My personal lowest week yet...

Ok....so to bring everyone up to speed....We had a few deadlines we had to meet.....Ray had to be back to work no later then November 17th (Our FMLA ran out....if not back by then...no job...no benefits) Dr. Scott reluctantly gave a note (Ray had to follow it to a "T") only one run per day and no lifting and no carrying things. He is still only supposed to put 50% of his weight on the leg and is still on a crutch (we are hoping to purchase a cane soon when we have the money) So Ray goes in to work and they said they weren't too sure of him driving with those type of restrictions. They wanted to check with risk management. So he was sent home that day. BUT the miracle part of that is....the next day they had some "office" work for him to do. Just a few weeks prior they had gotten a new computer system and they are behind inputting all the paperwork. (ever hear the saying when a door closes the Lord opens a window??? HERE is one of those times!) We don't know how long he will have this opportunity BUT it gives him something to do....gives us a little more income (which is so desperately needed! It is so hard to ask for help from family, ask for charity, etc....but without it we would be far worse off!) Ray and I have worried horribly about bills....our mortgage is still too far behind.....and with the holidays it was even more worrisome for the girls...but again we have had SO MANY miracles on our behalf.....I wanted to personal thank all those again who have sacrificed and provided for our family (even those anonymously!!) Ok....that upbeat part done.....Now to the doom and gloom...(and the lowest of the lows) Ray had his CT scan a couple of weeks ago. (They did chest, abdomen, and leg) Ray and I knew when Dr. Ott asked for both of us to be on the phone that wasn't good.....The upper part is clean as a whistle!!! But there was a "spot" that Dr. Ott said showed up on the leg. And since he is not the Ortho Oncologist he referred us back to Dr. Scott. We called their office (they are in the same building as Dr. Ott) told them that the CT was available to view online (isn't modern technology wonderful!) Lani said she would have Dr. Scott look at it then let us know. Well a couple hours later she called and asked when our next appointment was....we said December 16th...she said...well lets get you in now to discuss options....both Ray and I knew things were even worse then we could imagine....So two days later we went in...Us, Ray's parents, and Ray's two older girls....we all sat in the room and heard the news.....Yes there was a tumor :o( Dr. Scott had seen a spot on his Xray in September...but didn't want to have anything else stress Ray out while the healing from the surgery was so critical, so he was going to watch it. The scary part is...it was NOT there in the end of July.....and since the September Xray has grown quite rapidly so its a more aggressive tumor. This one is located ABOVE the cadaver bone just under the knee cap on the tibia. There is also another "spot" but he is unsure if this is a tumor or not...it may be caused from his rod in the tibia moving....Ray always said he could feel something moving (I thought he was crazy...but Dr. Scott says it is entirely possible) and it is STILL not healed...it has a definite black line all the way between Ray's bone and the cadaver bone....Ok...so.....options......One...is to do a "quick fix" that may or may not get all the tumor/cells out....picture it like a cavity....Dr. Scott would go in...drill out the tumor and use nitrogen to "freeze" the cells...he says the nitrogen goes in about 1mm into the bone...then he would fill it with bone cement. OH and also at that same time he would put another screw in and a plate to help the rod not move so much and "scrunch" the two bone (Ray's and the cadaver) together....Two....amputation....(I don't even know where to begin with this).....Three.....nothing...we just let it run its course.....BUT all this is depending on the complete body bone scan. If there is any more new hot spots....we will not be treating anything. We know this tumor is resistant to radiation (since he was getting radiation to the area) but Ray still isn't a great candidate for chemo.....WHEW....I tell you....we both just wanted to crawl under a palm tree in the Caribbean and forget life for awhile! So the only thing for sure that I know to tell you is that....we are not making a definite decision till after the bone scan...we call on Monday to set that up.....Ok....I am an emotional wreck again to typing this...Please continue to pray for Ray, the girls, me and our Dr's. So we may be guiding to know the right paths. Love to you all!

Radiation Graduation!!!!

