A Burden is Lifted

Billy had his blood work and CT scan on Monday and we got the results today. Everything looks good! There is one cancer marker that was not zero but his doctor feels that this is probably hormone related. Once his testosterone levels are back to normal he thinks that marker will return to zero. He will have to have blood work, a CT scan, and a chest x-ray every three months for the first year as a precaution. When the doctor left the room to write Billy's prescriptions, we wept tears of joy as we thanked our Heavenly Father for His mercy. We know God has used this season in our life for very specific reasons and we thank Him for those we are aware of as well as those we aren't aware of yet.

We cannot thank all of you enough for your faithfulness in praying for Billy. We also are so very thankful for the love you have shown us. We have actually thanked God and continue to thank God for the cancer because we have grown so much because of it!

Day Five of Round Three

Hi everyone! Today is the last day of Billy's chemotherapy treatments here at Duke! We are trusting God that he will not ever have to have chemo again! He comes back on November 17 for a CT scan to make sure all signs of cancer are gone. We cannot tell you all enough how much your prayers, cards, visits, calls, and financial support have meant to us over the past three months. You all have shown us so much love and encouragement and we truly thank our Lord for blessing us with all of you! On a sadder note, our neighbor (mentioned in yesterday's post) passed away during the night. We ask that you please lift his family up in prayer as they deal with the days and weeks ahead.

Day Four of Round Three

Billy woke up feeling good again this morning. We took a trip down to eat breakfast and then stopped on the fourth floor to visit our neighbors who are here with their son, Denny. Once we were back in the room, he slept for a few hours. He felt like making one more trip down to see our friends but has been laying down most of the day. Although he is very tired, sitting with Denny's family has given us perspective. Denny is an eighteen year old boy who has never known normal. He has been battling medical conditions his entire life. He was diagnosed with brain cancer a little over two years ago. The cancer has been uncontrollable since this summer. He has been here at Duke since August. They have taken him off of life-support and are riding the horrible rollercoaster called waiting. Denny's heart is strong but the cancer is taking over. The doctor told them this morning it could be 12 hours or three days. I overheard the doctor say "end of life care" this morning when speaking to his mom. Please join us in praying for this family as they struggle with wanting their loved-one to be granted a miracle but at the same time want his suffering to end. This boy loves our Lord so we know what is waiting for him when he leaves this life, but he will be leaving behind a large family who loves him very much.

Day Three of Round Three

Praise God!! Billy is feeling good and it is WEDNESDAY!! Wednesday is usually the day that he takes a turn for the bad so this is so awesome! He is a little puffy from the fluids being pumped into his body, but he feels good! He has been doing a lot of walking and is able to eat well this time around!!! Thank you for praying and please continue to pray him through this week! We love you all!!

Day Two of Round Three

Billy is feeling well after his second day of chemo. As with the last two rounds, he is having to get up a lot during the night to drain his bladder but that only means his kidneys are functioning well. However, he did sleep well in between trips to the potty. He is getting out and about more as long as he rests frequently. Thank you all so much for praying for him!!

Day One of Round Three

Billy is doing well after his first day of his third round of chemo. He had to wait quite a while yesterday to be admitted because they somehow sent his bloodwork to the wrong lab so he was very tired when he finally got to his room. However, he slept well last night so he feels good today. He does not have to have the Bleomycin this round so we're hoping this round won't be so bad. During the last two rounds, Wednesday has been the day when he begins to feel bad so we'll see how things are tomorrow. Thank you for all of your prayers - they are working! Praise God!!

School Picture

This is AJ's school picture for the fall. He's such a ham!

Praising God

Just wanted to give everyone a quick update on Billy. He has been feeling good for the last week and a half. He gets very tired and has to take it easy but he has had no sickness. He is also able to eat a little more than after the first round of chemo. Things still taste funny to him but he is able to tolerate more this time. I compare him to a pregnant woman because he has definite cravings as well as definite disgusts. He is no longer radiating heat as he use to do, but is now very cold-natured. Everyone comments on how good he looks also. He is not ashy looking like a lot of chemo patients; his coloring remains normal. His next round of chemo is scheduled for next week. We are so very thankful to our Great Physician for keeping him healthy this time around. And we are so very thankful to all of you who are praying him through this!

