Susan's Journey

Happy 41st Birthday Susie!

2010-07-05T14:29:00.002-05:00

Today our beautiful sister Susie would have been 41 years old...she absolutely LOVEd her birthday with child-like delight and everyone always made sure she had a big delicious bday cake to mark the occasion! I know sooo many of you miss her, she was such an amazing person....I thank God everyday for the gift her life was to me and so many others. Thanks for your notes and emails as the two year mark rolled around and now Sue's birthday. We will miss her and remember her with so many many amazing memories....We LOVE you Sue, today and always!

Two Years....

2010-06-18T23:00:00.003-05:00

I cannot believe two years has gone by since our beloved sister, daughter, wife, auntie has passed from this world to eternity. So many prayers & tears, so much hope and loss. Thanks for those of who remembered today was the 2nd anniversary of Susie's death to breast cancer. Those of us whose lives she touched and made such a difference will never be same, but it is true, as time goes you learn to live with the *new reality* of a life without Sue...never the same, the sky is never as blue, the sun never as sunny...but Sue will forever and ever live in my heart and memory. I am so thankful for the gift her life was and the way she touched my life. I will miss and love you Sue!!

A Breast Cancer Memorial Fund thru Susan G Komen in Sue's Name

2009-10-03T18:56:00.005-05:00

As many of you know October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. I set up a Memorial Fund through Susan G Komen in Sue's name to raise funds for breast cancer research honoring Sue's name & memory! I will post the link below and our goal is to raise $2,000.00 this month!! Thanks for all your donations in the past and I hope this message finds you all doing well despite the economic crisis and health scares!! Have a beautiful fall & I continue to think of all as I remember my sister Sue many times daily and the impact you all had on her life!

http://www.info-komen.org/goto/susanfrangosm

xxoo Kaylee

My dad's note

2009-10-03T18:42:00.006-05:00

A Poem of Loss…

Just for a moment we held in our hands a gift so precious, so rare.

Just for a moment we beheld with our eyes her face so lovely, so fair.

Just for a moment her sensitive touch; just for a moment Her lyrical songs;

Just for a moment she really was here. With us, where she belongs.

Just for a moment we heard with our ears her laughter thrilling the air.

The echoes are lingering still; They always will.

Now, just for a moment she lives in our hearts cherished with tenderest care.

For as long as we live, for as long as we love, she will always be there.

I received this poem from a letter called the Lifeline that my daughter kaylees church sends out daily.

It touch my heart very deeply and is so beautiful and describes my feelings for my lovely Susan. I

hope you find this as beautiful as I have. Best personal regards to all of Sues friends and work partners,

I think of you everyday and thank you for all your kindness.

Doug

Happy 40th Birthday Susie!

2009-07-05T02:37:00.003-05:00

I can not sleep and I lit a candle for Sue at midnight. She would have been 40 today...our big joke always was when she was 40 I would almost be 50 (well I am 46!!) but close enough! We always said we would never be that old, but I never imagined my life without Susie....and it is challenging for sure. She could make you think all was well and everything would be ok and I miss that. Anyway, happy Susie in Heaven!! Just know your big sister got you your fave bday cake today and that I am eating it in your honor! Love you and miss you forever and ever...Kaylee

Please Share Your Favorite Memory of Sue!!

2009-06-18T10:51:00.002-05:00

Greetings- I also thought on this one year, it would be nice to share our favorite memories of Sue!! I am in the process of turning this blog into a book, and thought that would be fun to have in it!! Thanks and I hope all of you who have loved, prayed for and cared about Sue are all doing great. Bless You all. Kaylee

One My Favorite Memories of Sue:

Susie always liked to play little tricks and jokes on her fave people, and one of her favorite things to do to ME was to send my kids things she knew would freak me out!! The last thing she did was for Alex's birthday, she came across a man selling alligators (dried) and alligator heads, very homedone taxidermy, and she bought a head, wrapped it up and sent it to Alex for his bday, he opened his package excitedly as it was rom Sue and he knew it would be different and special, and it sure WAS!! It stunk, and as he unwrapped a real alligator head, he was sooooo happy, I couldnt believe it!! I was so mad!! HAHAHA, thinking about it now makes me laugh again!! She knew I would be and that Alex would love it so much I would have to let him have the bacteria ridden smelly head!! I miss those surprise packages....

ONE YEAR....

2009-06-18T01:46:00.002-05:00

Greetings Everyone..

I am staying up tonite late in honor of Sue;s death one year ago....I have lit a candle in her honor and said a prayer foe her as I do so many times daily since she has passed. I thank you so much for all of your care, thoughts, cards and messages over the course of the last year and now....it has really made a difference to know how special Sue was to YOU!!

I have learned so much in the last year it is hard to put into words...but I will try!

1. People are your treasure, not your job, home, cool purse etc..

2. This has given me newfound empathy I already thought I had but didnt til understood how the loss of someone significant impacts your life..

3. Thankfulness in the face of great loss.... that is what has sustained me, finding something daily to thank God for!! And I have....

4. Family/Friends.....we all cannot by with the hard times without them, so thank you one and all...

I still miss my little Susie more than ever, I just have grown used to the hole in heart as a result of her passing. I am eternally grateful to everyone for all of your love & support! I pray for blessings for each of you!

xoxo Kaylee

One Year Ago...

2009-02-23T15:23:00.003-06:00

One year Ago....on February 22nd, 2008

We found out Susie had breast cancer, and this blog began.

With hope, with courage to the very end, Susie, my wonderful sister

went

to fly on angels wings, and soar amongst the stars

to look upon our dear Lord's face and

see those gone before.

I know she is watching over all

that she loved and held most dear.

forever now and ever more

in my eyes most clear

I will see her shining smile and face

and burning in my heart

a love that time nor death can tear

a sisters love apart.

One year since Sue found out she had cancer, and 8 months since she passed away, and the sense of loss is still profound in a way I cannot describe. I miss and love you Susie, forever and always in my heart.

Love your big sisco, Kaylee

It's Been Six Months...

2008-12-19T00:03:00.006-06:00

It's been six months today, since Susie passed away from this Earth to a better more beautiful place called Heaven.

I hope everyone is doing great and enjoying this beautiful holiday season. I decorated Sue's tree we had planted to honor her memory, with a big pine cross with a beautiful red bow and a wreath. I wanted to decorate it like a Christmas tree, but our MN winter this year decided not to co-operate with my original idea, so no ornaments. just the cross and wreath. It is very pretty.

In so many ways it seems like I haven't seen my sister forever and I long to talk to her and see her so badly, yet it seems like yesterday that we had her memorial services...I think all in all we are all doing good, just very sad and lonely.

Sue LOVED CHristmas, I mean really LOVED Christmas, with all the childlike enthusiasm she could possibly muster. Every year we would try to out do each other in finding the best new Christmas cookie...last year I discovered a friends "melting moments" cookie which are AWESOME and gave Sue the recipe, she had to admit they were awesome!! Then she found candy cane cookies and sent me the recipe and they were "good" and we argued back and forth over that! I cried a little this year as I pulled that cookie recipe out in her handwriting, even complet with candy cane stickers she stuck on it...she was so amazing and special. I miss her so many times each and every day.

This blog is really painful to go to for me, at first it was like a comforting friend, that I started to support and communicate about sister, then I had plans of getting it put into book form and giving it to her when she went into remission so she could remember how strong and brave she was and to see how speical she was to so many people who read this daily and left comments and prayed for her....now it is a hollow reminder of the short battle she so valiantly fought against as I work not to remember just the "cancer" piece of her life, but all the much happier and special times we spent together growing up and then as adults. She was my biggest champion, and I hers...there was nothing we couldn't tell one another and I miss that terribly...

I just wanted to come on here tonight to say, I can't believe it has been 6 months, and I miss you Susie, and I am praying for you many times each day and I know one day, we will see each other again and when we do, I am still going to call you "the dipe"!! CHristmas is not the same at all without you, and I want you to know how many many people have contacted me and miss you too....I am so proud of the way you lived your life and cared for so many people and touched so many lives. I am really going to miss the mystery visitors you'd bring to our holiday celebrations. Each with no where to go, but you'd bring them to my house and we would all have such fun.

I love and miss you Susie with all my heart....forever.

May the spirit of Christmas live within each one of you and I wish you a beautiful, blessed Christmas and a healthy, happy and prosperous 2009.

XOXOXO Kaylee

Pictures From Captain Susan's Pirates @ the 3 day Walk in Dallas!

2008-12-02T20:33:00.009-06:00

Greetings Everyone!

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving holiday filled with lots of great food, family & friends! Following are pictures shared with me by Deb Haas, who was one one Sue's great friends. She organized Captain Susan's Pirates team and they walked in the Susan G. Komen breast cancer 3 day walk in Dallas! Way to go Deb, Erin and David! Deb's team raised over $10,000. in Susan's name for breast cancer research. I am so thankful for you all and for keeping Sue's memory alive in such a positive way!! I also heard rumors that there was a "rock star" contest at the 3 day and Deb Haas was the winner with David coming in a close 2nd!! WAY TO GO! Thaks for all you have done!

I wish everyone a beautiful holiday season and a healthy, prosperous 2009! XOXO Kaylee

A Pic at the 3 day Rally!

Catain Deb "the rock star" Haas!!

Sue's picture hung in the remembrance tent, thanks so much for doing that Deb!

David and Erin, members of Captain Susan's Pirates~WAY TO GO!

From Husband to Wife

2008-10-31T06:19:00.004-05:00

In the first two months of 2001 I closed my heart and committed to never opening it again for anyone short of my own family and but a scant few friends. I had no reason to. Then at a friend’s birthday party on March 24th of the same year I met Susan who made the same commitment to herself a long time ago. It didn’t take long – two days actually; one day really for me – for us to be totally enamored over the other and write off the silly commitment for a life of solitude.

I never imagined that seven months of the two of us flying from Minnesota to Texas and Texas to Minnesota would have such an impact on my life – our lives. We were nuts over the other. This whole flying to see the other, spend a long weekend together, fly back and wait an agonizing month till we were together again was just too much. We couldn’t be separated. We moved to Houston and allowed the adventure to unfold.

It was a grand experience. Being with her was like living a life that belonged to someone else. It was like looking into the window of a neighbor’s home and saying to myself: “I wish I had a life like that.” But I WAS living it. I felt so undeserving, yet I was selfish enough to grasp it tightly and say “mine!” and never let it go.

Susan and I, as an example of our particular antics, used to have a playful argument between us – who was the luckiest? She’d say she was. I’d say no, I was. What she didn’t understand was that I was seeing my life transform for the better because of her. She changed me. Anybody who knew me before I met her could testify that I was a different person. So who was the luckiest? That was me. And now I have the final word on that.

How lucky was I? She made everyday special. From great gestures of love to small and easily overlooked ones of preparing the coffee before going to bed; kissing me every morning before work and right before going to sleep without a miss; holding my hand for no reason at all other than she wanted to touch me; leaving little notes of “I love you” by my toothbrush or wedged between the pages of the book that I’m reading; or simply changing the channel without complaint when I walk into the room if she were watching The Wedding Singer knowing full well that I hate Adam Sandler. You couldn’t ask for a better wife.

If ever I needed the confirmation that all was right in the world, all I needed to do was stand by her and no matter how grim and foreboding things may seem, she made me feel that nothing was too large or too scary was going to hold me down. It could have been money issues, or an illness, an auto accident, or job concerns. It didn’t matter. Being with her soothed my worries and replaced them with a cool nonchalance that the two of us will handle the quandary like a pair of crafty desperados.

I could say I wanted to do this or do that, whatever the dream or lofty the ambition, she’d make me feel like it wasn’t impossible. She was my life coach, my Saint Jude. Her “can do” drive was most infectious and thankfully there was no cure for it.

Susan had this one phrase that she’d say often, mainly upon our return from our Friday Date Nights. Just as we’re parking the car, she’d look at our Townhouse and say “I love our little home.” Hearing that confirmed so much about our lives and the direction it was going. Her phrase wasn’t about the stuff inside our home or the appearance of it. It was the nature, the aura of our togetherness that she was speaking of. It was a weekly confirmation that the “I do’s” we exchanged was a perfect decision; that every choice from the moment we first met to the instant we unlock the door and go inside were right ones. I loved our little home, too. She’s the one that made it that way for us.

A friend said to my family in Spanish after observing Susan and my similarities – which were comic books, horror movies, Sci-Fi, Halloween themes, paranormal and the supernatural - that roughly translates to “God made them; God put them together.” That was so true. It was like joining two daunting pieces: a Jack and Sally; a Gomez and Morticia Addams. Once attached, we were like youngsters, school yard chums, mischievous and secretly snickering behind the tree.

We were like children – happy children – playing a game from morning till sunset; till one of us would be called home. And one was.

Susan: I miss you, Honey. I will miss you every day of my life no matter how many seasons turn, or the number of people I meet. Days, years, faces and personalities will come and go, but my memory of you and how precious you were to me will remain fixed in my heart. I was the luckiest. But most importantly, I was the most blessed. Of the forty-two years of my life, the seven with you were my happiest.

Till we’re together again in each other’s arms, I will make you proud you ever knew me, loved me, and chose to marry me. Forever and always I will love you.

Happy Fifth Anniversary, Gorgeous.

Ray

A moment in time at one of the many, many date nights we had.

Our Wedding Cakes 2003

In Honor of my sister Sue's Memory

2008-10-20T19:35:00.007-05:00

Well, I got my courage up and in honor of my sister Susie, I *gulp* got a tattoo!! And in Las Vegas, no less! As many of you know this is Sue's favorite season, Halloween was her favorite holiday, but really Thanksgiving and Christmas were also!! Sue loved gatherings of family and friends and I wanted to do this to keep her memory close to me for all time. The tattoo is on my ankle and I am terrified of needles and pain, but I got my courage up and it really didn't hurt that much!! The idea was my daughter's and I am super happy to have done it!! I hope this finds all of you doing well and enjoying the fall weather. Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Ray tomorrow!!

