Adjustment

Dad has been adjusting very well to his new environment here in Sierra Vista.  He’s comfortable and enjoying being around the kids and grandkids again.  His pain is under control and he’s still working on his recovery on his arm.  This next week we’ll be setting up an appointment with a new primary care physician and a new oncologist to follow.  His new therapy will include just an oral chemo, which we hope to begin soon.

He’s been considering the options of getting his hip surgery done, if there is more benefit than not.  We’ll be discussing that option once we get in touch with his new doctors.  His appetite is excellent and we’re grateful for the small elements of normal that he still has in tact.

Thanks to the help of Josh and the kids, we were able to get the house completely ready just in time for him to come home.  The trip back from Phoenix went smoothly and without incident.  We stopped at Bass Pro Shot and were able to find him a seat cushion that beats all seat cushions!  He’ll be much more comfortable cruising around in the car and in his wheel chair as we get out and about.

The kids are really happy to have him back in their presence and reestablish their norms here.  Though, we are still adjusting to all the movements and relocating, things are coming together.  Alex is learning, slowly, the new elements in his world.  He’s doing really well considering his own upheaval.  The terrible twos are a myth.  It is most definitely the terrible threes.

Gina Lee brought over a delicious dinner last night, which was fantastic to eat and not have to worry about preparing a meal for seven!  It’s been years since I’ve had to cook and take care of a family this large.  The help was much appreciated.  Plus, it was nice to visit with her and see a friendly face!

I’m finishing my second week of classes and I’m enjoying the subject matter, but not loving the workload so much.  Balancing time and mental capacity right now isn’t a cakewalk; it’s more of a maze.  But, I’ll figure it out just in time to pull an A out of all three classes.  It’s going to be nice when I’ll be able to go into a classroom setting and have the discussions in person as opposed to online forums.  I appreciate the flexibility of online class, but some of the conversations and subjects would sink in much more effectively if I had a lecture/discussion in person.  Hopefully this summer, I’ll be able to afford the time to do that.

Each minute of every day, I’m feeling more and more satisfied with the way things are with the current situation.  I know dad and the kids are where they should be and there’s comfort in that.  I love the access I have to them and the opportunities we have to strengthen our bonds.  Even though things are so volatile and unknown, we are together to face and cope them. 

Thank you for your continued prayers and words of encouragement.  If you would like to come by and visit dad, he’d love it.  Just shoot me and email and we can set it up!  As always:  Donate?!

Unexpected

Yesterday was dad’s consult with the oncologist to discuss the plans for his stem cell transplant.  After the past few weeks of his treatment in the hospital, we were expecting transplant steps to start this week.  He went in around 9:30 to give blood for testing and then he waited around for his consult at about 11:30.  We were not expecting the consult to go as it did.

Since the beginning of December, his cancer turned very aggressive.  As you’ve read, his condition was volatile and very dynamic.  It took almost a week for him to be stabilized.  There was leeriness about how possible a transplant would become.  We watched as his tumors shrank and his confusion went away.  Despite those positive outcomes, the oncologists don’t believe he’s a viable candidate for transplant.  Ultimately, the cancer would return quickly after transplant and would thus render the procedure moot.

Two options were presented to dad.  The first was participating in a clinical study.  There is a 1 in 3 chance for success.  That success wouldn’t necessarily put him on track to transplant.  The treatment doesn’t work like chemotherapy does, but because it’s a trial treatment; there are a lot of things they don’t know.  The second is doing oral chemo maintenance and sending him home.  With the oral chemo, the doctor said he has 3 to 6 months left to live.

He was given the option to follow through with the surgery on his hips and thighs.  Based on the time it would take to recover from those surgeries, he has decided that it would be better to not do the surgery.  He has learned his limitations and knows what is necessary to avoid a break.  So, once he gets settled here at my house, we’ll keep him as taken care of as possible.

As you could imagine, this is hard to deal with.  Though we have been somewhat expecting this day to come, we weren’t exactly planning on it being this second.  Especially since we were told the chemo worked and he was looking to be in good shape for transplant and the possibility of remission.

The plan right now is for me to go pick him up on Thursday.  He is getting blood today for good measure.  So long as there aren’t any other intentions with the doctors at Mayo Clinic, that plan should play out.  I have a bunch of things to do today and tomorrow in preparation for a very early arrival.  I’ll be putting a lot of things into storage so we have the space for dad.  I’m expecting a social worker visit to help dad and I get the house into the condition suitable for his needs.  Those kinds of logistics are important but not dire, yet. 

