ParTay!

Sharon (aka Mom, Nun, Nana)'s fifth day in the hospital was not ordinary.

We threw a ParTay!(Angie & Brian hugging Mom)

Just prior to Sharon being confined to her tiny room she was able to step outside the hospital doors and spend some precious time with those who are closest to her heart.

(Nana and her grandson: Kyle Scott)(Nana and Patty doting over Kyle)

(Angie, Melanie, Lorna, Patty, Sharon)

(Angela and baby Kyle, aka smiley guy)

(Angie and her Mom)

(the Nun with her son Brian)

A ParTay to remember!

Sitting at her Feet

I'm sitting at her feet.

And words cannot express how comforting it is to be next to my mom's hospital bed.

She is sleeping. Sleeping and Snoring.

Her breathing is labored.

I waited 14 days to place my bum in this rigid chair. 14 days too long.

Surrounding my chair is the bare space mom studied not long ago. It's chillingly familiar but I'm comforted by the fact that I'm only an arm's reach away rather than the alternative - hundred's of miles away.

I am thankful for this moment.
Thankful that I am here.
Thankful that I can just be.

Be with my mom, sitting at her feet.

D Day

Wednesday was Decision Day. The weight on my mom Sharon's shoulders determining what her treatment would be was very heavy.

When she met with Dr. V the test results were conclusive. Leukemic cells were found in 90% of the bone marrow. Mom is not only fighting Acute Myelogenous Leukemia but also features of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia . With these findings Dr. V recommended one course of action.

The drug of choice is Clofarabine. It has been an effective treatment for patients with AML and/or ALL who have relapsed after remission. The drug is aggressive and it is her best option lest she desire the alternative...which she doesn't. We have high hopes that this drug will kill all of the bad cells and do it quickly.

Dr. V estimates that her hospital stay will be about 30 days. (we're hoping it's less!)

And I'm hoping that she will achieve remission again.

It was Jesus who gave my mom the gift of life these past 14 months. And anyone who knows her can give affirm that her life has been a testimony of God's goodness.

I know that God could choose to heal my mom completely. God has the power to erase her cancer and align all of her blood counts. It could be that He plans to and it could be that he doesn't plan to. Either way I know that my faith is being stretched and that God desires for me to trust Him during this time of trouble.

P.S. A remission report will definitely make headlines. Instead of 'D Day' it will be 'V Day' = Victory Day!

Devastating News

I have bad news about my Mom's health.

Devastating news.

So devastating that it has taken me an entire week to actually sit down and share the news of my mom Sharon's relapse with you. Each day I've had the goal of writing a post but I've found myself tired and void of extra time and energy.

This morning isn't much different but I'm finding it helpful to click the keys and share what's going on - what's on my heart.

Here's the bottom line.

My mothers leukemia has returned. It doesn't look good.

Relapse in Acute Myleogenous Leukemia is common however we were hoping Sharon would fall outside statistical lines and have many more years of living. She responded favorably to treatment and has rebuilt her system with nutritional supplements. She looks great and she feels great. If you saw her you would never guess that she is a terminal patient. (picture taken with Carissa Christmas Day 2009)

If you want to understand Sharon's disease here is a short tutorial from marrow.org.

• "Acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) is a fast-growing cancer of the blood and bone marrow. In AML, the bone marrow makes many unformed cells called blasts. Blasts normally develop into white blood cells that fight infection. However, the blasts are abnormal in AML. They do not develop and cannot fight infections. The bone marrow may also make abnormal red blood cells and platelets. The number of abnormal cells (or leukemia cells) grows quickly. They crowd out the normal red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets the body needs

The devastating news of Mom's relapse came shortly after her monthly doctor's visit. During the appointment Dr. V expressed minimal concern over her blood work but it was understood that he was going to send her labs in for further testing. When she received a call two days later Dr. V told her that the labs showed a return of leukemic cells and that she is out of remission.

Hours later my brother sat by her side while Dr. V shared the harrowing realities and outlined her options.

Unfortunately options are limited.

Sharon has also consulted with the head physician at City of Hope, the Bone Marrow Transplantation Center in Phoenix, AZ. His assessment, while delivered with honest professionalism, was sobering.

A sobering confirmation of the devastating news.

For now we are awaiting extensive test results from a lab in California. Also, on Tuesday (January 26th) Sharon will have a bone marrow biopsy. The combination of these test results will better equip her Doctor about her condition. In light of this information my mom will evaluate and ultimately decide her treatment plan.

Her decision is pivotal. We all agree that her decision about treatment is hers. No one can make this decision for her. She has to own the decision and live and die the decision. literally.

So, along with our family, will you please join us in praying for my Mom Sharon?Please Pray:

• Sharon is able to discern God's voice and direction well.
  
• That Sharon experiences peace about her decision and treatment plan.
• For clear test results and wisdom for Dr. V and the medical team
  
• That our family would know how to best love and support Sharon through this health crisis
• That our family, in the bigger sense would walk through this trial well
• For Sharon's dreams to be made possible - for her wish to be to travel with our family to Disneyland, for a family reunion and for other special memory trips
  

Thank you for your prayers and for walking this road alongside me.

Nana Nana...

We can't wait for you to spend Christmas with us Nana!

We love you!