"Birthday Buddies"

AJ and his buddies. Their birthdays are all two days apart (with AJ's sandwiched in the middle) so I have dubbed them the "Birthday Buddies." We even had one big joint party for them two years ago. I took this picture after doing all of their school pictures for our Homeschool Yearbook. They were so happy to change shirts and shoes so they could play.

Keeping His Eye on the Ball

Another picture of AJ playing golf. We will both be glad when Billy is well enough to take his little buddy golfing again.

Skating Fun

Our homeschool group goes skating once a month and this past Monday was the first skate day of the year. AJ has been to many skating birthday parties, but always hanged onto the wall the entire time. Not this time! It was as if he had broken out of an invisible shell. He had the best time skating and crashing with his friends!

Pictures of Our Stay at Duke

We got home around noon yesterday. We were so totally pooped that we spent the day sleeping. Billy's doctor did decide to go ahead and do the third round of chemo. If Billy stays well during his two week break, his next round of chemo should begin on the 20th. We're almost there...the end is in sight. :)

Billy (and his sidekick) while on one of our walks early in the week.

We had beautiful sunsets every night.

Enjoying our outdoor prayer date.

Day Five of Round Two

Prayer Date
This morning when Billy rolled over and said "Good Morning," he also said, "I want us to go on a prayer date this morning." I, in turn, said, "Okay, where do you want to go on this date?" He said , "I want to get dressed, go get some coffee, and go outside to the courtyard." I cannot tell you how happy I was to hear him say he felt well enough to get dressed, let alone go outside! We showered, got dressed, got our Starbuck's and headed to the courtyard (IV pole in tow). It was his first breath of fresh air since Monday morning and the best hour since we've been here. There is just something special about talking with God while in the middle of His creation with no roof separating you from the heavens. It was hard to tear ourselves away from our bench and go back inside. Had it not been for Billy's bladder calling, we would have stayed all morning! Thank you all once again for praying us through this week!

Evening of Day Four of Round Two

Today has gone very well. Billy has been on three walks and has eaten breakfast, lunch, and dinner! He has rested a lot in between his walks and doesn't appear to be retaining fluid any longer. They have not changed anything they have been doing so we are contributing all of these wonderful things to God alone. There is power in prayer!!

The only negative today was his vein blowing. His arm started swelling at the IV site, which meant that the vein had blown and the chemo was going into his tissue. This IV had one purpose; they were dripping his Bleomycin into this IV instead of his port this time. They did this because last time, one of the nurses got his Bleo messed up because she left it disconnected for several hours to drip the other chemos. This would have been fine, but she messed up the other chemos' schedules also, so the Bleo was stopped for way too long. Then they had to drip the Bleo at twice the normal rate so that it would be finished by Thursday night. That is what caused Billy to run the fever during his first round. Anyway, Billy's doctor did NOT want that Bleo messed up again so he ordered an IV site specifically for the Bleo so it would not be interrupted this time. Since the Bleo only had another 5 hours to drip before he was completely done with it this round, we weren't sure what they would do when his vein blew, but were happy when the answer came. The doctor told them to connect the Bleo to Billy's port and just terminate it when it was time to start the pre-hydration and anti-nausea meds tonight. Sooo, as of 7:00pm tonight, Billy is done with Bleomycin! Since he has had his lifetime allowance of this drug, he does not EVER have to do Bleo again! Praise God! The Bleo is the chemo that makes him so sick. He tends to tolerate the other two better. So, he is one happy little camper right now!

Day Four of Round Two

Thank you, thank you , thank you, Jesus! I know all of our prayer warriors were on their knees last night because Billy woke up feeling somewhat better this morning. His body is still whipped and so very tired, but he got out of bed this morning! He couldn't do that yesterday. He took a walk down the hall and back and even felt like taking a shower. Of course, once he did all of that he hit the bed and is sleeping hard right now. We thank God for all of you who are praying for us!

Evening of Day Three of Round Two

Today has definitely been "Hump Day." Billy has had ups and downs today. (More downs than ups, but we'll take what we can get!) The diuretic has been working wonderfully. As of 5:00pm, Billy has peed 5 liters today! Whew....lots of potty time! He is so very tired; he can hardly hold his head up off the pillow. We've had a few nausea scares. This is the first time he has felt nauseated to the point that he thought he would throw up. I got the nurse and she quickly gave him some anti-nausea medicine in his IV both times. I'm sure it would have just been dry heaves since he has had NO appetite today. I finally convinced him to eat a PB&J sandwich at 6:00pm. That was the first solid thing he has eaten today.

