News...

Daniel

...is on his way home from Germany. He will be here (Maryland) this evening- we keep on praying for his recovery. He is truly a Hero, like all the men out there fighting to end terrorism!!! :D

Dad

...had an OK weekend. We had a very eventful one. Went to the Jorge's house on Friday for Nina's very first birthday party. It was great seeing friends and family, but dad left early because of pain.

Saturday we had my engagement celebration at my parents house and it was FABULOUS. We worked hard and it all worked so well. A BIG, HUGE thank you for you MOM- you did most of the work and made sure this was a special moment for me and Mike--- I love you sooo much...
Dad made a beautiful speech, I hope I will be able to share this on here as well soon. It was just so meaningful and beautiful- THANK YOU DAD--- you are the best! Mike's dad gave a great speech as well and said "PHILIPP, you WILL be here to see your grandchildren grow!!!" Oh tears... but happy ones...
Dad was ok for most of the time, he got tired after some time and went to lay down and get some rest. His legs have been hurting alot.

So far this week he is feeling no nausea, just pain--- :( But he is strong, and will remain strong. Friday he is due for chemotherapy- start of a new cycle. The cycle that WILL cure him... God please heal my father!!

That is it for now- I will have more good news coming soon---- after all, we are praying for that, aren't we?

Praying for you DANIEL...

We are with you Daniel, in thought and in prayer... be strong...

And see you soon....we LOVE you!

Thank you for being a HERO!!

When it rains, it pours...

... but sun will soon shine again...

Yesterday dad had a good day overall. His legs are hurting him now, but he got out of bed, even left the house!!- :)

We have a lot to look forward to this weekend... I went to the mall with Nessa to find a dress, we had so much fun...until we got home...

Bad news- not from dad but from Vanessa's dear boyfriend who is in the U.S. Marines, fighting the war in Afghanistan. We received a phone call from his parents yesterday saying Daniel was hit by a bomb. :*( There are three stages- injured, serious condition, and critical condition. Daniel is in serious condition and is flying to Germany at the moment to seek medical help. We don't know too much yet... So today and for the next few weeks we will be praying for Daniel's full recovery and for his family- that they may find comfort and strength in the hands of God.

We are all in shock, but trying to be strong for one another... so much going... Now I understand the saying- "when it rains, it pours"...

But I know there is a reason for it all... and I know happy days are coming our way...

Updates...

Dear friends and family, I want to first thank you for the continuous prayers... Prayer is so powerful and it is pulling us through.

Pain- The usual, but for the most part he is feeling no pain. The pain in his back has never gone away, so that is still there, but it is under control with medicine.

Nausea- He has been nauseous all week so far, but he has not vomited, and he has been eating really well. Mom made shrimp with pasta last night- DELICIOUS.

Chemotherapy- Yesterday he went to the hospital to get chemotherapy, but was unable to be given any. This would have been the last injection of this cycle. The reason why he could not get any is because his blood platelet count was way too low. This is also known as Thrombocytopenia. Platelets (thrombocytes) are colorless blood cells that play an important role in blood clotting. Platelets stop blood loss by clumping and forming plugs in blood vessel holes.

His new treatment has been known to cause thrombocytopenia in patients. The nurse called this morning saying he will only go back to receive chemo again on the 30th. Which we think he will be starting a new cycle of chemo. His blood should go back to normal as we go. Everything else in terms of blood counts have improved since last week- so yay!!


Physiotherapy?? - I am trying to convince my dad that he needs to do some physiotherapy. He has been in bed most of the time for the past week or so, causing muscle atrophy- lost alot of his muscles, his legs are too thin, which makes him weak. I know exercise is extremely important when treating cancer as well. So let's cross our fingers he will agree to see a physiotherapist.

We do not know yet how the cancer is responding to the treatment, but we continue to think positive... We keep playing the ball forward- attacking... and hopefully soon score a goal!

God will make a way...

God is good.

For the first time this past Saturday I heard my dad say "I feel no pain"- need I to explain how happy that made me feel inside? God hears our prayers and fills our lives with miracles and goodness everyday... Dad has been laying off on the morphine since Friday evening and is feeling no pain!!!! I continue to ask God to help my dad...and thank everyone from the heart for all the prayers...

