Another blog

Isn't language interesting.  Twenty years ago if I told someone that I was going to blog someone would have probably handed me a bucket to catch it in.  Now it means something completely different, or at least I hope so.  Hopefully what I write is more than verbal vomit.

This last Monday I had blood collected for the clinical trial in Texas.  I came into the doctors office holding this fairly large box full of empty vials and handed it to one of my sweet nurses.  She took one look and said, "Wow, that is a lot of blood."  About two thirds of the way through she couldn't get any more to come.  I wondered if I had run out but she managed to pull a little more and finish the job.  I'm still here blogging so I guess that something is still circulating in there.

Kids in Oregon after we abandoned them

Monday afternoon I had a "PEG tube" put into my stomach.  I have really been struggling to swallow. I just can't direct traffic in the back of my throat.  Sometimes the food goes down, sometimes it gets stuck, sometimes it comes out my nose, sometimes it goes into my lungs.  They think that is the reason I got pneumonia this last week.  Sometimes you just have to laugh.  A few days ago I had just eaten dinner and had run over to a friends to take them some tomatoes.  As I was getting out of the car I sneezed and out popped a carrot, not a small one.  I just looked at that and thought "Oh brother".  Anyway, with this tube directly into my stomach I can still keep nourished and not have carrots popping out of my nose.

It was an emotional day for me.  I remember looking at that box as we sent it off to Texas via FedEx thinking, "Okay God, now you have my blood, turn it into a miracle."  It seemed so final.  Then getting the PEG tube seemed like another admission to my declining health.  Arghh, I hate that.  I just kept repeating in my mind, "prepare for a miracle Eric"  We are full of hope and we trust God.  Sometimes I just think "I believe, help thou my unbelief."  It's hard to have perfect faith all of the time.

My angel wife and our granddaughter

I talked to the lead scientist today from Baylor.  She is very nice.  It sounds like treatment will probably begin January 5th.  It will take that long to engineer the cells.   Probably we will need to stay in Texas for about 6 weeks.  This is a phase one trial meaning they are testing safe doses.  She told me that it appears that the initial dose that they had thought to start with appears safe so she is going to jump me up to the next dosing group right from the start.  That is good news to me.  She also said that my blood shows that I am positive for another marker, HER2.  That is also good news.  If the GD2 doesn't work they can try the HER2 instead.  She believes a trial against osteosarcoma using HER2 will begin within a few months.

In the meantime, I haven't had chemotherapy for almost three weeks now and boy do I feel good.  I just love how I feel when I'm not being poisoned.  Chemo will begin again on Friday so I will try to enjoy feeling human again even if it is only for a few days.

If joy had a face, this would be it.

This last week we had most of our children with us.  Seth had flown out to go to his cousins ring ceremony.  Shanelle, Mike and Vivian came to bring our car back from Oregon.  That was a clever way of us to get them to come.  Sunday we took up the entire row with our family.  That made me happy.  It was like the good old days.  They have all gone home now but it was nice while it lasted.

biopsy pending

Family at "Mecca" (Tillamook Cheese)

"Mohanna"

We are just home from our trip to the North West.  It was a wonderful trip.  So nice to have all of our children but one together and Grandpa as a bonus.  It was beautiful, sunny, cool and relaxing.  We also got to see Eileen and her husband Kelly.  Their home is lovely and Eileen seems so happy.  I still miss having her as an assistant in my office but seeing her so happy more than makes up for it.

Part way through the trip I was finally able to got my doctors from Mayo to talk to my doctor in Provo and agree on a biopsy.  It looks like it will be performed on this coming Thursday morning and I will get the results back on Tuesday afternoon.   A lot hinges on the results of that biopsy!

It's good to be busy so that I don't have too much time to think about things.  On Sunday the other counselor in the Stake Presidency was kindly asking me how I was doing and I said the first thing that popped in my mind, "I can't let tomorrows storm ruin todays sunshine"  I felt like those words were inspired and wiser than I am.  Everything will be okay, I am certain of that.  In the meantime I am very grateful for prayers offered in my behalf.

Behind every storm cloud the sun is waiting to shine forth