A little of this and a whole lot of that.

Hello blog family! 

We start this blog on Saturday January 11th. 

Today, Kent is doing fairly well.  He woke up and started his day looking at emails and doing some nornal routine things he would do if his life would not been overtaken by cancer.  I was amazed.  It was shortly into his morning routine I saw him hit a wall and get a bit sad, he couldn't continue.  I reminded him to look at the progress thus far and let's focus on that. He, stated I just want to do things I used to do. We conversed.... we have to start from somewhere and he is doing great!

Kent continues to manage pain or anxiety with meds but he really tries to manage with the minimum.  He is gaining strength every day.  He has gone from me walking with him through house to walking independently with stability of a wall from time to time.  We are encouraged that even though he is on a soft diet indefinitely he tries to expand things that sound good.  Now Kent was already a picky eater so finding things gets difficult.

We are grateful, each day Kent adds more he can do by himself.  I am very proud of him.  

I just wanted to let you know of some apointments and things coming up, So that  you can be in prayer for Kent as we go through this week.  

Monday, Kent will be seen by his Chemo nurse after a visit with labs and we will see if Kent needs a white blood count booster.  

Tuesday, I can't leave out.  In the middle of all the medical things going on our washer stopped working.  So after roughly 2 weeks and both moms doing endless loads of laundry I will be getting my new washer.  We are thankful for the many people who made that possible. 

Wednesday, We will be meeting with the START program which is a program that tests Clinical trials in a dosing Phase of the trial  We will just be learning if there are any advancements that could protentially be a benefit to Kent. As we are unsure what is involved in this meeting we are looking forward to it as one of Kent's old oncoligists will be sitting down with us in this meeting.  

Thursday, brings treatment yet again.  This day brings up many feelings with Kent. We will have labs, meet with Kent's current oncoligist and have treatment.  Kent tolerated treatment well last time but as Chemo becomes more cumalitive we pray he still tolerates every ounce of the drugs that take away his cancer. 

Friday, This day I think Kent will look forward to.  Kent will just focus on sleep and lettting the chemo do its work. He gets a much needed day to let his body absorb chemo and rest. This is easier said than done, but we pray for a good day.

Saturday, Kent will get his pump off and have an opportunity if his White blood count is low to boost that through a shot. So the next treatment will stay on track.  

Sunday, we will hopefully get a breather! We look forward to watching our Church online.  I am so thankful that we have a church that allows for online church.  I love doing church with Kent in person, but I too enjoy sitting in our living room watching with him when treatment and low energy only allows it to be at home! Thank You Beechwood Church!

So as I finish this post, I just want to thank you for praying, sending cards, being a driver for us,  visiting, thank you to those who have done our driveway, or any way you have helped us or are still continuing to do this in some sort of way, thank you! You have touched our entire family grately!

I also just want to add one other quick prayer request. Please pray for Lydia as she continues in her education at Hope College and pray as she navigates coming home in incliment weather from time to time just to spend time with her dad that she does so safely.  We are thankful for the time she sets aside and ask for her safety in traveling.

Kent or myself will blog again soon! We will update you all what has happened, until then we hope you can pray for a little of this and a whole lot of that! 

Leah

Through his strength

 How can one person handle so many medical things to their body? How do they still do amazing well?   My only answer is through God's strength and power! Kent has had many medical procedures including two stents, in recent hospital stays. One in his bile duct and one in his Doudendum. In addition, many adjustments to his diet. He is very weak from all that he has gone through.  I also stand amazed to whom God places in our paths to help us though these valley's. So many people have prayed and helped in so many ways that I can not even begin to say thank you indivdually.  Thank You, from the bottom of our hearts!  

 To start this blog post I have to refer back a bit to December 29th. This is the day we welcomed Kent Home!  Kent came home weak and tired, but he navigated each step with our help as best he could.  Kent was experiencing pain with no pain meds. He also had not a single full nights sleep to this point, but he never complained!  I think the last blog left us at our Anniversary.  (which wasn't what we hoped for but we were together.)  So I'll start chatting from that point. 

