Hello Everyone,
I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and that the coming year is full of joy, happiness, peace, comfort, healing, love and a deeper relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ.
A HUGE HUG to all of you sent Christmas cheer to our home this year. We were the recipients of amazing generosity. Our needs and wants were met both in the now and in the future. Through your generosity, our children had an wonderful Christmas. It is amazing how Heavenly Father knows our needs (both now and in the future) and people respond to His call to help.
Just a quick update on my condition. We saw the foot doctor on the 26th. He said the foot was still infected but it looked like the antibiotics were doing their job. He said to keep taking the antibiotics for another week and see him again on the 2nd. He told me to keep weight off the foot as much as possible, to rest and let the body fight the infection.
I am so thankful for Angela. She wraps my foot each day, inspects the infected area, puts on the antibiotic cream they prescribed, gets me whatever I need, shows love and concern, and is just an awesome wife!! Thanks so much Angela.
I am so grateful for my employer. They are allowing me to work from home during this time. They have been a huge support since the beginning. Because of their kindness and generosity, we have had a steady income that has allowed us the necessities of life, health insurance, and a sense of security.
Thanks you for all of your prayers and faith in my behalf. We feel the power of your prayers and we feel your love. Through every step of this journey, we have been blessed, comforted, and had our faith increased. Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are there for us. As we turn to them, we will feel their love. We must trust in their plan for us and be patient through our trials.
"For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God;..." Alma 34:32
Love, Doug
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Quick update on the left foot
Hello Everyone - I hope you are all having a very Merry Christmas and that the Spirit of Christ has touched you heart this Christmas Season. My family has been the recipients of Christlike service and love. You have made our world brighter through your selfless acts of kindness, love, support, and faith.
Update on my left foot: So, it began a few weeks ago with cellulitis and a hospital stay. I was discharged from the hospital and the next day we went back up because of increased swelling. They told us to elevate the foot more and to watch it like a hawk. Angela was very diligent about watching it. On the last day of my antibiotics, Angels felt like it was not healing as quickly as it should. She asked a good friend who is a wound care nurse to come and look at it. She looked at my foot and poked around some and suggested we go the the emergency room (as this was Saturday). So we heeded her counsel and headed to the Emergency Room. The ER doctor agreed with our nurse friend that there was some kind of infection that the current antibiotics were not healing. They called in the foot doctor and he did more poking and prodding and said he thought I had a strep infection and needed to use a different antibiotic. So, he set me up with a new IV antibiotic. They gave me the first dose at the ER. I have to go to UVRMC infusion center each day for the next 7 days to get my daily dose of the IV antibiotic. The doctor told me to rest and stay away from groups of people. That is why I was not at church and because the infusion was at the same time as sacrament meeting.
So, I hope to have a functioning foot and be social again in a week. Thank you so much to everyone that has dropped by goodies, greetings, and well wishes for our family. We have felt very loved today.
I was supposed to get a new port put in on Tuesday, but we have had to cancel that. We will see if/when that happens. I am scheduled to have my second round of chemotherapy on January 4th. We will see how I am doing then; hopefully, I will be back to good health and can continue the treatment.
This Christmas time definitely has not turned out the way I had planned. I have been away from family, away from work, and away from church. Through all of this, I have had moments of sadness, where I feel the burden of my sickness, especially the burden it places on my family. At those moments, I cry out to my Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ for comfort and peace. My Christmas miracle is that I have felt the Spirit of Christ this Christmas time. I have felt God's love for me and my family. I have felt his love for each of you. My burden has become easy and my yoke has become light. I have peace in my soul.
No matter what are burden is, Christ has suffered it all. He knows our pain, sadness, sorrow, weakness, and guilt. He can lift the burden as we take His yoke upon us and do His will. When we lose out lives in Christlike service and actions, our burdens become light and at times can be forgotten. I know that God lives and loves us so much.
Merry Christmas to all. I pray that Heavenly Father will bless you and your families that you will feel of His love for you. As you lift the burden of others, your burdens will be lifted also.
