Happy Easter!!

Sorry for the delay in my posts. We were enjoying Spring Break so much! I stayed busy painting from sunrise to sunset for 7 days in a row. I'm afraid I was so tired that I did not find the energy to keep this updated : )

Steve had an up and down week. He was able to take Becca to the gym and get to a nursery to buy some blueberry plants. He did some planting too. We spent time watching movies, took Becca driving (or should I say went with Becca while she drove), and thanks to Bob, their pigeons won big in this weeks race! On the other hand, Steve was tired and weak and even had chills. Yesterday Steve was sick to his stomach and it is still upset today. His weight remains down. Each time the scale goes up a few pounds, it goes right back down. Partly because he is trying to be more active and is therefore using more calories than we can get in him. 

Steve and I went to see our general practitioner on Thursday. He suggested that we get a pump and give Steve continuous feeding all night in order to get more calories in. Our goal is 2500 calories. Hopefully we will get the pump on Monday so we can start that soon. I am praying that the insurance company will pay for the "formula" we need to use because it is quite expensive. We just have to get his weight up at least 20 pounds! He is soooo thin and weak. The good news is that his pain is pretty much contained to his leg now and we are weaning off the heavy pain meds soon! 

We had such an awesome Easter Sunday! Busy, filled with lots of friends, family, fellowship and worship. Christ has risen indeed! I just loved seeing the church so full of life and the Holy Spirit today. I know Steve enjoyed himself, and he is very tired. He even spoke to Alli's confirmation class about prayer this morning. (She said he did such a good job that she was close to tears!) I expect he will sleep most of tomorrow to make up for the excitement today. In the meantime, the girls and I will head back to school - ugh! Only 6 more weeks (that's 30 school days - not that I'm counting - ha!).

Please pray for Steve to gain weight and strength this week.  Pray that our insurance company will come through for us. I plan on focusing on the songs we sang at church today to carry my "Easter high" with me all week long. God bless you all. 

Visit to the Gym!

Many of you know that Steve and I meet at a gym. He was the manager and I was a customer. While we were dating, we spent many hours working out together with the weights and the stairclimbers. Boy, we were in the best shape of our lives... then we got married and comfortable and life happened. In December before he found out he would be taking chemo, Steve joined a gym down the street. Although I'm not sure I would call it a gym. It is more like a mall! It has an indoor and outdoor pool (with slides for the kids), a rock climbing wall, a cafe, a store, etc.  He did not have the opportunity to use the gym because of the chemotherapy.  

Since Steve has lost so much weight, he decided he wants to get "buff" while he is thin! So, he activated his membership again and went for his first trip on Friday morning. In his text message to me he stated "It was harder than I'd hoped". I can imagine that in his mind he would be able to do a lot more than he was able to. He tried the treadmill and the bicycle but they caused his leg and ankle to hurt too much. So, he used some light weights on his upper body instead. He will have to take it slow and work up to the things he wants to do. He would like for us all to join him this summer. We'll see how the cards play out with that. 

Today, Steve's leg is VERY sore all the way up into his thigh. Ahhh, the dangers of exercise - HA! Of course, that did not stop him. He went with a neighbor and rented a tiller to finish the garden and a few other beds in the yard (for the roses of course). Thank goodness Tom took over the tilling part. I tried that last week and thought my insides were going to come it from the earthquake it caused in my body! (Obviously I need to spend some time at the gym!)

And so, Spring Break begins. I have plans to paint all week. Steve is already talking about all the places we can go and the things we can do! Go to the guitar store, work in the garden, go for a drive in the country... I guess this might turn out to be a busy week  - but at least it is time I can spend with him. 