Sunday, December 29th, Kent had to master two things before he could leave the hospital. He had to keep two Pureed items down!  He had mashed potatoes at noon and that was a sucsess, and a little later on he had a nurse tell us he had orders that the Doctor wanted one more thing to stay down.  Kent had unsweetened applesause and even though his taste buds didn't like unsweetened flavord applesause, he did it!  So the nurse said, at that point he was working on discharge papers from the doctor! We were excited after 8 unconsecutive days Kent would be back together with us!  The excitement of having him home was wonderful, but I would not tell the whole truth if I didn't share these thoughts. It was a huge responsibility I was feeling.  I was in charge of managing pain managment, making sure meds were properly spaced out, getting up in the middle of the night to walk him to the bathroom and helping him manage food when not everything agrees with him all the time. Now I mention this..... I am not complaining, but I sure was feeling the weight of all this. It was a bit overwhelming.  Kent is one amazing man and I would do it everyday if I needed to.  I just wanted the reassurance that I was doing it ok and keeping ucomfortable and not miserable.

He now has had several days home and we are getting used to our "new" routine.  Many new wrinkles to think about we never had before.  Together we will conquer. We pray Kent again will regain strength and will gain independance again soon! 

This brings me to today. January 2, 2025.  A day Kent has not been looking forward to for a long time.  Chemo day!   You see the reasons for the stents I mention ealier is because cancer has pushed its way back into the bile duct area and doudendum area of Kent's body. Earlier this summer we tried oral Chemo and Radiation which resulted in the news we didnt want.  So here we are in January working hard with the help of an amazing Chemo nurse to shrink and hopefully say good bye to the cancer that invades Kent!   This is where you all come in.  We ask all our prayer warriors to bang on God's door to take this cancer away!   Cancer is ugly and robs so much from those we love!   

Today Kent had a very long day.  I just want to share a day in the life of Kent on Chemo days... This may help you all understand it a bit more.  We entered the chemo clinic, Kent recieved labs and they tested his protein levels, we then wait to either talk to a PA or Doctor depending on the week.  They review labs to see if it is "safe" to press on with treatment.  If it is "safe" then we proceed to the treatment area to start the day.

To start the Chemo Process there are many meds and there is a clear order. They are in order getting the best results to achieve the most benifits from Chemo meds that hopefully take away the cancer. 

  Kent first get 2 meds to help with nausea. He also gets saline at rougly the same time.  One drug is called Amend and the other is Aloxi.  These meds run for 30 minutes.

 Next a drug called Dexemethadrone which helps treat cancer and decrease inflimation and can be used for nausea in Chemotherapy regimines and runs for a 30 min time. 

 Next a drug called Ivastin this runs for a little over a hour.  This drug helps reduce the growth of blood vessels. 

  The next and final in clinic drug is called Irinatican.  It runs 90 minutes and is the main Chemo Kent gets.  This hopefully attacks the cancer.   When this is done he gets a pump that he wears home in a pouch over the weekend.  In this pump  the drug, also  is Chemo and is called 5 FU. Kent wears this home from the clinic and has it removed in clinic on a Sat Morning.  

The last step before leaving the clinic on Saturday is he gets a shot to help with boosting while blood count in order to stay on track every other week in Chemo Cycle. 

Before I sign off I want to recognize one person who very rarely gets mentioned in this blog.  

Lydia.   Lydia has been amazing.  I just want to tell you, she has drove her mom to the Hospital, stayed long days with me when medical things involving cancer is not easy for her, she has ran to the store numerous times for things that Kent needs, she stayed with me at the house, she has hugged and loved on us both more times than I can count and the last thing I will share is her heart for her dad is huge  and caring for him is something I have never seen a 20 year old do.  We love you Lydia! We are so thankful for you! 

As we enter into this new year with many unknowns for Kent's medical path. We ask for your prayer! Please pray that Kent can move past pureed food and start tolorating a soft food. pray for calories and nurishment! Please  pray that Kent can get through every Chemo Cycle he is asked, please pray for his pain that it now will be manged with meds will be minimal and pray for him overall.  This is not an easy road.

Thank you all for your continued love and care and support.  Each day is a gift. Love those around you. 

