. Her hair is growing back, slowly. She was even able to get out earlier in the week, when it got in the 50's, for a couple of brief walks. Hope you're all staying safe and warm during this LAST winter hurrah.

Mike

I just realized that I haven't up-dated this for about a week. I just finished working seven straight closes (about 80 hours) and today was my day off. :} Since the last up-date, Cathy has had her Herceptin treatment (Thurs) and a vitamin C infusion (Fri). We 'skipped' the vitamin C treatment on Monday this week, as Cathy spent most of the day in bed sleeping. We received the blood test results from last week which are as follows:
Albumin 2.1 (protein)---low
Alkaline phosphates 473 (down from 592)---still very high
Bilirubin 1.39 (down from 1.58) --still too high
AST 122 (up 8)--high
ALT 126 (down 5)--high
and the biggest indicator: Tumor marker 506 (up from 489 last time)--going the wrong way.

Needless to say, I was not encouraged with these results. We have 15 vitamin C treatments completed and I had really hoped to see more improvement in these numbers---especially the tumor markers. We will continue the week with the vitamin C while prayerfully considering other options.

 "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"(Heb.11:1).

Mike

Busy day today...had an extra child to deliver this morning before heading off to our appointments. Chris, now the oldest son at home, discovered his alternator/power steering belt hanging down on the ground from his car, so he needed a ride to work. Sooooo, we dropped off the 2 youngest boys at their school, then Chris at his job, then Bekah at her school---then off to Auburn for the Vit C infusion (#13). Weight: 119  BP: 87/54 (before) then 104/66 (after).

We stopped in at my Cracker Barrel to have lunch because we had a 1:15 appointment with the Oncologist at Parkview and we didn't have time to go home first. Dr Aggerwal talked about the possibility of adding a hormonal treatment this Thursday (Faslodex). Cathy also shared with her about the pain that she has been having on/off in her lower right back. The Dr. prescribed a refill on Cathy's pain med (just in case).  Cathy will not take any unless it is causing her to lose sleep. Dr. Aggerwal also mentioned that Cathy's tumor marker had gone UP when she had her blood drawn on the 7th. It had increased to 489 (up from 338 in January). Keep in mind that she was in the 3000 range toward the end of 2013 and she began this ordeal at 7000+ two years ago. We were unaware that they had checked for the tumor marker on her last blood draw because it wasn't on the copy of the blood work we received. Apparently, they check it before every Herceptin treatment. The Block Center only did this every 3 months. We are looking with anticipation to her blood test results this week as this will be the first indicators of how the high dose Vit C is working. They will NOT specifically be checking for the effects of the the Vit C, as we are not getting that from them. It will however, let us know if there have been any improvements in the liver function indicators and the bilirubin counts. Prayers, as always, are greatly appreciated!

There still continues to be slight swelling in the legs, but not the back pain that she had experienced last week. Abbie, our oldest daughter, is draining off 1-1.5 liters every 48 hours now. That's your up-date and thanks for reading!!

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

During this past week, we completed Vitamin C infusions 10, 11, and 12. Our youngest daughter, Bekah, got to attend the first 2 infusions of the week because she is out of school for her 'break' (she attends a private school) and there was no one left at home to leave her with. We also had a unique "tri-Cath-alon" in the infusion room. All three of the occupants were named "Cathy" (although, I don't know if the spelling was all the same). The only other out of the 'norm' for the week was Cathy's weight went from 112 on Monday to 122 on Friday. This may be related to the fact that she is beginning to retain fluid again in her legs (although not as bad as it has been). We also have not been getting as much fluid drained as we have been (less than a liter a day) AND she has been experiencing pain in her lower back on the right side, as well as, some pain toward the end of the draining. We have taken to only draining every other day for now. We contacted the Oncologist and will be getting Cathy in on Monday to get her checked out. Her next scheduled Herceptin treatment is not till Thursday, but Dr. Aggerwall wanted to see her on Monday in light of the new pain.  In light of the 12 Vitamin C treatments, we are hoping to see improvements in her next set of blood tests. We are hopeful that the Vitamin C is causing the cancer cells to die and perhaps this is causing the unusual pain and less fluid to be drained in the abdomen? We can definitely use your prayers in this area!

