Well, we have finished round 3 of chemo.....the fatigue is
beginning to play a toll on the Wolfman. He is ready for
all this to be over. He thinks everyone has forgotten us here,
as the phone, email and the blog have been quiet all week. Thanks
Bro Andy for calling every day. You are the best pastor
and friend. Michael looks forward to talking with you each
day. Michael has decided we need to come home since everyone
has forgot us. He doesn't know how ready I am to come home
and get back to work. You would think I had been taking chemo
as tired as I am. Just five more rounds and we will hopefully be home.
Back to the hospital this afternoon at 4:00pm for fluids.
Pump comes off on Tuesday evening and hopefully we can start
watching the counts go back up.
Michael wanted me to mention his new M.D. Anderson Buddy, Drew Moritz,
from St. Louis, Mo. He has been such an inspiration to Michael and
I. You can read his blog by clicking on his blog site to the left of this
post. He is a star basketball player in the State of Washington. Thanks
Drew for all your encouragement and especially your friendship. Best of
luck with Round 7.......hope this round wipes out all the SARCOMAS! Maybe this will be a 7 pointer for the final buzzer!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Third day of third round is history. Michael is beginning to feel
the effects of the chemo. Slept while they gave him the
pre-meds today and the other medications before they inserted
the 'red devil' to bring home. I should say he slept when he
not going to the restroom. They gave him a big bag of Lasix to
get some of the fluid off since he had put on so much weight
since Monday. Boy! Did it ever come off. He kept me hopping
disconnecting the IV pumps so he could travel down the hall.
He has all the nurses now fighting over whose patient he is
going to be that day. They like him because he is so polite,
positive and never complains about anything. "It's all good",
he tells them. We pray that the next few days will be as easy
as they can be..hopefully no fever and no emergency room.
The are now giving him meds for the hiccups since he has them
a big part of the time. When he has them, his chest hurts.
The time is coming for the Neulasta shot which makes him
feel like he has the flu...he is dreading it! God is slowly
removing the "devil out of his system". God Bless you all.
Love, Terri and Michael
the effects of the chemo. Slept while they gave him the
pre-meds today and the other medications before they inserted
the 'red devil' to bring home. I should say he slept when he
not going to the restroom. They gave him a big bag of Lasix to
get some of the fluid off since he had put on so much weight
since Monday. Boy! Did it ever come off. He kept me hopping
disconnecting the IV pumps so he could travel down the hall.
He has all the nurses now fighting over whose patient he is
going to be that day. They like him because he is so polite,
positive and never complains about anything. "It's all good",
he tells them. We pray that the next few days will be as easy
as they can be..hopefully no fever and no emergency room.
The are now giving him meds for the hiccups since he has them
a big part of the time. When he has them, his chest hurts.
The time is coming for the Neulasta shot which makes him
feel like he has the flu...he is dreading it! God is slowly
removing the "devil out of his system". God Bless you all.
Love, Terri and Michael
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Good Tuesday everyone. We have had a pretty slow day....got to
sleep late this morning. Worked some after we got up and arrived
at the hospital about 3:45pm. Michael has just about eat me out of
house and home today. He actually has put on 10 pounds since
yesterday at this time. I'm certain a lot of it is food, but then he
is also wearing his chemo back pack which is putting a lot of fluid in
his body. It will all come off next week....it will be our "LOSS of
APPETITE" week. We have completed day two of Round Three with no side
effects except for the hiccups. Every time he drinks or eats something,
he gets them. This is the only side effect he usually has. Just hope
and pray that we don't have fever this round. Maybe not since he is
taking antibiotics this week for the pneumonia he still has a trace of
in his lungs. His coughing has slowed down, so we really think we
are getting rid of it. We have about another 45 minutes at the hospital
and then back home until tomorrow about 4:00pm. Keep prayers flowing
and God will continue to work His miracle. Don't forget us and call anytime.
If you don't call him, he will eventually call you. . . especially when
he needs an Olney Fix (just ask Zola Mae and Andy).