He’s looking forward to being in the same house as Joel and Rachel again.  He’s looking forward to being around my little Alex.  There are relationships in Sierra Vista he is excited about rekindling.  He hasn’t lived in Sierra Vista since 2005, so there’s some weirdness to coming back.  But, overall he is looking forward to the support and community that is still alive and well for him and his family.

If you have any questions or would like to help out in anyway, please email me or donate here.  My list of thank you cards has gotten quite lengthy and I have not lost sight of the value we have in friends and family.  Please keep him and our family in your prayers as we press forward into this closing chapter of my dad’s life.  I’m certain there will be many more challenges we’ll face in the near future.  We’ll need all the support we can muster.

January 13, 2014

Dad has been doing wonderfully.  The chemo has worked!  He’s currently getting surgery on his broken arm.  They are putting a 9-hole plate on his arm after they fill in the broken and missing bone with cement.  His scar is going to be significant, which he’s very excited about!  Once he recovers from the surgery, he’ll be looking at being released from the hospital to stay in the hotel until his next two surgeries.  The second will be on one of his hips and femur.  They will be putting rods and pins to secure the fragile areas to help prevent breaking.  Once he recovers from the first hip and leg surgery, he’ll have the other side done.  He’s going to be part bionic!

After he gets back on his feet, so to speak, he’ll be discussing transplant plans with his oncologist.  They aren’t sure yet if they are going to do another round of chemo before initializing the transplant process.  Since he has had such a good response with this last round of chemo, the doctors are expecting another round to be a walk in the park.  The same compromises to his immune system will occur again, but the docs handled it all perfectly this last go round.  We are all optimistic this is going to be successful!

Over the next month or so, we should be in transplant recovery and looking at long-term remission.  If you get an opportunity, Google stem cell transplant and get familiar with the process.  Not only is it amazing medicine, but you’ll have a clearer understanding of what will be happening to his body.

Yesterday he celebrated his 59^th birthday with Joel, Rachel, Isabelle, and myself.  It was a pleasant day in the hospital.  He was in great spirits and it was wonderful to spend some time with him.  We were all there as the doctors came in and explained the surgeries he’s going to be having.  As all the information was delivered, his smile was bright and full of joy.  This is going to give him so much of his mobility back.  His right arm has been a pain and debilitating.  The docs told him he should feel pretty awesome within a day of the surgery.  Physical therapy and very soon the ability to exercise!  He can’t wait to do that.

I am continuously proud of his attitude.  He has been so full of positive energy despite all the trials he’s faced over the past month.  We were able to take him outside for the first time since December 18^th on Saturday.  He felt the Arizona sun and smelled fresh air.  As long as his white blood and platelets remain in the black, he’ll be able to keep going outside.  That has been an emotional booster for him.  I’m certain the successes he’s experienced has been a direct reflection of his attitude and overall acceptance of how this situation progresses.  He has been a bright shiny example of how to accept life’s challenges and go with the flow instead of balling up and complaining about it. 

On my front, things are stabilizing.  We still have a LOT of work to do to get my house back to feeling like a home.  Boxes are everywhere and it’s becoming increasingly necessary to find a storage unit to store the things we won’t be unpacking.  The Russell’s have a ton of stuff!

The kids are settling into their routine with school and finding their places.  I’m so proud of them in how they’ve handled all of this.  I can’t imagine how disruptive it must feel to suddenly be yanked from all familiarity and thrust into a semi-familiar place with so much uncertainty surrounding them.  They are also wonderful examples of how to go with life instead of fight it.  I look up to them all the time.

Today begins the new semester of classes for me.  I’m a little anxious to take on three more classes with all the things going on.  However, if I stall or postpone, I fear getting back into it will be harder than it was.  I’m taking two psychology classes and a sociology class.  I’m looking forward to all I stand to learn. Upon completion of these three classes, I’m almost halfway to my associates!  I’m excited and proud of myself (Toot! Toot!).

As always, if you have any questions or want to learn how to get in touch with my dad, please don’t hesitate to contact me.  I try to be diligent with correspondence.  Forgive any delays.  Just know that I will get to you as soon as I can.  Thank you for your interest and prayers.  This story continues to be very dynamic and a lull isn’t far, but it isn’t exactly close either.  Thank you so much!