Specifically, we could prayer for: 1)fluid NOT to retain in the legs and ankles again; 2) that the Vitamin C will be successful in this fight; 3) that new blood results would confirm that we are headed in the right direction; 4) that God would be glorified in all that we do and the decisions that we make in this fight.

Thank you for your persistence....
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

Little Blessings

In considering these little blessings, I decided they are actually huge blessings. Because each reflects a move in the right direction. This list is by no means exhaustive.

- Clothing myself
- To be able to taste food
- No mouth sores or dry mouth
- Scaling the steps on my own
- No nose bleeds, or clots (tmi?)
- Showering unassisted
- Legs that appear as they should rather than CA sequoia redwoods
- Walking faster than a turtle
- Dousing myself in body lotion
- Massaging my legs (tho' this is more satisfying when done for you)
- Preparing my own meal
- Climbing into the van unassisted
- Being able to help around the house

My dear husband, the romantic of us two, pulled a fast one on me Valentine's Day. When checking into the infusion department @ DeKalb, he had waiting for me at the check in desk a vase full of flowers bursting with spring color. I love him for his language of love.
The non-romantic half.
:)

Happy Valentine's weekend!

Cathy and I began our Valentine's day with dropping kids off at school (FIRST time in 2014 that we got to drop off the boys and Bekah) before driving up to Auburn for a "romantic" 9th vitamin C infusion. Nothing says I love you more than 50,000 mg of vitamin C!! For those keeping track:
weight = 116 (good for Cathy)
BP = 89/55 ( a little lower than 'normal')
Temp = 98.8 (usually 97)

After the infusion, we picked up Bekah and met Abbie at Enterprise car rental---she was returning her rental that she had been driving while searching for another vehicle. She was hit from behind by a drunk driver on Jan 20th and got her car totalled. Thankfully, she was okay, but her car was not so fortunate. She is now driving a 1999 Chrysler Concorde. Anyway, I had to drop them off at home and head off to work for the remainder of my Valentine's day. I'm working 7 closes in a row---today is #3. Hope you all enjoyed your holiday.

Every day I get to see or be with with my beautiful wife is a Valentine's holiday for me!!
This is the day that the LORD has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it!

Mike

The 9" of snow we got on Wednesday caused us to revert to 'plan B' this week. Instead of driving to Auburn for Cathy's usual Wednesday vitamin c infusion, we moved it to Thursday instead. We then went to Parkview on Friday for Cathy's 2nd Herceptin treatment. At this point, there is still no hormonal treatment coupled with the Herceptin. Dr Aggerwal mentioned that when we decided on no chemo last month. The summary is as follows:

Thursday Vitamin C infusion:
Infusion #7
weight: 116.8
Blood pressure: 95/58  and 99/58
dosage: 50,000mg
We were in and out in less than 2 hours this time--they're getting the hang of this now!:}

Friday Herceptin treatment (#2)
Weight: 120
Blood pressure: 104/64  and 101/61
Blood test results:
Bilirubin: 1.58 ---highest it has ever been (shows that the liver function continues to be impaired)
White blood cells: 12.0 --- also very high (usually around 4.0)--not sure why this spiked this time.
Albumin: 2.0 -- second lowest it has been (this is most likely a  reflection of  protein she is losing from the daily drainage)
AST - 114 , ALT - 131: both are liver enzyme indicators and both have increased from the 70's last month. They have been as high as 215 and 188. Normal range is 30's.

Overall, the blood test results were not what we had hoped for, especially with the 7 high dose vitamin c treatments Cathy has had. We continue to be hopeful, though, that we will begin to get on the up-side of this fight soon.

