Hi,

Last Friday my staples came out and everything seems to be okay. The wound is healing up nicely. Still trying to get used to having this thing in my chest. I thought by now (two weeks) it might feel like another rib or something, but it still feels foreign! Maybe when the bruises are gone.

Yesterday I went to Toronto with a friend to see the doctor there for my 6-8 week check-up. My counts are all good and where they should be, so I'm considered in remission again! I will still have to stay on the chemo though which is the part that makes you tired and weak. They don't want to stop the drugs like last time I went into remission, because it will just make it that much harder to fight the disease down again when it comes back. I'll probably be on chemo for two weeks and than off for two weeks - a chance to feel a little like my old self and then energy sapped again for two weeks. We'll see how it goes! Anyway, it was a long day again yesterday, we didn't get home until 10pm! I had a good nap today!!

Other than that nothing here is really changed. I hope to start drama with the gr.7&8's next week. I'm looking forward to that again. Hope you are all enjoying the sunshine and fall temp's!!

Take care, Sharon

Hello,

It's been awhile since my last blog - my apologies but I'm not always up to typing. I went to Toronto with Pete and a friend to see the doctor there. We had to wait awhile but once you are in the office the doctor really takes the time to see you. We were told that another transplant wasn't a good option. If I was to have one I should have done it before starting any other kind of treatment. Now my body is used to the new chemo and if we tried a transplant again my body would probably say "we've done this before, it won't work again". Also I would be getting a stem cell transplant from a sibling which my body would see as foreign and therefore probably try to reject it. The mortality rate for this procedure is 1 in 5 and those who do survive it don't have the greatest quality of life for the first year. It didn't sound that great. Now the doctor's try to treat the cancer with drugs because they can be controlled and combinations can be made. It sounds like the safer more stable way to go. This cocktail of chemo that I'm on right now should hopefully give me a year. Even if I hit remission I'll be staying on the drug. Once my body becomes immune to this treatment I'll go on to another drug until that one runs it's course etc. It could possibly get to the point where I would be trying drugs that have never been used before on people, but by that time I would be willing to try anything. The results would also help for other cancer patients. The good news is the doctor said I could cut back o my steroids - instead of every other day, I only have to take them twice a week.

Pete and I celebrated our 15th anniversary the other week. I asked my doctor in Owen Sound when a good time to take a trip would be. She said this week (Thanksgiving) or the next week. So we booked a trip to BC and took the kids with us. We had an awesome time. It was great to get away from doctors, hospitals, drugs, school and just life here for awhile. We visited my brother and his family and then stayed at Whistler Mountain. What a beautiful place!! It was like being in a bowl with all the majestic mountains surrounding you. It didn't matter which way you looked the mountains were there - what an amazing sight. At night the full moon shone above the mountains, the colours were still on the trees and we had beautiful sunny weather! One day we took a jeep tour to the top of Blackcomb Mountain which was very interesting. We went in the afternoon and by the time we came down the sun was setting - it was gorgeous! We also had a snowball fight at the top of the mountain. The next day we went on a zip line tour through the rain forest. We were all harnessed up and had on helmets - we almost looked professional. The tour was through the treetops that were connected by suspension bridges and walkways. The views over the rocky river below was beautiful. The creation was incredible and you couldn't help but feel God's presence around you - I felt alive!! We had five zip lines to cross and three of them were over the river. On the last one we had the option of going over the river upside down! I took pictures of my family going over one by one upside down. I went last and asked the guide to take my picture when I went over. I think I surprised the family when I came across with my head over the river and my legs in the air!! When would I ever get the chance to try something like that again. It was a rush! It was hard to leave to come home. I would have loved to stay longer. I was starting to feel like myself again (I had been off my drugs for two weeks already) and had a zest for life. I knew coming home meant starting all the chemo and steroids up again. The trip was a great escape for all of us and I would love to go back one day if possible.

We came back from BC on a Saturday night late. Monday I had an all day chemo/calcium treatment at the hospital. Today I went back to get a port -a-cath put into my chest. I was awake for the procedure and the doctor talked me through it. I told him that freezing takes a bit longer to set in in my body. I felt the freezing needle go in and he right away asked for the scalpel. I could feel a lot of the work being done. When the freezing took, it was just a lot of tugging and pulling. I had a quarter size (looks like a small dental floss) piece put in with a tube attached to it on my left side. This tube runs through the vein and goes across my chest to a valve off/beside my heart. This unit will stay in forever. The nurses were having a hard time getting into my veins with an IV and the lab was having a hard time getting through all the scar tissue in my arm to get blood. I've been doing blood work for 15 years now and the scar tissue had finally built up. It was easier for everyone if I just had a port-a-cath. Right now the freezing it staring to thaw and I'm feeling the wounds a bit. I have nine stitches and six staples holding everything closed. Next Friday the staples come out and the stitches will dissolve. I also have to carry around a medical alert card in my wallet now.

I think that updates everything here. There is much to be thankful for - for the most part things are well.

Take care,

Sharon

Hello to all:

Today is a much better day! I went to the doctor in Owen Sound yesterday to start my new cocktail of chemo. The one chemo is the same, but just a slightly larger dose taken by IV. I did notice that when I dragged the IV to the bathroom I felt like I was going to tip over a few times, or was a bit dizzy. With the last treatments I did I sometimes feel dizzy and other times I was fine. The doctors always want you to have a driver for chemo appointments just for that very reason. Anyway, I also had my four hour IV for the calcium in my blood and I did blood work again. So it was a full day at the hospital. Then I was sent to the pharmacy to pick up eight different drugs just to deal with all the side effects of chemo! I take eleven chemo pills once a week on the same day as my IV chemo. Than a drug 12 hours before the oral chemo and than again 12 hours after. The steroids were increased (just when I was going to ask them to decrease them!) but I take them every other day so hopefully there is more of a balance. This way maybe I can control the mood swings and weepiness! There is a bit more feeling of nausea, but I can control that with food (of course) for the most part. I have to take at least one nausea pill a day - doctors orders - and then all the rest of the pills. It almost feels like I'm having a buffet of pills everyday!

Not much else to report. Next week Monday I do the chemo thing again and Tuesday is the visit to Toronto to meet the new doctor. Maybe I'll wait till after Tuesday to write again.

Thanks for all the support and hopefully you are all enjoying the sunshine outside!

Love Sharon

Hello,

Just a quick update, not too much to report. At the end of the month I go to Toronto to meet a new doctor. Tomorrow this doctor wants my Owen Sound doctor to start a new "cocktail" of drugs. I'll still take my chemo and steroids, but they will add another drug to the mix. With this mixture I will only have to go to the hospital once a week instead of twice. I take the drug for three weeks and get the fourth week off. My doctor told me not to count chemo rounds anymore. I will be on this drug plan until a new drug comes out or a new trial comes out.

For the most part I am doing pretty good. No nasty side effects. I am very tired and can feel pretty weak. Some days I have energy to do my stuff and other days I just lay around without much energy. The steroids can make me weepy and a lot of things irritate me. This isn't always nice in the home. I do get mood swings from the drugs and I am fully aware of how I react. I don't always like hanging around with myself. This is why I'm not too excited about being on the drugs for who knows how long. On the other hand, I only go to the hospital once a week for chemo. Hopefully this new cocktail will be good to me. The doctors know that the chemo is doing the job. My counts have dropped considerably which is good news! Much to be thankful for. I look forward to going to Toronto, meeting the new doctor and getting some answers for future treatments.

In the meantime we have been receiving a lot of help. The meals keep coming, ladies come cleaning, people visit and many prayers are going up. Not every day is easy or pleasant, but I still know in Whom my help comes.

Love Pete, Sharon and kids.

Hello everyone!

I have finally gotten a new computer, my other computer has been down since January! Just shows how technical I am. Maybe you've all heard my cancer is back again after a year and a half remission - not a long one for the procedure I went through (they were hoping for around a four year remission - I was hoping for longer because I was young and healthy). Apparently my age is not helping me at all, actually it is worse that I am young. The younger you are when you get cancer the more aggressive it is. The older you are the "better" because it took that much longer for the cancer to appear.

