Our New Blog!

Thanks to our dear friends, the Picketts, we have a new blog and  family pictures too!  

As many of you know, we have had a rough couple of weeks. On the night of August 29th, James started experiencing heart-attack-like chest pain and difficulty breathing.  An ambulance took him to the ER and, after many tests and scans, they found a large mass in his mediastinum (chest).  He was transferred to University of Utah Hospital for further care.

We wished James a horrible Happy Birthday on August 30th.  Grandma and Grandpa Grover helped Adalyn wrap up some of James' favorite things:  honey, a cute little girl umbrella, and yummy chocolates  (I think the little girl umbrella was his favorite).   She also drew 2 pictures of James and the doctor (they resemble scribbles to the average person).  The next day they did a thoracotomy and biopsy of the tumor and determined it was cancerous and likely lymphoma. 

We were able to leave the hospital on September 2nd.  We met with the oncologist on September 3rd and were told that James would begin Chemo on September 8th.  The pathology report still wasn't back, so we left with many more questions than answers, including whether the cancer was in his liver and bone marrow.

We had countless friends and family members visit James.  We had many more phone calls and nice emails from everyone.  We have commented many times how blessed we feel to have so many wonderful people in our lives.

After a nice labor day weekend as a family, taking pictures, swimming and playing games it was on to Chemo. We met with the doctor on Tuesday, September 8th, before Chemo started.  She confirmed that James has Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma.  She answered a ton of questions and confirmed that the cancer has not spread to his liver or bone marrow.  This was great news! Our first day of Chemotherapy was a long 8 hour day. It was like being in a cafeteria with everyone hooked up to an IV. James did well through the whole infusion, but when we got home everything kind of fell apart. James started throwing-up and had a fever of 104. After many phone calls to concerned doctors, James fever started to come down and James was able to finally rest.

The Days since have been full of emotional and physical ups and downs. The good news is that the downs usually don't happen for us at the same time. James is trying to stay upbeat and positive.  Now that food is starting to lose flavor, it is a little more difficult.  Whenever he feels hungry and something sounds good, he hurries to eat.  He is frequently nauseated and has a difficult time taking medication to help the symptoms because the side effects are so bad.  He is trying hard to stay hydrated to help his kidney's work with all the waste from the tumor breaking down. He is a good, compliant patient and we are very sad for all he is has to go through.

We don't know how to thank you for the love and support you have shown our family at this very difficult time.  We are so grateful for all the prayers and well-wishes offered in our behalf.  We will give updates often.