BACK AT IT

Tuesday was the beginning of another 20 rounds of radiation for Dave. Again, we are hopeful that this will "clean up" the original mass. It's in a difficult area, close to a kidney and the spinal cord, but we are encouraged with this high tech equipment that there will be no damage. Dave, as usual, is taking it all in stride. After his first radiation treatment, he was the first on the scene of an automobile accident on highway 93! Go figure!!! His radiation is 5 days a week, so it will be 4 wks. before he is finished. He is still gaining some weight and still eating Kozy Shack pudding! I need to buy some stock in that company! He doesn't get sick from the radiation, but it does wear him down. Please pray for strength for Dave, and guidance for the medical team. Thanks everyone.

He's Been Tatooed!

The markers are in place and Dave begins a new round of spot radiation to his original mass. This will be done in Kalispell and will probably consist of 15 sessions. Dr. Stille sounds hopeful and, so are we. We are really happy that we don't need to go to Seattle right away. Hopefully, it won't be until late summer for his follow-up with the Seattle docs. Dave is also only taking 3 different pills a day! We are anxiously awaiting getting the 5th wheel back here (thanks, Richard, for keeping it for us while we were away) and getting it set up to go do a little camping. We are so grateful that we don't have to go far to enjoy a nice quiet setting as gas is so expensive. I'll keep you posted on how Dave is handling the radiation and anything that sounds exciting.

Wait and See

We are trying to sort everything out as far as Dave's treatments go. Although the newest mass was gone with the last radiation, the original mass is showing a higher level of activity. Dr. Stille is planning on hitting it with some more radiation; how much is yet to be determined. Dave goes in tomorrow to be "tatooed" for the spot radiation. We will know more tomorrow as to how much he can receive. The good news is, the cancer has yet to spread to any organs, and there were no new masses. If we could just eliminate the original mass we would feel much more comfortable. Dave is doing very well, otherwise. He is on a "kick" of wanting to eat Kozy Shack chocolate pudding! That should add a little fat to his body if he keeps it up. He is doing some building in the shop and today put in a full day of work then went to City Council until 10:30 p.m. He is in bed now and, I'm sure, "konked out". Let's keep those prayers coming - we thank you for all your concerns. Always feel free to ask questions, and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

GOOD NEWS

Dave had his PET/CT scan today and then his appointment with Dr. Stille. We have great news in that the newest mass that was "zapped" is now gone. The original mass still shows some activity, but it has not grown. Dr. Stille will be gathering records from Seattle regarding how much radiation the original mass received. We are hoping that Dave can have more radiation to that area. We are pretty sure that is the case. We will also meet with Dr. Hunt on Monday to get her opinion. There is a chance that she may want some chemo treatment also. Cancer has not spread to any organs or anywhere else in Dave's body - WE ARE SO THANKFUL FOR THAT. Please continue to pray for right decisions and for God's guidance. I think we'll sleep soundly tonight.

Looking like Trouble

Sully wearing hard hat

Doing his Part

WATER PROBLEM RESOLVED

Finally, we have a dry basement thanks to LHC, City of Whitefish and Master Plumbing!! The City of Whitefish Water Dept. found the problem, LHC brought in the backhoe and the crew to dig the trench, and Master Plumbing sent Paul to tend to the plumbing end of the job. It took from 8:30 a.m. on Thurs. until 7:30 p.m. before the trench was filled and we were cleaning up the "muck". As you can see by the slides, it was indeed a mess, and I'm still cleaning up mud. I don't know if Dave will agree with me 100%, but I sure could see that it was a rough time physically for Dave. He helped more than he probably should have and it really showed. You have to remember that the energy he has is busy re-building his "system", and using up so much of that energy doing a lot of physical work can truly be exhausting. He just wouldn't stop though! Now that we are over that hump, I'm hoping he gets a little stronger and is able to let his body rest. Dave doesn't read my blog, thankfully. I'm not sure he would be happy with me being so "up-front". Oh, well! I feel the purpose of this blog is to keep everyone informed, - so be it! Thursday is his PET scan and, again, prayers would be appreciated. I hope everyone had a blessed Easter - I know we did!

Time to Check In

I know it's been awhile since I have updated the blog, but you can look at that as a good thing. Dave continues to do well, feeling stronger and looking more like his old self. He's actually getting an "attitude"! His PET scan is scheduled for March 27th with a follow-up with the oncologist on the 1st of April. He also has an appointment with Dr. Stille, the radiation doc, on the 27th. We are praying for a good report, and hope you will continue with your prayers too. It's definitely spring and we can't wait to get out in our 5th wheel and enjoy this beautiful area we live in. Unfortunately, it seems that we have a broken water line somewhere between the city's responsibility and our house. We are hoping to avoid digging up the drive-way or taking off the porch to fix the problem by just running a new line from the "main" line to the house. That would mean we would only have to dig up the sidewalk and the north end of the yard!!! (Did I say "we" when I actually meant a backhoe?) Oh well, I haven't had a breakdown yet so things are looking pretty good. Am not sure if Dave had a breakdown or not; if so, it wasn't in front of me!!!! I guess I look at it this way: if you don't have control over it - just deal with it; it's not worth the stress. I firmly believe in handing it all over to God.