Who would of thought?

Race For The Cure

Ray — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 06:50:53 +0000

One of the best things that happened to Jane in this battle, has been her introduction to, and friendship with Kara England. Kara, owner and operator of “A Time To Heal”, is a massage therapist that donates a significant amount of time to cancer patients and other types of community service. She gives to others in a way that would amaze and humble anybody. Kara has gone out of her way to teach the boys and I how to massage Jane. Massages give Jane relief from pain and helps with circulation.

We Can Help!

For this year’s “Race For The Cure“ Kare is highlighting Jane and the battle that she has fought to help raise funds to STOP breast cancer. Kara put together TEAM JANE in order to raise $1000. On October 16th, we invite you to join TEAM JANE, including Jane, Samuel, Gabriel and myself as we embark on a one mile walk at Kapi`olani Park to help reach this goal.

There are two ways you can join us, you can sign up to walk with us or you can just donate. If you are going to walk you can join TEAM JANE (by clicking on any of the TEAM JANE’s in this post), the cost is $30 dollars. Once you sign up for the team you will be able to set your own personal fundraising goal, which will be added to the team total. The second way you can help is by donating. You can click on the TEAM JANE link, it will take you to the TEAM JANE page. Once you are on the page you can either click on the “Donate to this Team!” button or you can click on a team member to help them reach their goal. You can continue to donate to the team or team member even if the goal is reached.

Although, we are raising funds in Jane’s name, the true reason is to make a difference in the fight against breast cancer!

Thank you God! (And Dr. Fischberg)

Linda — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 01:51:39 +0000

Last night after my all-points-bulletin for prayer, God answered via a phone conversation with my sister’s pallative care doctor, Dr. Fischberg. He said he had told us that once the decadron was tapered off, she would/might feel more pain. I don’t remember that since at the time of her appointment with him, I thought that her arm pain might be from the necrosis in her brain. (Unfortunately, the pain is from cancer in her clavicle area.) Anyway, because of his insight, I’ve gone back up on her decadron until she gets back home, where she can be under the doctor’s care. She’s able to rest comfortably and we won’t run out of the pain medication until we get back to Hawaii. God is good.

She mentioned that she wasn’t going to live in fear (the fear that the pain is coming, it’s coming now, it’s here) but rather trust in God to keep her from that fear and dread. She mentioned that she meditated on what Lisa Kai spoke about at church, that God does not give us a spirit of fear and timidity but the spirit of love, power and self-control. (Jane’s paraphrase) It’s amazing the support she is receiving (and how quickly). Thank you.

Tomorrow afternoon, we leave for home. How sweet that will be. (Especially since Ray got us first class seats!) Pray that I can figure out the logistics of returning the car, luggage, and her in her wheelchair.

Pray for relief

Linda — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:08:26 +0000

My sister’s arm pain is getting so intense, she is saying she can’t take it any more. Pray that the medication we have on hand will be sufficient. Pray that she is lucid enough to make it home on Saturday. Pray that she will have the strength to persevere through the pain.

Slight set back

Linda — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 04:27:55 +0000

So my sister was beginning to feel better and decided to allow me to sleep some more. So she got up, was able to go to the bathroom by herself and get food for herself. Then she watched an hour of TV, going to bed without taking her meds. When she woke up later, her head was hurting her because she hadn’t taken her medication. So we’re back on our schedule and she’s taking it easy.

If you’d like, stop by our place, Homewood Suites at 10 Trimble Road (near 1st). Bldg, 2, Room 200. I think between the hours of 10:00 and 7:00 would be best. It would be just like visiting her in the hospital. She can’t talk much but will lie there with her eyes closed and smile.

Establishing a routine

Linda — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 04:27:05 +0000

Our day/night is eat and sleep, eat and sleep, eat and sleep. And always take meds. The steroids make her hungry so every time she wakes up, she needs a meal. Then she gets tired and goes back to sleep for an hour or two. (Got 3 hours in one stretch last night!) She felt “energetic” enough to take a bath. But that was an ordeal since I don’t have the muscle to hoist her out of the tub. Very draining on both of us so no more sit down baths until she gets home!