I'll back up a little bit here. I was feeling pretty good in the beginning of the year and was last told my cancer was inactive. So I starting working out again and actually ended up where I used to kick box. I did one night of "light" workout and took it easy - I didn't want to be dumb about anything- I wanted to build up my strength again in case my cancer came back. Then the instructor told me he had started a women's fitness class in the mornings. I joined that instead for three mornings a week. It was a bit like boot camp, but I went at my pace. I had lost so much muscle during cancer that I couldn't run or do push-ups anymore. As time went on I got stronger and stronger. What a feeling - I even started sprinting again. In March my family went to Florida for our vacation and it was a good time, but I started having a bit of pain in my tailbone. I just assumed it was from sitting in the vehicle for so long. Everything is so easy to write off as something else or as nothing at all. I also starting getting some pain in the top of my legs going into the hip joints. At my next doctor visit she order two MRIs, one for the upper spine and neck and the other on my lower spine and hip area. The upper MRI was good, the lower one showed some cuts in the tailbone area. In April I started getting tired more often and the pain in my legs were there on and off. I stopped working out, but I regret none of these workouts. Actually I'm glad I could have the feeling of strength and having my "body back" to how I used to feel even for those short months. Also I am stronger again for this next round of cancer. In May I fell down the stairs on my back. I was extra sore for about a week and a week after that I had another doctor visit so I mentioned my fall. That day the doctor ordered back and hip X-rays. Of course nothing showed up. The end of May I got the flu which turned into a cold. This cold lasted all of June - that should have been another clue. In early June the doctor did another MRI on my left leg at the hip joint. Sometimes it hurt to walk or shave in the shower on one leg - the MRI showed cuts in the upper leg bone. The smaller cuts were 1.4cm and the biggest one was 4cm long. Basically I was told "don't do anything with impact or you'll break your leg". Now I'm allowed to walk, bike and swim - possibly yoga. I have a hard time getting my mind and body to agree on things. My mind feels like I could do anything and my body says "no" to everything! At the end of June I had my next monthly visit to Owen Sound and mentioned my month long cold. I ended up with chest and face X-rays to see if I had pneumonia. It turned out to be a sinus infection and antibiotics cleared that up - I felt like million bucks again. At the end of June my doctor did another bone marrow biopsy because my counts were going up slowly and I couldn't get rid of the common cold and I was getting more bone pain. The results showed my cancer was definitely back. It also took a lot longer to heal from the biopsy. It was very tender for a couple weeks. With the other biopsy's it felt like I had a good kick in the back, but the next day I was fine. Mid July I was sent to London for a second opinion for the type of treatment I would be taking to tackle this next round of cancer. My doctor in Owen Sound was on vacation and said they may start you on treatment right away if they need to. In London I was told my cancer was back and it was aggressive. This was on a Wednesday - by Monday I was starting chemo in Owen Sound. It's good that I can do all this in Owen Sound. Every Monday and Thursday I go to the hospital for chemo and I take the steroids the day of and after chemo. The steroids are the wonderful drugs that give mood swings. I can handle the cancer, but the mood swings of course affect the whole family - not always a pleasant situation. One round of treatment is two weeks of chemo and one week off. I'm into my second round already and have to do 8 in total. This chemo will make me very tired, weaken muscles and affect the nerve endings in my hands and feet. I will have tingling sensations or burning. So far I can't complain about anything. I'm not throwing up, I won't lose my hair this time, the tingling is not too bad and I can still get the kids to soccer etc. I usually have someone come in on Friday's to give me a hand with the house work.

At my last visit to the hospital on Monday there seemed to be a bit of urgency in the doctor. This treatment will only give me a year a remission - at 36 years old that doesn't seem like a lot. The doctor got on the phone with London and they don't know what to do with me. I think the next treatments I get after this may be in Toronto. London isn't aggressive enough and Toronto isn't afraid to do trials and transplants. As bad as it sounds - I'm young and stronger and could probably handle the treatments better than a 75 year. By the time I hit remission they hope to have my next treatment figured out and to start it right away. This means I won't have time to get strong in between. I may have to start swimming! Although my immune system is low and pools are crowded.

Anyway, I'm going to wrap this up. It's been a long day. I hope to keep the updates more regular now that you are up to date! I want to thank everyone for the continued support of thoughts, prayers, cards, cleaning, meals, flowers, help around the house and taking the kids out once in a while. It's all very much appreciated and is felt very deeply by us all.

Love from Pete, Sharon, Natasha, Heather & Shaun.

Hello,

Happy New Year everyone. I had an appointment to go to London the beginning of December, but London kept cancelling on me for different reasons. In a way it was frustrating because I wanted to know what the doctor's were thinking about my cancer, but on the other hand it was a bit reassuring because I must not have been a priority. Pete and I finally went to London on the 5th of January. The doctor went over all my blood tests and MRI's etc. and thought they looked okay - nothing to worry about. He figured any pain I was having wasn't myeloma related but maybe age or being stiff. I have heard the age thing before (and I happened to have cancer), but I don't think 35 is that old - I feel like a spring chicken in my mind! I can't think what else any pain can be related to, I have always been healthy and active. I asked the doctor "What do I tell people when they ask how my appointment went - in English? Do I tell them the cancer is in remission?". He said "You just tell them that your myeloma is inactive". He did do a few more blood tests there in London just to make sure they compared to the ones I had in Owen Sound. When we came home the kids were asking how the appointment in London went and what did the doctor say. I told them my myeloma was inactive and Shaun said "What's that mean?". I told him "My cancer is sleeping!". I guess this is all good news. In the meantime I have been going to Owen Sound for my I.V. again. I had some jealous stares the last time I went because it seems we always have to wait in oncology for our appointments. It was no different for me, but last time I got called in to the chemo room (where all the IVs are put in) there was a man and a lady hooked up looking like they had been there all day already. Next thing they knew the nurse slide the needle into my hand and gave me the bottle of meds to slip into my pocket and I got up to leave. The man and lady both perked up and said "That's it? You get to go already?!". Who knows maybe they'll be getting the bottle next time!

Overall I've been doing pretty good. Sept. to Nov. were pretty busy months and I felt it too. I was tired and sore off and on. December, surprisingly, was a good month health wise. I wasn't tired or too sore, and I was even active. I did about four runs down the hill on Heather's tube, I played a little volleyball on Boxing Day (I must admit I was nervous about that at first) and our family got Wii Sports for gift giving. I tend to do the "lunge" when I bowl, so by the end of Christmas holidays who knows how many squats I ended up doing. I felt the muscles come alive again! The doctor in London didn't seem to mind my activities, but when Pete & I talked to the family doctor he almost had a heart attack. "Tobogganing and volleyball are impact sports! You have to be careful". I told him it felt good and I didn't over do it - when it started to hurt I stopped. He just looked at Pete and said, "You just can't talk to women".

Pete and I enjoyed our get away at the end of October. We did some ATVing and lots of relaxing! Apparently our "live in nanny" for the week did such an awesome job taking care of the kids that when we came in the door the kids said, "You're home already?!". When I found out all the fun things they did with the sitter I said, "How can I compete with that?". It's good to know they had fun too.

At the end of the month the play I've been helping the gr. 7&8's with will be performed. It's been a lot of fun hanging around with them watching them learn and have a good time. It also gives me something to do and enjoy with Natasha. She will become a teenager at the end of this week. It seems hard to believe that Pete and I getting into teenagers already.

Anyway, health wise things are still looking good. That is a lot to be thankful for. I'm still keeping up with my regular house chores and being a mom and wife, plus a few little side events. I don't take on too much and say no to things that in another time I would have agreed too.

Hope you all had a good holiday break and a good start to the new year. There may not be much to tell in the next little while since my health is doing well. That's a blessing.

Thanks for checking in and all your continued prayer and support.

Love from Pete, Sharon, Natasha, Heather and Shaun.

Hello everyone:



Today I spent the day in the hospital to get the results from my last check-up. Today is also Pete's and my anniversary - last year we spent it in the honeymoon suite on the hospital discount in London because the next day was the beginning of my 15 day stay in isolation - how time flies!!



Anyway, I had gone to the Owen Sound hospital near the end of September for my regular IV, but the doctors held off because of a toothache I had. I was also experiencing a lot of pain because I think I had pulled a muscle in my back. It had hurt so bad that at night I could hardly breathe - it felt like a vice grip around my rib cage. I could hardly hold up a pan of beans, drive the van or get out of bed. The next day happened to be my scheduled IV. When they heard my symptoms (which sounded a lot like the symptoms when I was first diagnosed) they wanted to do an MRI just to make sure all was O.K. I had also had some pain in my hips. When I was sleeping one night I had a dream that I was running in a race and came in dead last because my hips hurt. When I woke up, my hips were really hurting! (I was more upset that I lost the race than about the pain I was having in my hips - I had never in my life lost a race where I came in dead last!!) So the doctor sent me straight to X-rays after my appointment. The blood work I had done the month before (the full lab sheet of work) wasn't in yet so I had to wait till this month. That's why the blog was not written yet.



