Rocky Noland

Today my baby had to be put to sleep. We were told he had bone cancer and wouldn't last much longer. This came on pretty quickly and my family is very sad right now.

I have put some pictures of him on here for you to look at. I love him so much and will miss him so much!!! I love you Rocky!

July 29, 2008

Today, Shirley got the results of her CT Scan. They were good. Tumors are still responding to treatment. And tumor markers are down to 83. So still headed in the right direction.

Thank You

I have noticed that we have gotten a few comments from some people from our past. I want you guys to know how much me and my family appreciate that. Knowing that people care that you do not have contact with anymore and haven't had contact with for so many years is awesome. Please keep in contact and feel free to leave more comments. Thank you for adding Shirley to your prayers. It really means so much. This was my whole purpose in starting this blog. The power of prayer!!!!!!!

Thank you everyone!!!!!

Teresa

Our Room and More Pictures

Here are some pictures of our room. And then a day of shopping. We were movie stars. (obviously)

More Pictures

Here are some more pictures. Also note, Kathy is standing in a large room. That would be our huge closet that turned out to be Teresa's bedroom. The first night we all slept in the beds. By the second night, Shirley's snoring had Kathy out on the pull out couch and Teresa stuck in a closet. Nice!!! One picture shows Mom, Kathy and Teresa getting a massage. The next one is Shirley being the dealer for Poker and Mom and Kathy look like they are getting a little tired. And of course, we had to take a picture of Shirley's date for the weekend.

We're Back!!!

Well, we had our trip to St. Louis. And it was a great time. We started out bright and early Friday morning about 6:00 A.M. Our train left at 7:30 and we made it to St. Louis I think around 2:00 P.M. Long, long ride. But very relaxing. Kathy and I enjoyed a few Bloody Mary's and Screwdrivers, which definitely helped.

During our stay, we checked out a new hotel/casino called the Lumiere. It was really nice. They took quite a bit of our money, but we still had a lot of fun. Played the slots machines and some blackjack. Saturday evening we ate at their buffet and they had crab legs, shrimp, steak, lots of dessert. The dinner was awesome, but the people at the table next to us were not. Very, very loud people.

That night we got back to our hotel room and I decided to teach the ladies how to play a little poker. We only played for the change in our purse, but let's just say that my purse is jingling with a lot more change than theirs are.

Overall, a great trip. Bonding with my mom and sisters was awesome. The trip was exhausting but in a good way. Yes, a lot of traveling and yes A LOT of walking. But soooo much fun.

We had delicious chinese food, delicious seafood, our breakfasts at the hotel were awesome. Sightseeing was fun. We tried to do the arch, but the line was so long it was impossible. Shirley got her hour long massage in the room. She said it was great.

I have attached some pictures...so enjoy!

Today, Shirley is having her CT Scan. And tomorrow we see the doctor and get some results. Are we nervous about the results....ALWAYS!!!! Do I have faith that everything will be o.k., I am trying. If everything does go o.k., Shirley will also have her chemotherapy treatment. So, I guess we all know what to pray for tonight.

More later....

Teresa

Our Daddy

Hey, I know this website is for our girl Shirley. But I just wanted to get the word out that I think my dad could use a few of our prayers too. His poor back causes him so much pain. And he has some tests coming up in the next week. So let's all add dad to the prayer list also.

We love you Dad!!!!

Teresa

Another Poem - Not written by Teresa

O.K. so this poem really hit home for me. It's kind of an angry poem, but I am sure whoever wrote it, felt a little angry. I'm sure Shirley has felt this way.


I'm trying to remember
The day before it came
A time when life was normal
The day before the "rain"

It's funny how a couple words
can change your world so quick
and EVERYONE'S around you
That day they said 'your sick'

Your sick?? but how?
You'll die?...Not now!
Your thin, your weak...
Too tired to speak?

Im trying to remember
one single day before
You laughed that day I SPOKE TO YOU!!!
but now you laugh no more

You joked and said
"Sweetie Im fine
You'll be stuck with me
for a very long time" LOL

that hurts,,, that too
don't touch me you
don't hug me tight
This is not alright

Im sick of trying to remember
the day, week, month before
the draining of your "YOU" began
When HELL came to our door

How DARE hell think we'll just lay down
and put you out to rest
we'll fight this fight when you cannot
we'll get you back "your best"!!

SO CANCER, HEAR ME LOUD AND CLEAR
SHE IS NOT YOURS TO TAKE
SO PACK YOUR TUMOURS, BUMPS AND CYSTS
THIS ONE YOU WILL NOT BREAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It's Only Tuesday

Well, of course when you want time to go by more quickly, it slows down to a crawl. I swear that yesterday and today have been the longest days of my life. Two days until our trip and I can't wait. I am so excited about spending 3 days this weekend with my mother and my sisters in St. Louis.