Love to all,
Terri and Michael
sleep late this morning. Worked some after we got up and arrived
at the hospital about 3:45pm. Michael has just about eat me out of
house and home today. He actually has put on 10 pounds since
yesterday at this time. I'm certain a lot of it is food, but then he
is also wearing his chemo back pack which is putting a lot of fluid in
his body. It will all come off next week....it will be our "LOSS of
APPETITE" week. We have completed day two of Round Three with no side
effects except for the hiccups. Every time he drinks or eats something,
he gets them. This is the only side effect he usually has. Just hope
and pray that we don't have fever this round. Maybe not since he is
taking antibiotics this week for the pneumonia he still has a trace of
in his lungs. His coughing has slowed down, so we really think we
are getting rid of it. We have about another 45 minutes at the hospital
and then back home until tomorrow about 4:00pm. Keep prayers flowing
and God will continue to work His miracle. Don't forget us and call anytime.
If you don't call him, he will eventually call you. . . especially when
he needs an Olney Fix (just ask Zola Mae and Andy).
Love to all,
Terri and Michael
Day One, Round THREE
Just wanted to let everyone know we made it back to
Houston about 11:15 on Sunday evening. I sure drank
a lot of black coffee on the way back, and I'm not a
coffee drinker, but it was that or die. I ran off
the road a couple of times from falling asleep.
Michael wanted me to stop and get a room at Huntsville
as I think he thought we might not make it if we didn't.
Yesterday was a very busy day at the hospital. Michael
had the catheter put in about 9:30, then a x-ray to make
sure it was where it needed to be, a dental appointment
to check on the wisdom teeth that need to come out, and
then on to chemo. We got home last night about 9:30.
We stopped at Burger King for our late night meal....
got to bed about 12:00 midnight. Today will be pretty
quiet until about 3:30 when we leave to go back to the
hospital for another chemo bag to be inserted in his backpack.
After three hours, we will be back home.
Met a young man yesterday with his parents that I could
tell had something similar to what Michael had. After
watching them for a few minutes, I walked over and
introduced myself to them and asked them if he had
Ewing's Sarcoma, and they said it was not Ewing's but
another form of sarcoma. We showed them the photos of
the scans we have posted and hopefully gave them a lot
of hope in their case. We told them that we had the
Great Physician on our side and they advised they did too.
It is so neat to be able to share our testimony and success
of the 85% healing that we have experienced with other people.
God is so GOOD and we continue to give Him all the glory.
Have a great day....
Love,
Terri and Michael
Houston about 11:15 on Sunday evening. I sure drank
a lot of black coffee on the way back, and I'm not a
coffee drinker, but it was that or die. I ran off
the road a couple of times from falling asleep.
Michael wanted me to stop and get a room at Huntsville
as I think he thought we might not make it if we didn't.
Yesterday was a very busy day at the hospital. Michael
had the catheter put in about 9:30, then a x-ray to make
sure it was where it needed to be, a dental appointment
to check on the wisdom teeth that need to come out, and
then on to chemo. We got home last night about 9:30.
We stopped at Burger King for our late night meal....
got to bed about 12:00 midnight. Today will be pretty
quiet until about 3:30 when we leave to go back to the
hospital for another chemo bag to be inserted in his backpack.
After three hours, we will be back home.
Met a young man yesterday with his parents that I could
tell had something similar to what Michael had. After
watching them for a few minutes, I walked over and
introduced myself to them and asked them if he had
Ewing's Sarcoma, and they said it was not Ewing's but
another form of sarcoma. We showed them the photos of
the scans we have posted and hopefully gave them a lot
of hope in their case. We told them that we had the
Great Physician on our side and they advised they did too.
It is so neat to be able to share our testimony and success
of the 85% healing that we have experienced with other people.
God is so GOOD and we continue to give Him all the glory.
Have a great day....
Love,
Terri and Michael
PHENOMENAL
Don't ever tell me that our God is Not Real or I will have to differ with
you. Our GOD is an awesome God and He LIVES......He is in the miracle
business and if you don't believe it please look at the photo above.
We went into the doctor's office yesterday anticipating no more
than 25% cure, but we were not prepared for a 85-90% healing....
Our God is Awesome......
