Well we are through Christmas and heading into the New Year! We had a great Christmas, pretty low key, but very fun! As Melissa wrote previously, we had our family Christmas on Christmas Eve. I love the look on the boys faces when they get to open presents! Being home this year was extra special for me to be able to see it first hand.

Christmas Day was spent at Glen and Sue's place with Andrew and Nat and family. It busy house hold with 3 boys running around. Great meals and fun times with family. Yesterday we drove to see Melissa's grandparents in Claresholm which was about 2.5 hours from home so it was a long of travelling for the boys. The day was fun visiting with family again. My favorite part of the day was our family walk to see the cows. Corban, Keegan, Melissa and I took a little stroll to get the boys out of the house, mostly because Keegan didn't nap with all the people around, to look around the farm and see some animals. The boys love looking at animals, Keegan especially loves dogs, they all have the same name, "Sash." Our friends Chad and Jessie have a dog named Sasha, that's where he got it from.

Today was another long day for me as I drove to Calgary again for another appointment. Just a regular check in again, blood work and a chest x-ray to make sure my lungs are still looking good. I left at 8:30 this morning and was home by 5:30 tonight. The drive wasn't to bad, but I can see it getting really boring and long.

My blood work wasn't back when I saw the doctor, but she said if there was any problems she would call. No phone call yet so that's a good sign! I have to go back on Monday and probably weekly for another few weeks. After that the doctor will most likely allow me to stay home for 2 weeks at a time but have blood work done here in Medicine Hat on the off week I am not in Calgary. Hopefully by the end of February I am only going to Calgary monthly.

I am feeling good these days and would like to start light work outs at home in the next week. I have to wait a couple more days to start because I had my stitches out today from where they removed my center line.

Thank you again for your continued prayers for our family and as I continue to build my immune system, I will be getting out more, so hopefully I can begin to see more people and thank you in person for your prayers and support. For those not in Medicine Hat and I will not be able to see in person, God hears your prayers and I will always be thankful for you!

Be blessed in all you do! Happy New Year!

Colin

We Made It!!!!

Guess What?!?!? IT'S CHRISTMAS! We made it! This morning we had Christmas just the four of us and now Colin and Corban are putting together our 'family gift'......we decided last Christmas that we were going to get a Wii for fun family times! Corban was yelling and saying "oh i always wanted on of these, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!" lol, it was SO cute! So now, him and Colin are in the living room, getting things all set up to play! These next months are going to be so good to get reconnected as a family again, and i'm sure there will be many great memories around our new Wii! Plus, i'm sure all the moving will help Colin get back into prime shape! haha, don't tell him i said that!
I'm just so thankful that we're here, all home and healthy....Colin, Corban and my dad made it back from Calgary yesturday safe, and now Colin doesn't have his "tubes" as Keegan calls them! Corban watched the whole thing, and told Colin how proud he was of him and then he told him, "Daddy, you're going to be just fine! You're so brave!" as he laid with him after it was over!
One more step to soidify being done, with this first part of our journey!

Merry Christmas to each one following along with us, we love you, and we hope for many happy memories to be made with your loved-ones this Christmas. I know we sure won't look at Christmas the same again! We're still blown away at how BIG the little things in life are!
Blessings on each of you!
Luv, Melissa

The Drive....

So, as we speak, Colin is on his way back from Calgary from the Transplant Clinic. He did end up getting a bit of a cold the past few days, but he's had no fever, which means that his body is fighting on it's own! This is a GREAT thing! He's starting to build his own immunity back up, and the sooner the better! The Doctor seemed to think he was doing just fine and she had no worries. Plus, he's headed back up on Wednesday to get his Central Line taken out of his chest! He'll be able to sleep on his stomach again! haha, i told him he should try being pregnant and doing the same, now we're even! heehee.....We're starting to feel a lot more settled, getting reorganized again and just being able to "live" at home! It's been nice, although we still feel like we're catching up on much needed sleep, but it'll come! Corban is slowly not asking as much, if we're going to be leaving soon, and he's getting used to us being here again....he's been pushing his boundaries, so it's been a bit of a struggle that way, but we're good, and it's refreshing to be able to just be parents again! I can't believe Christmas is this week! We have everything ready and i just can't wait! What a year, but what a year the next one will be! I sure hope it won't be as stressful, i mean i still want to grow and get some wisdom under my belt, but you know....i'm just excited for what is in store!
i'll write soon!
Merry Christmas!
Luv, Melissa

Good to be HOME!

Well, Colin was forced to be Mr. Mom today.....I've had the worst migraine that i can remember, and believe me, i'm SO glad for Colin.....he's tired but he was AWESOME today! I'm finally, after 24 hours of this thing, feeling like i can function again. I don't know what it is, but i think we're both still adjusting. Colin said last nite, he walked down the stairs after tucking Corban into bed and he just cried, realizing once again, what we had all been through these past five months! He has beat cancer! I know we're flooded with relief for this portion to be over. But i guess we've coped with making it our reality for what seemed to us, like an eternity, and now it's all over, that security blanket has been wiped out from underneath our feet, and we're reeling a little bit. I keep looking at Colin, asking if he feels ok, if he feels like he's getting sick.....we just keep praying that we can make it to be home for Christmas. I know we're home, but this next week until Christmas comes, it's going to be a time of holding our breath to make it there! I thought we'd come and we would be sleeping great, just being relieved to be home, but that's taking a little while as well. I guess, like this entire process, this is all taking time, we adjusted at the beginning, and now, again, we must adjust back to our new normal!
Let me tell ya, we are sure enjoying each other! The kids have been sleeping in for us these last few days, and it just seems we're all catching up on our rest.....kinda we're all relieved we're back together! I can understand where all the emotions and exhaustion can bring on a little bit of despair or depression, but i'm praying that we can be support for each other and just ask that God keeps us from anything that could creep in during this time!
WE'RE HOME! It keeps sinking in a little more everyday! We're going through some sort of culture shock......but we're home....God is good and Christmas is SO close! WOW! This holiday will never mean SO much to us as it does this year and in the years to come! We are together, we have our "Daddy" home with us....and for now...all is right with our world!

Luv, Melissa

Answered Prayers!

Well, I guess God knew what we needed the most, and i am happy to report that i am typing this from OUR COZY, WARM HOME! I mean, Medicine Hat, HOME!!!! Yesturday Colin went to his appointment as scheduled and just thought he'd mention how badly we wanted to go home. Much to our surprise the Doctor didn't even hesitate! We left as soon as we were packed up and we got to Medicine Hat around 6pm last night! Oh, it feels SO good to be home. We've all been quite emotional, first leaving Andy and Nat's, it was so weird to have spent so much time and then all at once, we were leaving. As Colin was driving in our neighbourhood, we just wept that we were finally coming home! Corban was even crying (probably because we were), but he kept on saying how happy he was to be home with us there with him! Needless to say, we all had about a 12 hour sleep and the kids 13hrs, so today we're rested and just enjoying being together at home again!
We're slowly getting settled, but we do have to make one more trip up to Calgary for a few days before Christmas. Colin has a routine appointment on Monday and then on Wednesday, he gets to have his Central Venus Cathedar (Central Line) removed! We had no idea it would be this soon, but we are very excited, as this is the constant reminder that Colin is still not quite done with this process! I guess we'll never be done, but the real tough stuff is hopefully over! Now we just have to lay low and keep away from big crowds and germs, to make sure Colin doesn't get sick. In the first 3 months, Colin will most likely need hospital care to help him get over any little cold virus, he has to start all over now....but we're at home, and that makes everything better, just being able to be altogether for longer than a week or two at a time!
Please keep praying that Colin can stay healthy, beacuse we still are just praying he can be home, healthy for Christmas! We just take one day at a time, and enjoy what blessings we have in that day!
The Doc's are very excited that Colin has done so well, and it was only because of so many praying with us! THANK YOU!

Luv, Melissa
YEAY! We're home!

Speechless!

whew! It has definitely been a busy couple of days, but so very good to have the boys up here with us! Corban has been taking the transition a little hard.....just being really grumpy and not wanting Colin or I to even go upstairs without knowing when we'll be back down! Every morning he makes sure we don't have to go anywhere. Colin left early this morning for his first appointment as an outpatient and Corban had to ask several times to make sure he was coming home TODAY! It'll just take time to get back into things as a family again! Keegan has been SO cute, he just has to hug me constantly, and then he'll sit up and just stare at me and smile. It's quite cute, he just wants to be with us and be held and cuddled and i love more than anything to finally be able to do that with both boys!
We are really getting antsy to come home to Medicine Hat......with another round of colds and flu going around, i pray that the Doc's let us come home sooner than later! We both just want to come home, and get settled again. AND i'm sure that Andy and Nat want to do the same. The sacrifice that they, as a family, have made is amazing, but they also, just need to go back to being the four of them! We all do!
It blows me away to sit and think of the sacrifice people have made for us throughout these last 5 months! The kindness and generousity of our family and friends still bring tears to my eyes! I don't know how else to repay you or say thank you, than to pray God's Richest Blessings over each and every one of you, and believe me, we have been!
God is such a good God, and i feel that only now have i really come to appreciate the true meaning of living my faith. After going through something like this, Colin and i had no choice but hold on to dear life to our faith that God would bring us through this, somehow, someway! Guess what?! He did! We have all learned such valuable life lessons, and through this process, our sweet Corban asked Jesus to come into his heart! Something that, at first, broke both our hearts, beacuse we wanted to be there with him when he prayed so badly, but we know walking with Jesus is exactly that, a daily walk, a daily choice. Now we have the awesome responsibility of sharing in that journey with him, and seeing where God takes him! This last bit of the process has been emotional for Colin and I. We are feeling a little lost, like where do we go from here, and what now?! BUT the Doc's are helping us through that and they are still here to answer our questions and make sure we are well equipped to enter this next phase! I guess nothing will ever really go back to the way it was before, but i'm not sure it's such a bad thing. We are all changed, and we have been refined and made better for going through this. I'm not sure what the future holds, but I know that God is going to be holding our hands every step of the way!
Thank you for your ongoing prayers and support, you have no idea how just that alone has changed us!

