Happy Easter!

Hi all. We realized it’s been a while since our last update. We have started month 3 of chemo (Braden went in last Thursday, and is almost fully recovered now!). We were hoping this would be our last month, but sadly, the insurance company decided that it was too soon for the PET scan to show any change in the cancer, so they denied paying for the PET scan for at least another month. I’m still unclear on how the insurance company has final say in our treatment instead of our doctor, but that’s the way it is. Right now, we’re hoping that they will cover the PET scan in May, so that we can know how much longer we have for treatment. We’re pretty sure Braden is cancer free now (based only on intuition and hope) but we need the scans to confirm it.

We had a good time recently, during my spring break. Even though Braden was sick for almost all of it, thanks to a bad bratwurst, it was nice to spend time together. We went to the zoo on Wednesday and hung out with some lions. Lions are pretty good at curing cancer.

Now we’re back to regular schedule and looking forward to the end of the school year, when we’ll be done with 13-year-olds for a while, done with cancer FOREVER, and off on some crazy summer adventures. I’m trying to convince Braden that we should drive to Alaska and go moose wrestling, but we’ll probably only make it as far as my mom’s casa in the Seattle area.

Thanks, as always for your prayers and support! We have the best friends and family ever.

Round 2: all done

It feels like I'm a walking miracle (even though I'm lying down right now). Thank you all for your prayers. I was really dreading yesterday till a point and then God gave me peace and strength about it. I leaned on Him and He held me up. Yesterday was the best I have felt on a chemo day, no upset stomach, no headache, and not too much lingering grogginess which makes no medical sense to me. So far today I feel pretty good too. I'm taking it slow, but I'm very thankful. I'll go in for a booster shot this afternoon and figure out when my PET scan is scheduled for. It sounds like it will need to throw off the rhythm of chemo that I've been on, but we'll see. Thanks again for your prayers. God is good.

Braden and Christy

3rd session: Champed

Pardon my delay in keeping you all updated. This third visit for chemo was definitely the most challenging. I'm finding my head has associations with all sorts of details surrounding my treatment that causes me to feel ill if I think about it too much. It's a common response in chemo patients. Everything went as before including great blood counts, kind nurses, and good friends taking great care of us. But the rest of Thurs- Sunday morning I just felt more off and gross than before. It's kind of hard to describe because they are very different feelings than a cold or a flu or anything I've been through, but the thought of doing this again several more times got me down. Our prayer for before the next treatment is for a ready, thankful, trusting, and strong heart rooted only in Jesus. After that, we get a scan to see the progress and we're very excited for that. Thank you all again for your support.

Braden and Christy

Encouraging Doc Visit

I just got back from the doctor where we had an encouraging interaction. From his checkup he couldn't find any lymph nodes behaving abnormally and I appeared to be quite healthy given the situation. Even the previously swollen node behind my collar bone only feels different due to scar tissue from the biopsy. We will continue as planned and do 1 more round (two more sessions) and then scan me up. We are praying for a clear scan and in the event of a clear scan would probably only continue for 1 more round, but I don't want to get ahead of myself so I'll just take what comes and be thankful for how good I feel right now. Thanks again for your prayers!

Braden

Round 1.1

Just got back from the second half of chemotherapy round one. Praise the Lord they cut my benadryl dose by half and the whole process was smooth sailing. I fell asleep, leaving my poor mother to fend for herself for entertainment, but I had my computer with and now she may be hooked on Text Twist. Only a few interruptions later did I wake up and find out I was done. I don't think I could ask for better considering what we're getting done. Thanks again for your prayers!

Some pictures!

Hello all!
Pardon the delay on the promised pictures. Tomorrow I go in for the second half of chemotherapy round one. The last handful of days have been smooth sailing with virtually no side effects. On Saturday, we got a new niece! Her name is Katy. Also, on the same day, I got a new lathe! It does not have a name yet. Thanks again for your prayers. God has been answering them.

 Us and Katy!

 Just turning bowls in the dining room... 

This is where the lathe lives now.

Doing Fine

Hello family and friends!

Day 5 and I feel good. I've held down all my food, only got nauseous in a car ride, only a little bit dizzy sometimes, and not too fatigued. I know as the treatments layer up it may not all be as smooth sailing, but I'm quite thankful for now. Yesterday I walked to the post office and took the L up north to a tea shop and only got a little dizzy once. The fresh air was quite nice and I ran up some stairs once. Thanks again for all your prayers He really is answering them and has promised to do good things through these tough times.

Braden