Shirley has been feeling pretty good these last couple of days. She finished up her chemo on Monday. So now she is done until next week. Her only complaint right now is being tired. From what I gather, she's not sleeping very well. Next Monday Shirley will go for her CT Scan. And then Tuesday she will see her doctor and start back up on chemo. Yuck. Oh Shirley did go do her bloodwork yesterday and she said that a nurse asked about Mom, Kathy and I. I think that means we have definitely made an impression. I don't know if that is good or bad. But they better get used to it, because we plan on being there for every appt. whether they like it or not. (unless they get a restraining order, you never know....it might happen).

I know how awful I feel after not sleeping good. I can't imagine having cancer, going through chemotherapy and on top of that, not getting a good night's sleep. So tonight, I will pray that Shirley will sleep good tonight. And wake up feeling wonderful tomorrow. And the one thing I can't say enough...I love you Shirley!!!!

No, I am not a Poet

O.K., I guess I should have clarified that I did not write that poem. I got it off a website that I get on regularly. Last night Kathy asked me if I wrote the poem and I am still laughing.

It did make me feel good when I read it though, so I decided to share.

Shirley will be having some girls over for Sammy's birthday tomorrow, so let's hope some of her energy has returned. She is going to need it. I will be having Mr. Alex over to spend the night tomorrow night. Yea!!!! We will be going to see Batman.

Have a great weekend everyone, be safe and happy!!! One week from today....ST. LOUIS!!!!

Love, Teresa

A Brand New Day

When you awaken in the morning

and see the brightness of the morning sun,

Lock the door on yesterday

and throw away the key.

For God has given you a brand new day.

Another day of love and laughter.

Seize each moment before it flies away,

For sweeter than the fragrant flower is each prescious golden hour.

Make today your best day,

The power is yours alone.

Make today the happiest and the best you've ever known.

Yesterday is gone, as in a dream,

Tomorrow is a vision still unseen.

Today is yours to live,

Its treasures you can use.

It can be your best day,

It's up to you to choose!

Wednesday

It's Wednesday. The day before Thursday. And that means now in our life it's the day before Shirley's chemo starts to affect her body. Fatigue will set in and all that crappy stuff. But today, she said she feels good. That makes me happy.

I really don't have a whole lot to say today. I just felt like writing. I got to have lunch with my little sister Kathy. It was a wonderful break in my day. She has no idea how much I needed that. Thank you Kathy:)

The countdown is on for our trip. When I talked to Shirley earlier today, I told her to finish up her chemo pills (xeloda) this week and let's be done with it. Move on to next week so we can have some fun in St. Louis. She is actually all for that because Shirley hates taking the chemo pills. They cause her the most side affects we think. But next week - NO CHEMO!!!!! Yea!

We will return Sunday evening the 27th from our trip and on Monday the 28th we will go with Shirley to have her CT scan done. I can't believe it's time already. But I guess it's good. To make sure this crap is still working. Oh, did I say crap. Sorry. On Tuesday, the 29th, we will see the Doctor and if he says it's working, we will proceed with chemo that day.

Shirley, you are always on my mind on Wednesday. I hate that you have to go through the next couple of days. I will think about you this afternoon and I will pray that your symptoms are minimal and you get the rest you need. Listen to your body and sleep.

Love....Teresa

Let's Try This One More Time

O.K. I'm a dummy. I told you all that when I started this blog. If you want to leave a comment, you do not have to do it under anonymous. You can actually click on the button that says name/URL. And just type in your name. Duh!!!! Sorry guys.

Comment Away!!!!!

Teresa:)

Funny People

Today was our chemo day. And I have to say, as much as chemo sucks, I laugh harder on those days than almost any other time. Today was slow. Shirley was supposed to have her bloodwork at 9:45 and they didn't see her until almost 11:00 I think. And we didn't finish up completely until around 1:30. Long day. But sitting there with Shirley, Kathy and mom actually can be fun. If you get a chance, ask my mother what a fat quarter is. It was something really to do with quilting, but it sure made us laugh. And then of course there is Kathy. She decided to blow up a rubber glove. We had fun with the rubber glove and at this minute, the rubber glove is still riding the elevator at the Cancer Center. I have no doubt, there may come a time that Kathy and I will no longer be allowed at her appts. either by Shirley or the Nurses there. But for now, we make them as fun as possible.

Shirley did really well at her appt. We spent some time planning our trip and we are all very excited. Less than two weeks!!!! Yea!!!!

My serious thought for the day is the fact that a lot of people get diagnosed with Cancer. Almost all cancers today have some sort of treatment and some even have cures. Unfortunately, Shirley was not diagnosed with any of those. She was diagnosed with one that they did not really even have a specific treatment for and was told there is no cure. No such thing as remission. This past weekend, Tony Snow died of Colon Cancer. I watched a previous interview with him and he talked about how he knew how bad his cancer was and how he was not given long to live. But he decided to fight as hard as he could because they just might come up with a cure in his lifetime. So that is how I am going to look at this. We are going to fight as hard as we can, because somebody might find a cure. NEVER GIVE UP!!!!!! And as hard as Shirley is fighting and as good as she is doing, it's hard not to believe in miracles.

So tonight I will go home and pray for a Cure or a Miracle!!!! Whatever God decides to give us first. I will take either one:) We all love you Shirley!

