GOLD MEDAL SLEEPOVER

Not to be outdone by the grandsons, and in keeping with the Olympics, I had a "Gold Medal Sleepover" with our granddaughters ages 5 to 12 -- (six in all) before school started. It all began with timed races in the pool, dinner, making lollipops and watching the Olympics. The next morning after a Gold Medal Breakfast (fixed by grandpa), we had "Gold Medal Makeovers," complete with makeup, hairdos, jewelry and fancy dresses of their choice & a photo shoot.  Following that, each girl took the podium and was presented with a Gold Medal for her outstanding qualities. It was a great way to end the summer.

Posing for Grandma

 

 



 Gold Medal Girls

 

 

Lucy Garn (Byron & MIchelle's)

 

Addie Garn (Greg & Rebecca's)

Nicole Garn (Kevin & Tara's)

Ashley Garn (Kevin & Tara's)

Emily Garry (Steve & Dana's)

Saydie Garn, (Greg & Rebecca's)

 

NEW  CT SCAN & MRI – MORE CHEMOTHERAPY

On Monday, July 21^st Irene had a new MRI and CT scan.  We met with Dr. Homsi on Tuesday, and he informed us that the results of the scans indicate no discernible change and no definite evidence of local recurrence of the cancer.  The good news is the one chemo drug she is taking appears to be working.  Therefore, Dr. Homsi recommended that we continue the chemotherapy for at least two more sessions.  He sent her upstairs to the infusion center, and she spent the rest of the day receiving the chemo through an IV.  She spent three hours the next day receiving anti nausea drugs and IV fluids.  We know the routine pretty well, and the people who are caring for her are wonderful.  It appears to me from what I hear that she is their favorite patient.

Irene has been feeling good, and we are able to control the swelling in her leg with the wrapping at night and the constriction stocking during the day.  We spent two weeks in Utah, which was almost as hot at Arizona on a few days.  We enjoyed visiting with our family and friends and appreciate their hospitality.  Highlights were visiting with the Bob and Nadine Woodhead family and the Scott and Sydne Parker family.  We also joined a few of our old Bear River High School classmates and played golf in the 50^th Annual Fielding Open at Wolf Creek in Eden, Utah.  We enjoyed the Mormon Tabernacle Choir with Katherine Jenkins at the Pioneer Concert in the Conference Center.  We also enjoyed a session in the Draper Temple.

On the way home we stopped at Cove Fort and had a great visit with Merle and Carol Allen who are serving as missionaries at the Fort.  The Allens served with us in Hong Kong, and we loved hearing their experiences and testimonies.

We are so grateful for your faith and prayers and feel that Irene’s continued progress is a direct result of those petitions and Heavenly Father’s blessings.  We offer our prayers for many who suffer from cancer and from other health and difficult situations.  We continue to move forward knowing that we are in the Lord’s hands.

EIGHTH CHEMOTHERAPY TREATMENT

More than a week has passed since my last treatment, so I must give a little report.  I went into Banner MD Anderson here in Mesa on Wednesday, June 27 to have blood work, meet with Dr. Homsi and to have chemotherapy.  

My treatment was the longest I have ever had – beginning  at 11:30 a.m. and ending at 7:00 p.m.  It is given through an IV now that I no longer have a PIC line.  The chemo drug administered through an IV can burn the tissue which is very painful, so they have to dilute the drug with saline solution which results in a much longer session.  The pain was doable, and I got a lot of reading done.

I went back the next day for hydration and anti nausea drugs again through the IV.  That was only three hours and did its job.  I am grateful not to be nauseated and even more grateful that Daryl is willing to sit with me for all of those hours.    

Right now, I don’t have any more treatments scheduled, but I am scheduled on July 23 to have a CT Scan and an MRI.  Dr. Homsi will see the results, and we will go from there.  He did not rule out more treatments, depending on what he finds.

I have felt good enough lately to enjoy a sleepover at our place with 11 grandsons, age twelve to age four.  They swam, ate pizza, made lollipops, and watched a movie.  The next morning grandpa fixed his delicious sour pancakes and they swam some more.  I was so pleased with how well they all got along and treated each other.

Mikey, top right is a friend of the Peterson's.

Jolly Rancher candy on cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  The kids are very creative.

Melt at 350 degrees for 6 minutes.  Watch.  Remove from paper when cool.

Fun for all ages!   Max, Dax & Andrew.

The next morning.


