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!)