Very Tired

Shirley had Chemo on Tuesday this week so today is the day Shirley is very tired. Very fatigued. Very weak. And even with that, I just talked to her and she is still working from home. She said she slept quite a bit this morning. Which I am sure her body really, really needs.

Tomorrow some of us are going to see Beauty and the Beast at Theater in the Park. Hopefully, Shirley will have gotten some of her strength back and we can enjoy that. And then back to Chemo on Monday.

Update - we have finalized our plans for our St. Louis trip. Unfortunately, not all can go. It will be Mom, Shirley, Kathy and Teresa. We will be taking a trip to St. Louis on July 25th and returning on July 27th. We will stay at a very nice hotel called the Renaissance. We are going to make this as relaxing a trip as we can for Miss Shirley and I guess the rest of us too. Although I hear there is a casino very close by, it will be hard for us to resist that. I am really looking forward to some bonding time with my mom and sisters. It will be a lot of fun.

This weekend lets pray that Shirley will get her strength back to enjoy some of her weekend and prepare for her next round of chemo. I guess we know now how important it is that she stays strong for the chemo since it is doing such a good job!!! We love you Shirley.

Teresa

Comments

Hey everyone, I think I have fixed this site so that anyone can post. You do not need to register now. It took me awhile but I figured it out! Whew!!!! Anyway, you just write your comment and then at the bottom click on Anonymous and that way you do not have to register. Good luck everyone in computerworld!!!!

From Shirley's Work

The Embarq Team is thrilled with the "GOOD NEWS" that Shirley received on July 7th!!!! Here is a celebration photo of Shirley with her ice-cream cone & chocolate cheese cake!!! Way to go Girl!!!!!

Doctor & Chemo

Today was a busy day. We started off with Shirley doing her labwork. Then we went in to see the doctor. After his exam he let us know that Shirley's MRI does show she has cancer in the bone (her hip) which we already knew. She informed him that her pain has pretty much gone away this last week and is not bothering her. He said that if her pain was still there he would consider doing radiation. I guess this would help with the pain. But if he did that he would have to stop her chemotherapy. And we definitely do not want to do that. So we decided to just let that go and monitor it ourselves. By the time he was done, he decided to keep doing what we are doing and in 3 weeks he will do a CT scan to check her tumors.

After that, we went up to have her chemo treatment. At this time, they gave us her tumor markers. When we started this whole process back in April, Shirley's tumor markers were at 190 something. Today they were at 89. We were all very excited. This has to be good news.

What was shocking was that they informed us this was our 5th round of treatments. I am shocked - I had no idea it had already been 5 treatments.

Anyway, I have to say.... Shirley has some really good people in her corner. God must really like you guys. He is listening to our prayers and he is answering them. She is doing great. Her blood work looks good, she is in almost no pain, she handles her chemo like a pro, tumors are shrinking and her tumor markers are down.

Now, tonight in our prayers, we will thank God for the good news we got today and for Shirley fighting as hard as she is!!! I love you all!

Teresa

4th of July

Mom and Shirley Planning Ladies Trip :)

The 4th came and went and we all had a great time. The group included Dad, Mom, Great Grandma, Tom, Cindy, Brandon, Tim, Bea, Phillip and Cassie, Steve, Teresa, Kelsey, Nik, Jake, Shirley, Mike, Sam, Diane (Mike's mom) and Laurie (Mike's sister). Alex spent the day with his dad and Crystal and Matt spent the day with his family. The kids were shooting off fireworks during the day. We stopped for a while to celebrate Sam's 15th birthday. She got some great gifts and I am sure she had a great time. The kids then went swimming and Tommy grilled some burgers and hot dogs and brats that were absolutely delicious. Great cook!!!! We finished off with some night time fireworks. No injuries and it was a great show.

The next morning Mom, Cindy, Shirley, Sam and I were up bright and early and met for breakfast and then we went to the flea market in Leavenworth. We went to some other antique stores as well and had a fun morning.

This week brings us back to our normal routine. Back on Chemo Tuesday. Yuck. Shirley actually sees the doctor on this visit. That doesn't happen enough in my opinion. They like to schedule people to see the "Physicians Assistant". (Whatever) We should get the results of her MRI on her hip and we will get an update on her tumor markers. This will let us know if the chemo continues to work.

So please pray for Shirley's chemo to still be doing it's job and shrinking those tumors. And pray the hip pain she has been having is something other than cancer causing it.

Teresa

Shirley's Co-Workers

(Click on Picture to enlarge)

Hey, here is an awesome email I got from some people Shirley works with! Shirley, I want you to know how proud I am to have you as my sister and my best friend. Emails like this show what a wonderful person you are to everyone.

Shirley along with some Embarq teammates participated in a community services project for the Olathe Parks Department on Friday, 6/20. The team picked up trash on the east shore of the Olathe Lake including the walking trails and picnic areas. The project was truly a team effort in giving back to the community. The Olathe Park is now a cleaner place for many area residents to enjoy. Shirley is truly an amazing lady and an inspiration to us all!!!!!