09 Halloween

This year the tots were very excited about dressing up.

Caleb Jackson dressed up as a 'Fire Chief' aka 'Fireman'

He wore the costume for 4 days prior to Halloween.

Carissa Joy dressed up as 'Tinkerbell'

Fireman extinguishing Tink. Tink aghast.
Caleb thought he was 'big time' with his real fire extinguisher

Tink 'ding-ing' Fireman. I'm not sure what she's changing him in to but...her face is glowingOur first stop was our neighbors home - this is where the tots play while I'm teaching voice lessons
Our second stop was at the Peterson's home. Caleb and Carissa thought it was really funny to say 'Trick or Treat'. Given the reward there was no coaxing needed.
Carissa 'ding-ed' Uncle Brian (pictured above) and he turned in to a monkey! Brian was fairly believable (to a tot) and Carissa got a little scared and wouldn't turn him back. Poor Kim, she had to live with a monkey the rest of the evening!
-

Our third stop was our church Harvest party. Complete with a bouncy house, toddler games and food, the kids had a blast!

Pumpkin Carving

Caleb and Carissa's preschool teacher 'Ms Vicki' gave them pumpkins at their 'Fall Party' on Thursday.

The tots were very excited about having their very own pumpkin and wanted to carve them asap. Daddy acted without hesitation. (He was probably more excited than the kids!)

After scraping out the insides the duo told daddy exactly how they wanted their pumpkin faces carved.

-

Carissa's pumpkin was a happy pumpkin

and Caleb's pumpkin was a sad pumpkinIn line with Caleb's Fire Chief costume he was particularly interested in the 'fire' inside the pumpkins.

Celebrating Life part 2

Tonight I joined 'Greg's Lymphoma Phyghters' and hundreds of others in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's 'Light the Night Walk' - a night to pay tribute and bring hope to people battling cancer.
The event raises funds for patient services, lifesaving research for better therapies and cures for leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma.

Pictured here is the greater part of 'Greg's Lymphoma Phyghters'. A fighting team!I participated in the walk for several reasons.

1. to support the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society

2. to support our friends Greg and Nancy. Greg is currently in treatment for Lymphoma.
3. to celebrate my mom's life - she is in remission from Leukemia - today marks one year since her diagnosis Sept. 17, 2008.
Everybody carried illuminated balloons during the walk.(me and my friend Nancy, Greg's wife)

Celebrating Life

Today, 9-17-09 we celebrate life for my mom Sharon.

Sharon is a one year survivor of Acute Leukemia.

We celebrate this year of life with great joy and give thanks for the many memories yet to come.

"Give thanks to God—he is good and his love never quits"

I Chronicles 16:34

Miracle Report

It's a miracle, my mom's bone marrow biopsy report came back...

...and the results show that my mom is still in remission!!!!

This is a wonderful report. We are all relieved and so happy for this encouraging news.

To read more link over to my mom's blog.

And, wish her a happy birthday! She turns 60 today.

Fossil Springs

During our trip to AZ we stayed in Strawberry for 4 days at the 'Cabin Sweet Cabin'. This small town in Northern Arizona has an elevation of 6,047 feet and lies beneath the famed Mogollon Rim.

Only 7 miles from Strawberry is the Fossil Springs Wilderness. We enjoyed two afternoons in this 11,550 acre wilderness.

I was surprised at the lushness of the creek bed because the surrounding dessert is extremely dry. The area has over thirty species of trees and shrubs and over a hundred species of birds observed in this unique habitat.

We drove down in to the canyon on a dusty dirt road to the lower parking lot. Once parked it was only a short hike to this glorious-ness. The stream gushes 20,000 gallons a minute out of a series of springs at the bottom of a 1,600 foot deep canyon. The water is incredibly clear! We could see to the bottom of the creek bed and also saw many small and medium sized fish. The kids loved swimming with the fish!Like many visitors to the Fossil Springs we swam, waded in the water, floated in the current,
and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings.One of the highlights was the rope swings. The kids enjoyed watching people swing on the ropes and jump/fall in to the water. Even though there were some younger (read, more agile)guys jumping off of the rope swings, the kids favorite 'swinger' was Daddy himself. Click on the link below and you can see a short slide show of daddy on the rope swing.

Cabin Sweet Cabin

We spent four days at this sah-weet cabin in Strawberry Arizona.





Courtesy of my Aunt Melanie and her hubby Jerry our family was blessed to use this cozy cabin on our family trip to AZ.

And cozy it was.

During our stay we had lots of 'porch time' in the hammock, the big swing and the white wicker rocking chairs.

Caleb and Carissa sporting their morning jammies and huge, giggly smiles

Caleb and Carissa took these pictures of Daddy with the opposite twin

Uncle B: our surprise visitor who drove 2 pizzas from my favorite joint in the Valley of the Sun. His visit was short but sah-weet.

A beloved brother, aka 'Bub' and 'Uncle B'

My mom, aka 'Nana' was able to join us for much longer than 4 hours. It was more like 4 days. She is a blessing to us all.

Another cabin activity besides 'porch time' was...

filling the bird and squirrel feeders with seeds!

of course Caleb and Carissa thought this was....sah-weet!

And next...our fun adventures at Fossil Springs

sweet.