Unfortunately he has been feeling nauseous since Sunday. Chemotherapy-- why can't they find remedy without harsh side effects? ...He seems to be OK so far this Monday...

You know I came across some people who said "Oh that is such a horrible disease, I am so sorry, that is terrible".... bla bla bla... STOP! Granted this is a hard disease to treat you don't have to talk as if there should be no hope. We do not care what science books say, or what life expectancy the Internet may provide you with... This is my dad, and clearly some people do not understand that he is a fighter, and that we are here with hope and with faith and with a smile on our face... we will beat this beast... I know I can talk for myself, I don't want peoples pity without hope, or negative comments....NO I just want reassurance, hope, smile... because HE IS ALIVE and HE IS WELL and HE IS FIGHTING... Can't people show sympathy in a hoping way? (this does not apply to anyone who is reading this blog, so don't worry ;) Sorry, I get frustrated sometimes...)

Speaking of HOPE... me and my family do a prayer from a Brazilian channel. It is 30 minutes long and it is everyday. Its called the NOVENA DOS FILHOS DO PAI ETERNO. You pray for a week as a cycle of prayers, then you start again the following week with another one... Just a continuous prayer... It is so good. They show testimony of people who have received God's mercy and grace in their lives. Yesterday a woman gave her testimony- She was suffering from bone cancer and plasma cell cancer. She was doing the NOVENA everyday...She got a bone marrow transplant and is now CURED- even doctors can't believe that she is cured... I question, is this God giving us an answer? A sign? Regardless, we continue to BELIEVE...

Some may call this coincidence... I call this the working hands of a LOVING GOD!

I have a feeling this will be a great week!! :D

God will make a way....

God has a meaning....

Things don't just happen for absolutely no reason. God knows the reason, even though we have a hard time seeing it... For example, Tuesday while it took forever to get pain killers at the hospital, a doctor came in and told my dad that maybe he should go on morphine for some time. Since then he is feeling better... So when things are bad, know that there is also something good coming... Things happen because they are meant to happen...I don't believe in coincidence. I personally think its weak to believe in it...

So...Dad had a much better day yesterday and so far even better today. Seems like morphine is really doing the trick for him. He even got out of bed today... With some help. His legs are a bit weak. Amazing how quickly you can lose your muscles... only three days in bed...But he will try and walk a bit today... start building those muscles back...

We keep on cheering him on.
We never lose hope, and faith, even in times of despair...
And that is the key to survive in life...

Hope I can continue to post more good news the weeks to come...

Pain and New chemotherapy

Yesterday started out very troublesome... I woke up & took the dogs out to pee as I do everymorning when I saw my mom and she told me "go see your dad he didnt sleep at all last night."... (Im so glad I am living at home right now...) When I got in the room to see him he was shivering due to extreme pain. I then started to massage him in the hopes it would go away. But it didnt. Calling off work was what I needed to do. My parents needed me... And so we fed him more pain killers and Lorazepan so he could get some rest. He slept for a couple of hours then it was time to get up and get ready for the hospital to start his new chemotherapy.

He was very weak yeasterday, he needed some help walking... But we got to the hospital and quickly went to a room where he could lay down. Blood work was done and the counts seemed good. At least good enough to get the chemo started. We dimmed the lights and he was able to rest a bit more. Two hours later they started him with Velcade(chemo) and the new one Doxil. That took a couple of hours thru IV. It took longer because they wanted to make sure he wouldn't have an allergic reaction to Doxil. They kept his vital signs in check the whole time. The nurse was amazingly attentive and sweet.

Around 3:00, still in the room getting IV dad started to have extreme pain again. Around his chest, shoulder blade, and right arm. According to the doctors this pain is due to the progression of the disease- attacking the bones. We waited more then 45 minutes to get one miserable methadone pill so he wouldnt feel pain anymore. Lets imagine someone grabs your arm and pinchs you really hard, and they will only let go until someone comes to help you... imagine the affliction? Why does it take so long to get medication? Makes me angry, just hard to understand.

Another doctor came in and prescribed morphin for him. Injetable morphin was given there at the hospital. Now dad is taking stronger pain medication- makes him sleepy but so far it has helped to control the pain.

It is undescribable the feeling you get to see a loved one in so much affliction and pain... If I could only take his pain away...

Last night he got more sleep, he is having an ok day so far... I pray that it only gets better... Please God, Have mercy!!!