Happy Belated Thanksgiving to all! We hope that all of you had a blessed Thanksgiving with family and loved ones near! Since Lou had chemo the day before Thanksgiving - cooking was a bit of a challenge this year - but....Gabrielle and Christopher both pitched in and we did manage to get a big spread on the table to share with the caregivers and Dad at his house and with Miss Betty ( our dear previous neighbor and adopted "grandmother" to our kids!) who's been sharing Thanksgiving and Christmas with us for at least 15 years - at our house!
AND, as a quick update - Lou and I DID make it to Maui, Hawaii on November 3 - arriving back in Dallas early morning on November 11. What a blessed and miraculous time we had while we were there! The trip was a little much for Lou - but.....our time there was so very wonderful that it was hard to complain about the flight time!! The days were bright and balmy - the sound of the ocean, the air, and the magnificent beauty - all felt so very healing and wonderful! For that week - it was almost as if time was standing still - Lou felt better than he's felt in a while - and we truly relaxed and just enjoyed being there! If EVER we wanted a time not to end - it was our time there! It's just hard to put into words how relaxed and wonderful the week felt for both of us! The heaviness we feel here so much of the time was completely lifted! BIG SIGH! It was wonderful and we are so very thankful and feel very blessed to have had the time together! In a word - truly, it was heaven on earth for that one week!
We did come back early on the morning of the 11th - and came right back to reality - Chemo - followed the next morning on the 12th. Between the trip back and chemo - it did take Lou a little longer to bounce back from the chemo - but....again - it was such a wonderful time - we wouldn't have changed a thing! Due to the holidays, some of the chemo schedule has been adjusted - and so it was that we wound up with chemo on the day before Thanksgiving - the 25th. This chemo again left Lou more tired than usual - but...fortunately, the last 3 or 4 days, he's felt better!
While we were in Hawaii, Lou went for Reiki sessions there and also had reflexology foot massages. And, since we've been back home, he has started a weekly regiment of Reiki and reflexology foot massage with newly added Jin Shin Jyutsu too. Both the Reiki and Jin Shin Jyutsu are conducted by Christian practitioners and Lou seems to have a calmness and peace from both of these practices / sessions. He's learning guided meditation to help him relax - something that I think is very beneficial for him. And, of course, we are so very blessed to have the Healing Hands group still coming every Saturday to lay hands on and pray for Lou. Both of us look forward to this time each week - the Lord has belssed us so richly!
So, on to this coming week! We will go on Tuesday morning - 12/8/09 for the 4 hour MRI session - again brain and three sections of the spine - to see if everything is still holding and with no new areas of concern! Tuesday afternoon - right after the MRI - he has the CT scan to check his liver and internal organs. Since the CT scan last month showed 2 of the tumors in his liver were growing again, we've been quite distressed! Also, the CEA and ALP counts in his blood work continue to go up each month and have been going up since September - we're anticipating that the two problem tumors are potentially still causing problems. However, we KNOW that all things are possible through the Lord - and we're thanking the Lord for His continued blessings and praying for His healing touch to continue to be on Lou.
We'll get CT results - and possibly MRI results - on Wednesday 12/9 afternoon from the chemo Dr. Then, Lou has chemo on Thursday 12/10 and later that afternoon (after chemo!) - we'll meet with the radiation Dr. to discuss the MRI scans. So, again, we continue to ask for your prayers for healing for Lou but, we also ask for you to praise and give thanks to the Lord for all of the good - all of the blessings that He's so richly given us!!
I will really try to update the post later this week with results and plans for additional treatment! I appreciate all of the understanding from everyone when I just have a very hard time mentally trying to get the post written!!! Since my Mom's death in June - the grief of her death along with my Dad's continued decline and of course, the gravity of Lou's illness - everything seems sadder and makes it more difficult for me to write! (To borrow a phrase from a friend who just lost her Mom a couple of weeks ago - she said she feels like she's in a fog! AND, that's really a very good description of how I feel too - I'm in that fog!!!)
