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Well, we had answered prayer today, I actually received my chemo!  I am still sick, but don’t have a fever or chills, so they were able to give me chemo.  My temperature was actually only 96.6 degrees!  I was praying for no fever, so the fact that it was that low was so great!  I did only have Taxol this week and am feeling pretty good.  I don’t know if last week was a combination of coming down with something plus chemo, but I felt awful!

Tomorrow is the big game.  We are still planning on going to the UCLA v Fresno State game!  A bit of sad news is that my in-laws did not come down after all.  My father-in-law fell off a ladder and was in the ER yesterday for the pain.  He wouldn’t be able to make the trip and while he were here, would just be miserable.  Please pray for his healing.  He’s been having a pretty tough time.

Pray for little Kai.  He’s been getting “Big Time Outs” at school – going to the office.  Going to daycare in the morning has been quite the emotional time.  They say he’s been fighting more and getting very emotional about everything – even things that don’t happen to him.  We think he’s growing (he’s eating a ton!) and could be having some hormone issues related to that, but we really have no idea.  A good thing he’s been using the potty more regularly, but still needs his diapers.  He’s 27 months old, and this could be the beginning of the terrible twos, but we really don’t know.

Anyway, I am hoping to have such a wonderful day tomorrow!  We have a sitter from 8-5!  (Thank you, Shelley!)  I am tired of missing out on things because I don’t feel well.  I need some fun!  😉

Good Night Everyone!

Monica

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Numero Uno…we didn’t get the house.  We are ok with that because we were praying that if it was meant to be then we’d get it and if not, then we wouldn’t.  We have peace about it.  They are keeping our offer as a back-up offer, but we’ll continue to look at houses for now.

Numero Dos…I have some sort of sinus thing.  Tuesday I woke up with no voice which made teaching interesting, and my nose has been dripping constantly.  I walk around my classroom with my box of Puffs under my arm.  My kids have been great, but I need to be well for chemo on Friday.  They drew blood today, so hopefully my white count is ok and I get better by Friday.

Numero Tres…Sol and I aren’t sleeping very well.  Neither of us has had a good night’s sleep in over a week.  It is very frustrating as we are both so exhausted.  The praise is that Kai is sleeping beautifully! 🙂

Prayer Requests:

1. We have plans this weekend to go to the UCLA v. Fresno State football game at the Rose Bowl.  Please pray that I feel well enough to go and that if I don’t, I’ll be smart enough to stay home!  I tend to overdo it at times!

2. Chemo is on Friday, and I need to be healthy before they hit my immune system again!

3. Sleep for the weary.  Sol and I both need to get some sleep soon.

Well, that’s the short of it all.  I am heading off to bed right now, hoping/wishing for a full night’s rest!  Talk to you all later!

Thanks for everything!

Love,

Monica

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Well, yesterday I had a doctor’s appointment.  When we showed up, we found out that the doctor had been called in for jury duty, and we would see the nurse practicioner.  He was the one who I talked with on Tuesday.  So I didn’t find out much more information.  I know that I am going to have two more cycles (8 weeks) of chemo and then another CT scan.  I guess I’d better write that letter to the hospital soon, so that I can use my port on the next scan.

Chemo followed the appointment, and it went well.  I was the only one there with my friend Keri.  We watched a movie that ended right as chemo was ending.  This morning, though, I woke up with more nausea than I’ve had in a while.  It seems to be lingering even after taking the pills.  Sol is going to be bringing me some fizzy clear drink!   Hopefully that will help.

Anyway, besides that, not too much to report from here.  We haven’t heard anything about the house yet, but we hope to hear something by Tuesday, but we’ve heard that before.  Oh well, in God’s timing.  🙂  Tomorrow we are going to be going to the Hollywood Bowl, so that will be fun!

Enjoy your weekend,

Monica

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It’s good news! The results of the scan showed that the tumors have shrunk to half of their size two months ago! It was good to hear such great news.

Part of me wants to jump around and celebrate, but part of me is hesitant to hope. Last December, I was told that the original tumor had shrunk to half it’s size, but when they took it out in March, they didn’t find evidence that 6 months of chemo had killed anything. The explanation was that the original loss of size was probably only blood volume. So I am hesitant to believe that the tumors are really shrinking this time. One major difference that I keep needing to remind myself of is that this is a different chemo! It is designed to target angiosarcoma and has so far shown it’s effectiveness! The tumors have shrunk! I will continue to remain positive and pray because those are my biggest weapons in this battle!