Leah

PS.  I appoligize for typos! My proof reader is back at college and Kent is resting! 

Paging all nurses!!!

 Paging all nurses....... 

Let me start at the very begining a very good place to start.   Last week Thursday December 19th, Kent had an ERCP.  The procedure that placed a stent in his bile duct.  He did well in his recovery, at the hospital. He walked laps and impressed staff with his gained improvements. He regained strength and found himself coming home on Saturday the 21st of December! 

Sunday the 22nd of December we started of our day watching online church and Kent said, he was hungry.  I quickly tended to what he needed and a bit later found it just didn't agree.  After a few trials we quickly evaluated his health, he still wasn't improving. After consulting with his Chemo nurse, who has quickly become more than just a nurse (a now life long dear friend), she advised us that we should come into the Chemo Clinic to be evaluated, get hydration while that was happening and wait to be tended to by a same day PA. We would consult via PA to hear from his oncoligist. This all resulted in yet another direct admission, and a wheelchair ride in the tunnels from the Chemo Clinic building to a room at our Hospital Hotel.

After entering the hospital...... another nurse quickly came into our room. We were not even there 5 minutes.  She  entered  all the important information needed as a direct admission and we settled in.  We were not there long before we were visted by Doctors , PAs, Nurses, Techs, and family! The consensus was made quickly...Kent was in need of yet another stent in his Duodenum. We soon figured out the Duodenum is important part of the digestive system. Kent had a narrowing of his Duodendum and neeeded help opening it up so food could pass through.

  We entered into the Hospital slightly before Christmas, a time where Nurses who do these procedures like taking off.  A bit later we were visited by someone in GI that told us there was a slim possibilty that we could have the procedure on the 24th. Our hopes were dashed a bit later as we had a Doctor but NO Nurses to assist in the procedure. Paging all nurses...We need you! Please help Kent! We were told they called in sick! Convienant...NOT!!Probably not reality either! Being Christmas eve.

  Dec 26 th..... We were eagerly waiting a same day procedure time, Kent informed me by Phone call that we were on the schedule for 11:30 am. Yay! A Doctor, and a NURSE! 11:30 am came and went, 12 pm came and went, 12:30 pm our floor nurse came to our room  and said, let me check what is going on. While we waited... she checked on the computer in our room and she was shocked to see Kent was bumped OFF the schedule. She consulted the provider and somehow miraculously a while later he was back on the schedule for 3:15 pm. Lydia and I had not eaten yet, so we told nurses we were going to  grab a quick bite near the food court in a part of the hospital that was a bit further than the cafeteria.  We were just going to order as I recieved a call from the nurse saying they are here to get him for procedure and we needed to get back ASAP! 

Kent was quickly transfered down to the procedure intake area, prepped and taken back within 30 minutes. We were all relieved that he was going to be rid of  his intense pain that made him emotionally and physically weak.  As Kent was in procedure we again went back to get lunch and then made our way back to the waiting area were they would call us back. This is where we would consult with doctor to hear how the procedure went.  Kent overall did well!  The procedure went as planned. We saw him aproximately 2 hours after. He was alert momentarly. Kent rested almost 3 hours after and then woke up. When he woke up we had found that his body had somehow reacted by sweating.  He was uncomfortable. We attended to that, helped him get settled in for the night, and nurses again came to keep the pain at a minimum, while he would try to again get rest. We are very thankful to have this procedure behind us! 

Some things to think on, pray for Kent and his continued strength. For him as he gradually is re-introduced to food, to tolerate it and like it again, and to not be affaid of it. Pray that he is able to start Chemo on the 2nd of January and accept that he may not be strong enough to recieve it, but that he needs it. Please pray for Lydia and I as we stand by him giving him care with love but enough encourgement to try for the hard stuff! 

We can not speak enough of the many who have already and will continue to care give for Kent!  Paging all Nurses, we say a heart felt thank you to ALL of you! You have stood by him and encourged him and his family and have not only are you just nurse's but have become life long friends! 

Today, Kent and I celebrate 27 years on the 27th! It may not be the celebration we hoped for, but we are together and have Lydia by our side and that is all we need! 

