Taking It All In

Carolyn passed away Friday around 12:45 pm. Thankfully, she was surrounded by those she loved most.

Thank you for the love and kindness you showed us through praying for Matthew and the family.

I wanted to give you an update on what's going on with Carolyn.

Matthew received a call from his dad last Thursday night saying that things had gone downhill quickly. Carolyn was being admitted to the hospital soon after they got off the phone. Matthew made flight arrangements and went to St Louis Friday morning.

Thursday night/Friday morning, the doctors discovered a tumor on Carolyn's spine. While the treatment worked really well on the bone cancer, a very strong treatment has not worked on the cancer in the liver and during that treatment cancer was able to form on her spine. In talking with her doctor, Carolyn decided to stop any and all treatment over a week ago. Her health has been declining since that time.

Matthew, his dad, and his sister met with the doctor yesterday. She told them Carolyn could pass this week or she could surprise everyone and last another month. She does not appear to be in any pain at this time, but they want to find a facility where she can be placed in hospice care so she can be as comfortable as possible during this time. While in the hospital, they have to continue to draw blood to see how she is doing and continue to wake her up and bother her.

I joined Matthew in St Louis yesterday. Today he and his sister are driving around town looking at facilities where Carolyn can be placed in hospice care.

This is an extremely difficult time for everyone. I have heard several people mention regret for not spending more time with her when they could. No one knew the end was so near or when the last good day would be. I think there will be more family and friends coming into town in the coming days.

After hearing the news of the finality of everything yesterday, I believe everyone is starting to think about a future without Carolyn around. It is difficult to say the least.

I am not sure how to ask you to pray, but I will ask that you continue to pray for the family. God is good all the time and He provides strength and peace. His mercies are new every morning. He knows us best and is able to provide what is needed at just the right time.

Shannon (Matthew's sister) has set up a website to keep everyone updated with what's going on. I thought I would add the link to my blog since so many people continue to ask me how she's doing. I added this link under "People I Know."

Thank you to Shannon for keeping everyone in the loop.

I was recently accosted (not really) by a friend for leaving my readers (all 2 or 3 of you) hanging about things that have been going on. This post is for you.

• Nothing has happened with my blood pressure. Every time I go to the store, I forget to check it there. I also forget to add salt to my food. I just really don’t need salt to flavor most things and don’t think about it except when I’m not eating. I guess since my doctor was not concerned, I decided I didn’t need to be concerned either. My blood tests all came back normal. So apparently there is nothing causing the low blood pressure (at least nothing that could be detected via a blood test).
• After several weeks of taking it slow last summer, Matthew recovered from his concussion. I thought all was well until recently he said, “Mindy can I tell you something without you getting mad at me?” That is generally not a good way to start a conversation, but my curiosity was peeked. He told me that he hit his head recently and it really rung his bell. We now wonder if the concussion will cause that kind of reaction any time he hits his head on something. Other than that, he’s recovered though.
• Carolyn had her surgery last Thursday. So far it looks as if the surgery was successful. She is feeling better. It is hard to know exactly what is going on without being there to see for ourselves. We are leaving tomorrow to visit her. It will be nice to see her and know how she is doing in person.

Let me know if I have left you hanging about anything else!

I have had several inquiries about Matthew's toe so I thought I would post an update.

Matthew went to the doctor a couple of weeks ago and was completely released to do whatever his heart desires (although I would like to rule using the chainsaw off limits).

The podiatrist did say that while the ER doctor should not have sewed his tendon(s) and toe back together and Matthew should have been taken directly into surgery so it was repaired correctly, his toe is as good as it is going to get at this point.

The bottom line is although his toe does not work like it used to, it is still attached and working.

I would love to show you a picture of his toe, but Matthew told me that was silly and would not let me take one. I will just let you know it looks much better than the last picture I posted of it and he has a nice battle wound that will be fun to share for many years to come.

**Update - The surgery has been postponed until Thursday morning.

Matthew’s mother found out several weeks ago that the cancer in her bones has spread to her liver. She is experiencing several uncomfortable side-effects resulting from the liver damage. The doctors that are treating her will be performing surgery tomorrow, the outcome of which will determine what treatments, if any, they can use to treat her. If the surgery is not successful, she may not be able to continue her treatments.

Please pray that God would heal her, that God would renew her strength, and that the surgery tomorrow would be a success.

Please also keep Carolyn’s family and doctors in your prayers. It is our hope that God will make Himself known to those who do not know the peace of God our Father at this time.

Thank you for praying with us and on Carolyn’s behalf.

Matthew's mom has been dealing with quite a lot of fluid retention for several months now. The doctors put her in the hospital over a week ago to insert a stint that would allow the fluid to move into her blood stream. Before they did the procedure, they decided to do an MRI. They have noticed for a while now that there are spots on her liver. They continued to monitor these spots. They were not growing so the doctors thought there was nothing to worry about. This week they did a biopsy and discovered the cancer has moved to her liver.