Today my oncologist came back from maternity leave. She was gone since March so it will be nice to have a regular doctor again. My MRI came back showing that everything was looking good on my spine. The X-rays on my hips didn't show anything. I had a tooth filled at the dentist last week, but I'm still having a bit of pain in my jaw bones. The doctor held off with my IV again just in case I go back to the dentist. I told her it feels like the bone hurts - not my teeth. Maybe it's my teeth that are the problem and it's making the bone hurt. It's hard to tell. Last Sunday my jaw was very achy so I massaged it, and while I was massaging I felt a peanut size lump by my right ear. It doesn't bother my unless I touch it. I didn't even know it was there. I mentioned it to the doctor and she thought it could be from the IV drug I take so that was another reason I didn't get the IV. In the meantime my protein and calcium are up, which isn't a good thing but the counts are so small that the lab couldn't even give the oncologist a number. The doctor wants to keep on eye on this so I went downstairs for more blood work to compare to last month's blood work. She said the counts could just be a increase and the next month's could be back to normal again. I also have to go for a CAT scan. They have held off with this test because there is radiation in CAT scans, but after MRI's and X-rays, they want a more thorough picture done. Depending on the results of my CAT scan and blood work, the doctor may send a letter to London hospital as to the next steps. If my counts go down, and the lump shows to be nothing, I'll just continue my regular routine at Owen Sound. Hopefully this makes some kind of sense. Sometimes I walk out of the hospital not quite sure of everything myself. It makes sense while I'm talking to the doctor, but when I have to share the story it comes out different.



Anyway, I'm not too worried. Everyday I continue with my activities and chores and regular routine. I feel pretty good. My pain isn't as bad anymore - I just take it easy. I didn't even play soccer with the adults against the gr. 7 & 8's (so they could prepare for the tournament this Saturday). My mind wanted to, but I listened to my body instead. (It took will power I tell you!!) I also hope to teach the gr. 7 & 8's drama for the next month and a half. I'm looking forward to it!



In the meantime I plan to enjoy my anniversary dinner with the family tonight! At the end of the month Pete and I hope to go on a trip and get away from everything for a bit. Things are going well and I'm looking forward to this trip more than my last year's trip to isolation

Hello,

Well summer's over and the kids are back to school for their second day already! We had an awesome summer this year...much better than last year!! This year was like a gift for me and I had a completely different outlook on it. Usually summers in our household are - we'll work in the mornings and play in the afternoons. This year it was - we'll do what needs to get done and for the rest we're on vacation! I just absorb everything now, watching my kids play together, enjoying the weather, the camping, my health - but mostly just being with my family! This is the first time I wasn't ready for school to start again!

I've been so busy with summer and helping with the welcome evening for our new minister and his family, that I've neglected the blog! Usually if there is no news, it means its good news. I received the results from the biopsy's. My bone marrow from my hip came back with a small trace of the cancer cells (5%) from what was taken - this is how I understand it. The doctor said it was nothing to worry about, so I'm not. At the end of this month I go to Owen Sound for my monthly IV and than I do full blood work (check off all the boxes on the lab sheet) and a 24hr urine sample to make sure the levels (cell counts) haven't changed too drastically. As for the biopsy from my stomach I'll need another scope done in six months time from my last one to make sure my stomach isn't more irratated or inflamed. The pills I'm taking from the last scope are supposed to cure that though. Time will tell. In the meantime I don't think too much about my health, but just enjoy each new day as it comes. It's a nice way to live!

I can't remember if I told you about my IV's. I get them once a month and it's just a "maintenace" drug - nothing to do with the cancer - to help the calcium in my blood to stick to my bones and hopefully make them stronger. The IV lasts about 4 hours. Earlier this year I was asked if I wanted to have the IV put in and than go home with it. When I heard that I thought to myself, "but I have a really good thing going on here in the hospital". Usually I take a bag to the hospital with a good thick novel, a water bottle, a sandwich and lot's of snacks. Then the nurse will get me settled into a lazy-boy chair, recline me, get me a pillow and a handmade blanket, come back with a tray of cookies and ask if I want any coffee to go with that. Than they stick me with a needle and I'm "trapped" for 4 hours. Now they want to know if I want to take the IV home?! I said, "No thanks, I'm good right here!". There are no dishes staring at me, no laundry piles begging to be washed, no weeds wanting to be pulled up and no beds needing to be made at the hospital!...all good things can't last forever. When school ended in June I figured I couldn't leave my kids home alone all day while I go to the "spa". Sometimes there are delays at the hospital and I end up being there from the time I drop the kids off at school until I pick them up again. If I were gone all day it would leave the kids plenty of opportunity to get in fights! So in the end I decided to take the IV home. The lab fills a balloon with my drugs and place it in a plastic bottle. A long tube runs out of the bottle with a needle on the end. Now when I get to the hospital I'm put into the recliner (with out being reclined!) and they stick me with the needle, tape the tube up my arm so it doesn't dangle, place the bottle in my pocket, say "have a nice day" and I go home to my chores. After the balloon empties I pull the needle out and throw the whole contraption away. The next month I went back to get the same thing done again and they asked, "How did it go taking the IV home?" I said, "It's hard to get things done with always having to watch out for the tube or the bottle falling out of my pocket. Plus I don't want my meds to start boiling over the steaming pots while I'm cooking dinner!" They gave me a "prescrpition" to go out for dinner on those IV days. Of course I rushed home with this exciting new prescription, but Pete's not buying it. I told him I have to follow doctor's orders - very important! The kids seem to agree with the doctor too! Pete still isn't buying it. Anyway, now that school started again I wonder if I can get back to the "spa" way again! I'll probably just take the IV home and give myself a prescription for the day off.

That's it for now, the end of the month may produce some more news. So for now, enjoy getting into the new school, homework, making lunches -and for my family now- catechism routines! I hope you all had an enjoyable and safe summer! Thanks for all the many prayers that still go up for my family even though things here are relatively good. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Take care,
Pete, Sharon, Natasha, Heather and Shaun.

Hello!

Tuesday I went to Owen Sound hospital for the scope (tube) down my throat. I expected it to go a little differently. I've heard stories that it's not a pleasant procedure. I was expecting to sit on the edge of the hospital bed and be awake while the doctor scoped the situation out. I was told I would be slightly sedated so that things would be more comfortable. My friend brought me and I got into my gown. Next I had to answer a whole bunch of questions and then was brought into the waiting room where all the operations happen. I was thinking that this was all pretty official for a tube down the throat. The nurse came and brought me into the operating room and I was met by four people. I said "I get four people to put one tube down my throat?". I put on my hospital "shower" cap and little slippers. The anesthesiologist(?) tried putting an IV in my left hand while the nurses were giving instructions. The doctor than asked why I was there - why did I need the scope down the throat? How comforting! I had met with him already about this earlier. In the meantime I was getting poked in the left hand and I finally asked him to try the right hand (my usual) - it worked. The nurse put the blood pressure cuff on my left arm and my left hand started bleeding like a sieve from all the needle pokes! It was quite funny. The doctor asked me to come over on the left side of the bed, so I swung my legs over to get it done. That's when they told me I was being put out. The anesthesiologist said "This will go quick". I said "This is quick" and then I heard,"yep", and I was gone.

I heard "Sharon, we're all done and we are bringing you back to recovery". Altogether it took about 1/2 an hour. I woke up with a prescription on my stomach and I asked what it was for. The nurses said, "I don't know. Maybe this or maybe that." I said "Maybe you can find out for me". Apparently my stomach looked irritated and they had some pills for me to take. Of course I couldn't talk to the doctor - he was onto the next operation already! Had I known I would have asked a couple of questions before the procedure and asked to see the scope. When I asked the nurse questions she didn't have many answers. She looked on the computer and said that the doctor had taken a biopsy of my esophagus and one from my stomach. In 10 days I could call my family doctor for results. I have now had 3 biopsy's in one week. I am not too worried about any of these tests, whether they turn out good or bad. It doesn't play on my mind like it did last year when we didn't know anything.

In the meantime, the family has gone camping. Actually, I just came home to do a little laundry (it's raining out right now) and then we'll be heading back. It's very relaxing for me to be at the campground - it's good for me physically and mentally. I'm sure everyone enjoys the campground and it relaxes them. There is no stress and there are no deadlines. It's just a lot of rest and reading. The kids and I go biking a lot too!

Anyway, thanks for reading and keeping up to date. When I get results I'll fill you all in again.

Take care and have a good summer holiday!

Love from Pete, Sharon, Natasha, Heather and Shaun.

Hello again:

I don't know if anyone is still peeking in on this blog, but here we go again. Last Wednesday I had another bone marrow biopsy. On my doctor visit last month my blood test showed some cancer cells floating around. The doctor wasn't sure if these cells were left overs or if the cancer is back - the only way to find out is by doing a biopsy. On Wednesday I went to Owen Sound hospital kinda dreading the situation. It's a 15 min procedure, but it can be a bit uncomfortable - it has a couple of seconds of intense pain once they are in the middle of your bone. The doctor asked if I was alright and I answered "yes, but I'm not looking forward to it". He than wanted to give me a pill for under my tongue to settle me. I told him I was fine and didn't want anything except for it to be done.