Love, Doug
Update on my left foot: So, it began a few weeks ago with cellulitis and a hospital stay. I was discharged from the hospital and the next day we went back up because of increased swelling. They told us to elevate the foot more and to watch it like a hawk. Angela was very diligent about watching it. On the last day of my antibiotics, Angels felt like it was not healing as quickly as it should. She asked a good friend who is a wound care nurse to come and look at it. She looked at my foot and poked around some and suggested we go the the emergency room (as this was Saturday). So we heeded her counsel and headed to the Emergency Room. The ER doctor agreed with our nurse friend that there was some kind of infection that the current antibiotics were not healing. They called in the foot doctor and he did more poking and prodding and said he thought I had a strep infection and needed to use a different antibiotic. So, he set me up with a new IV antibiotic. They gave me the first dose at the ER. I have to go to UVRMC infusion center each day for the next 7 days to get my daily dose of the IV antibiotic. The doctor told me to rest and stay away from groups of people. That is why I was not at church and because the infusion was at the same time as sacrament meeting.
So, I hope to have a functioning foot and be social again in a week. Thank you so much to everyone that has dropped by goodies, greetings, and well wishes for our family. We have felt very loved today.
I was supposed to get a new port put in on Tuesday, but we have had to cancel that. We will see if/when that happens. I am scheduled to have my second round of chemotherapy on January 4th. We will see how I am doing then; hopefully, I will be back to good health and can continue the treatment.
This Christmas time definitely has not turned out the way I had planned. I have been away from family, away from work, and away from church. Through all of this, I have had moments of sadness, where I feel the burden of my sickness, especially the burden it places on my family. At those moments, I cry out to my Father in Heaven and Savior Jesus Christ for comfort and peace. My Christmas miracle is that I have felt the Spirit of Christ this Christmas time. I have felt God's love for me and my family. I have felt his love for each of you. My burden has become easy and my yoke has become light. I have peace in my soul.
No matter what are burden is, Christ has suffered it all. He knows our pain, sadness, sorrow, weakness, and guilt. He can lift the burden as we take His yoke upon us and do His will. When we lose out lives in Christlike service and actions, our burdens become light and at times can be forgotten. I know that God lives and loves us so much.
Merry Christmas to all. I pray that Heavenly Father will bless you and your families that you will feel of His love for you. As you lift the burden of others, your burdens will be lifted also.
Love, Doug
Monday, December 18, 2017
Home is where the Heart Is
I am so happy to report that I have been released from Hotel Huntsman for a good (or lack there of) behavior ; )
I was able to come home today around noon. Some of the other patients were upset that I was able to leave before I had met all the criteria for discharge (wink, wink). Like most popular games, I was "close enough". Maybe they thought I was way too chipper to be a patient any longer.
Now, before I give the wrong impression, I did leave with the recovery left to do. I did get off to the "right" foot, but alas the left foot is the one with the problem. I have some infection in the left foot - maybe cellulitis. It is red and swollen. It does not like to be touched. It does not like to be used in the walking process. It is a problem. I am taking some antibiotics to kill the infection. Five more days should do the trick.
The other complication is the low immune system. The level that was supposed to be 500, went from 0 to 100; so, close enough. (In a healthy person this level is around 2500.) So I will continue to avoid large groups of people until my levels are really out of the danger zone.
A BIG THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! to all of you who took care of my family, prayed for us, sent be well wishes, and were just nice people. We are continually amazed at the love and kindness we receive form everyone.
May God Bless each and every one of you. Love,
-Doug-
I was able to come home today around noon. Some of the other patients were upset that I was able to leave before I had met all the criteria for discharge (wink, wink). Like most popular games, I was "close enough". Maybe they thought I was way too chipper to be a patient any longer.
Now, before I give the wrong impression, I did leave with the recovery left to do. I did get off to the "right" foot, but alas the left foot is the one with the problem. I have some infection in the left foot - maybe cellulitis. It is red and swollen. It does not like to be touched. It does not like to be used in the walking process. It is a problem. I am taking some antibiotics to kill the infection. Five more days should do the trick.
The other complication is the low immune system. The level that was supposed to be 500, went from 0 to 100; so, close enough. (In a healthy person this level is around 2500.) So I will continue to avoid large groups of people until my levels are really out of the danger zone.
A BIG THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! to all of you who took care of my family, prayed for us, sent be well wishes, and were just nice people. We are continually amazed at the love and kindness we receive form everyone.
