Omi and Josh (Sept. 15th, 2007)

MORE PRAYERS PLEASE!

Josh and Mom went to Tuscon to see the Dr. at UMC yesterday and didn't get the news we were all hoping for. I'm not sure I have all the details correct but here is what's going on. The Dr. said the CAT scan shows that the tumor the Dr. in KS didn't take out is pressing on him in a not so pleasant place and he's afraid it will grow into his intestines and cause a blockage. He said that if a blockage occurs during the chemo, that they would have to do an emergency surgery and it could be very dangerous! The Dr. wants to go in and give Josh a colostomy bag and then start chemo on Oct. 9th. (for those of you who don't know what a colostomy bag is here is the definition from Wikipedia. A colostomy is a surgical procedure that involves connecting a part of the colon onto the anterior abdominal wall, leaving the patient with an opening on the abdomen called a stoma. This opening is formed from the end of the large intestine is drawn out through the incision and sutured to the skin. After a colostomy, feces leave the patient's body through the stoma, and collect in a pouch attached to the patient's abdomen which is changed when necessary.)

The other option is to go in for another surgery to remove the tumor. The problem with that is it will delay him starting the chemo because they will have to wait for him to recovery from that surgery to be strong enough for the chemo. The Dr. doesn't want to put off the chemo any longer so he is suggesting that the colostomy is the best way to go. Josh is just starting to feel normal again after the first surgery and of course does not want any more surgeries! Either the colostomy or the removal! The Dr. wants to do this as early as this Thursday or the following Monday! Please pray that God will build Josh back up and give him the faith that he is taking care of things! Please pray that Josh won't let this bring him down and that he will have the continued strength to fight this. It was so heartbreaking for all of us to get that news yesterday, but it really tore Josh down! Please pray that God is leading the Dr. in the right direction and that this really is what needs to be done!

Right now it sounds like Josh is leaning toward the colostomy even though he of course would rather not! At least this time he won't be so far away and we can all go up to Tucson to be with him!

Jeff, Parker and I are leaving for CO tomorrow for Lisa's wedding. I will do my best to update the blog from there if I get any new information. We will be back on Sunday.

Please continue to pray for him and our family! I would also like to add a girl named Maggie to the pray list. She is a 16 yr. old girl in Tucson who has the same thing. Her mom and I have been emailing each other and she has given me some very helpful information.

It amazes me how many people we have all over the world praying for us! The other day I was in Walmart and I was talking to a lady who works there. She knows Rosie's mom and asked me how things were going. I was telling her about Josh when another lady who worked there overheard me and asked if I was talking about Josh! I told her yes, and she said her church was praying for him but she didn't know who he was. It's so wonderful to know how the prayer request has spread and to know that they're are so many people who are taking the time to pray for somebody that they don't even know! Prayer does work and we have to keep that faith that God will make him better!

PS. I don't know what's going on with text size. Sorry I can't get it all the same size!

These pictures were taken at both of Aiden's birthday parties. The first picture is on his actual birthday and the second one was taken the day of the big party!



I'm sorry I've been so bad about getting updates posted! It just seems like there's never enough time in the day to get everything done. Now that school has started back I've been subbing and tutoring twice a week and by the time I get home I'm ready to collapse!

Since the last post- Josh is still recovering from the surgery but seems to be doing better and getting stronger everyday! Last Tuesday Mom and Dad took him to Tucson to get some blood work done and see Dr. Cranmer at UMC. He was feeling very lightheaded and they were concerned. The blood work came back ok, except that it showed he's anemic. The Dr. said he's got to eat more and gain some weight! He put him on an ice cream diet. (Now that's a diet I could easily stick to!) He wants him to eat lots of ice cream and drink lots of shakes. He was having a hard time eating anything because everything tasted funny to him and certain foods just bothered him. The Dr. said that cold stuff might go down easier and taste a little better. He also told him not to waste his money on Ensure and Boost. He told him to get the Carnation Instant Breakfast drink mixes. During that visit he also got his staples removed. (Side story about that- A few days before this Josh showed Parker and Aiden his stomach with the staples in it! Parker's eyes almost came out of his head. He just kind of looked at him in disbelief! I told him it was ok and that Uncle Joshy just had a boo-boo. That night when I was putting him to bed we finished his devotional and then started to pray. We always pray for Josh, but that night Parker made sure he mentioned "Joshy's boo-boo"! He prays for it every night now!) Anyways- back to the Dr.'s visit. He still doesn't know when he'll start chemo because they want to make sure he's completely healed and his body is stronger. It might be another 2 weeks. Josh (and the rest of us) are very anxious to get it going! I guess he's also found a Dr. in Texas he may want to go see! I don't know a whole lot about that, but I will let you know when we do.

