Wed. Feb.2, 2011 - Keith Up-Date

We will be seeing Dr. DeVos again on Valentines Day. At that time he will tell us when the reversal surgery date will be in March...probably the middle of March. At our last visit he said he agrees that Keith shouldn't have the 5FU Chemo ...and even tho he could do the reversal surgery in 8 weeks which would be Feb. 16th, he'd suggest waiting for the 12 weeks to make sure Keith has plenty of time to heal before going thru more surg. We agreed.
Keith couldn't be more anxious to get this over with:)
On Sunday morning Jan. 23rd, Keith woke with back pain...like he used to get before his back surg. He couldn't figure out what he did because he's been so very careful not to lift anything. At any rate, it took 10 days til he had no pain. He's fine now and will soon begin to exercise so his back will regain muscle strength.
We've been dealing with the storms which continue to come about every 3 to 4 days!
This morning we have about 3 inches of ice on everything. Fortunately, so far we have electric.
We are thankful we don't have to go anywhere....just stay inside....stay warm...and stay well:)

Sunday Jan. 16, 2011

Back in 1951, 60 years ago, my Dad built the home they raised 5 children and still live there today. Above is a photo of Mom's stove and the last pie she baked in it! BECAUSE........

She said good bye to her orig. 60 year old GE stove....which she loved! And take a look at the flooring..it's orig. too... SOOOOOOO

Last Wed. they had new flooring put down....and it looks GREAT! They are so pleased and Dad is still remaking about how it was installed in ONE piece - no seams!!!

And..here's Mom...next to the new GE stove , delivered Thurs.- standing on her new kitchen floor! We've all told her how proud we are of her - willing to learn how to use this new stove. Change is not always easy...but she made up her mind that she wants to learn. By the way, do any of you remember the style of the table and chairs?...they're orig. too...Mom really took care of her kitchen. TONS of GREAT FOOD has come out of this kitchen...Dad ALWAYS says....SHE'S THE BEST COOK!!! We ALL know this is true... Love you Mom. p.s..I was 4 years old when we moved into this house.... before this we lived on my mom's parents farm.

Computer Troubles!!! Thurs. Jan. 13, 2011

O.K... IF you don't hear from me for awhile it's because my computer is giving me problems....I might have to get a new one....and right now I'm trying to safe and back up everything I can...
PLEASE feel free to call us if you don't get an up-date on Keith for next week. We see the surgeon on Wed...

Monday Jan.10 2011 - More Answered Prayer:)

This morning we saw the head oncologist at the Reading Hospital. Just as all the other doctors, he is so very pleased with Keith's results and after talking with us for about 30 min....he told Keith he'd see him in Aug. for a follow up!!!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! We are so thankful and as we left the hospital we felt like kicking up our heels! No more chemo!!!!
Next Wed. we go back to the surgeon to find out about the reversal surgery for the ostomy.
There are no words to tell you just how joyful we feel...
Next Tues. the 18th Keith and I will celebrate 42 years of marriage...This celebration will be very special.
Thanks again for all the prayers....GOD HAS BEEN SO GOOD TO US!...AGAIN HE HAS SHOWN US HIS FAVOR...

Up-date on Keith

It's been 3 weeks since Keith's surgery! He weighed himself yest. and finally gained a little over a pound. After the surgery the scale seems to go down, down, down.. Now after 3 weeks, he's still taking one pain pill in the morning and that seems to do the trick for the day. He rests a lot...not necessarily sleeps during the day, but rests on the recliner. Yest. he went out to the mail box and a few days ago he took down the bows from the window boxes; just little things....then he's back to the chair. I can see his energy level getting better each day and hope that these next few weeks are a "come back" time. The visiting nurses will come on Tues. for the next 2 weeks.
In the last week Keith has ENJOYED a small V&S Chicken Cheese Steak and Wendy's ....Now he's asking for pizza....The one thing he really misses is SALADS, so the nurses said to start out very slowly with lettuce on a sandwich but to be sure to chew everything thoroughly.. So far so good!
We've borrowed Brad and Viviens Jack LaLanne Juicer and that has really helped with all the foods that Keith couldn't eat if it weren't juiced. Everyday we're juicing and I'm sure that's helping to boost his system...
By the way, thanks to everyone for the phone calls....he loves hearing from you:)

John's Big Boy Bed

New Years Day we enjoyed having John for breakfast and lunch - right up til his nap time. Steve and Di were busy taking down John's crib and putting up the new bed....This is a special photo...It's the same bed, in the same room Keith had as he was growing up.

John was checking out the new bed before his nap....

What a good little boy! Off to sleep he goes.

Diana is a REAL CAPITALS fan....and was watching the game on t.v....THE CAPS WON!!! Don't they look happy? I love this photo!

Visit with Dr. DeVos

Monday Dec. 27th - We saw Dr. DeVos at 1 p.m. (thankfully, the roads were clear and dry by 11 a.m.) He took the remaining staples out and told Keith how pleased he is with how everything looks....and again told us all about the surgery and what he DIDN"T find:) We will be seeing Dr. DeVos for a total of 13 more times...about every 2-3 months for check ups. They follow you very closely for the first 2 years. Thank goodness we think so very highly of Dr DeVos...he's a GREAT GUY!
He assured Keith that he needs to continue to stay well, get lots of rest and get stronger.
Our next appt. is with the head of oncology, Dr. Leasure, on Jan 10th. After what Keith experienced with the chemo before, he's not looking forward to what might be suggested. He will have some tough decisions to make after that appt.
I'll keep you posted:)