May God Bless each and every one of you. Love,
-Doug-
Saturday, December 16, 2017
Low Immune System + Foot Infection = Hotel Huntsman
Well, just when you thought I couldn't make my life more interesting, I decided to try something new.....
My last post indicated that I was going to stay on the Votrient until after the Holidays. The more Angela and I thought about it, the less comfortable we became. We felt like we needed to pursue solutions and not waste our time with medications that were not working. So we decided to do the recommendation of our Primary Children's doctor and our New York doctor, the "Red Devil" (also called "Fruit Punch" because of its color.) + an antibody. I would have two cycles, then we would have another scan. After the scan we would decide on another treatment based on the scan results.
Some of you may recall that I already had the Fruit Punch (which I did) and that I couldn't have any more (used to be true). New studies have found that the human heart can tolerate more of this chemo then initially thought. My heart has been affected, but not enough. Lucky Me!
One of the side effects of Fruit Punch is a loss of hair, so we had a Kool Aide hair dying party, went shopping with funny hair and then Angela shaved it off. : (
Well, I had my first dose of the Fruit Punch and first dose of the antibody on Thursday, December 7th (my brother's birthday, Pearl Harbor Day, etc...). Everything seemed to be going as expected and we had arrangements made for me to receive the second antibody dose a week later in Utah Valley. I knew the chemo would make me sick, the worse being 7-10 days after the initial dose. I was taking my medications and thought things were tolerable.
Tuesday afternoon, my left foot began to hurt, but not so much that I was worried. I just limped around and hoped that it would heal quickly. On Wednesday, there was more pain in the toes and ball of my left foot. I went to work but began to feel worse and worse so I went home. I had gotten a blood draw in the morning, but had forgotten to order all the tests we needed. My foot was looking pretty bad so Angela took me to our family doctor. H was not sure what was causing the swelling, redness, and pain. An infection or gout were his top choices. He recommended an antibiotic and ordered another blood test to check my uric acid level. I had already started an antibiotic due to my weakened immune system, so I thought that should take care of it. After the doctor's appointment, we went and had more blood drawn for the other tests. We got home and I took up residence on the couch. A dear family friend brought us pizza and salad for dinner. It was such a great blessing to not have to fix a meal after all the business. Angela had even cancelled some piano lessons so she could take me to the doctor. She borrowed crutches from some wonderful neighbors which turned out to be a life saver, as my foot was in more and more pain. Before going to bed, I did fold some laundry so I did feel entirely useless - you can do that sitting down : )
We had been communicating with our doctor about whether to get the second round of the anti-body, and I was scheduled to receive it Thursday morning. Well, this is were things turned south. Thursday morning at 4:00 am, I got up from the couch to use the restroom. Angela had come up to check on me and helped me with the crutches and I made my way to the bathroom. On the way, I began to feel nauseous and thought that it good that I was heading to the bathroom. As I was trying to maneuver in the bathroom, I fainted. I do not remember falling, I just remember waking up and Angela looked really scared. Later she told me I was unresponsive for 30 seconds or so. We called 911 and the paramedics came and checked me out. Angela saw my back hit the tub and thought I had broken my ribs again. The paramedics said I passed all of their tests. They helped me get back onto the couch and I was able to fall back asleep.
We relayed this incident to our doctor and asked about the scheduled infusion. My Huntsman doctor was very concerned and scheduled an appointment for me at the acute care facility at Huntsman. So, Angela took me up and they began running tests and evaluations. It was decided that I should be admitted to the hospital at Huntsman so they could treat the infection while my immune system was pretty much non-existent. It is now Saturday, I still have no immune system, but the infection is improving.
On a side note, my picture that is on file is the picture with my white hair and beard. All the staff keep doing and double-take and have to ask some identifying questions to ensure I really am the same guy. The beard lives on....
A HUGE THANK YOU to all those who are helping my family right now. I cannot adequately express my gratitude for all the help you are giving us. We are so very blessed to have so many wonderful family members and friends. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I pray for you each day. Please continue to pray for us. We need revelation to know how to combat this cancer. We believe that the people we meet and the interactions we have are part of Heavenly Father's plan for us. Huntsman has a spiritual wellness program and I was able to talk to a wonderful woman about faith and healing and our relationship with God. She seemed very grateful for our conversation, I hope it was a blessing to her. It was a blessing to me to reflect back on my life and think about my faith and how it has grown over the years.