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January 3, 2014

Joel and Rachel arrived safely in Phoenix on December 31^st and came to see dad!  It was great to have them back in the same room together.  It had been two weeks since they’d seen each other and it was time to reconnect!  We hung out for a bit and then the day got hard.

That morning, he had a follow up x-ray of his lungs.  That x-ray showed a perforation of his colon.  They did a dye contrast CT New Year’s Eve morning and that showed air in several areas of his colon.  By that afternoon, general surgeons were in the room discussing his options.  His platelets and WBC are too low for surgery.  They had a hunch a medication he was on for his ammonia level was the cause of the air getting into the bowel.  So, they decided to take him off the medication, food, and water and see if the problem could correct itself.

A couple hours later an orthopedic surgeon came in.  The CT of his bowels indicated alarming lesions on his hips.  A new x-ray was ordered for his hips and thighs.  The doctor ordered no walking or standing.  He is allowed to get up to go to the bathroom and that is all.  In a matter of just 6 hours he was pulled off food, water, and movement.  Surgery is pending.  Joel stayed the night with him at the hospital and I took Rachel to my house.

We drove back up yesterday for the follow up x-rays.  No signs of improvement or worsening.  They are in a holding pattern and watching him closely.  As soon as his blood counts get to a safe place, they will be surgically stabilizing the compromised bones areas, which also include his femur.   As far as his bowel, there isn’t much that can be done.  We are hoping it’ll pass and heal.  If it doesn’t, there may be emergency surgery.  However, the doctors aren’t pushing for it.  He wouldn’t do well in surgery right now.

He has been fine through the chemo so far.  No serious signs of any symptoms.  They have been very successful keeping all nausea at bay.  His pain is completely under control.  They did some radiation therapy on his broken arm to help manage some of that pain and he seems to be improving in that area.  The rest of the tumors that had been visible are no longer.  It has been remarkable to see them recede and his figure regain normalcy.  He is very tired and has lost a lot of weight.  His last weight was 140 pounds.

These coming days are going to be full of anxiety as we wait to see what happens.  So far, his attitude has been optimistic and positive.  He doesn’t complain at all except about being alone.  He has been very accepting of things as they come and responding as emotionally as you or I would with all of the trials that have popped up.  He is more lucid than he’s been in weeks and it’s been wonderful talking to my dad again.  He has a great sense of humor these days and he is really a delight to spend time with.

January 1, 2014, the household good arrived from La Grande, OR.  I am in total awe of the support we’ve received through the past months.  Tony Pedro is a member of my dad’s LDS ward in La Grande.  He graciously and without expectation drove his own vehicle and trailer to Sierra Vista on his own.  There are no words for how tremendous his service to my dad and family has been.  I call him Saint Tony.  Just incredible.  I don’t know a single person that would volunteer driving a 16-foot trailer through mountains of snow just because there is a need.   I am never going to forget his generosity.

In less than 45 minutes, the trailer was unloaded!  Friends and church friends were quick to help and continue to offer assistance as we all transition.  There is a need for a blog separately devoted to the individuals who have answered the calls for action.  There is much to acknowledge when people drop what they are doing just to help.

Joel and Rachel are slowly but surely settling back into Arizona.  There is a lot left to unpack and sort.  We’ll work through it.  We are going to be travelling back and forth to Phoenix quite a bit over the coming weeks.  Unless something emergent occurs with dad, the plan is to head back up next weekend.  School starts back up on Monday, and I’ll take the kids over then to get them enrolled and transferred.  Hopefully there won’t be too much of a delay getting them adjusted to Buena.  This will be fun!  Isaac, Jacob, Sam, and I are all Buena graduates.  Sarah graduated from Rio Rico High.  But this will make nearly all Russell kids graduates of Buena!  HA!

I’m running through all of the administrative aspects of life right now.  There’s a LOT to do to transfer a family from one place to another!  I haven’t moved in over a decade, so I’m unfamiliar with a lot of the little details.  I’m learning fast and making lists.  One day at a time! 

Thank you for all of your continued support and prayers.  There has been so many things developing and them deconstructing and throughout all of them, I haven’t felt burdened.  That is the result of spiritual support and knowledge that my friends and family are rallying together to make this as easy as possible.

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