Luv, Melissa

Saturday, December 12, 2009

Well everyone, I am officially on to the next phase of getting back to 100% health! Today I was discharged from Foothill Medical Centre Unit 57. I am so excited and even some what apprehensive. Excited I can begin to regain my strength and endurance in a couple weeks once my counts go up more. Apprehensive because we have surrounded by the most amazing medical staff here on Unit 57 and now we push forward. I should say the apprehension is very minimal. We still are part of the BMT clinic here at Foothills and I will be checking in with them once a week for a couple months now. After then, we come every month for a bit, then who knows, never?! My counts are stablizing, low, but my body is starting to bounce back on its own, which was supposed to happen. The doctor, Nancy, was very happy for me this morning when she said I was getting discharged. She was amazing up here on Unit 57, she kept joking these weeks after transplant about checking my chemo doses that they were correct because I didn't have any ill side effects after chemo and transplant. I know its because God was watching over me and it was just part of HIS perfect plans for me.

So now I am writing this sitting in the room I checked into for the last time on Unit57 waiting for Melissa and Mom to show up to pick me up with CORBAN AND KEEGAN! Yup we are going to get to be to a family again starting today! No more leaving the boys at home for weeks on end and hopefully no more hospital stays. God, please protect me from sickness, fever, infection until my body is able to fight again on its own, Amen.

I am at a loss for words right now because this has been surreal for us and without everyones prayers and support, I don't know we would have got through all of this. We still have a road ahead back to 100% I need to sit down and write out some goals for the coming months. If my body allows, I would love to be running again by my birthday in January. Its lofty to even think I could that but I am determined to be 100% sooner then later. I know my limits and never thought I would ever have to overcome cancer so young, if at all in my life, but look where I am now. Thank you Lord.

Hurry Up and WAIT!

Hello All!
I wanted to give you the scoop on how Colin has been the last few days. He is tired, and we have just been checking in at the hospital everyday. With the weather it's been taking an hour to get here on most mornings this week, and with the lab at the hospital getting some new computer system, let's just say, i'm ready to start filling in a time sheet and getting paid for the full days we've been putting in here! Anyways, Colin's cell counts are still all really low, and today he's getting another unit of red cells, with hopes that this will be the last transfusion he will need! The good news is, tomorrow, we get a day off. So we can maybe even sleep in a little bit! WOW! This weekend Colin's mom is flying out to spend her birthday with us and we are hoping to get the kids up here with us either Saturday or Sunday! It's a big weekend for us! I hope Colin is up for it, i just don't want him getting run down, so i'm hoping that he'll take it easy, even though he'll want to be playing with the kids!
Colin really has done so amazing this far! God has kept him protected from any sickness and we're hoping that nothing pops up before we can get home for Christmas! Our work-up nurse was in today and she said that if Colin gets any type of sickness within the first 2-3 months post transplant, that he would most-likely have to be treated and hospitalized. So as we enter into this next phase of this process, i'm praying for God to take my fears away and bring us comfort that HE will keep Colin safe and healthy! The good thing about if he does get sick, is that he can be treated in Medicine Hat, by the oncologists there, so at least we can stay together as a family. The thought of just now getting to be back together again, makes me hope that we can have some time and rest before any other "bump" comes our way! We are SO ready to get home and be settled again. Please pray that we can do that soon! That Colin won't get sick and that we can be discharged and get some rest at home for Christmas!

Luv, Melissa

Day 8 and some personal thoughts

Today I feel good again, not like the past couple days were bad, but I feel like I am starting to get some energy back after transplant. We are at the hospital right now just waiting for my blood counts to come back. I think and feel I should be good today. I received platlets and red blood cells yesterday and they also started G-CSF shots to boost my white cells. Hopefully today my whites are up so then we wouldn't have to check in everyday.

We are hoping to be discharged from Unit 57 on day 14, which is next Monday and then only have to check into the BMT clinic down stairs once a week. We are hoping they will let us come home for Christmas around the 21st. I would have to come back just for the day probably around the 28th or 29th.

This weekend is a big weekend for us with discharge and hopefully being able to bring the boys up to stay with us in Calgary until we go home again. Also Dad surprised my Mom with a plane ticket to Calgary for her birthday so she will be with us this weekend too! Lots going on but nothing really exciting with me, which is the way it should be, because it means I am doing well and starting to recover more.

With Christmas just around the bend I want to say thank you to everyone who has prayed for us and helped me get the best Christmas present ever, ANOTHER SHOT AT A HEALTHY LIFE WITH MY FAMILY! Doctors, nurses, PCAs, family, friends, co-workers, prayer warriors, people I have never met, everyone who in some way or another touched our lives during these 4 months in Calgary, THANK YOU. WE love you so much. Life will never look the same for me and you have all been through this with us!

I know the list above is very broad, but I cannot even start to mention everyone who has helped us out at one point or another. One person who I have thanked over and over is Melissa. I will never truly think or show how thankful I am for her. The LORD is my ROCK and Melissa is second to HIM in my support system. Without her this journey would have been a nightmare. Many nights she would hold me while I cried not knowing what the future held, worried I would never see my boys go to school, graduate or get married. Her words would reassure me God was watching over us and HE was taking care of me. When my outlook was bleak Melissa gave me strength to fight and to not loose sight of Christ in my life and to reach out to HIM who spared HIS life for me!

This Christmas I don't need presents, a Christmas tree, lights, a big dinner. I have already been given everything I need: a second chance at a healthy life, family, great friends, Corban and Keegan, Melissa and my LORD and SAVIOUR JESUS CHRIST!

I love you all! THANK YOU!

Colin

We Made It!

so i'm glad to report we made it to the hospital this morning safely. The roads are better than they have been the last couple days but it's SO cold! Colin's doing good, he's still low and so they are giving him 1 unit of red blood today and then they aren't even going to wait for blood results tomorrow, they've just ordered more red blood and platlets for tomorrow. This is great, because usually by the time we wait a few hours for results to come back, it's after noon by the time the blood gets started, and way past dark by the time we're driving home! Tomorrow we should be outta here by just past noon and today we can be on the road by about 3pm! AWESOME! We met another Doc that works part time up here and he says the fact that Colin's been out on pass says it all. If a patient is healthy enough and strong enough to be out on pass, they are doing GREAT! Praise God for getting us through one day at a time!
They're trying to get the outbreak under control but our nurse did say that it was
H1N1. They haven't quite got to a point of control that they're happy with yet, and she mentioned that there were quite a few more patients that have it than they would like, but we are over on the other end of the Floor, and 3 big doors all of which are closed are between us and the main area of Unit 57, so with masks and washing our hands at every turn, there's not much more that we can do! They have put Colin on Tamiflu, which is a preventative antiobiotic that is used to treat people with
H1N1, so we're hoping that can give him some protection where our falls short! I mean, our prayers and trust that God will protect him don't fall short, but earthly measures is what i mean!
Today is a good day! Colin is still one of the few healthy one's up here, and i'm praying that it can stay this way!

Luv, Melissa

Snow Day!

Wow, so here's another day inside not going anywhere! We were actually supposed to be checking in this morning at the hospital for blood work, but we were not able to get there, after seeing countless vehicles just in our cresent having to be dug out of their driveways and around the corners. We called in and said there was no way we could make it there. They had no objections, and said that if Colin was feeling ok, with no fever that we could just try again tomorrow! I can't believe this weather, the blowing snow is drifting, making it impossible to get anywhere without getting stuck!
I also count this as a blessing, because we are all healthy, and warm, and we can wait another day for the outbreak up on Unit 57 to be contained! We still haven't heard what the "bug" is, and we're just thankful that we can stay away!
I am in awe at how well Colin is doing. Post transplant was supposed to be a "doozy" of side-effects and symptoms, all of which were awful and unpleasant, but Colin seems to be coming through unscathed so far. Our prayer is that this continues! God is SO good and we know people are praying, because the other gentleman we met with Burkitt's Lymphoma had a terrible time and had to stay 10 days in the hospital becuse of getting sick both from the past chemo and getting run down! God is BIG, and we're so glad we can call Him for help for things that we can't control! I'm making sure Colin takes it easy and rests almost constantly. He really isn't up for anything else and he's still eating, not as much, but he's getting nutrients in, and that's all that matters!
We are warm and safe, and we pray the same for you, too!
Be safe, and stay in!
i'm gonna go make some tea!

Luv, Melissa

Unwanted Anxiety!

So, another day checking in at the hospital. All routine, we've done this a million times, but this morning, we experienced a lock down on the entire unit. I guess, sometime this morning, the Doc's declared an outbreak of some sort of flu, not sure yet, if it's H1N1, or just one of the other nasty flu-bugs going around. Needless to say, Colin and i got worried. We have heard from everyone there, if you're going to get sick, you'll most likely catch it from the hospital. Yikes, especially now that Colin is extremely at risk for any little bug. I have nothing I can do but pray that he stays protected, and that God sends His mighty angels to cover Colin from any germ that might come his way! Please pray the same! I could start to worry, but it won't do anything productive, so we're both just trying to relax and pray the time goes quick until Monday when they can start giving him G-CSF shots to boost his immune system! Nothing's changed, he's exhausted and sleeping more than he is awake. He's healthy so far, so please pray he gets through the rest of the way until he starts stabilizing and getting some cells to fight infections!
Good news is, that the Doc's felt better about not having him come in again until Saturday. They want to try to get this outbreak under control, and keep the healthy patients away as much as they can! Unfortunately, by Saturday, Colin's going to need some blood transfusions, so we'll have to be there all day, again, unsettling! I'm so tired of living in fear of the germs we can't see! It's scary not having any control, but i guess that's where our faith comes in and God takes over! How comforting to know He's watching all that going on, and making sure Colin stays safe!
I should go check on Colin, i'll check in with you guys later!

