After last weeks trip to the hospital (for Cody's planned chemo), we are feeling extremely blessed, once again, with how well everything is going. Every time we spend time at the hospital, we are reminded how faithful God has been to us through this process.
Cody has been truly amazing through of all this.We are awed by his patience, courage and wisdom. It is a gift to see him grow through this. We thank you once again for your faithful prayers.
We are well into our next phase. Aside from loosing weight and hair, Cody is doing amazingly well. His appetite is so-so, but improving. His tummy hurts, particularly in the evening, it seems. After next week, he gets 3 weeks off from chemo so he should be able to put on some weight and his tummy should feel better.
On our last hospital visit (last week), we ran into a mom and her daughter. Seeing them at the hospital again, was not a good thing....only because that meant there was a problem. The daughter has leukemia and the last time we saw them, they were ecstatic because their treatment was over and they were going home. No words had to be spoken to see the pain and disappointment in the mothers eyes. We spoke briefly. The mom was so brave on the outside, but her heart was breaking for her daughter on the inside. It took everything Dave and I had to stay composed in this brief meeting..... it wasn't long after they left that we lost it. Dave and I sat in the reception area, looked at one another with tears streaming down our cheeks.
In this same visit, we ran into the 4 1/2 year old boy just 2 weeks behind Cody with the exact same cancer, surgery etc. This boy rehabbed for weeks after surgery to regain his balance, speech and sight. He is following the same treatment plan as Cody. While we were there, this boy had to have a 2nd surgery to release pressure on his brain because radiation caused the vein that carries brain fluid to the spine to pinch. Surgery was required to detour the vein AKA a shunt. He is now doing very well. So, needless to say, this has been and continues to be an incredible journey that words cannot fully describe.
Families get to know one another through their children's disease, prognosis, surgeries, treatments etc. We continually run into each other at the clinic and the hospital. We get to know each others heartaches and victories in a way that only someone going through this challenge personally can fully grasp. We walk in the deepest valleys and stand on the highest mountains in a matter of moments and are grateful to know and feel the difference.
With Gratitude,
Dallas, Dave and Cody
Friday, February 24, 2006
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
MRI results are NEGATIVE
Dear Family and Friends:
Just a quick note: we are on the way to the hospital for Cody's next round of treatment. The MRI results are NEGATIVE for both his spine and brain!! God is good. Will be able to talk to the doctor in detail today. Will keep you posted.
We had a great family weekend in the desert, adventures galore and memories to be matched only by future trips together.
Thank you for your faithful and continued prayers!
Dave, Dallas and Cody
Just a quick note: we are on the way to the hospital for Cody's next round of treatment. The MRI results are NEGATIVE for both his spine and brain!! God is good. Will be able to talk to the doctor in detail today. Will keep you posted.
We had a great family weekend in the desert, adventures galore and memories to be matched only by future trips together.
Thank you for your faithful and continued prayers!
Dave, Dallas and Cody
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
How You can Help.....
Dear Family and Friends:
Thank you once again for your prayers and support. They are felt, needed and appreciated. We feel loved, honored and humbled.
A quick update on the last couple of weeks. Dave has passed his medical crisis, I am standing strong (with some weak moments) and Cody is doing well. As you may know, we have had a couple of weeks off from the chemo torture. It has been so nice to see Cody gain some weight, get some of his appetite back and his spunky attitude and wit. As each day passes we can see an improvement with his energy level and over all health. He still has some days where he is just plain fatigued and his stomach hurts. But there are now more good days than not, so we are grateful for that.
In this time off we have taken full advantage of catching up. We have gone to the beach to fly a kite, have gone bike riding 3 times, gone for a hike on aunt Kim's birthday, shot some arrows (archery) with Uncle Jeff and cousin Jessica, visited grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles (and a brand new cousin), gone to the fun zone, played with friends, went bowling a couple of times, saw a couple of movies and even got some schoolwork done! All, of course, when the masses are not around and when Cody has the energy.
We have plans this weekend to go to the desert for more R&R&fun before the next round of chemo starts. This time spent together has been precious. Times like these really make you aware of how precious time really is and how short life on this earth is, in the scheme of things.
This week we have testing to do. Tuesday 2/7 we have speech, hearing and eye exams. We also have follow up with radiation. Wednesday 2/8, we have a GFR scan, Thursday 2/9 the biggy, an MRI to see how effective radiation was. We would appreciate your prayers that all is CLEAN and radiation made all of the cancer bad guys go away, forever.