XOXO Kaylee

Don't Forget to Leave Comments-

2008-10-16T00:06:00.001-05:00

If you visit, don't be shy!! I may not know you personally but I'd like to hear what my sister Susan meant to you and what you are thinking!! Leave a comment, they are so much appreciated!!

Philadelphia Branch of Thomas Properties Walks in Sue's Honor for Breast Cancer

2008-10-14T11:37:00.010-05:00

Today, I received an email from Eric Pickett, Sue's former manager and best friend. I LOVE getting emails from Eric as it isn't too often and they are always interesting, well today as I scrolled down to see the attachment...I couldn't believe it, I immediately started crying....tons of Sue's co-workers in a different branch in a different part of the country that my sister hadn't even been to, spent their Sunday walking for a cure in honor of my sister Susan Martinez. I am absolutely humbled and amazed at the amount of people who participated in her honor and amazed. I know Susan wouldn't BELIEVE IT! She would be so AMAZED and so thankful. I am so proud of the company she worked for and represented. Thanks to EVERYONE from the bottom of my heart and the rest of SUSAN'S families hearts!! Thank you for keeping her memory alive and not letting her death due to Inflammatory Breast Cancer be in vain. I am posting the pics here and if you have any more please email them to kayleewalstad@msn.com . YOU GUYS ROCK!!!! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!

I will also be updating this post as more info and pix come in, thanks Mary Manen, Sue's great friend in the TPG office in Houston for getting the pics and stories also!! Following are from two separate emails Mary M sent me this am...the following is from a woman in the Philadelphia TPG office-thanks for writing this!!

Here are a couple more pictures. I don’t have the final numbers yet, but we raised almost $5,000 in Susan’s name this year. We had about 15 people from the Philly office walk on our team, along with almost 30 other family and friends that participated with us. Susan has touched a lot of people.

This Mary Manen sent me from the LA office of Thomas Properties Group-THANK YOU!! We ARE ABSOLUTELY AMAZED BY EVERYONE'S CARE AND KINDNESS! THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING MY SISTER"S MEMORY TO LIVE ON! Here is what the LA office said-

" We, in LA, plan on doing the Revlon walk in May in Susan’s Honor. We’re just getting ready to put out the first announcement. We’ll keep you informed on how it is going!"

Thomas Properties group is an amazing company and you should be proud to work for them, but a company is only as good as the people who fill it's chairs and perform their functions, YOU ALL at TPG are what make it AMAZING!! Thanks for making my families day/month/year with your kindness and generosity!!

A side note, between Captain Susan's Pirates, private donations made in Susan's name and the monies earned by the Philly office of TPG almost $20,000. has been donated to the Breast Cancer Research Fund for a Cure via Susan G Komen!!!!!! I just realized this and I am AGAIN, so humbled and thankful! Thank you so much for helping bring good things from Sue's battle with cancer. I pray every day they find a cure. GOd Bless each and every one of you with that which you need most. Also, just so you know, even though I may not have met YOU personally, YOU are in my prayers. Thank you for blessing my sister's memory.

XOXOXO Kaylee

Susie's Memorial Tree at Kaylee's

2008-10-13T14:24:00.003-05:00

We decorated Susie's tree for Halloween, my dad, Ashlee & I. I am going ot keep it decorated through Thanksgiving and then decorate it for Christmas!! It actually made me feel good to buy Halloween things like I always did for Sue every year...her tree looked so bare when i took the windchimes down for winter so they wouldn't get wrecked! Here's some pix! Happy Halloween to everyone!

October was Susie's Fave time of the Year....

2008-10-08T17:27:00.002-05:00

Greetings Everyone-

I feel like blogging a little this month and have asked Ray to as well. This is a really tough month, I mean they all really are without Sue and all the reminders of her joyful funloving personality...but she loves October, why you ask (most of you know)-she LOVED Halloween and the man she loved and married has his birthday this month as well on October 21st. Both tough days, so please keep Ray in your prayers! I have decorated the tree that was planted and dedicated in Sue's honor at my house with Halloween stuff and I have room to add a few things if anyone would like to send me something to put on the tree!! Let me know, just email me!

Thanks for all the emails and cards and stuff. I really appreciate everyone. Below I am putting my eulogy that I wrote and read at Sue's memorial service and our tree dedication. I will still put Eric's on here as well. I just need to get it from him!! Take care and I hope this finds everyone doing well. God Bless You all with whatever it is that will bring you joy! XOXO Kaylee

Susan’s Eulogy
By her sister Kaylee

Susan was our baby sister, the youngest of three girls and an angel sent here on earth. She had an instantaneous way of touching everyone’s lives she came in contact with by her genuine interest, care, concern and love for others.

Susan exemplified selflessness; she always put everyone else ahead of herself and never asked for anything. She felt she “had it all” with the love of her husband, family & friends, everything else was secondary to her.

While her “journey with Inflammatory breast cancer became a short trip, she inspired me and so many others with her unwavering faith, hope and daily courage. Each day, she told me she was going to find something to thank the Lord for and to be happy about, and she did. She was truly amazing and I will use her example to help me through this and the other unknown challenges I will face in my life.

Susie was best friend, confidante, and “go-to” person my whole life. She was a fantastic listener, always had a ready smile and laugh and most importantly, she believed in me. There is a gigantic hole in my heart which only her love and friendship can fill.
Susan loved her animals, they were her babies and as they came and went, she never forgot any of them, especially her beloved dog, Olli who faithfully stood by her side through the ups and downs of life.
Susan’s husband, Ray was truly the love of her life. She was filled with so much joy and happiness over their interests and love of cartoons, sci-fi & horror movies, bookstores, and discovering cool new restaurants. I am so thankful for Ray’s presence in Sue’s life and for the love they shared. Susan loved to experience life and she had a beautiful time on her journey with Ray.
Susan’s passing has taken the “sting of death” away from me, because I know she is soaring with the angels in Heaven and hers will be the first beautiful face I see when I join her there someday. I will miss her immensely and think of her and keep her memory alive in my heart and thoughts every single day I have left here on earth.
Thanks to all of you who vigilantly & faithfully lifted Susan up in prayer as she battled the terrible cancer that had invaded her body. Thank you to Ray, Susan’s husband, the Martinez family, my family and all her friends for helping Sue’s life journey here be so full of love and joy. Thank you to Susan’s company and co-workers for standing by her faithfully as she valiantly tried to get her body back to normal so she could return to the job & co-workers she so loved.
I cannot believe someone who meant so much to so many is forever gone from this earth, but her goodness, kindness, love, joy, courage & faithfulness will be remembered and is truly an example to all.Susan may be gone, but she will never be forgotten. I love you Susie, you are always and forever in my heart and mind!

Hope All of you Houstonians Are OK

2008-09-15T21:14:00.003-05:00

Greetings! I hope all of you in TX are well and have survived Hurricane Ike alright! WOW, what an ordeal to watch from MN!! We can't even fathom what a hurricane would be like as we are so "land-locked" here!! My thoughts and prayers were with all of you! My mom and sister Kari and Ray came through it unscathed, however my mom and sister do NOT ever want to go through it again! They are still without power and ventured out today in search of coffee and a hot meal, and they found both! Since they have moved to Houston they have gone through ALOT!

We are nearing the 3 month mark since Susie passed away, and it is still like a nightmare which I am unable to awaken from. I miss her so badly sometimes it takes my breath away.... I have added some pics from a celebration of Sue's life on her birthday July 5th. Alot of my mom's family came, all of her sisters and our great family friends and Sue's friends who could not make it to Houston. Our Pastor dedicated a beautiful flowering crab tree my friends gave me to honor Sue's memory and then we all let go of 70 silver and purple balloons int o the air...it iwas amazing. Then everyone selected either a purple (Sue's favorite color or pink ribbon to tie on Susie's tree bench in memory of Sue. They are all still there and I will keep them there forever.

Ray read Eric Pickett's eulogy he gave at Sue's memorial service. Both Ray and Eric did a fantastic job!

Our Pastor prayed over the tree and dedicated in Sue's memory, it was beautiful...

Then, ready set go, we all let go of the purple and silver balloons in Sue's honor...it was breathtaking...and freeing.

Then everyone tied a ribbon of their choice onto Sue's tree bench to remain there...Ray and Mike's mom Patand cousins are busy tying there's on.

My mom and Kari with family and friends tie their's onto the bench...

Thanks to everyone who has donated to the Susan G Klomen Breast Cancer Research Fund in Susan's honor. I have sent everyone on the list a personal thank you, but if I missed you, let me know. Your kindness and generosity has touched my heart forever and I will never forget all of your kindnesses. I hope all of you are doing well as we head into fall. Take care and may God bless each and every one of you!

XOXO Kaylee

Hi!

2008-08-22T23:57:00.003-05:00

It has been a little over 2 months since Susie passed away and I wanted to check in and let you know we are all doing o.k. We have all had a low week last week and are trying to pick it up this week.

I miss Sue so much, it seems like it gets harder sometimes as the time gets longer, I really have had intense longings to see and talk to Sue. I am glad we believe in God and that Sue is in Heaven, because without that hope this would be much much harder.

I hope all of you are doing well. I cannot believe so many of you are still coming here, yet i is a place to remember her and look at pics and read the stories. I think about you, Sue's friends alot and the many kindnesses you showed to her and our family, thanks again and I hope this finds you all doing well.

God Bless You All,

Kaylee

Breast Cancer Fund Raiser Tee-Shirts For Sale!!

2008-07-31T18:53:00.003-05:00

Greetings Everyone!

Above is a picture of Kari in one of our custom "Captain Susan's Pirates" breast cancer 3 day tee's. We are taking orders for these to raise money for the "cure" in Susan's honor. If you are interested please email Kaylee or Kari at the following email addresses with your size and we will ship them to you!! Thanks so much for your help! They are available in Petite, Small, Medium, Large, X-Lg at $25 each and 2XL for $35. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

Kaylee kayleewalstad@msn.com

Kari kfrangos@hicks-thomas.com

Thanks so much for all of your phone calls, cards, emails and support. It has meant the world to all of us!

It's Been One Month...

2008-07-16T00:18:00.006-05:00

Well. it's been a month since Susan departed our world for Heaven....and it feels like it was yesterday, still very fresh and still very painful. I decided to put a few pics of Sue on the blog because I thought some unseen pics might help us all remember Sue before she got breast cancer. I am so surprised at the amount of people still going ot the blog....it was really a daily habit for many of us, and hard to imagine it is over...we planted a beautiful flowering crab tree for Sue's birthday and Ray and mom and sister came up from TX and we had our Pastor dedicate it, and then we let 70 purple and silver balloons into the air...it was so cool! It's really hard to believe I will not see her again until my time here is over. I miss her terribly, I think I always will. My sister in law, Lisa gave me abook which I am reading right now called HEAVEN, by Randy Alcorn that is awesome. It is quite interesting in case any of you want to know what Heaven might be like....

Also, this blog was given some note of "art" distinction here on blogger....I thought that was cool. Take care and I am sure Ray and I will be blogging occasionally still....so stick around friends!

Kari, our sister dragged us to a "Cat Show" in Houston, even Ray had to go!! He drove us! Ray LOVED it...(wink, wink) We even got our pic taken with a celebrity cat!! We laughed about that for ever!!

Alex, Sue, Reed Herman & my brother in law Donovan Saba, what's interesting about this pic is that it is Easter and Sue called me to see if she could bring 2 friends who had no place to go for Easter..I said sure, the more the merrier...Reed entertained all of us with his various tattoo's and stories and the other guest was Lonnie, a magician who was also fabulously entertaining. She always was making sure everyone was ok and had somewhere to go....I will miss her interesting friends and mystery visitors...

See Sue on the left, she always helped plan and entertain for my daughter Ashlee's (her niece) birthdays, as Sue LOVED birthdays and loved helping!! See how happy she looks as she leads a game of duck duck gray duck!!

I took this pic of Sue in our office on a sunny day, it was one of her favorite's because the sunlight on her face wasn't so obvious until we looked at the pic!!

Take care til I see you again.

XOXOXO Kaylee

O’, The Places Sue Will Go

2008-07-08T19:17:00.006-05:00

Susan won’t be far from us; but o’ the places she will go.

She’ll be as close to our hearts as near as her name is to our lips. She’ll soar with angels and learn their odd and curious ways. But she’ll also walk with us when our tread is heavy and our minds baffled by God’s confusing Plans.

She’ll sit in a great Hall of Learning while great Masters teach the ways of Heaven and Creation. She can’t wait till she’s a teacher herself and share her knowledge with her family and friends when it is our time. She’ll maneuver us all through the avenues and passages of the Kingdom on a grand road trip with her familiarity of Heaven’s short cuts and scenic stops. I'm sure there will be a farmer's market to browse and sushi to dine.

Till then she’ll sail to the far end of the galaxy on a pirate ship, with the Jolly Roger flapping on the breeze of gamma rays and solar winds, crossing swords with Black Beard and Captain Morgan – a mischievous wink behind her eye patch and a laugh to be heard all the way back into our dreams.

She will sit with Edgar Allan Poe and attempt to lift his spirits with quotes from a Will Ferrell movie. The dark poet will chuckle from “Old man, I'm gonna come at you like a spider monkey!” Sunset turns to night and back to morning as the laughter goes on for a very long time.

Johnny Cash will pluck a tune just for her; and he will point to earth and says: “I wrote that for you to share with your man below.” I will hear it in my sleep as she strokes my hair softly as she did when she was with me.

As far away as she seems to be she’ll always be by our sides for every Christmas and Halloween, in times of rain and warm spring breezes, birthdays and anniversaries, graduations and every precious moment coming to us. When we think we’re alone with our sighs and tears and the yearning to fill the Susan-shaped hole inside of us, she’ll be close to us to remind us of all the good times and her love for us that will never wither on the vine.

