First Week Recap

 The first week is over, and now a lot of the questions about the unknown have been answered. We kind of know what to expect and some of that is to expect just about anything. It changes from day-to-day and just when you think you figured out the routine, something else comes up and you have to readjust.

This is where faith and trust in God comes into play in a strong way! Even though Gene is experiencing a lot of pain and discomfort, he has been keeping a very upbeat attitude. The text messages, encouraging words, and all of the prayers from everyone are felt and much appreciated. Even though we can’t see the other side of this like God does, we know it’s in his hands and he’s taking care of everything.

The first week of chemo and radiation went better than expected. He had infusion on Monday and wore a bag of chemo home which was a constant drip for this week. We went in last night to have that removed. 

Even though the actual radiation treatment isn’t painful during the process, the position and the place he has to lay for the treatment to be administered is very uncomfortable. He won’t start feeling the full effects of that probably until next week, they say.

The pain itself has increased this week, however,  Gene only had one really bad day with sickness.  Even though it was expected, the fatigue and weakness have been difficult to deal with. Especially for someone like Gene who wants to be up and doing something all the time. Every day after his radiation, we would stop at the Starbucks on the way home and that was his big treat. I’ve cut almost all sugar out of his diet so stopping at Starbucks and letting him get a muffin or a pastry is something to look forward to.

Now that he’s on the lower end of the curve with his immunities being compromised, we’ll have to adjust him being in public, (when going for treatments) by being masked up, which he hates. We just can’t take any chances with him getting sick while he’s in this state. We have upped our game with the handwashing and whenever I have to go out to the store or to the church, I come home and change my clothes and wash up. These are tips I’ve gotten from nurses and other people that have gone to the process. Since the only things I can do to take care of him are to protect him from eating the wrong foods right , providing him a healthy diet, and preventing exposer to sick people, I’m trying to do my best. 

He did want to say thank you to everyone, so I videoed him this morning to share with you. 

We love and appreciate everyone! God is so good and has blessed us with such beautiful, wonderful people in our lives. ❤️

Treatment Day 1 - with a twist!

 Well, day one is here.  Not knowing exactly what to expect and simply ready for this ball to get rolling, the morning was filled with some nervousness.  However, Gene was ready to face the tasks and do them with his usual smile and friendly disposition. Those of you who have talked to him much know that anytime you ask him, "How's it going?", he will always come back with "Not bad, I can't complain".  

The first stop was radiation, and they were busy.  We checked him in a few minutes early for his appointment, and they took him back at his scheduled time; however, he was back there for a while.  Then all of a sudden, the lights all went out, the overhead music went off, and the emergency lights came on.  I was a little unsettled to say the least.  Everyone in the waiting room just looked around at each other, and I think we all had the same crazy look on our faces.

Some of the techs came out from the back and asked if anyone knew what happened.  Then, several minutes later, and to my relief, here came Gene.  I thought for sure they had already performed his procedure, since he was back there over 45 minutes. Then he told me that they were so backed up, and down to one tech, so he had just got on the table and all ready for them to flip the switch, when the power failed.  According to him, they were playing rap music and that's what caused it....lol.  

So much for his first day of radiation.  They sent us on our way because he was already late for his scheduled chemotherapy appointment.  The nurse said that she called ahead to let them know he was being held up by the clinic and that he would be coming soon.  The radiation building is just down the street from Kaiser on Bruceville. Off we went to the Kaiser infusion center.  It was mixed feelings. He was so geared up for getting this all started, to have to be sent on the way.  But he rolled with it, and we went straight over to the infusion center.  

We discovered that the power had gone out at Kaiser as well.  By the time we arrived, they were back up and running.  That also meant that their systems were just booting back up, and things were moving kind of slowly.  Again, he just rolls with it.  

The nurses were super nice and made him feel very comfortable.  They went over all of the medicines, instructions for this week's treatment, and hooked up the tube to his port.  It was wild to watch.  Since his port was installed 10 days ago, and it's under the skin in his chest wall, you don't see an area to hook into.  The nurse just came up with a small device with a needle on it, and literally plugged him in, just like a phone charger.  

He settled in for the regimen of infusions, and then it was time to hook him up to his take-home bag.

He will wear this bag of medicine for the rest of the week, going back to the infusion center on Friday for them to unhook the empty bag.  

The biggest challenge is not kinking the tube and just being careful not to get it caught on anything.  He wears the little lemon, as they affectionately call it, 24/7 until Friday night. 

They had him eating ice chips nonstop when they were administering the first medicine.  They said it would help with the initial onset of mouth sores, which can become a big problem...something else to watch for.

Gene will have radiation every weekday for a few months.  Since he was not able to start today, tomorrow will be his first day for that part of his treatment.  I will let you know how it goes.

Funny side story...Gene told me that when the power failed at the radiation clinic, they had just gotten him in the necessary position, lined everything up, and were ready to go.  The table was up at the highest setting, so he was like 4' off the floor.  So, when the power failed, they couldn't move the bed down. They had to bring a ladder into the treatment room to get him off...lol. He asked, "Where's your backup generator?"  Knowing him, he probably had everyone laughing before they got him out of there!

Thank you all for your prayers and words of encouragement today!  Every message is a blessing.  The strength he and I feel from those texts and phone calls is huge.  Love you all in a big way! 

Field Trip Day

 Hi all!