- Leah

Frightened

 This post really starts a week ago today.  Last Sunday we watched church online, went out to grab a "Safe" lunch.  I wasn't home long when Lunch decided to reappear.  This happened again Monday (a different time of the day. And then again Tuesday.  It was by Tuesday, I needed answers.  Leah came home from work and Lydia met her on the driveway expressing my wishes to go somewhere and be seen.

She began calling The doctor's office of my Medical Oncologist.  Long story made shorter they wanted us to come in for Hydration.  Nobody in my family really thought I needed hydration however this appointment was necessary.  I had one of my nurses from 10 years ago and she was very helpful in thinking about questions we needed to address at the Dr appointment 2 days later.

The next 2 days seemed to go "slightly" better but only sligtly.  By Thursday Lydia drove us to the appointment with my Medical Oncologist.  It was during this appointment we were suggested to start Chemo the following Monday.  Due to Christmas and News Year's day we elected to start that on Thursday Jan 2.  During the appointment Lydia asked the time frame for chemo saying you can only run a marathon for so long.  The response is that Chemo will be indefinitely until either Toxicity or disease progression happen.

During the appointment the doctor was waiting for lab numbers to come back from the lab. Which seemed long and had not by the time we were dismissed.  We no longer made it home and I got a call back from the doctor stating my Liver number where climbing and she wanted to admit me to the hospital.  We waited several hours for the call then made our way through snowy Grand Rapids to the hospital.

Over the next couple days there I had an emergency ERCP which took a longer time than usual.  This is a procedure that uses an endoscope and x rays to diagnose and treat issues with the liver,gall bladder, bile ducts and pancreas.   Yesterday I was placeded on  advanced to soft foods and was doing well.  I declined my anti -nausea meds during the day which was likely a mistake.

Saturday afternoon I was discharged from the hospital and allowed to go home.  I ate soup for dinner and a few hours later my stomach decided to reverse course.   I took an Atvian after that was done in order to relax and sleep,  neither of which happend.  By 5 AM I had Leah get me zofran and took that since my tummy wasn't feeling well.

This morning we decided a small amount of food was what I needed.  So I had a banana and again saw that an hour or two later.

Needless to say much of this Frightens me.  Prayers would be appreciated for keeping food down and tummy feeling normal.  And also that treatment goes "SWIFTLY" and effectively.  I'm not done living yet and that's not how treatment makes me feel.

~Kent

Getting on the merry go round....

Merry go rounds are supposed to be fun.  You run in the circle pick your seat and wait for the ride to start.  About 3 minutes later you come to a slow stop, you can get off and return to your family.  My life feels like a merry go round a bit but not in the sense I described above.  I'll get to the information, please hang on with me....

This past Tuesday, November 26 I was scheduled for and had my PET scan.  Normally the radiology team is so busy it's usually takes 3 - 5 days before you even think about seeing the report.  I'm not sure I would call it luck but I got the report on Wednesday halfway through the day.  At this point I read through it and still have not had the viewpoint from an or my Oncologist.

What I read (and this is paraphrasing) is there are several spots found on the liver and also the tumor that remains next to the bile duct is also still active.  If you remember back to this past summer I had radiation and oral Chemo targeting this very tumor that is still active.  So my question is how can it still be active after 28 treatmens of radiation?  I do not have any appointment scheduled with my Radiation Oncologist and even if I did I'm not sure she can appropriately give me the answer I'm looking for.

So what's next you ask.  Well I'm not able to tell you.  You see I found this all from looking at the report and knowing enough to intelligently figure things out.  I meet with my Oncologist on December 12.  During this appointment we should be discussing the PET scan from her point of view and likey this will be the discussion of what treatment should be and when it should be.  Allow me some educated speculation.  The cancer is in more than 1 organ / location, therefore the treatment likely cannot be surgery or radiation so the only realistic option left is systemic or ( IV) Chemo.  I should know more definitely after the Dec 12 apt.

During this Holiday weekend I ended up in the hospital for a GI issue.  I came home Yesterday and today I somewhat resumed my normal life.

So here we are on another trip around this merry go round and I'll be honest I'm not sure I'm ready for another trip around.

