A woman of Faith....

Tonight we went to pick up Gram De Boer from the cottage.  It had been a while since we had seen her or shared what the latest was on the medical side of things.  It was great to see and talk to her.  We visited Logan's in Holland where Lydia , Gram and I sat on one side of the table all crammed and Kent solo on the other side.  Lydia had it in her head that she wanted to be by both of us.  Silly Girl.  Lydia also recieved a baloon animal from a friend that works there.  He does a great job and amazed us all by his talent. 

After dinner we asked Gram if she would like to see where Kent was working and she said yes.  We walked in and showed her where Kent sat, showed her Lydia's favorite spot... hot chocolate machine and the Excercise room.  Gram was amazed on how clean and neat it was.    We then dropped her off and headed home to settle in. 

Gram is so important to all three of us.  Her faith is amazing !  I wish could have her kind of faith.  Grandpa and Gram have taught me so much and now more than ever I am going to tap into finding that kind of Faith to endure the road ahead. 

I don't know how to tell you all enough, how much we appreciate all the kind acts and deeds everyone has done for us.  My yard took shape and it looks beautiful as does the inside.  Thank you Friends!   The prayers and Hugs are unreal.  and the support of immediate family truely doesn't go unnoticed.   The many appointments gone to , discussions made and trips to store for us are all counted as a blessing .  We love you!  

As you enter into this mid week I pray you will be blessed upon as you ALL have blessed us !

-- Leah

Stop Poking me Please!!!!

The title may indicate a small amount how I feel about pokes.  Thankfully (I think) is one of the last times I will be getting poked.  Due to the port being placed today I will be poked significantly less.  Any labs taken will not be accessing the port so I guess I'll still have to tuff it out now and again. 

I had one of the same nurses as when I had the biopsy and she remembered the Pain I had during that procedure so they added a bit more and thankfully I was "out cold".  I am Way happy about that!  Unfortunately the pain comes back shortly after you come out of it.  Hopefully this is one of the last times for that to.

After port placement I went to have training on Chemo.  They brought us around and showed us where my pod would be according to who My oncologist is.  They showed us what the stations looked like and told us the basic ground rules.   Thankfully not at all like school.  I can go outside on a patio, or to the Cafe for food or hang out in my cube and watch TV, or take a computer and/or DVD player.  Of course I didn't ask about loud obnoxious Fuzzy laughing Chemo Buddy characters, but I'm sure we'll find out how that fits into the ground rules soon after we give him a tickle ;-)  he he ho ho haw haw....  Overall for having to sit hooked up to "medications" for 4 or so hours it seems like it can be somewhat endurable.

I'll find out for sure how this will all go this week Thursday.  9:15 arrival time.

--Kent

Laughter is the best medicine!!

It has been a busy weekend with a fair amount of fatigue.  A wedding Friday night, a Birthday party for a special Aunt on Saturday, Sound duties at church today.  All very enjoyable activities but never the less tiring.

Even though it begins early, tomorrow begins the first step in the process of treatment.  Arrival at 7:30,  port placement actually happens between 8:30 and 9:00 am.  I will be out of recovery roughly at 11:30.  I will then need to get lunch and go upstairs to my Oncologists "office" for chemo training.  I'm expecting Chemo to start this Thursday.

I want to say a deep heart felt thank you to one of my best friends who I called tonight.  He always makes me laugh and tonight was no exception.  It was one of the best 40 minutes I have spent in a few weeks.  Incidentally some of the conversation revolved around my "Chemo Buddy" (pictured right)  The target on his tummy starts laughter and flapping ears.  The more you tickle the more uncontrollable the laughter gets.  I named mine after him because the laughter reminds me of him.  I believe I can say he felt honored that in spirit at least he could be with me during Chemo.   At some point he may be able to join me but We'll see.

Per those of you who have not been able to post comments, you should now be able to comment away.  I had chose to have logged in users comment.  Now you can comment as an anonymous user.  One note is that since you may have already viewed this blog you will want to "clear your cache" or in Layman terms "delete your browsing history" and temporary internet files.  If you have specific questions feel free to contact me and I can likely help you through that.

--Kent

Let the Battle begin!!

Thank You to everyone from our Church family, family, and friends.  Your acts of help and kindness at our house is greatly appreciated and simply amazing!! 

For those of you reading this who aren't aware what I'm talking about Leah's Dad arranged a "Lend a Hand" evening at our house.  The primary audience were people in our church but family and friends outside of the church circle also did their part to lend a hand.  In 2 hours stretched out to 3 and 1/2 the whole crew put Pea gravel under the deck, raised the sinking deck stairs, weeded and planted the garden, organized the shed, organized the garage, pulled out shrubs, planted plants and flowers in 4 areas of different size, laid landscape fabric and bark.  Inside they Cleaned the kitchen appliances and cupboards, cleaned all the bathrooms, cleaned Lydias bedroom including dresser and closet, replaced 2 exterior doors and 1 interior door, stained existing trim and door, installed missing trim in several rooms.  I'm sure I probably missed something or over summarized here but you get the idea!!