We are getting closer to starting treatments, and Gene got a little stir crazy today.  He decided he wanted to go on a field trip, just to get out of the house.  Because riding in the car is very uncomfortable, and any length of time up walking around is painful, I argued about him even trying. 

However, he wanted to try to do it, so we drove to the Starbucks by our house, then over to the church so that he could see all of the progress being made for the All Nations Sunday event this weekend.  He's a trooper.

He will not be attending the event, and he's been worried about the church being cleaned and ready, as well as during the event.  He's kind of a hands-on guy and likes to be there to oversee those needs.  It's not going to happen this year, but next year for sure!!!

We are both grateful for all of the prayers, encouraging texts, and visits!  God bless each and every one of you!

Before Treatments Begin

Hi!  Some have asked if visits would be okay. The answer is YES...This would be a great week to come by and visit.  Gene will start treatments next Monday, August 25th.  After that, visits will be very limited due to his compromised immune system at that point.  

I've also had the question, "What can I bring him?" He is on a restricted eating plan, so please check with me before bringing anything to share.  No sugar, no nuts or seeds, no beans, lentils, and the list goes on...so just send me a message if you need more info.

To make sure he is not at an appointment or sleeping, you can text him (or me) before you head over.  

He will be home alone a bit more this week, since I will be doing my best to keep regular office hours at WU.  After his treatments begin, my work hours will adjust to allow me to work from home more, in order to take care of him.

Thank you again for your love, support, and prayers...we are sending the enemy packing, in Jesus' name!

 

 

Let the Journey Begin

 The Rocking L is embarking on a new journey, and so many are already involved in supporting us with prayer, fasting, encouragement, advice, insight, and more prayer.  I've decided this is a good time to share a few details about this season in our lives.

Several weeks ago, Gene was diagnosed with stage 3 cancer. Even though this is never good news to receive from your doctor, we believe God has a greater purpose in all things.  It was news that definitely got our attention and took a few days to process.  There have been a lot of emotions and deep conversations with Jesus.  

The type of cancer he has is rare, and the tumor is growing in the anal area.  This is not easy to talk about, simply because we usually don't openly talk about those areas of the body.  However, that's where it's at, so no getting around that.  For the sake of easy reading, I'm just going to call it the tumor.  This has been a difficult and painful few months for Gene.  When things changed to the point that he felt like he needed to see a doctor, it was mid-June this year (about 8 weeks ago).  It took 4 weeks to get into a doctor, and from there it's been a CT scan, a PET scan, an MRI, blood work, and many doctor visits.  His initial scans showed a tumor measuring 9 cm, and one lymph node was affected. Since those scans, the tumor has grown significantly. (4 weeks of growth).  His oncology doctor said this is an invasive cancer, so they were trying to get things rolling pretty fast.  Couldn't be fast enough, and we have been hoping to see a miraculous healing (overnight) rather than going through the process.  But we are both committed to doing whatever God sees fit, to get Gene through the healing process and back to living his best life!

I will try to post often enough to keep everyone in the loop.  I may post short videos or some photos to share milestones and memories.  We appreciate all of your prayers and support during this short season, and we will party together at the end of this journey!

I apologize for the morning voice and rough appearance. It was a late night, then early morning...But I wanted to share a personal note of appreciation and give you an update!

Welcome to Rocking L

 With so many things going on in life, and also getting older, I find that I forget things more easily. And the things that I want to remember, like happy times, good times, important moments, milestones, and all the wonderful blessings that God provides, are important to me.  In life‘s journey, you’re faced with challenges; how you handle them creates your story. Years ago, I used to journal a lot on paper. Another thing I’ve noticed as I've gotten older is that my handwriting isn’t as nice as it used to be. Even with trying to practice handwriting, it just doesn’t always come out like I want.

Before we had social media, we blogged. I enjoyed doing it, but I didn’t get to do it very much. I wish I had kept up on it at least that way, now I would have a way to look back at moments with more detail than just a few snapshots.

Today, as I’m sitting here, thinking about a lot of things, many memories running through my head, and wondering how many I have forgotten, I decided I would start blogging again.

This, of course, with the intent to share with whoever wants to read it. And if nobody does, then at least I will have a history that I can reflect on to help me remember wonderful and blessed times. 

So if you’re joining me now and reading this, I hope that the things I share are a blessing to you. We have enough negativity and sadness in the world, and my goal is to record moments to help me and others dwell on the good things in life. Things like the love of God, family, dear friends, and coming out on top, even when faced with challenges and adversity.

In today’s world, we see a lot of people sharing on social media, these overwhelmingly happy and almost unrealistically perfect lives. I think it’s great to share good news and happy times, don’t get me wrong. But I feel like people use social media to pretend like everything is great rather than sharing what really is great. I don’t plan to do that. I plan to record my life as it is, but intentionally share it in a way that gives hope and encouragement.

The reality is, everyone, no matter who you are, will face difficulties and sometimes heartbreaking moments in life. But I’m a firm believer that your perspective is key. How you look at situations, or how you deal with it, will determine the outcome. Putting God in the equation always gives you the upper hand. With Jesus, everything is better. When you live for Him, life is better. Life is not perfect, only He is perfect. 

We affectionately call our family, The Rocking L. We don’t have a ranch yet! But we have a beautiful family that God has blessed. There are so many wonderful things to share about what God has done in our lives.

Truth is always truth, and Jesus never fails. Come share our journeys with The Rocking L and be blessed!