Back Home Again

Living in the country has its blessings. After being in the city and supressed by the hospital for 5 days, just being among the trees and wildflowers brings a feeling of peace. My poor hero, as he was dressing to leave today said, "I don't know what it is, everytime I leave this hospital I feel like I am breaking out of prison." Now, it is not because of the care or food or medical care, but it is because of lack of nature and ability to get outside and enjoy the sun and air.
Our stay entailed receiving 2 units of blood and a large amount of IV iron. There was a brief moment in time that he actually got to sit flat on his bottom and eat his dinner. This was about 8 hours after he had the large amount of bleeding. He didn't have any pain, which was so wonderful after 1 year of intense pain. Unfortunately, it did not last. The ride home was painful.
He was ready to lie down and rest when we arrived.
I have enjoyed sitting here and visiting with my son who just finished running 6 miles in an hour for his Duty to God Award. He will be 19 in 5 days. Next will be spiritual preparation. There has not been enough time to relax and listen lately.
The Hero will be (oops) have his birthday in 2 days. Hmmm. What kind of celebration will I have. At the end of the month, our oldest son will come home with his wife and we will all go to Indiana Jones Movie.

One Step Forward Two Steps Back

We were so excited about the decrease in the cancer markers, that we forgot what the side effects might be. At 4:30am, I was awakened by Ned saying "I'm bleeding!" He had gotten up to go to the bathroom when the blood started. We hoped it would stop but after 2 hours we decided that we had better go to the emergency room. It was almost like the couple going in to have their baby. We made two trips back to the house (4 miles each) to get id's, POA, etc.
We got to the ER and he was whisked right in...a real change. After 7 hours in the ER, the decision was made to admit him. He hates hospitals, especially when they withhold food and he loses another 10 lbs to have to regain later.
The floor nurse just told us he will just be watched to see if the bleeding will stop by itself. And yes, his food would be held at least tonight. Sigh...he is just sleeping.
The good news is that after the bleeding had reduced to a trickle, he has had less pain, and he has been able to lie on his back which is a wonder...He has not been able to do this since last July.
So....we are sitting here in the hospital, trying to not think about food with the TV ads assulting us and being cheerful to entertain the staff. The positive is the doctor said that the bleeding is probably from the tumor shrinking and leaving blood vessels open. Usually it does resolved itself. Tumor shrinking, dying, going away those all have a wonderful sound. But of course nothing is without a price.
The room this time is wonderful. The window is where he can see out of it. The sun slips in to kiss his face. That is more cheerful than any other room he has ever had. His nurses are sweet and have listened to the history and are working hard to keep his care consistent.
I am glad if we had to come in, that he has been blessed with such good care and attention.
More later...

Unexpected Events and Great News!

Red HOT News!

When they did the blood test on the hero yesterday, it showed that the cancer markers were down to 110. She did not tell us down from what or that 35 is the top of the normal range. However the fact that it is DOWN is fabulous!

The unexpected event was that he had had an episode of nausea and sweats and weakness on the Saturday before, while I was at work. The doctor decided that maybe it was due to one of the drugs so she has delayed the chemo for 3 weeks until he is evaluated by a cardiologist to make sure no challenges have occured due to the chemo.

Now the other event was, as I was sitting at the counter contemplating what adjunct therapy to keep up while we waited, a thought came to my mind that that morning I had given him his full dose of Cellfood instead of breaking it up to two separate doses. That is only 8 drops in 8oz liquid. Usually I do 4 drops twice a day. Cellfood is a nutritive substance developed by Everett Storey to restore the environment and heal the human body. I had started this when I read Dr. Otto Warburg lectures that say cancer cells cannot grow in a high oxygen environment. Knowing that cancer is first a fungus and that fungi are anaerobic (without oxygen), I figured this was a good adjunct treatment for really making the environment unfriendly to the fungi. This is becoming a lecture...sigh...To make the story shorter...I believe he was experiencing Herxheimers Reaction. We have had this before when doing home treatments. Well, we are now taking stock of what we are doing in addition to the chemo and making sure we don't stop while they are "waiting".

One thing I have not shared, is that I have found great studies that point to Fermented Soy as being a help to stop the "wasting disease". It has to be fermented to deliver the greatest amounts of soy isoflavones to assist the cells in using protein to prevent muscle mass reduction.

When we first heard of this, I found a remarkable product called Haelan 981. It is concentrated and research has been done on it specifically. However, it is out of our and many others reach financially. It is $60 a bottle and you take one bottle a day per 50 days then reduce to 4 oz a day. Temph and Miso are okay but not concentrated enough. I did find a Soy yogurt by Stonyfield Farms. It is an excellent substitute since it also has blend of six live active cultures, including the bifous strain. I mix the soy yogurt with Herba-tein to make him a smootie for quick energy in the mornings.