Like last time, the doctor rubbed some gel on the hip (on the right side between the butt and the back - almost feels like your lower back) and then the needle to freeze the area up in a few spots. After comes the thick needle that gets inserted into the bone. I felt a lot of pressure and then the pain comes when they extract the marrow. Last time I remember it hurting a lot more so when the pain was there I thought it's going to hurt more in a few minutes, but when I look over my shoulder the marrow was already going into the sample jar full of solution. It was over and wasn't nearly as bad a I thought it would be. All said and done it's not a procedure to worry about, it's just uncomfortable, mind you it wouldn't be on my list of top ten things to do on my day off!

The lab tech asked if I wanted to see the marrow. I always want to see things that happen to me or come out of me just because it's my body and I'm interested. The marrow was a red "stick" about an inch and a half long and as thick as a Q-tip stick. It gets sent off to Toronto were it gets tested. When the marrow comes out it also comes with blood that has "floaties" in it that get tested as well. Normally you get results in 2-3 weeks, but there is a back log of 4-6 weeks. This time around I'm not worried about it, what will be will be. I have been through it before and know what to expect. Also last time around the doctors did the basic treatment on me and it worked. Apparently they have many "goodies" out there that they haven't even tried on me yet. So in the meantime I plan to enjoy this summer.

Next Tuesday I go to the hospital to have a tube down my throat. In the beginning of the year I would occasionally have trouble swallowing liquids. I ended up doing a swallow test where I first had to swallow "liquid chalk". It was very disgusting and I almost threw it up over their high tech equipment! According to that test all looked good, but Tuesday is just a precaution follow up. They figure I may have a bit of scar tissue on my esophegus because of the radiation I had last July. I haven't had problems swallowing since that last test, so I'm not too worried about it.

I think the last time I wrote was in December when all my treatments were done and it was just a matter of resting. Things have been going pretty good - I still nap 3 or 4 times a week. I go to the Owen Sound hospital once a month for blood work and an IV to help the calcium floating around in my blood to stick to my bones. I have to do the IV for about 2 years - I've already done a good half year of it already. The doctors will keep on eye on the calcium because they don't want to give me too much of the drug, but they don't want to stop it too early either. This drug is good for all my bones of course, but the jaw bone is made up differently. The drug actually weakens the jaw. In the beginning of the year I had a toothache and went to my regular dentist. Once the dentist hears about the IV drug they back away from the situation in a real hurry. The jaw becomes so brittle that a root canel can snap a piece of your jaw off just like that. My dentist starts referring me to another and the oncology clinic stops my IV for a least 2 months prior to any denatl work. London hospital has its own dental unit for cases like myself and I figured I'd rather go to the London hospital where the dentists are familiar with the IV drug than go to some nervous local dentist. Pete came with me and the dentist did some X-rays that showed my teeth were fine except for a wisdom tooth pushing up against a back molar. The good news was that no work needed to be done to my teeth, the bad news was that they can't take out my wisdom teeth. It's too dangerous. Not only that, the dentist said 2 months isn't nearly long enough to be off the drug to be doing dental work. He said even if I stopped my IV now, the drug would be in my system for 6 years still! It's amazing what drugs do to you.

Speaking of drugs, I stopped my pain pills in April. Actually I ran out of them over the Easter weekend. I was supposed to be weaned off them, but once the weekend was over it had been 4 days already and my symptoms were minimal. By the time I got into see a doctor it had been 2 weeks and I was feeling great. I painted the office at work for Pete, weeded the garden and starting vacuuming again. After the two weeks were up it hit me. I was completely exhausted, napping every day - sometimes twice! I didn't have energy for anything and it hurt to do anything. The pain pills I was on were time released - I took one in the morning that lasted all day and one again at night that took me till the morning. I also had a break through pill that when things got real sore I could just pop one and within about 2 mins I was feeling relief for about 3 hours. Now I was on nothing and my body was in withdrawal. I would get the sweats on and off and be a bit restless, but the biggest thing was being totally exhausted. I wasn't sleeping properly at night so I started taking a sleeping pill and one break through pain pill just to take the edge off and give me a good night's rest. What a difference a nights sleep makes! Anyway, I wasn't getting much done in the house, I still had to get the kids back and forth to school on time (it was amazing that the kids even made it some days), supper was always a last minute effort - sometimes late and than the homework that always comes near the end of the year. I wasn't really keeping up and I had a lot of guilt with that. I didn't want to ask for help because others had the same things to do at their own homes, but after a couple weeks I almost asked for meals again (just for days that were too much). I had guilt about not keeping up and being so tired and some even asked if I was depressed (my mood was always ok). I said "I don't think so, but things are depressing. Is that the same thing?" Just as quick as the tiredness hit, it also went away. That was 6 weeks later. I still have pain in my back and hips, but I'm not on pain killers all day, so I have to take it easy. In a way it's a blessing in disguise that I'm off the pills. When I was on them I was always going full throttle, but didn't feel anything. Now that I'm off, I have to listen to my body and it isn't near to being healed. On the pills I was just abusing my body beyond it's limits and I probably prolonged it's healing. A personal trainer told me that my body will heal faster and truer to itself off the pills (something about the nerves being used to all the pain killers). Now I struggle a little with the things I can't do because my body can't handle it all. I have always been active so this is just something that will take time to adjust to - not always easy. I'm getting a good taste of what the elderly go through - and that is an eye opener! If I get into a rut of thinking of what I can't do I have to turn it around and think of what I can do and hopefully over time (maybe years) I will be able to do more.

My body also went through other things that tied in with the tiredness. I have a lot of memory gaps. I can be talking and than not know what I was saying. Sometimes I really have to think about someone's name - even if I know them. My brain can't handle too many things. For example the last 2 weeks the kids have had swimming lessons every morning and then they would have soocer at night. Doing that and having a nap in between was enough for me to think about. Such simple things - but it takes a lot of mental energy. Swimming is done, so life should be a bit easier now. A visit to the family doctor last month cleared up some things. Apparently I'm in menopause - that would explain the sweating and memory (the doctor said it's going to get worse). He also said that tests done at the hospital showed I probably wouldn't be able to ever have another baby. I had been taking a few pregnancy tests over the spring months - only to be negative. I had been so tired and my cycles had stopped, even the oncologists were doing some pregnancy tests on me. I was also told I might need my immunizations done again since chemo killed everthing off in my body. Lastly I had to get a full body x-ray done since that hadn't been done after my transplant (apparently that's mandatory - with a biopsy - that now is done). I told the doctor that I didn't believe in x-rays anymore since it couldn't find my cancer, but he said they needed it for their records. After about 15-20 x-rays (limb by limb) I told them that they now had a nice photo album of me! Anyway, that is a lot of changes to my body in a couple of months.

I'm pretty sure everything is up tp date again. I try to be organized in my day so that by afternoon everything is done (supper too) in case I need a nap. The kids are home and they are a great help, but I always hear them when I try to nap! We camped the first week out of school and it was so relaxing - my body didn't even hurt as much! We plan to camp some more.

I hope to update you again after Tuesday, but sometimes the idea of sitting here typing can be a lot to think about and my back does get sore sitting over a keyboard. No promises on being too regular, but I'll do my best.

Take care and thanks for the on going prayers!

Love Pete, Sharon, Natasha, Heather & Shaun

I'm back!

I probably shouldn't have left you all hanging with that last blog because many think I'm still dog tired and not up to much at all. I am getting better. I forgot to mention in my last blog that after my transplant I also had a platelet transfusion (because I had low platelets). While the transfusion was dripping through my IV I noticed it wasn't my blood type. I mentioned it to the nurse but they told me it wasn't the "whole" blood, only the platelets and not to worry. Good thing because the bag was half empty already. I also had a high fever the whole time I had the runs and the nurses were always trying to bring it down. I told them I didn't feel like I had a fever - they were amazed at that.

Anyway six days after coming home I had to go back to London for a check up. I did blood work and an hour later the results were in. I'm always amazed at how fast they get the results because the cancer floor alone deals only in blood work for results and there are hundreds of people coming in a day doing blood work. In the appointment with my doctor they said my blood work was good and the white cell counts were the same as any healthy person. A normal white count is between 4 and 7 1/2. Mine count was 7.2. They said I was normal and could fight off a cold like any other person. I said, "what's normal, cancer free?". They said "we can't guarantee that we got every cancer cell". When I got home I told Pete and the kids that I was normal. The kids cheered and asked if they could tell their teachers for prayer request. I said ,"no not yet, it all seems a little fast". Two days later I went to my family doctor and asked what normal meant. All he said was only God knows if the cancer is going to come back. I know that too. He also said I didn't look skeletal like some of his other cancer patients coming out of the hospital. I said "I know I thought I would lose a lot of weight too, so I ate a lot before going into the hospital that way I could live off body fat for about a week in case I lost my appetite". He just laughed and suggested I write a book, it would be quite funny. I was still hesitant about telling people that I was normal because I wasn't sure myself if that meant remission yet or not.