Thanks again for all you do for us. Love,
-Doug-
My last post indicated that I was going to stay on the Votrient until after the Holidays. The more Angela and I thought about it, the less comfortable we became. We felt like we needed to pursue solutions and not waste our time with medications that were not working. So we decided to do the recommendation of our Primary Children's doctor and our New York doctor, the "Red Devil" (also called "Fruit Punch" because of its color.) + an antibody. I would have two cycles, then we would have another scan. After the scan we would decide on another treatment based on the scan results.
Some of you may recall that I already had the Fruit Punch (which I did) and that I couldn't have any more (used to be true). New studies have found that the human heart can tolerate more of this chemo then initially thought. My heart has been affected, but not enough. Lucky Me!
One of the side effects of Fruit Punch is a loss of hair, so we had a Kool Aide hair dying party, went shopping with funny hair and then Angela shaved it off. : (
Well, I had my first dose of the Fruit Punch and first dose of the antibody on Thursday, December 7th (my brother's birthday, Pearl Harbor Day, etc...). Everything seemed to be going as expected and we had arrangements made for me to receive the second antibody dose a week later in Utah Valley. I knew the chemo would make me sick, the worse being 7-10 days after the initial dose. I was taking my medications and thought things were tolerable.
Tuesday afternoon, my left foot began to hurt, but not so much that I was worried. I just limped around and hoped that it would heal quickly. On Wednesday, there was more pain in the toes and ball of my left foot. I went to work but began to feel worse and worse so I went home. I had gotten a blood draw in the morning, but had forgotten to order all the tests we needed. My foot was looking pretty bad so Angela took me to our family doctor. H was not sure what was causing the swelling, redness, and pain. An infection or gout were his top choices. He recommended an antibiotic and ordered another blood test to check my uric acid level. I had already started an antibiotic due to my weakened immune system, so I thought that should take care of it. After the doctor's appointment, we went and had more blood drawn for the other tests. We got home and I took up residence on the couch. A dear family friend brought us pizza and salad for dinner. It was such a great blessing to not have to fix a meal after all the business. Angela had even cancelled some piano lessons so she could take me to the doctor. She borrowed crutches from some wonderful neighbors which turned out to be a life saver, as my foot was in more and more pain. Before going to bed, I did fold some laundry so I did feel entirely useless - you can do that sitting down : )
We had been communicating with our doctor about whether to get the second round of the anti-body, and I was scheduled to receive it Thursday morning. Well, this is were things turned south. Thursday morning at 4:00 am, I got up from the couch to use the restroom. Angela had come up to check on me and helped me with the crutches and I made my way to the bathroom. On the way, I began to feel nauseous and thought that it good that I was heading to the bathroom. As I was trying to maneuver in the bathroom, I fainted. I do not remember falling, I just remember waking up and Angela looked really scared. Later she told me I was unresponsive for 30 seconds or so. We called 911 and the paramedics came and checked me out. Angela saw my back hit the tub and thought I had broken my ribs again. The paramedics said I passed all of their tests. They helped me get back onto the couch and I was able to fall back asleep.
We relayed this incident to our doctor and asked about the scheduled infusion. My Huntsman doctor was very concerned and scheduled an appointment for me at the acute care facility at Huntsman. So, Angela took me up and they began running tests and evaluations. It was decided that I should be admitted to the hospital at Huntsman so they could treat the infection while my immune system was pretty much non-existent. It is now Saturday, I still have no immune system, but the infection is improving.
On a side note, my picture that is on file is the picture with my white hair and beard. All the staff keep doing and double-take and have to ask some identifying questions to ensure I really am the same guy. The beard lives on....
A HUGE THANK YOU to all those who are helping my family right now. I cannot adequately express my gratitude for all the help you are giving us. We are so very blessed to have so many wonderful family members and friends. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I pray for you each day. Please continue to pray for us. We need revelation to know how to combat this cancer. We believe that the people we meet and the interactions we have are part of Heavenly Father's plan for us. Huntsman has a spiritual wellness program and I was able to talk to a wonderful woman about faith and healing and our relationship with God. She seemed very grateful for our conversation, I hope it was a blessing to her. It was a blessing to me to reflect back on my life and think about my faith and how it has grown over the years.
Thanks again for all you do for us. Love,
-Doug-
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