Monday morning update

Ruth has had a rough rest of last week and a rough weekend. We were able to get her into Shaw on Friday for some fluids and to manage her pain a little better. We were also able to get the echocardiogram to see whether her heart is strong enough for chemo on Friday as well. She spent the weekend in bed resting. She was able to make it to the annual Wild West Day on Sunday at 4 Eagle Ranch a fundraiser for all elementary schools in Eagle County for a little while. She says she is weak all over, no energy and still just not herself. We are hoping that this is just due to the fluid removal. After asking the nurse at Shaw on Friday this could be caused due to the fluid removal and it could also be a progression of the disease. She is meeting with her oncologist today- Monday at Shaw to discuss what her next course of action will be. She will see if her body is strong enough to have chemo. We appreciate your phone calls, however we might not be able to return your call as we have numerous calls to return each day. Please continue to check back here for updates. If you would like to call us please call Bob at work at 970-754-6738 rather than our home phone as Ruth is resting, thanks! I’ll write another update later today or tomorrow after her visit with the oncologist. Thanks for all your prayers and support we could not get through this without you all!

I am so grateful to The Lord for His mercy and faithfulness in making the procedure to remove fluid from my belly successful! The doctor was able to remove 6 liters (12 lbs.) of fluid which was far more that anyone expected. Well, I thought I would feel like a million dollars after that, but actually I have been extremely ill with extensive pain, no energy, and an overall feeling of sickness all over my body. It was explained to me that after the rib cage and all the muscles had been stretched out by that much fluid, that the trauma of removing that buffer around my major organs after it is has been there so long is going to be painful and will take a while to return to normal. Meanwhile, I have been on a lot of pain medication, unable to go to school, and praying that my recovery will be speedy. Dr. Ioana Hinshaw, the gynecologic oncologist at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center in Denver who ordered the procedure to be done also recommended the same chemo regimen that the team of doctors at the University of Colorado Medical Center recommended - adriamycynl with possible cytoxan. After I get an echo cardiogram on Thursday, I hope to begin chemo treatment early next week. It will be administered here at the Shaw Regional Cancer Center once every three weeks, which should mean that I will have time to regroup between treatments and continue to go to school during the two weeks between treatments. Bob and I drove back from Denver after the procedure in the first major snowstorm of the season - without snow tires on the car and very hazardous road conditions! Now we are enjoying the beautiful fall colors again but know that the cooler temperatures mean that winter weather is not far away. I'll try to keep you updated as often as I can, but some days I feel too weak to do anything. Please continue to pray for all of us as I get ready for the next phase of my treatment. Thank you for your cards, good wishes, prayers, phone calls, and unselfish support. Love you much!

Fortunately we have been able to make some progress this week that will keep us moving forward in investigating treatment options that might make me feel better. My oncologist here at the Shaw Regional Cancer Center in Edwards has referred me to a team of gynecologic experts at the University of Colorado Cancer Center in Denver. I will be meeting with one of them, Dr. Susan Davidson, on Thursday, Sept. 15th, for an evaluation and a consultation to see what the team recommends. On Monday, September 21, I am going to meet with Dr. Ioana Henshaw at the Rocky Mountain Cancer Center in Denver to attempt to remove the gelatin-like fluid around the tumor that is causing me such discomfort. I truly hope and pray that this procedure is successful so that I can at least get some temporary relief! On Monday, September 28th, Bob and I are going to MD Anderson in Houston for a 2-3 day evaluation by their team of uterine cancer experts to see what they recommend. My hope is to find some treatment that will slow down the growth of the disease and give me some comfort so that my level of pain is reduced , and my level of energy increased so that I can live a somewhat normal life with cancer. I am so encouraged by all of your prayers and your loyal support throughout this journey. We will try to keep this blog updated as often as we have anything new to report. I continue to work full time at Brush Creek Elementary as the librarian. My Fall Book Fair arrives this week, so I will be extremely busy. Thankfully, I have lots of parents who have offered to help, so it should run smoothly. Keep us in your prayers, specifically asking God to give us wisdom and discernment as to which, if any, treatment options would be best. We know that He is soverign in our lives and we just want to know what His will is for us at this time.

Praise God! He enabled me to make it through the first week of school with all the kids! It was definitely a struggle to make the transition of being on vacation to having 6-7 library classes a day. My schedule includes a 45 min. lunch break, so I have been coming home during that time to put my feet up and rest a bit, so that really helps. I wish that I could report that my energy level is up after having a blood transfusion two weeks ago, and an iron infusion on Thursday, but I really haven't noticed much of a change. I am really exhausted when I get home from school and usually just take it easy until bedtime. I am working on getting an appointment at the University of Colorado Cancer Center so that a team of experts in the field of uterine cancer can evaluate my case and make recommendations (if any) as to further treatment. In the meantime, I continue to pray and live as normal a life as possible on my vegan diet and a variety of homeopathic remedies. Thank you for your continuing support, outpouring of kindness, and all the prayers you keep offering for me!