Luv, Melissa

Nowhere to go but UP!

Hello!
Sorry it's been a few days, but treat no news as good news on our end! Colin has been out on passes since Monday evening! It's been good to get him out of the hospital and eating good homecooked meals at our Calgary 'Home'! We checked back in at the hospital this morning and Colin is on his way to the bottom! His cell counts are low and tomorrow we suspect they'll be no lower they can go. He's extremely tired and just trying to rest and sleep a lot! I'm happy that his mouth is free of sores to this point and nausea is also quite minimal! He's eating good, so that's all we can hope for. I think the two of us are so tired of these 'low' times. It's SO nerve racking for both of us to think about how suseptible he is to ANY infections, especially now after his transplant! We just want to get out of this huge risk and all Colin wants is to just start to feel better. This time, he knows he doesn't have to feel better just to "go through it all again"! HE IS DONE! Please pray for us now, as Colin is at risk, that he stays healthy and safe! I'll make sure i'm in touch with how he's feeling and how our days are going! We are SO blessed to have a home to come too, so many people have no where to go, so they have to stay in the hospital. THANK YOU ANDY AND NAT, for opening up your home and making it our home, too! Love you guys!
ok, i should go, they rented some good movies, and it'll be nice to sit and relax!

Thank you again, for praying, things would be much worse without those powerful prayers!

Good Night!
Melissa

Day 0

Well I am officially on the road to recovery! The transplant went really well this morning, no side effects, just a gross taste in my mouth. It was kind of like cream corn gone bad. I cannot smell it but Melissa says I smell like tomato soup and cream corn. It only took about 30 minutes to infuse all my cells they collected about on Nov 3. The other great news for the day is I am able to go to our Calgary home for 2 days then check back in on Wednesday. Those 2 nights will give me some much needed uninterupted sleep. Hopefully if all goes well, I won't have to spend another night in the hospital. I will probably have a few blood transfusions in the next week because this chemo basically irraticates all my cells. We'll keep you all informed.

Anyways I just have to say I have the most amazing wife ever. She has been so strong for me and the family during this process. I am so blessed to be with her and to have her love in my life. I am so touched by what she said in the blog she wrote lastnight and it just goes to prove how our marriage is getting stronger and rooted in God's Word everyday! I am so glad to have her and I don't know if I will ever be able to fully show her how much her strength and companionship through this time truly meant to me. The nights she would go home early or when she wasn't able to come up to visit me, my days were not fun. Seeing her walk through my door everyday made my day! Melissa, I love you so much and I am so glad you are my wife and best friend!

Colin

Happy Birthday Colin!

I just wanted to write and be the first to wish my brave and wonderful husband a happy birthday! This day...November 30, 2009, marks the first day of a new life. A life of the most amazing and endless possibilities! Not many people get a second chance to live a healthy life, but God was so gracious to grant us this! Colin, you are my hero, my bestest friend, and the man i want to have many, many life adventures with! You have taught me so much about following God's will, wherever that may take us, and even as you lay in a hospital bed, you have been the leader of our little family and kept us altogether with your great attitude and love for life. We did it! We have taken a terrifying walk down the deepest darkest path and with God right there holding our hands, we've made it out the other side! I'm so proud to be your partner, to have stood by you, and walked through this with you, we're changed people! You make me better everyday and i'm excited to see your smile! You're a fighter and you have such patience and perseverence, our boys are SO blessed to have you as their Daddy! We still have you! I think i'm in shock that this point in the process is where we never thought we'd be. When we came in those first few days, we'd just heard bad news, after bad news, but through it all, you kept your focus on our God who will only give you what you could handle, each day sometimes a struggle, sometimes a smile, but you kept looking for the blessing, and it never was hard to find the many blessings!
I am so proud to call you mine! As uneventful as the "actual" transplant procedure may be, this is YOUR day! A new day, and new bright, full, amazing future for YOU. I am SO excited to see what chapter is next for us, how God wants to use you and our family! Through whatever "bumpy road" is ahead, we WILL be ready.....beacuse, in the words of our sweet Corban, "Jesus Keeps us Safe and Strong"!
So, Happy Birthday, Colin, you've done so well, I hope that soon, we can have a little bit of a break, and just collect our family unit again. Be together and not have to leave each other, oh what a sweet day that will be! Soon, so very soon!

I love you with everything in me!
Melissa

No more chemo!

Hey everyone! I finished my last chemo this morning without any major side effects so far. I did get a little tired from it so I slept for an hour. I was given a diaretic to help clean out the chemo from my system and that made me a little crampy like I was dehydrated even though they had me hooked up to hydration. I have drank lots of water and feel better now.

The big side effect from this chemo was mouth sores and a remedy for preventing the sores was to chew ice for a half hour before until 6 hours after. Needless to say I was eating a lot ice today. I think my mouth was half frozen all afternoon. I have been told by the nurses this will almost eliminate getting the sores. I have to keep rinsing with medicated mouth wash and club soda for a few days to try to keep the sores at bay.

It was kind of a bitter sweet day for us. The nurse who admitted me to Unit 57 here at Foothills was the nurse who administered the last chemo of my treatment today and is likely to do the stem cell transplant tomorrow. I was actually thinking last night about leaving this unit. I was almost choked up by the fact I am done. The nurses, doctors and PCA's here have got to know us so well it will be hard to say good bye, but on the other hand I cannot wait to get out of here.

So tonight Melissa and I are just hanging out not watching the Grey Cup. We aren't big football fans, but we will keep an eye on it so Melissa doesn't get caught up in the rush leaving McMahon Staduim because we are a block away. I think we might watch a movie and relax until tomorrow.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and even though I am having my stem cell transplant tomorrow, we will not be out of the woods for a while. I have to recreate my immune system and I won't have recovering cell counts for about 10 days from tomorrow. Please keep praying and we are so touched by all the prayers that have gone up for us! Thank you all and thank you Jesus for all You do!

Colin

Hi! it's Melissa here now, just wanted to say we had a great time with our kids this weekend! Colin felt great yesturday and we spent a wonderful day, just playin and cuddling! Today i said my last good bye to the boys as they'll go back to Medicine Hat until Colin is out of the woods for infections. Wow, our last good bye! Then we don't have to be separated for a very long time! It feels good to be in the tail-end of treatment....but kinda scarry for what's to come.....once we're not under the blanket of protection offered here by our Doctor's and nurses. I'm praying now, that we'll be prepared for this new "normal". Enough of that for now, it's day before transplant, day and God hasn't left us yet, so there's no reason to doubt Him to take care of us for all of our tomorrows!
Good Night!

Winter Wonderland?! Who came up with that?!

Good Evening! haha, oh yes, i'm writing two posts today. Life has been eventful, but it has nothing to do with Colin or his health! I know, it's kinda refreshing! heehee, Calgary got a little bit of a snow storm today, first with some rain this morning and then with a heavy blanket of thick snow, it made for a very icy, slow and messy drive to get back to the hospital tonite! It took my brother over 2 hours to get home from work today and so when Colin offered to drive to the hospital, i've never been so happy to let someone take the wheel. I am SO not a winter driver. It took us nearly an hour, and normally it takes 20-25 minutes. There were accidents EVERYWHERE and the traffic was aweful, so we hadn't even made it half way when i made my decision to just stay put at the hospital tonite. So here we are, safe and sound, having a snack and watching TV, it's nice and quiet up here on Unit 57, and the nurses working are all our favorite young one's! i'm still waiting for my pull-out bed, so now all i can do is hope i get some sleep. Colin's excited that i can finally see what he means to have the "full hospital experience". Oh boy.....wish me luck!
Pray that the roads clear up enough that mom and dad and the kids can make it up here tomorrow!
Sweet Dreams!

luv, Melissa

Pluggin' Away

Good Morning!
I can't believe it's already Friday! This week has just flown by and Colin has breezed through treatment so far. Today, it's catching up with him. We went for an hour long walk yesturday afternoon while he was out on pass again, but i think that was the last one for a little while! He's very tired today and the nausea is creeping up on him. The anti-nauseants have been managing it so far, and as long as he's not sick, we can head out for another couple hour pass again today.
So, i need to clarify about the PET scan that Colin was supposed to get. What we didn't know is that this scan is still in the research stages, so it can't be a conclusive answer for declaring remission. That being said, our Doc's have reviewed all of Colin's CT scans and Biopsies and they have enough information to conclude that in their opionions, Colin is officially in remission. In case they somehow missed something, this last chemo treatment will kill any last remnants! Praise God! Whew, i just keep exhaling, like letting a huge deep breath that i've been holding all these months. This is great news, a miracle in my mind, with how sick Colin was coming into this. We are changed people, inside and out, and in a weird way, i'm thankful to have learned the lessons i have been learning along the way. I never knew what i was capable of handling, but don't get me wrong, all by myself, i would've crumbled, this was God, He carried us every step of the way, so there's no way we can take any credit for getting through this, it was your prayers and God's ever-present provisions. I will never look at my faith or what we've been raised believing the same way again, this is not just a belief system, this is tangible evidence of a Higher Power who so desperatley loves us. WOW! How lucky are we!
So, we're just going to keep pluggin' along, taking it one day at a time. Tomorrow the kids come up and we get to spend some time with them again. Colin's planning on getting a pass to spend time with the kids when they come, so that's the plan for tomorrow anyway. Sunday is his last chemo injection, but the most potent for side-effects. The treatments will catch up to him probably next week sometime, it's very common for patients to go back into the hospital after being out on pass for the days following transplant, so we'll expect the worst and hope for the best!
That's all i have for today!

