Time for B-E-D

I just came accross this video and thought I'd post one of my fonder memories of 5 star (yeah, right) Ike. Though watching mom eat her weight in Big Sticks is a close second. Mom, Axel is anxiously awaiting taking many more naps with his Nana. Hurry home!



For raw footy of the Ace Man having his first go at crawling, check out the Green Beans blog. In honor of Uncle Ricky's triumphant return from the hospital, he's going after an oxygen tube. Don't worry, Ricky is not at the end of it!

NUPREGEN WE LOVE YOU

With a little help from a shot of nupregen Sharon's white count shot up to 4.6 and continues to hold above 4. This opens up a whole new world, not only are we able to leave the room but we are able to go off the floor and even briefly outside. Wow, does she love that. We had two nice walks yesterday and one already today. The Doctor keeps saying walk and eat. We were pleased to have a visit from the Dick and Barbara Summerhays family on Monday. I think they all wanted to see what Dick looked like in Sharon's body. Surprise, surprise there's still no mistaking a Summerhays. The Doctor tells us that if progress continues we will be able to be released from the hospital by the end of next week. We will be staying at a nearby Residence Inn for some period of time before being released to return home. We need to be within a few minutes of the hospital so that any issues can be addressed immediately. Next week we will spend time being educated by a host of people on life after transplant. We have a nurse coach and also will meet with dietitians, therapists and others. Sounds as though our days will be filled.
On another note I am pleased to report that Ricky is back home after two weeks in the hospital. It appears his problems are resolved and he is back to his old self again. Now that's scary isn't it.
All in all things are on the upswing and we continue to "MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH!"

Sharon and the Summerhays Clan

What A Woman.

I really don't know if this will come out the way I want it to, but I wanted to share something that I AM grateful for with mom's wonderful (sarcasm for those of you who don't know me) experience of cancer. Even though I will always think cancer SUCKS, I cherish the moments with mom that I am able to have. (I'm sure most of you feel this way) When have I ever had the opportunity to have personal night prayer with just mom? Never-until this crappy cancer came our way. What an amazing feeling for me to have spiritual experiences with mom that might have possibly never happened if it weren't for this cancer. I will cherish them always. Her hope is something I long to have. I get to come home and not experience the daily hospital grind that dad does, your endurance and love for mom is a wonderful example to me. Anyway, after being with mom today I just wanted to share with the family my feelings.......I love mom and am grateful for the time I have had together to strengthen our relationship. We are praying for those white blood cells to continue to rise. Mom and Dad we love you.

FREE AT LAST

Saturday marked another milestone in our recovery. After a 26 day lock-down we were finally freed from solitary confinement. Sharon's white count exceeded 1.0 and so we were able to leave the room and walk the halls and even sit in the atrium for about 45 minutes. We repeated the walk again in the evening. She continues to be quite nauseated but the diarrhea is getting much better. We are trying to get her appetite back but she really hasn't felt like eating, but that will come. The Dr. says that the key to getting out of the hospital is being able to eat normally and take all medications orally and so that is our current project.
We are excited about our progress and continue to "MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH."

Mrs Baldy with Mount Baldy in the background

GRAFT IS GOOD

The time we have been waiting for has at long last arrived. After being brought to deaths door Sharon is coming back to life again. It would appear that Dick's generously donated stem cells and marrow are graciously being accepted by Sharon's body and we have a successful graft. On Monday her white count was up to .6, on Tuesday .7 and today .8. We are only .2 away from being able to get out of jail and at least walk in the hall. She also feels a little better is day. Her throat is still sore but she is able to swallow Big Sticks, Popsicles, and Icees. Her diarrhea
is much better and her general health is improving. We have successfully completed our first book in the bla-sha book club, "Teacher Man." We would suggest it only if you have run out of things to read. We have started our new book, "Oracle Bones" and we'll keep you posted. We are also enjoying studying Preach My Gospel and reading the Book of Mormon. It's amazing what you can do when you are sitting around waiting to heal.
We are grateful for all your faith and prayers, it couldn't happen without you. Keep it up and we'll soon realize our next goal of being in remission.
We continue to "MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH."

HOPE FROM THE CITY

This is a status update not a literary gem. Sharon is doing much better than in my last report. Since they significantly reduced the drug cocktail they were giving her, her mental status has greatly improved. Improved to the point that we no longer have to be with her around the clock,which is a big relief to me. I now know that I would never make it working nights. Her throat gets a little better each day but she is still unable to swallow much beyond a sip of water. She has discovered sitz bath and spends a lot of time getting those throughout the day. She is back doing her PT and OT each day. Her counts have not yet started to go up, but hopefully should do so by the middle of next week. The Dr. says everything is moving on schedule and I guess we just trust that that is true. She is also proud of her new collection of hats knit by Rosy.
We continue to "MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH."

