Feeling a little better

We heard from the doctor on Friday about the blood work they did on Steve. Everything looked good with the exception of his iron count. Steve is anemic so he is now on iron pills. He will go next week to do stool samples and then more blood work in 6 weeks. In the meantime, this virus seems to have run its course. Each day has brought a slight change in symptoms, aches and pains. We are hoping he is about done with the whole thing. He is feeling a little better this morning : )

Since school starts soon, I will feel much better if he is back to feeling better before I go back. Being the mother hen that I am, I have been hovering over him and won't be able to do that. For my piece of mind it helps to know that he is up to taking care of himself!

Thanks again for all your prayers and cards!

Virus?

Steve is still not feeling good at all. We went to see our family practitioner this afternoon since he has felt so bad for so long. Dr. Mills did a urine test, a chest xray, and blood work. The urine test was fine as was the chest xray (he was worried about pneumonia). So now, we are waiting on the blood test. The results should be back in about 2 days. Assuming that shows nothing wrong, then Steve just has a virus that has to run its course.

So, Steve just needs to wait it out - take it easy. He feels exhausted all the time. Today he was helping me put up mini blinds and could not lift his arms above his head for more than 15 seconds. His symptoms are all flu-like, but there is no fever.

Just wanted to keep you up to date. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers!

July 17th

WOW! Time flies before you even realize it. I apologize in taking so long to update you all. I don't have much new to say. Steve has been doing well - feeling pretty good, keeping himself going by working in the yard and going to the gym. This week has been tougher on him though. He is feeling very weak and run down. We are not sure why - maybe he is fighting something off. He has spent the week inside, resting and sleeping. He hates when that happens because he feels so useless. I try to encourage him to just relax and enjoy it. He doesn't like to talk about it, but I know he is concerned about the possibility of more surgery too.

We went to the speech therapist yesterday. She gave Steve another exercise to work on and told him he could try swallowing club soda also. She had hoped to be able to give him more to try, but he is still coughing quite a bit when he does try to swallow so she wants to be cautious. We scheduled a barium swallow study for the 2nd week of August. This will tell her more about how everything is working.

We met with the dentist who specializes in prothestetics last week. He seemed optomistic about being able to make Steve a piece to place in the roof of his mouth. He says it will help him speak, but is not sure if it will help with the swallowing or not.

So, we are really on hold for now. Steve will continue his swallowing exercises, then have that test in August. He has appointments the first week of September to have his CT Scan, see Dr. Grist (oncologist) and Dr. Roser (oral surgeon). We will know more then. Steve is more upset about his teeth implants being put on hold than he is about the spot(s) they found on the CT scan. He really wants to have some progress on the swallowing/eating end.

Meanwhile, we are all counting down the days we have left to spend relaxing together. Reality comes soon - schedules, homework, stress, life in general! How fortunate we are to have this time to recoup and regroup with each other. We are blessed in so many ways. Let's focus on that, huh???!!!

Happy 4th and prayer request

Hi everybody! We are home and had a wonderful trip! The weather was so perfect and the beach was beautiful. Every time I go to the beach I am reminded of God's amazing love! Steve had such a great time. He spent much of his time fishing and he has really gotten quite a tan. Such a handsome guy he is : ) The girls enjoyed playing in the surf, sand, and the pool. I loved getting away from my to do list and from all the animals!

Yesterday was Steve's birthday! He looks great - for a 52 year old - ha! He and Alli are fishing this morning to celebrate (you'd think he had gotten enough of that at the beach). We will be going bowling later today with my folks. The weather has been dry here, but the mornings are cool which is nice. Wednesday Steve and I will go to meet a dentist that specializes in prosthetics. While Steve was fishing on the pier in Panama City he met a man who had been through surgery with Dr. Grist (he had his nose removed) and the dentist we will see - Dr. Carpenter - is involved in his reconstruction too! What a small world we live in.

While we were at the beach we heard from Dr. Grist regarding the blood work and CT Scan. Steve's blood work looked fine (he has had thyroid issues ever since his radiation treatment), but his CT Scan showed a new area that was discolored. The base of his tongue was gray on the scan which could mean there is something to be concerned about there. Dr. Grist said we will do another scan in September and then decide how to proceed with that. Steve asked if it was okay to continue to see Dr. Roser for the teeth implants. Dr. Grist said to keep the August appointment to talk about it, but not to actually do anything yet.

Please pray that this new spot is not anything to worry about. Please continue to pray for Steve's healing. I ask that you pray for the girls, Rebecca and Allison. They have been holding up okay, but this new development is really bringing reality back again. Becca takes this all so hard - I guess because she is older. She tries to be brave for us and her sister. I know she really just wants to be a "normal teenager". We know that God is always with us, but I often wonder why we have so much to deal with. Thank you for your prayers and support! Happy 4th of July!