Josh and Aiden at swimming lessons last year!

Josh's blood transfusion went well, but because he still has an infection in his incision they won"t start the chemo.! AGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! They gave him another Rx to treat the infection, but we don't know how long it will take to get rid of it. As of this morning he said it was still "oozing". On Friday I took him up to see the urologist and have the port put in. He's still having problems with being able to void on his own. When he saw this urologist he just gave him more catheters and scheduled him for some kind of test. I think that's in several weeks! He didn't even really tell him much about the test except that it will take an hour! The port was done through outpatient surgery and went really well. He's a little sore, but doesn't have any real complaints about it. After they did that we went to Olive Garden for lunch and he was able to eat a bowl of soup and his whole meal! I thought that was a good sign! Nothing like Olive Garden to fatten you up! He's supposed to go back up on Monday for them to check the port and then again on Tuesday to see the oncologist and HOPEFULLY start chemo! Please pray that the infection will clear up by then and that they won't have to put the chemo off any longer!

On a positive note: Our half-sister Angie is here from FL to visit for the week! I picked her up yesterday and will take her back on Friday! We haven't seen her since Jeff and I got married 5 yrs ago! We're going to try and get a whole family picture done while she's here! This is the first time she's met the boys and it will be nice for us to all get to spend some time together! Dad will be home in a few hours, so he'll get to see her also! Special thanks to Angie's family for giving her the money for the plane tickets and the time off from work! It's really nice to see her again after all these years!

Well that's it for now! Please continue to pray for the infection to go away, for Josh's strength to fight this, and for God to completely heal him!

Josh, Aiden & Rosie
(These were taken on their trip to Europe. They went over to visit Rosie's parents when they lived there.)

Josh just called on his way home from seeing the Dr. in Tucson. He was supposed to start chemo today, but like we expected they wouldn't let him because of the infection. They also found out he's still anemic and his potassium level is too low. They did a culture of the infection in his incision to find out if the antibiotics he's on will get rid of it or if there's something else he should be taking for it. Tomorrow he goes back up to have a blood transfusion to help with the anemia. He was supposed to meet with the pain Dr., but is going to have to cancel it because the transfusion is supposed to take anywhere from 5-7 hrs. On Thurs. he will meet with the oncologist and surgeon. They will do some more blood work to see what is the count is. If it's good he will start chemo that afternoon. On Friday he will have outpatient surgery to put in a port. The port will allow them to give the chemo, draw blood, give IV medicines, etc. Basically they won't have to poke him with needles for everything! If he starts the chemo this Thursday he will have the second dose the following Thursday. Then the Thursday after that he gets something else and I can't remember for sure what it is, but I think it's blood cells or more blood- something like that and then the chemo starts all over again. He said it's a 21 day cycle. I hope I have all of that right! When he told me that part I was in the car driving and couldn't write it down. He said the second dose of the chemo is supposed to be the worst. I guess it's usually the dose that really knocks people down. Please pray for his strength (mental, spiritual, and physical) to get through all of this! I know I say this all the time but- Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and support! It really means a lot to all of us! We know God is going to answer all of these prayers! We just have to stay strong and keep the faith!

Aiden and Josh reading a bedtime story!

Josh had a bit of a set back today! This morning he went to Urgent Care here in Sierra Vista because he was afraid that the incision was infected. He was right. They sent him home with a prescription for antibiotics. Pray that the antibiotics will clear up the infection without any problems. We got a prayer request answered though and his bowels are finally moving! YEAH! Please pray that the other will start working better and that he'll be able to get rid of the catheter within the next couple of days. He's supposed to start chemo on the 9th so pray that he's healed enough to do that and that the infection doesn't cause a delay. He also has an appt. with a pain management Dr. on the 10th. I guess the pains aren't all that bad right now, but his Dr. recommended that he get in with this Dr. just in case because it would be easier to get in later if he was already his patient!

He's out of the hospital!

Josh & Ethan

Josh, Ethan, & Dad


Thank you for your prayers! Josh is home! Yesterday they told him he could go home when he could void on his own. They waited all day and he wasn't able to so they sent him late last night with a catheter and taught him how to do it himself. Please pray that he will be able to get rid of the catheter very soon! As of right now that's all the new info. Please pray that he will heal quickly and that they will still be able to start the chemo on 10/9.

Josh and Ethan at the park

Mom and I spent the day in Tucson with Josh and Rosie at the hospital. Today was another bad day when it came to pain management! They finally came in and just removed the epidural and started over again. After they put the new one in he felt much better! He had a fever of 101 all day and he wouldn't listen to the nurse about doing the inspirometer (not sure how it's spelled- it's the breathing thing he's supposed to do). But he got up twice and went for a walk. He also sat in the chair for a little while. There still isn't any news on when he'll get to come home. I guess it depends on his pain and when his bowels start moving again. Mom will be going up again tomorrow and I will let you know if she has any news! Please continue to pray for a quick recovery and that he won't let this bring him down!

Josh and Aiden playing with light sabers! They both LOVE Star Wars!

We got back from CO this evening and stopped at the hospital to see Josh and pick Mom up. The surgery went as planned and he now has the colostomy bag. The Dr. wasn't able to remove any of the tumor. (I don't have any details as to why not though!)It sounds like he's still on schedule for starting the chemo on 10/9/07. I guess today was a rough day because they were having problems with his pain medicine pump and his epidural. Mom said they spent most of the day trying to get the things to work. They finally got the anesthesiologist to come down and he/she got it fixed. While we were there he was really drowsy, but we got to talk to him some. From what I understand Rosie took Aiden back to Sierra Vista, but she was going back up and spending the night at her brother and sister-in-law's house so she could go see him first thing tomorrow. Mom and I are going up tomorrow morning. The first day Josh was in the hospital he got to see the boys. Fortunately we knew one of the nurses and she was able to get Aiden and Ethan in. He got moved to another floor today and they allow kids over 2 yrs. to go into the rooms, but they said they would let Ethan in anyways since he's his son. We took Parker in to see him tonight. I'm sorry I don't have much info. but I will let you know as soon as I do.

Change of Plans- SURGERY TODAY!

Just a quick update! Mom called me in CO lastnight and said that Josh was being admitted to the hospital. He's having too much pain/pressure so they're going to do the surgery this morning insead of Monday. I talked to her a little while ago and she said the surgery was scheduled for 9:30am today, but it just got pushed back to 10:00am because there were 5 shootings in Tucson lastnight! Rosie, Mom, and Kathy are all in Tucson with him. He is going to have the colostomy done, but while the Dr.'s in there he's going to look at the tumor and see if he can remove any of it. He told Rosie that he didn't think he was going to be able to though. We have the wedding this afternoon/evening, but I will post an update as soon as we get home and I get more info. They haven't told Mom or Rosie how the long the surgery will take, so I might have news before we leave. PLEASE keep Josh, our family, and the Dr.'s in your prayers!