Life is a wink, a snap of the fingers in the eyes of Eternity. It really won’t be that long till we’re together again to continue the love and company we had before we were momentarily separated. It just seems that way for us mortals. We miss our Susan, our Sue, beloved daughter, sister, friend, love of my life. But we have wonderful memories of her that supersede the ones we want to forget. Those good memories will connect us to her keenly and without fail.

So to remember her with fondness and the moments we shared with her, let the final words of the great master Dr. Seuss sink the truth within us and have it take root: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”

Ray

Some Pix from Sue's Services

2008-06-28T13:45:00.009-05:00

Greetings to Everyone-

I miss blogging about my wonderful sister so much and the updates and pics, and how all the comments made her feel so great. She could never believe how any people read, and visited the blog and cared and prayed. I am so thankful for all of you and the hope and prayers that kept her lifted up.I have gone back so many times just to look at it, I just haven't been able to bring myself to write in it and share pics. My dad, Ashlee& I made it back to MN in 23 hrs floating in his boat otherwise known as a Buick RoadMaster. There is a reasone they named it that...it really is the "master" of the road. I hope everyone is doing well and I have thought of everyone often and how much so many of you helped me and supported me while I was planning the services for Sue and in the midst of the horrible pain and realization that she was gone forever.

There is a permanent slide show set to music at http://www.mem.com/ for Sue that was playing during her visitation that you can go to and see. Just enter Her last and first name in the search and it pulls it up and then click on movie. It is really nice.

Here are the service pics:

Earthman Funeral Home Chapel- where her visitation was - thanks to all who sent beautiful flowers. You can see the two sceeens which played the slide show set to music continually throughout the visitation.

Sue's silver casket, Pallbearers are Mike Walstad, Eric Pickett, Alex Walstad, Reuben Arryoa (sorry I can't spell it!) , Steve Wilson, and Jessica Martinez, RAy's sister.

The gravesite, it is in a beautiful cemetary, WoodLawn, and she buried beneath a tree which was filled with wind chimes, which Sue loved and collected. Ray will bring one for Sue to hang in the tree. On the other side were huge blooming flowering bushes.

The chapel at 2nd Baptist where Sue's memorial service was held. It was filled with beautiful stained glass each depicting a scene from the bible. There was about 150-175 people in attendance.

Steve Wilson, Eric Pickett & me (I look horrible and at this point had been crying straight for 6 days.) The 11x14 framed photo of Sue was atthe front of the chapel and also at the visitation. Eric and I spoke at the memorial service about Sue's impact on our lives and the lives of so many others.

Ray gave my mom Sue's car, Greenie. I threw this in here as my mom hasn't driven since 2004 because she hates driving and always has and thought she could retire...but her two main drivers Sue and my dad are both gone, so she has decided she could drive Sue's car and she has been. She said she can feel Sue's presence when she drives. Keep my mom in your prayers....:)

I am also going to get Eric's speech and copy it here and also a copy of mine for all of you to read if you so desire. Please take care and i will post "stuff" here, I just don't want it to become Kaylee's Journey .....

XOXOX Kaylee

Thank You

2008-06-23T21:49:00.002-05:00

Just a quick post to thank everyone who attended Sue's visitation, burial and/or funeral. Everyone of you helped so much to give us all the strength to get through these few tough days. All of your prayers, kind words, hugs and stories really did help lift the heavy sorrow. Thanks so much to Pastor Jeff Calhoun, for his amazing kindness and family visits and prayers and for going the extra mile and making Sue's memorial service so special and memorable. We will be eternally thankful for your presence.

It has been the hardest time in life so far, but I am going to start each day like Sue did, finding something to be thankful for and thanking the Lord. I am thankful to have had a sister as great as Sue, even though her loss right now is unbearable, it is true, it is better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all.

SUsan's company, Thomas Properties was also out in great numbers to show their respect and freindship, and we are all so impressed by everyone. Thank you all for your support, food, kindness, stories...you were all amazing. Thanks for following the blog and for your prayers. I will never forget any of you.

The burial and service today went beautifully, and when it was all done I was emotionally and physically exhausted. I am sorry for the people I didn't get to talk to. Thanks again for coming and showing support for Susan and Ray.

Speaking of Ray, he was also amazing and courageous and strong. I am so proud of you Ray. FOr everything, for wanting to do the very best to memorialize Sue. Everything was perfect and you planned it from the start to finish. I felt really good about everything when it was all done, more than good-so so so happy by how nice it all was and how well it all went and how many people came to show their love. I was amazed by how many people Sue had touched in her time in Houston. It is going to be hard to go back to my life and not have Sue to talk to and laugh with...but I will see her again, I KNOW IT!

Thank also to Deb for the beautiful songs and to Eric for his very funny and poignant eulogy today, let me know if the jury comes in on the ghost thing...!! Thanks to Steve & RUben for being pallbearers and for just being there to support our families. You guys were awesome!! Mary, Mo and the others who chipped in and brought us food, and then showed up for everything and stayed til the end to offer your support, you are awesome!! I know I am forgetting people, and I am sorry...I am a little brain dead from all this and Ashlee and I are leaving tomorrow with my dad to drive his car back to MN.

Oh...thank you for all the beautiful flowers, phone calls from my friends and family back home and for your breast cancer donations!!!!!!! The flowers were beautiful and there were so many!! I will add more, but I just want all of you to know how much each and everyone of your prayers and care meant to all of our family!! Take care and may God bless each and everyone of you.

XOXO Kaylee

Visitation, Burial & Memorial Service Information for Susan

2008-06-19T19:23:00.003-05:00

Greetings-

Following is the burial and memorial service informationfor Susan. Everyone is invited and welcome, so if you can come we would LOVE it and welcome you to Houston.

Flowers may be sent to: or in lieu of flowers we will have Susan G. Klomen Breast cancer donation paperwork for you to donate in Susan's name.

Earthman Funeral Home
8303 Katy Freeway
Houston, TX 77024 (713)465-8900

Susan's Visitation will be Sunday, June 22nd from 5pm to 9pm at Earthman Funeral Home, flowers can begin to arrive on Saturday if you wish, they are located at:
8303 Katy Freeway; Houston (713)465-8900 for directions

Susan's Burial will be at 10:00 am at Woodlawn Cemetary on Monday June 23rd the address is:
1101 Antoine Drive; Houston (713)682-3663 for directions

Susan's Memorial Service and Luncheon following will be at Second Baptist Church at 11:00 am:
The church is located at Woodridge & Voss , right off of Woodway. We are hoping all of you can make it.

Thanks again for following Sue's progression through this horrible disease and for praying for her and for your care and concern. Thanks so much to her work here in Houston and in Philadelphia and LA for all you did to help her and care for her. You made her feel so special and so successful and all she wanted to do was "get back to work", she loved her job and the people she worked with. Thank you for making a difference in her life. You really did. Thanks to her manager and better yet, great friend Eric Pickett, for your hospital and home visits and for caring about her fully, she had the time of her life and thought herself to be luckiest person because she knew you. And there are so many of you out there. Too many to name, but you know who you are. Sue had a way of making you feel special and I just don't know how I will manage without my little angel sister. Thanks again for everything, we are all indebted to you. God Bless you and remember we are not angry at God for our loss as He has a plan for all of us, we do not understand why sometimes, but we need to trust Him and that is why it is called faith. I have faith to know Sue will have heaven figured out so when I get there she will greet me and show me the ropes and I can once again be with my beloved angel I called my sister.

XOXO Kaylee

Susan's Journey

2008-06-18T15:53:00.004-05:00

Susan and Ray in January 2008

Beautiful Susan at Pappadeaux restaurant when she could finally go out to dinner with everyone!

Susan's Journey with cancer ended today at 7:50am this morning. Susan was surrounded by Ray, her parents Doug and Kay, Kari, Ray's parents Janie and Raymond Martinez and Ray's sister Jessica and family friend and adopted sister Gloria. I was praying to God she would be able to hang on until I got there at 10am, but sadly I missed saying goodbye to my beloved sister. Our family had Sue's body remain in the room and my parents and Kari and Ray took me to the hospital so I could say goodbye to her and hug and kiss her one more time.

Susan's system began to shutdown due to the excessive tumors and acidic fluid put out by them. Her journey ended quickly in a cardiac arrest. Ray, his mother and I are going to be meeting with the funeral home, church and cemetary tomorrow to set up all the details. We will be posting the funeral details and where to send flowers/memorials should you be interested. Thanks for all your prayers and care and concern. We are also looking for pics you may have of Sue to use in a memorial for her. Please email to either Kaylee : kayleewalstad@msn.com or Ray : dalquiel@hotmail.com . Thanks again for keeping Sue in your prayers. This has been absolutely devastating.

New Update

2008-06-17T21:14:00.002-05:00

Susan has taken a turn for the worse this late afternoon, she began having difficulties breathing and had alot of mucous and fluid, so they brought in a bunch of specialists for her lungs, they used something to take try to take the fluid out and had a portable chest xray to see what was going on, they moved her to the Intensive Care Unit where she is currently and said they thought she either had a very bad infection or a pulmonary clot/tumor. They are giving her meds for both and told my family she could pass away. She is currently on a ventilator with Ray and his family and my family all there at the hospital. This is a very scary situation and I am asking you to please pray for my sister. I am expecting a miracle because Sue is a MAJOR LEAGUE fighter. I am getting ready to leave on the first flight out and that is at 7am tomorrow, so I will update this blog to let everyone know how the situation is. Thank you so so so much for your love, care and prayers. (this is Kaylee from Mn interpretting all the family phone calls, so if I am a little off, Ray will correct it later)

XOXOXO Kaylee

This Past Weekend

2008-06-17T12:12:00.001-05:00

Much has happened since the last blog entry; and since the dust from the mental maelstrom has settled at least to knee-levels, I feel this makes a good opportunity to speak as to what is happening so far.

For starters, Susan is back at the hospital. Saturday evening, Susan had a lot of difficulty getting up from the couch, standing and walking. We had an ambulance deliver her to the Hermann Memorial hospital because it would have been too difficult to transport her by car. Plus, we thought if she went by ambulance it would be like going through the express lane of hospital processes. To say the least, we were wrong about that. Over all she’s been at the hospital ever since, going through a battery of tests and examinations.

She’s received very little sleep since this all started. And it’s very difficult to communicate with her because she lost her voice. The doctor’s can’t really explain the reason for her loss. There’s been a lot of speculation, but so far nobody with white coats and stethoscopes has come with a definite answer yet. Hopefully they will soon.

More importantly I hope they can tell me if she can stand up on her own and walk soon, if not today then when. Because she’s been in bed practically 24/7, and I would like them to do physical therapy on her before her legs get too weak from lying down too long.

Monday they inserted a catheter in her back to help drain future fluid build-up that could develop in her chest cavity.

This morning – way early this morning – they gave her a new chemo to deal with the spreading of the tumors on her arm. As I’m writing this, they are either giving her a third attempt at an MRI, or she’s sleeping. She’s gotten very little of the latter, so I hope she’s getting sleep before they put her through that ordeal of the former.

Susan has endured so much this weekend that I pray and hope she gets a quick relief from it all. Strength in her legs, confidence to walk steady again, and the return of her voice would be good starters. I want her home and better again, and back on the road to recovery as she was before.

Please pray for her that she receives just that. Susan’s strong and resilient. The monster in her wants to be, too. But it won’t get that chance. Susan’s tenacity, the love everybody has for her, and prayers from friends and family will see to it that the monster doesn’t win.

Ray

Biopsy Results are in

2008-06-14T22:29:00.003-05:00

Ray received the news regarding Sue's biopsy and chest x-ray yesterday. The biopsy showed the rash on Sue's arm, shoulder and breast was cancer and her xray showed some fluid building up (but not nearly what was there before), so a new direction will be taken with Sue's chemo and treatment.

Sue will be put on a different chemo and she will have the fluid taken out of her chest cavity again. It was a VERY painful procedure so we are hoping it will go better this time as it is not as much fluid.

Monday Sue and Ray will be meeting with Dr Nguyen, Sue's oncologist to go over everything and discuss a new course of attack against this beast. SO I know they have a list of questions and things to discuss and we'll keep you updated with what is going on with Sue's treatments.

Sue has been tired, but is staying positive and strong within! We Frangos' are fighters and our family has really pulled together with Ray and everyone is doing everything they can to support her and surround her with everything they have to give.

Please pray for wisdom for Sue's Dr.s and for this cancer to get under control. To be stopped in it's tracks and for Sue's levels to remain good and stable. Thank you for checking on Sue and caring enough to include her in your prayers. God Bless You this weekend and don't forget to tell your dad Happy Father's Day tomorrow!! :)

XOXOXOXO Kaylee

I am taking Over....!!

2008-06-11T23:14:00.004-05:00

Okay, I can't let this blog sit untouched another day!! I love reading this and getting the updates, so here goes!!

Sue had a lymphedema clinic appointment on Monday, however Fri day she developed a rash on her "tick" arm, so when she went in on Monday they said they couldn't wra or treat her arm til her Dr looked at it to discern if it was an infection (which is not uncommon with lymphedema) and is treated by a 10 day course of antibiotics or if it was something else. So my mom and dad took Sue in to see Dr Nguyen and waited for awhile to see him. He looked at it and said it was either an infection or the cancer has spread to that area, so he decided to biopsy it, which was a little painful for Sue. We are currently waiting for results on that and don't expect them quickly! Even though we all want to know right away! Dr Nguyen put Sue ont he antibiotic right away and she is taking it just in case itis an infection-pray that it is!! Secondarily, Sue had her chemo early as well that day while she was there. Then when she was done with that, my dad took her to get a chest xray, because her voice has been hoarse and they just want to make certain her chest cavity isn't refilling back up. SO we are also waiting on the results of that. On a SUPER DUPER good note, Sue's blood levels were the best they have ever been so that is going well! So Sue has been doing good, her breathing and getting around are good, just this extra stuff!

