Home at last!

She is home again! After a week in the hospital with lots of procedures she is finally home. She is enjoying her own chair and a little peace and quiet. The plan is to head to Denver tomorrow for more testing before beginning the clinical trial.
Thanks for your prayers,
Katie

A success

Well two days later, and two surgeries later, the stint was finally a success. Praise God!
It has been a very, very long week and our prayer is that she will start to feel a little better and can soon go home. Hopefully the study in Denver will also begin soon.
Please be praying for clear communication between our family and the doctors and for mom to be out of pain.
Thanks,
Katie

Unsuccessful

The procedure today was unsuccessful. Another procedure is scheduled for tomorrow. It is much more invasive and requires a longer hospital stay. Please pray for strength for us all. It was a really long day.
Will update later...
Katie

New year, new treatments.

It is a new year with new adventures ahead!
The last few weeks, mom has been in a lot of back pain and really tired. She went to Denver last Friday to run some preliminary tests before beginning the new chemo treatments. One of the scans done showed that she has a blocked bile duct in her liver. You may remember that this was the problem over a year ago when she first found out about the cancer. She will be having the same procedure done again she had before. Basically, they put a stint in the duct to clear it out and allow it to flow. Her surgery is scheduled for Tuesday morning. Hopefully the week after that, the rest of the tests can be run in Denver and treatments can begin soon after that.

Please be praying that the stint placement would be simple and she would handle the surgery and anesthesia well. Also, that this would relieve some of the pain she has been experiencing.
I will update when I know more.
Thanks,
Katie

A good month

Well, I haven't posted in a while because there hasn't really been anything new to post about. I think overall it was a good month. We had a nice Thanksgiving and a wonderful Christmas. Mom was able to be at all the family functions and even enjoyed a little Christmas shopping. :)
She has been very very tired, and is still having digestion issues. She is also experiencing some intense pain in her lower back. We are still waiting to see what might be causing that pain.

Throughout these last few crazy months, she managed to make my sister and I two amazing lap quilts. These are gifts we will forever cherish. It was a wonderful surprise and tears were shed by all!
Next week the preliminary tests will begin for the clinical trial in Denver. Please be praying for these new treatments to be helpful, and that the side affects wouldn't be too intense.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support.
Katie

The next step

After about two months of chemo, we found out today that there are new cancer spots in her body and the old ones are still there. She now has a spot on her liver, and three in the area her pancreas used to be. There is also a spot on her lungs, but they don't know for sure if it is cancerous or not. Mom's oncologist recommended she quit her current chemo treatments and strive for the best quality of life. There are a few options left, including Cyberknife, and some clinical trials at the University of Colorado. We will be looking into those in the weeks to come. For now though, we are hoping to have a nice Thanksgiving without any of the nasty side effects she has been experiencing from her chemo treatments. This is not the news we were ready for, we had really hoped that the chemo would have shrunk or stabilized the cancer.
We do know, that God is in control, and He already has His plans laid out for us. He is good, so good.
I am thankful this year for my mom and her amazing strength. We are all tired and overwhelmed, but her faith is unwavering. I could not ask for more from her.
Please be praying for my family as we soak in this new information and make the decisions we will soon be facing. Pray for strength, and wisdom.
Thank you all for all of you prayers and support. It means so much.
Katie

Weekend Away

We spent this last weekend in a beautiful condo in Breckenridge. My sister's in laws gave us all a weekend away. It was a good time of relaxing and enjoying each other. It was nice to leave all of the distractions of our lives behind for a few days. We shopped a little and saw the amazing sites around us. For the most part though we just played games and relaxed. It was really nice.
Mom did pretty well, although she hasn't been feeling great. Please continue to pray for her as she endures the chemo treatments and its side affects.

Katie