Updates for Danny, Aunt Kathy, Katey, and me!

Hello!

Martin and I spent last week (our spring break) in Port Orchard WA to see my side of the family. It was a relief to get away from the snow! We had a lot of storms in MI the week before we left, and actually had some class cancellations because of the weather! Though it rained much of the week, there were 2 days of really nice weather!

Danny was not feeling too great for about 1/2 our visit. For his last 2 treatments, he had a drug that was harder on his body. He had switched to it because of the neuropathy he was developing from Taxol, but the new drug (Taxotere?) made him more tired, more nauseaus, and changed his taste. While we were there, he was getting his taste sense back. Next week, he starts another new drug - my oncology nurses said the drug has only been our for about 6 months and that their patients getting it said it isn't as rough as other chemo drugs.

Aunt Kathy got news while we were there that there is a new small spot on her spine, so she will have some changes in her treatment. Though it isn't great she has a new tumor, I think everyone was fearful that it was going to be worse news, and she is still much better off than a year ago when cancer seemed to be "everywhere".

Katey, our baby niece, is back in the hospital this morning. She has been vomiting, and Billie told me yesterday that she was on medication for acid reflux. But I guess this morning she was much worse, and what Martin has heard is that she is in the NICU at Sparrow today.

For me, I've had GREAT news. I had my 3 month check up with Dr. Roy, and my blood test was great. He monitors what is called the 'CEA level' - which is a rough indicator of tumor activity in your body. Mine was very low - he said it is the lowest he has seen in a patient for awhile! (This is the same blood test that caused Aunt Kathy's doctors to repeat her scans last week - her marker was rising). He will see me again in 3 months, and every 3 months for few years. I also saw Dr. Gollish, my surgeon, this morning. He had scheduled a follow up for a few months after my colonoscopy to make sure everything was going okay. I don't need to see him for another year, when he will want to do another colonoscopy. He gave me a prescription for a steroid cream to help the healing process for my scar from my port. It has a "healing ridge" as Christy, his nurse (and wife) put it, and she said I should not expose it to sun for a year because it is such new tissue. Like I want everyone seeing my scar exposed this summer...ha!

On the adoption front...Martin and I are still learning to navigate the "system". We hear the statistics about the # of kids in our state foster system who are eligible for adoption, so we imagined the process going quickly. But the agency we were referred to is not taking any new families at this time. They suggested in the meantime we do the foster parent training that we will be required to do, and they will put us on a wait list for a family assessment in the meantime. So, we may look into another agency and also look into that training to see if there are any current training programs in our area.

All for now!

Kel