Happy Birthday Aunt Mavis

I am not a huge fan of Halloween. Actually I dislike it a lot. It just gets in the way of the real holidays. So instead of saying Happy Halloween, I will say happy birthday to one of the most wonderful women who ever lived on this Earth. I do know that's where my mother must have gotten so many of her wonderful qualities from. She was a lovely lady. I love you Aunt Mavis and miss you more than I could ever type on this blog!!!!

Have a happy and safe weekend.

Teresa

This is how I feel today!!!!

Psalm 37 - titled "Place All Your Trust in God"

Place all your trust in God, and do not be dismayed,
God hears your sighs and counts your tears,
O do not be afraid!
Through waves and clouds and storms, God gently clears the way;
Wait patiently, for soon the night shall end in joyous day.

Place all you hope in God, and pray to persevere,
For justice dawns and light dispels the night that causes fear.
God hears us in our need, and makes our troubles cease,
O trust in God’s almighty word, and know God’s gentle peace.

Shirley is Tired.....

of being tired. And I don't blame her. 7 months of chemo has really taken its toll on Shirley. She sleeps a lot and it seems like it's never enough. And I know when she is sleeping she feels like she is missing out on a lot. We try to tell her that this is her body telling her it needs sleep to help her body get better but I don't think that helps anymore. Unfortunately with cancer, not every day is a good day. As a matter of fact, there are fewer good days all the time. For all of us. It's a very depressing disease and it's hard to fight every day to keep the bad stuff out of your head. We all work at it, but it doesn't always happen. Last night wasn't a big fun, laughing time in Chemo World. It was a sad and crying time. But you know what, that's o.k. We have done really well for a really long time now, and it was time to cry. So we did. Because the fact is... THIS SUCKS. It sucks for Shirley and it sucks for all of us. Will Shirley ever get to stop chemo? They tell us no. Will she ever feel better? They tell us no. And that makes me very angry and very sad. At least today it does. I have faith that she will stop chemo and she will feel better and I promise I will work at being happy again tomorrow and more positive. But today it's just not there. I love Shirley and I want her to be able to be her silly, giggly, goofy self again. And that is really for my own selfish reasons. I don't want Shirley to have to worry and be stressed every minute of her life now. March 11th was the worst day of my life and 7 1/2 months of this crap has taken its toll on all of us.

Shirley has the week off next week, just lab work. And then she has a CT Scan on the 10th and she sees her doctor for those results on the 11th. Please pray for Shirley and pray for our family.

I promise, better post next time!!!!

Teresa

Good Morning!!!

Good Morning everyone. It's a Monday after a busy weekend again. Busy but good. Saturday evening I spent with Shirley and Mike going to a Halloween party that was given by one of Shirley's friends. I was actually too tired to go because I spent the day going to my first Jayhawks football game and got to watch them lose. That sucked, but it was a beautiful day and win or lose...it was awesome being there. And after talking to Shirley, I realized that I was going to the party whether I wanted to or not. And of course that was the right decision. We had a wonderful time sitting by a bonfire talking all evening. And the kids got to play and participate in a haunted house. They had so much fun and Shirley and I agreed, that once again, it's very important that they spend this time together. Regardless if we want to go, it's important we do this for them. And it was definitely worth it. I should always listen to my older sister!!! She's so smart.

Fall has definitely arrived and the holidays are right around the corner. I am very excited for that. Shirley has chemo this afternoon, so I am looking forward to seeing the ladies.

Have a great day!

She did it....

We aren't sure what she did, but she did it. The platelets sky rocketed. We couldn't figure out if it was the crab legs, melted butter or the margaritas. Whatever it was, it worked. And she got the chemo. It went very smooth and we were in and out in no time. And then I got them all to give in and eat Chinese food. Yea!!!! For those who don't know, I need Chinese food like 65 times a week. Hi, My Name Is Teresa and I am Addicted To Chinese Food.

The food was not nearly as good as the company. We sat there and talked and laughed for a good hour and a half and then it was time to go back home. I found it so funny that when we got ready to leave, we all hugged each other so tight - and to any stranger it would have looked as if we had not seen each other for so long and would not see each other probably for a very long time. And really, it's just four people who love each other very much and hate to leave each other's company no matter how long it has been or will be.