Definition I want you to remember:
going beyond what is usual, regular, or customaryb: exceptional to a very marked extent This a definition for a Word that our Doctor had pretty much
told us in his own words not to expect the first time we met
with him in his office at MD Anderson. He had told us
we had a 20% chance for five years at the most. He also
advised us that it was in Michael's lungs, pelvis and possibly in his
lymph glands. When I read on his report after he met with us after
the first round of chemo that it was also in his spine, rib
cage and pretty much over his entire body, I have to admit I was
pretty down. My first thought was, "God what I have done in my life
to lose my husband, then my mother, and now I am facing the
fact that I might lose my only child anywhere from 6 months to 5
years the best case scenario. I prayed to God the night that we
met with the doctor that I really didn't think I could take
this.......he was all I had. God reminded me that night that He allowed His son to
die on the cross for me and it wasn't because of Alzheimer's or cancer or a
heart condition, but he allowed his healthy Son to die for my sins and here
I was complaining about all the problems I had had the
past 3 years. Michael had told me time and time again that we had the
GREAT PHYSICIAN on our side. God reminded me that He was the
GREAT PHYSICIAN but I had to let go of my motherly instincts
and Trust in Him thoroughly. He reminded me of a verse of
scripture that I had memorized when I was a teenager that says, "Faith
is the substance of things hoped for, and the evidence of
things not seen." I was not focusing on anything outside the box,
and God had given me this scripture to live by many years ago. He
reminded me that when we lost Marc, we relied on this scripture to get
us through his death. But I was also focused on our life outside the
box. He told me to turn lose of the desires of my heart and let Him have
complete control of Michael Scott Wipperman and he would get us through
this battle. That night, I gave Michael to God and told Him that we
would let Him have control and if it was meant for the cancer to
be rid from Michael's body we would give Him the glory and if it
did not go away, we would still give Him the glory and praise Him for
the time we had. As you can tell by the PetCT photos, the rewards are
miraculous.
The black in the photos on the left photo is the cancer
that was invading Michael's body when we arrived at MD Andersonexcept for the skull - which always shows up as being black.
We had scans done on Thursday of this week and the right
photo is the recent scan. As you will note,
the cancer is all but about 5-15% gone. We do not plan to decrease
any treatment that we went down there for. The next treatments
will be as aggressive as the first, but we will probably not see the
dramatic reduction of the cancer since there is not much cancer to
reduce. PRAISE GOD. I promised God last night that if He ever
put someone in my path and I did not give Him the glory or tell
them what a Mighty God we serve, to knock me on my face, pick
me up and knock me down again until I told them. The Dr. told us
when he opened up the images of the scan from this week,
"This is phenomenal! This is phenomenal! " which Webster defines
as above. He then told me he had nothing to do with this, that
Michael was the one that was Phenomenal and I quickly informed
him that Our God, The Miracle God, was the one who was
Phenomenal.........Michael was just doing his part.........Amen?
Love you all,
Terri and Michael
COUNTS UP AND READY FOR ROUND 3
The past couple of days have been great.
Michael's counts were up on Monday when we had labs drawn
and today was even better. In fact, he has had to
drop some potassium supplements due to his potassium over the range.
Good news, now he only has 32 pills a day to take
instead of 33. He takes 24 of the same medication per day.
Plus he takes a liquid four times a day (what they call
swish and swallow to coat his mouth and the lining of
his esophagus and intestines). He also washes his mouth
out with salt and soda(swish and spit) water four times
a day supposedly....that is one he tends to forget a lot
We have a PetCT scheduled at 6:00am in the morning
of his whole body and a CT Scan scheduled at 1:00 pm of
his chest, abdomen, and pelvis. WE ARE EXPECTING
MIRACLE TYPE NEWS from the oncologist
when we see him on Friday. Then we will be able
to tell him again what an AWESOME GOD we serve.
We will be leaving for the hospital about 4:45am
in the morning to get there on time. I will be working
on my computer from the hospital since I don't want
anyone to be mad at me for not sending them a water bill this month.
We met a young man today who has the same Cancer that
Michael has. He is from close to Bentonville, Arkansas
and has had Ewing Sarcoma three different times. It
is a cancer you have to keep a watch on. We had about
decided we were the only ones that was here with that
cancer at this time. He lost his right leg to the cancer
and walks with a prosthesis. He was such an inspiration
to Michael and I. He told Michael he could win this battle
as we already knew. Michael has lost another 8 lbs this
week. Doesn't he look good in the photo? This was taken
in front of the main building at the hospital/clinic.