Although it has been a rough day, we realize it could be a lot worse. Our heart goes out to the other patients and their families, who are very sick during chemo. We thank our Lord that Billy has tolerated his chemo rounds so well. Please continue to pray for his strength and endurance.

Day Three of Round Two

Good morning everyone! So far today, it looks like Wednesday will be the turning point again. We noticed early on yesterday that Billy was starting to swell faster than before. Well, he was weighed this morning and has gained 10 pounds in fluid. His doctor came in himself to tell us that Billy needs to be put on a diuretic to get rid of some of this fluid. A little while later he said his stomach didn't feel quite right so they gave him some anti-nausea medicine. Please lift him up in prayer today. I will post more updates later this afternoon when I get a chance.

Day Two of Round Two

Well, day one went very well. Billy napped some because he tired faster this time, but he also wanted to get out of his room and walk a lot today. He is doing well with the cabin fever this time so far. I really want to thank you all for praying, especially those of you who have specifically prayed for us not to get tense and stressed with the lack of sleep. No one has told me that they have prayed for us in that capacity (except you, Steph Reed) but I can tell some of you all have mentioned this to our Heavenly Father because I haven't felt my usual testiness with my lack of sleep. I am filled with an overwhelming amount of peace and I know that is coming from God alone!

Earlier tonight, Billy went to get out of bed and whacked his head on his IV pump. Ouch! When I got to him, there was a triangular shaped indention on his pretty bald head. It wasn't long before it started bleeding. Now, we had just told the doctor how careful we were being so that he does not get any kinds of wounds that might lead to an infection. Please pray that this little wound will not get infected like his last little wound did!

When I look at Billy resting in the bed, I am reminded of how gracious God has been to the two of us over the years. I am so thankful He has given us this love that amazes me more every day. I absolutely love that man more than I ever imagined possible! And I am also thankful for the cancer that has brought us new perspective. It has shown us how much we value our life together and it has shown us how loved and blessed we are by all of you! We give God all the glory that comes from this! He is awesome!

Day One of Round Two

Hello everyone, we are at Duke for Billy's second round of chemo. My computer is still giving me problems accessing Internet Explorer on Duke's network. I have a call into the Dell people but they have to call back when it is convenient for THEM. So, I am at Duke's library using one of their computers. Billy had a positive day yesterday. We knew from last time that the chemo doesn't get started until late on the first day so Billy and Grace came down for all of his Pre-Admit stuff and I went skating with AJ and our Homeschool Group. When I got here around 5:30, Billy was very happy with what the doctor told him... He may not have to do a third round as originally planned!! His doctor wants to do a CT scan two weeks after this round is over to determine if a third round of chemo is needed. Please, please take this to our Great Physician in prayer! We know He can use this second round to wipe out any remnants of the cancer so that a third round won't be needed.

As far as the chemo goes, I think the last bag of chemo was finished at 2am. I asked the residents this morning if they could ask Dr. Walther if the chemo could be moved up a few hours today so it doesn't go into the wee hours again tonight. We'll see! The good news is that they are not giving Billy six hours of the Manitol after the last chemo. This is what kept him getting up to flush his kidneys every 30-45 minutes last time. He was able to sleep a little more during the night because of that.

Thank you all for your prayers-we are so comforted by the fact that you all are praying. We love you all!

Morning Fog

Since we bought this place almost two years ago, I have wanted to take a picture of our family beside one of our sheds early in the morning with the fog in the background. Everytime I look at this shed early in the morning with the foggy cow pasture behind it, I kick myself for not being ready for the picture. Well, we needed to submit a family picture for the Homeschool Association's directory but I didn't have a very good recent picture of all three of us together. So, last night I told Billy we would take the picture before church this morning. Imagine my joy when I woke up to hear Billy say, "Maybe we should wait until this afternoon to take the picture because it is foggy outside." "Fog? YAY!!!" I thought, "Finally, we will all be here and dressed and ready for the ever elusive early morning scene I've been wanting to capture, fog and all!" Thank you God! He knew my vision and was gracious even in this simple wish.