Two weeks after coming out of the hospital I went back to London to get my permcath taken out. A friend brought me and it was only going to take about half an hour. I was brought into a room that looked like a recovery room with four beds along each side. I was told the doctor would be coming soon. When the doctor came I asked if he could talk me through the procedure. Next thing I know the nurse closes the curtain around us and we are all ready to take this thing out! I said, "we are doing this right here?". When I had the permcath put in there was stainless steel all around me with bright lights and a multitude of monitors. Now there was a little bed with a beige curtain wrapped around the nurse, doctor, me and a small tray of tools! Talk about being nervous! The doctor was getting ready to start when I thought to bring up the topic of freezing. He said, "this permcath has been in for four weeks so there is a possibility that tissue may have grown around the tube in my chest. If it's tough to pull out than we'll come in with heavy freezing". I said, "hey, I know, let's do the freezing right now". The doctor just rolled his eyes like I was just prolonging everything. Finally he said,"fine, but it's really going to prick you and than sting like crazy". I thought, alright - at least I know what to expect. After bathing my chest in the famous pink iodine he came with the needle to freeze me. I felt a small prick and nothing else. He gave me three needles on one side of the tube and three on the other side and actually pointed it straight down! I thought there has got to be a lung there or something vital down there, but all was well. The doctor had an expression like I should be in pain, but I have had more needles in my life - the way he talked I figured it would be something to worry about. Anyway, I just looked at a spot on the ceiling and the doctor starting pulling on the tube (he forgot to take out one of the stitches). I felt a lot of tugging and pulling again. Every time it got a little stuck he came with a little scalpel and then started pulling again. I wondered how anyone would do this without freezing. When it finally popped out it made a suction noise and gushed with blood. The tube still held the shape of a "j" (from going over the collar bone). The doctor left and the nurse stayed and kept pressure on the wound. It looked like a bullet hole, mind you I've never been shot before. It bled through the bandage, so I had to have a big dressing on it. A week later it closed (no stitches) and now I'm left with a scar. Finally I can take a normal shower without having to wrap in Saran wrap!! Such simple pleasures we take for granted.

On November 10 I went to the hospital in Owen Sound for my monthly IV. That is the drug that takes the calcium floating around in my blood and sticks it to my bones again. After the IV I met with my oncologist and talked about how things were going since leaving London. My bones had been hurting again especially in my hips and lower back. I didn't have bone pain for two weeks before London and the first week in the hospital - I felt great, but now the pain was back again. I wasn't too worried though because I knew the chemo was going to eat away at the marrow in my bones. The way I figured it all was that the pain would only be temporary. The oncologist didn't like that I had pain as bad as I was saying. I would wake every hour because my hip would hurt and than I would have to roll over again for about an hour until I would wake up from the pain of the other hip. This would go on all night. She gave me some break through pills for the pain. She also thought it could be from the chemo and wanted me to keep an eye on the pain for the next month. I asked her what normal meant - did it mean I was in remission? She looked at me and said, "you've been in remission since September". I guess it was the steroids that took care of that. She said we couldn't harvest you if you had been full of cancer! Makes sense I guess, but maybe they could have mentioned that a couple months ago. So it's official - I'm in remission! I asked the oncologist if there were any other types of steroids and she said "not really". I said "steroids aren't really good for relationships" (they made me very moody- lots of ups & downs). She told me she knows they are awful, she has a patient who just tried to commit suicide. She also said my body did well with just the basics (steroids & transplant) and that we haven't even gotten into the "goodies" yet. There are so many drugs we haven't tried and if the cancer does come back than I might even be able to have another transplant because I'm so young. Anyway there are still options, it sounded encouraging.

At home I still get help everyday, but now I join in with the chores where possible. We get meals every other day and Pete still drives the kids to school in the morning. He has been plowing lately, but still manages to come home for the kids. We have lots of snow up here and already one snow day.

Next week already I go for my monthly IV and the first week of January I go to London for a check up with the radiation doctor. That is just to see if the pain has gotten better or if I need more radiation anywhere. From now on I get checked every three months with blood work and MRI's to see if I'm still healthy. As time goes on the appointments get further between.

Anyway I should go now, the kids are home. Thanks for the continued support from every one in every way.

Love from Pete, Sharon, Natasha, Heather & Shaun

Hello Everyone!!

It has been awhile since the last blog - almost a month! Who knows if anyone is still looking for updates, but some have mentioned lately that they keep peeking once in awhile. I kept telling Pete that I would get to it, but I still get tired easily (mentally too). Well, here I am and getting stronger everyday - there is still a long ways to go though.

On Oct. 15 Pete and I went to the hospital in London. It was chemo day and I must say once we were there I was getting a bit nervous. Like a lady from church here said to me "It's one thing to take drugs knowing that they are going to make you better, it's another thing to take drugs knowing its going to kill everything in your body!" That was exactly how I felt. You are allowing someone to put this "poison" into you, and its going to slowly seep through your body and even into your BRAIN and there is nothing you can do to stop it. What a feeling. My isolation room wasn't quite ready yet so I was put in a ward for the time being. Later they wheeled me into my room. The isolation area was behind the nurses station. There was a big heavy door that led into a hand washing room/file room. Off of this room were three other small rooms, one for each cancer patient in isolation - I had the end room. Once in my room they came in with the chemo bag for my IV. This bag was not very big at all and it looked like water - so innocent looking! The IV went into my permcath which hangs out of my chest and it dripped for 35 mins. That was it. A high dose chemo done in half an hour and I was done with my chemo treatments, how strange when many others have chemo for months! Then the waiting started. I wondered when I would feel it, but I felt fine. I actually went out for dinner that night. The next day was good and the day after too. The 17th I had my transfusion. I was quite eager for this day because I wanted my harvest to start chasing after the chemo that had a two day head start! The doctors kept telling me I had a great harvest so that was even better in my eyes. I was disappointed though when I found out they had mixed my harvest with someone else's blood to dilute my stem cells. The nurse said "Sorry, is that a problem?". I said "Isn't it a little late now?" I took the transplant obviously, but later a doctor told me it wasn't about mixing up some one's blood with my blood. Stem cells are different than blood, blood can be broken up (cells, platelets etc.) and used for different reasons. This person's blood was my type but just there to dilute my stems cells which can be quite "sticky" and get stuck in the lines. The doctor's wanted to make sure every single stem cell of mine made it back into my body. Anyway, I ended up learning a lot about blood in London. I still felt fine and the nurses encouraged me to walk the halls as much as possible, to keep your muscles moving and strong. I asked when is the chemo going to hit me? They said by the following Wednesday (this was Friday).

Pete came on Sunday with kids. They came around noon but weren't allowed in my room because the girls had a bit of the sniffles. So I went out. They have a family lounge room just down the hall from the nurses station. At first Shaun was a little quiet. He was seeing if his mom was still OK or if maybe I was different now with the chemo. It didn't take long before he was saying "Hey mom, guess what happened at school?". The girls seemed alright with everything. It was still me and I still had hair, I was just a bit tired. Later the family took me outside for some fresh air in a wheel chair. I think Pete picked an old relic - I don't even think there was rubber on the tires!! Each of the kids took turns pushing me, I'm sure we hit every curb and bump on the grounds. After we went in and the nurses gave the kids pop and ice cream and pulled a TV into the family room and we watched a movie together. Just before they left at 5 I asked Pete to take the kids real quick to my room. This way whenever we would call each other later on in my stay the kids could picture where I was.

The following days I noticed I was getting a little more tired each day, other than that I was still good. The only problem I had was thinking "OK three more days till Wed., now two more days till Wed etc". Finally it was Wednesday morning and I was still alright. Pete came to see me that day, but after he left everything hit me. I was very tired and my appetite had been slowing down. It felt like I had a real bad flu. The "icing on the cake" was getting the runs though. The nurses wanted a sample to run down to the lab to see if it was an infection or just the runs. Then they would know how to stop it - with antibiotics or just a couple of pills. The next day I was told the lab didn't test for the right things so I had to give another sample. I wasn't walking the halls anymore for exercise but there was no doubt in my mind that I was getting a workout. I ran to the bathroom steady. Every time a nurse came in I would ask "Any news from the lab yet?". The answer was always "No". I thought how could this get any worse - it had been two days! I soon found out. I was loosing too much fluid so they hooked me up to IV. Now I was running to the bathroom with an IV pole that had 5 wheels each going in different directions! By this point I wasn't eating at all anymore. Every time I had to take my pills (morning & night) I would throw them up as soon as they hit my stomach. Most of my pills have to be taken with food. Since I couldn't take most of my pills I had to take them all through my IV except two. The next day still no news about the lab results. Now I was getting a little angry. Just because the nurses forgot to tell the lab what to test for the first time I'm still having the runs with no treatment for it in sight. I asked "Can't you put a rush on my sample, it's been three days!" They couldn't. Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. Now the nurses wanted to see how much fluid I was loosing, so they put two "hats" (buckets) in the toilet to catch everything. My dilemma now was where to put the toilet paper. I know this is probably gross, but this was my situation. After three and a half days of cramps and throwing up in the garbage (because I had to sit on the toilet for the other end) the lab results came back. I had C-def (an infection in the bowels or intestines). Everyone has this C-def in their bodies, but with my white count being down I couldn't fight it off. I was put on antibiotics and by the end of the day the runs were done.