Hopefully you will see some strange faces in Olney this
weekend..........you may have to introduce yourself.
Love,
Terri and Michael
Michael's counts were up on Monday when we had labs drawn
and today was even better. In fact, he has had to
drop some potassium supplements due to his potassium over the range.
Good news, now he only has 32 pills a day to take
instead of 33. He takes 24 of the same medication per day.
Plus he takes a liquid four times a day (what they call
swish and swallow to coat his mouth and the lining of
his esophagus and intestines). He also washes his mouth
out with salt and soda(swish and spit) water four times
a day supposedly....that is one he tends to forget a lot
We have a PetCT scheduled at 6:00am in the morning
of his whole body and a CT Scan scheduled at 1:00 pm of
his chest, abdomen, and pelvis. WE ARE EXPECTING
MIRACLE TYPE NEWS from the oncologist
when we see him on Friday. Then we will be able
to tell him again what an AWESOME GOD we serve.
We will be leaving for the hospital about 4:45am
in the morning to get there on time. I will be working
on my computer from the hospital since I don't want
anyone to be mad at me for not sending them a water bill this month.
We met a young man today who has the same Cancer that
Michael has. He is from close to Bentonville, Arkansas
and has had Ewing Sarcoma three different times. It
is a cancer you have to keep a watch on. We had about
decided we were the only ones that was here with that
cancer at this time. He lost his right leg to the cancer
and walks with a prosthesis. He was such an inspiration
to Michael and I. He told Michael he could win this battle
as we already knew. Michael has lost another 8 lbs this
week. Doesn't he look good in the photo? This was taken
in front of the main building at the hospital/clinic.
Hopefully you will see some strange faces in Olney this
weekend..........you may have to introduce yourself.
Love,
Terri and Michael
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY TO ALL
The past three days have been uneventful. After the blood
transfusions on Friday evening, Michael has been a different
person. He said if he had known how much better he would
feel, he would have let them give him one on Wednesday
night at the emergency room when they wanted to.
He has been up and about in the house, with a few
periods for resting. His attitude has got a lot
better and his color is excellent. Hair is almost
gone with just a little stubble here and there.
He is pretty much slick on his face and his head except
for his eyebrows. They are still thick and red.
I think he has shaved once since starting chemo.
He never liked to shave. We had labs drawn today,
but no one there to give a report so guess we will
have to wait until tomorrow. Evidently they weren't
too bad or we would have hear from the nurse on duty.
I mowed about 3/4 of my brother-in-laws back yard which
he lives on an acre this morning. This is hard on an old
woman who hasn't had much exercise in the past couple
of months. Thought this was the least I could do for
letting us move in on him. We can stay home tomorrow
all day which is quite a change from all the days up to
now. Nothing scheduled. Wednesday we have lab drawn again
and a visit with the internal medicine doctor for our final
checkup from the fever we went to the hospital with on
Wednesday night of last week. Thursday is our big day!!!!!!
We are going to see what the first two rounds of chemo have
done. Have a id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">PETCT scan and a regular
CT Scan that day. The PetCT will tell us every little place this
cancer is in Michael's body. This is the first PetCT
we have had since we have been here. Pray for the best
results possible. The regular CT Scan will tell us
how much the cancer has shrunk in his pelvic, spine,
leg bone and lungs. Michael said it would certainly be
nice if they found no sign of any Cancer or ever having
any Cancer. We are thinking positive. Hopefully, we
will be able to sneak home for a couple of days this weekend.
Haven't made any plans so far, depending on what his labs do
Wednesday. Don't want to get home and wish we hadn't left here.
We want to thank everyone for calling us. It certainly is
nice to hear from people you love and appreciate. Call
when you can. Michael likes to call people and just hear
their voices. He certainly misses all the customers at
the store and I miss the CITY OF OLNEY.