Cathy continues to look good and maintains a good energy level throughout the day. Her hair has also begun to grow back from the chemo treatment. Now if we can just get some 70 degree temps so she can get out and walk----well, we will wait patiently on God for that one, too! :}

Stay safe & warm,
Mike

Infusion #6

Dosage: 50,000 mg
Blood pressure: 96/59  &  99/63
Temp: 97.7
Weight: 118
Total time: 2 hours

Continuing the protocol....nothing new to report at this time. The liquid that we have been draining from Cathy's abdomen has lightened up in color--probably due to the vitamin c. We continue to drain 1-2 liters a day. Cathy is scheduled to receive her every three week herceptin treatment this week at Parkview (weather permitting). She may be adding a hormonal treatment as well, but we don't know what that would be at this time. Thank you for your faithfullness in prayer.

Mike

Wednesday 1-29-14

Weight: 122
Blood pressure: start-97/60   finish-115/72
Temp: 98.2
Dosage: 50,000 mg of vitamin C

We have gradually worked up to the 50,000 mg over the last three treatments and now we will just maintain that level 2-3 times a week until we see some results---That could be physical (abdominal swelling goes away/no fluid being retained or drained) or blood work that indicates that the cancer is no longer present. At any rate, Cathy will probably maintain this treatment for a while.

We did learn a couple of things this last time. 1. always ask the nurse if she has the right size needle for the port (she 'thought' it was because it was with the correct ones--it was too big) 2. The 'drip' was supposed to be done in 90 minutes, but the bag was almost full-still-at the end of that time. Turns out, the amount that was in the bag was more than what the nurse thought---so NOW we know the correct drip setting to get the fluid emptied in the 90 minute time frame.

Our church, Trinity Evangelical, had a day of prayer and fasting for Cathy on Wednesday culminating in a prayer service at the church. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful church body and all the friends and family that have engaged in this battle with us! I am reminded of this scripture verse:

So Joshua fought the Amalekites as Moses had ordered, and Moses, Aaron and Hur went to the top of the hill. As long as Moses held up his hands, the Israelites were winning, but whenever he lowered his hands, the Amalekites were winning. When Moses’ hands grew tired, they took a stone and put it under him and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands up—one on one side, one on the other—so that his hands remained steady till sunset. So Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword.   Exodus 17:10-13

You all have been that way to Cathy---supporting her hands when she grows weary---and like Joshua, I believe that we too shall overcome and defeat this enemy!

Thank You--God bless

Mike

Friday's results from Vitamin C infusion #2:

Weighed in @ 116.5 (would like this to be around 120)
Blood pressure = 93/57  (a little on the low side)
Temp = 97.6
She received 25,000 mg of vitamin c over a 2 hour period. (they drip this intravenously through her port)

We had  some blood work drawn on Wednesday per Dr. Rexroth--routine check to make sure that she could receive the vitamin c infusion--there are a couple of conditions that would prohibit Cathy from receiving the infusion, but she does not have those conditions. They also checked her hemoglobin which came back a little on the low side @ 9.5. (no need for a blood transfusion unless it gets below 8)

Great visit with Cathy's Mother, oldest brother and his wife on Saturday, plus got to see our eldest son, his wife, and granddaughter! Hope everyone is staying safe and warm (if you are reading this in our winter wonderland state of Indiana!) God richly bless you.

Mike

Received our first high dose vitamin C on Wednesday. Cathy will be receiving this in Auburn at the Dekalb Hospital every Mon, Wed and Fri. We plan on coordinating these trips with dropping kids off at school and making the run up north (about 30 miles). Side effects from first treatment?---extra energy to get work done around the house!! (we can live with THOSE side effects!!!). There is no 'end game' to this protocol--basically, until the cancer is gone.

Cathy had her sutures from the (abdominal fluid) catheter removed today and drainage done while we were there (they got a liter). That brings our drainage total to 32 liters since the beginning of the year. Her weight has gotten 'too good'. She has gone from 158# (12/31) to 115 (1/22). We will be monitoring her diet more closely to regain some of that weight. We want to prevent the wasting away of her muscles and keep her around 120.

Hoping to see her oldest brother and his wife this Saturday for a visit. They are coming in from Denver and staying with Cathy's mom in Muncie. This will complete the visits from her siblings (what a GREAT family she has---and that I am blessed to be a part of!!)

