Hello everyone,
Well, its been a couple of months so i thought I should let everyone know how things are going. To those of you who take the time to read these entries, thank you for your interest in me, my health, my family... my life.
When I last posted in April, I had conquered the nausea I was getting from the chemo pill that I am taking (Xalkori/crizotinib). I was gaining strength back slowly but was having a real problem with shortness of breath. Well, I talked to the physical therapist at the Cancer Treatment Center, Timi is her name, and she said my breathing problem was because I had lost so much strength, particularly in my legs, that my muscles were very inefficient in their use of the oxygen they were being supplied. So, since the first part of May, I have been going to physical therapy twice a week. My therapy is basically a very light workout and then some time on a Nustep (recumbent stepping machine). Well, Timi was right. Slowly my strength is coming back and my breathing is very much improved!
As soon as I started getting that issue resolved, another one arose. Isn't that just life in general?! For the last few weeks, I have been having a lot of dizziness! When it first popped up, it was bad enough that it would cause the dizziness-nausea-vomit cycle to kick in! That REALLY sucked!! My oncologist wanted me to move up my July MRI to see if there was something happening there, but I haven't because the dizziness isn't making me sick anymore. I told him that I didn't think it was the brain timor because the orginal symptoms with that was that I lost hearing and that hasn't happened in the slightest. The bad part is that with my dizziness and my numb feet from the neuropathy, sometimes it looks like I've had more than a snoot full! (I'm glad my church family knows the situation!) I'll let you know in July if the MRI shows anything new.
As for the cancer, according to the latest CT Scan and MRI, everything is the same size and remains unchanged at this point in time. As I said in my last post, considering the endless negative possibilities, I am very, very blessed!!
Everything with the Hicok clan a snapshot of the last entry I posted. Catherine keeps plugging along. She is going to a National Embroiderers Convention in Louisville, KY next month for a week. Melissa is off from UNI for the summer, but still working part time. Next year is her senior year in Accounting and once she graduates, she'll take the CPA exam. Grant is still doing well at Deere PEC and just got assigned his own test cell so he doesn't have to float/fill in every night. Jody is pretty much recovered from her borken ankle but it stills bothers her a bit now and then (especialy when pushes too hard or is really tired). And as always, Eli is just fun to have around! He is full of energy and giggles, is stringing together words, is interested in everything, and still loves guitars.
And now what you've all been waiting for... Bible trivia. The question from the last post was: What religious movement began with Martin Luther's attack on the sale of indulgences? The answer is: The Protostant Reformation. Now for for this entries question... On the ark that Moses built, how many decks were there?
In closing, I once again would like to thank all of you for your prayers and support. I told a friend recently that I never think of blaming God for being struck with this disease. I know that we live in a sinful world and sometimes we get caught in the crossfire. Being a sinner, as ALL of us are, I and we deserve far worse! But we have the sacrifice of our Savior for our sins and the strength of God to get us through even the worst of times. We just need to accept His grace and mercy.
God's Blessings to you and yours!
Jace
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Saturday, April 13, 2013
04-13-2013 Saturday
Hello everyone,
I'm sure many of you have given up on me and I can't fault you for that! I have been horrible in keeping all of you up to date and I apologize!
When I last posted in November, I had finally adjusted my eating habits to allow me to take my new cancer pills without getting sick. The new treatment has helped me slowly get some strength back and I am actually going in to work on a semi-regular basis. My biggest problems now are shortness of breath and, of course, the neuoropthy in my feet. I started physical therapy last week to try and get my muscles back into shape so they use oxygen more efficiently which should get rid of my shortness of breath (and help me loose some of the weight that I've gained as well!). My goal is to be able to walk the dog again this summer! As for the cancer, the pills, according to the latest CT Scan, are keeping everything the same size and I had an MRI and follow up with my neurologist this week, and the brain tumor is the same size as well. So, considering the endless negative posibilities, I am very, very blessed!!
