Lisa's home!

Gail and Lisa got home about 9:00pm tonight! It was not looking like Lisa was going to be able to come home today, she had her blood drawn this morning and at 2 they got the results that she had not passed. As you can imagine this did not make anyone happy. At this point they want to spend as little time as possible in the hospital. At a little before 4 the doctor came into the room and said he wanted to draw her blood again to check her levels. They had to have the blood to the lab by 4 in order for the results to come back today, so everyone was rushing. Thankfully this time Lisa passed and was released to go home! The dog and the cat were very happy to see them and Gail and Lisa were so happy to spend the night in their own beds! Another one down!

What a beautiful weekend it was! Lisa came home from Portland on Sunday; she had passed all the tests and was released to go home. It was pretty hard to go back up there and start all of this again. I am sure it is all getting really old and she knows what is coming so she dreads it even more. They also found out that instead of 2 weeks between each grouping of chemo she will only have 1 week. That was hard to hear too. The Doctors want to make the most of this chemo after the surgery to make sure that the cancer gets a hard hit.
One bit of good news was that the doctors told Lisa that she can delay chemo by 1 week at the end of June so that she can be a bridesmaid in Kyle’s wedding. She was really excited about that!
Tomorrow Lisa will go back to Doernbecher to start chemo again. Keep her in your prayers that she will not get too sick and that also her spirits will stay up!

old friends

Fishing last week before chemo statrted again. Lisa went out on D lake with her brothers and caught the first fish!

Today chemo starts up again for Lisa. The break from chemo went way too fast, but I guess the sooner they start up again the sooner it will all be over. They will head up to Doenbecher today and probably start chemo late afternoon. It is a 4 hour session but this is the type of chemo that she will have to stay at the hospital until the level of chemo in her system reaches a certain level. They expect she will come home on Sunday, if she follows the same pattern that she did before her surgery. She will follow that schedule 3 weeks in a row.
There are a few things coming up:
At the end of June they will do a scan on Lisa’s lungs. If they see anything in her lungs they will have to do surgery remove it. That would be a pretty big surgery, so they are praying that her lungs will be clean.
On June 28th Lisa’s brother Kyle is getting married. Lisa has been asked to be a bridesmaid and she is very excited about being in the wedding. Unfortunately, the date of the wedding falls smack dab in the middle of a session of chemo. If she is in the middle of chemo she will probably be to sick. They are going to run it by the doctors to see if that session of chemo could be put off 1 week, but ultimately they will do what is best for Lisa and making her well.
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Battle Scars

Lisa let me takepictures of some of the scars from her surgery, what a good sport!

Lisa took her weekly trip up to Portland on wed. to have her blood checked. They determined that her platelets were low so Gail will need to watch her closely for mouth sores and burses. If they continue to be low they may have to do a blood transfusion before they can start the next session of chemo. But over all she is doing well and is heading to the beach with her family for the weekend.
Lisa did have some surprise visitors they other day. Gordan and Lisa were sitting outside when who should come trotting down the road…..the 4 horses from down the road that Lisa spent so much time with before she got sick. Somehow they got loose from their corral and decided to eat the grass that was greener on the other side and to have a little with Lisa. We think they missed her as much as she missed them. So they visited a little and then the naughty horses had to go home!

Blessings

Happy Mothers Day! It was a nice day. I had the chance to see Lisa on Saturday and she looked really good. All the heavy bandages were off of her shoulder and I could see her newly reconstructed shoulder and the scars that tell her story. Everything looked like it was healing well. She still has her arm in a sling and her leg in a boot, but all the tubes are gone. She made it though the first session of chemo without too much trouble, just the normal sick to the stomach feelings and fatigue. She had to go back on Wed. to have her levels checked and everything was fine. So now she will be home until the next round of chemo.
Gail told me a story that she wanted to share: this happened on the way back from Doernbecher last Wed. Gail and Lisa stopped by Washington Square for a little shopping on the way home. Lisa had been wanting to try some of the facial products call pro Active that they sell in a little booth in the mall. They found the booth and were discussing the purchase when Gail noticed a well dressed man in a wheelchair near by. She could see that he was approaching them so she turned to him. He asked if she was buying the face products for her daughter, and Gail answered “Yes.” He then reached out his hand and offered her a $100.00 bill. It took Gail off guard, but then she said “No, that’s okay, we can get it.” He insisted, and handed the money to them. That was more than enough to buy the products, but that was not the point. Who knows what the story is of the well dressed man in the wheelchair, but something must have touched his heart when he saw Lisa with her bald head in her wheelchair. For Lisa and Gail it was a reminder that God is taking care of them, a reminder of all the blessings that they have already received from so many people and a reminder when all of this is behind them to give back to someone else who is going through hard times. I think that is a good lesson for all of use no matter where we are in life.

Sorry about the lack of entries lately. Life has been a little crazy. Our daughter, Brittany, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and work has been so busy. But the good news is that Lisa is doing really well. She finished her first round of chemo and has been home for several days. She is tired and still sore, as you would expect from the extensive surgery she had, but overall things are going well. I believe it will be about 2 weeks before she goes back for chemo again.

On a fun note: There are some really cute brown T-shirts that have been ordered that say “Hope for Lisa” in pink on the front. The back of the shirt has Isaiah 40:31 on it, which is Lisa’s favorite verse. They are only $10.00! If you would like one, or know someone who might, call Sherry Austin at 503-949-8159.

message from Gail from a few days ago

Greetings to you all ,
Praise God for he is good .
Lisa started Chemo again last week we came home Friday night around 11:30 Lisa wanted to come home and enjoy her weekend !
She is doing pretty well just a little sick but still very weak from her surgery . Her scars are healing pretty well and she only complains about the one on her back which is 9 inches long it seems that a little fluid is building up where the muscle was removed and will be sore for some time .
The Doctor will see her on her next around of Chemo and will decide if her brace on her leg can come off. Lisa is a little worried because her big toe is still num and does not move the Dr told us that she might have to wear a toe brace because with her big toe num she can trip real easy and fall.
We are so thankfull for all of your prayers on Darci Too . Darci's surgery went well and she and the baby are doing well she is sore but is thankful that the surgery is over with and she can now enjoy her pregancy . Darci is now having morning sickness which is good news !
Thank you for all of your prayers and love