Overwhelmed!!

We had an absolutely unbelievable trip to the States these past few days. 

Our flights to SLC went well last week as we made the trek through Chicago and then on to Utah.  We’re so grateful to our parents in Ogden for hosting us the first night.  Friday was whirlwind of errands for the wedding on Saturday and preparations for dropping off Jenna at BYU.

I would say that the wedding day on Saturday, 23 August was just a beautiful day!  The forecast was for cold and rain, but after some showers in the early morning, it cleared out and made for a nice day to visit the Jordan River Temple and spend time with our beloved family and friends.  The sealing was beautiful, and Derek and Jessica were the picture of a happy couple.   We’re excited to have Jessica join our family.

The old Provo courthouse is a gorgeous, marble-filled building and was classy place to have a luncheon and reception.  We were simply overwhelmed by the family, friends and loved-ones who came to visit with our family.  We know that many of you traveled so very far to be there and went way out of your normal schedules to be a part of the festivities.  We are humbled by your love and support. 

Wendi held up better than any of us expected.  She had an unanticipated high energy level and was able to be a part of everything.  She looked beautiful and was an outstanding mother-of-the-groom.  I thought she might come crashing down the next day, but when it comes to being with family, she was able to draw on some kind of super-reserves and was energetic all through Tuesday.  We were blessed beyond our wildest expectations.

We were also fortunate enough to make it on our flights today and we are on our way ‘home’ to Germany.  We jump right back into the middle of school (the boys will have missed 3 days) and scouts and seminary and work, and chemo.  The summer truly is over, but we went out with a bang!

Thank you so much, again to all of you.  We love you and can’t thank you enough.  Your support sustains us daily.

Marküs

Round 2 Tomorrow and CT Results Great--

Wendi went in today for blood work in preparation for her next chemo session tomorrow.  She is finally done with the "AC" regimen and is phasing into the "T" segment.  It is supposedly the easier drug to handle, so of course, we're hoping that holds true.

She was also able to meet one of the two new Oncology doctors.  We are right in the middle of PCS (moving) season and the Oncology docs are swapping out as well.  She really liked this new guy and is hoping to be linked up with him.  Fingers crossed.

You may know, Wendi had her second CT scan last Friday.  They wanted to scan and see what things looked like after enduring that first chemo cycle and compare it to the scan done in June.  We checked with our radiologist friend in the ward who looked at and gave us the inside scoop.  Everything looked great!  We are glad to hear the good news.  The doctor today confirmed what he had told us earlier, so we are in a good position going into the next phase.

We are sending our kids off tomorrow to sneak back to the United States of America a little early.  Wendi and I will join them next week after that chemo session and Derek gets married on the 23rd.  That's the plan anyway!….

Marküs

First chemo cycle complete!

This past Wednesday was my 4th and final "AC" portion of Chemo.  Let me just say that I am so grateful that I have it behind me.  I am now trying to recover from all of those chemicals and have been tied to the couch more than I would care to admit.  I start a different regimen of chemo on August 13th which is called the "T" portion every week for 12 weeks.  Most of the ladies I meet in the chemo room at the hospital who are ahead of me in this process say they have had an easier time dealing with the effects of the "T"so that is what I am hoping for too.  I go in on August 8th for another CT to see what is going on with those cancerous lymph nodes that are under my collar bone that were too deep to dig for - hopefully they have at least shrunk some by now.  They will also see what is going on with the nodules in my lungs and other concerning spots.  I won't get the report for a few days afterwords, but it does make me a little nervous.  I will post as soon as I know….

If I could only win this cancer battle on LOVE alone, I would have won by now.  From the bottom of my heart I want to thank all of you out there for your kind words, flowers, meals, service, prayers & fasting.  All of the thoughts have sustained me through this really hard time in my life. So many of my prayers have been answered by all of you!  I am also so grateful for the enabling power of the Atonement in my life.  I know that I have received strength beyond my own.  In D& C 100:12 it says, "Therefore, continue your journey and let your hearts rejoice; for behold, and lo, I am with you even unto the end."  I have hope!
 
love, Wendi

Hair

It can be a pain in the tooshie sometimes.  It gets dirty, it gets greasy, it gets misshaped (?) by beds and pillows, and often one just has a bad day with it.  It must occasionally be shampoo'd, combed, brushed, teased, curled, straightened, tinted, highlighted, perm'd, detangled, braided and what have you.  And it must sometimes be cut.

We've heard that sometime after the 2nd chemo session is when most people lose their hair.  For the past week, Wendi has had more of it come out in the shower and throughout the day.  With all that hair, losing some has always been a part of the deal.  But during this weeks visit, the oncologist said that at some point it would start to hurt as the hair began falling out and the scalp would get tender.  She recommended cutting it before it got too far along down that path.

For the past few days, Wendi has felt her head get a bit tender and sore.  We thought all week that maybe July 4th would be the day.  Her hair looked good today, just like usual.  She wasn't losing too much.  But we decided to do it.

