Tuesday, July 01, 2014

The Latest Happenings...

We had a storm and just like that our TV, Internet, and phones were gone for 3+ days.

I've been watching Breaking Bad on DVD's, so I still had something to watch.  I never watched when it originally aired, but I kept hearing people talk about it, so I bought the first season.  I was hooked.  Normally I stay away from shows with violence, but I've made an exception with this one.  I'm up to season four now.

I also got quite a bit of cleaning done.  Then the family all came over for crabs.  (Keith came all the way from Austin.)  We hadn't done that in ages.  I've had the crab pot since the 1970's when we lived in Virginia Beach.  We used to buy crabs and sometimes crab there too.
Crabs are a lot of work.  It takes a considerable amount of time to get a little bit of meat out of each crab, but that's part of the fun.  You end up sitting at the table forever.

We had potatoes, corn, salad, and garlic bread with the crabs.
I can afford a tablecloth, but we always put newspaper on the table.   That way I can just throw out all the mess when we're done.

Somehow I missed getting Wyatt's picture, but I did get a shot of his hotdog.  (Not everyone likes crab.)

Yesterday I got up at 4:00 AM.  Reid had his six month scan, bone density test, pulmonary function test, and blood work at MD Anderson starting at 7:20 AM.  We left home at 6:00 AM because we expected a lot of traffic.  We were pleasantly surprised.  It only took us an hour to get down there.

The news was good!!  NO CANCER!!  His vitamin D was low and that might explain the fatigue, so he's started taking vitamin D.  His bone scan indicated that he needed it too and he is supposed to start exercising for bone strength.  The chemo has affected his bones and the radiation his lungs, but those are all things he can deal with as long as the cancer is gone.  He did get a call today and they want him back in six weeks instead of three months because one of the numbers that can indicate graft vs host disease was elevated and they want to watch it.  That's OK...it's better to play it safe.

It was a long day and Reid had gone without eating, so we went to The Cheesecake Factory for dinner.

I believe Reid is a miracle and I thank God every day.  Back in 2009 he was in Intensive Care with his chest cavity full of mass.  His one lung was actually pushed a little to the one side and the mass was pressing on his spinal cord.  Doctors were trying to decide what to do.  They were afraid to give him anesthesia because of the mass in his chest, but they had to do something because of his spinal cord.  Finally they operated and we learned that he had Hodgkin's Lymphoma.  Later, one of the radiologists at MD Anderson told me that the head of radiation there had never seen a case of Hodgkin's like Reid's in 25 years.  It is now 2014 and he's been cancer free for 18 months.  Yes, it has taken chemo and two stem cell transplants, but the cancer is gone!  One of the drugs he was given hadn't even been approved by the FDA when he was first diagnosed, but that drug put him into remission before the last stem cell transplant.

Do you believe in miracles?  I do.


5 comments:

  1. Those crabs look delicious! I grew up on the Chesapeake Bay and love steamed crabs!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I might be allergic to crab. I had crab and lobster at a Chinese buffet one time and my gums got inflamed and the outside of my mouth got a rash. So I've been afraid to try it since then. I even was tested for shellfish allergies at the doctors office and it came back I wasn't allergic but I still worry about it. My husband loves crab and the kids liked it when they did a taste test of his when we were at the beach. There isn't much fresh seafood here in WV so I didn't grow up eating it. My husband travels at times and he always tries different things so he likes all things seafood except lobster and squid. lol

    Praise the Lord about the great news about Reid being cancer free! He indeed is a true miracle! I was just wondering about him the other day and it blesses me to read that he is cancer free!

    My oncologist is wanting me to have a PET scan. I think I will skip it because I've read it can give false readings. He is going by the blood work I had done last week. My numbers just won't stay at one level. They were a 33 back in October which lead to a lot of CT Scans and bone scans that all came back fine. It went down to a 26 in February and now it is a 29. I just don't feel like I need to have this test since I had all of those other test in October. Please pray for me to make the right decision about this. It is a hard decision to make.

    Hope you are doing good yourself!

    Hugs,
    Angela

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hey! Put a hot dog on for me (yes, I am anti-seafood!) and we'll talk all day about what's going on and how wonderful the news is about your sweet Reid!

    Hugs and happy blessings, Missy Betty!

    ReplyDelete
  4. And Betty, it's because of pele like you and Reid that male me and others believe too! I am so glad, Betty...glad isn't the word!!!...:)JP

    ReplyDelete
  5. I would have loved to be up there and have crab legs and talk!!!

    Who was the woman there and who is Wyatt?

    I BELIEVE IN MIRACLES!

    I am so thrilled in my heart that the cancer is gone - I hate that word. He has gone through a lot to get to this point. Praise God.

    Reid is a strong man. You a very strong mother.

    Love, sandie

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to visit my little world and leave a comment. I appreciate hearing from you.

I do not receive all comments by E-mail and I'm not exactly sure why. I do try and remember to check the actual blog so I won't miss any of your comments.

I do not belong to Google+ and regret that I am unable to leave comments on Google+ blogs.

WORD VERIFICATION: I have NOT set up word verification for comments. However, every so often it appears on my blog even though I have chosen NO in the settings. Please let me know if you encounter word verification when leaving a comment so I can try and fix it. Thanks.