Sue has been eating ok, and resting and nothing major to report!! I just wanted to ask you if you could really continue to pray that the Lord would take this cancer away, keep Sue strong, keep her levels great and for this chemo to work and that her chest cavity would not refill and that she just has an infection which clears up quickly! Thanks for all your prayers and support! I am sorry nothing has been on here on a regular basis, but Ray got busy and I am here in MN, so I will start reporting again from MN!!! :)

We hope you are all doing great! My dad is flying home next Wed to see his sister who is very ill with cancer and in home hospice. He will be home for 2 weeks and I am sure Sue and Ray will really miss him! Take care and please keep praying for Sue!! Thanks to all of Sue's co-workers for checking the blog and for caring, she really misses work and talks about everyone often!

XOXOXO Kaylee

Captain Susan & Family

2008-06-07T21:38:00.010-05:00

Helllo and a hearty yo ho ho to you all!
What a great week we've had! Sorry I haven't posted anything lately. To make up for it a bit here is a little sumary and some photos from today.

Starting last Saturday we are attending the little farmer's market that I used to visit all the time. Its been fun to be back! We took photo's the first time but, we didn't know that the memory card was not in the camera so we can't get them to upload onto here. We went again today but, forgot the camera! BUMMER! We will try to remember next week!

We went to a fundraiser for Captain Lily's Pirate Team for the three day walk coming up in November. Deb donated her expertise and time by running a karaoke show and my sis Kari bought food, auction items and spent hours decoraing the bar tonight. It was such a fun time!! THanks to everyone who showed up sag and donated. This was my first big social outing since I became sick. I surprised even myself that I was able to stay as long as I did!

Captain Susan at home before the event

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR! A toast to everyone!

Pirate Mom!

Dad makes a cool pirate too!

Having fun at the fundraiser!!!

Koo-Koo in her awesome Captain Susan t-shirt created by Deb

Also, on Thursday my old lunch buddies Eric & Steve picked up lunch and came over it was AWESOME to see them and chat. They rock!!!

I hope everyone is having a relaxing and fun weekend. As always thanks for all prayers, positive thoughts love and care. I pray that the Lord would bless you all with whatever you need the most.

Lots of love,

Susan

An Update From Doug!

2008-06-03T21:40:00.003-05:00

Greetings Everyone!!

Here is a little update from my dad! Sue has been doing well since they drained the 2 liters of fluid from her chest cavity. So nothing health-wise new to report!! She goes to the oncologist tomorrow, but not for chemo, this is her week off!! YEAH! SO here is my dad's evening update! Thanks to those of you who care enough to call to check to see how Sue is doing when a few days go by with no report!! We appreciate everyone's love, support and prayers more than you can know!!

Here it is only 9:20 and I am pooped out whats up with that? I bought us Pot pies from central market for dinner and a fresh salad. It was delicious and Kookkoo (Kari) joined us as I bought one for her also, so we had a nice dinner together. Mom came from work and gabbed a litlle and away the gals went, Sue and I watch Hells Kitchen, it is fun to watch. Sue is feeling good, she has a good appetite if the food is something she can eat. We go to Dr Nguyen's office tomorrow at 1 p.m. and after we are going to a wig shop over by the clinic where they sell the head scarf that Sue loves(The Red One) so that will be fun for Sue. Nothing else going on so I will close for now and wish you a lovely evening. I am so sorry for forgetting to tell you the results of her heart test were excellent no damage to her heart. Gods blessings to you all. Doug

For our faithful prayer warriors we have a few prayer requests; can you please continue to pray for Sue's lung and that her chest cavity will remain clear, and also for her levels (you know the ones!!) and for her continued improvement on this journey!! Thanks again for your love, may God bless you this week!! XOXO Kaylee

Hooray! It's Friday!

2008-05-30T06:07:00.002-05:00

I know what you are thinking....since I am not working, isn't everyday like Friday? I have to say, no, it isn't. I still look forward to the weekend since everyone has it off and comes to hang out. Its a nice time!

My mom is cooking us dinner tonight. Her yummy beef stroganof and fresh baked hinolava (I don't know how to spell it but, it is a fabulous Finnish flat bread!) It is so wonderful of her to take the time to do this for us.

I realized yesterday that we had posted pictures of all my caregivers with the exception of Tim. He comes every week to draw my blood and check my vitalsigns for Dr. Schree. Below is the long awaited photo.

Tim checking my blood pressure

He comes in the AM so I think that's why we neglected to get a picture. Photography is not on my mind at 9 in the morning!

I wish you all an excellent weekend and send you lots love and prayers for God's special blessings in your life.

Love,

Susan

double shot chemo

2008-05-28T12:03:00.002-05:00

Today was a good day at the Doctor's office. We were on our way back home in only 2 1/2 hours with no new appointments needed this week. It felt awesome!
My blood levels were all GOOD! My red cells went from 7.7 last week to 9.2!!!! No transfusion needed this week. What a relief! Thank you so much for your prayers and positive thoughts. They do work!
We found out there was cancer cells in the fluid they removed last week from my chest. Dr. Nguyen let us know this is normal and isn't new cancer. We are praying that the chemo will take care of it and the fluid will not return! For right now I am still breathing easier and able to get around a lot easier.
Overall it was a very good visit and I am feeing good.

Sending love, prayers and lots of positive thoughts to you all!

Susan

Sue is Looking G R E A T ! !

2008-05-27T09:28:00.014-05:00

Dad with his Memorial Day BBQ going!! It was delicious! He set up the grill and table in the parking lot behind Sue & Ray's!!

Here is his set-up!!

Susie looking so great and Ash at Pappadeaux's, one of our favorite restaurants! It was so great to have "no family left behind!!"

Sue & Ray at their table eating Shipley's donuts and kolaches...note Ray's smile and remember what it takes to make Ray smile....a Shipley's donut??? Come on Ray, we need to find some other things that make you smile..perhaps Sue will post a pic later on of Ray's "Christmas smile"??

Poor Miko...he is the kitty with the se-through bonnet on!! He has the collar to protect his ears which he scratches til they a re totally swollen, not because of anything, he has bee to the vet plenty..he just does it..

More eating pics...yes, I did gain weight. Here is my dad at Escalantes with the most delish rib dinner!!

My mom, Ashlee & Sue with Ashlee wearing their birthday gift to her, a very cool pair of Nike dunks tennis shoes, we HAD to find in Houston!! Thanks Sue, Ray and mom!!

Ray, Ashlee & Sue at the bday celebration my family put on for Ashlee's 16th bday when we arrived! We had a sushi dinner, cards, Kari's cheesecake and gifts!! Ashlee loved it and felt so special..

Here is Kari and Ashlee with the cool pair of Juicy Couture flipflips Kari found for her!!

Ash and Kari with the famous chocolate cheesecake!!

Sue & Dad, sushi happy!!

Mom and ASh!!

A fun time was had by all in Houston, TX over Memorial Day weekend! Ashlee & I couldn't believe how significantly much better Sue is doing and looking!! (You can tell by the pix)! We had alot of fun just catching up and spending time with family. Monday, my dad came and got Ash, Kari & I and we went to check out this "Greek food superstore" called Phoenicia! We found some delicious feta cheese and olives and Greek honey for Sue and some misc items and headed back to Sue's. We dropped off our first round of groceries and brought Kari home and Ash and my dad and I went to my dad's fave grocery store "Central Market", and it is huge and awesome!! We got some great food for grilling as we planned a little Memorial day BBQ with my dad at the helm! Ray went out to check on BIG SCREEN TV prices and sales, as he has been researching a new TV purchase for he and Sue! He found some great TV's so we'll see what he will do! :) Ash and I are sad this am, we will really miss everyone. Take care Sue and everyone. Good Luck this week and me and my whole family will be praying!!

XOXOXO Kaylee

My dad grilled up the food and we all sat and visited some more, knowing Ash and I would be leaving later in the evening....the food was fab and the company even better! The trip went by like a whirlwind, but Sue has just reclaimed so much more of her health and ability to do things, things we just take for granted. She is just really sick of all the side issues, so will you please pray this week that her blood levels, sodium and potassium are normal? SO she won't need a blood transfusion? Also that her chest cavity does not refill back up with fluid? It took her a few days to recover from that very painful procedure, but she is breathing normally and has her energy to get out and about back!! SO it was worth it! Can you also please pray for her chemo on Wed, as she will be having both kinds, that it will work it's healing and take away her cancer and that she will have minimal to NO side effects? She will also be going ot the lymphedema clinic this week to wrap her arm from finger tips to shoulder, so can you also pray that she will be able to easily tolerate that and be able to take a shower? Thanks again, following are some more pics from our trip!!

Family Fun in TX

2008-05-25T21:14:00.007-05:00

Tonight Susie and I are writing this blog together! SHe has done a TON of stuff and is doing SO MUCH BETTER after having her chest cavity drained!! Today we started the day off with an extremely unhealthy but oh so yummy breakfast of Shipley donuts and kolaches!! We all were tired from our fun late Sat nite playing are you smarter than 5th a grader (and we were 50% of the time!!) and a chat game!!! Lots of laughs were had by all! Kaylee & Ash got a little shopping done while Koo_koo took a little break and Ray went to research big screen TV's, we all convened and decided Pappadeaux's was the ticket for our dinner venue, and SUe got herself psyched up to go!! Kaylee could hardly wait as she has wanted so badly to go to dinner with her sister like always! We had an awesome night and an awesome dinner and all went AMAZINGLY well! Following are the pics...and we are all trying hard not to think about the fact that Ashlee & I are leaving tomorrow night..

Makeup by Kaylee, fab look by Sue!!

Ray driving Sue in her greenie car-for the first time..

DaD & Mom at Pappadeaux's eagerly awaiting their food!

The chica's also eagerly awaiting our glorious food!!

Everyone at Papppadeaux's-Ashlee took the pic!!

Keep praying and we are thankful for you!! XOXO Kaylee & Sue

We're here!!

2008-05-23T21:56:00.012-05:00

We are here in warm warm warm Houston!! It is so great to see everyone!! We arrived this am to find my dad outside with his car, hood up and it had stopped working! So we got it into the shop and now it is all better! His car needed a new battery and alternator!

Sue's procedure was more painful than she anticipated but they took 2 liters of fluid out of her chest cavity. It will be sent in for testing but they think it is lymph fluid. I can see how they would think that as her tick arm and shoulder are much much better than the last time we were here. Her shoulder and arm look almost normal. Quite a difference! Sue has improved alot in terms of her abilities to take care of herself. She gets around great and now after this fluid was removed her breathing has improved dramatically. They went in through her back and through the rib cage so she hurts where it went in. We are all praying for Sue to have normal breathing and this fluid does not return!

My dad also received some bad news about his sister, Barbara. She was just diagnosed with lung and liver cancer. We were very sorry to hear that and our prayers are with her.

Ash and I had a great flight here and we had alot of fun today visiting! My family put on a little bday celebration for Ashlee's 16th birthday with great sushi and Kari made her famous chocolate cheesecake which we all love! I will keep you all updated while I am here!! Keep on praying for Sue for normal levels, blood, potasium and sodium and for the fluid to be lymph fluid and to never come back!! Thank you so much!!

Ray, Ashlee & Sue- with Ray's funny card!!
Kari & Ashlee- Kari gave Ash a cool pair of Juicy Couture flip flops!

Ashlee & Kari with Kari's awesome chocolate cheesecake!!

Dad, Ray & Sue dishing up a delicious sushi dinner!!

Ashlee & Sue with the huge tray of awesome sushi!!

Sue & I just a "swingin" on her swing!!

Dad's utopia garden he has planted for Sue!!

Dad and Sue on the swing!!

Grandma Kay and Ash on the coma couch!!

Have a great weekend!! Thanks for caring and for your prayers!!

XOXO Kaylee

Vampire

2008-05-22T21:06:00.002-05:00

The transfusion went very today. Its just long procedure. It takes about two hours per unit and I received 2 units. Thankfully Dad was there to keep me entertained and during his brief outings around the hospital we had good ole Marty there to fill in. She really is a great person and wonderful at her job.
After that we picked up mom and brought her to work. Then Dad ran to buy a few more plants for the garden. It was a beautiful evening out tonight and I spent a couple of hours relaxing with the cats and surveying the garden. Dad has done a beautiful job out there. Very peaceful.
Tomorrow I go get the fluid drained from right side. I am praying that it will help my breathing a lot and never return! I'll blog tomorrow and let know how it goes. Also, the best part of the week.... Kaylee and Ashlee arrive in Houston tomorrow AM!!!! Yippee!!! Its been too long and I've missed them! A good time should be had by all!

As always I am so grateful for each one of you and for all your love and prayers!

Happy Friday!
Susan

Chemo Day!

2008-05-22T10:10:00.003-05:00

Greetings Everyone!

I have attached my dad's update and just wanted to thank him for his faithfulness in giving me (and consequently everyone here) a daily update of Sue's day and how she is doing!! It has meant the world to me and then we can all specifically pray for the things and situations she needs God's helping hand with!! You are awesome dad!! Thanks for all you do! Ashlee & I will tomorrow morning on a 7am flight to Houston, we arrive at 9:30 am and my dad is picking us up and I can hardly wait to see everyone and to see how much Sue has improved since we were last there in the beginning of April!! My family has planned a 16th birthday celebration for Ashlee so she is excited about being able to celebrate her birthday with my whole family!! Should be LOTS of fun! We stay until Monday and we leave on a 9pm flight, so we will have lots of visiting time! We love going to Houston, and we will finally have HOT weather, as spring/summer has been slow in coming here! Thanks so much for your prayers and concern, we all appreciate every reader/prayer warrior here!! I will update you with pictures, stories and Sue's condition from Houston!! Yahoo!