Jenna would be the one to use the scissors and I would wield the shaver.  We got all situated in our big bathroom and were about to start.  Jenna grabbed about an inch worth of hair and brought the scissors up to cut.  It was harder than we all thought!  We all just started crying!  It took a minute or two to get our acts together and then she went for it.  She cut it down to about an inch or so in length and then I went over it with a #4.  Next was #1, then no attachment at all.  We didn't dare do the razor thing - we don't want her to get cut with the worries about immune systems and germs and all.  So, we stopped right there.  So, she's down to just a bit of fuzz there.   We are all honestly impressed.  Wendi has a beautiful cranium under there.  It's just perfectly shaped and we could never appreciate it because of all that 80's hair.  It really isn't as drastic as we all thought it would be.  I wouldn't say we are completely used to it, but we're adapting quickly.

Her chemo session on Wednesday went OK.  The sickness afterwards hit sooner this time.  By 2 or 3pm she was starting to drag.  She still managed to go for a walk that day and the next day too.  It is the shot that I giver her the evening of day-2 that seems to really hit hard.  It is some kind of bone medicine that attempts to jump-start the good cell production inside the bones.  It really makes her achy and feeling cruddy.  She was not doing that great today.  Overall, not a good day for Wendi.

We are proud of our country on our Independence Day holiday today.  We would normally have been off on some kind of grand travel adventure this weekend, but are now here at home to celebrate.  We had a good scripture reading and discussion on the 4th of July and the Star Spangled Banner.  Earlier today I took Alex and some scouts to the laundromat to work on his Eagle Project.  We had some donated clothes to launder and it went well.

We are happy to have the blessings we do as Americans and the opportunity to be overseas as well, to experience other cultures.  We cherish the support we get from family and friends as we work through this most current challenge.  Thanks for your concern and kind words.

Mark K.

Should be on a Cruise....

Wendi's gone one full week now as chemo patient.  As reported earlier, she 
survived day-1 and 2 pretty well, overall.  It has been a struggle since then 
with nausea, dizziness, stomach ache, mouth sores, etc.  Not able to sleep well either.  

The nausea hasn't progressed to the point of an actual bathroom visit (similar to her 
pregnancies), but it must be miserable to feel like that all the time.

At times, it seemed like she was about to 'turn the corner' and start to feel 
better, but then she'd slow down again.  She tires more easily, so after doing 
much of anything, she needs to take a break and rest.  Not easy to keep this one 
down, though.  She wants to be contributing and helping and serving.

We've had a quieter house this week with Jenna serving a 'mini-mission' in 
Wiesbaden and Alex on a cruise with our friends the Adams.'  It's the cruise to 

the Baltics we were all going on until our summer schedule came crashing down, 

unfortunately.   We think he's in Stockholm right now....  So, Kade is at home 

'taking care' of his Mom and doing a great job (most of the time....).

Since each successive visit for chemo is supposed to get worse, we had hoped to 
sneak away today on what will probably be our last trip.  But, Wendi was running 
a bit of a fever last night and was feeling pretty lousy, so we are delaying a 
day or so and we'll see what happens.  That will likely define our next few 
months - take it one day at a time.

Mark K.

Pregnancy??

Once we got home yesterday, Wendi wasn't feeling too bad.  She made a few phone calls and we had a fairly normal evening.  Then, she got pregnant --  or at least she felt pregnant....

Wendi's perennial April Fool's joke for many years was "I'm pregnant!"  Well, this year on April 1st, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.  We didn't feel like joking much after that.

So, later in the evening she started feeling queasy, bloated and nauseous.  She felt like vomiting, but never got to that point.  She didn't really feel like eating anything and nothing sounded good anyway.  We both are having flashbacks to pregnancy days!  She climbed up into bed and was unsure of what the night would bring.  She managed to get some sleep, though, and felt a little better this morning.  That's just like the pregnancy days as well - felt "OK" in the morning and slowly got worse as the day wore on.

She's done OK today.  Moving slowly and spent some time reading.  I have to give her a shot this evening.  We're hoping it will get better over the course of the next few days.

This first round is every two weeks for eight weeks, so next visit is 2 July.

Marküs

Chemo 101

Professor Doctor Link called Wendi just after 0800 this morning.  He said that the CT scan looked clean!  It has some spots that could be blood vessels or small growths of some kind, but supposedly, we all have those types of things.  They were just being justifiably cautious because of Wendi's diagnosis.  We will have another CT in about 3 months for comparison.  Dr. Link planned to contact the Landstuhl oncology department and get the results to them as well.

Wendi called oncology and they said to 'come on down.'  So we are here now learning more about the process and Wendi is about to be administered the first round of 'AC' (the chemo cocktail...).

Everyone here has been very nice and supportive, including my office.  They have been very understanding and have allowed me a LOT of leeway to handle whatever I need to do for Wendi.  It is very much appreciated.

Here she is.  Thanks everyone.