Luv, Melissa

Day 2 of the last chemos!

Today is a good day! I had my chemo in the morning and I will have it again at 8pm tonight, but in the mean time, they let me go out on pass for the afternoon. Melissa and I came back to our Calgary home, thanks Andrew and Nat, and we are just hanging out. We will go back to the hospital around 7pm.

I am on the same regiment for the next 3 days also, so if everything goes well each morning, I can go out on passes during the day. Saturday will be the biggest day to get the pass because Corban and Keegan are coming up with Glen and Sue for the weekend. Andrew and Nat's baby girl, Myla, is getting dedicated at their church on Sunday. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it as I will be getting my LAST CHEMO that morning!

Please keep praying for my energy levels to stay high and that side effects of these last chemos will be minimal, especially on Sunday as the last chemo dose can cause mouth sores again. I have been told to keep my mouth very cool by eating ice chips and slushy drinks that day to avoid getting bad sores. Thank you everyone for your continued prayers and we cherish each and everyone! My God bless you for your faithfulness.

Colin

Day 1: Almost Done!

Well, today is Day 1: Seems like it's been taking forever with everything today. When we got here at Foothills this morning, we were put in an outpatient room, just until ours was cleaned and ready. Well it was 3pm before we got to "move in" to our room up here. Then chemo didn't get started until about 330pm. Then again, we have no where else to be, so what's the rush. I guess we're both just anxious for this last "mad dash" to the finish line! It's starting to sink in that this is the end of this portion of our journey.....feels almost like we took a really intense condensed university degree, HANDS ON, on how to deal with cancer! I have learned more about the human body, and about what nurses do, than i ever thought possible, honestly they are special people, and now i'm sure that i am not meant to be one, except with my own family, heehee!
It has been getting progressively more difficult for us to leave our boys. They are settling in good with Nana and Papa, but when we call often....it's tough for Corban because it just reminds him that we're not there with him! Hold on buddy! We're almost done!
Please pray that all goes well so we can in fact be home for Christmas! That has been our one wish since we began this process!
On a lighter note, Colin is almost done day one of chemo, well, almost half done, but again, we have nowhere else to be, so hopefully the time goes fast and we can be done soon!
Honestly i never thought we'd ever get to this point.....the time has gone fast, but slow, i don't know how else to explain it, in the moment, it has been slow, but as a whole, it's been fast!

Well, i'm gonna go lay with Colin and watch the News, hopefully supper will come soon!

luv, Melissa

Back to the grind...

Well Melissa and I are back in Calgary getting ready for the last cycle of chemo. I was at the hospital today checking in with the Transplant Clinic talking to our doctor. She was just getting us prepared for what to expect during this chemo and also during and after transplant. She was very optimistic I would do very well and the transplant would go well also. We start tomorrow and for the next 6 days I endure chemo for hopefully the last time in my life!

The best news from the doctor was if all things do go well, and we will be praying they do, she would discharge me on Dec 14th and then on Dec 21st we could possibly go home for Christmas until the 29th! Please pray everything goes well so we can spend it at home with our family!

That's about all we have right now, but as the week progresses we will surely update the blog. Thank you again for your continued prayers.

Colin

Hurry, Quick!

Seems this is the only time i have to sit down today, so i might as well maximize my time and let you all know where we're at! The last few days have been a blur of getting everything ready for our return to Calgary. I'm surprised at how settled we have gotten is such a short time, it was so good to be home! Colin and Corban have been pretty much inseparable since he's been out of the hospital, and well, Keegan has his last two eye teeth to cut and then hopefully by the time my parents and friends are watching him, he'll be himself again! I'm glad he was miserable with us, and not our dearest loved ones!
Once again, we are in awe of God's timing, with everything, but just with Colin's infection and the kids being sick, and them being healthy before we was able to get home, so he didn't get sick! WOW, and that's just the part that we can see, who know's the other dangers, that God was protection him from!
How blessed we are to have such amazing people around us, honestly at every angle, we are surrounded by people with the biggest hearts and with a genuine willingness to help. We are forever grateful to each one who has blessed us!
We will make sure to update when we get back up to Calgary, and probably before we leave again. This might just be our outlet to get our feelings out. Thank you for being the listening ears, this has been our "dumping ground" throughout this process, which Colin and i are so thankful for!
ok, off to get Keegan up so we can get the rest of our busy day over with!

Happy Friday! Except to all those on shift work....i guess weekends aren't that exciting unless you luck out and get one off! i better go now, the rambling has begun!

Luv, Melissa

Some Mixing of Emotions

Where do i even begin! So much has happened in the last few days, and i wish i would've wrote sooner to break some of it up. Well, here it goes!
So, Tuesday afternoon they let Colin out of the hospital to do outpatient antibiotics once daily. That meant he was supposed to check in at the clinic every day for his meds. Thankfully, they offered to show me how to do it from home, and so we went this morning by 730am for them to show me. Blessings on my cousin who was so gracious to come over and watch the boys so we didn't have to get them up to come with us! Anyhoo, they sent us home with an IV pump, and pole (oh the sight we must have been trying to get it into our car to take home! haha). So now i'm all caught up on administering Colin's IV meds from home! They want him on these meds for another 10 days at least. So we naturally thought we would be set back another week, at least. Well today we called up to check in with our team of Doc's in Calgary and they gave us some great news! Our schedule for transplant is still the same! They believe Colin is healthy enough to continue with chemo and he'll just keep going with the antibiotics for the set amount of days. Colin is thrilled as this next round has been hanging over his head, and he really just wants to get it over with! We both just want to be done with this mess (if you can ever be done with cancer). We were happy with the plan to stay for an extra week for antibiotcs, more time with the boys is always a good thing! I'm mixed about this, i have SO much to do to get ready for this weekend's return to Calgary. I really just don't want to leave the kids. Honestly, i think it gets more and more difficult every time we have to say goodbye to them! awe, Today i just wish we could be normal, in a regular routine, with regular work and life schedules! Please don't ever take regular and routine for granted, you are luckier than you'll ever know! BUT, we still do have a chance to be home for Christmas, so that's our goal to work towards! Wherever we are, we'll be with family, so i'm happy with that!
Colin is feeling good, he's resting a lot, which is good for him, he needs to just take it easy, so he doesn't get run down! Corban isn't venturing too far from his side, poor little guy is all twisted around in this, i'm glad they're so young, i pray they don't remember any of this!
So that brings us to this evening, i think we'll make a couple cups of tea and make a homemade rendition of a london fog! (I'll give Starbucks a run for their money, heehee)

Good Night, we'll keep updating as we go!

Luv, Melissa

Tomorrow seems like the day I can go home again! I have some x-rays at 8am then the Dr said I would probably be out by noon. Another good thing is they will give me pills to take and have to only come in once a day for a shot for the infection. The antibiotics they have given me already have been working and each day I feel better and stronger. Hopefully everything will be cleared up and we will be doing the last chemo soon.

A few things have changed in our schedule in the last day also. I was supposed to get my PET scan tomorrow in Calgary but my transplant Dr wants to wait until I have had atleast a week of antibiotics so tomorrow is just a day at home! The clinic in Calgary will call when they re-book for me. I am hoping we will know middle of the week as to when we are going to be heading back up, but for now I am going to cherish the extra days at home with the boys.

It should be a fun week once I get home again and I know Corban is looking forward to me being home too. Melissa definitely is because Keegan is getting pretty busy too. Well thats about all I have right now and look forward to only one more sleep at the Medicine Hat Hospital, can't wait to get out of here.

Colin

Well, today was good, we talked with the Doc tonite, and he made us smile. Colin is doing great with the antibiotics, so coming in on an outpatient basis will be a reality for him! YEAY! He still has to get some XRay procedure done tomorrow, and a blood transfusion. Since his body has been working hard to fight this infection, it lowered all of his blood counts, so he's gonna be getting some G-CSF shots to help his immune system as well! We are still possibly looking at being behind from our original transplant schedule, but we get to spend those extra days at home, so all in all, we haven't really lost any days with the kids, so that's a blessing!

I need to catch up on some laundry and tidying up, so i should go, but i wanted you all to hear our good news!

oh ya, before i forget, Colin has his PET scan on tuesday, if you could be praying that he is indeed 100% cancer free, this is the test that confirms it for sure. They inject radioactive sugar into Colin and if there is any cancer left, it goes right to it and glows, so we know exactly what we're dealing with. Pray that there is no area that glows! We want a clean bill of health (at least cancer speaking!)

Luv, Melissa

Today was better. Colin started off pretty lonely and feeling like he was going to go crazy in his hospital room, but right now until the kids are better, he's in the safest place he can be. Thankfully, today, the kids are much better than they have been, so we're for sure on the mend! There's no sign of fever for Colin and his appetite is coming back today, too! Come Monday, we're for sure going to be exploring some passes, and making sure Colin can at least be home, and only checking in for his IV antibiotics. We'll just have to see if the Doc is on bored with our plans!
God is so faithful in taking care of our every need! My cousin, has been wonderful at watching the boys while i go up to spend some time with Colin and a good friend brought supper over to us tonite! God knows what we need, sometimes before we do, and i'm SO thankful that this has all worked out so far. I'm confident that Colin will be stable enough to come home, so he can be comfortable, and get a good night's sleep and just be around our kids. This is the only thing that will help prepare him for the chemo and transplant ahead. Other than some home-cooked meals to get his weight up!
We don't hear any more news until either tomorrow nite or Monday morning, so i'll keep you posted on what we find out!

Luv, Melissa

UGH!