--Mike

Day of Prayer and Fasting

Dear Friends and Family,

     Cathy's church body invites you to join with them in a day of prayer and fasting for Cathy on Wednesday, January 29th.



Please read this link for more information;

http://www.trinity-evangelical-church.org/webpages1/day_of_prayer.html

Gratefully,
Lori

January 17, 2014

We met with Dr. Aggarwal on Wednesday to discuss Cathy's CT scan and talk about her treatment that she was SUPPOSED to get that day. Dr Aggarwal said that the scan showed 'no progression' of the disease in her liver and the brain and pelvic areas came back 'clean'. That is GOOD news!! She did say that the scan showed what appeared to be cirosis of the liver--possibly caused by the previous treatment plans being "effective" in fighting the cancer. She indicated that the liver (or dying cancer cells) was forming scar tissue that leads to what appears to be cirrhosis. (However, when we met with the liver specialist in town in November, he indicated that he did NOT believe it was cirrhosis.)---Be that as it may, Dr. Aggerwal suggested we NOT do chemo, but instead do the Herceptin with a combo of a hormone drug--neither of them need to be processed thru the liver. That was an answer to prayer, as we did NOT want to go thru the chemo again.

The herceptin was administered today (17th). After the next appointment with the doctor they may add another hormone treatment.

We are still trying to arrange with our family physician to administer a high dose Vitamin C protocol.

Latest blood results: Bilirubin counts: NORMAL!! Hemoglobin almost normal, Albumin and protein are still a little low, but increasing. We have the results for 1 of the two tumor markers we had taken: It registers 337.9 (which is high)---However, it was 3138 in November!! It came way down with NO TREATMENT being given since Nov 20th!! I think that is the result of lots of prayer AND GOD!!

Cathy continues to be drained 1-2 times a day (1.5 - 2 liters). This has allowed her to drop her weight from 156 to 120!! The abdomen has decreased in size dramatically and her feet and legs are not nearly as swollen as they have been. (ANOTHER--PRAISE THE LORD!)

Cathy has enjoyed having her siblings come for visits. She has had her entire family come for visits over the past 3 weeks and her brother and his wife will be coming the 24th--to complete the family visitation. She has also had numerous visits from friends, as well. The visits have been great therapy, in and of themselves!! Thank you ALL for your continued prayers and support.

God richly bless you,
Mike

Wow!!

In considering Cathy's advanced condition and the four treatment options (3 given by the Block Center and 1 given by Dr Aggarwal) we decided to ask Cathy's local family doctor if he would consider implementing the high dose vitamin C infusion protocol that the Block Center has established.

Dr Rexroth was so gracious in his demeanor towards Cathy and agreed to give it a try!! Since he is not familiar with this treatment please continue to pray that all of the details would work out - even that she could have the infusions at home and that insurance would cover the cost.

For those of you who would like to know more, there is a study out of Wichita State University titled "Intravenous Ascorbate as a Tumor Cytotoxic Chemotherapeutic Agent."

We also ask for your prayers that this would be gentle enough on her body yet effective against the cancer cells. Also we praise God for Dr Rexroth.

Gratefully,
Lori

Please call me if you have any questions or would like a copy of this study 260-459-0254

January 9, 2014

Went in to see the local Oncologist, Dr. Aggarwal, on Wednesday (Jan 8th). This was for a routine visit after our weekly blood draw. She said she would be happy to give us her opinion of a treatment plan IF we agreed to make her our one and only PRIMARY care doctor! The Block Center already agreed to allow us the option to treat locally since the treatment plan they recommended could be administered locally, so we agreed to her terms. She did not have Cathy's recent blood results,  but recommended a combination of Halaven (chemo) and Herceptin. This would begin on Wednesday (Jan 15th) and be preceded by a CT scan of the abdomen and the brain (her type of cancer likes to migrate there) on Monday (13th). While we were at Parkview, we stopped by the Interventional Radiology department and had her catheter checked again as her gauze was beginning to soak thru. They re-superglued it and told us to get some new skin from Walgreens if it continued to seep. (Actually, we just like to stop in so Cathy can get a WARM blanket to cover up with! :}) 

I had the blood results faxed to me and here are the results:

Albumin (protein indicator) still low at 2.1 (was 1.9)

Bilirubin (liver functions) creeping up to 1.26 (no chemo zone starts at 2.0)

ALT & AST (liver indicators) still a little high but much better than what they had been  (79 & 76)

Overall a 'mixed bag' of results with the bilirubin being the main focus at this time.