On July 1, Kevin and Tara’s baby (Allison Irene) was blessed by Kevin.  It was a wonderful occasion with most of our family present and Tara’s parents, Craig and Mary Lynn Wilson here from Santa Rosa, California. 

Kevin, Tara & family

Teenage grandchildren fascinated by baby Allison

Arizona sunset

We also had a very nice 4^th of July celebration/barbecue/swim at Chuck and Gayla’s.  We feel so very blessed to live in America where we enjoy so many freedoms.  We are off to Utah in the morning.   Hope you are all having a wonderful summer!

Grandson, Josh Peterson, with granddaughter, Amy Garry before their Prom dates arrived

Amy Garry

I know that the pictures look funny off the edges, but the smaller images are hard to see.  I got a little carried away once I started. 

CHEMOTHERAPY CONTINUED BUT MODIFIED

Dr. Homsi was pleased to report today that the CT scan and MRI reviews were essentially unchanged from those taken eight weeks ago which is good news.  The plan is to continue chemotherapy, but reduce the chemo drugs from two to one. 

One complication is that the PICC line is not functional (it was impossible to get a blood draw through the line), so it was removed today.  The one chemo drug, dacarbazine, was administered today through an IV.  A saline solution was also administered through the IV with the chemo drug to prevent the chemo drug from burning the local tissue.  Irene could feel the burning in her arm, and they would vary the mix entering the IV to keep her comfortable and prevent the tissue damage.  I was surprised to hear Irene say that the burning was really hurting her.  She almost never admits to pain above a three on a scale of 1 – 10.  This process extends the time of the infusion for the one drug to four hours. 

She will have the Nulasta shot to protect her heart, anti-nausea and IV fluids tomorrow and Friday.  The next chemo infusion is scheduled for June 27^th and new CT scans and MRI’s at the end of July.  The blood draws and how Irene feels will determine any additional treatment along the way.  With the PICC line removed and the Inferior Vena Cava filter in place, we no longer need to flush the PICC line each night, and Irene does not have to administer the Lovenox shots each night in her tummy.  Life is good.

DHG

ONE THING LEADS TO ANOTHER

As I noted in my last entry, I have been very weak, and now we know why.  Last weekend (May 12-13) I started having pretty bad abdominal cramps plus some nausea.  This went on into the beginning of the week, but at times wasn’t as bad.  Tuesday morning at about 4:30 a.m., I awakened Daryl and said that we were going to Emergency as I had been up and down all night feeling terrible.

One of the first things they did was test my blood and found that my hemoglobin was dangerously low.  Thus, I was admitted to the hospital and given two units of blood.    They felt it was too low to be caused by the chemotherapy, which led to my having a colonoscopy and an upper GI scope to find out if there was internal bleeding causing the low hemoglobin. The tests did indicate there was some ulceration and inflammation in the bowl resulting in internal bleeding.  Therefore, they have had me discontinue the Lovenox shots to thin my blood which I have been giving myself daily for months.  I am not unhappy about that.

The next step was to place an Inferior Vena Cava Filter to prevent any blood clots from my lower extremities migrating to my heart and lungs.  I am also on some medication to help heal the inflammation.  The IVC Filter was placed by a radiologist going through my jugular vein in my neck with a catheter.  It was about a 40 minute procedure.

I came home on Friday, feeling much better.  I actually had the energy to mop my floors and do the wash on Saturday.  Daryl would have objected, but he was at the temple officiating at some sealing sessions. 

Our prayers are often answered differently than what we are asking for.  I feel blessed at this point that I ended up going to the hospital to discover things that needed to be taken care of.  Hopefully, I am learning to be more patient.

The image is the IVC Filter which sits in my vein a couple of inches above my navel.  It is much smaller than the picture.  The medical field is amazing.

FAMILY NEWS - GREG, HALF IRON MAN

A few weeks ago, our son, Greg, participated in a Half Iron Man event in Oceanside, California.  This consisted of a 1.2 mile swim in the ocean, a 56 mile bike ride, and a 13.1 mile run.  Greg completed this in 5 hrs. 35 minutes and felt good at the end.  Needless to say, it is beyond my comprehension, but we are proud of him for his training and for how well he did.

BIRTH OF ALLISON IRENE GARN

I am excited to write about something besides cancer and chemotherapy reports. Our newest grandchild, Allison Irene Garn, was born on April 6, 2012, to Kevin and Tara Garn. She weighed 6 lbs. 15 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long, and in this grandma’s unbiased opinion, she is beautiful. There is nothing quite like a new baby in the family. We are all crazy about her!