Mattress Issues!!!

Written by Monica

Please pray for our bed issues to be solved!  First we were told that it would be delivered on Monday, then they call and say because of the holiday, it will come on Tuesday.  We called today, now they are telling us it is on back order!!!  The man who sold us the bed was supposed to call us and let us know the status of everything!  We are the ones calling him and he isn’t answering!  I am so frustrated!  I haven’t been sleeping well and want this bed so badly.  I slept part of the night on the couch last night because of pain!  I was in the mattress store trying to figure all of this out and I lay down on the bed we purchased and I could have lay there all day!  It was like a giant hug!  We are trying to find a store nearby that has it in stock, and then we’ll cancel the transaction with this other store!  

Anyway, pray that this all works out and that I am able to get some sound sleep.  

Monica

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February 17th, 10:00 am CBS

Written by Monica

In the beginning of January, Dexter Middle School Teachers attended a taping of “The Price is Right” and one of our own won big.  It is airing tomorrow, the 17th.  We should be on it a lot since she went so far and was so dramatic!  It’s going to be fun to watch!  🙂

In other news, I was able to attend church on Sunday for the first time in a month.  My energy was good, and it was nice to get dressed!  🙂  It wore me out, but it’s a start!  Today was a pretty rough day.  I have been trying to eat more and today I overdid it!  I ended up throwing up after a few hours of pain and then I felt better.  A few nights ago, Valentine’s Night, I ate too much chocolate covered fruit (So delicious) and paid for it for a few hours.  I need to be a little wiser about listening to my body.  The fevers continue (more so at night) and my voice is gone.  We were expecting our bed today and got a call saying because of the holiday, it won’t be delivered until tomorrow night.  I am so upset about that.  I have been dreaming about this bed – no seriously I have!

Well, I am going to go for now!  See you on “The Price is Right”!  🙂

Monica

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Happy Valentine’s Day!

Written by Monica

Today is Valentine’s Day, and I am feeling pretty well.  I am still very, very tired, but am not currently in any pain or coughing so much.  Fevers are still around, but I actually feel I may have enough strength to leave the house – maybe!  I can’t believe how much strength I’ve lost.  I have always been a very strong person, now I can’t even lift Kai onto my lap without great effort.  I need to start trying to gain that strength back, but all I want to do is lay in bed and rest. Pray for motivation, but that I don’t overdo it!  I tend to go too far!

On Thursday,  I had the most amazing dark chocolate covered strawberries!  It was better than taking any codeine, aleve, or other pain reliever!  It’s amazing what chocolate will do to a woman!  Anyway, I can’t wait to have more! (hint, hint)!  

I wish you all a very lovely Valentine’s Day full of the knowledge that you are a precious child of God who cherishes and loves you deeply!  

Much love and blessing to you all,

Monica

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I survived!

Written by Monica

So I went and had the shot.  It is A LOT like the Neulasta shots for white blood cells I had before. It’s a long stingy shot in the back of the arm.  They told me to expect some bone pain – which is the worst – but if it hurts, it’s working!  So far I haven’t had any bone pain, but I do have back pain that I believe is mostly muscular and nothing to do with the drugs and such.  

Please pray that there will be no coughing tonight, and Kai will have a peaceful sleep. 

I don’t think we mentioned this…we decided to get a new bed!!!  I am so excited.  It should be delivered either Saturday or Monday.  Since I’m spending so much time in bed, we decided to splurge and get the most comfortable bed we could find!  Now I’ll never leave it!  😉  

Thank you for your prayers and your encouragement as I faced something new today.  It is always scary!

Love,

Monica

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So Scared…

Written by Monica

I don’t know why, but this Procrit shot is scaring me a lot.  I guess because I don’t know what to expect, and even worse than the shot, I don’t know what side-effects to expect.  Someone told me last time, if it hurts in your bones, it’s working so rejoice. (That was for the white blood cell shot.  This is a red blood cell booster.)  Hmmm… interesting perspective.  I really do hope this give me more energy.  Right now, I am just sitting around the house all day napping on and off.  Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice, but I don’t even have the strength to DO anything else.  No matter how long I sleep, my eyes are always half shut.   

I’ll let you know how it goes.  Last night was attack of the killer cough about 1:30, and then dinosaurs in Kai’s bed around 5:00.  Sol isn’t getting any sleep, please pray for him.  Alright, time to go.