The reason for this "Lend a Hand" is due to my inability to do many of these things due to my Medical situation.  Today was a big day with a lot of "news" for my future.  First thing this morning I went for an MRI.  My first one and not a pleasant experience.  I got to feel what Dracula's victims might feel like due to 3 attempts for 1 IV in 2 arms.  After the noisy MRI was complete I met with my Oncologist to review the results of the PET Scan and find out the results of the Liver Biopsy.  We all wanted to see the PET Scan so the Doctor was happy to show and explain exactly what they saw when looking at it.  The Biopsy of the Liver confirmed that the Diagnosis of Colon cancer is in fact correct. The Doctor said the cancer is aggressive and so partly due to my young age they will use an aggressive treatment plan.  With people in their 60's and 70's with my type of cancer they would only use Chemo.  Since I am young and they believe I will be able to handle it they will begin with Chemo, run a Pet scan to see progress, then do the first surgery which will be removing half of my Liver.  they would Likely repeat this cycle with the next surgery concentrating on the Colon and some local procedures on the other "half" of the liver.

The Next step in the process is beginning the treatment phase.  Monday morning i get a Port put in.  While i'm nervous about the procedure, I understand I am not their first patient recieving one of these.  Also I know this is a necessary step in the process and so I will ready my mind to take this step no matter how my emotions are feeling at the moment.  I have a training session with my Chemo nurse on Monday after the procedure and likely will begin my Chemo treatment next Thursday.

Thanks again for all your thoughts prayers and concerns.  Continued prayers would be much appreciated.

--Kent

OUCH!!!!!

Today I had a biopsy of one of the spots on my Liver.  Due to me being skinny and Muscular (Who knew!!) they had a difficult time.  I was sedated enough to be "comfy" but still aware of what was going on.  I needed to be able to follow instructions during the procedure like holding by breath.  I don't remember doing that but I do remember the poking and prodding going on.  I cant say it was pain I felt but it was for sure pressure.  I am very sore now.  Feels like they got pretty close to one of my Rib bones.  I hope they didn't try to go through it cuz i'm pretty sure that wouldn't work ;-)

My brother called me tonight to see how I was doing.  During our conversation he informed me that he will be flying here to MI to stay with us for a few days later this month.  I am very excited to see him since He lives in Idaho.  The last time I saw him was roughly a year ago for spring break.  It will be good to have him with us for a week.

Thanks again to everyone for your prayers and support.

--Kent

Road Map of the near future.

I met my Liver surgeon today and had a consult with him to see what his perspective was on my treatment plan should look like.  He agreed with the opinion of my Oncologist that Chemo should be the first item of business.  He would like me to go through 6 cycles (each being 2 weeks long) and then have surgery to remove the right half of my Liver.  The right half of my Liver has the largest spot in it which why they want to remove that section.  After Liver surgery they would likely follow up with more chemo and then do Colon surgery as well as treating remaining spots on the left lobe of the liver.

The reason they want to limit initial chemo to 6 treatments is that more chemo can cause liver damage.  I really liked the doctor and he explained things very well.  He even drew a chart (liver & colon) on the paper "bed" sheet they have in the exam room.  Not that I'm interested in the paper sheeting but mainly due to the contents I ripped the section off so I could take it home for reference.

We received a bit of great news while talking with the doctor today.  He told us that the Pet Scan I had last week didn't show any new locations with cancer.  It of course showed the known areas of the Colon and the Liver.  We thank God for this miracle that the cancer hasn't spread more than it has.

Tomorrow is a Liver Biopsy and then an MRI is scheduled for Thursday AM.  My other appointments this week are conversations with my oncologists to go over the treatment plan and one with my Primary doctor to keep him in the loop.

--Kent

The Marathon begins...

Getting ready for a busy week.   5 Docs. appointments  & 7 days.   Wow!  A lot of my extended family does short "marathons,"  but one marathon of a week that I would rather not have to run.  We are headed tommorrow to the Liver Surgeon.   We will report what is on his mind on Tuesday.   

This past Saturday we did a lot of work to prepare for a lend a hand night that our church will be doing at our house so that Kent can concentrate on his medical recovery from the Liver Biopsy he will have on Tuesday .  The lend a hand night will be Wednesday.  We are very greatful for all our friends that will help make our yard and house not such an eye sore!:) 

Today, we  loved going over to my parents and having burgers on the grill.  Lydia, told us she hoped Uncle David was making them because she thought he made the best burgers.  He was our chef for the afternoon and they weren't a disappointment!

This afternoon Kent and I packed up and were able to relax before our busy week.   We hope you enjoyed your weekend and that you have a great week.  We are very thankful to all for your love and support and most important your prayers!  Leah