Feed your FAITH and your fears will starve .

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Sigh...Isn't it beautiful?  A view of Trent's lungs minus cancer!  He does have a little fluid but that should go away eventually.  When we met with Dr. Karwande today he said everything looks great.  He was all smiles and told us to have a great summer.  He never wants to see us again. :) 

Dr. Karwande and Trent all "thumbs up"!
Dr. Karwande and his entire staff have been so great to us.  They were just as happy as we were to see such great results.  Hopefully we never have to see them again...as a  patient!  Casual meetings would be welcomed however!  We can't say enough good about Dr. Karwande.  Whenever we tell someone he is our surgeon we get the same response; a knowing nod with a big smile.  EVERYONE thinks he is great.  And guess what?!  We happen to be of the same opinion. :) 

When we registered for the x-ray today the woman who helped us recognized our names.  She was so excited to hear that Trent was doing well.  I guess the story of the poor guy with a BAD case of cancer and a young family to live for traveled throughout the hospital.  While we were at St. Mark's today Trent kept commenting on how good it felt there.  It's true.  It is a great place, and it's even better when you don't have to stay! 

We are having fun watching Trent's hair grow.  I am going to start taking pictures.  Today he noticed hair is starting to grow on his arms and hands again.  He is getting enough hair on his head to almost make a shadow.  Someday soon I will have to buy him shampoo!  He is even getting the beginnings of eyebrows.  I can't tell you how much I have missed his eyebrows!   I never really noticed them before but when he lost them, that is when he looked really sick to me.  Then the eyelashes fell out and he was really a cancer patient.  I almost don't remember what he looked like before.  Tonight we were looking at some old pictures and there were some of Trent looking really healthy.  The first thing I noticed was his nice hair.  The first thing Trent noticed was color in his skin.  It is a great feeling knowing he will get there again.

Friday, March 18, 2011

NED

For those of you unfamiliar with NED, it is now my favorite place in the world!  Wednesday we went to SLC for and MRI and to meet with two of our doctors.  We have officially been welcomed to NED, a.k.a. No Evidence of Disease land!  The MRI of Trent's hip looked fabulous.  When Dr. Gouw asked the radiologist for his preliminary findings he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well there is a big divot there."  HaHaHa!  I will take that divot any day over finding something else there! 

When we met with Dr. Gouw he burst into the room and just blurted out, "Your scan looks great, that's what you want to hear right?!"  Grace and Katie followed and were all smiles.  We were both just beaming.  I couldn't wipe that silly smile off my face the whole time we were in there.   Dr. Gouw, Katie, and Grace were just as amazed and excited as we were.

I know they didn't expect this outcome when they first saw Trent. This one is definitely a case for the medical journals. We are going to do a chest CT in April and from there start the every three month scanning. I hear of so many people who make it to NED and then have a recurrence later on. I sincerely hope that is not the case for us but I have to prepare myself for that possibility.



                 Dr. Launce Gouw, Katie Thomas, Grace Noda- can't even express how much we love them!
 Grace doing the "Your scans look great!" sign.  The first time we got good results this is what we saw before Dr. Gouw even had the chance to say anything.  After that, we looked for it every time!
This is Vanessa.  She is sooo cute!  She is a little chatterbox about sports with Trent and he loves that.  On scan days she always found a way to find us after the meeting with the doc to find out how we did.  That is one of the great things we found at the Huntsman.  The people there are genuinely concerned about each individual patient. 

 This is Kelsey.  Not a great picture, I took it with my Blackberry and I think I moved when I took it.  Sorry!  Kelsey is such a sweetheart!  We both just love her to death!  She is another one who would search us out to find out results.  She is hilarious and was always a good laugh even when we didn't feel like laughing.
This is Stephanie Stapleton.  We first met her in the Lab.  She taught us a bunch about how to care for Trent's port and after that she was a lifelong friend.  She is one of those people who makes you feel so good and positive.  She is also the giver of a much loved Minion. :) Only wish it were real!

