The 3rd and Final Cycles...

Time flies and we have not updated the blog in a long time, my apologies. As a result this post is HUUUUUUUUUUUGE (As Trump says). A lot has happened since the last blog post. I will talk through things in chronological order. There are lots of pics in this post also :)

First, here's a quick summary on the status of my health: I'm feeling very good. Not 100% yet but very good. I should be completely done with Chemotherapy. All of my blood work has been showing very positive signs, to the point where my doctor is very confident I'm cleared. I have a CT scan scheduled for Friday 4/22 which will confirm everything...I will do a blog as soon as I get the confirmation. I am in remission now and will be placed on a 5 year plan where I will get CT scans every several months, with the CT scans getting less and less frequent as the years go on. The chances of any cancer coming back are small, so we will continue to rely on prayer and move forward with life.

Butterfly Kisses

Chloe putting stickers on my face

For the 3rd Cycle, the chemo week was 3/7 - 3/11. Things went well this time around, there were no complications, just the usual feeling myself getting progressively worse as the week went on. By Thursday and Friday I was feeling pretty weak and sick. The beginning of this cycle is when my body started associating certain smells and tastes with being sick. For example when the nurses access my chest port (they poke me in my port to connect the infusion tubing), they first infuse saline through the tube to clean it, which I can taste. When I first started a few months back this taste didn't bother me, but now it makes me gag. I have to chew gum or eat tic tacs while they use the saline in order to dumb down the taste to make it bearable. Then after they access me they use a plastic bandage called a "dressing" to cover and protect the port. This dressing has a strong plastic smell to it, which also makes me queasy. After I spoke up about this the nurses then used a cloth and tape instead of the dressing, which didn't bother me anymore. But besides that everything went well. Saturday and Sunday I felt sick and weak, so I stayed in bed most of these days, but by the time Tuesday rolled around I started feeling OK. This week we got out of the house once a day or so - like the park or a trip to the grocery store - which is all I could handle then I would get pretty tired.

The following weekend after my chemo week Chels and I went to see Brian Regan live at the Vivent Center in Salt Lake. He is hilarious! He had so many new jokes that we haven't heard before that had us laughing our rear's off. It was great to have a date night, we haven't been able to do that in a while. I was drained after the show!

Brian Regan

My second off week I was feeling very good, which was a blessing because it ended up being a very busy week... Friday 3/25 was my sweet Grandma Donna's funeral :( For the past 5 months or so she has been on oxygen 24/7. Before starting chemo when we saw her a couple times she said she felt well as long as she was on her oxygen. The past couple months started to get difficult for her. She was admitted into the ICU because her lungs started giving her trouble. Things got pretty bad for her for a while but then she started to improve and pull out of it. So when I got the phone call about her passing, it did come as a shock because in my mind she was going to get through. The main theme of her funeral was about the Christlike love she showed for everybody. You felt it every time you talked with her. The other theme was how she loved her family more than anything else in the world. From her kids all the way down to her great grand-kids, we were her treasure in life. One example of her thinking of her family first is when my Dad went to visit her in the hospital one day, and she wasn't in the best shape. She was sleeping when he first entered the room, the moment she awoke the first thing she asked (by writing because she couldn't speak due to the trach in her throat) was "how is Stuart doing?" She thought of her family before herself. I will miss Grandma Donna very much. I couldn't help but reflect on the time I lived with her during my "off track" time back in July-Dec 2009 during the time Chels and I were dating. Just about everyday I came home from an exhausting day of working construction, she immediately made me food and asked about and truly cared about how my day was. That time with her where we had long talks and laughed together I will always cherish. I find comfort in my Grandmas passing by relying on my belief of the Plan of Salvation. I believe there is life beyond the grave as much as I believe I am typing this at this moment. It exists, period. Here are additional reasons for comfort:
    1. Grandma is no longer in pain or discomfort.
    2. She was welcomed home and reunited with her parents, brother, sister and other relatives.
    3. She lived a life worthy of every possible blessing Heavenly Father can give.
    4. Christ overcame death by being resurrected on the 3rd day following his death. As a result,     everybody who lived, now lives, or will live on this earth will receive the blessing of being resurrected and gaining immortality. We will see Grandma again, I have no doubt.

Avi hanging out with my Aunt Lisa at lunch following Grandmas funeral

The day following Grandmas funeral, a lot of family got together at her house to hang out. We talked and laughed, had a huge bon fire, had dinner together, had an Easter egg hunt for the kids, and even made a homemade obstacle course. My Dad and sisters got a bunch of obstacle course stuff (for the kids mainly, but adults couldn't resist) that included ropes, hula hoops, and pool foam noodles, it ended up being awesome. My Dad and cousin Charles rocked it! They got the best times. It was good to be with everybody. As much as funerals suck, the one positive thing is how they bring family together.

Bon Fire at Grandmas House

Avi had a blast on the 4-wheeler

Family pick the Sunday before starting the last round

Mom got to town on 3/26! She came out for my last cycle, which we are so thankful for. Her being out helps me better cope with the chemo weeks. The 4th cycle started on 3/28 and ended 4/1 (one of the best days of my life). The week went alright. I started feeling weak and sick a little earlier, like on Wednesday. And again the smells and tastes I encountered were nauseating. Friday 4/1 was an awesome day. After finishing up chemo I got to hit the gong!

Dad hanging out, we're proud of the Book of Mormon

Last day of chemo

Our nurse Deanne was with us for a lot of my Chemo days, she is awesome

Recovery time took longer this time around. Saturday and Sunday were great because General Conference was on. It was inspirational to listen to the Lords Prophet and Apostles. It was hard to listen to every talk because I felt awful, I will go back and study many of the talks. That whole week I felt pretty sick, I was just waiting for it to wear off but it seemed to linger. I was on the verge of throwing up a lot of the time (never did thankfully) and I had an awful taste in my mouth. 4/12 is when I finally started pulling out of it, and as I write this post I am feeling excellent.

Feeling better everyday, we've been getting outside a lot I love Spring

Thought: I wanted to share a letter I received from my Grandma Donna right before we started chemotherapy and a few months before her passing, It is a beautiful testimony and it gives a glimpse to her character:

"I am so sorry to hear about the challenge you are facing now. My thoughts and prayers are with you. I don't email or know how to work Facebook so I am sending my thoughts through the mail.

'The gospel is a thing of joy. It provides us with a reason for gladness. Of course there are hours of concern and anxiety. We all worry, but the Lord has told us to lift our heads and rejoice.' Quote by President Gordon B Hinckley.

I think about you all the time and your little girls. I am feeling good having to stay on Oxygen 24/7, but that's okay. May the spirit be with you and the Lord bless you is my prayer. Love always.

Grandma Donna"

Grandma holding Avi on her blessing day. She will be missed.