Monday, October 27, 2008
Eight more chemos...and counting!
Posted by Katie Rudd at 9:33 PM 1 comments
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
CANCER FREE!!!
Nothing but the best news to report!! Mom is continuing to heal, and we all just marvel at her! Although she has had some discomfort with the drains, she has not had to use any of her pain medication. Her visit to the doctor went really well. She still has one drain in, and hopefully it will come out next week. But, the best news was when the doctor told her that they got ALL the cancer out!!! He thought the margins were great, and although we knew that the one lymph node they took was infected, the others were not. It's the best news we've ever heard! They got it all! Thank you, Jesus!!!
Posted by Katie Rudd at 6:31 PM 6 comments
Friday, August 1, 2008
Successful Surgery!
Thank you all for your prayers! The surgery was successful and Dr. Lara was able to remove all the infected tissue this morning! He did not see anything unexpected, which is just how we liked it. He removed some of the lymph nodes, which he was going to do, and he will have them tested to check for any irregularities. We should have those results in just a few days.
Mom is looking great and already wanting to come home. She is recovering so well, but will still have to stay at the hospital overnight at least. We hope she can come home tomorrow to heal, and we are all taking shifts to help out. (even her sisters are coming all the way to California for a few days; she is so excited!) She will need to stay in bed for about a week and have to deal with some annoying drains; however, she hopes the pain will continue to minimal and looks forward to a speedy recovery. We hope to have more updates tomorrow for everyone.
She loves you all and appreciates all the cards, notes, and prayers!!! We have all known how brave she is, but today she overwhelmed us all by her calm strength. She is our HERO!!!
All our love,
The Kids
Posted by Katie Rudd at 7:34 PM 4 comments
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Last chemo before surgery
The surgery for the single mastectomy has been scheduled for August 1. She will most likely stay in the hospital for 1-2 days to recover, and then at home to rest. The doctors want Mom to totally recover before going for more chemo, so she will most likely not have any treatments until September. After she has completely healed, the other surgeries will be scheduled. We were a little disappointed that there will be multiple procedures, instead of just having everything done in one surgery. However, the doctors think it is wise to take it slow and to do all the procedures one at a time. After processing everything, we are so grateful that Mom has such thoughtful doctors who are taking such good care of her. The picture to the right is Mom's chemo nurse, JoAnne, who we have all grown to love.
Thank you for celebrating the good news with us, and we are grateful in advance for your prayers and support throughout the surgery and recovery. Until then, please continue to pray for Mom's post-chemo well-being. The fatigue does get worse with each treatment. Mom's spirit though does not grow weary! She is SO brave, SO positive, and SUCH a fighter. It's truly awesome to watch her.
We love you all!
The Kids
Posted by Katie Rudd at 5:06 PM 7 comments
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Back At It...
Today, we met with Dr. Reyes who confirmed what Mom thought- the IBC is receding!!! Thanks for the prayers! She would like to still do one more treatment with the herceptin before surgery, but we will know more in a few weeks. Today, Mom had a full day of treatment and is feeling great. Her next appointment is scheduled for July 10 with an MRI and surgeon consultations prior to that.
Our prayer requests are for: wisdom for the doctors, continued recession of IBC and of course good health throughout. The whole family would like your prayers as we make decisions about surgery plans and treatment.
We love you and are so grateful for your prayers!
The Kids
Posted by Katie Rudd at 5:12 PM 5 comments
Thursday, May 29, 2008
South Dakota Bound!
Mom will leave on Friday for a road trip with her friend, Denise Celse, to visit family. We are excited that the doctor's have allowed Mom to go ahead with her three week trip, since the girls have had this planned for the last two years; however, we are still nervous for her safety and health. Please be praying these next three weeks that the trip will go smoothly and that Mom's health remains in good condition.
The new treatment with the herceptin seemed to work well. Mom did not experience any new side effects, although the fatigue continued. She pushed through a long weekend, filled with graduations and small trips, so she is doing her best to recover from that before heading out on Friday. Her white-cell count came back pretty low (1.9), so she had a booster shot yesterday and then will have another shot today. Our prayer is to get the count back up before Friday morning!
Once she returns from her trip, we will go ahead and have one more treatment, with the herceptin, before scheduling the surgery. Her next treatment is planned for Wednesday, June 18. Thanks for praying!
Love- The Kids
Posted by Katie Rudd at 9:13 AM 8 comments
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Happy Birthday, Mom!
Posted by Katie Rudd at 12:47 PM 5 comments