WHEW I think I am finally getting this blog and our family blog caught up!!! Well as you can tell from the title.....Ray had his LAST radiation treatment!!! I am amazed at this...sometimes it felt like we had be going forever...and now that it is over...its like WOW were did those 6 weeks go....or that's right...radiation and PT! :o) We made some great friends through radiation. Some we only met and knew by face or type of cancer and treatment. Others we became dear friends with....and the staff became the vital part of each treatment for Ray...without their laughter and love he would not have made it! So for his last day we checked the girls out of school and took them with us....we took some donuts...(some of Ray's fav's) and went and celebrated! Afterwards we even treated ourselves to Olive Garden.....(we really had to get creative on the finances for that trip!) But it was worth it! Ray has had an incredibly hard road and this is another small success that must be appreciated, honored, and most of all gratitude to Heavenly Father for this blessing! Ray is still struggling with PT. We have found out that most likely he is capped out at what his function on the foot is....we will continue with PT to try and help with the still ever persistent edema. Our PT talked to Dr. Scott and it looks like Ray will be in the boot and on crutches for another 2 months (at the very least) so we are concerned with the end of FMLA coming up and the possible side effects from that. Please continue to pray for us.....We love you all!!

Ray's LAST "walk" from the treatment room! Wahoo!

Everything is better with a donut involved!

The girls eating their dessert before Olive Garden....life is even better when dessert comes first!

Ray and Courtney ringing the bell together!

Ray's certificate......WAY TO GO honey! I am so proud of you!
Some of the wonderful staff! Kimberlee, January, Natalie...we missed Carolann that day :o(

A special moment with a special friend...

I seriously haven't blogged a lot since Ray started his radiation and we are NOW done (that story to follow)....so sorry to my faithful followers! Well a few Tuesdays ago we had a jam packed day of Dr's. We took the girls out of school. Courtney had another follow up for her stomach issues at the pediatrician. The meds she is on helped these past 3 weeks but still not enough....so her Dr. upped the dose. We also did a well child exam. She is really healthy! And the nurse was astounded at her eyesight...it is 20/13!!! BOTH eyes! She says she never sees it in kids and only occasionally in teens! If the old wives tale proves right...it must be all the carrots she likes to eat! :o) She was also put on a VERY small dose of Prozac. (Yes we know the risks and don't plan it long term, but with careful consideration and advise from the pediatrician we think this is the best step right now) So hopefully it will help within a couple of weeks. So then we took the girls for the 1st time to Ray's radiation treatment. The girls were full of questions and the always helpful and friendly staff were very accommodating. After his treatment was done the girls got to go into the room where it is done and use the controls to lower his bed and help him off....they thought that was the BEST! We followed with a dentist appointment for me! WHEW! I was done and ready for home after that! But we had a dance class for Cami then FINALLY it was home to catch up on homework!



So as we continue Ray's radiation treatments we get to build relationships with the not only the staff, but those who are scheduled around Ray's time (the treatments happened the same time each day for each patient) The lady before Ray, Catherine became particularly dear to me! It was one of those moments when an instant connection clicked! She is battling breast cancer and was very helpful in answering questions and calming our fears as a newer patient. We saw her each day...Well this past Wednesday was her very last day of treatment! So we wanted to surprise her with a little something. It turned out really nice! We (on the sly) found out she liked carrot cake so we got her a cake. And Tory and Sarah found the perfectly pink fabric that had hearts and the breast cancer awareness ribbons and made her a no sew blanket. We wanted to send her off with our love and wishes for a full remission! We will miss seeing her daily but so glad she had accomplished this and gets to move on! She also surprised us with a VERY generous gift certificate for some good comfort food! We exchanged email addresses and phone numbers so hopefully we keep in close contact! My prayer that is always in my heart may we find a cure for cancer soon so everyone in the world will no longer suffer. And families don't have to see their loved ones suffer.

We walked around the corner to the room and saw Ray HIGH up in the air on the bed (I didn't even know he went up that high!)

A quick rundown on the controlsAnd a down he goes!They took turns!! The yummy but OH SO SWEET carrot cake!
Catherine, Ray, and the blankie! Ringing the bell for her graduation from radiation!!