Monica

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Just an Update…

Written by Monica

To put it briefly, this has been a very emotionally difficult week.  When the doctor tells you that there is nothing he can do for the fever and cough you suffer from, it takes it’s toll – physically and emotionally.  It is the strangest thing, between the hours of 4-7 I get a fever of about 102.0.  Nothing seems to help, but we still take the tylenol.  The cough doubles me over in pain and my back and sides have had enough.  The appetite stimulator doesn’t seem to be doing anything – I’m still not eating much.  I’ll go 5 days constipated and then three days of diarrhea.  Each day has been a copy of the day before.  I take the Nexavar now at 8:00 am and as close to 8:00 pm as I can. 

It was good having Martha here for those few days.  She helped around the house a ton and was available for whatever I needed.  Thanks, Martha.  My parents are coming to visit on the 20th for a few days, and my sister (+baby) will come with them and leave a week later.  

The big news here is that Sol finally set up our 50″ plasma TV.  We’ve had it since December, but thought we’d be moving so never set it up.  For his birthday, Sol bought himself and X-Box 360, so he was motivated to set up the TV.

So I said this has been an emotionally difficult week.  I mean it.  It is so hard to fight each and every day.  One day, I just said to the Lord, “Heal me now, or take me quickly.  I can’t take this anymore.”  But then I begin praying for the strength He seems to think I have to fight this.  “He never gives us more than we can handle”.  Hey, Mom, remember when I’d punch Janelle for no reason and get in trouble for it? – Here’s that fighting spirit (ok, so it’s totally not the same)!  🙂  It was good having Martha here also because I wasn’t alone with my thoughts.  It’s so easy to think the worst especially if all you’re feeling is the worst.  Please pray for my thoughts and fighting spirit.  

It goes without saying that I married the best man alive.  Let me paint you just one small picture.  Last night when trying to lay down, I had so much pain it must have looked and sounded like I was possessed or something.  I threw my body in convulsions to the side trying to relieve the pain.  Sol, terrified for me, waited until I asked for his help.  Unfortunately, I’m a Lepper girl and we don’t ask for help easily, but I did.  The codine hadn’t kicked in yet, but I was trying to get to bed.  I was so humbled by his patience and gentle care.  He put his arms around my whole body and just said, “Relax, I’ve got you.”  I felt safe – still in pain but not as scared of it.  My body was crooked, and he wouldn’t let me move a muscle.  “Let me do it,” he said.  So I let him and he did.  He gently lifted my hips and with no additional pain he moved my body.  In that small moment, the love of my husband wrapped all around me, and I felt peace.  The codine started kicking in, and I knocked out.  He feels really terrible that I’m feeling this way, but he feels good being able to do something to help this once Lepper girl. The love of my life!

Oh last thing…I have a CT scan scheduled for March 2nd at 9:00 am.  I’m going to try to change the time to a little later so that I can keep the Nexavar on schedule.

Thank you for the encouragement posts and comments, I read them all.  They inspire me and bring my heart joy and tears to my eyes.  I miss so many of you and wish you could all be closer.  

Love,

Monica

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Dr Appointment Results

Written by Monica

I was a bit frustrated by the doctor’s appointment this morning.  I was told that there was really nothing that they could do to help with the fevers and cough.  I just have to manage and fight.  He said that the cough could be irritation from the tumors making me cough – not too much I can do about that, eh?  I don’t have any fluid in my lungs, so that is good, but this cough is keeping us up at night and wearing me down, down, down.

My blood tests showed that I am a little anemic, so I will be having shots to boost my red blood cells weekly beginning next week.  Hopefully it will give me more energy.  I’ve never had one of these shots, so I am a little afraid.  I’m set to have them for five weeks and then check it again.  Before the five weeks is up, I’ll also be having a CT scan.  It is not set up yet, but will be soon – I’ll let you know!

I also have not had much of an appetite – lost 7 pounds – so the doctor prescribed Megestrol Acetate to stimulate my appetite.  I hope that by eating more, I’ll have more energy.  It is supposed to be Lemon-Lime flavor, so hopefully it’ll go down smoothly.  We’ll find out tomorrow!

Please pray for rest and sleep.  Sol and I both need sleep.  Kai is doing awesome!  He continues to go in the potty and sleep through the night!  Martha (Sol’s step-mom) is coming tomorrow.  She said she woke up this morning and just needed to be here.  So here she comes.

I’m praying I wake up tomorrow with NO cough!!!  It can happen!