Well this was another barn burner day for Sue, it seems she goes in for one thing and ends up having several things go on. Today was chemo day, Sue and I talked of how she would have her chemo, talk to Dr. Nguyen and we would go home, but no such luck. We got to Dr. Nguyen's office at 9 a.m. and got checked in, there was Sue, Ray, Mom and I and we all went in a room to await Dr. Nguyen. The Dr. came in and briefly examined Sue, and told her she has quite a bit of fluid in between the rib cage and her right lung. The fluid is taking up the area that the lung needs when she inhales and the lung cannot expand because of the fluid. He thinks the fluid is caused by the lymphedema, anyway he said the fluid should be removed, which will help Sue breath normally again and they will test the fluid to see if it is lymphedema or cancer cells creating the fluid. They will do this procedure Friday at 6:30 a.m. at the hospital. They use an ultrasound to see the needle goes in the right area to drain the fluid. So after that bit of news, we also found out Sue's blood levels are down a bit and she will need a transfusion tomorrow (Thursday) morning, this kind of bummed Sue out as she thought she was all done with that. She told the nurses that she thought her road was going to be straight ahead, they all laughed and told Sue the road in treating cancer is never straight and has several bumps along the way.

So Sue had her chemo that went pretty fast and smooth, then we had to go down and register for her blood transfusion and get checked in at the station were she was before. One of our favorite nures Marty greeted Sue with "oh my gosh you look fabulous", and said to be sure and say hi to you, Kaylee. So that brightened Sue up considerably. Then we had to go check in for her Friday fluid removal procedure also, so another long time at the medical places.

I am continuely amazed how Sue handles all this stuff that is coming at her all the time, most of us would have cracked long ago, but not her! She just jumps right back up and says I'm ready for round 2 bring it on. I am sorry Kaylee for going on and on but this is just part of the stuff that she goes through. I am throughly exhausted this evening, so I am about to hit the sack, so far she is just tired after her chemo as she was last time she had it. Her tummy is a bit queasy also, but she had a light dinner consisting of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich ala Dad and a Ginger ale. I send my love to you all and God bless you all. Doug

Prayer Requests:

Please pray that Sue's blood levels will go back to normal, it is her hemoglobin (red blood cells) that are down, that she will have minimal side effects with the chemo, that her fluid removal procedure goes great and they easily remove the fluid and that they fluid is indeed lymph fluid and it does not return! Pray Sue's energy level will return and she can do all the things plus more that she was doing before the fluid filled her chest cavity! We so appreciate and need your prayers for Sue! We are so thankful for all of you!

The Lymphedema Clinic Visit...

2008-05-20T09:16:00.002-05:00

Hello Everyone:

Boy what a day for Sue and I, up very early and off to the Memorial Hermann Medical complex in downtown Houston. We got checked in pretty promptly to the Lymphedema clinic, then they send a person who takes you to the area you are going as no one could possibly find it in the maze of hallways elevators skyways left turns right turns ramps that go up ramps that go down, it is amazing.Thank goodness we got a wheel chair for Sue right off the front door, anyway we got to the Lymphedema area and waited just a few minutes and were ushered in a Dr.examining room. A male nurse Terry came in and got on the computer and asked Sue a lot of questions about her health, he took her temp and blood pressure also and a picture of Sue which is attached to her file so there can be no mistake on who they are treating. Terry left the room and said Dr. Maus (mouse) will be in shortly, and sure enough The Dr. came in, a very nice and qualified Dr. who examined Sue and explained all about lymphedema to us and how it is treated. He then asked Sue if she had any questions and Sue told him about the shortness of breath situation. Dr. Maus examined Sue and took quite some time listening to her breathing, he said he would be surprised if the fluid was from the lymphedema on her lungs as that does not occur from lymphedema. He thought it could be a tumor, or fluid created from cancer cells, he recomended that she have xrays of her lungs.

He also is sending us to a clinic closer to where we live to treat her arm, shoulder and hand. She will have her arm wrapped 24-7 for up to three weeks plus massage therapy three times a week.. The trip to the xray clinic was quite a long journey, as we had to go through another huge building and then across the street and up to the 16th floor. If this tiring you out reading this, imagine how Sue felt, what a trooper this gal is! She has more courage and I love her so and am so humbled by it. Anyway we had the xrays and Dr.Maus had called Sue shortly after to check up that all went well and he would call us as soon as he had any info. We got home and Dr. Maus called and spoke to Sue, he had looked at the xrays himself and wanted Sue to know that he believed that it was fluid from the cancer, but he was waiting for the radiologist to see them. He also had called Dr Nguyen and discussed this issue with him and Dr. Nguyen was to call Sue as soon as he got the info from the radiologist. So far no word.

I may have left some things out, but that is the best info I can give you off the top my head, which is exteremly tired. Tomorrow God willing we will start a new and wonderful day, a day that my couragous daughter Sue will be stronger and breath better even a little better is God's blessing. Doug

Ray taught me to blog

2008-05-18T21:42:00.003-05:00

Hello to you all!
I am writing this blog on my own tonight. Ray let me in on the secret and mysterious world that is blogging...actually its wicked easy and I should have taken over sooner! I hope he will still post an occassion blog on his own as I know we all love his witty writings!
I am doing better everyday...my breathing is still not normal but, it feels like it is steadily moving in right direction. I, unfortunately, want everything to happen in my time (NOW!) and God has been patiently teaching me over and over that it is His Time!
This week I am going to the lymphedema clinic to have them look at the old tick arm and see what they reccommend. Its come along way!!!! My P/T, Velma, who massages the tick and makes me exercise it thinks its about a third of the size it was.
I also have Chemo on Wednesday. This time its just the one dose of the new stuff that directly attacks the cancer cells. I am curious to see which of last weeks minor side effects were from this and which are from the other.
Please continue to pray for my family and I as we continue on this journey. They really do work!

Praying for God's special blessings for you all! Have a happy week!

Susan

Thursday News from TX

2008-05-15T22:27:00.002-05:00

It was another quiet day here in Houston, Sue is still tired out and is still having a hard time walking any distance at all. I was hoping she would go for a road trip today, but she was too tired to tackle it. Mom is coming over tomorrow to spend the day with Sue, which will be a nice change of pace for her. I am praying that she starts to get more energy to do more walking as sitting on the coma couch for so many hours certainly is not healthy for her. We think it is the after affect of the new chemo that has her so tired.

Ray has been very busy at work so we all miss his blogs, Thanks to everyone for your prayers and kind words of encouragement, there are no words to descibe the power of healing we have seen from them. I beg you to please pray as often and as hard as you can for Sue, she really needs your prayers. God bless you all, you all will be in my heart and prayers forever.

Dad/Doug

A Lazy Texas Wednesday...

2008-05-14T22:07:00.001-05:00

Good evening EVERYONE!

It was kind of a rainy, humid day here in Houston, perfect for doing nothing. Sue and I did very little today other than rest and relax! Sue is a little frustrated as she wants to get better as fast as possible and unfortunately cancer doesn't work that way and she realizes that.

Still the only side affect of the chemo is she is tired, her shortness of breath is still a problem when she walks but it is a tad better. She has a real positive attitude which will continue to help her overcome this disease.

We really need some super strong prayers for her breathing to improve and the heavyness on her right lung to go away!Please keep all the wonderful prayers going strong!

God love you all and bless you for your commitment to Sue.

God blessings to you all. Doug

Sue is doing good after chemo!

2008-05-14T08:05:00.003-05:00

Good Wednesday Morning to Everyone!

I am sending you my dad's update and also a few prayer requests! Thanks so much for caring and praying for my sister Sue! She still needs your prayers as much as always! Mike has purchased tickets for Ashlee and I to go to Houston Friday, May 23- Mon, May 26 so we are so excited to be able to get down there and see everyone and how much better Sue is than when we last saw her in April! Lots of pictures and stories to follow when I'm there! Please pray that with this new chemo SUe's body will be able to handle it NO PROBLEM! Minimal to no side effects and that her heart will have no damage when the test results are in, and that her levels remain normal!! We are so thankful that they returned to normal and have stayed there, all of our prayers for that have been heard and answered! Also, please pray for Sue's lymphedema, she is going to the Lymphedema Clinic on May 19th and we are praying the Lord just takes it away! Thanks so much and have a great Wednesday! XOXO Kaylee

I am sorry I got this up date going this late, Sue and I have been watching one of Sue's favorite shows, DEAL OR NO DEAL which just ended and I am pooped out.

Sue had a very busy morning today, she went to have her heart test done over by the Memorial Hermann hospital. They put dye in her arm and then xrayed her heart, Sue had to lay flat on her back for over 20 minutes which is so hard for her to do but the brave little gal did it without a complaint. Then she had to go to Dr Nyguyen's office for her red and white blood cell booster shots.

The only side affect of the chemo so far is it has made her vey tired, but her breathing is much better today. She also had a visit from Velma, the physical therapist at 4pm so Susie has had a full day. We do not have a single thing going on tomorrow so I hope we can sleep in and then do a fun thing or two.

Take care and Gods blessings to all. Dad

Chemo Day!

2008-05-12T20:08:00.003-05:00

My dad sent me an update and called me with the results from Dr visit today. Sue has been having a nagging cough that attributed to allergies for a little while, but she has had a "tight" right lung, so before her chemo today she met with her Dr to examine her and discern is all was a green light for chemo, which it is. Dr Nyguyen feels it is lymohedema (lymph fluid) pushing on the top of her lung and will clear up with this chemo by shrinking what is blocking the drainage and allowing the fluid to drain. SO here is my dad's report! Please keep praying for Sue and that her levels will stay normal-blood, potassium and sodium and that htere is no damage to her heart. She will have her heart test tomorrow. Thanks for your love, care, prayers and support.

Kaylee

Everything went well at the Dr.'s office, Sue got her new chemo and it was amazing how relieved she was to finally get it. All her blood work was right on target normal, so we are back on the positive track, so look out cancer here we come rolling right atcha. Sue is very tired as it was a long day, we finally got out of there at 6:00 p.m. I had taken mom to work around 4:30 and then went back with Sue. I drove Sue to Sonics as she wanted her favorite cherry lime slush so she was happy with that. Sue is sleeping right now, all tired from being at the Dr from 1:30-6pm and getting two new chemo meds! We'll keep you informed on the heart test tomorrow!

Doug

Happy Mother's Day, Y'all!

2008-05-11T21:40:00.002-05:00

Happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers out there:

I went to church with my mom today. It was a beautiful service, and it was nice to sit in a church again. I told my mom that she couldn’t cry as that would make me cry and set me off in a coughing fit. Fortunately she complied, even though they kicked off the service with “How Great Though Art”. After church we returned home to enjoy a fabulous Shirley’s Brunch that Koo-Koo made us along with crispy hash browns ala Doug. After we finished eating, my mom opened all her gifts, and said she had a lovely mother’s day, and her kids spent way too much money on her – and I hope it meant that she felt spoiled as she so deserves. I hope all of you moms have had a special Mother’s Day as well.

Mom, Kari, and I pose outside next to one of Mom's gifts - a blooming hibiscus plant.

Tomorrow we’ll be calling the doctor’s office for the insurance clearance for the chemo. We are hopeful that it will be Monday or Tuesday. Also, I have my heart test on Tuesday morning, and a follow up appointment with Dr. Nguyen on Friday. So it will be a busy appointment week at our house.

Please keep your prayers and good thoughts coming as they are very much appreciated, and very much needed.

Praying for God’s special blessing for all of you, and wishing you all a wonderful week.

Susan

Doug weighs in on Friday!!

2008-05-10T01:43:00.002-05:00

I hope you had a nice day, and will have a great evening. Sue had a visit from Velma today( the physical therapist) andVelma was not aware of a lymphedema clinic available in Houston. Sue is doing great, we did not take any road trips today so she just kind of relaxed today. Kari brought us Burgers from Southwell so that was delicious and very thoughtfull of her, then Sue treated us to ice cream from the Marble Slab. I worked on the patio planting flowers today, it was in the 90's so it was hot and I wa drenched, but it is looking nice. Take care and bless you all.

Another Update from Dad (Doug)

2008-05-08T23:47:00.000-05:00

Sue and I had a very nice day, we went to lunch at La Madelaine's and had such a nice lunch.

Then sue needed some items from her old favorite drug store Walgreens, when she was working she would stop there almost every evening for something. So she was so happy to be able to walk into the drug store again, by then she was tiring a bit so I brought her home to take a nap.

We have not heard anything on the chemo, we are hoping that Friday is the day, I will keep you all posted. Take care best wishes to all, bless you.

No Chemo Today...

2008-05-07T21:57:00.002-05:00

Just a quick update for those of you checking to see how Sue did with her chemo today, my mom and dad got Sue to chemo this am only to be told that Sue was unable to receive her chemo, due to a glitch with her insurance. Not a big deal as we found out, it takes a little while to approve one of Sue's new chemo meds, so they will be letting her know and they think it will be Fri or Mon when she will receive it, so please, please please keep on praying that her insurance is approved quickly and her levels are all good and the new chemo has indeed, minimal to no side effects for Sue!! Thanks so much and God Bless you and thank you for caring enough about Sue to check this blog and pray for her!! We appreciate each and every one of you! Don't forget to leave Sue comments, she LOVES receiving them (and so do I!!!)

XOXO Kaylee

From Mike's ND cousin!!

2008-05-07T08:31:00.002-05:00

This lovely email came from one of Mike's cousins in North Dakota-I thought it was so thoughtful and sweet, and a day brightener, that I would share it with all of you blog readers! Thank you so much Danny for your kindness and thoughtfulness! I know your show on Mother's day will be fantastic!

Dear Kaylee,

My Mom and Dad have informed me that your sister has been diagnosed with breast cancer. I am so sorry to hear it.

I have been given a wonderful opportunity that I would like you to know about. I wrote a musical called "Beneath Our Apple Tree." The first production of it was in February of this year, but I have been asked to have an encore performance on mother's day, may 11th. the Jamestown ND chapter of "Relay for Life" is sponsoring the production and ALL proceeds will go to cancer research.
It is a story about a life long friendship between two women as they face life's struggles including cancer.
Although I certainly don't expect you and your family to come see the show on such short notice, it is important for me that you know that I am doing my best to help fight this horrible disease. Although I don't know your sister personally... I would like you to know that I am presenting this showing of Beneath Our Apple Tree with your family in my heart.

All my love,
Danny Walstad

Better Late Than Never

2008-05-06T21:24:00.004-05:00

Sorry it’s been a while since I blogged. We had a busy weekend and issues with the internet. But we’re back and ready to go.