Your love and friendship mean everything to Lou and to me! Thank you for your prayers, cares, and concerns! We appreciate each of you more than mere words can ever say!
Love,
Deb
AND, as a quick update - Lou and I DID make it to Maui, Hawaii on November 3 - arriving back in Dallas early morning on November 11. What a blessed and miraculous time we had while we were there! The trip was a little much for Lou - but.....our time there was so very wonderful that it was hard to complain about the flight time!! The days were bright and balmy - the sound of the ocean, the air, and the magnificent beauty - all felt so very healing and wonderful! For that week - it was almost as if time was standing still - Lou felt better than he's felt in a while - and we truly relaxed and just enjoyed being there! If EVER we wanted a time not to end - it was our time there! It's just hard to put into words how relaxed and wonderful the week felt for both of us! The heaviness we feel here so much of the time was completely lifted! BIG SIGH! It was wonderful and we are so very thankful and feel very blessed to have had the time together! In a word - truly, it was heaven on earth for that one week!
We did come back early on the morning of the 11th - and came right back to reality - Chemo - followed the next morning on the 12th. Between the trip back and chemo - it did take Lou a little longer to bounce back from the chemo - but....again - it was such a wonderful time - we wouldn't have changed a thing! Due to the holidays, some of the chemo schedule has been adjusted - and so it was that we wound up with chemo on the day before Thanksgiving - the 25th. This chemo again left Lou more tired than usual - but...fortunately, the last 3 or 4 days, he's felt better!
While we were in Hawaii, Lou went for Reiki sessions there and also had reflexology foot massages. And, since we've been back home, he has started a weekly regiment of Reiki and reflexology foot massage with newly added Jin Shin Jyutsu too. Both the Reiki and Jin Shin Jyutsu are conducted by Christian practitioners and Lou seems to have a calmness and peace from both of these practices / sessions. He's learning guided meditation to help him relax - something that I think is very beneficial for him. And, of course, we are so very blessed to have the Healing Hands group still coming every Saturday to lay hands on and pray for Lou. Both of us look forward to this time each week - the Lord has belssed us so richly!
So, on to this coming week! We will go on Tuesday morning - 12/8/09 for the 4 hour MRI session - again brain and three sections of the spine - to see if everything is still holding and with no new areas of concern! Tuesday afternoon - right after the MRI - he has the CT scan to check his liver and internal organs. Since the CT scan last month showed 2 of the tumors in his liver were growing again, we've been quite distressed! Also, the CEA and ALP counts in his blood work continue to go up each month and have been going up since September - we're anticipating that the two problem tumors are potentially still causing problems. However, we KNOW that all things are possible through the Lord - and we're thanking the Lord for His continued blessings and praying for His healing touch to continue to be on Lou.
We'll get CT results - and possibly MRI results - on Wednesday 12/9 afternoon from the chemo Dr. Then, Lou has chemo on Thursday 12/10 and later that afternoon (after chemo!) - we'll meet with the radiation Dr. to discuss the MRI scans. So, again, we continue to ask for your prayers for healing for Lou but, we also ask for you to praise and give thanks to the Lord for all of the good - all of the blessings that He's so richly given us!!
I will really try to update the post later this week with results and plans for additional treatment! I appreciate all of the understanding from everyone when I just have a very hard time mentally trying to get the post written!!! Since my Mom's death in June - the grief of her death along with my Dad's continued decline and of course, the gravity of Lou's illness - everything seems sadder and makes it more difficult for me to write! (To borrow a phrase from a friend who just lost her Mom a couple of weeks ago - she said she feels like she's in a fog! AND, that's really a very good description of how I feel too - I'm in that fog!!!)
Your love and friendship mean everything to Lou and to me! Thank you for your prayers, cares, and concerns! We appreciate each of you more than mere words can ever say!
Love,
Deb
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