She will be undergoing another kind of chemo for this cancer they just found. I am unclear if she will be undergoing two kinds of chemo - the one she's been on for the last six months as well as a new one, or just the new one.

Matthew said her spirits are high. We would ask you to continue to pray for her body, her spirits, as well as the rest of the family.

I went to the doctor last Friday to have some blood work done. I had talked to him before about my low blood pressure so I went to see if they could find anything that might be causing the low blood pressure (anemia, thyroid issue, etc).

When they measured my blood pressure Friday afternoon, it was 86 over 64. That is the lowest it's been as far as I know. I got a call on Monday that everything came back normal. Dr. C wants me to add salt to every meal, drink caffeine in the morning, and drop by Wally World to check my blood pressure periodically.

He said there's not really anything wrong with having low blood pressure if it's consistent and I'm not passing out or getting dizzy a lot. I do get dizzy when I bend over to pick up the puppy poop, but that's about it. We'll see if the caffeine and salt make any difference. He can put me on medication to improve the blood pressure but said he sees no reason to do that. After all, I am one of few Americans that are at less risk for heart attack and stroke.

I am curious if I would be any less tired taking some kind of medication. I guess I should do some internet research to see what I can find.

I keep forgetting to give an update on my mother-in-law's health. She is feeling much better - and has hope. She has a new doctor and is currently receiving treatment in St Louis. Her doctor is optimistic about the new treatment. She is receiving blood transfusions on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and has a chemo treatment on Thursday. So she is at the hospital 4 days each week. Recently, her antibodies have started attacking the new blood. The doctor has started her on a treatment and if all goes as hoped, her bones will begin to make new blood and to hold it longer than a couple of days. After a couple more weeks, they will know more about how her body is responding to the treatment. I think everyone is cautiously optimistic right now, but this is definitely better than her previous doctor's prognosis. We are all thrilled! Please continue to pray for her and the rest of M's family.

I also went to the dentist this week for my 6 month cleaning. Thankfully, this time the dental hygenist did not ask me how often I have been flossing. M and I always talk about what a silly question that is. I don't want to lie about it, but I also don't want to admit to not flossing when I know I should be. I had a really nice dental hygenist this time around that did not give me too hard of a time. I am thankful for that!

I went to the eye doctor for my annual exam today. I have been going to the eye doctor since I was 8 or 9 years old. And I have been wearing contacts for 17 years. It is really weird to be aware of something I have been doing for 17 years. That kind of makes me feel a bit old. Anyway, I went to a new eye doctor today. I am used to having the glaucoma test and then another test where you stick your face into this box-type machine and click a button when you see a dot. However, today I think I had an additional 4 or 5 tests. It was very interesting and weird. I always get a kick out of the eye doctor asking, "Which is better...1...or 2...1...or 2." I always have a small nervous feeling that I am picking the wrong number. Does anyone else feel this way?

When I was a kid, I looked up to my brother and always wanted to do what he did. Probably when I was in first grade he got contacts. So of course, I wanted to get contacts. At that time, I didn't even wear glasses. I had a scarf that had belonged to my grandmother. This was a satiny scarf with clear sequins on it. I decided I could pretend to be wearing a contact if I took one of the sequins and put it in my eye. I must not have been a smart kid because who would think this was a good idea? I did put it in my eye, and my mom spent I don't know how long trying to get it out of my eye. I guess my eye was not scratched, but that must have been a miracle because sequins are not designed to be put on the eyeball.

I feel like I had a whirlwind trip last weekend. We flew to Chicago on Friday (with a confusing layover in Minneapolis, MN). Saturday we drove 5 hours down to St Louis. I was able to spend Saturday evening and Sunday with M's family - his mom, dad, sister, brother-in-law, brother-in-law's sister, aunt, nephew, and niece. I left early (6:30 am CST) Monday morning for the airport. After retrieving Max, I got home around 11 pm (MST). It was a long day.



Saturday, our nephew had a 24 bug which almost everyone has gotten by now (all but M's mom, dad, and me). We are all praying that M's mom will not get this bug since she is undergoing chemo and will have a weakened immune system. She was in very good spirits when I saw her over the weekend. And she is no longer in the hospital. She is staying in an apartment (owned by M's brother-in-law's family) that is just a couple of blocks from the hospital where she has some sort of treatment 4 days each week. M is supposed to go with her to the doctor tomorrow. He is really looking forward to meeting her doctor so please pray that he will be back to 100% so he can go...and so he can spend time with his mom. He had to stay away from her today since he was sick.



Here's a picture of Max over the weekend. Isn't he a cutie? How did she get him to stay so still for this picture?? He stayed with M's aunt and uncle that live about an hour away. It was so nice to not worry about him while we were away. I think he was a little depressed to come home - back to being the only dog around. He apparently had a good time chasing all the German shepherds. They were busy playing and running all day, and he was exhausted when I picked him up on Monday. I think he is ready for M to get home, too.