Shew! This afternoon when the Doc came back to see Colin, he brought some news that we really didn't want to hear! It turn's out, it's not just a 'bug' that Colin has, but a severe infection in his intestines! By the fever and throwing up yesturday and the results of the blood cultures today, it showed the infection was already in his blood stream and if not treated, it could spread to other organs! BUT God is good, Colin is being treated and he is on isolation at the hospital, so no other germs come into contact with him....he is stable and starting to eat again. Bad news, is that the Doc wants him in the hospital here for 2 weeks on antibiotics......WHOA! That means that if the infection isn't gone by the time we are to start the next round of chemo, our transplant schedule goes out the window and everything gets pushed back. Not such a bad thing just hearing that, but to us, it means that there will no possible way we will be home for Christmas. AND our dearest Corban has a birthday that we were planning on celebrating with him while we are home, Colin might have to miss altogether! It's heartbreaking to be this close to finishing and having those plans take a different route. I am trying to find the best in this, which, as it stands, is that Colin is in the safest place he could be. Today both our boys are sick with the sniffles, and i'm glad Colin is away from those germs. We miss him so much, and Corban is really taking him being gone, really hard. He cries a lot, and makes sure that I can't go far without him.
Colin's doing ok, he's upset, but glad we caught this when we did, it's serious, but he's safe now, and in good hands! They want to do more testing and scopes on Monday and hopefully he can get stable enough to be allowed out on pass, but as it sounded today, the Doc was not comfortable with that liability, so it's going to take some persuasion, i'm not sure how far we'll get but there's always a chance.

Sorry to bring more not so great news, but we'll wait the weekend and see what next week brings. This sucks, plain and simple, but i just have to keep reminding myself that God has carried us this far, i can't stop trusting Him now, but i'm still disappointed, and tired, and crying, BUT it doesn't mean that i'm not trusting......i'm trying to 'let go and let God'.....i need to get some rest. i'll make sure the post as we have more information!
Thank you again for praying!

luv, Missy

A Sigh of Praise and Relief

As i write this, i'm crying, but not because i'm sad, but because i'm in awe at how our prayers have been heard! GOD IS SO GOOD! Colin is better today, they have his fever under control and he was able to keep lunch down! As we talked today, he feels so much better, just a bit tired. The Doctor thinks it was a nasty 'stomach bug'. With all of Colin's chemo, he has no anti-bodies built up anymore, so everything in his 28 years of being sick has been erased to a newborn state! So although he has somewhat of an immune system, he has nothing is storage to fight these 'new' germs off anymore. I'm just glad we were able to get him treated here in Medicine Hat, as far as we know, he'll have some antibiotics and then when he's able to keep things down and feeling better, i'm sure they'll let him come home! PRAISE GOD!

I have no choice but to be in a constant state of Praise to a God who has been so real, and so faithful to hear our prayers and protect Colin from anything more serious. As one comment read, this is a minor bump in the road, and we have been SO blessed to have had no illness this far. We're on the home stretch and all Colin wants is to finish our time at home, "at home". I just can almost taste the day we'll be able to come home to STAY!

Thank you for being there, to pray when we need it, for your comments to encourage us and give us peace. There is nothing more comforting than knowing, we have powerful prayers being sent up on our behalf, i've said it before, and i'll say it yet again, it's scary to think of where we would be without all of you! WE ARE FOREVER THANKFUL TO YOU ALL!

i'll make sure i write more as we get news back from our Doc's here, and i hope that the next time we post, it will be to report Colin is home, safe and sound!

The biggest Hugs of Thanks to each of you!

Luv, Melissa

Not So Great News...

I wish i didn't have to bring this news, but today, Colin has taken a turn for the worse. This morning it just came up in a matter of hours, his temperature went from 36.6 to 40.6! We quickly called our Doc's in Calgary and they told us to get to Med Hat Cancer Clinic as fast as we could. So when the Doc here saw Colin, he had to admit him, his fever was still on the rise and he had some lower abdomen pain that he couldn't ignore. So they finally found him a bed and he is there now, already having had the XRay for his abdomen, he's a little more comfortable, i have yet to hear if he's keeping anything down, he hasn't been able to all day since his fever started.

I'm glad that for now, we can stay here in town, just for the kid's sake.....please pray that it's nothing serious, that the antibiotics they have him on with TONS of IV fluids will do the trick.

We are SO not ready to cut our time at home short, so please pray that he's feeling better tomorrow, and his meds start working!
i'm not going to panic, we've come WAY too far, not to trust in The God who has carried us this far! If you could do anything to help, it would be to pray!

i'll make sure i update as i hear details!

Tomorrow is a new day, and i will be very glad to put this one to rest! Time to put the kiddo's to bed!

Lookin' like Christmas!

Wow, i can't believe we're in our second week home already! We've been up to all sorts of things, all together the four of us, of course. We can't seem to venture too far from each other these days, but we're enjoying it! We put up our Christmas Tree last nite, what a great time, a little exhausting trying to keep Keegan from taking the entire tree down several times, and then having to 'redecorate' from where the kids thought all the decorations should go! We got lots of great pictures though! We're in the middle of wrapping all our Christmas gifts now, since we have to send stuff out to BC and get everything ready for us here, just because we won't have any other time before our last round of treatment and transplant! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! WE'RE ALMOST READY FOR TRANSPLANT!
I've been printing off our blog entries and all the comments, and it occured to me, yet again, what a great support system we have around us! You all who are reading this are absoutely amazing! It still just amazes me, that you would even take the time to read this, and care enough to share in our journey this way! AND WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT YOUR PRAYERS!!!! I can't even imagine walking this road alone, so Thank you, to us, we won't ever stop saying how much we love you all for helping us through this!
So, i'm planning on BBQing some steaks with sauteed mushrooms and oinions (one of Colin's favorites), i'm trying to get as much weight on him as possible. If he has every advantage going in, this last bit of the process will be as good as we can possibly make it! I guess we just want it to go as fast as possible, at least the chemo and first few weeks of recovery, then HOME.....oh when we can be home, for good, will be the sweetest thing, i think, i've ever known! HOME!

Oh, i better go, Colin needs some help in the wrapping department!

Luv, Melissa

Morning with the boys

This morning was a fun morning, a little tiring, but it was a blast! Melissa went out with some girl friends to do a "big cook." Essentially they make different recipes, enough for 4 families that can be frozen. So I got to be at home with Corban and Keegan this morning. What didn't we do?! Well Corban and I played hockey in the basement first while Keegan climbed on the couches and ran around. Then Keegan wanted to play on the stairs so we did that. Of course playing so hard requires a snack so without Mommy being home we had chocolate at 10:30 this morning. We did share an orange after that too, so it wasn't all bad. We all watched Ice Age after snack time. Lunch came next without Melissa, I never do lunch for the boys, but I had leftovers and the kids at sandwiches. I put Keegan to bed after for his nap, now Corban is playing games on the laptop and I am taking a nice little break for myself. All you stay at home moms, you are amazing, I know Melissa is for sure! The energy the boys require is astounding and I don't have too much right now but its coming.

That's been my day with Corban and Keegan so far. I am doing well. I have a little scar where the line was in my neck but I don't need bandages to cover it anymore. I am lifting Keegan again but not Corban.

It is so nice to be at home again and I look forward to the next couple weeks here before we head back for the last round of chemo. I am not sure when the next post will be but we'll keep you in the loop of any changes or exciting events in our lives.

Colin

Life at home

Hello everyone, this Colin writing you from HOME! Yup that's right, Medicine Hat, Alberta. Melissa and I arrived home today around 1:30 to lots of hugs from Corban! Keegan was napping and when he woke up we went into his room and he just stared at us for a minute, then got really excited. Melissa was holding him and I think it really hit him that we were home and he started to cry and snuggle right into Melissa. After he calmed down Melissa set him on the floor and he immediately ran over to me and cuddled into me! It was awesome, got home and big hugs from Corban and Keegan.

Because of my IJ line that was in my neck for the stem cell harvest, I cannot pick up the kids or anything over 10lbs for a few days. Today Keegan kept coming to me smiling really big with his arms out stretched but I couldn't pick him up. I just knelt down and let him hug me! Corban I watched some cartoons tonight and he asked me to sit with him because I keep him warm!

Its so nice to be home for almost 3 weeks now then my FINAL chemo and then stem cell transplant. We are excited and cannot believe we are 3/4 of the way through! Thank you everyone for your prayers and support! God has truly answered our prayers so far. Please continue to pray for health for all of us during this flu season and for a great time at home with family.

Colin

Whew! Seriously, what a whirlwind! So last i left off, when we had about 277 million, and our nurse was gracious enough to stay late, all the math pointed that we'd have just enough cells and be finished today, well 4pm came around and the Doc said enough, so the nurse took her time and gathered the last sample.....our previous count had just came in and it was 306 million. ugh! We were SO close, and the nurse said we'd just have to wait for the final sample. BUT the lab said it wasn't protocol and that we had to wait until morning. Then the team of Doc's started to talk and decided that we needed another day for harvest! ARE YOU SERIOUS?! We were both SO disappointed, that right there in front of everyone, we burst into tears. So close to getting to go home, and then we had to wait! So we got packed up and thanked our nurses for staying so much later than usual, and went back upstairs for another night. We cried some more, and then called the boys and they made us smile......then out of nowhere, our Doc came back in our room, with all the supplies to pull out Colin's IJ line from his neck (this is where they hooked him up to harvest the stem cells). WHAT?!?! She said, they've called the lab, ran the test and the final count is over 400 million!!!!!!!!!! PRAISE JESUS! we needed 350 million! AHHHHHHH.......i had to ask her to double check, just in case it was a sick joke! But she laughed and said that everyone saw how badly we missed our kids and wanted to make it happen.....Well i can tell you who made it happen, Our Mighty Doc in the sky, that's who! It was your prayers, nothing short of a miracle made this happen, and we have you all to thank for praying and getting us home tomorrow morning! HOW AWESOME IS THAT!
So, now Colin's laying in his bed with a 5 pound weight on his neck, because they don't actually stitch the vein back up after taking the line out of it, i guess it's just supposed to heal itself, we're waiting a certain amount of time, to stop the bleeding and get the air-tight bandages on, then to sleep, and after the early morning blood work, WE GO HOME!!!!!!!