Our next phase of chemo starts 2/14/06. We have six weeks, six weeks, four weeks X 3. (This puts us at about 1/15/07 to be done if we don't have any delays) Each of the 6 weeks he gets an 8 hour IV drip of cisplatin on the first day (requiring a night stay at the hospital) and an IV push of vincristine once a week for the first 3 weeks of the six weeks.
Each of the four weeks, he gets cyclophasphamide 1 hour drip per day for 2 days, (all these big fancy names and they don't even come up on spell check! They should call it what it is...poison 1,2,3 and 4) :) vincristine push once a week for 2 weeks, then a MESNA IV push twice a day for the first 2 days. (requiring 2 - 3 days in the hospital) The big fight is on 2/14 and we are up for it as we find strength in our Lord, God. He has been with us all the way.
Many of you have asked how you can help. There is now a way.... our church can take donations earmarked for Cody's medical. Every little bit helps as the costs are out of sight and we are not in a financial position to handle what the insurance company doesn't cover. If you are so inclined, donations can be made out to: Calvary Evangelical Free Church, 468 Legion St., Laguna Beach, CA. 92651 (for Cody medical).
Thank you for your continued prayers. Again we ask that you specifically pray 2/9 for no sign of cancer tumors or cells on the MRI and blood results...and while we hunker down for this next year that God continue to give us strength, peace, health and wisdom.
With Much Gratitude,
Dallas, Dave and Cody
Thank you once again for your prayers and support. They are felt, needed and appreciated. We feel loved, honored and humbled.
A quick update on the last couple of weeks. Dave has passed his medical crisis, I am standing strong (with some weak moments) and Cody is doing well. As you may know, we have had a couple of weeks off from the chemo torture. It has been so nice to see Cody gain some weight, get some of his appetite back and his spunky attitude and wit. As each day passes we can see an improvement with his energy level and over all health. He still has some days where he is just plain fatigued and his stomach hurts. But there are now more good days than not, so we are grateful for that.
In this time off we have taken full advantage of catching up. We have gone to the beach to fly a kite, have gone bike riding 3 times, gone for a hike on aunt Kim's birthday, shot some arrows (archery) with Uncle Jeff and cousin Jessica, visited grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles (and a brand new cousin), gone to the fun zone, played with friends, went bowling a couple of times, saw a couple of movies and even got some schoolwork done! All, of course, when the masses are not around and when Cody has the energy.
We have plans this weekend to go to the desert for more R&R&fun before the next round of chemo starts. This time spent together has been precious. Times like these really make you aware of how precious time really is and how short life on this earth is, in the scheme of things.
This week we have testing to do. Tuesday 2/7 we have speech, hearing and eye exams. We also have follow up with radiation. Wednesday 2/8, we have a GFR scan, Thursday 2/9 the biggy, an MRI to see how effective radiation was. We would appreciate your prayers that all is CLEAN and radiation made all of the cancer bad guys go away, forever.
Our next phase of chemo starts 2/14/06. We have six weeks, six weeks, four weeks X 3. (This puts us at about 1/15/07 to be done if we don't have any delays) Each of the 6 weeks he gets an 8 hour IV drip of cisplatin on the first day (requiring a night stay at the hospital) and an IV push of vincristine once a week for the first 3 weeks of the six weeks.
Each of the four weeks, he gets cyclophasphamide 1 hour drip per day for 2 days, (all these big fancy names and they don't even come up on spell check! They should call it what it is...poison 1,2,3 and 4) :) vincristine push once a week for 2 weeks, then a MESNA IV push twice a day for the first 2 days. (requiring 2 - 3 days in the hospital) The big fight is on 2/14 and we are up for it as we find strength in our Lord, God. He has been with us all the way.
Many of you have asked how you can help. There is now a way.... our church can take donations earmarked for Cody's medical. Every little bit helps as the costs are out of sight and we are not in a financial position to handle what the insurance company doesn't cover. If you are so inclined, donations can be made out to: Calvary Evangelical Free Church, 468 Legion St., Laguna Beach, CA. 92651 (for Cody medical).
Thank you for your continued prayers. Again we ask that you specifically pray 2/9 for no sign of cancer tumors or cells on the MRI and blood results...and while we hunker down for this next year that God continue to give us strength, peace, health and wisdom.
With Much Gratitude,
Dallas, Dave and Cody
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