We still haven't gotten into a 'routine' for Cathy's drainage. We were attempting a drain about every 4 hours, but then didn't drain for about 2 days after she had it 'super-glued'. Since then, I have drained her 3 times in the last 27 hours and taken out 3.5 liters of fluid! I am getting a full bag each time in about 5 minutes (used to be 20 minutes to get .3 liter)--don't know if this is good or bad. I guess it must be good to get that kind of liquid off her abdomen, but not sure if it's bad that it is producing that much?

On a personal note: Cathy enjoyed a visit from her mom, Jan (oldest sister), Mark (wife and 3 kids--youngest bro), and Julie(younger sister and her husband). This was the 2nd visit from her sister Jan, who was visiting from Montana and staying with her mom in Muncie. Cathy really enjoys the company! We could really use your continued prayers for: 1) reduction in leg/feet & abdomen swelling 2) wisdom on treatment choice 3) strength to fight the fight daily (she is going through a tough time emotionally/mentally) As always, thank you for your thoughts and prayers!!

Mike

January 4, 2014

Four hours after we had the catheter put in and the initial drainage, we found ourselves going back to Parkview because Cathy's gauze was saturated due to leakage. They drained another liter of fluid and sent her back home thinking the leakage would stop since the pressure was off. However, the saturation continued about every four hours and I went ahead and drained her every time that happened. (The visiting nurse had NOT been here yet to show me the proper procedure, because they don't come out until the day AFTER she is released from the hospital). Fortunately, I was able to see how they drained her when we went back to the hospital to get the 2nd drainage done.( I usually got .3 - .5 liter of fluid with each drain.) I had to close New Years' Day, but have since taken a week of vacation to try and get some structure set up.

The visiting nurse, Vicky, came out 5:30 pm Thursday and did a drainage and checked her out. She called the next day and said we needed to have the catheter site checked by the surgeon because it should not be saturating her every 4 hours. Sooooo, back to Parkview on Friday around 2 pm. They removed the saturated gauze and tried to drain her but could only get about 2 TBSP of fluid (but caused a lot of pain for Cathy). They did an ultrasound and found that there was no fluid to be gotten out--hence the pain was from apparently sucking the bowels up to the tubing on the inside! Most of the fluid that is still there is being trapped just under the skin in the cells (called edema) and this is not drain-able. The Dr. did check out the site and decided to put some 'super-glue' on it (really!!). It is the hospital version of super-glue. It has not saturated the gauze as of 11:00 am Saturday (as I type this). Yea!! He also said that we really shouldn't be draining more than once a day or even less---only as she requires it.

We also got the results from the initial fluid we had drained up in Chicago three weeks ago. They did not find any signs of cancer in the fluid! We are grateful to God for that! We are now trying to decide what form of treatment we need to pursue to once again bring the fight to the cancer. We have been in defensive mode for the past 2 months with low hemoglobin and fluid retention, but now its time to get on the offensive and bring the fight to the cancer. We are hoping to start some type of treatment this week, while I am still on vacation. If  Parkview will work with the Block Center, we would like to do something locally, especially with the winter weather forecasted! Please pray that we will pursue the right treatment plan that will get immediate results without the harsh side effects that Cathy really doesn't need at this point in time.  

Just as an aside, Cathy was not the first Guntle to take a trip to the doctor in 2014, that honor went to our 2nd oldest daughter, Christina, whom I had to take to Redimed New Years morning because her throat was hurting real bad---you guessed it---Strep throat! The P.A. on duty suggested that the rest of the family gargle with hydrogen peroxide and benadryl to kill the strep bacteria before it takes hold. Hope it works! So far, no other signs of strep!

Mike