CHEMO DONE!

Hey everyone,

I talked to my mom and dad tonight. We are all so thankful that chemo is done! She still has a week of being sick but it is such a good feeling of knowing that she is done and God willing forever done. She currently has a cold and the prayer request that it doesn't get really bad because of the lack of white blood cells. She is sick and not feeling the greatest but I think knowing that she only has radiation left is making it easier to handle.

You all are great and such a blessing. It's hard being away but it is so nice to know that there are so many people back home looking out for my family and for the people everywhere who are praying.

A million thanks,

Allysa

PS Mom you may feel fat and bald but you are the most beautiful bald lady I have ever seen and I am blessed to have you as a mom.

Last chemo monday 10/25

Good news my Liver enzymes are not worse. Bad news they still aren't great.
Doc believes they are OKAY for chemo on Monday.

Careful what you pray for- Now I am going to have chemo -blah!

I am just thankful I get to finish the chemo. Please pray that I will not have any life time effects or damage from the chemo.

I am on schedule to begin radiation on Nov. 8Th. I am hoping it won't be too tiring. I was told today that I may have trouble with my liver and white blood cell count during radiation. ugh

Well here we go again!

God is always good and knows what is best for his children. There are so many times that things looked so bleak and then there is a rainbow.

FYI- you know that part about skinny and bald- didn't happen- I have GAINED weight
A side effect of all the steroids-Fat and Bald, but humble...

Thank you all for praying
I love you all

tests are normal!

Well the good news is the tests are normal. No serious liver,kidney,aorta, stomach etc. problems.
At this point I will have a bunch of blood work next week and the doctor will make the final determination if I can have the last chemo treatment on the following monday. Thank you all for praying for me. I really began to struggle over the weekend with the what if's. Then I was reminded by a dear friend that our hope is in what the Lord has planned and not in tests and results. I know this to be true but in the midst of possible serious Liver damage my human nature got the best of me. I began to pray and trust that whatever the outcome I would have peace that it was God's will. I know in my heart that God only gives us what we can handle. I am just so grateful to have a God that loves me more than I even Love my children, husband, friends,and art. Hard to believe sometimes when those people are so precious to me.

Some of you envision me as laying on the couch near death, well that is not the case. Except for the week of chemo, I am somewhat productive. Today I painted kitchen cabinets and began sewing a quilt. I am spending my time trying to do things that don't take much concentration.
Although, the speed at which I get things done has been greatly diminished I am still accomplishing a few things each day. This is great for my mental health- I hate lying around.
Looking forward to the next 10 days!
Love you all
Bonnie

Sunday 10/10/10

Hi Everyone,
Thank you, thank you for all the prayers. Although I got sick on the first day of treatment, I began to feel better earlier. PTL! I would describe this session as a bad case of the flu but I wasn't looking for a shot gun. Due to my body's response to chemo my doc decreased the amount of chemo I received. I think that is why I didn't get as sick.

Thank you Dori, Diana, and Arika for visiting with me during chemo.

Please pray for Wednesday as they are going to run some tests on my liver. My liver enzymes have been increasingly elevated since chemo began.

As Allysa mentioned my feet, liver and brain are taking the brunt of my treatment besides the usual stomach problems. My Doc is concerned about long term effects from the chemo and is cautious about the last treatment. To increase the likelihood of curing this disease it is important I finish the treatment. I would appreciate prayer that I will be able to finish my last chemo on Monday October 25th. Part of me wishes I could skip the last treatment but I've come this far- I just want chemo over! If all things go as planned I should start to recover by the beginning of November from chemo.

FYI- radiation will begin 2 weeks after but everyone has told me it is not that bad.

The best part of this week is that Allysa has been here and I wasn't to sick to enjoy her company. She flew from Portland on Thursday and is returning to school today. She is such a great encouragement to me and has been an amazing servant around the house. I will really miss her. Greg has begun the dreaded "Diablo Outage" so it was perfect timing.

Thank you all for the wonderful meals, cards, flowers, e-mails, gifts and most of all for praying!

The end is in sight-Yippee!!!!!
Chemo has truly been and continues to be a season in my life where I am continually blessed
Bonnie

5th treament

We have some specific prayer requests for all you to be praying for considering my mom. Yesterday she had her 5th treatment and the doctor is really concerned about her liver, her brain and her feet. Her body is just not responding well to all the chemo that she has had and they are afraid of the long term effects on her body it is going to have. So right now they are even considering not doing the 6th treatment, which would be her last and it would be nice for her to not have to go through this again but it leaves the fear of the cancer not being completely killed. She also is not doing good at all and I know that this is going to be a hard week.

I am thankfully able to go home on thursday through sunday, which will be nice for us all so hopefully I can post on here again for you all sometime this weekend. But please be praying specifically for my mom's brain, liver and her feet. They are going to be doing a sonogram of her liver before her next treatment to make sure everything is ok. Also they are going to have her come in the week before treatment to make sure her body is able to take the last one.

Thanks for all your prayers,

Allysa