We appreciate your prayers for strength for the journey and complete healing.

We will update the information here when we have the Oncology apt.

~ Kent

12 blankets and 4 pillows

For this post I have to start back on Thursday 10/24.  That day everything was fine and normal as far as I knew until bed time happened.  It was during the night I develeoped a fever with chills and felt fine after getting up and getting through a shower and my typical morning routine.  The plan for Friday included me working in the morning and then Leah and I heading to Holland for our typical fall weekend away at the cottage.  Friday was her Birthday so we frist had lunch with Lydia and Leah's Mom and then walked around downtown.  After we were finished downtown we headed to Salt & Pepper for her "birthday dinner".  

The rest of the weekend included plans from Hope College's "One Big Weekend" as in the football game and the Nykerk performance.  And then we all planned to relax and enjoy the rest of the weekend. We got back to the cottage and watched a little tv and then headed to bed.  Again Friday night my fever showed up yet again and the only consistent thing besides the fever was darker color urine.  Friday I just coulodn't sleep very well so much of Saturday's plans were scrapped and I napped several hours during the day Saturday.  I woke up in enough time to watch the rival Michigan College football game.  Late into the game we headed up to bed and only minutes befroe I started having chills and shaking which continued for the next several hours and kept both Leah and I awake for different reasons.

I survived Saturday with slightly more sleep Saturday but not much and so now we got to Sunday.  We had originally planned on leaving for home after church and lunch and packing up.  Since the previous 3 night had gotten worse a little every night,  we planned to watch church online and then head home shortly after having food.  So we got through church online and since my appetite had tanked during the weekend, we headed home right after packing up after church.  On the way home (me driving of course) my chills and Shaking came back.  I made it home but I'm sure not without making Leah very nervous I'm sure.  After arriving home I turned on the heat in the house since the heat and air had been off for weeks and it was only 62 in the house.  I crawled under a blanket on the couch and tried warming up.  Leah called my Oncologist's On call service and explained what was happening and the doctor on call urged Leah to get me to the hospital.  So by 12 p.m. Sunday my mom arrived and we were all on our way to what became a really long week.

Around 12:30pm on Sunday we arrrived at what some might call hotel Zeeland.  I'm not sure I can call it a hotel but it seemed through the process it really became one although not intended.  We checked into the ER and were told to take a seat and wait.  We were deciding where to sit and the triage nurse called my name.  We quickly explained the problem that brought us and and were brought back to a room.  Inside that room I was given the gown and things moved along relatively quickly for a short time.  I first had my port accessed and blood drawn from there.  Then they wanted blood cultures so they got 2 vials from my left arm and spent way to long trying in the right.  By then I was called back for a CT scan immediately followed by a chest X-ray.  When I got back to the room my nurse tried getting the second set of cultures through the left arm which involved the needle some fishing and then an ultrasound machine got added.  At last it was decided she needed to place an IV in my arm.  After the battery of test were complete 2 things were found.  1. An infectoin was discovered in the blood taken from my port and 2. It was discovered that something was blocking the bile duct. By the time we heard this it was from the second doctor we met in the ER.  Part of the news he delivered was that I needed an ERCP procedure which they cannot do in Zeeland .  We were told that we were headed to Blodgett Hospital but we were still waiting for a room before we could go there.  After many times talking with a nurse or doctor we discovered we were staying the night in the ER and I would be getting a room on Monday.  During one of our exchanges we asked for a hospital bed for the night.  Leah and my Mom went home to get my C-pap and then back home for rest.

