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