It's been a really long day, but i learned a lot, the most amazing people, are the people who are SO unselfish to care about someone else, and go that extra mile, our nurse actually came up when she heard the great news, so we hugged her and thanked her again! One thing i will take away from this, is patience......whoa, it's an ugly one to learn, but we getting there. i'll never master it, but God's grace is good! It fills in the cracks where i come up short!

With that, i need to end this long day with a hot cup of soup and a good night sleep!

i'm sure we'll be in touch to tell you how good being at home feels!
until then, HUGS to you and thanks again for walking with us today and each day of our journey!

Luv, Melissa

That last number that we got back was definitely off, cuz this last number we got was that we have about 270 million cells so far.....this is good, these nurses are AWESOME, they are doing everything possible to get us out of here today, bending every rule.....With consent from the Supervising nurse, of course! They all want us to go home to be with our boys, and we are so grateful for their doing everything possible to get us there, we're going to be close, i'm confident we can do it! i'm going to start rolling Colin up from his toes, to squeeze every last free stem cell out of him!

I guess this last number that came back from the lab was really disheartening! In the last few hours, there was only another 33 million stem cells collected, with those kinda of numbers, we'll never make it all in one day.......the nurses aren't happy with the specific lab that is staining these samples, but i guess this one was tested again, so we just have to keep praying that there are WAY more collected in the next few hours!

Ok, so i know God's hearing our prayers, because we just got the second round of counts back and they're actually higher than they estimated, which surprised the nurse, so we're hopeful, but we need the keep praying! it's going to be a long day, they are talking that our nurse will have to stay for some overtime to get Colin done today, but i think they're doing everything they can to get us home for tomorrow! i'll keep ya posted as we find out more! 350 million stem cells is the magical number, the count so far is 153 million.......keep praying!

The Big Day!

Hi, i'm writing this from the 4th floor at the hospital this morning! I am excited to say that they've been harvesting Colin's stem cells today from about 9am this morning! We are just waiting here now, to see how many stem cells they've been able to get so far and if they can get what they need today, or if we have to do another harvest tomorrow. Please pray that they get what they need today! It's going good so far, kinda boring, but i've taken some pictures of the machine and how it's all hooked up as well as the actual bag of stem cells! It's pretty cool! Whoever invented this whole thing, is brilliant!
Anyhoo, i'll post with more details in a little bit!

Melissa

oh wait, we are just talking to the nurses now and things are looking pretty tight.......please, please pray that his levels stay high enough to get the cells TODAY! Based on what counts they've just gotten back, if things keep up, they'll be exactly what they need, but that's in a perfect world! So please pray that somehow his levels come up more, the nurses faces aren't so hopeful, but we just need to get home to our boys, so we're trusting God to get this done ASAP!

Not the news we wanted to hear, but now we're praying like crazy that the next sample will show some improvement!

This morning was a busy morning for me. I had blood taken at 3 am for my cell counts and my white cells were up to 10.8, unfortunately the nurse didn't take blood for my stem cell counts. I was then woken up at 6 am for another G-CSF and at 8:30 I had my IJ line put in my neck. They finally took blood for my stem cell count at about 9:30 and when it came back my count was not high enough to harvest today, so we wait until tomorrow.

I did have 2 units of red cells this morning because it was not high enough for harvest either. Hopefully they stay high enough for tomorrow and continue to climb like everything else. I know the G-CSF shots are working because between blood work at 3 am and then again at 9:30 I jumped from 10.8 to 15.4! My stem cell count was 27 and needs to climb to at least 35 which it should do with everything else going up. I get another shot tonight and again tomorrow morning.

Other then that, Melissa and I are hanging out in my room at the hospital. When I found out about not being able to collect today, I was very disappointed. I just want to go home and see Corban and Keegan again and be a family in our own home. I know I only have about 3 more weeks in the hospital with 1 more cycle of chemo, then its all about recovery!

Those months before I go back to work are going to be so special for our family. We haven't been at home all together for more then a couple weeks since April!

Hi, it's Melissa here, that last part above was from Colin, and i know i thought i would finish, seeing as he's exhausted and fast asleep right now! We are disappointed about not being able to go home tomorrow, but, God has shown us that His timing is perfect. Though we may not understand, we know and we trust, God's impecible timing! His protection has also come to mind.....who knows, maybe He's protecting Colin from someone who is sick, so he doesn't get sick! It sucks, but we've come way too far with God's provision to give in to worry and stressing over things that God is taking care of! We just miss our kids! I just can't wait to go home, and watch cartoons in our bed with the boys! Soon enough, i know!

Keep praying that things can go ahead for harvest tomorrow! I'll make sure to take some video and pictures, it's a really neat procedure!

ok, i better go!

Colin and Melissa :)

So today, we really need your prayers! Colin has to go back to the hospital for the night tonite around 6pm......what we're waiting on are his levels to get to where they need to be for the stem cell harvest....yesturday when we checked in, they still weren't there. BUT they were started to rise, and Colin has bone pain today, so i guess that's a good sign! They make the final decision tomorrow after blood work in the morning! I told the Doc's that we'll be home to put the boys to bed on Tuesday night, and i meant it, so now we gotta trust God is going to shoot those cell counts to where they belong for a good strong harvest!
Thanks for standing with us in Prayer! Have a great 1st day of November!

luv, Melissa

p.s. i'll make sure i post as soon as i know where things are at tomorrow morning!

Today is a good day!

Well I am one day closer to stem cell harvest which means one day closer to going home to be with my boys! We went to check in this morning a little later then usual, for reasons I will get to, and my cell counts are now on their way up!

The reason we were later getting to the hospital today was, Melissa went to get her H1N1 shot this morning after trying 3 other times this week. She was up at 5 am and was at the vaccination site at 5:45. She had to grab a Timmy's so early in the morning. Even being there so early there were about 100 people ahead of her and then when the rest of the families showed up there was probably 300 people ahead of her. She had some nice families around her so she had some good conversation with people. Melissa did wear a mask though because she cannot risk getting sick now because we are so close to being done. She said she had some weird looks from people probably thinking she was sick, but they have no idea our situation right now.

It actually ended up our transplant doctor was right in front of Melissa in line so she got to talk to her about H1N1 and our situation. I know some of you are thinking right now, "here goes another rant about the vaccine," but this comes from my doctor and her husband who is a microbiologist and works with vaccines. Our doctor told Melissa and I am sure she will reiterate this to us closer to transplant and afterwards, to be really careful about who we are around. Her advice was to not be around anyone who is NOT vaccinated for H1N1. This will go even for 4 months after my transplant because my body still will have to build up my immune system. I am so susecptible to getting sick, fever, infections, it ridiculous. As my cell counts return to normal my body will able to fight those things but its going to be like I am a new born child again rebuilding all my immunities I had built up over the past 28, almost 29 years! So if I can say anything to everyone out there, please get immunized for my sake and all of those around you, eventhough you don't think you'll get sick and if you do, your body will most likely fight it off, but please remember not everyone around you will be able to fight this flu!

Enough about that. Today I feel good and am getting excited about my stem cell harvest. It should be a fun day hanging out with Melissa! I am so greatful for all the time we have had together through this getting to know each other more and more. I know our marriage will be even stronger and we will be better parents. I am a little nervous though just because I am human, but I trust the doctors and nurses, plus I have God on my side! He will ultimately keep me safe and walk with me through the remainder of this journey as He has so far!

Please continue to pray for us and that I am protected from sickness as I have to stay in the hospital tomorrow night, Monday to Tuesday. Thank you again for your continued prayers.

Colin

After another long day, we're at our Calgary home and just relaxing. I've had a "missing our boys really bad" kind of day today. So tonite when we got home, we called and talked to Corban and him and I just cried together because we missed each other so much. I'm angry at all the time we've had to spend away from them. I never dreamed that when our kids are so young that we would have to leave them for extended periods like this. I just wish there were some way to keep our family all together all the time, but unfortunately, life just doesn't work like that. I just miss holding and cuddling my boys and how they make us smile all the time! Today, i'm SO jealous of our family and friends who get to love them 'in person'! I know they're in good hands and that my parents are very good cuddler's, but it's just hard not to be there to wipe their tears and tuck them into bed!
Anyway, God has something bigger than us in store here, and i'm just praying that the time we do have together is just that much more amazing, and i'm sure we'll make up for this time that we've missed when this is all over. It's just hard for me to see the other side on days like today.
Hope you don't mind my unloading, just what we're dealing with today.

Colin had his second hemaglobin transfusion, another two units, so hopefully he'll start to stabalize and his marrow starts responding to the G-CSF shots. Please pray that the harvest takes place Monday and that we can be home putting our boys in their own beds by tuesday night! That's what i'm dreaming of right now!

I'm gonna go get ready for bed now!
Good Night!

Luv, Melissa

Another check in day

This morning Melissa and I again are at the Foothills hospital for blood work and a G-CSF shot. We also had a meeting with the Apheresis nurse about my stem cell collection next week. It is amazing what modern medicine can do and how blood can be seperated to collect the cells. We will update when it will be but we are hoping it is Monday so we can go home to Medicine Hat sooner then later!

Lastnight Melissa gave me my G-CSF shot at home and she was actually better at it then some of the nurses who have given it to me previously. I am greatful for an amazing wife who is willing to do everything she possibly can do so we don't have to come to the hospital so much. We asked today to get enough shots for a couple days so we don't have to keep checking in everyday. Its about 25-40 minutes to drive to the hospital everyday.

We are just waiting my blood counts for this morning and hopefully I don't need another transfusion today so we can go home and rest.

Hope everyone has a great day and may the Lord bless you all!