I got my cpap at 9 p.m. and it was 12:30am when staff showed up with the hopsital bed.  Prior to the hospital bed I had 1 blanket and 1 measly pillow.  I was also sleeping so I woke up stood up and moved my belongings to a chair and held on the the 2 IV fluids while they moved my ER bed out and my new hospital bed in the small room.  During the exchange it seemed like the pillows and blankets multiplied.  It seemed as though I had about 12 blankets and 4 pillows.  Through my faith I believe that Jesus was in that room with me but I'm confident he wasn't there to multiply blankets and pillows.  He was there to meet my needs and that was getting rest, getting calm and getting to a place whe I could effectivly heal me from the things gone awry.  In all actuality I had 2 pillows and 3 blankets along with a fever.  I belive the rest of the night went relatively well.  By the morning I was ready for the transfer to Blodgett.  It was much later in the morning before we found out we were close on the list and then assigned a room.  4 p.m. on Monday I was given an ambulance ride from Zeeland to a room in Blodgett Hospital on the 4th floor overlooking Fisk Lake in Grand Rapids.  Monday at blodgett consisted of resuming antibiotics that were started in Zeeland and working at getting the ERCP scheduled. 

It was Tuesday Doctor rounds (which happen between 10 and 12 ) with GI in order to find out the ERCP was scheduled at 4:00 P.M.  I braced for a day without food and then at 1 p.m. someone was at my room to take me to the ERCP.  We had only a few minutes warning in order to get ready in the appropriate clothing.  Then we all walked down to a different floor with my family stopping at the surgical waiting area.  From there I went down the hallway to the endoscopy area.  I got in there met the doctor and anesthesiaologist and then signed the paperwork and got wheeled into the room.  I was given an oxygen mask then they pushed the sleeepy meds through my port and I quickly remember the room fade.  The next thing I rememebr is waking up in recovery and then back to my room where I met my family again.  I knew what I was told by the Doc before and it was only a matter of time before he stopped into my hospital room.  He claimed he place a temporary Stent inside my permanent one and inspected and biopsied a tumor by the bile duct.  He then asked for my medical history.  I explained how in May of 2023 I had the same symptoms due to a tumor pressing on the bile duct.  I then told him what happened to all parts of the tumor and he said where he had taken the biopsy was likely what already existed and treated.  We would need to do a few things in regards to this ERCP  1. I would need to schedule this outpatient again in 8 weeks in ordrer remove the temporary stent and 2 there was some growth inside the bile duct the Doctor will want to cauterize at that next visit.

During the remainder of Tuesday and the First time today (Wednesday) I got to try catch up on meals, continue antibiotics, and carefully watch my high Liver number begin to drop. (5.7 to 2.1 leaving hospital)  (Normal number is .2 to 1.2) This morning at rounds I heard from both doctors they were willing to discharge me today.  It was about 1:30pm when we finally left the hospital for my first trip home since Sunday Morning.

When getting home I attended to items needing to happen for me to continue work tomorrow. And then of coure tried resting and watching tv.

I'm still on the improvement trend and will have another appointment with my primary doctor to complete anothe blood test to check those liver levels again and then talk my him about resuming my blood pressure meds.  We'll also need to follow up with my oncologist in order to see what she wants to do with the pet scan (if she wants to bump it up or leave it scheduled as is).

This was a few days with a bit of anxiety for me and for those of you who already knew we felt those prayers.  And will continue to appreciate those as this continues to be something we need to talk about for at least a couple months.

So until the next moment.  We apprciate your prayers for this medical bump.

~Kent

3 more months

Friday we saw the Radiation doctor.  She has always seemed like she would give you an honest yet caring answer to your questions.  We discussed the results of the CT, MRI, and even looked at one of my previous PET scans.  Her view is that the tumor is "dead" although we won't exactly know that until we have a PET scan.  However if you do a PET scan to early all the inflimation caused by radiation can show up as active cancer even though it is not.  In her mind having one around Thankgiving would be an appropriate time to let any inflamation calm down.  

When asked if waiting until November was to long she also stated that I have "A very slow growing kind of cancer" so she's pleased to see there is nothing new in the time period since surgery and radiation.  I also asked "If there is no active cancer, where does the Radioactive sugars go?"  That's when she pulled up the PET scan and showed us the image of what lights up.  Your brain, heart among other things light up.  You could see my tumor before as a red spot in the middle of greeen. 

Per the tumor, She stated the body may absorb it or it may not in which case it stays where it is as dead tissue.  That didn't concern her.  I will be o.k. with it being there as long as I can be convinced there are no living cells.

So as I stated on the last post we are praying for a scan where it shows "No active cancer".  Until then I get 3 months of normal living.