I had become very weak loosing all that fluid and not eating anything for a couple days. The food tray would come in and I'd try to eat something, at least to get my strength back, but most often I would ask them to take the tray right back out because the smell made me want to throw up. Water was my drink and ginger ale became my "food" (it sat heavier in my stomach than water). I had a few mouth sores, but nothing to speak of, they didn't hurt. I was just very weak and very tired. The nurses are great and always ask "Is there anything we can get you or do for you?" I asked if they called husbands. The answer was yes. I couldn't even phone home I was so weak. For four days they called Pete or Pete would call the hospital for updates. Being 3 hours away didn't help much for Pete or the kids, they couldn't just pop over for a second, so they had to depend on what the nurses were telling him. I was very weak so even filling my cup with water or changing the toilet paper roll was a chore and very exhausting. In the other two isolation rooms there was always family there helping the patient, I had to do everything for myself and maybe that helped me in recovering quicker than usual. During my stay I was also loosing my hair. My scalp was very itchy from the chemo and every time I scratched it I would have 5-10 hairs in each hand. I scratched a lot. Also my bed and especially my pillow had looked like a dog had just shed it's hair in there. Once I got past the runs a nurse came in with the razor and took my hair down to the scalp. It felt very refreshing after all that itching. I recommend a buzz cut to everyone (at least try it once in your life!). At first I looked like my brother Albert. I told him he had a twin. He said, "Everyone wants to look like me". I told him "It cost a lot of money, but it was worth every penny!".

In my room the nurses hung a chart that listed all the results from my blood work. Every morning between 4 and 6 the nurses would come in and take a couple tubes of blood and flush out my permcath (to prevent blood clots). By breakfast the results would be posted on the chart, just like a report card. Of course the only section I (or any cancer patient) was interested in was the white cell count. When I first came to the hospital they were exceptionally high because of the drugs I took with the needle in my stomach. With each day after chemo the count would drop. It had to get to .05 and that is how low the computer could read it. It stayed at that number for maybe four days (everyone is different) and than it started to climb as I got better. It was when mine was so low that I couldn't call Pete or eat my food and was very weak. Once it started to climb it was going up a full number each day. I was trying to walk the halls to get my strength back and eating my food (even if it was only three bites of soup). The nurses were impressed how fast it was going that on Tuesday a nurse said you might go home soon, maybe on Friday. By Tuesday night they said I could probably go home the next day! I call Pete to see if he could pick me up. It was short notice for him and he had to plan his day. The next morning the doctor came in and said I could go home. I stayed till dinner time Wed. so Pete could get some work in. At 9:00 pm I was home! It worked out well that the kids had Thurs. & Fri. off and happened to be invited to some cousins houses. This way I could rest (they didn't know I came home till after they came back Sunday night).

Since coming home I have become stronger everyday. At first I would get out of bed and get a bowl of cereal and right away lie down on the couch all weak and shaking. Or after a quick shower I would jump back in bed before I could get dressed because it felt like I would faint. Now I can set the table, put dinner in the oven (which someone kindly made), eat and maybe help clear the table. Then I'm finished. Actually last Wednesday I had a shower, shaved my legs (no, that hair didn't fall out), tried off , dressed and than ran to the couch while saying hello to the helper from church on my way by. Such simple things, but major improvements to me. I even managed to make one service the past two Sundays, mind you I cling to Pete when we have to stand. It's one thing to be up and move around, it's another when you just stand. After church I talked to people, but than all of a sudden it hits me and I have to go and sit in the vehicle. Last Sunday I was starting to sweat because all of a sudden it's too much. I also wear my wig (the only times I've worn it, usually I wear a winter hat at home or go bald) which Pete likes. Actually I get a lot of compliments on it - it makes me look foxy! It colour is called "cherry cola", it's dark hair with cherry red in it. It comes to my jaw line and it's straight hair. It's the only day of the week I dress up - maybe that's why Pete likes the look. Usually I'm in comfy lounge clothes at home.

By the way most of the hair on my head fell out (lot's since coming home - especially after my showers) and some of my eye lashes (more from my right eye - not that you could tell), I was afraid to use my mascara thinking the hair would all stick to the wand! My arm hair hasn't budged - of course. My leg hair didn't fall out either, so Pete kindly asked that I maybe shave it some time. So I did and since than (a week ago) nothing has grown back.

Anyway, there is more to tell since coming back, but I'm going to make this blog a "to be continued" blog because I'm getting tired and my back is getting sore. I'll try to get back on tomorrow.

It's amazing the amount of mail I've gotten. I bought a big card box and It's over flowing!! Plus a ton of emails have come either to the hospital or here at home. The nurses were impressed at my mail flow. Anyone who mailed me in London and wonders whether I got their mail after I left for home, it's all being forwarded here - still to this day! I also have meals coming regularly and a helper comes every morning Monday - Friday. We are all definitely being taken care of and none of it is taken for granted. All of you have been amazing to us through the past months. We couldn't have done it without all of your ongoing support in all of your own ways. Thank you!!!

To be continued.....

Love Pete, Sharon, Natasha, Heather & Shaun.

October 30th, 2008

Hi Everyone!

Sorry it's been a bit since the last update. I just have a lot on the go, sort a running around like a chicken with it's head cut off! Sunday, I visited Sharon and there was a big improvement, she looked and felt a lot better than the week prior. Monday, I got a call around 4pm from her and she said that the doctor came to see her and said: " If this keeps up, you might go home sooner than later! ". Well, good news, I picked her up last night. She is now at home in Owen Sound. She'll have to go back for some check-ups but some of them can be done in Owen Sound Hospital.
Please do not call her at home at this point, she is very weak and still has quite sometime to recover. Our home e-mail is psoosterhoff@sympatico.ca. The ladies of the church have thing covered to help her out during the day as well as medical care.
The kids and I are just fine and looking forward to a speedy recovery.
Thank you so much for all your prayers for our family, especially for Sharon. " For He is control of All Things"

Love,
Pete, Sharon, Natasha, Heather and Shaun

October 23rd, 2008

Hi Everyone!

Wow! It sure is nice to see the response Sharon is setting via e-mail, young and old. I took the kids to see her on Sunday to show them where their mother is staying, we had a nice visit. Sharon was pretty tired but enjoyed our company and the kids loved it too! I went and visited her yesterday afternoon, she is at her low now .5 and will be like this for 4-10 days, everyone's different, then she will start on the UP hill. She was very tired and she had bad diarrhea, which takes a lot out of her as well. She has not been eating very much either, just the smell of food makes her not want to eat (Not like her at all!), so they started feeding her through IV.
We all continue to pray for a good recovery so that she might soon be in our presence as a mother, wife and a sister to all that love her.
I would like to personally thank you all very much for helping us out. Hats off to all of you mothers out there. You do so much for families in need, as well as your own!

God bless and thank you for your continued support!

Pete, Sharon, Natasha, Heather and Shaun

October 18th, 2008

Hi Everyone!!

So far everything is well with Sharon. She has had chemo on Wednesday and on Friday, they re infused her with her stem cells. She is in isolation and pretty tired but still has good spirits. If you want to send cards to Sharon, the hospital address is:

Sharon Oosterhoff C7-214
Victoria Hospital
800 Commissioners Rd East
London, ON N6A 5W9

She also has e-mail there and probably will not return all e-mails sent to her: sharonoosterhoff@gmail.com
Please do not call the hospital and bug the nurses, they have enough to deal with.You can also call me at 519-374-9911.

The kids and I are fine and making out with everything. Thanks for all your concerns, thoughts and prayers.