I will be continuing with the chemo schedule – 3 weeks on 1 week off beginning again this Friday. I also have a doctor’s appointment this Friday and will hopefully find out how long I’ll be continuing this chemo schedule and when the next scan will be.

Thank you so much for the heartfelt prayers and your continued love and support. The news is wonderful, and I need to have faith and hope that the Lord is working whether it be through chemo or His healing hand

Love,

Monica

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Please pray for us as we are struggling with our health today.  The three of us have some sort of fluish type thing.  Kai had it on Saturday, but we thought it was just a Milk allergy.  Then last night, Sol was up and down who knows how many times.  This morning I woke up and was hit with the bug.  I really am praying that the 15 or so people who were over last night do not get it!  I had to go into work because I did not have any sub plans written for today, but then I came home and slept for a couple of hours, then went back to work in the afternoon to model a lesson in a classroom, then home for a couple more hours in bed before picking up Kai at daycare.  He seems to be over it, but Sol and I are still having a hard time.  Sol stayed home from work today and worked on stuff from here.

Pray that everyone gets better before my scheduled chemo this Friday.  They will be drawing blood on Wednesday afternoon, and I CAN’T be sick!  I will be calling the doctor’s office tomorrow (Tuesday) to find out the results of the CT scan.  Then on Friday, I have an appointment at 11:15 and Chemo at 1:45 pending a good outcome on the CT scan.

Thank you so much for all the encouragement I received and prayers written to us about tomorrow’s results.  I think since we didn’t get too much sleep last night, I should have no problem sleeping tonight.  Hopefully it’s not my turn to get up and down all night!

Love,
Monica

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Today was my CT scan, and it didn’t go as planned.  I chose to have a PowerPort put in because it can handle the CT contrast injection.  It was supposed to make my life easier.  I wouldn’t have to be poked by anymore needles!  I called ahead to make sure that there would be someone who could access the PowerPort. 

So here’s the story:  I drank all that nasty Barium stuff this afternoon and headed down to the hospital.  I get there, drink more of that stuff, and they tell me the nurse is on her way down to access the port.  The nurse gets there and tells the radiologist that she isn’t allowed to do it at this hospital.  She knows how to do it, they have the needles they need, but the hospital hasn’t set the protocol for doing it.  Can you believe that?  When they told me this, I started crying.  I was so frustrated – they would have to poke my arm.  I said that I guess it would have to happen, but that I didn’t want it in my hand.  The last time I had a CT scan, the IV was in my hand, and it hurt so badly!  The radiologist was actually very understanding and apologetic, but the situation was just so frustrating!  There was nothing I could do except lay there and get it done! 

I will be writing a letter to Presbyterian Hospital encouraging them to speed up the protocol process.  This is not the first time that “protocol” has been the enemy to getting what I need/want at this hospital.  The radiologist told me that this protocol has been in the works for over 6 months!  That is way too long!  This is something that patients want and need!

So, it’s done and now we wait and pray for the results.  Hopefully they’ll be ready on Tuesday.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Monica

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Since school has started, life here has been crazy!  I find myself stretched in all different directions.  I apologize for not updating sooner.  Usually that means I’m out and about and feeling ok! 😉

Thank you for praying for my students.  So far, they are wonderful!  I have enjoyed getting to know them and being back in the classroom.  Being out of the classroom for a year, it has been hard getting back in the groove of teaching.  The piles of papers are beginning to pile up around my classroom as I try to figure out how to balance two jobs at the school.  I am teaching three periods, and I have three periods of literacy coaching.  So far the second half of my job has been distributing supplies and trying to find things that seems to be missing.  Amazingly, it has really kept me busy!  Soon I will be going into classrooms and helping teachers with Language Arts needs!  It will be both fun and challenging.