Yesterday (9/18) Mom took Josh to Tucson for a CAT Scan. He has another appt. with Dr. Cranmer on the 9/25 to discuss chemo/treatments. I don't know if that's when they'll find out the results of the CAT Scan or not.

He's gone into work a few times. One time was just to say hi to everyone and the last few times he's worked a few hours and then come home to rest. His job has been wonderful about his time off and he can also do some things from home. Well I think that's all for now!

He's home!

Josh and Ethan

We just got back from seeing Josh! He's so happy to be home and back with his whole family! It was so great to be able to see him and hug him! The flight home and the car ride home went well! He's still has the swelling and his back and legs are really bothering him. It seemed to help when we were massaging his legs, but then his back really started bothering him so he got up and walked around the house for a little while. After that Mom got out the massager for his back and that seemed to help. He also doesn't have much of an appetite. He's says everything taste funny. Tomorrow we will all be over there again for Aiden's birthday. Hopefully it won't be too much for him! Please pray that he will have a speedy recovery and that the pain will go away and he can be comfortable again. Please continue to pray for the miracle we need!

He's out of the hospital!

Josh and Aiden at Golf & Stuff

Just wanted to let everybody know that Josh was released from the hospital this morning! He will be flying home with Rosie tomorrow and they will be home late in the afternoon! I asked him what the other Dr.'s said about his case when it was presented to the group and he said they didn't really tell him anything. I guess they're still trying to figure out what will work best from him. When he recovers from the surgery he will start chemo in Tucson at the UMC Cancer Center.

Please continue to pray that they will find the right treatment for him and that they will have a safe flight home!

COMING HOME!!!!

Super Baby (Ethan) & Josh

THANK YOU JESUS! ONE PRAYER ANSWERED AND MORE TO COME! I just got off the phone with Mom. Josh just called her and told me not to buy the plane ticket for Kansas because he's getting released tomorrow or Saturday!!!!!!! They're going to present his case tomorrow and that's when they'll make the final decision. His doctor said he might even be able to fly right away if he promises that he'll get up and walk during the flight! If not I guess they're just going to rent a vehicle and drive home. We don't have all the details yet, but we're so excited!

The fever went away yesterday! Thank goodness! He still has the swelling but it looks like they may give him medicine to treat it at home. He's been up and moving around- even climbed a flight of stairs and I guess Rosie's been allowed to bring him regular food! He's having a hard time with the breathing thing but I'm sure that will get better soon. (I don't know what it's called but it's like what Dad had do after his lungs collapsed! It's a plastic tube kind of thing with a ball in it and he has to take a deep breath into it (as deep as he can) to get the ball to go up to the top.) They also took out a lot of the tubes yesterday and this morning.

Please pray that all of this will work out perfectly for him to come home, that they will have a safe and comfortable trip, and that the swelling will go down quickly! He's so excited to get home and see the boys! Please continue to pray for the miracle we need to make him healthy again! I know I say this every time, but we can't thank you enough for your continued prayers and support! We wouldn't be able to get through this without you!

Hopefully I will have more wonderful news to post tonight or tomorrow! We're so just so excited today! We really needed this good news!

Sept. 4th, 2007

Josh and Aiden playing video games!

Last night Josh got moved out of ICU and is now in a regular private room. He’s in room #5101. The cards I sent on Friday (that had the second room # on them) got there today. That was a lot faster than I had expected, especially for a holiday weekend. Now that he’s in a regular room we’re able to talk to him. I think that really made Mom feel better last night. She hasn’t been able to hear his voice for so long now and I think it was really getting to her. I talked to him twice today and he sounds good, but he’s really missing the boys! He did get to see them on the web cam today though. He hasn’t been able to see them or talk to them since the surgery.

His bowels just started moving, so yesterday he got to take a couple sips of broth. But he said it tasted horrible and made him feel kind of sick. This morning was the first time he really got to eat anything. I couldn’t hear him when he told me what he ate for breakfast but he had a turkey sandwich for lunch. He’s been wanting a calzone since right before the surgery, so hopefully he’ll get to eat one soon! He’s only allowed a very limited amount of liquids because of the swelling. The medicine they’re giving him for that is working, but it’s very slow. Unfortunately it sounds like that might extend the amount of time he has to stay in the hospital. Pray that the swelling will go away quickly and that he will be able to come home very soon!