Every one have a great week and if I haven't said it enough, please know we appreciate your thoughts and especially your prayers for our family right now.

Love,

Teresa

Spam

Sorry guys, if you see deleted comments it's because we get spammed sometimes. So I have to shut the website down for a bit and delete these stupid comments. So just an explanation of the deleted comments. I don't want people to think I pick and choose good comments or bad comments. I could...but I don't. I should....but I won't. I'm kidding...comment away!!!!

Teresa

High Platelets...

Hey, today Shirley has her regular treatment appt. but as of last Thursday the platelets were looking kind of low. If they got much lower they would not do treatment today. So Shirley will have her blood work at 3:00 and we will know then if she can have her treatment. I have prayed super hard all weekend, and I know everyone else has too. I believe that if she is meant to have chemo, then God will make sure she has it. But he may also decide that Shirley needs a break. Either way, we will move forward and accept whatever decision is made.

We did have dinner at Red Lobster on Saturday night. We had a nice big fun group. I hope mom had a great time because we did.

I will update later or tomorrow on the results of Shirley's visit today. I really hate saying this...but pray for Chemo.

Quick Update

56....Good news!!! That is Shirley's tumor markers down from 73. Yea!!!!! We found that out today. We did find out yesterday that Shirley's platelets are low and if they drop much lower she will not be able to receive chemotherapy Monday. There isn't really much she can do to get this number up it's just a normal thing that the chemo does to your blood.

I am sure by Monday she will be fine...I think if she eats enough lobster and crab legs at Red Lobster Saturday night, that will help.

Have a great weekend!!!!

Love,

Teresa

Doctor's Appointment

Today Shirley has her doctor's appt. at 3:00. It's just her regular appointment so not expecting any surprises. We should get her new tumor markers and I think we are all a little curious to see what they show. They have been kind of going up and down a little. Sometimes when we go this late in the afternoon, the results are not ready, so we may have to wait around for them or wait until tomorrow. Hopefully, it will be today. Please pray that we get good results today. Between CT scans it's the only test we have to go by to see if this treatment is doing what it is supposed to. And that is to get rid of those awful tumors in my sister's body.

We are also on the countdown for somebody's birthday!!!! Mom!!!! Her birthday is Sunday and we are all planning on dinner out Saturday night at Red Lobster. Can't wait. I'm sure she can't either. With all the stress she is under, she deserves a night out all in her honor. We love her and could not do any of this without her. She is so strong...sometimes I wonder why I didn't get any of that.

I hope everyone has a beautiful day!!!!

Teresa

We Don't Like Men!!!!

Well Saturday night was the big card playing night. We have not all gotten together for so long. And it was a great group....it was Dad, Mom, Shirley, Mike, Tom, Cindy, Kathy, Mark, Timmy, Steve and I. And of course the kiddos. And it was a great time...until the women lost the card game. That was not fun...and in the words of Forrest Gump..."That's all I have to say about that".

The kids spent 3 days at mom and dad's and were worn out by the time they got home Sunday. They have so much fun there and dad helped Nik out a lot with his "new" old pick up truck he got.

Overall, I'm not sure Shirley felt her best. Hopefully, this week off of her chemo will give her a break.

Everyone have a great week!

Teresa

An Evening To Remember!!!!

Well, there we are...at the Tina Turner Concert. It was great. After we got to the Sprint Center, our tickets got upgraded from row 24 to row 9. We were right next to the stage. And Joe and Kelly let us have those tickets and they stayed in Row 24. That was sooo nice of them. Again Thank you Joe and Kelly. It was an awesome night. We actually were seated around a lot of older people, so we sat most of the night, but once Tina started Proud Mary, the crowd was on its feet. Shirley and I included - Dancing and singing away. So much fun.

And Shirley did great. She was full of energy. Shirley and I have been to several concerts together and I am pretty sure I would not want to go with anyone else. She is so into the music and just really enjoys herself and makes it so much fun for me. I love you Shirley and it was an evening I will remember forever. Thank you Joe and Kelly for making it happen.