When we met with Dr. Jones he asked what Dr. Gouw had told us.  We mentioned NED and he just threw his head back and his arms in the air and laughed.  He was totally amazed.  Again, we were both smiling like idiots.  He would like to see us as often as he can when we go for scans so that will be good to keep in touch with him.  He invited us to participate in the Sarcoma Walk that the Sarcoma unit at the Huntsman organizes each year.  I have a feeling that we will be doing a lot of these types of walks in the future!  Last year the walk was held just days after Trent had his surgery on his hip.  It is quite satisfying to be on the end of it. 
Dr. Jones and Nancy.  Don't you just love that bowtie!?  He has a son who is a total "mini-me".  He brought him on rounds after the first surgery and he is adorable!   Dr. Jones and Nancy are awesome.  Again, no words. :)

As we were leaving, we ran into Jon Huntsman Sr.  Trent called out, " Brother Huntsman!"  He turned around and greeted us.  We thanked him for providing such a nice facility for us and told him we were winning the battle.  He told us he loved us and was so pleased things were going well.  It was so satisfying to get to thank him in person.  We have thought about him many times and been so grateful for his generosity.  So to tell him that face to face was nice. 

To celebrate we stopped at DQ for a blizzard.  Can you say LAME!?  We were both too tired to do anything else and it was raining really hard so we just wanted to go home.  Surprisingly I didn't even shed a tear until we were almost home and I was listening to the song, "He Hears Me".  Trent was fast asleep and I was bawling like a baby.  I KNOW our prayers have been heard.  I KNOW the Lord has heard every cry of anguish and caught every tear.  I KNOW He is mindful of every fear, hurt, success, and joy that we experience.  He is with us through it all.  Our journey has many miles left to travel and we don't know what lies ahead but I KNOW we can face it because we are never left to do it alone. 

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Just Need a Little More Time

Trent is SLOWLY getting a little better.  I really thought the recovery would be faster but it is dragging on and on.  The severe pain has subsided but the soreness and achiness is hanging on tight.  Trent is getting really sick of only sleeping/or not sleeping on his back.  It makes the nights long and sleepless.  He just needs a little more time and happily we do have that!

Trent will see Dr. Gouw and Dr. Jones next week.  He will have an MRI on his hip only.  The thinking is that the chest x-ray post surgery is enough for now to say that the cancer is out of his lungs.  Since it has only been two months since the last CT scan they would like to wait a little longer for a full body scan.  He will have an MRI on his hip to make sure everything is looking good.  He does have a small bump on that leg just below where the incision ends.  It is most likely a permanent deformation because the muscles were cut and there is nothing to make them hang on to the bone anymore.  When Trent was really swollen after surgery it got pretty big and it scared Trent a little.  When I felt it it did not feel anything like the tumor there before.  But to calm all the fears we are going to put a big X on that spot for the MRI so they can get a really good picture of that area. 

The week after next Trent will see Dr. Karwande.  I think we are both a little anxious to see him and have him tell us everything Trent has experienced is completely normal.  We have already called his nurse a couple of times to get a little reassurance from her.  :)  It is hard to know what to expect and what is normal after such a big surgery! 

Little by little Trent's body is recovering.  He has had to shave twice now!  It is like he is 14 again with the scraggly facial hair-usually gross but oh so beautiful now!  He is getting a little-and I really mean little-hair on his head.  You can't really see it yet but he does have a hair or two that are about 1 inch long!  I keep a close eye on his eyelashes and eyebrows.  I can't wait for those to come back!  He will start to look a whole lot more like Trent when he has eyelashes and eyebrows! 

So Trent just needs a little more time to heal and I just need a little more time in the day!  I really need to add a bunch of pictures to the blog but just haven't found the time to do it yet.  I will stop slacking and get that done!

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

2 Weeks Post Surgery

In a lot of ways the last two weeks have flown by.  But in many more ways it has been way too long.  We are loving thinking that the cancer is out of Trent's body.  In the words of a very wise Sarcoma nurse whom we love very much, "Don't take away from today while worrying about tomorrow."  With that counsel we are celebrating today, this week, and whatever time we all have left. 

Recovery is being slower than I had hoped.  In my mind, the recovery was going to be super speedy because the chemo was over and good things would be able to grow in Trent's body.  But reality is that Trent has had 11 rounds of chemo and recovery is a little slow.  Nevermind the fact that his sternum was sawed in half!  But little by little, and I mean little, he is feeling better.  He is having a lot of pain and that makes him tired and want to lay down alot.  The dr. said he should be getting up and walking laps 3 to 5 times a day but so far all we have gotten are a couple sessions on the exercise bike and as much walking as it takes to get around the house a little.  We are hopeful that by his birthday in a couple of weeks he will be a new man.  Birthdays are going to be a bit more important around our house after this.  I can't wait to party like a rock star!  Or a least, a CANCER SURVIVOR!