A verse I have found to be a great comfort in my life the past
week is Joshua 1:9 ("Have
I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do
not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with
you wherever you go".) I always thought this verse was
given in reference to our witnessing for our Lord and in the
role of leadership. As I have prayed for strength and peace
from God during this difficult time, God has showed me a
different way to understand this verse. The personal
encouragement that God has given me through this verse
is that there is no need for us to be anxious, for He knew
about this (even before it was diagnosed) and has already
made provisions. (a place to stay, a quick appointment at
M.D. Anderson, people to take care of things at home for us,
the bake sale, provisions for my job at the City, a Doctor
who has a vested interest in Ewing Sarcoma patients because
his brother had the same cancer, Marc's and my niece who has
been so faithful in going to doctors appointments with us,
Marc's wonderful family here). Just think, if God hadn't put
Marc in my life, I would have never known his family here)
.
Isn't our God Awesome??????!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
transfusions on Friday evening, Michael has been a different
person. He said if he had known how much better he would
feel, he would have let them give him one on Wednesday
night at the emergency room when they wanted to.
He has been up and about in the house, with a few
periods for resting. His attitude has got a lot
better and his color is excellent. Hair is almost
gone with just a little stubble here and there.
He is pretty much slick on his face and his head except
for his eyebrows. They are still thick and red.
I think he has shaved once since starting chemo.
He never liked to shave. We had labs drawn today,
but no one there to give a report so guess we will
have to wait until tomorrow. Evidently they weren't
too bad or we would have hear from the nurse on duty.
I mowed about 3/4 of my brother-in-laws back yard which
he lives on an acre this morning. This is hard on an old
woman who hasn't had much exercise in the past couple
of months. Thought this was the least I could do for
letting us move in on him. We can stay home tomorrow
all day which is quite a change from all the days up to
now. Nothing scheduled. Wednesday we have lab drawn again
and a visit with the internal medicine doctor for our final
checkup from the fever we went to the hospital with on
Wednesday night of last week. Thursday is our big day!!!!!!
We are going to see what the first two rounds of chemo have
done. Have a id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">PETCT scan and a regular
CT Scan that day. The PetCT will tell us every little place this
cancer is in Michael's body. This is the first PetCT
we have had since we have been here. Pray for the best
results possible. The regular CT Scan will tell us
how much the cancer has shrunk in his pelvic, spine,
leg bone and lungs. Michael said it would certainly be
nice if they found no sign of any Cancer or ever having
any Cancer. We are thinking positive. Hopefully, we
will be able to sneak home for a couple of days this weekend.
Haven't made any plans so far, depending on what his labs do
Wednesday. Don't want to get home and wish we hadn't left here.
We want to thank everyone for calling us. It certainly is
nice to hear from people you love and appreciate. Call
when you can. Michael likes to call people and just hear
their voices. He certainly misses all the customers at
the store and I miss the CITY OF OLNEY.
A verse I have found to be a great comfort in my life the past
week is Joshua 1:9 ("Have
I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do
not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with
you wherever you go".) I always thought this verse was
given in reference to our witnessing for our Lord and in the
role of leadership. As I have prayed for strength and peace
from God during this difficult time, God has showed me a
different way to understand this verse. The personal
encouragement that God has given me through this verse
is that there is no need for us to be anxious, for He knew
about this (even before it was diagnosed) and has already
made provisions. (a place to stay, a quick appointment at
M.D. Anderson, people to take care of things at home for us,
the bake sale, provisions for my job at the City, a Doctor
who has a vested interest in Ewing Sarcoma patients because
his brother had the same cancer, Marc's and my niece who has
been so faithful in going to doctors appointments with us,
Marc's wonderful family here). Just think, if God hadn't put
Marc in my life, I would have never known his family here)
.
Isn't our God Awesome??????!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
Friday and Saturday
Hope all is well at home and wherever your home might be.
We are much better today than we have been all week.
I know you all are tired of hearing about all our trouble,
so just wanted you to know that Michael is 100% better today
than he has been all week. I did get some much needed
sleep this afternoon and feel better myself.
Had to have two units of blood yesterday so today he
feels like a new person. Michael wanted me to give him
some blood last night, and I told him my blood was
too old and tired for him. He needed some good blood.
Love to all,
Terri and Michael
We are much better today than we have been all week.
I know you all are tired of hearing about all our trouble,
so just wanted you to know that Michael is 100% better today
than he has been all week. I did get some much needed
sleep this afternoon and feel better myself.