I guess our next event together will be Saturday night playing cards. We haven't done that for awhile so I am really looking forward to it. The boys and Sam are all going to grandma and grandpa's tonight to help grandpa around the house this weekend. Whatever he needs them to do. Good kids. They love it.

So for now, Shirley, rest up, get through today, and look forward to Saturday night!!!

Teresa

Update

Another late night at Chemo. But nothing really exciting to report. Shirley had her blood drawn at around 4:45 and then she started her treatment around 5:30. After we were finished up there we headed off to one of our new favorite places to eat. The Village Inn. I mean the food is really good. So now she gets a little break. No chemo next week. I would say yea!!! but the weeks she has off she doesn't feel that great. But at least it's a week off.

Little emotional today, so I better not write too much. But I do have to write about something that I thought about in the middle of the night that kept me awake for awhile. When Shirley and I were growing up, I would always sing to her. This would really annoy the heck out of her. But of course I thought it was funny. And whenever I get the chance, I still sing to her and it still annoys her...but she always laughs a little...that's why I keep doing it. Well the weekend Sam and Alex spent the night with me, I walked into my livingroom and I see Nik Noland singing away to Sam and when I looked at Sam, she looked so annoyed sitting there just rolling her eyes. It made me laugh and brought back the memory of me doing the exact same thing to Shirley. I find it so funny how things happen like that. Oh and by the way, I did tell Nik to stop... because most days, I like Sam a little more than Nik. And he definitely does not have the professional singing voice that I have.

I pray that everyone has a good week and I will pray extra hard for Shirley's nausea and pain to stay away.

Teresa

Monday...Chemo

It's that time again. First of all, it's Monday...not fun. And Shirley has chemo...not fun. I guess if you are going to do stuff that is not fun...do it all in one day. It will be a late appt. today...4:00. And the real bummer is Kathy can't go today. She has a parent appreciation night with her family. She is really not happy, but we all understand that sometimes our schedules may not work out. She will definitely be missed. It may be a little quieter in the cancer center...not that she's the reason we are so loud...I'm just saying...maybe. We will definitely miss her tonight.

Shirley did not have a great weekend. She is having some pain issues but as of last night, I think that may have gotten a little better. She is very fatigued also. I talked to her several times this weekend and not once did she sound like she felt very good. I have to get her better before Wednesday night. So everyone send in a few extra prayers for her...she deserves to have a great time.

Dad did very well through his procedure on Friday. They did determine that he does need future surgery, but that overall, his heart has not gotten any worse since the last time they looked at it. He definitely tolerated the procedure great. They let him go after just a couple of hours and then Tom and Cindy, Steve and I and mom all took him out to get something to eat. Later that night, we decided to see a movie. So I would say he did awesome!!!

Everyone have a great day and until I update again....Pray for our girl to feel better!!!

Teresa

P.S. It's awesome to read these comments from people Shirley graduated with. Memories come flooding back everytime I see a new name. You guys are great and please know how much it is appreciated!!!!

What's Love Got To Do...Got To Do With It

Guess who's going to see Tina Turner???? Shirley and Teresa. My brother-in-law Joe works as the on-call Physician for Sprint Center and he offered Shirley and I two V.I.P. tickets. That means free food and free drink. They better stock up. Thank you Joe!!! Shirley was super excited when I told her! And that makes me super excited. It should be a great night!!!

I want to thank everyone for commenting on the blog lately. It helps. And we need all the support and prayers we can get.

Love, Teresa

Long Day At The Cancer Center

There is a lot more to tell about what went on yesterday then what I will probably type today...but some days you are just not in the mood. Today is one of those days. So here is just a short breakdown of what happened.

Bloodwork, CT Scans, Doctor's Appt. and Chemotherapy. Dr. Williamson told us that he feels like Shirley's cancer is stable. The Radiologist reported that some of her tumors had slightly increased in size. Her tumor marker was 73 and now is 71. So his recommendation was to continue on the path we are taking. So we will.

We started at 7:00 in the morning and finally returned home around 3:30. Long, exhausting day for everyone.

Keep praying for dad that Friday's procedure will be a breeze and he will start to feel good again. Have a great week!!!

Teresa