Her swallowing is getting better, as is her vision because of the swelling that’s going down in her brain. But the pain in her arm is getting worse. She will need to do more radiation on her clavicle area when she returns home. Pray that the pain medication she has will work even better than before so that she can get the needed rest. (Getting more of this pain medication was interesting since a doctor in another state cannot prescribe narcotics for a patient not in the same state. Plus, it cannot be called into a pharmacy. I have to go back up to SF to physically get the prescription to give to a pharmacy. Can’t figure out how someone can get addicted to pain meds since getting them in the first place is so difficult!)

Making ourselves at home

Linda — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 04:48:12 +0000

I am trying to make our hotel our home for the next week. However, I was a little disappointed since I was expecting something else. (Our friend, Liz, had spoiled us with a 2 bedroom, handicap accessible suite the last time we stayed in a hotel in the San Jose area.) That’s not to say that this place (Homewood Suites) is bad since we get hot breakfasts and dinner (M-Th) and it does have a separate bedroom where my sister can sleep.

Last night was rough as she needs help with everything. So every few hours, we’re up, going to the bathroom, eating, trying to get comfortable, deciding what medications can/should be taken. Please pray that she can get the good rest that she needs to recovery sufficiently by Saturday to fly home. Please pray that I get sufficient rest so that I don’t get sick. Also, pray for my back since I’m not used to hauling her up and down.

~Posted by Linda, sister

Looking Better

Ray — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 19:10:44 +0000

I didn’t get the chance to update last night because Brian and I stayed the night in the hospital. Jane woke up early on Friday morning and was disoriented. She was looking for me and tried to have the nurse give me a call. When the nurse wouldn’t call she thought there was a conspiracy to keep her in the hospital. I figured that it would be best if I stayed, that way when she would wake up she would see me.

Who Knows What is Going on?

I was little frustrated yesterday. Jane had to fast in order to get her PET scan. She woke up hungry and kept asking for food. They finally came and got Jane at about 11:00 AM and she did not return to the room until almost 4:00 PM. When she returned she was really hungry! The nurse refused to give her any food because the doctor had to release to eat. Jane couldn”t understand why she couldn’t eat. I had to keep reminding her that the doctor had to release her.

The doctor released her to eat about 4:00 PM, but he nurse was in the middle of changing wings and forgot to tell us. The oncoming nurse came flying in Jane’s room about 5:00 PM apologizing and helped us to get Jane some food.

After we got Jane settled, I asked the nurse when I would get a chance to talk to the doctor. She kind of looked at me like I was crazy and told me the doctor would probably not be in to see Jane. I was in disbelief, I told her that I had only see the doctor the day of the surgery and it would be nice to get an update from him. I also told her that I it would like the results of the PET scan, because it was Friday and the doctor would most likely not be in on Saturday. Again, she looked at me like I was crazy.

After a little encouragement, she told me she would call the doctor and see if they would stop by and discuss the results of the PET scan with us. She came back a few minutes later and said the doctor “might” stop in between 8:30 PM and 9:00 PM. To no one’s surprise the doctor did not show.

Preliminary Results

The doctor (Intern or assistant to the surgeon) finally showed up at about 6:30 AM. She did a quick assessment of Jane and said she was doing good. Then she told us that she would remove the drain tube from Jane’s head and redress her incision later this afternoon. I ask her about the PET scan and she told us that only a preliminary read had been done and it looked like there might be active metastisis in the shoulder blade area and possibly in the swollen lymph-node on her neck. The good, this is what could be causing her arm pain. The bad, it could be active cancer. Either way, we won’t get the results until Monday. For now is just getting strong enough to get back to Hawaii. Once there we will discuss this with our oncologist.

Discharge?

We are still not sure if Jane will be discharged today, the physical therapist and the occupational therapist will need to assess Jane. If they feel that she is mobile enough and that she can take care of herself (with assistance), she will be discharged. I’m thinking discharge, but it all depends on how Jane is feeling when the PT/OT show up.