This weekend, we had Kari and my mom, Carol and Jared over for a delicious BBQ courteousy of my dad and Ray. Before that, Kari went to the race track and placed bets on the Kentucky Derby for us. And we watched the race and rooted for our horses. Unfortunately, none of us won.
Ray's note: Here the three ladies imagining what they'll do with their winnings before the race. Too bad the result was much less than what was expected. My couch could have used a partner...one that I can actually sit in.

Carol and Jared stayed after the BBQ. While we were talking and laughing, there was an unexpected knock at the door at 10:30 that night. Our crazy neighbor had decided she had to use our phone to dial 911. She was saying that her sister was being disruptive, and she needed to have the police remove her. Let me just mention this is the same lady who dials 911 for herself on a weekly basis, and has had a mental health warrant out for her. So we had our doubts about her sister. As she was pretty much prepared to settle in and wait for the police at our place, Carol jumped in and smoothly got her of the house – and kept her out. If you ever need somebody to handle crazy, Carol is the one – in fact, I think she should start a side business to boot out those of warped minds.

Sunday we all relaxed and enjoyed a fairly mellow day around the home. Mom and Kari came over for another BBQ courtesy of my dad. And we called it the night fairly early. This week there’s not much new to report so far. Please pray for my new chemo to work exceptionally well with minimal side effects, and to continue clearing the cancer from my body.

We will post a blog soon to let you know how it goes.

God’s blessings to you all and lots of love and gratitude.

Susan

Dad's Update!

2008-05-06T07:14:00.002-05:00

Sue is doing really well today (Monday), her friend Carol came over and watched TV with Sue at 2:00 for 4 hours, they had a ball! Carol brought sue a Tuna sandwich.

We called Dr. Nguyen's office and Sue has a heart test for next week, evidently the heart place forgot to call Sue to tell her when to come in. It really goes to show that you have to be real active in the care of someone, as this kind of thing happens a lot I am sure.

Mom and Kari were sick today, so they stayed home and did not come over here. I send my best to you all, and wish you all God's blessings.

Love Dad (Doug)

Please keep praying all will go well on Wed with the new chemo and Sue's levels are great!! Also that she will have no damage to her heart from the prior chemo treatments!! Have a great Tuesday!

A Weekend Update!

2008-05-05T08:40:00.003-05:00

Good Monday Morning!

I am filling in as I think this is the longest we've gone without a blog....thanks again to all of who have checked in to make sure all is well! Sue, Ray my dad, mom and Kari were busy this weekend BBQ'ing, watching the Kentucky Derby (tragic ending for the poor 2nd place horse-that's why I personally don't like racing!) and in general haing a nice realxing weekend! Nothing besides the fact that Sue's tick hand has continued to get smaller!! YAHOO!

This week is a big week for Sue however, she starts her new chemo treatments, she will be receiving two new chemo meds, and it will be once a week instead of every two weeks with these new meds. They are supposed to be more cancer specific and less harsh on her body!~! She was not able to start with these as she needs to have her blood levels at/near normal.

Could you please pray for Sue this week for all her levels to be normal? Blood, potassium and sodium? And also that this new treatment would go great and for Sue to feel God's healing hand upon her and for this chemo to work it's miracle (along with God?) Thank you so very very much for visiting the blog and for caring and for all your prayers!! So far Sue is getting better and stronger each day and we are so thankful and grateful!!

Have a terrific Monday!!

XOXO Kaylee

An Update From Doug!

2008-05-01T20:40:00.003-05:00

Ray emailed me to let me know he is super crazy at work for the next several weeks and will not be able to blog as much as usual, so my dad always sends me end of the day updates on email, so I thought I would put that on just to keep you daily readers (like me!!) updated with the latest at the Martinez home! Hope your day was great Ray!

From Doug:

I have a nice evening up date for you, after quite a few activities yesterday that kept Sue out and about for at least 3 hours, plus Velma's visit(physical therapy for her "tick arm/hand"), it kind of pooped Sue out. So we had a pretty nice, easy day today, a long visit from Deb( the kingpin in planning the three day walk-Sue's great friend) was just the ticket for Sue! They were laughing and watching a movie all afternoon. I left shortly after Deb arrived so the girls could have some gal time without the old man around.

Sue took care of her shower and grooming all by herself(!!), so Mom got a little break today. All in all it was a pleasant, positive day, thank you Lord for that. I wish you all a good evening and a wonerful day tomorrow, bless you all.

Two Days Before the Weekend

2008-05-01T20:31:00.004-05:00

Yesterday was a Wednesday chock full of do’s and more do’s for Susan. She treated her parents to lunch at the PK Blue Water Grill which is a Cajun-like restaurant right across the street from where we live. It was her first sit down restaurant with a menu and waiter to boot in over a two months; and I didn’t realize that until I asked her when was the last time she was in a restaurant setting. Her answer was February 22nd, the evening after she received her diagnosis. Sure she was at Le Madelaine the other day; but that’s more of a cafeteria than a sit down “what would the lovely lady like to drink” service.

Afterwards she and her dad dropped off Kay at home and stopped at HEB, our local grocery store to gather the ingredients, among other needed things, for the evening’s dinner. After that, they waited for the therapist.

Velma was amazed with the progress of the Tick Arm since her last visit this past Tuesday. Even today her hand looks almost normal.

Right after the therapy session, Susan did what she’s been aching to do for some time. She went back to the kitchen and cooked a meal for Doug, Kari, and me. She cooked pork chops with a delicious blue cheese sauce. The sides included mashed potatoes and baked asparagus seasoned just right. I’m so proud of her and her accomplishments.

Here we are about to feast on Susan's handiwork. Guess who's working the camera? And what the heck is that on my shoulder?

Susan may have overdone it, though. Her back and tick arm were sore from holding it up as long as she did. So she did what any one of us would have done. She rested the following day.

Dr. Shree called today and told her that her levels were excellent. In spite of drinking fluids normally for almost a week, her sodium was good and her potassium rose a little (just the way he liked it). So, with the tick arm shrinking, add that to her progress report as evidence that Susan’s recovery is coming along nicely.

Deborah came today with the usual hilarity that she brings and spent the day together with Susan. The two of them sat on my – I mean our coma couch – and ate M&M cookies and watched Juno. Deborah was leaving just as I arrived home from work with a bundle of Mexican food from Cha Chos in my arms.

While I sweat profusely from a hard day's work three miles away, these two made a day of my - I mean, our - couch.

There will be more to report tomorrow. I’m certain Susan will continue to amaze me again with further signs of being her usual awesome self, like opening up me a bottle of Guinness as I return from another grueling day at work (big wink and grin). You never know. It could happen.

Ray

Tuesday under the Houston Sun

2008-04-29T20:43:00.007-05:00

Today was an exceptional day for planting, or in the very least, to pick the flowers that would be planted sometime before the next unlikely rainfall this week. It was 80 degrees, sunny, and while I was at work, I looked out the window and wished I was out there. Susan and Doug did just that. She felt less fatigued and couldn’t resist letting a day like this slip away. They went to Wal-Mart’s garden center and picked up flowers for planting. She pushed the cart while her and her dad decided which of their dazzling selection would go into the cart. I was pleased with their choices since they got me a cayenne pepper plant and a sweet banana pepper one.

Anyway, I digress as usual. After their excursion to the Palace of Save Money, Live Better, they stopped at Sonic and got snacks. This time, Susan treated herself to a giant slushie, which might I remind you kind readers that because she was taken off fluid restrictions she was able to drink the whole gosh darn thing without worries. She did…the lucky stiff.

In one hand she holds a planter. And in the other....look closely...closer...CLOSER, darnit! See it now? She's holding a giant slushie in her "tick hand." That's how much improvement she's experienced. She can actually hold items in that hand and hold up the cup high enough to take a sip when she wants to.

Tim arrived today to draw blood…or at least that’s what I’m assuming he was here to do. If not, then Tim and I need talk. Too much seems to carry on at home while I labor mercilessly away. At any rate, we’ll discuss that later, what I wanted to mention was his utter shock when he saw Susan’s Tick Hand. He was flabbergasted to see how much it’s shrunk since his last visit. I noticed since chemo #4 that there has been a consistent improvement to her hand – her arm as a whole. But it’s a good feeling to hear people who haven’t seen Susan for a week or even days apart since their last visits to take a sudden note of her improving condition upon their return.

For those of you who have seen the "tick hand" you can see how smaller it's become. It's almost in the same league as her left hand. For those of you haven't seen the hand, you might say that the swelling looks bad. But no, it was a lot worst before chemo #4; and it was even worst than that last month.

Doug got a little creative in the kitchen. He made jambalaya. It was very tasty (though I’ve learned to despise that word thanks to that spiky white-haired chubby putz, Guy Fieri, on the Food Network, who says everything he shoves in his gullet is “tasty”. Man, I am digressing tonight).

Here's a picture of Doug presenting his Jambalaya for all to see. I'm a little wary since he's standing much too close to my bowl that I have to hold it away from him.

Please keep your prayers coming for Susan’s continuous improvement. It really does show and it pleases me to no end to see her hand shrinking, the way she is able to lift herself out of chairs with the near same ease as before, and the way she can walk to the back patio and back with no assistance. Thanks to all and good night!

Ray

SURPRISE!!

2008-04-29T09:54:00.002-05:00

Surprise!

We have a new look for the blog! Surprise to Sue and Ray!! I thought this was much more Sue's style and as she is getting better I thought it would be more fun to have a more "uplifting" fun look!!

I received an email from Ray, he is extremely busy at work, so between all of us, we will keep you updated as to Sue's progress!!

I hope you enjoy our new look! ALso, we have a few prayer requests for this week if you have the time and inclination we would be so VERY grateful!!

Please pray that Sue's sodium, potassium and blood levels would remain normal and that her red bloods specifiacally would be normal (they were just a little low of normal last week), please pray for Sue's heart test she will be having to make certain after her 4 chemo's there has been no damage (Sue doesn't feel there is as her blood pressure has been great), and that the lymphedema in her arm/hand will go AWAY and so will the cancer that has invaded her body!!

Happy Tuesday and thanks for your care and prayers!!

XOXO Kaylee

Susan's Warm Weekend

2008-04-27T21:41:00.004-05:00

Well, here we are Sunday once again. We’ve had a good and restful weekend here in Houston. It rained a little and the weather afterwards was nice. Two accomplishments to report: One, I am able to work out on the back patio without assistance; for those of you who don’t know this, there is a big step there and my legs weren’t strong enough to maneuver well on it.

(Ray’s note: To better understand this, the back patio was where Susan needed constant assistance getting outside and going back in. I noticed as of late, when she required assistance, she only needed somebody to precede outdoors and hold out their hand out to her; she rarely gripped it hard or necessitated that much assistance. So I suggested that she tried it without my help. She was hesitant at first, but she gave it a whirl. She gave it a whirl twice for me and once for her dad. That’s in and out, folks. She’s on the road to recovery faster than you know it).

And, number two, I surprised my mom by taking a shower and getting dressed all on my own. Of course, I had Ray standing by that if he heard a big klunk to come running by.

(Ray’s note: No klunk today.)

The tick hand seems to be smaller than when I went into the hospital. I have more movement with my hand and forearm. I am thankful that it keeps shrinking. I look forward to the day when I can use it more normally.

Last night my dad made a delicious barbeque for us all. And tonight my mom brought over runzas, and Koo-Koo brought delicious brownies. I enjoy the family dinners on the weekends. It’s great to eat with everyone.

To my friends and family in Minnesota: sorry about the snow. Let me know when you want to come for a visit. Hee-hee….

Much gratitude and love to you all. As always thanks for your love, prayers, care, and concern. Have an excellent week.

Susan

Dad's Update!

2008-04-26T23:04:00.000-05:00

Here is my dad's Saturday update:

We started our day out with a brief thunder storm this morning, but then it turned out to be such a pretty day. The bbq was so good, I made a new burger that was so good it is called the basil burger and it is so delicious.I also cooked Sue's and Mom's favorite sausage, we had baked beans and corn on the cob, so all and all it was very tasty. Sue's doing so much better today, she has eaten better and is looking so much better. We had a real nice Saturday for her, lots of positive vibes going on here for her. we are looking forward to an even better day tomorrow, Mom is making Runza's, so anyway we are looking forward to eating them. We miss you all and wish you were here to spend time with us, take care and we wish Gods blessings to you all.

Another Dose of Good News

2008-04-25T22:42:00.000-05:00

Well…she’s been waiting a long time for this. But the call came. She got word from the Doc - Doctor Shree that is, and Susan is now officially off the potassium. She doesn’t have to choke down that vile solution anymore. And more! He’s taken her off her fluid restrictions. She can drink what and as much as she wants going forward. That is great news indeed. So before I forget, Susan says a big thank you for all of your continued prayers. The one wish among the many has been granted.

For much of the day Susan spent recuperating. She wasn’t herself. She’s been feeling fatigued and somewhat yucky. It’s a common thing for her to feel that way a few days after chemo. It’s harsh. But in a couple of days she should feel stronger and have a stronger appetite. That’s the odd thing about chemo. It brings her down and soon enough it makes her feel stronger.

She was strong enough yet to try sitting in different chairs around our home and then lift herself from them. She did very well, she said. She was able to perform her self-appointed trials with ease. It’s good that she’s giving herself things to do to become stronger.

Before I forget, Susan’s mom Kay wanted me to write down her thoughts for the blog. I’m more than happy to oblige her:

“How Great Thou Art! Yes, God still performs miracles! I’m so very thankful and praise Him. My thanks to Dr. Nguyen and Dr. Shree for their wisdom, skills, and super care! And all of you “prayer warriors”: May God bless and give you grace. Sue, your “Sisu” is amazing. I love you and with you continue to say “I trust in you, Jesus.”

That’s about all folks. You all have a good night and thank you for your prayers. And when you get a chance give a shout out to Dr. Shree and Dr. Nguyen. They make a fine team.