Colin

At It Again

Well, today we're up here at the hospital again. Colin will most likely need a platlet transfusion today. Good thing is that it only takes about 20-30 minutes. Unlike yesturday, we spend almost 11hours at the hospital. Colin needed a transfusion of hemaglobin, which lasts 6-7 hours.....when the nurse started the blood drip, Colin began coughing really bad and then he said that his throat felt funny and that it was kinda hard to breath because he was coughing so bad, and then he started throwing up......so they stopped the transfusion and quickly got him some gravol and benadryl. I guess the more tranfusions you get the more likely you are to have an adverse reaction. So they didn't get back started again until after 330pm. Let's just say it was an extremely long day!
This morning i tried to go brave the long line-ups to get the H1N1 vaccine, but with no luck, the security guard was on the phone and i overheard him saying that the lines would be about 6-8 hours of waiting! It's important to get this done, but i clearly don't have that kind of time......i just haven't seen so many people waiting like that before. It makes me so happy i live in Medicine Hat, less people equals less lines! I'm going to ask up here at the hospital if i can get it done with the nursing staff, they're in the middle of doing it now and i'm going to hopefully sneak in today!!!!!
ok, so things are going good, Colin's feeling good, aside from the occasional nose bleed which is nothing a little platlets can't fix!
My nursing resume is going to grow tomorrow, they're teaching me how to give the G-csf shots, i'm pumped, there's nothing like helping out! Then we don't have to come back to hospital so much!!! Colin's a little nervous but i have the utmost confidence! heehee :)

ok, wish us luck! haha
Have a great day!

Tearful goodbye

Well today was a tough day because Corban and Keegan went home to Medicine Hat to spend the week with Nana and Papa. Corban, Melissa and I had a good long cry together before they left but as soon as the movie started in car, Corban was ok. Keegan just thought he was going for a car ride. It was really hard to say see you later to the boys because we have been together for almost a month with them! I hate having to leave them even though I know in a week I will be at home.

It's a good thing they are not here this week because everyday but Tuesday, Melissa and I have to go to the hospital. Monday is my check in day for blood work, then the rest of the week I have to get G-CSF shots to boost my stem cell counts before the collection next Monday, Nov 2. The doctor was saying I get 2 shots a day so they are going to show Melissa how to give the shots, so we only have to go in the mornings and she will give the other shot at night. Maybe Melissa missed her calling and should have been a nurse because she is a great care taker and I am so blessed to have her as my wife!

I am doing well these days. I know my cell counts are close to bottoming out right now because how my body feels. I walk up the stairs and need to sit down when I get to the top. It's kind of frustrating because before I got diagnosed, I could run for an hour and still have lots left to work out. I know I will be back at that point eventually once I can start running and working out again, but for now this is what I have to deal with and I just take it easy.

Please pray for this week to go quick and the stem cell collection to only take one day. Also for Corban and Keegan who are at home with Glen and Sue for this week that they don't miss us too much or more so that we don't miss them too much. Thank you all for your continued support and prayers!

Colin

Trip to the park!

Today was a great day! Corban and I went for a walk this afternoon to a park close to Andy and Nat's place. Corban kept a good pace for me so that was nice. He actually told me to slow down because I was going to fast for him. It was about 15 minutes to the park which was a block over and then Corban played for about 30 minutes, up and down the slide, running around! I am so blessed to have an awesome son like him! We had a great talk while we were walking too. He is so smart it boggles my mind sometimes. We talked about airplanes because we are close to the airport, about Daddy coming home soon for good because Jesus healed me and also about getting ready to go back to work once I am cleared. Corban wants to come with me to the police station to workout and see my "pinker," which is my gun. He saw Fox and the Hound and Corban has always called guns, "pinkers." We haven't really felt a need to correct him yet he's pretty young.

Tomorrow I go back to the hospital for blood work so hopefully only about an hour or so. I feel good today and I am sure I won't need any transfusions. We are probably going to have to check in again on Sunday but it won't be until the boys head home to the Hat with Glen and Sue. They will only be at home for over a week then Melissa and I will be home after my stem cell collection which is hopefully Nov 2. After that we should be home until Nov 21 minus a day that I have a dentist appointment in Calgary on Nov 9. I am going to see if I can drive myself that day because it would be nice for Melissa to be able to stay at home with the boys. If I cannot drive, it might be a family day trip.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support! Please continue to be praying for us and our family as we travel back and forth to Foothills Hospital and also to and from Medicine Hat. We love you all, be blessed!

Colin

So tired....

Some Good News today, Colin actually slept through the night last night. I feel like i'm talking about our kids or something....he's just finishing up chemo right now and he's been sleeping for most of the morning. I think his body just has nothing left to give....he hardly could make it into the hospital this morning, we had to stop and sit down a few times along the way. We thought his levels were low but they are good, just a rough side-effect from this round of chemo, he's being hit pretty hard, but still not throwing up, so i'm praying he can stay that way!
Other than that, we're headed out on pass again, until, i'm not sure when, Doc has yet to determine when the next check in will be, i'm sure in a couple days.
We're tired, but having the kids here is good. Just shy of two weeks and we should be home, so we're excited for that! I'm hoping next week without the kids, Colin can rest and bounce back from this extreme fatigue, it comes in time, that's the hardest part!
Anyways, that's all i have report today!

Melissa

Hey Guys, i just have to make this quick cuz it's gettin' to be bedtime around here, and i've got lots to do before the kiddies hit the hay!
Update on how Colin's feeling is, well, to be honest he's feeling really crappy! He's nauseous, but the blessing is that he's not yet throwing up but he's not sleeping good and he's just SO exhausted. To climb the stairs is taking every ounce of strength he has, so i'm praying he gets a much needed good sleep tonite and then it's off the hospital bright and early to get an hour of chemo and to see what his blood counts are at. i hope he starts feeling better soon!

I'll write more tomorrow!

Luv, Melissa

Family Time!

Hi All!
I just wanted to let you know what has been happening since the last you heard from us. Colin came out on pass today (only to stay 'in Calgary' until after cell harvest Nov. 2nd). He's very tired and the Doc's have said with this cycle of chemo, severe nausea comes after the chemo is over. So, with that being said, we're praying that the next few days aren't full of nausea and that Colin can rest and be comfortable for his time out.
Colin's parents left today, but we were able to spend the entire day with them at Andy and Nat's place, so we could all be together for at least a few hours to catch up and hang out!
We have some appointments for Colin this week, and 1 hour of chemo on Wednesday that he still has to do, but other than the usual checking in for blood work, he'll be out on pass until the harvesting happens! At least now, he can have a good sleep and rest comfortably and still be able to see the kids play and laugh (like they're doing right now, in the bath tub)
Please pray that this week with the kids is good and that Colin is well, that no nausea or sickness puts him back in the hospital. A funny side effect that we're just finding out now, is post-chemo hiccups~Colin sure has a bad case of those. I guess they're said to last for the duration the chemo lasted, so for the next couple days, the hiccups will be on and off.......funny but a little frustrating for Colin. I read everything from pulling your tongue, to burping, to taking anti-acids (which has helped so far), so i hope he can get to sleep good tonite and have a good long sleep without any interruptions!
i'll keep you posted on how the week goes, and let you know how Colin is feeling as the days go on!

Thanks for reading and praying!

Luv, Melissa

Day 2 done!

Hi everyone, Colin here. Day 2 of chemo is done and one more day tomorrow. Sunday I should be out on pass already for a few days atleast. I will probably have to come and check in every couple days but as long as I can sleep at home then I am happy.

Today Mom and Dad came to Calgary to visit us, Melissa came with the boys to the hospital this afternoon so we could all be together. Drew and Lara were in town too so they came up to the hospital to see us as well.

I just wanted to write to let everyone know I am doing well so far with this chemo, even though I did feel nauseated yesterday for a while. Tomorrow should be a good day then Sunday morning I hopefully will be going home (in Calgary) for a few days. Mom and Dad don't leave until after supper so they can stay and play with the boys for a while.

Thank you everyone again for your amazing prayers! Please continue to pray for us as we still are not finished the entire treatment yet. The last chemo before my transplant is the heaviest chemo I will get so I will be needing prayer then too. From now to then a big prayer request would be health during the times I am low in my blood cell counts for me and for those who are around me everyday. We treasure your prayers and thoughts, and you may never know what all this support has meant to us. Thank you!

Colin

So, i'm just getting ready to head back to be with the boys for the evening, just wanted to let you know that Colin's chemo is done for the day but he's now starting to feel side effects. He's VERY puffy and really tired, and if he gets up, he's feeling pretty nauseous as well. Pray he has a good sleep tonite and that medications can relieve his symptoms!
i'll update more tomorrow!

Still Sinking In

Hello All!
Today i think, we're both still in shock from our great news yesturday! Colin keeps confirming with each Doc that comes in, if his marrow is clear and if there are any other signs of cancer. Our transplant Doc came in today and she said they can't quite say that Colin's in remission yet, but they are very hopeful that with the PET scan test still having to be done, it will only confirm that there FOR SURE is no cancer! She told him that he's in the most perfect position for transplant and the last half of treatment. This part of the process will only be insurance that the cancer won't come back. The fact that Colin's marrow is clean, is so awesome for transplant that they won't be reinjecting any cancer cells back into his body!

Today i came up and Colin has been eating almost non-stop.....he's laughing and being a "funny-guy" (or at least trying to be, heehee). He's retaining a lot of fluid which always happens when he goes back on chemo after a break period. He's wanting to get up and walk and keep active and he's planning to be out on pass by Sunday already, so if he keeps this positive, he's gonna breeze through this cycle of chemo! Pray for his strength to stay, and for limited side-effects.

Just wanna thank you again for praying, and to keep us covered in prayer throughout this entire process, some people hear 'no cancer' and figure we're done, but our road is still long but we have renewed strength and hope for Colin's FULL RECOVERY into remission and then after 5 years to be CURED! Pray for his cure rate, and that he can continue to stay healthy and strong and have many more happy healthy years ahead of him!