On a side note, we learned something new this morning. Steve left early to get the tiller and did not take any meds or food beforehand. He came in when they got back and asked me to help him get some food in his stomach. I guess we tried to put in too much too fast because it all came right back up. He says "Hey! Now you can tell everyone you make me throw up!" Is that supposed to be a compliment???? Somehow I don't think so. His odd sense of humor at work again : ) 

Doing Well

Steve is doing well this week. He was able to get out of the house and meet some friends for coffee. He walks out to the garden each day and piddles. He also spends time with his pigeons. At night, he is anxious to get out of the house, so I try to take him somewhere - even if it is just to the drug store to pick up a prescription. He says he feels very restless. With Spring Break next week, we will be able to spend more time with him, so hopefully that will help him feel less frustrated. We have joked about going out for drinks. Steve says, I wonder how much a scene it would cause for me to have a beer through my peg tube - HA! Since we've been to the bookstore, Home Depot 4 times (ugh!), the drug store, Wal-Mart, Target, Blockbuster and the grocery store, we are running out of "exciting" places to go : ). We watch a lot of movies together and have spent some time in the garden. I know he wants to do something productive. He is hoping to start going to the gym this week and work on his strength. That should help too. He's lost weight and now wants to get "buff". How in the world will the rest of us measure up after that??? No pressure!

Take care!

Drs. Visit

Steve had a good week overall. He has been able to keep all his medicine and food down. In fact, he is up 9 pounds on the scale since last week's visit to the hospital! He is getting little bits of his energy back here and there. His leg still hurts a whole lot - in fact it is the main source of his pain. He uses a cane to get around so that he is more stable. He looks quite dapper, if I do say so myself.

Steve went to see the oral surgeon on Friday. He got a good report. In fact, Dr. Roser said that Steve's healing in his mouth is about a month ahead of what he expected it to be based on the fact he has had radiation in that area. That was good news! He told Steve that when they put teeth in (probably in about 4 - 5 months) he can try to place them so that they will "shore up" his tongue so he can speak better and this could possibly help him swallow. This is the carrot of hope that Steve needs right now.  He has been very discouraged about not being able to swallow.  Despite the pain from his leg, the doctor said it is healing very nicely and the pain is to be expected. (I don't think it helped that Steve got ambitious and stubborn one day and started tilling the garden with a gas powered tiller - HA!) 

Steve and I were able to spend some time together on Friday night and Saturday going to a few stores to get my errands run. It was nice for me to slow down and not rush through grabbing what I needed and hurrying home. We took our time, even walking along and window shopping at a few of the stores in between! We had a nice visit to Home Depot to get paint so we can start painting the living room over Spring Break. It's the day to day moments that you make special that really count!

I am always amazed how God works with Steve and I. All our married lives we have taken turns encouraging one another. When one of us is down and out, the other one has just the right words to help. When I was out of sorts the other day, Steve reminded me not to give up my faith. He said, "It's easy to have faith when things are going well. It's when times get tough that your faith is tested and you get closer to God." That is so true, isn't it? My devotion this morning was from John 16:33. "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." So, keep your chin up and remember that God always uses the tough parts of life for good! 

Mondays update

We had a pretty good weekend. At least Steve is keeping food down now. He is still very weak because his body is recovering from a week without food. He is sleepy from getting used to his medicines again (since he was unable to keep those down last week either). His weight is down even more (I think he has lost about 45 pounds!) We were able to spend a little time outside both days. We moved all of Steve's roses out of the garden and into the back yard so he can keep them watered and plan his rose garden. 

Steve is frustrated that he is not feeling better. It is hard to take a step backwards when you are working so hard to recover from surgery. Reality is sinking in for him. He needs your prayers and encouragement. He is concerned about not eating again and about being able to get back to work to pay bills. Please continue to keep him in your prayers and drop him an email or note if you can. He loves to have visitors too. He is feeling pretty useless and lonely right now. I know it is all part of the healing process, but that doesn't make it any easier.

I am confident that his positive attitude and faith filled spirit will return when he feels better. He just needs some extra TLC right now : )  Have a blessed day!

Home Again

After spending the day in the ER at Emory, we are back home this evening. Steve was given 2 liters of fluids and some zofran (stomach medicine). He feels MUCH better this evening. It is amazing what liquids will do for your body! We came home with more nausea medicine to continue with. Steve has kept down some water and beef broth so far : )

Thanks for your prayers - they have helped us through today.

ER again

Just a quick note to let you know we are leaving to go to the emergency room at Emory. The doctor wants Steve to get some IV fluids. Not sure how long we will be there or if we will stay. Please pray for us.

Thanks!