Ray

A Very Brief Update

2008-04-24T22:01:00.002-05:00

Not much new to report today. The first few days after chemo Susan’s pretty wiped.

She did, however, receive a bouquet of flower from her coworkers. It was very touching that they did that for her. It brightened up her day, and made her feel connected to her workplace and those she worked with.

Velma noted that Susan’s “tick arm” was smaller. Her fingers were more apparent and thinner than before. But they were more so when I got out of the shower later than evening to sit down to jot down the blog; her fingers seemed more pronounced. She can even move her arm better. I’m looking forward to see what it’ll look like tomorrow.

Tomorrow Susan’s expecting a call from Dr. Shree tomorrow about her sodium and potassium levels. Hopefully her fluid restrictions will be a thing of the past and she can chug down a whole glass of water if she wanted to. Pray that her levels are good.

Thank you everyone for all of your prayers and good thoughts. Please keep them up. They’re working.

Until tomorrow….

Ray

Chemo #4 and Some Really Great News

2008-04-23T21:07:00.009-05:00

Susan about to board Doug's car, pumped and ready for her chemo. Go and get some, Susan!

It’s been March since I attended one of Susan’s chemos. The last time I went I was pushing Susan in a wheelchair trying to maneuver her in the elevators, around people and corners. This morning she strolled from the car to the doctor’s office using a walker. But once she was signed in, she got up with ease from her chair to the receptionist desk and back, into the examination room, and finally to the party room without it. I was amazed to see such a change in her in this setting.

The nurses took her blood for testing. I had no doubts whatsoever that today would be chemo day. Susan always has her doubts each time she goes, or at least, carries with her the possibility that it could be delayed. I didn’t have any doubts today. I could tell by the color of her face and her eyes that her numbers were right.

Sure enough, the nurse’s assistant read the numbers to us:

Her hemoglobin was 9.2. The last reading was 8.7.
Her platelets were at 198. The last reading was 139.
Her white blood cells were at 7.4. The last time she was tested she was 1.3.

Dr. Nguyen came into the room saying “Wow, did you see these numbers?”

Did you read that right? We got ourselves a “wow” from this very reserved oncologist. Not only a “wow” but a laugh of astonishment and a big smile from him that surprised even me. I’ve heard that he can smile. I’ve seen him grin when Susan cracked a joke. But a smile from him was like a blue ribbon for the finest tasting pecan pie – it was a reward duly earned after so much went into making it happen. I was amazed to see it myself. To say he was pleased with her results wouldn’t do the moment justice.

He patted me on the shoulder said laughingly and said, “she’s doing great.”

He proceeded to examine Susan and announced that that she wouldn’t need a blood transfusion tomorrow; which it was routine for Susan to go for chemos on Wednesdays and blood transfusions on Thursdays. Not this time. She’ll still need her mother to give her shots to keep her red and white blood cells, but extra pints of blood won’t be necessary.

He’s also changing her chemo to two different types. She’ll endure less of the negative side-effects and the medicines will focus on the cancer cells themselves, and not healthy ones. This is so promising. This is the chemo he’s been waiting to use, but was waiting for her white blood cells to be at the level they are now in order to that. In a couple of months he’ll consider giving her a pet scan. Now it wasn’t necessary since it was evident that Susan’s responding well to the treatment.

Upon leaving, he said in passing to us “she’s getting better and better every day.” Which surprised me; his comments paralleled Susan’s anthem of “I’m getting stronger and stronger every day.” I have no doubts in Susan’s commitment to beat this thing.

We proceeded to the party room and Susan received her chemo. She was in good spirits. She drank pomegranate and Fritos.

I stand beside Susan as she receives her chemo. If someone had offered me a donut my smile would have been wider. But no, nobody did. So this is all you get.

The nurses give Susan a thumbs up. They are great people. I hope the doctors give them raises soon. They deserve them.

After we returned, I went to work and Susan and her parents went to Le Madelaine for lunch. This was her first sit down meal at a restaurant. And in spite of the awkward stares and the encouraging smiles, Susan didn’t feel self-conscious about her appearance – and no reason that she should have. She’s beautiful and quite powerful.

Susan and Kay eating Le Madelaine's foo-foo grub.

I do have to admit, the restaurant's pastries do look good from here. I doubt anybody will bring me anything.

Here's Susan and Doug completely replete from a good meal. And look, Susan's bringing me a big bag of nothing.

All of this good news and Susan's apparent recovery goes to show you that your prayers and wishful thinking has the power to subdue the monster who is obviously failing to bring down Susan, and they have the power to make a reserved oncologist smile, too. Please keep it up.

Thank you all.

Ray

Please Keep Praying!

2008-04-23T08:17:00.002-05:00

For those of you reading the blog this am, Sue is going in for her blood level check and chemotherapy treatment #4 tis morning at 9am. Can you please pray for her blood levels to be AMAZING and great and that they would be so good she wouldn't need any more blood transfusions? ALso that she would continue to have minimal side effects and her body would tolerate the chemo great!! Thanks so much for your love, care and support! I am praying that the Lord will work HIS miracle through her and take away her cancer and this chemo treatment would have a dramatic effect on her lymphedema as well. We will let you know later today the results when she's home from the Dr!! We appreciate your prayers and for checking on Sue!

Blessings to You!

Kaylee

A Monday Rush

2008-04-21T21:49:00.003-05:00

Monday was a surprisingly busy day for Susan. It started with the arrival of Tim the vampire. Well, not really a vampire, but Home Health Care’s phlebotomist to draw blood today. His usual visits are on Tuesday’s, but he wasn’t going to be here tomorrow. And he really wanted to take Susan’s blood, get it on its way to the lab for tests so Susan will know if she’ll be off the potassium soon. The stuff is really nasty, and it’s hard to swallow even when it’s stirred with juice.

Shortly after that, Velma arrived for Susan’s physical therapy. She took one good look at Susan and was delighted with her “tick arm.” It’s been over a week since she’s seen Susan and her arm, and she was amazed to see that the swelling had gone down. Not only that, but there was more motion to it. She was able to lift it higher than before.

While Velma was working with Susan, Doug went to pick up Kay. Kay usually arrives around that time to assist Susan with her general needs. After physical therapy, Susan took a shower and went on a road trip with her parents. First stop, they dropped off Kay at her apartment, then the two of them – Susan and Doug – went to Home Depot. They took a side trip to Sonic and picked up “slushees.” They visited the grocery store for more supplies.

It was bound to happen. Susan sat on the coma couch and took a nap. There’s no escaping the drowsy powers of the coma couch. It was a busy two days for Susan. She had no way of resisting the powers of the couch.

On a side note, Doug continues to make the front patio a perpetual Garden of Eden for Susan. He jury-rigged a regular pot and made it into a hanging one for a fern when doubting voices told him it couldn’t be done. Let it be known from all around not to question the Master Gardener.

Doug with his handiwork. If the roof avalanches to the front patio, we'll know why. But so far so good - no avalanche.

Susan requests that people pray for her sodium and potassium levels to be where they need to be so that Dr. Shree can lift her fluid restrictions and she can stop taking that awful concoction. Also, Wednesday is chemo day. Pray that her numbers continue to climb so she can make Dr. Nguyen smile again.

Until next time, we’ll keep you updated with more details as they come.

Ray

An Excellent Sunday

2008-04-20T21:18:00.009-05:00

Greetings to you all.

We had a very busy ad fun Sunday. It started with Mom and Koo-Koo coming over in the morning for a quick visit. They brought me a new fluffy towel and lotion – thank you for your thoughtfulness!

Mom and I at the front patio. I'm feeling good and I'm wearing the blouse that Kaylee bought me. I love it.

Then Mr. and Mrs. Martinez, Gloria and Jessica stopped by for an afternoon visit bearing gifts of a beautiful bouquet of cut flowers and two plants for our garden, plus two very thoughtful cards from Gloria and Jessica. It was so wonderful to see them and to spend time visiting. They always have great stories to tell and laughs to share. Thanks for making the drive to the city, for lunch, and the wonderful time together.

Ray with his family.

Mr. and Mrs. Martinez, Jessica, Gloria, and me. We had a great lunch together and a wonderful visit.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent outside on the swing admiring my dad’s handiwork in the garden; taking a stroll with Ray; and making some overdue phone calls. Koo-Koo and my mom stopped by to drop off Koo-Koo’s awesome taco salad, and hang out with us.

Ray cooked us a fabulous dinner. That guy can cook like nobody’s business. After dinner dad drove mom and I to the ice cream shop, and she treated us for a little after dinner treat.

Yum! Delicious ice cream. Thank you Mom for the ice cream. Thank you, Dad, for driving.

Overall it was a fabulous Sunday. I hope you all had great weekend and that you have a fabulous week.

As always I am always grateful for your prayers and your love and concern. They lift me higher than I can explain.

Lots of love to you all

Susan

P.S. A special hello to Natalie from Missouri. It was wonderful to receive your letter. I will be writing to you soon. Thank you for taking the time to contact me and share your story.

A Time For Gratefulness

2008-04-19T23:51:00.001-05:00

This is not so much an update as it is a moment for a husband to give thanks where thanks are due. But those of you who want a hint as to how Susan’s doing, okay…here’s a quick tidbit and a reason why I feel there’s a need for gratitude.

Susan continues to grow stronger each day. She’s able to remain standing up longer than she could before. I hear you saying, “How is standing an indication that she’s getting stronger?” Well, I’ll tell you, you naysayers in three words: She couldn’t before. Again, it’s one of those things that we take for granted that we don’t know how difficult it can be when it’s a skill that becomes beyond our grasp due to illness or injury. So when you’re standing in the long line at the grocery store or the DMV, instead of grumbling and cursing under your breath, think of Susan who couldn’t. Now stand in wonder, literally, and realize to do something as effortless as standing longer is becoming an ability she’s now regaining.

Here’s something she told me this morning. Remember in past logs I said the primary reason why I bought the coma couch was so she could get up by herself and gain some independence? And she has. She’s able to rely less on Doug and me to situate her to sit upright or to fall asleep at night. The coma couch was a blessing. But that’s beside the point. Let me get back to what Susan said. What she told me was that she was in the front patio where the chaise lounge now resides; she sat on the chaise lounge, and she got herself off of it on her own. Did you get that? Are you reading this carefully? She lifted herself off the chaise lounge without assistance from Doug or me. How amazing is that when 2 to 3 weeks ago she couldn’t do that before, and I had to buy a piece of furniture so she could.

Another piece of evidence that Susan’s on the road to recovery begins with a nap, but not just any type of nap. A nap in OUR bed! She slept for a good half hour without feeling discomfort from her “tick arm.” She hadn’t been able to do that confidently since late January. She still can’t sleep in it for a full night, but she’s well on her way.

Which all of this brings me to the purpose of this entry. I am grateful.

I am grateful that I can look at Susan and see the color in her face all rosy and healthy. I grateful for the brightness in her eyes, and the beautiful smile she shines at me.

I am grateful for Dr. Nguyen whose skills and know-how is literally saving her life. She’s had three chemo treatments and she’s becoming stronger and stronger every day. There’s still 5 more ahead of her; but if 3 can bring this much improvement, I can only imagine what a full eight is going to do. Plus, keep in mind that with Susan’s fierce will to live and positive attitude, there’s no stopping her. She’s a force to be reckoned with and she’s still my hero.

And, yeah, I don’t want to forget Dr. Shree for improving her sodium levels. Saving Susan’s life was a team effort, and I can never forget about him. Many thanks to him.

I am grateful to Velma, Susan’s therapist. She has patiently and joyfully worked with improving Susan’s strength in her legs and her tick arm.

I am, without a doubt and without hesitation, grateful to Kay and Doug. Without them Susan and I would be at a loss. Kay has cared for Susan’s physical well being in ways that only a daughter can entrust to a mother and a former nurse. Doug’s presence has given me the reassurance that while I am away at work, he is home with Susan watching out for her and helping her around the home. I am so grateful for the two of them that I don’t have the words, other than thank you. Your company and your talents are priceless.

As for Susan’s sister Kari, I am grateful for her understanding, her willingness to help and jump in when needed. She has demonstrated profound compassion for her sister, and good conversation s. I know that if we ever need her more than what she already gives, I believe she is willing to give without hesitation.

And I won’t forget the one sister who has been a whirlwind of energy and generosity: Kaylee. I am grateful for her willing to be here at a moment’s notice, knowing that even when she’s thousands of miles away, she’s a phone call or an email away. And when she’s in our home she gives comfort like no other person that I know. Thank you, Kaylee, for all that you do for us. You’re an amazing person – in fact, you’re amazing like your husband Mike and your children – Alex and Ashlee. You’re all great people. I don’t call you Ministering Angels for nothing.

Of course, I don’t want to forget about all our friends: Deb, Kari Wells, Carol and Jerod, and Susan Inman for all that you do for Susan. You give her smiles and laughter, love and acts of generosity that I can’t even begin to count them all. I am grateful to you all.

And I won’t forget about all of you who prayed for Susan and offered her your heartfelt and beautiful words of encouragement. Everything that you people do makes Susan feel so much better. But more importantly, it makes her stronger. All that you people do for her benefit, please understand that along with the treatment from her doctors, you’re just as much a contributor to her health and well-being than you know.

Thank you everybody. I am grateful for all of you. And if I forgot anyone, please forgive me. There’s so many people to thank, I have yet to begin.

Thank God for all of you.

Ray

Your Prayers Are At Work!!!

2008-04-17T23:15:00.003-05:00

Thanks so much for your specific prayers this week! Sue heard from Dr Shree about her sodium and potassium levels...and they were GREAT!! Sue was thrilled to be taken off her antibiotic today! Thank You! She will be kept one more week on her potassium supplement just to make sure all is well and her fluids will be restricted as well to see how she does. Sue is celebrating FREEDOM from the antibiotic that made her feel sick!! More good news!! Please keep on praying for her blood, sodium and potassium levels!