I should go get some lunch, talk to you all soon!

love, Melissa

Great News!

Thanks to all your prayers, we have just heard from our Doctors and THERE IS NO SIGNS OF CANCER ANYWHERE IN COLIN!!!!!!! God has heard our prayers and answered them! We were really hoping that we would get this news, so the chemo that will be done from now on, will only make sure that the cancer will never come back! PRAISE GOD!!!!!
Colin's weight is up and we're really excited, even though he has to be doing chemo for the next few days......He's got his game face on and we're just looking to the next time he gets to come out on passes!
Besides the huge amount of snow here in Calgary, we got here safe and the roads were not so bad for travel so that was a blessing as well!
We're actually just hanging out in the lounge up on Unit 57, they are still getting Colin's room ready, so we haven't fully seen and talked to our Doc yet, but she did come and make sure we knew that there was NO CANCER!!!!!
That's all i have to report right now, but if it weren't for your prayer support, we wouldn't have never gotten this news! Please keep praying that the cancer is gone forever, and that these next rounds of chemo go ok for Colin.
We thank you so much and most importantly we Praise our Powerful God for His protection and healing!
i'll update as we hear more!

BIG HAPPY HUGS to you all!

Off We Go!

Hello,
It's been what seems like a long time since we've updated so here's the scoop. We're packed and ready to head back up to Calgary, this time we have the boys with us! It makes it easier to leave, having everyone in toe, so there's no goodbyes for our boys! Our Thanksgiving here at home was AMAZING, thanks to my mom's awesome cooking and having Colin's Brother and his wife stay for the weekend! Great times, and so good to see family!
I'm so happy to report that my cold along with Corban and Keegan's colds are pretty much gone and Colin didn't catch a single thing! YEAY! Praise God, He has been faithful to take care of Colin and protect him from any germs that may have made him very sick! Thank you for your prayers of protection! We're headed tomorrow to get me and kids flu shots and we'll deal with the H1N1 shots later......it's scary this year with these crazy flu bugs going around, continue to pray that we will be protected from anything that could harm Colin's transplant schedule and recovery time!
SO this is the second half of our journey, we'll be getting results back from the marrow biopsy this week, so you can pray for the cancer to be gone from his marrow as well!
I know we've vaguely explained the transplant stuff coming up.....right now, Colin will go back into the hospital on Wednesday and have a half chemo treatment already that night and then 3 more days of 6-7 hours of chemo each of those days. Then they prepare him for harvesting his stem cells, so pray that his body responds well with treatment and that he can bounce back quickly after he's finished this round!
I will be with the boys for the most part and Colin's parents are coming up this next weekend, so that's the plan for the next few days!
Thank you for still reading and keep us in your prayers! We are truly blessed to have you helping us in this way! This Thanksgiving was an emotional one. We are so thankful to be under one roof as a family, to have my husband beside me, for modern medicine, to have my brother and Nat and their house to live at and draw support from them, while we're in Calgary, for my parents and Steph (my cousin) who have been so awesome at keeping the boys while we've been gone, for our friends who have also taken days to watch the kids and care for them while my parents are at work! To those of you who have helped financially to make up the extra costs in going back and forth to Calgary. You have no idea how God has used you all to get us through this difficult time in our lives, May God Richly Bless you all for how you've blessed us!

Home again!

Well my hip doesn't hurt like it did the first time I had a bone marrow biopsy, except they used what seemed like medical duct tape to keep the gauze in place over the opening. Either way I guess I was a riot for the people in room, next time I might sell tickets to my performance. Melissa showed me a video she took of me trying to spell bone marrow with my hands, I was so sedated and you can tell because I had no coordination at all.

Yesterday was a test filled day for the transplant clinic doctors so they could get a reading of how healthy I am and if I would be able to go through with the transplant. From meeting with the doc at the end of the day, she didn't have any issues with proceeding. She said my CT scan showed improvements over the last one which was done before I started treatments and the MRI was completely clear.

Now we are home until the 13th and the 14th I go back in for the next round of chemo. Corban and Keegan are coming with us to Calgary and they will stay with Melissa at Andrew and Natalie's place. We are hoping to get passes right away after my 3 days of chemo so I can with the kids. When we go back in on the 14th we will get my bone marrow results, so please keep praying the cancer is gone from my body and I can focus competely on the transplant. The doctor yesterday said when I went into Foothills my bone marrow was 95% cancer cells. She was optimistic they less then 20% now, but I believe it is almost gone if not comlpetely gone!

Today is a lazy day at home with the family. I am masked up still because Corban and Keegan have the sniffles and are sneezing, so I am just taking the extra precaution so I don't get sick. My cell counts were up again yesterday so I am able to fight colds and infections, but I don't really want to risk pushing back any treatment in the future. Yesterday driving home I told Melissa I feel like I want to start the next treatment already to get them over with, but I also want to be at home. It seems like quite some time since my last chemo and I just want to be done and be at home recovering, getting ready to go back to work.

Its seems like a long time still until I can be at home again for good, but also know it will probably go by fast because everything has gone by so quick so far. Anyways, keep praying for us that we can all stay healthy. Also this weekend my brother and his wife, Kris and Jennie are coming for Thanksgiving and as well Andrew and Nat and kids are coming too, pray they drive safely.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving, because I know I am going too and I have so much to be thankful for this year! If you think you cannot find anything to be thankful for, remember the little things in life that always get over looked: health, our homes, food, friends, family, being happy, modern medicine. Remember this one thing when you wake up every morning and your days will be alot better, my days through this have been better because of it, always choose JOY! When you get ready in the morning for your day, just think to yourself, I am going to have a good day and be JOYFUL!

Be blessed and Happy Thanksgiving!

Colin

A Good Laugh!

So, today has been quite eventful and very funny! So the Doc came in this morning around 11am for Colin's bone marrow biopsy, which he has been dreading since the beginning! He was obviously sedated for this one, which was the most funny part about the whole thing. I always ask to stay in the room during the procedure and today was no different, but the Doc actually let me take some pictures while he was doing the biopsy! (Call me crazy, but it was really cool to see!) Colin is always so forgetful about events when he gets sedated so i thought i'd take some pics and some video of him talking away to whoever would listen! I think i'm still wiping tears from laughing so hard! He's finally sleeping now, after i had to physically make him stay laying down.....he kept thinking we were going straight to the car to go home, but first i had to take him for ice cream! lol
To let you know how the procedure went today, FAST! Like less than 10 minutes! Colin kept asking me when the Doc was coming in, but truth be told, the Doc was already done and gone! Colin won't remember a thing, so i'm glad for that, and he gave everyone in the room a pretty good laugh, so all in all, it's gonna be a good day. They were able to get both a bone and a liquid sample which, the last one that was done before our diagnosis, there was nothing but tough bone, which explained his cancer.
Tomorrow will be busy but we are hoping when we come back on the 14th for treatment, that we'll be going in with a clean slate......no cancer. We don't have any tests back yet, but please keep praying for the cancer to be all gone!
The kids are just coming down with the cold that has been going around, so please say a prayer that Colin keeps healthy and feels great! By nothing short of a miracle, he's managed to keep healthy so far, so we're very thankful! He's putting on weight and very excited for Thanksgiving dinner (we have a whole lot to be thankful for this year!).
Anyways, this will be a quick 2 day trip and then back HOME!!!!
i'll update when we get to Medicine Hat!

Luv, Melissa

So, i'm happy to report that i'm typing this from HOME in Medicine Hat! Third time was a charm for the Doc.....he finally gave in to our constant begging to go home. Colin's cell levels were safe enough to come home until Tuesday. We leave Tuesday morning at 6am to go back up to the hospital for more testing, just for tuesday and wednesday and then we're coming back home for a whole week! Unfortunately, i've come down with a touch of a cold, so we're masked up and i'm cleaning to high heaven making sure i don't pass on my germs, not when we're already home and coming back for Thanksgiving! Please pray that i can get over this without giving it to Colin or the boys! This time of year sucks, especially when you have a cancer patient in the house! YIKES! But, God is keeping Colin safe, and he feels great so far, so we're very thankful for that! The kids are good as well, and Corban almost started to cry when we surprised him last night at Mom and Dad's house! It is so good to see our kids, God knew how much we needed to be at home and be together and we are so blessed to have the time that we do, to be here at home!
Anyhoo, i just wanted to let you know the good news and to thank you for covering us in prayer so far......the second half is fast approaching, and i pray it goes as fast as the first half has!
For right now, it's so good to be home!

luv, Melissa

The Testing Begins...

Hey Everyone!
We're here again at the hospital, Colin is just waiting to have an MRI done on his brain, as well as a CT scan today. I know that you all are already praying, but i have to ask to pray extra for Colin's cancer to be GONE completely.....and that all these tests today and on wednesday Oct 7th to be clear for no cancer. We are believing and praying that God got rid of all of Colin's cancer already using the chemo treatments and the fervent prayer he's already had. We'll let you know as soon as we get all the results back!
Unfortunately, Andy and Nat and they're kids are all sick so we're going to be staying with some other family friends that live here in Calgary. We are so thankful for their hospitality, in letting us stay in their home! We are going to hold off on bringing the kids up, until we know everyone is healthy. What we are actually praying for right now, is that we would get to come home for the weekend until Colin has to come in for more testing next week. We've had our hopes up before on this issue, and our plans fell through, so we're not holding our breath to be able to come home.......we just miss our boys SO much and we're both SO homesick to just be in our own home together as a family!
Today, we wait.......again.......i'll be in touch as soon as we have more details, but until then, please pray that the cancer is GONE!

Thanks guys, Don't know what we'd do without you all!

luv, Melissa (Colin says Hi behind me!)