Had to have two units of blood yesterday so today he
feels like a new person. Michael wanted me to give him
some blood last night, and I told him my blood was
too old and tired for him. He needed some good blood.
Love to all,
Terri and Michael
Another long day at the hospital
We thought this round was going to go as well as the first round,
but boy, were we mistaken. After the ordeal in the emergency room
on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, we were looking
forward to a nice quiet Thursday and Friday. Michael's temperature
went up and down Thursday the better part of the day. His temperature
went up to 102.2 about 4:35 pm and I called the triage nurse and
she said it was okay since they had already started him on Augmentin and Cipro
for infection. His temperature did not get any higher and actually
came down before bedtime. Came to the hospital this morning for
a visit with a doctor in the internal medicine department for
a followup on the ER visit. Said his chemo had bottomed out his
magnesium and white blood count was bottomed out. He wants me
to give him blood if I match so he won't have to have another
persons blood he doesn't know . I will oblige to his desires
if I match. He is afraid he might get s omething from blood
that he doesn't know who gave it. I told him mine was old,
tired blood right now. This has
been the worse week physically and mentally we have had since we
have been here.I am sorry Heaven we missed your senior day......
Congratulations on all your awards and scholarships.
Memaw didn't want to miss your special day.
I wanted to see my little boy's (Jose) track meet today,
but will see it next year for
sure with a healed son. I was thinking of you for sure...
Love and prayers,
Terri and Michael
but boy, were we mistaken. After the ordeal in the emergency room
on Wednesday night and early Thursday morning, we were looking
forward to a nice quiet Thursday and Friday. Michael's temperature
went up and down Thursday the better part of the day. His temperature
went up to 102.2 about 4:35 pm and I called the triage nurse and
she said it was okay since they had already started him on Augmentin and Cipro
for infection. His temperature did not get any higher and actually
came down before bedtime. Came to the hospital this morning for
a visit with a doctor in the internal medicine department for
a followup on the ER visit. Said his chemo had bottomed out his
magnesium and white blood count was bottomed out. He wants me
to give him blood if I match so he won't have to have another
persons blood he doesn't know . I will oblige to his desires
if I match. He is afraid he might get s omething from blood
that he doesn't know who gave it. I told him mine was old,
tired blood right now. This has
been the worse week physically and mentally we have had since we
have been here.I am sorry Heaven we missed your senior day......
Congratulations on all your awards and scholarships.
Memaw didn't want to miss your special day.
I wanted to see my little boy's (Jose) track meet today,
but will see it next year for
sure with a healed son. I was thinking of you for sure...
Love and prayers,
Terri and Michael
LONG NIGHT WITH LITTLE SLEEP
Just an update on Michael this morning. Talked with some last night on our way to the Emergency Room about 7:15pm. Michael became very weak and fatigued starting about 5:00pm yesterday and went downhill from there. He went to bed about 6:00pm so I knew something was brewing inside his body. Took his temp about 7:00pm and his temperature was 100.3 and then again at 7:15pm and it was 101.1. That is the signal to call the doctor and go to the emergency room. In about 3 minutes Dr. Ravi called us and advised me to take him to the emergency room. Got there about 7:40 and they took his vitals and such and did a blood culture on him. His fever got to 101.6 before it started coming down from the medicine they gave him. We left the hospital about 4:38 this morning and arrived at my brother-in-laws about 4:55 am. Not much traffic in Houston those hours. Just hoped and prayed I didn't meet a drunk or someone in the parking garage. Bless Michael's heart, he didn't want me pushing him to the car in a wheelchair....guess he wanted to look strong in case we encountered someone. Probably couldn't have knocked over a butterfly.....but he was my protection. God is good. This will halt our attempt to come home this weekend for certain as we have to go to the hospital each day until Tuesday to have them check his lungs and blood work. Oh the diagnosis from last night.....he has fluid on his lungs........couldn't conclude for certain that it was pneumonia, but probably is......Keep on Keeping on with you prayers....we are going to win this battle through the rough times as well.....maybe this was God's way of saying he wasn't strong enough to make the trip home and this is where He wants at this time.
Love to all,
Terri and Michael
Love to all,
Terri and Michael
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