Pastor Brian's Shenanigans

Toad: Caught In The Act

Gabriel saw the picture of Jane with the white bandage on her head and said that she looked like Toad from Mario. I did a quick search and sure enough she looks like Toad. We (Brian, Jane and I) laughed about this. I stepped out of the room for one minute, when I return this is what I found!

Toad

Jane really wanted to capture the moment for the boys.

Toad

Prayer

Pray for Jane’s hand, the pain continues to cause discomfort and keeps her awake. The pain medicine doesn’t work on her arm. Pray she continue to heal quickly and for the results of the PET scan, for quick action from our doctors upon our return. Pray for her rest and for Linda’s fight. Pray that we all get some sleep tonight, as Brian and I will fly back tomorrow. Pray for Linda as she takes over Jane’s care and transition to the hotel. The main things is just to pray!

Road to Recovery

Ray — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 05:52:08 +0000

I saw Jane first thing this morning. She was looking great. Her attitude was strong and she wanted to do everything by herself.

The Brain

Jane was a little confused this morning. She kept mixing up time and places. She was struggling hard to try to grasp on to reality. I believe that it is a mixture of the drugs/pain medication and the surgery. She kept forgetting things that I would tell her in conversation and was very persistant.

ICU

Jane was moved from ICU about 4:30 this afternoon. Her room is on the end of the wing and has large windows on two sides. Visiting hours are from 8:30 Am to 7:oo PM. She is recieving visitors, but she may or may not be lucid and awake.

Recovery

Jane started off the day looking great, both of her eyes were open and were almost the same size. Her left arm had very little pain (probably the really strong pain medication). As the day progressed her head began to swell a little and her right eye began to get really swollen and started to turn black and blue. The nusre told us this might happen and was pretty common. The swelling could last two to three days. Jane did get up out of bed and walked around the wing for about 5 minutes with the Physical Therapist, she did really well.

Due to the bandage on her head, she cannot wear earphones and was really bummed that she could not listen to the worship music on her iPod. Tonight, I picked up an iHome with a remote control so she can listen to music. She said that is what she need to get better quick.

I did not get a chance to talk to her doctor today as he was out sick. I talked to one of his nurse and she said that we were really lucky that he didn’t get sick yesterday. Otherwise, we would have had to wait a few days for Jane’s surgery.

Prayer

Pray for Jane to continue to recover quickly. Pray that the swelling goes down quickly and continue to pray for the pain that has been pleaguing her left hand and arm would be removed from her. Pray that her body get strong. Pray that she get the rest she needs and that her mind would be come crystal clear. Pray for her PET scan tomorrow, that the doctors would be able to isolate the issue that is causing her left eye to droop and the pain in her left arm.

The End of a Long Day

Ray — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 07:00:22 +0000

ICU

The surgery is over and Jane is resting in ICU. Pastor Brian, Mark and I got to spend about two hours with her this evening after the surgery. She looked great! I sent Gabriel and Samuel a picture of her in ICU. Gabriel said that she looked like Toad from the Mario games, all she needed was red spots on her head wrap.

The Surgery

The Neurosurgeon said that the surgery went well and that he removed the dead portion of the brain that was causing the swelling, He told us that the preliminary results were negative for cancer. That means that the previous radiation treatments worked.

The Rest of The Week

Jane is scheduled for a brain MRI tomorrow and will have PET scan on Friday to assess the rest of her body. Linda will arrive on Saturday. Jane should be released from the hospital on Saturday.

If you are in the area and want to visit Jane in the hospital, give me a call or send me an email to coordinate. Jane said that she would really enjoy seeing people.

Prayer

Thanks for all the prayers and wishes. Please let me ask you to continue to cover us in prayer. We need for Jane to continue to recover quickly. Pray against infection, pray that pain in her arm is gone and that she gets good rest. Pray for her continued healing.

Again thanks for all your prayers, it makes a world of difference.

Closing

Ray — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 01:43:19 +0000

Just got word the the surgey went fine and they are starting to close. I hope to see Jane in about 1 to 2 hours