Angels In Voice

Candice went to see Dr. Jeroszewski, the Thoracic Doctor, at the Mayo clinic yesterday,   Dr. Mulligan referred her to this doctor, so that she could have the 8mm spot looked at on her left lung.  Dr. Jeroszewski wants to do surgery to remove this spot before it grows bigger.  So she is scheduled for surgery next Wednesday.  They will do a biopsy after it is removed to see exactly what it is.  The surgery only takes 20-30 minutes and they will have platelets ready and all the other things that are necessary for an HPS patient.  She will be in the hospital for 2-3 days depending on how much fluid is on her lungs.  Please pray that this isn't cancer because that would change the whole treatment plan for the liver.  They are scheduling an Ekg, echocardiogram and lab work to be done next Tuesday before surgery.  Also, Dad went for his second chemo treatment yesterday and this time he had a horrible reaction.  Last week he was only given one of the medications, this week he had two.  He was sick the whole night with nausea, and ran a high fever of 104 with chills and chest pain.  This morning around ten he started having problems breathing.  His color was pale and his breathing became shallow.  So mom called his doctor and he told her to get him in to see his primary care doctor.  Dad was feeling so bad that he couldn't sit in the car.  So mom called 911 and the paramedics came 10 minutes later. They checked him out and transported him to Estrella Banner Hospital. They ran all kinds of tests and drew blood, chest x-ray, CT scan of his chest and everything came back okay.  He does have a urinary tract infection so they put him on Cipro.  He is back home now and feeling much better. It has been a long and tiring day especially for our mom.  The doctor told dad to get some rest and drink plenty of fluids.  Next Monday he will have his third treatment.  Hopefully the side effects won't be as severe.  Our niece Danielle's wedding is coming up this Saturday. so we are praying that he will feel up to going.  I will definitely keep you posted on his health.  Please keep us in your prayers, as we have a rough week ahead of us.  We pray that God will give us the strength and energy to get through it.  One verse that is comforting to know is:

Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"  We know that God won't give us more than we can handle. We continue to take one day at a time.

Hi everyone!  We hope you all are having a good week.  I just wanted to let you know what's going on here.  It's been pretty busy around here.  Dad had his first Chemo treatment yesterday.  So far he hasn't had any side effects from it. Praise God! Hopefully, he won't have any, wouldn't that be wonderful?  He will have five more treatments, one per week before he has his next bladder scope.  Candice has an appointment to see the Thoracic doctor at Mayo clinic on Monday.  We'll be able to find out what exactly this spot is on her left lung.  In the meantime we are waiting to get our flu shots.  We haven't been able to receive them, because our primary care doctors office doesn't have them in.  They should be getting them in by next Monday.  Being special needs patients we are required to be the first ones to get the vaccine.  It's been frustrating having to wait this long.  Candice and I have been practicing for an upcoming concert that we are doing on Sunday evening.  We're singing at a church out in Buckeye and are really looking forward to it.  Also, our family is taking a trip up to Cottonwood, Az this Saturday.  Our niece Danielle is getting married on Nov. 4th, and the rehearsal for the wedding is on Sat.  We're excited for Danielle, the BIG day is coming so quickly.  I can't believe it is almost here.  Please continue to pray for us as we are dealing with many issues right now.  Love to you all.

I just want to start off by thanking all of you for praying for me. I did go for a CT scan last Thursday to have a spot on my left rib checked out. You probably remember that I had a bone scan about six weeks ago and the bone scan came back questioning my left rib area.  My liver doctor told me that he was sure it was cancer and there wasn't anything he could do.  Well I was very concerned about this news, so I decided it was best to get a second opinion.  My insurance gave us three visits to the Mayo Clinic to see Dr. Mulligan.  We took all my films and records to the Mayo Clinic.  After my first visit with Dr. Mulligan, he and Dr.Beryne scheduled me to have this CT done.  I was so excited when I found out the CT scan showed no cancer in the rib.  What it did show was a fractured rib from about three years ago.  I guess when I took a fall down the stairs in our old house, I had no idea I had broken anything.  Crystal and I have severe Osteoporosis, so we have to be extremely careful not to fall or lift anything too heavy.  I was very thankful for that wonderful report.  The CT scan also showed a new 8mm spot on the left lobe of the lung, so that news was a little bit of a discouragement.  I had my second visit with Dr. Mulligan at the Mayo clinic yesterday afternoon.  We had been considering Radio frequency ablation to kill the mass in the liver.  This procedure was recommended by a radiologist at Good Samaritian Hospital after having an Ultrasound done.  After speaking with Dr. Mulligan about this treatment, he said the procedure would be too risky for me.  He wants to do a treatment called Chemoembolization which is also a risk, but a little more safe than the other procedure.  My liver tumor is kind of in the middle towards the left lobe of the liver which is not a resectable area.  He said because of my age he would like to research a liver transplant.  Being that my first tumor was 12.6cm and a year later I now have a 4.5cm tumor, I would not receive any points from the transplant board.  He would have to present me as a symptomatic case. Which means because I have HPS and two large tumors in a year and a half I would not be a good risk.  He still wants to explore the option.  Before I can have the Chemoembolization, I have to see a Thoracic doctor to check the spot on my lung and also evaluate the health of my lungs because I do have a little fibrosis starting.  I hope to get the Chemoembolization done with in the next two weeks.  We have to get overrides from my insurance to be able to go to the Mayo clinic and these Doctors. We have so many things to think about and many decisions to make.  This is all so overwhelming, but we know the Lord is in control.  He is definitely guiding us through this daily.

This past weekend was very busy for us. Our sister Rhonda and our niece Danielle came down Friday evening. They drove from Cottonwood which is a two hour drive from Avondale.  Danielle is getting married November 4th. and we are her maid of honors. Candice and I hosted a bridal shower for Danielle at our house on Saturday afternoon.  We had a good time at the party and Danielle received some really nice gifts.  They left to go back home that night, it is always so hard saying goodbye to them because we are so close.  They are so special to us and we always cherish our time together. Thank you both for being a blessing and encouragement in our lives. We love you and we are looking forward to celebrating with you on your special day.

On Sunday we went to church.  Pastor Adrian is doing a series on the second coming of Christ in our Sunday school class.  Candice and I enjoy studying this topic because we are currently reading the Left Behind books right now. We are on the ninth book and there are twelve all together. We've really enjoyed reading the series, I find it hard to put the book down sometimes, you just want to keep reading.  We can't wait until we finish the rest of the series.

We found out last Friday that Candice's doctor at Mayo clinic, Dr. Mulligan, was going on vacation this week.  We weren't very happy about that when we found out he wasn't going to be in the office for a whole week.  He didn't tell us he was going on vacation, it's frustrating sometimes when doctors tell you one thing and then do another.  However they reviewed her case at the clinical meeting on Monday morning and she is scheduled for a CT Scan of the chest tomorrow afternoon. This should give the doctors a better understanding of what it is on her rib and if it's cancer related.  Also, we're concerned because while they are trying to figure out the rib area, the mass on her liver is still there. We are just praying that it hasn't grown any. We seriously are thinking about doing the radio frequency ablation.  We want to treat the mass before it gets to 5cm. Please continue praying for God's direction in her life. Dealing with all the medical issues can be so overwhelming. We believe God's will for her is healing. Philipians 2:13 says  "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for his good pleasure." Thank you all for praying. God Bless!

We have just read Katy's blog and found out that she is in the hospital with severe pain and dehydration. We are asking those of you who check our website to pray for Katy and her family. This is a strong Christian family and they are praying for God's will in Katy's life. You can read further updates on Katy's blog http://www.katysblog.com/.