Much Love,

Pete, Sharon and kids

Hi everyone:

Things have been a little busy lately. I have my hair chopped off - almost. We kept some on in case I'm left with a little hair and can "blend" some in with my wig. I don't like my hair like this, I was hoping to get it real short. When my hair starts to grow again I think I'll grow it out. I did buy a wig and now I'm going to be a red head!! Actually it's brown with red highlights and it's a bunt cut just below my jaw. People tell me they like my wig better then my hair cut (so do I). Natasha also got 10 inches cut off her hair to donate to the cancer society. We still have to bring her pony tail away. That was quite a change for her too since she's always had long hair. Now it's just past her shoulders. I also got new glasses. I only need them for driving at night or if I'm in an unfamiliar area and need to see the signs that are far away. I figured I'd get new, updated glasses so that if my eyebrows fall off I can put my glasses on in there place!

The first week of October I had a VON nurse come to the house to give me my Neupogen medication. This medication stimulates my cells for the harvest. She put the needle into my stomach. She had asked me if I was OK with getting the needle there. I just grabbed a handful of my growing "insulation" - a result of my eating habits - and told her to shoot away. The next day she asked if I wanted to give myself the needle. Once the syringe was full I aimed at my stomach and stabbed like a dart (just like she instructed) and it bounced right off my belly! It went in on the second shot. The nurse was actually impressed and said she probably wouldn't come the next day, I could do it myself. The next day all went smoothly. The Neupogen made my bones ache for a couple hours afterwards.

Monday night a friend and I went to London so I could be there early Tuesday morning. I had to fast from midnight on because my permcath was scheduled for 10 am. I was a bit nervous about this procedure because I didn't know exactly what was all involved. The patient before me was supposed to have a 20 minute procedure but it turned out to be 3 hours! You can imagine I was starting to get hungry, it wasn't too bad. They brought me into the operating room and put me on a skinny little table so I asked if the table came with seat belts, the answer was no. Next they put oxygen tubes in my nose, a blood pressure band on my arm, and the heart monitor on my finger. The nurses rubbed pink iodine over my right shoulder and chest (the stuff stains) and paper blankets over my head (which had to be craned to the left) and shoulders. The doctor talked me through the whole thing. Over the bed there was six monitors so the doctor could do the procedures guided by ultra sound and x-ray. I was hoping to watch but my head had to be turned and I had a blanket over my head. The doctor put freezing in the right side of my chest(just above the breast) and another just above my right collar bone. Then he put three 1 cm cuts, one above the collar bone, one just below the collar bone and the other part way down my chest. A tube was inserted in the chest cut and pushed up and over the collar bone and curved back down into a vein right beside the jugular in my neck. I was awake through it all and could feel the pushing, tugging and pulling. There wasn't that much pain - it was bearable. I always expect the worst and than it's never as bad as I think. I was supposed to be in there for about an hour but everything went a lot quicker, apparently I have nice big veins. I wanted to see the tube when the doctor was done but they wanted to bandage it up before germs got in the cuts. When they took everything back off me the last image was still on one monitor. I could see the tube in an upside down "j" and of course my collar bone, ribs and spine. It was kind of neat to see. On the outside all you see is the tube coming out of the skin with two capped three inch tubes off that! No more needles anymore, everything can be done through the permcath. It was over, I could relax again and enjoy a much anticipated lunch! I also had to give myself another Neupogen needle while in recovery. This time I hit a blood vessel, the nurse thinks, because I got a tiny purple bruise. After two hours I could go back to the hotel. Once the freezing thawed it was quite tender. I'm not allowed to get it wet and the dressing gets changed once a week.

At 7:30 Wednesday morning my friend and I went to the hospital for the cell harvest. First I had to give blood (through the permcath!!) to see if I had a good enough cell count to even have a harvest. If the count was below 5 I would be sent home, and I could try again in two weeks. The doctor was looking for a certain cell type, the CD34 . The lab called back and said my count was 83 - so real good! I was hooked up to the dialysis machine which is quite big with lots of dials, tube lines, fluid bags and lights. About four bags had fluid, one had my plasma, another saline, another my harvest and blood thinners combined with calcium in the last one. They rinse my harvest bag clean with my plasma so that when my harvest comes into it - it won't react to any other kind of cleaner. One line takes blood from me and another brings it right back into my body. The machine has layers of tubes in it and a warmer so that the blood I get back is warm again. The machine spins my blood around and takes only the top layer of thin, immature CD34 white blood cells of the immune system. Each time a harvest is made it's only about a tsp amount. Right away after another "tsp" pushes the harvest into the tube so that it makes its way into the bag. I needed to make 18 harvests. You could tell when a harvest was happening because one of the dials would spin around really fast and there was a monitor attached to the machine to tell you. At 1:20 I was unhooked and allowed to go but I had to call back around 3 pm to see if the harvest was good enough. They called me and said the harvest went really well - it was an abundant harvest in their words. Usually people who have had radiation don't make a good harvest, so I've been blessed. Now I wouldn't have to do another harvest on Thursday, we could go home. A social worker took my friend and I up to the 7 th floor where I will be staying next week. She told us things I could bring and expect. She also said visitors weren't really recommended except for some family. Most patients are very tired or not up to visitors and it just puts pressure on them when someone shows up at their door. Also germs are a big issue. All that's left now is the chemo next week and the re-infusion of my harvest. Hopefully its all uphill from there (after some sick time). I'm looking forward to getting the next week done.

Pete's now had some practise at being dad & mom. He even did Shaun's birthday party last Friday. I had another migraine and was throwing up because of it. I called Pete at work and he came to get the van so he could pick up all the kids and take them to the bowling alley. He came home and said "what a work out", I said "welcome to motherhood!". I'm sure he will do fine while I'm in London. There is plenty of back up help too.

Pete and I are going to London next week Tuesday which happens to be our 13 th anniversary. I don't think we will ever forget this one! Fall is my favourite season and it's going to be beautiful this weekend. I'm going to enjoy Thanksgiving before I'm contained to the 7 th floor of a hospital.

Through the past five months though I've been blessed through all of my tests and treatments. Things could have turned out so different, I could have had more side effects, been depressed about things or stuck in bed all the time. All things have gone fairly smoothly and results have been quite positive. So there is much to be thankful for and nothing to complain about (except the steroids maybe - but I've been done them for two weeks!!!). The Lord has been good to me and the family. He has always given me a sense of peace through everything and that's why I'm not worried about next week or what comes after that. The support of everyone has also been a comfort and strength to my family whether by prayers, cards, thoughts, meals, housework, visits etc. It's all been much appreciated. I guess Pete will be writing the blogs to fill you all in on how I'm doing from now on!

As for God, His way is perfect.
All the Lord's promises prove true.
He is a shield for all who look to Him for protection. Ps. 18:30

Have a blessed Thanksgiving weekend and thank you to all for your continued support.

Love from Pete, Sharon, Natasha, Heather & Shaun

Hey everyone:

Well, Pete and I went to London Tuesday. Actually we left on Monday night because my appointment was early Tuesday morning. I can't handle driving for five hours and do four to five hours of testing in one day. I will tire out and get way too sore. After a hearty breakfast we got to the hospital a bit early and registered in. They right away sent me for blood work (eight tubes) and then I went to get a chest X-ray and last was sent for an ECG. The tech put about twelve stickers on me and clipped on the wires, I was just settling back when she ripped all the wires & stickers off - I was done already!! In between those three tests I had to fill out the same form I do every time I go to London - all about your symptoms and if anything has changed or if you need a social worker etc. Everything was running on schedule and we met the doctor on time to discuss the transplant. First I had to have a physical and than we went over any questions. Apparently I will still be feeling pretty good after I get chemo on the 15th of October. The doctor said I could go out on day passes or out for dinner/shopping whatever. I was surprised. The side effects won't hit until six to eight days later - than I have to be very careful!

I was supposed to have a tour of the 7th floor where I will be living for three weeks, but the nurse was tied up in a family crisis and they don't let people just wander around up there. They did show me where I would get dialysis done. They said don't drink too much water because you can't drag that machine into the bathroom like you would an IV pole! Instead it's the "trusty" bed pan. It looks like I'm able to go through with the transplant from the test results they have so far. There was a nurse that retired in London in the last couple days/weeks and she was in charge of doing the transplants from a sibling to a patient. Now there is a huge waiting list until they hire a new nurse. Thankfully I'm my own donor and there are nurses and doctors to carry out my procedure. Pete and I got out of London a lot sooner than expected and made it home at a decent time. I napped on the way back of course!

The last two weeks I have been getting more sore and achy and the pain begins to burn a bit. My skin feels like it would when you have the flu and it hurts to brush your hair or wear a shirt against your skin. I have a bit of a bloated tummy from the steroids (and maybe my appetite). The other night at dinner the kids eyes lit right up and they squealed "Your pregnant!!". I said "Nooo, the drugs would not be good for the baby - I'm not pregnant". "Well", they said, If you WERE pregnant how far along would you be?". "Four months!" I answered.