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Doctor Tomorrow…

Written by Monica

Well tomorrow is the first appointment I’ll have with my doctor since beginning Nexavar.  We have talked to him and his nurse practioner on the phone often, but I am anxious to see him and tell him everything that has been going on.  It’s times like these that I wish I were better at writing things down when they happen.  I’ve been having a fever every night around 5 or 6 o’clock still, and it just wipes me out.  I have a cough that doesn’t stop, and it wipes me out.  I don’t know if either of these effects are related to Nexavar at all.  I am hoping to get some huge antibiotic shot in my butt and have this all over with!  I’ll take that over these past three weeks of suffering any day!  

Hopefully tomorrow we’ll set up a CT scan for the following week to see what’s been going on behind the scenes in my body!  I want to know if this is working.  I don’t know if it’s too soon to tell, but I’d like to know.  I might have to wait another month.  

Some exciting news is that Kai went to school today in the same chonies he came home in!  🙂  No accidents today!  That’s 2 days so far!  He likes being like Dadoo – wearing chonies, standing up, keeping his chonies dry and going big poop on the potty!  He’s doing great; let’s hope it continues!  

He continues to be so full of imagination.  Yesterday all of us were characters from “Little Einsteins” all day long!  He would call us by those names, and we would go on missions.  It was so cute!  He had a pretend “batime” (baton) that he would conduct with.  So adorable.

Thank you for your prayers as I go to the doctor tomorrow.  Pray that they’ll find a solution to these bothersome effects I’ve been having (even if it’s some HUGE shot).  I am done being this sick.  Many people have been telling me that since I tolerated the other chemos well, and they didn’t work;  maybe the fact that I’m getting really sick means it’s finally working on me.  Here’s hoping in that miracle and the One who holds the miracle in His hands!  

Much Love to you all,

Monica

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Really Need Prayer!

Written by Monica

I really need your prayer.  I have been feeling really down the past few days as I fight a cough that deprives me (and Sol) of sleep.  I have not had any energy, and it is really starting to bring me down.  I have been fighting one thing or another – maybe not even related to my cancer – everyday for the past three weeks.  I have seen God take away pain in miraculous ways but struggle as the battle to just feel better continues on a daily basis!  I am not eating much – Kai eats more than me these days.  I just don’t have an appetite, and so I don’t have any energy.  I don’t have the strength to pick up Kai or the energy to play with him and that breaks my heart!  I want to be a great mom to him, but find myself falling short (of my own expectations) as all I want to do is curl up in bed.  He is so great and cuddles with me.  Sol always asks me, “You ok, Love?” Kai picked up on it and the other day put his hand on my knee and asked, “You ok, Love?”  It was so sweet.  The other really sweet thing he did was go to the store with Sol to get me some Tylenol.  When they got home, he ran through the door so excited.  He couldn’t even spit out the words…”Mom, Mom.  I found you some medicine it’s gonna make you all better.”  He was all smiles!  I want to be all better so badly, if for nothing else, for that precious little child!  Sol, as you all know, is just an amazing blessing in my life.  He has really been taking care of me these past few weeks and doing everything to take care of Kai.  I’m glad he feels good taking care of me, but I feel so guilty – I know I shouldn’t, but I do.  

Anyway, I just wanted to share with you the tough time I am finding myself in right now and ask for your prayers.  I just want all this other stuff to be over and have the energy to fight this beast.  Thank you for continuing to pray for me and encourage me as I walk the road ahead.  

Monica

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A Miracle!

Written by Monica

This morning, after two weeks of excruciating pain, I rolled over…no pain!  I sat up…no pain!  I stood up…no pain!  I was in shock!  The pain had been so incapacitating, that for it to be gone overnight is nothing short of a miracle.  Thank you to all of you who were on your knees praying for me.  Today has truly been a miraculous day!  

I do have another prayer request though.  Ever since beginning to take Nexavar, I have had a fever between 102 and 103.6 degrees for a few hours each day.  The doctor said not to worry too much about it because I don’t have any other symptoms, and that my body is probably just trying to get used to the medication.  He said take Tylenol and keep and eye on it.  Today was the longest and highest fever I’ve had.  Maybe because I haven’t been taking the Tylenol with Codine – I don’t know just a thought.

Kai has become a pro-tricycle rider!  He’s going places!  Seriously though, he’s really fast!  He loves to ride his bike everywhere!  It’s a great way to get out some of his boyish energy!  🙂  

I am beginning to feel the familiar effects of the chemo – dry mouth, voice changes, and chemo belly.  Yuck!  I am hoping to figure out what this medicine does to me, so that I can learn to deal with it.

Thanks so much for your prayers!

Love,

Monica

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