Last Friday, I had chemo, and it seems to have gone very well.  I didn’t have many side-effects, mainly just fatigue.  As I was having chemo, I signed papers on an offer on a house.  It was really kind of exciting, but I’ll tell you more about that later.  At the end of chemo, my parents, sister and niece, Athailia, came through the door.  They were here all weekend.  Sol and I had already planned to go to the Hollywood Bowl on Saturday and happened to have 2 extra tickets, so my parents were able to go with us while my sister, cousin, Rachyl, and her boyfriend, Jonathan watched Kai.  It was a fun evening of music from the L.A. Philharmonic, a fireworks show, and two crazy bus rides!  🙂  It was really nice to have my family here, even though I wasn’t feeling my best.  Althailia has changed so much in 2 months, and Kai loved having her here.  🙂 

About the house, we made an offer and are waiting to hear from the bank.  It is a short-sale, and we’ve always heard that those take a while, but this seems to be moving pretty fast.  Our agent said that we should hear by the end of the week whether or not the bank accepted our offer or will be countering.  It is exciting to think that we could be in a home by the holidays!   🙂 

This Friday is my CT scan to see if the chemo has been working.  When this all started again in July, this CT scan is as far as the doctor told me the plan.  He said 8 weeks of chemo and then a CT scan to check the tumors.  I don’t know exactly what the next steps are, but I think that if chemo appears to be working, then we’ll continue with this chemo, and if it doesn’t, then we’ll try something else.  I am really praying that the scans come back clean, and they find no trace of cancer in any of my organs!  I believe God performs miracles, and he is in control of everything.  He is the great physician and can heal me if He chooses to do so!  I am living my life one day at a time and doing what I can to live with no regrets, because none of us is promised tomorrow. 

Thank you for your support and you prayers.  Here are a few specifics:

Pray for the CT scan on Friday at 4:00.  I am very anxious about it and will have to wait until Tuesday for the results.

Please pray for Kai and for us.  He has been acting out aggressively recently at school and home.  He was sent to the office two days in a row now for biting.  Yesterday he bit a friend, and today he bit himself! 

Pray for me in terms of balancing my life – the two parts of my job, my family, Bible study, chemo and doctor’s appointments.  It is all feeling overwhelming! 

Pray for our house hunting, that we would be guided to the right house and that the offer would go through only if it’s right for our family.

Finally, our renters in Fresno just gave their 30-day notice.  Please pray that we will be able to find renters by October.  We already have a few leads and are hoping that one of them works out!

Thank you and I’m so sorry it took me so long to update! 

Love,

Monica

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Well, it is time for me to go to bed, but I just wanted to let you all know that tomorrow is the first day of school for us here in Whittier.  I am nervous, as usual, but I will get over it once the routine begins.  I feel less prepared being out of the classroom for a year but am excited about being around the kids.

Please pray for me as kids come that they will be understanding and compassionate.  Pray that I would not get sick from them and that we would have a great year together.

On Thursday morning, I have my blood drawn.  Then on Friday, I have chemo.  Please pray for no side-effects.  I will be having the 2 drugs this time and then next Friday a CT scan to see if they are working.  If it’s working, I’ll continue with the current set-up; if it’s not working, they’ll try something else.  So either way, chemo continues.  I don’t know for how long and what the next step might be.  I really don’t think I want to know that far ahead.  I just want to live right now one day at a time.

Some fun news…My parents, sister (Janelle) and baby Athailia are coming on Friday to hang out for the weekend.  Sol and I are taking my parents to the Hollywood Bowl for a fireworks extravaganza on Saturday night!  It will be the first time there for most of us!  I can’t wait.  I just hope I feel good enough to go!  Janelle will stay home and hang out with my cousin, Rachyl, and her boyfriend, Jonathan, as they watch Kai!  Thanks guys!  You’re the best.  It will be a fun time.  Then on Sunday we are all going to go see my grandma in Santa Ana.  She’ll get to see the baby!  🙂

A few last prayer requests…Kai’s little friend Madison is having some problems with her white blood count and her kidney levels are off.  They don’t know what’s wrong and might have to test her bone marrow.  My friend, Sheri, who is walking in the Susan G. Komen walk, is having some serious knee pain and is really bummed about maybe having to miss the walk.  My cousin, Heather, is in Costa Rica at language school.  When she is done she’ll be heading to the Dominican Republic for 2 years!

Thanks for all your prayers.  I am headed off to bed for a good night’s sleep before starting the new school-year!

Love,

Monica

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