Good news..FINALLY

So the chemo seems to be fighting back the cancer a little! The dr said the spots in Dad's lungs and liver looks a little smaller than they were. This means its buying him more time. His hemoglobin is still good - which means his body is still taking chemo well. His appetite is good and he gained back a few pounds.

So now he will do three more "rounds" of chemo, meaning two weeks on, one week off. Then he will have to take a longer break to let his body recover.

I will post more later, but I wanted to get the positive news out!

Thank you for all the thoughts and prayers - keep it up!

Tomorrow's the day

As you have read, Dad had another CT scan this week and we go find out the results tomorrow morning. So I will update after that.

So today is my son's 1st birthday and all I can think about is how fast time goes. There are days I sit at work and the time drags, but then I blink and its been a year or five. I can't help to think about the short time I have had with my Dad and the even shorter time my younger sisters have had. I think about how at least 4 of the grandkids will never remember him and will only have pictures. Its been so busy the past year that I feel like I have missed alot - especially this summer. It is so easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day but let the years fly by.

Just remember life is short, you never know how much time you have. ALWAYS take time to jump in puddles and eat cookies for breakfast! (We do on occasion)

Dad & Baby

This is Dad and "Baby" - correct me if I'm wrong father....1974 AMX Javelin, still an awesome car. I forget what motor he had in it and the rest of the details are sketchy in my brain, so maybe he will help me out with them. He souped this puppy up and used to drag race it at Gratten. He would take me riding every Sunday when I was about 2 or 3 years old (so I have been told) I wish I could find one now for him to tinker with.

He mowed the lawn!!

That's what I hear! Ruth said Dad mowed the lawn this past week. I guess the appetite stimulation meds are working. He has been eating regularly all week.

The kids and I went to the Haworth picnic with him today. He said he was having an average day. Kudos to the people grilling the chicken, it was great! My daughter says thanks for the slaw too. She had a blast, she loved the spinning cup ride. Dad was in good spirits, he ate well and walked around. It is good for him to get out and see people from work. I don't think he won a door prize, buthe played bingo (he needed to rest) We left about 2:30 because he was getting tired. I heard him talking about wanting to go back to work - I think he is getting sick of being sick and hangin out at home all the time. He needs his niche. I feel bad for him. I had to tease him about his pants, they were hanging a little due to the weight loss. Hopefully with is increase appetite he will gain some more.

Still working on the blood research. He has a CT scan on Tuesday, then to the Oncologist on Friday morning. I am going to that so I will update. We should find out if the chemo has helped any.

So he also said that he keeps tabs on what I post - so HI DAD! LOVE YOU!!

:)
rhsc

A family affair..

As you may have noticed, I figured out how to let a couple other family members post. There will be more updates this way as my grandma & uncle see him on a weekly basis. I am planning to see Dad Saturday at the Haworth picnic. (Maybe I will get to meet some of you too) I am also doing some more research into his blood counts and how they are comparing from week to week. I will post anything interesting I figure out.

:)

Update from Mitch (Dad's brother)

This is an update from my uncle Mitch - it is MUCH appreciated since I don't get out there as much as I'd like to.

Mother T., James T. and I went to play cards with Den Monday morning. He was resting when we arrived. Den said he had pretty good days Saturday and Sunday, but today he was not having as good of a day as he was feeling "winded." Maybe that had to do with the higher humidity earler today???

We played five games of Set-Back and I don't mean to gloat...a-hem...but, the Mother/Mitch team won four and the Den/James team won one. All the games were close and it it is amazing how Mother and I won four when we consistently had worse hands than our opponents.:-) I also think it would be inappropriate to mention my successful desperation 3-bid on a Jack, 8 and 9, so I won't mention it.

Set-Back seems to be a favorite of Den. He said they played it alot on breaks when he was in his "construction" era of his career.

Apparently Den's appetite is improving. I heard that at Uncle Jack and Aunt Bea's 50th anniv. party he made two, possibly three visits to the food table. That's a far cry from existing on "Boost" and canned peaches. The new medication seems to be working well!

Well, we plan to return next Monday when there is always a possibility that along with our card playing, Mother and I could be eating some "humble pie."Mitch

One final word from me: SET BACK RULES! - I have only found two people outside my family that know how to play and I miss it.

Thought of the Blog:

When we recall the past, we usually find that it is the simplest things - not the great occasions - that in retrospect give off the greatest glow of happiness.

