A Summer Update on Nancy

Today is Saturday, June 27th. I'm in Anacortes for the next week or so. I got up early this a.m. and did a 5 mile training walk here. As I walked I heard some music and right there alongside the road was the Anacortes Relay for Life, with tons of tents and booths and people walking for the Cure! Wow - I can't tell you how much that lifted my spirits.

Nancy had the second in a series of four rounds of chemotherapy on Thursday. She did very well and slept fairly well on Thursday evening. Yesterday, the pain returned (caused by the chemo) - but this time we have a great arsenal of pain meds to keep her comfortable. She has been able to eat little bits of food and we're working hard to keep the nutrition up. We decided this medicine (just approved by the Feds in December) is a Miracle Drug. The cancer cells are putting up a fight as they are being obliterated, thus the pain. Nancy continues to amaze me with her grace and upbeat attitude.

If she's feeling up to it today, I will shave her head, as the little bit of growth is now starting to fall out, and heck - it's warm here - supposed to be in the mid to upper 80's! Our goal is to keep her comfy and cool. As always your prayers are appreciated.

Pain Control is Better, Praise God!

It seems the new meds are doing better at controlling Nancy's pain. This was the most difficult week of my life. The caregiving part is something that comes naturally, but seeing my beloved sister in so much unrelenting pain was tough to say the least. Hospice has been wonderful. One of the "angels" came on Friday, changed the bed linens, and gave Nancy a pedicure. Also on Friday, my DH Larry brought one of our comfortable Queen Anne chairs up to have in Nancy's bedroom for visitors or for Mom or me to sit in while reading to Nancy or just visiting. What a gift of love!

I'm home now. Our eldest son, Jeff, brought my mom up to Nancy's to stay with her for a while, and I came home for some much needed rest. There were some funny things that happened last week. I was putting away dishes in Nancy's kitchen and the cupboard door came off at the hinge on one of the upper cabinets. I was holding it up in one hand, reaching out for a screwdriver I had just used to tighten the toilet seat, then using my foot to get a step stool close enough to stand on. I was able to get that door down safely. The next morning the cupboard door next to the first one came loose from the hinges. Nancy asked me if I'd been hanging on the doors - ha ha. When the handyman for her apartment building came by to re-attach the doors, he asked me the same thing. Uh, no.

My sister is my hero and such an inspiration. Through all this pain, she remains hopeful. She had an appointment with her oncologist on Thursday, which was the first day in a week she'd been up and dressed. For the first time in many visits he had some good news - her brain CT was clear - no metastatic disease there. We are grateful. She had a visit from some of the wonderful folks in her prayer group. Betsy brought a homemade blackberry pie. The visit lifted both our spirits. Another close friend from work came by with a gift. By the time they all lelft, Nancy was pretty exhausted.

Thursday night was rough. Her doctor changed her pain med regimen (hoping for more relief), but the dosage was too small. The hospice nurse came on Friday and got that straightened out and she rested much better Friday and Saturday.

I haven't done much training lately, and missed Expo for the 3 Day yesterday (Mike & Jennie went and did the 10 mile training walk). I plan to take a nice walk after church this morning, and get back into a routine of walking until I go back up to Nancy's.

We covet your prayers and are so grateful for them.

Staying at Nancy's this Week

Today is Wednesday already. Mom stayed with Nancy last week and the three of us decided together that while Nancy is feeling so punk, that we don't want her to be alone. I took Mom home on Sunday and came to be with her on Monday. We've had a busy week. Seeing the hospice nurse and social worker, a couple of co-workers have stopped by. Mike had a job up this way so he stopped by for a short visit. Nancy is feeling really blessed by her many friendships and loving family.

We are having a challenge controlling her pain and the hospice nurse is working with us to try different meds. Please pray for comfort for Nancy.

Most of the paperwork for disability and dshs is completed and those details are smoothing out. She has watched a couple of movies, but mostly remains in bed as sleep, when it comes, is the only time she escapes the pain.

I'm heading out to her grocery store and hopefully will find some things that taste good. The problem with these strong chemo treatments is that often your tastebuds are altered and your old favorites (i.e. toasted cheese sandwich) no longer taste good.

I'll try to keep everyone posted. Thanks for all the prayers!

THE SALE WAS A HUGE SUCCESS!!

Thank you for your support! Last weekend, May 30 & 31st we had a huge family/team bake sale and garage sale and raised over $3,000 for the 3 Day and for my sister's care. This first picture is of our team (Jennie, Mike, Lori & Gayle) as we were setting up the sale on Friday. We are wearing our KMPS Aloha Red Shirt Friday tee-shirts. 94.1 KMPS is a major sponsor of the 3 Day here in Seattle and also a great country music station! The sale offically opened at 9:00 a.m. - but per usual we had several early birds, and we welcomed them.
We had a steady stream of customers and everyone was so generous. They bought lots of baked goodies and jewelry. Here's a picture of Jennie and Lori with Grandma (Gayle & Nancy's Mom). She sold antique and collectible jewelry to help Nancy with expenses. By the end of the day on Friday we were all very tired, but so excited as the money was flowing in! We relaxed Friday night after covering all the items for sale (as it was somewhat damp at night). We were up again on Saturday to greet our first customers. We also had a raffle of a huge picnic basket full of goodies. We sold over 150 tickets. Another popular item was our Ducks for the Cure - cute pink ducks with the breast cancer ribbon. They were adopted to loving familes and provided alot of fun for our grandkids during the sale!

We were all touched by the number of people who are affected by cancer. We talked to many surviovors and family members. Many people just donated to the cause if they didn't find an item to buy. We handed out cupcakes as thank-yous. We raised over $3,000 to support our fundraising efforts for the 3 Day and for my sister's expenses. THANK YOU ALL! We are very grateful.