Updating Everything

Ok my plan for today is to update my blog. First, I will start with my Dad updates. Mostly because that is the easiest - I just copy and paste Mom's emails.

November 24:
Well, We didn't go to Huntsman. Weather was too bad. We went down Blue Lakes to the airport and couldn't get past there so called and rescheduled. We have a new appointment on the 8th so nothing new to report. Have a happy Thanksgiving. All our kids will be here so we are excited about that. Love, to you all. Jolene

November 30:
Dear Family and Friends: Well, after I sent out the email last Wednesday and left for home Chuck was in town in our nice pickup and wrecked it. I mean really wrecked it. He was headed down Orchard toward Blue Lakes and a pickup made a left turn in front of him. I was just a mile away and he called me and sounded so calm. I thought it would be a little fender bender on the slick roads. It wasn't. I watched the fire truck go by and thought that it was not for him, but it was. The other guy was knocked out and needed stitches and so Chuck called 911. They guy had been drinking and was cited. It was so cold that Chuck really needed a warm place to wait for the police etc. He is fine but I did take him to the emergency room just to have him checked out. His arm is really bruised and he hit his shin on the park brake and it is pretty bruised. Other than that he has been fine. He had decided not to try to take his chemo on that Monday which I am so thankful for because his platelets may have been really low and it could have caused more bleeding. His chemo is scheduled for tomorrow so we hope his platelets are up and everything is fine. He is doing pretty well but the drains always hurt. I hope when we get to Huntsman they will start to remove them. I will let you know how it goes tomorrow.
We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our children and grandchildren here. It was so good to have Andy and family come. All made it home okay. We are so thankful that our family was being watched over. I will e-mail again. Love to you all. Jolene
PS They didn't total our pickup because they think they can fix it for $15000.00 or so. What a pain.

December 2:
Dear family and friends: Chuck had his Chemo yesterday. They changed the kind to help with the neuropathy in his feet. This one bothers his stomach more. He has not had any nausea with the old one. He had kind of a rough night but said he felt better this morning. We are praying that this chemo works as well and isn't too rough on him. We saw a different Dr again yesterday and he again told us he probably was not curable. He said his chance of cure is if the surgeon can remove the lesions from his liver. If she cannot then they will control it as long as they can with chemo and after time the chemo just quits working. We will see the surgeon on Wednesday next week so everyone pray for a good outcome. We continue on in faith and prayer. Love to you all. Jolene

December 9:
Dear Family and Friends: We are back from Huntsman. The good news is that the Chemo has worked well and the lesions are smaller and not active right now. The surgeon pulled the drains and said she would not want to do surgery right now and to come back in 6 months. She said the biggest problem is two of the 5 lesions are near blood supply and if they remove them then it will kill too much of the liver. She said there was a procedure that she could do to make the liver work harder and generate or compensate for the rest of it. She sounded pretty positive but certainly no guarantee. We then went to see the oncologist. (Not the usual one because she is on maternity leave and will be back in February.) He said that everyone was just sugarcoating for us and that if the surgeon is not doing surgery right away then she is not planning on doing it. He said about 2 years with chemo is average survival with liver metastasis. He is presenting Chuck before the tumor board to see what the plan is on Tuesday and he will call and let us know, so we are still kind of up in the air but are trying to stay hopeful but realistic. We are doing okay and appreciate all your love, prayers and concern. I will let you know as soon as we know anything else. Love, Jolene

December 14:
Dear Family and Friends: We heard from Huntsman today. The tumor board still seems to think there is a chance for him. They want him to do 3 more months of chemo and then re-evaluate him. He wasn't very excited about the extended time for the chemo but he is tolerating it well. The surgeon was amazed that he looked as well as he does after 4 months of chemo. We made an appointment with our usual oncologist for the 25th of Jan. When we first talked to her almost a year ago she talked like there was several options including isotopes, ultrasound, and of course surgery. He is so "complex" (I call it difficult) that maybe he will be the exception to the rule in the right direction this time. He has his chemo tomorrow and I will let you know if anything changes with him. We continue on in hope and faith. We want you all to know how much we appreciate your prayers and concern and thank our Father for you daily. Please continue on as our army of faith. I am not getting cards out (not that I do that great anyway) so if you don't hear from us we hope you all have a very merry Christmas. Love to you all. Jolene

December 15:
Dear Family and Friends. Chuck couldn't have his chemo today because his platelets were too low again. He is scheduled to try again on Tuesday next week. This new chemo is harder on the blood so they have to be careful. This is another new Dr. and he was not very encouraging. We continue on in faith, hope and at least a little courage. We are planning on going to Karalynn's for the weekend and will be home for Christmas. Well, we are going to Jennifer's for Christmas morning and to Adams in the afternoon. We will enjoy our kids and grandkids. Thank you for the cards and thoughts and Christmas wishes. We love you all. Love, Jolene

December 21:
Dear Family and Friends: Chuck is getting his chemo today. I couldn't go with him because I had to work but he said his platelets were 133. Anything over 100 is okay. He said something else was low but he couldn't remember what. I knew I should never let him go alone. They were starting late so he won't be done until 4:30 or so. We had a good time with Karalynn and Nick and Ben over the weekend. My dear friends at Child Support sent a basket of food and homemade goodies that we are enjoying. We have had carolers and visits. His spirits are good and he is feeling pretty well in general. We have such wonderful friends and family. It has made this last year bearable. We are hoping for a better year to come and wish you all a Merry Christmas. I will let you know if anything new happens. Keep us in your prayers. We know it helps. Love to you all. Jolene