Everything with the Hicok clan is going well too! Catherine keeps plugging along, trooper that she is, without any complaints. She is on a "quilt retreat" this weekend which gives her a chance to forget about "things" for awhile and just relax and talk and sew. Melissa is still in school at UNI majoring in Accounting and doing pretty darn good! Grant recently got a position with Deere as a test cell technician and the Deere Product Engineering Center in Waterloo. Jody broke her ankle in January and just got her "boot" removed and is walking again... a little gingerly, but walking. And Eli... well that little guy is just fun to have around! He is full of energy and giggles, building his vocabulary, interested in everything, and right now loves guitars and "The Wiggles".
And now... Bible trivia. The question from the last post was: According to the Bible, how many pearly gates are there? Well, according to Revelation 21:12-21, the answer is 12. Did you get it correct? OK, now for for this entries question... This one isn't actually Biblical, but you should be able to answer it: What religious movement began with Martin Luther's attack on the sale of indulgences?
In closing today, I like to thank all of you for your prayers and support. While God has been my spiritual strength, my friends, family, and church family have been there to support my physical and emotional needs throughout this "adventure". I don't know why God has blessed me so abundantly, but I figure He is keeping me around for a reason. He has guided me to take on a couple of leadership roles at my church and to support fellow "cancer siblings" as they go through their own "adventure". Having this disease is much like anything we experience in life. Only by having it can you truly appreciate and understand the emotional and physical roller coaster that others with cancer are going through.
God's Blessings to you and yours!
Yours in Christ,
Jace
I'm sure many of you have given up on me and I can't fault you for that! I have been horrible in keeping all of you up to date and I apologize!
When I last posted in November, I had finally adjusted my eating habits to allow me to take my new cancer pills without getting sick. The new treatment has helped me slowly get some strength back and I am actually going in to work on a semi-regular basis. My biggest problems now are shortness of breath and, of course, the neuoropthy in my feet. I started physical therapy last week to try and get my muscles back into shape so they use oxygen more efficiently which should get rid of my shortness of breath (and help me loose some of the weight that I've gained as well!). My goal is to be able to walk the dog again this summer! As for the cancer, the pills, according to the latest CT Scan, are keeping everything the same size and I had an MRI and follow up with my neurologist this week, and the brain tumor is the same size as well. So, considering the endless negative posibilities, I am very, very blessed!!
Everything with the Hicok clan is going well too! Catherine keeps plugging along, trooper that she is, without any complaints. She is on a "quilt retreat" this weekend which gives her a chance to forget about "things" for awhile and just relax and talk and sew. Melissa is still in school at UNI majoring in Accounting and doing pretty darn good! Grant recently got a position with Deere as a test cell technician and the Deere Product Engineering Center in Waterloo. Jody broke her ankle in January and just got her "boot" removed and is walking again... a little gingerly, but walking. And Eli... well that little guy is just fun to have around! He is full of energy and giggles, building his vocabulary, interested in everything, and right now loves guitars and "The Wiggles".
And now... Bible trivia. The question from the last post was: According to the Bible, how many pearly gates are there? Well, according to Revelation 21:12-21, the answer is 12. Did you get it correct? OK, now for for this entries question... This one isn't actually Biblical, but you should be able to answer it: What religious movement began with Martin Luther's attack on the sale of indulgences?
In closing today, I like to thank all of you for your prayers and support. While God has been my spiritual strength, my friends, family, and church family have been there to support my physical and emotional needs throughout this "adventure". I don't know why God has blessed me so abundantly, but I figure He is keeping me around for a reason. He has guided me to take on a couple of leadership roles at my church and to support fellow "cancer siblings" as they go through their own "adventure". Having this disease is much like anything we experience in life. Only by having it can you truly appreciate and understand the emotional and physical roller coaster that others with cancer are going through.
God's Blessings to you and yours!
Yours in Christ,
Jace
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