It's almost time for the next haircut - Oct. 1 - I'm going short. That will last till I go to the hospital. At first I thought to just shave my head the day before I go in so I don't have to worry finding a razor at the hospital. The doctor told me not to shave it off because they don't want nicks on my scalp. (The nurses will do it when my hair falls out). He did say to go wig shopping. There is a place about half hour away from here where a lady has a business in her home. She books fittings for just one customer at a time so we aren't rushed. The girls want to come with me. It's almost like a bridal fitting except we are just doing the headpieces!

I have one more stretch of steroids (four days) and than I hope to never have to take those again. I'm looking forward to having my own moods backs - which are usually good. I hate what the drugs do to you (for me they make me very grumpy and moody), it hasn't be fun for my family or me! Anyway, the first week in October I will be getting a new drug to get the stem cells moving, healthy and multiplying so that by the 7th of October I can get a permcath and have dialysis and get a good enough harvest. On Oct. 14 (Pete's & my anniversary) we'll be going to London so I'm there for the transplant and the month.

Well, I was reading my daughter a book for bed, but she took over the reading and I fell asleep. Now that the blog is updated I should probably get to bed myself. In all things I leave it with the Lord to see how He sees best to deal with all these tests and appointments. I will show up for everything and know that He will hold my hand and hold my family till all this is done.

Thanks again to everyone for the endless support and love!!

Love Pete, Sharon, Natasha, Heather & Shaun

Hi everyone:

Last week I went to my family doctor for a check up and to update him on all the tests and things I've had to do. Basically, I told him I'm a healthy cancer patient!! He said, "Um, okay I'll put that on your charts and let all the other doctors know". He started to laugh a bit. I don't imagine he gets told that everyday! He said he was going to come and do a house visit because he'd been getting a lot of info on me, but hadn't seen me in a while. I said he was welcome any time and actually thought that was quite nice (he's a VERY busy man). The reason I said I was "healthy" was because all the tests were coming back pretty good, my cell count was good, the calcium in my blood is doing it's job, blood work is good etc. So I told him my opinion on the whole situation. Obviously I'm not a doctor, but I'm a good patient!

Last week before all the rain I decided to cut the grass. There was a lot of jolting happening in the back yard and I think maybe I hurt my back doing that (maybe I'm not a good patient). Anyway, the pain seems to be getting worse since Sunday/Monday especially and I figured it might ease up or go away. The steroids are supposed to help with the bone pain and I started those up again today, but the pain is still there. I went to oncology after I got the kids from school just to let them know this was happening (they said to inform them of any different/unusual pain that I might have) and they decided to schedule a MRI on my full spine and back hip bones. Then I have to go to oncology for an update on the MRI. Hopefully they don't have to radiate anything before the transplant because that just won't work out with the stem cell harvest. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

That's the update for now, I have to get dinner on the table. Thanks for the done of cards and emails this week, I really appreciate it. Also a bunch of girls from school might try and come up in the next couple days to visit! All the support is wonderful. Oh, Pete said he can't wait to update the blog - something about my eating habits. Most cancer patients lose their appetite but mine is good....REEEALLY good!!!!

Love from Pete, Sharon & kids.

Hello:

Thursday I went to London with my friend for a follow up on the radiation I had in July. It was something I probably could have done over the phone. The doctor wanted to know if the radiation helped - my back does feel much better since the radiation, it doesn't hurt as quickly as it used to. They want me to come back in January for another follow up. We did get to the Mandarin again though!!
On Friday I went to Owen Sound and had a breathing test done. I had to sit in this "plastic bubble" - it reminded me of a mini helicopter cockpit. I thought of all the astronauts practising for space! I had to put my mouth around this big air tube and have a clothespin on my nose and than they shut the door on me. Through the speaker the tech would tell me how to breath. First I had to breath normal and suddenly take a deep breath in and right away blow out as hard and fast as I could. The second set I had to pant like a dog and resistance would build up in the tube so I couldn't breath anymore. The third set they put oxygen through and I had to breath it in and do what I did in the first set but just normal paced. Than it was all done. I also had to do blood work. After blood work I went to the van and I noticed the inside of my elbow where I had the needle was all swollen in a big cone shape bubble and was blue. I went back to the lab and asked the tech that took my blood what she thought of it - maybe an air bubble? She said it wasn't an air bubble, but it would probably bruise (as I'm looking at my blue arm). I asked if I should worry about it and she said no. The kids were quite impressed when I picked them up but also a little grossed out. The next morning the bubble was gone and a few new colours joined in with the blue shades.
Saturday I ended up with a migraine and threw up in Shopper's Drug Mart (an employee managed to get me to the bathroom just in time). What a proud moment. The headache lasted through till Monday.
This morning I went to the Owen Sound hospital for my monthly 2hr IV which every time gets better results. The calcium floating around in my blood is starting to stick to my bones. The oncologist was behind today so I saw the nurse who said I was doing really good with all my tests results so far and monthly check ups. This afternoon I had a muga test - which is a test that checks the blood pumping through my heart. I had a needle (in the other arm!) which had a drug that sticks to my blood cells. Twenty minutes later the tech gave me another needle with a nuclear drug that would stick itself onto the first drug. Than they brought me to the same room that I had my bone scan in and lay me back on that skinny bed that they strap you onto so you don't fall off. The tech put patches on my chest and stomach with wires to monitor my heart while they took three pictures -five minutes per picture. The camera is the big monitor screen that they lay a centimeter from your chest. It's kinda claustrophobic and I couldn't nap like I usually do through all my tests.
Tomorrow I go to my family doctor and there won't be anything to say about that visit. On the 23rd is the visit to London for the rest of the tests. So far so good. Anyway, that's all for now. I still tire easily, but since the kids have gone to school I don't get mentally tired as quickly.
Thanks to you all for remembering our family and we'll see when the next blog is.

Goodnight,
Love Pete, Sharon, Natasha, Heather & Shaun.

September 3, 2008

Hi to everyone!

It's been awhile since the last blog update, actually a whole month!! August was a quiet month and our family took a couple weeks of camping in. The first week was very relaxing after a busy July of doctor's appointments, but the second week started to tire me out mentally. By the end of summer everything became overwhelming. Phone calls, people asking about doctor's appointments, the kid's bickering, trying to take care of myself and still run the household. (This is when the family ran away to camp - just to get away from everything). When I'm on all these drugs and off again it takes a toll on you mentally and you become very irritable about everything! I seem to snap at everyone, especially my own family, and that's hard to deal with because they aren't doing anything wrong. You can't really control it though, but you feel bad for doing it all the time. It's nice that the kids were looking forward to school and I was looking forward to some down time myself. I seem to be really tired all the time, but now that I can rest during the day again hopefully that will get better too.
This week I have doctor's appointments everyday. London wants to start all kinds of tests on me to see if I'll physically be up to doing a stem cell transplant. In Owen Sound I'll be doing all kinds of blood work, 24 hr urine test, a breathing test and a heart test. My lungs, kidneys and heart have to be in good shape or I won't even be allowed to follow through with the procedure. Later in the month I go to London for another four hours of testing. More blood work, chest x-rays, an ECG and a physical. Than they give me the tour of the area where I'll be living for a couple weeks after the transplant. I'll also be getting a permcap in above my heart for all the meds and will also act as a feeding tube if I can't eat on my own.
Come the first week of October I'll have a nurse come in everyday for a week and inject me with drugs to get the stem cells moving and healthy. At the end of the week they do dialysis (harvest) in London and hopefully they get a good "crop" or else I'll have to stay for another day of dialysis. On October 15 I get a heavy dose of chemo to kill everything off in my body and on the 17th the doctors will transplant my thawed healthy stem cells back into my body. Hopefully this all works because you only get one chance with this transplant in your life. It's nice to have the dates to look forward to and hopefully I can start the long recovery back to good health again.
At first when the doctor called with all the dates, times and procedures I was a bit nervous because everything was suddenly happening. Now I am not nervous, but have peace with whatever happens. I don't look that far ahead, so I have nothing to worry about. It's all about one day of testing at a time. I know the Lord is with me every step of the way and He will guide and protect me in all things. He is our strength when we are weak, our Rock to hold on to!
I almost forgot to mention, I got my hair cut - about 15 in.- and I donated it to the Cancer Society. I'm working my way to baldness. I'm almost due for my next do!! This haircut is about up to my chin I guess. The hairdresser called it a bed-head style, I said "perfect!". The next one is going to be short and wild (I guess another bed-head one!).
Anyway, this is the update for now. By mid October I hope to be on the road to recovery which will still take a couple months, but at least it will be going uphill! I still receive cards in the mail and it's nice to know so many people care about my family and continue to offer help in so many ways. Your prayers keep us going! Thank you to everyone.
Love from Pete, Sharon, Natasha, Heather and Shaun.