SHARON OF DUARTE WITH NEW HAT

HE NEVER SAID IT WOULD BE EASY

Sharon continues to FIGHT ON. Her mouth and throat continue to be extremely painful, so painful even a sip of water takes great effort. Because her immune system is wiped out there are no white blood cells to fight the battle and repair the damage and so we must wait for her counts to recover. Having no immune system has also give rise to infection and she now has C-Diff which affects the bowels and causes diarrhea and so we deal with that. To top it all off, on Tuesday night she became disoriented and confused and continues to be that way. They think that it is probably a result of the large amount of pain meds she has been on and so we have DC'd most of the pain meds and greatly reduced the amount of Morphine she is receiving and are hopeful that will clear up her mental functions. In the meantime we are having to be with her around the clock to keep her safe. We are hopeful that by the end of the weekend her counts will begin to recover and we will begin to see an improvement in her condition. The Doctors continue to tell us that none of this is unusual and that things will improve.
HE DID SAY IT WOULD BE POSSIBLE! WE CONTINUE TO MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH!

YES SIR, YES SIR, TWO BAGS FULL

In our last post we let you know that after 3 days of heroic effort by Uncle Dick we had been unsuccessful in getting sufficient stem cells for a graft and so were going to attempt bone marrow aspiration on Friday. After a good nights sleep and some help from from the Priesthood Uncle Dick rose to the occasion and delivered in Spades and in near record time nearly a full liter of beautiful bone marrow which was given to Mom that evening. The Dr. was very excited and encouraged by the the results and so we just need to to wait and watch to see if we get a graft which will happen over the next 2-3 weeks.
Mom continues to be positive but sick. The radiation has taken its toll and she has a very sore mouth and throat and pain in the areas of her lymph glands. Her energy level is low , but she still manages to do all her PT and OT exercises each day. We are excited about what lies ahead and continue to "MOVE FORWARD WITH FAITH."

Mom and Dick celebrating the Marrow Success


Mom and Greg Kissing the Beautiful Marrow

Hendricksons/Summerhays Single Handedly Populate So. California Hospitals

Mr. Toad's wild ride just doesn't seem to stop as it careens down another unexpected thoughfare. Over the past several days we have been in transplant mode. The anticipated process was that there would be a one to two day draw of stem cells from our donor/champion Dick Summerhays. This process has unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances draged into day three with still insufficient cells (you hope for 5 million, you live with a cool 2 mill, and unfortunately we are hanging out at 1.15 million).

Uncle Dick has, however, risen to the occasion and committed to go the extra million miles. He will have to do this bone marrow business the old fashioned way - direct bone marrow asperation. Tonight he is a co-citizen of the City of Hope and tomorrow morning (around 10-10:30 am) he will be going under the knife (really it is more like a drill). We hope that everyone will pray with us over the next 20 hours - expressing gratitude for Uncle Dick's sacrifice, and petitioning that he will be strengthened and preserved during the proceedure and that what is drawn tomorrow will be sufficient for a successful graft.

Mom has been pretty sick over the last couple of days (what you would expect of a woman with a 0 white cell count). She has been very positive and full of faith, she just wants all the nausea and other yuckies to go away.

Ricky, taking sympathetic symptoms to a whole new level, was checked into the hospital last night. Please include in your prayers his speedy recovery and return home.

FAST SUNDAY

We add a new meaning to Fast Sunday with our post radiation and chemo experiences. Mom continues to be very nauseated and is keeping nothing down. Today they will start TPN and are telling her that it is OK not to eat anything for the next couple of weeks because she will be too sick and have no appetite. As one nurse put it,"We will bring you to deaths door and then bring you back to life again." Sounds really fun doesn't it? She remains ever the trooper, never complaining ,still insisting on her daily shower, and still doing her workout to keep herself as fit and strong as possible. We have finally got them to introduce some more anti-nausea meds and we hope that will help. Now that we are approaching 48 hours post chemo the Dr. assures us that the nausea should start to subside. We continue to plug away at our book club selection, "Teacher Man" and played a number of hands of "Kings Corners" a card game taught us by our Recreational Therapist. We started getting our immunesuppresent drugs today and so are now a 24 hour slave to the IV pump. Mom's white count is down to .3 and so we have been made prisoners to our room for at least the next two weeks until her counts begin to recover.
As always we are MOVING FORWARD WITH FAITH!!