Mission Accomplished

Paul had his surgery at Huntsman Cancer Institute on December 17. He had to be to the hospital by 11 a.m. so we spent the night before at Brent and Angie's home in Layton. The surgery was supposed to begin at 1 p.m., but they were running behind schedule. They finally took him back to the operating room just after 2 p.m. Paul said he still had to wait for a while before they put him under. There was a doctor in a different surgery who wanted to sit in on Paul's surgery. So they waited for him to finish up so he could watch the master surgeon, Dr. Andtbacka, at work. Brent and Angie took the day off work to come and wait with me. They took me to lunch and kept my mind busy. Mom and Dad Carling came at about 4:30 p.m. so Brent and Angie could get to Cory's concert on time.

The nurse called my phone at 5:30 p.m. and said the surgery was finished, they were just sewing him back up. Dr. Andtbacka met with us at 6:15 p.m. He said everything went well. He removed 32 lymph nodes, two of which were the size of his fists, from Paul's arm, underarm, and neck. The lump we could feel and thought was a tumor was actually one of the lymph nodes. There was no cancerous tissue except what was inside eight of the nodes. And that cancer was dead. None of the arteries or nerves that he was concerned about were involved, so everything went smoothly. Paul did get a bit nauseated when he came out of the anesthesia, so he stayed in recovery longer than the usual hour. They brought him out to the room at 9 p.m. and we left the hospital at 10 p.m. We drove to Mom and Dad Carling's, spent the night, then drove home to Rexburg the next morning. Paul and Tyler drove back down on Wednesday afternoon. Paul had a post-surgical appointment with Dr. Andtbacka on Thursday morning. He said everything looked good and he didn't need to see him again until April. When Tyler asked the doctor how many stitches Paul got, Dr. Andtbacka said, "about 30, but you can tell people 200."
Paul has a drain in his side that he has to empty twice a day. It will stay in place until the amount of fluid is below 30 ml in a 24 hour period. That will probably be another week or so. He is feeling a little better with each passing day, but it's going to take a while for him to regain full use of his arm and to build up his strength. Our staff Physical Therapist, Lynn, gave Paul some rubberbands and pulleys along with some exercises to help. Paul worked part of the day yesterday and today.

We had a wonderful Christmas! Santa came on Christmas Eve and left some packages on the front porch. The boys were very excited. Santa really knows what they like! We have been blessed by kind and generous friends and family who seem to know when we need a little help. You know who you are. Thank you! We hope someday to be able to repay your kindness. It has been a very humbling experience to be on the receiving end of things. We are grateful for a loving and knowing Heavenly Father who blesses us through the hands of those around us.

Parker and Hayden were able to serve at the VIP day for the Rexburg Temple Open House yesterday. They helped by putting shoe covers on the people who attended. Parker put booties on Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve. He addressed the 20 or so youth volunteers in the chapel before the tour. Afterwards, they got to have a tour of the temple themselves. It was a neat opportunity for all of them.

The boys go back to school on January 3rd and my first day at BYU-I is the following Thursday, January 10th. We are all anxious to get back to work, especially the boys (ha ha ha). We hope you have a happy and healthy 2008! Stay warm and safe.

Christmas comes early

Paul had another appointment at Huntsman Cancer Institute with Dr. Andtbacka yesterday. This time, it was an actual pre-surgical appointment. He checked Paul out thoroughly. He said the tumor is definitely smaller and the progress Paul has made was "fabulous" (his word). When he asked when we could come for surgery, we said, "We're free right now." He went and checked his schedule and came back and asked if we were available on Monday the 17th. We said YES! We went to lunch then went back to have bloodwork done and to fill out all the pre-op paperwork. Paul will have to go back on Friday for an MRI so the doctor can get a more up-to-date picture of the tumor and what surrounding tissues may be involved so he knows beforehand what to expect. He and Tyler will drive down Friday afternoon (the MRI isn't until 8 p.m.) then come back Saturday morning. Then on Sunday afternoon, Paul and I will drive down. We won't know what time his surgery will be until Friday afternoon, when they have the schedule finished. We are in the process of lining up accomodations for the boys to stay here in Rexburg. The surgery is out-patient, but they may want to keep Paul overnight. Either way, we will stay over Monday night in Utah to give him some time to recuperate before driving home on Tuesday.

We know our prayers have been answered. We appreciate all that has been done for us. We don't have words enough to express the love and gratitude we feel for our family and friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And it came to pass...

Paul has finished his fourth (and FINAL!) cycle of chemotherapy. His doctors have decided that since he is responding so well...actually the cancer is responding well...Paul still got just as sick from the treatments...that he won't have to go through a fifth round. We have another appointment with Dr. Andtbacka at Huntsman Cancer Institute on Wednesday the 12th for a pre-operative exam. We are hoping and praying hard that he will be able to have the surgery this year instead of after the first of next year. Paul hasn't had another PET scan since the one on Halloween, but the tumor under his arm continues to shrink and it is more mobile, meaning it isn't attached to his chest wall like it was. The doctors are very encouraged with the progress. He still lost quite a bit of weight this last cycle, but he is slowly getting his energy and appetite back and is able to work some.

We are so grateful for all the faith and prayers and generosity of our family and friends. It means alot to us!

The boys are as busy as ever. Jacob and Cameron are going on a school field trip to Idaho Falls to see the Nutcracker Ballet today. Cameron did a great job on his Japanese culture book report. He learned sumi (Japanese calligraphy) to share with his class. Next Monday, Jacob has a presentation about how Christmas is celebrated in the Netherlands. He was practicing on Paul last night. Hayden had a dance recital(?) last week with his 6th grade class. The teacher taught them proper etiquette and several dances. Then they performed for their parents. Yes...he had to dance with girls. I have video, if any of you want to see it. Parker was in heaven last Thursday or Friday...I forget which. He didn't have school since he didn't have to take finals, so he went with friends up to Grand Targhee for some snowboarding. He still has a silly grin on his face! Speaking of finals, grades are in and everyone did well. Parker...all A's, Hayden...A's and a B+, Cameron...A's, Jacob doesn't get letter grades yet, but he's doing fine. Tyler is working with Paul and will be moving to a different apartment next week (cheaper rent). If any of you have a couch and/or dresser you want to get rid of, contact Tyler.

Thanks again for your love and support!