The Dr. asked them for his x-rays the other day and either tomorrow or Thursday (Mom and I heard two different days) he’s going to get together with other Dr.’s and discuss Josh’s case! Pray that they will come up with a better plan for his treatment or another procedure that will work better. The surgeon came in this evening on his rounds and said that he had a low-grade fever. Josh said it wasn’t anything to be worried about and that they were just going to watch it. I thought that was a sign of infection and when I asked him about that he said it was ok. I asked him if he just wasn’t telling me everything because he knew we’d worry and he promised me he wasn’t! Please pray that the fever goes away and that he doesn’t get an infection!

Dad left today. He’s got a load in Omaha and then in Aurora, CO and then he’ll be home. He’s going to pick Mom up and then they’ll drive back out to Kansas. Mom thinks it will be Friday, but it just depends on how quickly he can get the loads and drop them off. When Mom gets there, I’ll fly out and meet her in KS. I don’t know how long we’ll be there. It just depends on when Josh gets released. I talked to him today about how he wants to get home and he really doesn’t seem to care either way. If he ends up having to stay in the hospital long enough, he may just fly home. I found a local RV rental today and the prices are great compared to all the ones I was finding online. The only problem is that they only have 2 and I can’t reserve it because I don’t know what dates we need it for yet! I also found out today that Rosie’s friend Shell has a friend who has an RV that they might be willing to let us borrow. I would like to thank everyone who is offering to help us in every way possible. Right now we don’t know what our needs are going to be until we know more about what’s going on with him getting released. We really appreciate the offers and we will let you know what we’re going to do as soon we know. If I do go to KS I will definitely need to take people up on the offers to watch Parker while Jeff is at work!

Well that’s all the info I have for tonight. I’ll post more when I have more! Thank you again for all your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for a miracle for Josh and everyone else that is going through the same thing!

Patty- Could you please email me your email address? My email is julie_crowley@hotmail.com

September 1st, 2007

Josh & Aiden (Sept. 2004)









Josh & Ethan (Feb. 2006)

Hi! I know all of you have been checking for updates on Josh’s surgery and I’m so sorry that it’s taken this long to get it up here! The surgery was Thursday morning and ever since then the information we’ve been getting is in bits and pieces and I’m having a hard sitting down and figuring out how to write it all up.!

They were able to remove 75% (30 lbs.) of the tumors and they immediately started the hypothermic and IV chemo. Unfortunately it has spread to his liver. When they asked the Dr. about a liver transplant they were told it wouldn’t work because it was at the blood supply. We have to hope and pray that the chemo will shrink the tumors that they weren’t able to remove. Josh’s Dr. has sent samples to a lab to do more research on and they have put him on a list to try a new investigational drug. He is recovering in ICU and was doing very well breathing on his own so he didn’t need to be on a ventilator. Yesterday they removed his drainage tube and they gave him some insulin because his blood sugar was low. Today his blood sugar was ok. They still won’t let him eat because his bowels aren’t moving yet and they’re afraid of him getting sick and pulling his stitches. Right now the IV fluids they’re giving him to hydrate him aren’t going where there supposed to (into his bloodstream) it went into his body cavity and it’s making his lower body swell. They’re giving him medicine to get the fluids out and help his blood stream absorb it instead.

He should be able to come home in 10-15 days and then he will continue the IV chemo at UMC in Tucson. Rosie was going to call that Dr. yesterday, but I haven’t heard what she found out. We are still debating on how we are going to get him home. The Dr. told him he couldn’t fly for 3 weeks after the surgery, so we are trying to figure out the best and most comfortable way to get him back here. The Dr. says it shouldn’t be a problem for him to come back in Dad’s semi, but a lot of us are concerned about him having to get up into the truck. Mom and Jeff are talking about driving out next weekend either in Grandma’s van or a rented RV. Another option is that Dad is trying to get a load home so he can drop off the truck and he and mom and can drive out there together and get him. Dad is also looking into a Greyhound bus that has been converted into something like an RV that is used to get truck drivers home if they get sick while they are on the road. Right now we’re just trying to figure out what our options are! We can’t make any real decisions until we know more about when Josh is getting released and how he’s going to feel!

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
On behalf of my entire family, I would like to thank the staff at Town and Country Elementary School (where Mom works) for such a wonderfully generous donation to help us with expenses! We cannot tell you enough how much we appreciate it and how overwhelmed we are with your generosity! We have not decided exactly how to use it but we think it will go towards getting Josh home! Thank you also for your kind words and prayers!

Although we didn’t get the results we were hoping for, we’re still praying for a miracle. Please pray that the chemo will shrink the tumors and that he will get to come home very soon!