When I was studing plant diseases, the description of fungal development so sounds like the formation of cancer. Mycelium is the vegetative part of a fungus, consisting of a mass of branching, thread-like hyphae. The mass of hyphae is sometimes called shiro, especially within the fairy ring fungi. Fungal colonies composed of mycelia are found in soil and on or in many other substrates. Mycelium may form fruiting bodies such as mushrooms. A mycelium may be minute, forming a colony that is too small to see, or it may be extensive: It is through the mycelium that a fungus absorbs nutrients from its environment. It does this in a two stage process. Firstly, the hyphae secrete enzymes onto the food source, which breaks down polymers into monomers. These monomers are then absorbed into the mycelium by facilitated diffusion and active transport.

You can see that the fungi' intent is to absorb you. There is no such thing as a friendly fungus in the human body.

This is a visual of the mycelium. http://www.fungusfocus.com/

With the Lord's help, we will prevail and maybe teach the medical community some new principles. I hope.

My Best Method Of Relaxing

Before the nursery was moved, I would walk out on the patio and sit and look out over the plants. There I would sit, listening to the birds, watching the butterflies, and feeling the breezes move through my hair. Plants give one a feeling of partnership with Heavenly Father. They are a real learning ground for "if you don't nurture it, it will die". Tonight, when we got home from chemotherapy, I went out to the greenhouse to check on the status of my plants after a week of being away. Walking through the pasture, listening to the birds, and rustling of the leaves was very peaceful. It was not hard to pick up the hose and begin watering the thirsty plants. I spent 2 hours watering and picking up blown over shrubs, and smelling the spring blooms. There is much work to be done, but I can feel a sense of relaxation falling over me and peacefulness as I labor to nourish my plants. My hero came down to help, but his back is not strong enough now to enable him to assist. I think for him it is more of a feeling of frustration right now because he can't participate much. My hope is to get him out more in the sunshine. Vitamin D is helpful in the body's immune system. Not to mention there is fun to be had, as well as relaxation while watching the breezes move through the trees as well as the squirrels playing tag. (As long as they stay away from my fruit trees...then they are varmints.) My thoughts flit about a freely as the birds in the tree tops.

It is hard to express my feelings in words how I feel a oneness with my Heavenly Father, when I am out and working with my plants in whatever way they are in need, watering, trimming, fertilizing, or positioning.

My grandchildren have inherited the fun of enjoying the out of doors too. Whether it is blue bonnets in the spring, snowy mountain tops, or going to the petting zoo, they love being outside.

One of the fun times I had with my Idaho maniacs was going cuttings in their bedroom (It was February.). When I left, I left some plants behind....don't know what happened to them??...! Oh! but what fun, (but a mess) it was doing it with them.

I miss them going walking, or gardening with me. Wish they could come and spend a month with me....Oh Yeah!

Chemo Goes ON and So Do WE

I have promised the sisters in our ward that I would share a picture of my hero using the blanket they so lovingly made for him. The pain doctor gave him a magnetic blanket to help with loss of heat which he uses at home, but at chemotherapy it is always this blanket of love and caring that he uses. Our hearts are filled with gratitude for such sweet charity given to us. They provide cushy recliners and television to help fill the six hours we have to sit while the chemo drugs are infused. Last time, two week ago, they added Avastin to the group of drugs infused. These seem to be having a positive affect although the pain did not decrease.
A week ago, we went to the pain doctor who has started acupuncture therapy. She is an awesome person. We were just discussing the positive affect the treatment has had on him. Two days later and frequently since, we have observed him having a belly laugh or two and his energy level has been up. He is still having a hard time facing the man in the mirror because he perceives that he has aged years in appearance. I tell him, NO, he's actually getting younger...which caused another belly laugh when his voice cracked later in conversation.

This is the hero's high five. He wears warm gloves to prevent
shocking himself during the treatment and for four days afterward. He can not eat or touch anything cold and must stay warm during that time. He lives for when the time is up and he can have an ice cream brown cow. Some people look at him a little strange when we are walking into the store, the temperature is 75 to 80 degrees, full sun and he has on his gloves, and jacket. He can't handle the cold around the cold keepers.

Last week he had the fun of having our second oldest with her new baby come work a half day. He was impressed how quiet the baby was and how pleasant he was when playing. How do you like the way he winks to flirt and say "you want to pick me up"...Too cute.

We finally got the pictures of my fourth daughter's son's second birthday. The two shared the wonderful chocolate cake and the joy of being together. It is so fun to be in our room in the evening and hear the pitter patter of little feet running through the house and a knock knock on our door with sweet voice calling out our names. This little boy is a special critter that bringing a swelling of the heart and a big smile when he reaches up those little arms to his grandadE.

God is good.

Next is the result of a couple of hours of fun on the Internet by the hero with his two granddaughters. They are in order of age. First is Venus's and the second is Iris's.

Iris gathering apples in a basket for her granddadE and grandmomE. How thoughtful.

Venus and GranddadE sailing in the ocean. He asked for a picture of a tall ship on the ocean. She obliged. What good would a ship be without passengers. And what fun would a trip be alone?

These drawing were done on a doodle pad while they talked on yahoo im with the hero.

This is a motivating factor to the hero to continue the fight to overcome. He loves his children, and his grandchildren.

We are still praying for a few miracles and blessings to occur. I know it will happen.