-Bob Hope

It comes in 3's or 5's..

I talked to Dad Saturday evening and he was tired, they had gone over to Detroit for my great aunt and uncles 50th anniversay party. They said it was really nice with a replica wedding cake that my aunt Bea & uncle Jack cut and fed each other. All that driving and socializing took a toll on him. I didnt talk to him yesterday, but I will call him today or tomorrow to check on him. He is done with Chemo until after we see the Dr. on the 25th. So I'm sure there will not be much to tell before then.

So, I found out that my great aunt Rosie died last week - although not until after the funeral. Then I get a call from Ruth Sunday morning that my great aunt Bea died early that morning. The ironic part about that is the just 50th anniversary party they went to was for her. I guess she had a heart attack at 1 am Sunday - I guess at least she went out happy and everyone got to see her. That brings it up to 2 family deaths within a week and 5 this year so far. It is not turning out to be a very happy year.

I will keep you all posted! I am going to be busy the next couple of weeks getting ready for Charlie's first birthday.

Keep Dad in your thoughts and prayers!

As a child, Dennis had not yet learned to appreciate & embrace his own unique skill.

Update from Grandma

Lisa -

Aunt Geri and I went to play cards with your dad and he looked good. We played 4 sets of cards. I go every Monday with someone else--usually Mitch, but he had an appointment today. He said the medicine they gave him so he would have more of an appetite is helping.

-Grandma Timmer

Well, this is Dad's bone scan. The dark areas are the cancer (this only shows the cancer in his bones) As you can see, it is everywhere. I can't really post the CT scan picts because they way they do it, there are almost 600 cross sections of his body. The PET scan is the same thing, there are over 400 images.

I will find some other fun pictures to post, I just thought I would share this one.

Nothing New

Mostly a waste of time to see Dr. today. Because there was no CT scan, there was nothing to talk about. He did prescribe a med to hel Dad with his appetite. That was the only useful thing. Last week the nurse said the Dr. didn't have an order written for the CT scan---so today he says she FORGOT to schedule it. Isn't that nice! I have a problem with this - this may be an every day thing for him, but it is not to us. How do you just forget about someones life? It's not like forgetting to take out the trash or something...this is a life, a person. He was far to casual about it. So Dad got another big chemo today (three meds), then he will have one next week. As of when I left, they were trying to schedule the CT scan for the 21st or 22nd. After that, I'm thinking we will see the Dr. again on the 25th since Friday's seem to be the day for all of this. That is when we find out if the chemo has been doing any good.

While we sat waiting for the Dr. appt, I had a chance to read some of the reports. I also borrowed the CT scan, PET scan & bone scan image disks. I have to say overall they are cool to look at, being the geek I am; but it was also disturbing because all of that cancer is in a person I know and love. The bone scan was what I imagined, but still kind of shocking to finally see it. One thing I found out today is that it is in the base of his skull - I keep meaning to ask the Dr. what are the chances of it spreading to his brain. I will have to put that on my list for next time. I am going to try to figure out how to pull the bone scan image off and post it. I also have some info on his blood levels, but I have to do some research on that before I post.

I have to apologize, it seems that I am not being very objective lately. I also have not been great at updating. I am exhausted. Work is wearing me out. Kids are wearing me out. I guess life is kicking my butt all over town. Sorry to be a downer today. I'm sure you have all had times where it seems one thing after another and it is getting slightly overwhelming.

On another note, Dad asked me to post some more pictures so I will dig some out. I will see him tomorrow at the campground so I will try to write a little something. He should be good tomorrow, the chemo usually doesn't hit him until Sunday afternoon.

Thought of the Blog:.

Any idiot can face a crisis - it's day to day living that wears you out.
-Anton Chekhov

As always, please keep Dennis in your thoughts and prayers!

Quote of the Blog:

Everything that happens happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so.
-Marcus Aurelius

Feelin "less icky"

Dad says he is feeling less icky today. He had some of the fresh beans from my garden we brought him and he said they tasted good. He found out he can eat McD's fries...he's happy. He ran errands this morning with Ruth and he doesnt sound too whipped.

I am not sure if I will post again before Friday's appointment, but I will make sure I post after it - although it may be after I get home from work and get kids to bed.

Thought of the Blog:

Just remember. . . if the world didn't suck we'd all fall off!