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!

Speech Visit Results

Hi! We are packing and getting ready for our trip since we leave tomorrow. Before we go, I wanted to let you all know how it went at our visit with the Speech Pathologist today.

Dr. Kauffman was a very nice woman with a lot of positive news for us. She listened to Steve's medical history and asked questions to clarify everything. She remembers Dr. Grist speaking at the "tumor board" meetings about Steve. After examining Steve, she told us of the process she would like to take to help him.

She explained that some of the swallowing issues could be from delayed response to radiation therapy. She said she has known patients who have had problems with swallowing 10 years after radiation. That was interesting to know. Anyway, no matter what the reason, at this point Steve needs to start with swallowing exercises to strengthen his unused muscles. Dr. Kauffman was impressed with how much flexibility he has with his jaw and tongue already. Evidently he has been doing stretching exercises on his own and they have really helped!

She taught him several new exercises to do each day. She also taught Steve how to swallow some water. (Although he says he would not really call it swallowing.) So, before we left the office he was able to swallow small sips of water! She says its okay if the water gets in his lungs because they can absorb it and it is just water. These small sips will help his swallowing muscles get stronger.

We will go back to see her in about 2 weeks. She feels that eventually Steve will be able to swallow again. She also thinks a prosthetic for the roof of his mouth is a very good idea and would help Steve with his speech and maybe his swallowing. That is a ways down the road, but it is so nice to have reaffirmed hope! Thank you for your continued prayers! Patience is the key in all of this : )

Friday, June 19

Hey! I don't have a whole lot of new stuff to say. Steve is doing fairly well. The heat is really slowing him down, but that is normal for all of us. We have an appointment to see the speech pathologist on Tuesday, so we are interested to find out what she has to say.

We are gearing up for a much needed vacation. A good friend of Steve's has loaned us her condo at the beach! So, we are off for a week of recouping and reconnecting while we get away from reality. Boy are we looking forward to it! To me there is nothing like the beauty of the ocean or the mountains to remind me to "Be still and know that I am God (Psalms 46:10)".

Have a very happy Father's Day everyone!

Friday, June 12

Hope you have had a good week. The weather here has been pretty nice. Steve has kept busy with the yard and with some work. His roofing business has done fairly well this week. Some friends, neighbors, and church family have been kind enough to give him some jobs. This has really been good for him physically and mentally. (Although he has lost 4 pounds this week - he is pushing himself a little too hard I think.) Thank you and may God bless you for helping him out in this area!

Good news about our friends the Mikkelson's. Emily's surgery was not as serious as they originally thought it would be (she will need the more serious surgery in about 3 or 4 years). Her operation was successful and she has already been released from the hospital! Praise God. She is already feeling better than she has in quite awhile. Such a sweet, brave young girl (only 12 years old!). Continue to pray for her recovery.

Becca left today for a church beach retreat. She was soooo excited - her first time to get to go on this annual trip. Of course my last words to her were, "I love you! Make good choices." The mother in me comes out : ) She laughed and gave me a big hug! She is a good girl (and so patient with me - ha) I pray she will have a good time. She deserves some time away from this crazy household!

Steve and I hope to see the speech pathologist some time next week. She seemed very optimistic about being able to help Steve. She said she would start by doing a swallowing study. I have had a similar test before when dealing with my stomach issues. I reminded her that he cannot even swallow his saliva and she mentioned that she would need to meet and evaluate him first then and decide from there the next step. We are hopeful that she will have some good ideas and advice for us. We are just waiting for her assistant to call and give us an appointment right now.

I have decided that the insurance companies are out to test my patience! After sending in a second appeal (marked "urgent" as instructed by one of their agents) for Steve's formula, they still have not made a decision. They are also balking about paying for some of Steve's surgery. Both Dr. Grist and Dr. Roser are trying to help us with these issues. Then last week I started having to deal with my dental insurance about Alli's braces and my teeth cleaning! Ugh! If you don't laugh about it, you cry - right??

Each time we start to feel sorry for ourselves, we are reminded how fortunate we are. For example, at the dentist's office we met a 2 year old little girl who is blind and has cancer! Can you imagine? I was talking to a cashier at Wal-Mart who has a son with major medical needs and another child with downs syndrome. She was telling everyone "God is good!" My devotion today said to thank God for each problem you encounter in your day and watch to see how he transforms trials into blessings. Amen to that!