Treatment 9

So, let's start with some clarification. I have heard from MANY loved ones that my last entry sounded kinda.... depressed? That is probably the most concise word I can think of to explain what people have told me. I am very sorry! Truthfully I was going for the opposite! But, anyways... the explanation. Things are looking good. Our surgeon made some comments that pretty much made it sound like Kent had very limited time left. We left unsure and worried, but we have since spoken with our Oncologist and he says things are looking as we originally thought. The hope is still that the chemo is working its magic! We will find out after chemo is done. The Oncologist thinks that what our surgeon was TRYING to say is just that cancer is a serious condition. It has its risks. Even with chemo there are no guarantees. We think he was just trying to make sure we see the whole picture, and not just a rose colored version of it. We are super optimistic though! I told Kent that I have decided he isn't allowed anymore cancer once this is done. So there. :)

Now, treatment 9! It is done! Tuesday he got the initial infusions. He got very sick, very quickly. It has been a harder round than the last few have been, but he is hanging in there. All of the nausea hasn't been as big of a problem until this round. He has to take his medication regularly to keep any food down. Thursday's disconnect was really hard. They injected the Heparin, to make sure his Port access stays clear and usable, and he got REALLY sick. He has spent a lot of time sleeping since Tuesday, but he is starting to feel a little bit better.

Thursday we took Kennedy to meet the staff at the chemo center. Kent had promised one of our nurses that we would bring him to meet everyone. Let's just say he pretty much stole everyone's hearts. :) All the patients had big smiles and kept waving. He loved it! He was waving to everyone and saying "hello" and "hi". It was so cute. :) Anyways, when the nurse did the injection that made Kent so sick Kennedy was outraged! He got really upset and started yelling at the nurse and reaching to pat his daddy's head. I love how protective he is of his daddy. He did calm down and was nice to the nurse again, but it was pretty distressing for a minute there.  On our way out Kent put Kennedy on his shoulders because Kennedy insisted on being with him (he always wants to be with Kent when he realizes daddy is having a hard day. He just pats him and holds him. It is super precious) and everyone was talking about our little ray of sunshine, what a blessing he is to us, what a blessing children are especially during hard times. One woman commented that it was nice to see his smile, "he doesn't realize this is a place with so much pain, he thinks it is so great!" She said it was nice to have the positive attitude there. At age 1 my little boy is already a missionary. :) When we left he waved to everyone. There was a doctor there that we had never seen before, and for whatever reason he caught Kennedy's attention and Kennedy turned and yelled "BYE" as loud as he could. Everyone was laughing. Especially Kent. I think it would be good for Kent, and maybe the other patients too, if Kennedy came every time. However, with all the immunosuppressed issues we don't normally bring him so we can hopefully not get anyone sick. They all loved him though and Kent said it definitely made the disconnect easier. :)

Surgeon

Tuesday we went and saw the surgeon. The appointment went well. Kent wasn't feeling well that day, but we made it! The doctor said he could tell the chemo was taking its toll, but that it is necessary to "reduce the risk factors" of Kent dying. It was an... interesting conversation. He sounded like he thought things were more serious then we currently believe, but he didn't elaborate. We have decided though that we are going to stick to believing that all is going as smoothly as we want it to be going. :)

Anyways... He said that the surgical site seems to be healing well. We talked a little about the upcoming surgery... for whatever reason, that we do not know, they are moving the surgery to an earlier date. It was originally going to happen at the end of October, now it is supposed to happen sometime in September. Probably the middle to the end of the month. We aren't sure why the change, but are hoping it is just because he healed so well. I guess we'll see!

This changes a lot of stuff though. We are figuring out moving and classes and, well, life! We had Kent taking first block classes to maintain his enrollment at BYU, but now we need to find some different classes that he can take second block instead. Hopefully he has recovered enough to handle the classes then. I am sure he will do well. My sweetheart is tough.

The appointment was great because it gave us a clearer perspective on how close we are to "the end" of chemotherapy. We have already come so far, and yet it still feels like it isn't going to end. But we are almost there! Really! We are!! The Lord has guided us this far and we know He will continue to guide us. We are just taking each day as it comes and are so grateful for the blessings in each and every single day.

Round 8

Can you believe we have made it this far? I know when it all started, this point seemed really far away. But we are 2/3rds of the way done!!

Kent has pretty much gotten used to how things feel now. The Heparin (?) injection still makes him gag a lot, he almost threw up this time, but other then that he seems to be having an ok cycle. We even made it out for a walk as a family today. Kennedy was so happy. He just wanted to ride on Daddy's shoulders and walk holding Daddy's hands. :) Kent was pretty exhausted by the end, but his spirits were lifted.

It really made me smile this round, both Tuesday and Thursday, seeing Kent encouraging the other patients. Today especially. There was another young man doing chemo who looked pretty down. Kent simply said "Good luck" and to an older woman "Hang in there" and they both looked surprised, but smiled. The few simple words were enough to maybe get them through the treatment, to know that someone cared. We have had several individuals who have provided us with those words of comfort and they are still with us. I think we might always remember them.

I am so grateful that Kent is thinking about others, and not just himself which could be so easy to do. I love my sweet husband and admire him for what he is going through. I know it isn't easy, but I am grateful he is fighting so hard. Happy Father's Day to my wonderful sweetheart!

Round 7

So far things have been up and down. Good, then bad. Truthfully it has been hard, but for different reasons. Nothing is really new this time, things just keep going the same. He never really got feeling better, so he didn't feel like he got as sick at first. He had a miserable first few days, which was how his last few days of week 6 went, and one of them we spent on an airplane! On our Barker side our sister Heather got married to Zach. It was a beautiful wedding. Kent and I both felt like we really needed to go, so we braved it and it was beautiful. Kent got really sick. It pretty much took everything out of him, but he really enjoyed it and we are so glad we went. He is going to need a few more days to recover from it but should be ready just in time for a new round of chemo. It was so fun being a part of the wedding, reminiscing about our wedding, and just being reminded again what an incredible blessing it is to be married in the temple. To have each other forever, no end ever. I will be with Kent and Kennedy always. How incredible is that? SO incredible.

At the airport: He had to wear a mask at the airport and on the airplane, and he had to ride in a wheelchair. He didn't want to, but he was really weak. At the Raleigh Temple, an LDS Temple where Heather and Zach got married, he also spent the time in a wheelchair. It was such a blessing that we had that. The whole wedding was incredible. There were so many wonderful people there too who helped Kent out. I am so grateful for their support of Kent, all while running around helping out at the reception.

On the trip we found 3 things that tasted good to him.
     - Homemade Strawberry Jam
     - Burritos/Chimichangas
     - Cheddar and Sour Cream Ruffles
The chemo has really affected his taste. Basically, he doesn't taste much. So finding some stuff that tasted good was so great!

Funny moment of this treatment: During our extra fluids day when we got the chemo pack off a sumo wrestler showed up. Well, it was a girl in an inflatable sumo suit. Her mom was there and said she would love it if her daughter came and made her laugh. So her daughter showed up in a blow up costume and had everyone laughing. It was really fun, although almost all of her jokes were really dirty, but I appreciated the sentiment that she wanted to come help her mom, and all the patients smile.