XOXO Kaylee

One Foot in Front of the Other

2008-04-16T21:28:00.003-05:00

You might remember that song around Christmas time from the old animated show “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” that to me is somehow – in my own distorted way of looking at things - is indicative of Susan and her healing process:

You never will get where you’re going
If you never get up on your feet
Come on, there’s a good tail wind blowing
A fast walking man is hard to beat
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking cross the floor
Put one foot in front of the other
And soon you’ll be walking out the door

She has – and is still doing – just that. Let me give you today’s examples.

She visited Dr. Nguyen. Again today, as he was last week, he was pleased with her blood test results. He was genuinely smiling today, which he rarely does unless Susan says something really funny off the cuff. This time, the Great Houston Healer was free style grinning. For the record and as future reference for you folks, normal blood platelets level is 140. She was at 139 today. To put it in perspective, when Susan was in ICU last month, her first platelet reading was at .01. See how far she’s come? Her red blood cell count is still low but higher than it was the last time around; the same goes for the white blood cells. Dr. Nguyen said that the numbers were where he expected them to be because of the chemo. We are hopeful that chemo therapy will be a go next Wednesday. I think so at this rate.

Susan spent much of the day outside in the nice 75 degree weather. Doug did a fine job in the garden not too long ago, and it was a perfect time to spend some time there.

It was also a time of discovery for her. She discovered that she can lie down in our bed, lift herself up, and stand up from it. This for those of you who didn’t know this, she couldn’t do that before for nearly two months. She can’t sleep in our bed still, because the “tick arm” is too uncomfortable for her to lie completely on her back. Hence the reason for the chaise lounge when she first arrived from the hospital, and why I bought the coma couch. But she’s getting there, and in no time she’ll be back where she belongs.

This morning I left a cooking magazine on the dryer and Doug and Susan found it. They found a recipe and decided to make a very good ham and potato casserole from it. Susan’s been aching to cook again. So this was the first opportunity to actually do it. She peeled the potatoes, defrosted the peas, put the cheese on, and oversaw the whole operation.

Here's the end result: A fine ham and potato and cheese casserole. It was awesome.

As a reward for her labors, she and Doug went to Marble Slab Creamery and bought ice cream. This was her first actual foray into a public place – not including a doctor’s office that is.
One foot in front of the other….That’s exactly what she’s doing. First across the floor, and soon she’ll be going out the door. There’s a good tail wind blowing, and she’s doing just fine thanks to Dr.Nguyen, Dr. Shree, and all the love and prayers from her family and friends.

So Much Better and Stronger!!

2008-04-15T22:23:00.002-05:00

Remember this picture??

It wasn't that long ago, maybe 4 weeks, Sue was in a wheelchair and needed help doing basically EVERYTHING!! Now, just a mere 4 or 5 weeks later she is doing AMAZING and I am filled with such hope I feel like I am riding on angels wings! She can do alot by herself, with supervision, and alot of WOO-HOO's from her family!!

Here is my dad's update for the day...

We had a really nice productive day. Very positive and fun, we made 2 road trips today, Sue got in and out of the shower (over the tub's high edge) without assistance. She is looking forward to her Drs appointment tomorrow at the oncologist to check her blood levels and see if she is on track for her chemo next Wed! Tim, the nurse who comes every Tuesday to draw blood for the kidney specialist came today and did his stuff, so all in all it was a very good day. We need lots more prayers and love and support from all, the beast (her cancer) is still here waiting to see if we will continue to fight, but we will never ever give in to it and we will fight until every cancer cell is gone. Take care and thanks again for your help. Dad

SO, I am asking you once again for your prayers, for they are really working! Please continue to pray that Sue's sodium levels and potassium are just right, so she may drink fluids normally and get off the antibiotic that makes her feel sick and tired. Could you also please pray for her blood levels to be SO SO SO G R E A T that they even surprise her oncologist, Dr Ngyuen?!! Thanks so much for caring enough to visit and for everything that YOU, our faithful blog readers and prayer warriors do, as YOU really make a difference to my sister, Sue! Your comments and your prayers lift her higher than you can imagine! Thanks again for your love & support!

XOXO Kaylee

On the Road Again

2008-04-15T21:28:00.005-05:00

Monday may be a bummer to a lot folks, but Susan was going to have none of that. She decided to go for an outing. It was road trip time for her and her dad. Well, for people like us who take driving around town for granted, it was something of a voyage for her. First, they made a stop at Home Depot to pick up a couple of items for the garden. After that, it was Sonic – a drive-in fast food joint. Then it was a quick jaunt to the apartments to pick up Kay.

With her driving cap on, she was off on her journey.

Here she is in front of Home Depot. I wish she picked up a couple bags of mulch.

They surprise Kay when they pick her up.

Was she tired, one might ask? Of course she was not. Which it is a testimonial how bit by bit she’s regaining more of her original self. Her and Carol (her hair stylist who you may remember from an earlier blog entries who shaved Susan’s head and styled her wig) spent some LHOTP time together – for those who are not in the know (which I wasn’t, but could have been better off not knowing)is Little House on the Prairie on the tube.

After LHOTP time, it was nap time. For dinner, Doug made delicious BBQ.

This morning she rode around again. Doug and Susan dropped off Kay at her apartment. They went to Chachos - a Mexican fast food restaurant – and she had a nice bowl of tortilla soup.

But the biggest news was that she was able to take walk in and out of a shower without the assistance of a chair and a walker. She was very proud of herself.

Later, Tim the guy from the Home Health Care came by to take her blood. Tomorrow she should hear from Dr. Shree about her sodium levels. She really hopes this time everything is where they need to be.

Along the same vein (excuse the pun), she goes in for yet another blood test with Dr. Nguyen for a weekly examination to gauge where she’s at compared to where she was last week. Pray that the test indicates that she is on the right track for her 4th chemo next week.

Doug and Susan complete the evening by buying us dinner from Whataburger.
We can only guess what she’ll do tomorrow. Keep it up, honey. You’re doing so well and I’m proud of you.

Ray

This Blog has been viewed 1,000 times!

2008-04-15T18:39:00.003-05:00

Susan's Journey has been viewed 1,000 times in 13 days! We are all so thankful you care!

I placed a counter at the bottom of the page to show how many "hits" per day we were getting of people stopping by to check on Sue! We all couldn't believe how many per day there were! Thanks so much for caring enough to check on Sue! Please keep praying, cause she is getting BETTER and STRONGER each day!!

Quite the Cake Walk

2008-04-13T21:33:00.008-05:00

Hello, Everybody

Huge thanks to Kaylee, Mike, Ash and Al! It was great to have you guys back. I’m glad I was able to enjoy your visit more thoroughly this time. Your visits are really, as Ray so aptly put it, a great beam of sunshine in our lives. Thanks for all the fun and laughs, love and care, I miss you all tons already. Hurry back.

More thanks: Jerod - the fish tank looks awesome and our fish look happy and healthy.

Carol – my wig looks beautiful, and I’m looking forward to some LHOTP time this week. ; )

Deb – your visit brightened my day. Thanks for all of the laughs…I'm looking forward to seeing you soon.

I walked outside to the front of the apartments. Then back to our apartments. Then my dad suggested that I go look at Greenie – my car. By the way, a huge thanks to Kaylee and Ahslee for making her look all nice, shiny and beautiful. I didn’t think I’d be able to walk nearly that far. When I returned to the house, I realized I could have walked even further as my legs weren’t even that tired. I did use my walker outside, but inside I’ve really haven’t been using it. My therapist Velma will be getting my cane hopefully this week.

Here I go between the cars with my Dad behind me and Ray nowhere to be seen.

The day was nice. It was windy. Ray's eating the dust I was kicking up.

We made it! We're standing at the front of the townhomes.

The walk must have invigorated my appetite. I was suddenly hungry for mac and cheese. I told my dad if he’d boil and drain the noodles; I can make it the rest of the way. This is my first foray back to the stove. I really miss cooking. Even though technically this wasn’t cooking, it felt good to be able to be stirring something at the stove.

Mmmm...Mac and Cheese.

Every day I feel God is blessing me more and more with my strength returning. Thank you all for your prayers. I know that it is through God, the doctors’ treatment and your prayers that I have gotten to where I am. You all are in my thoughts and prayers, and I am more grateful than words can say to all of you. Wishing you all a great week.

Susan

The Ministering Angels Short Visit

2008-04-12T23:56:00.006-05:00

Though the overall Walstad visit was short, it was great to see them again. Thursday and Friday passed rather quickly – too soon yet again. But in the small amount of time they were here, it was refreshing. If I may use such a comparison, they were like a beam of sunlight stretching across a cloudy sky. There was much laughter and a greater appreciation for family while they were here. Susan was more lucid and didn’t have to nap as much as she did in their last visit, in spite of her recent chemo. So she was able to enjoy their visit even better than before.

Saturday we find Kaylee and Ashlee spending the morning and much of the day with Susan. It started with a delicious breakfast. Susan had eggs and French toast with berries on top. Kaylee had a breakfast burrito, while everybody else had pancakes the size of hubcaps.

While the men enjoyed a day of golf – not me, though; golf is not exactly my bag, baby – it was a great day just to hang at home (except for the occasion when Kaylee ventured out and bought snacks).
The two sisters on the swing. It was a nice day just to sit and chat.

A little after 2:30 Velma returned for a little physical therapy with Susan. I was amazed to hear that Susan was able to lift her bad arm higher than before. The chemo is shrinking the blockages that’s hampering the flow of her lymp fluid, and keeping her from moving her arm properly. In fact, Velma had to stand up to assist in lifting Susan’s arm since it’s able to stretch further than before. Indeed it is the miracle of medicine and prayers.

Velma stands to lift Susan's arm higher. Two days ago the arm couldn't be lifted that

high before.

Not that much later, Deborah came for a visit. The merriment and laughter kicked up several notches. Susan was like her old self – funny, making jokes, doing her Minnesota accent impressions, being like a girl carrying on at a party. Deborah always seems to have that effect on Susan.

Here is Deborah standing next to Susan. Deborah is holding something that represents the Walk that they will do. Deborah's going to have to describe what that badge was for. I forgot to ask. It might have something to do with her being the team captain.

Now that it’s Saturday evening – okay, technically it’s Sunday morning – the house seems quieter now that the Walstads went to stay with Kay and Kari for the night. They have an early flight back to Minnesota, and they will be sorely missed. Maybe one day they’ll want to move down to Texas and continuously bring the joy that they always provide when they come to visit. We all look forward to their return.

Ray

SUSAN IS DOING AWESOME!!

2008-04-11T17:10:00.015-05:00

Here is a SUPER cute pic of Susie receiving her blood! Look at how much better she LOOKS!!

We arrived Thurs am, Mike, Ashlee, Alex and I (Kaylee) Mike dropped Ashlee & I off at the hospital where Sue was receiving two units of blood and picked up the am crew of my mom and dad! Ashlee and i arrived to find Sue looking so good we couldn't believe it! She even had some eyeshadow on!1 Her coloring was fantastic and she looked like "herself" for lack of a better way to describe it! Sue is pictured here with Marti, our fave blood bank nurse!! Even Marti, unsolicited said Sue looked fantastic, like a whole different person that she saw two weeks ago!! Sue can move herself around, no need for a wheelchair and help getting up, she used her walker to get out of the hospital and into the car, and I did not need to help her into the car!! Ash and I were AMAZED!!

We got home from the blood bank and shortly thereafter, the lovely Velma, Sue's physical therapist came to work Sue out and give her a little massage!! Look how far Sue can lift her arm!!
Then we had the customary Antonio's Flying Pizza Party, as we were all to tired to go out!! It is awesome pizza! Pictured here is Ash, Kari & Sue on the coma couch! I am amazed that they are not in a coma as that couch Ray bought Sue is the MOST COMFORTABLE couch I have ever sat in "not on" it's like a big comfy hug!! Good job Ray!!

After pizza, Grandma Kay made sure Sue's "ted's" were clean as she has done laundry duty, shower duty...she has worked so hard and has been a daily angel for her daughter!! Ted hose are circulation hose that Sue wears daily and my mom diligently cleans!!

Then, Sue asked Ash and I to stay overnight at her house and the guys went to my mom and Kari's so my dad, Mike and Alex could go golfing early in the morning and we were here with her! It was a great evening and we talked talked talked (can you believe that??!!) It is truly a miracle to see her doing so well and recovering daily!! Your prayers are being answered and Sue can really feel them! Keep on praying!! Thank you so much!

Today we lounged around, and Sue got some mail!! Thanks to all and everyone for your cards, gift packages and well wishes! They mean the world to Sue and it really brightens her day (and ours too!) She is holding the contents of a care package sent to her from ou Auntie Helen in Menagha, MN!! Two awesome books, one with notes and pages already marked!! Thanks so much Auntie Helen, you made her DAY!!

Then, Sue's hair stylist and her husband came over to style Sue's wig and then Jared her husband cleaned the aquarium which was so sweet! They are the NICEST couple!! Thanks so much Carol & Jared!! We had a fun visit with them!
Here is Sue and Carol with her newly styled wig! Sue got the reults back from her blood test for her sodium levels, her sodium is normal, but due to limited fluid intake, her potassium is down, so she was put on a potassium supplement and then she has to take her antibiotic once a day til next Tuesday. She was a little down about that as she feels sick when she takes it and she is tired of not being able to drink the amount of fluids she wants! So for this week we have some prayer requests:

1) that Sue's sodium and potassium levels would be great by next Tues and she could go off the antibiotics and drink fluids normally!!

2) The chemo, as it works its way through her body would work it's miracle and take her cancer away!!

Thanks again so much for all you have done to lift Sue up in prayer. I know with certainty our Great God is listening and helping and your prayers make so much difference to Sue's courage and recovery!! We are so thankful and grateful for them!!

XOXO Kaylee in Houston-where it's 80 and sunny!! :)

Chemo Number Three

2008-04-09T21:37:00.000-05:00

Today Susan was able to receive her third chemo. She was taken in for her blood test at 9:40, and after some poking and siphoning from the harpy of the day (just kidding), she was escorted to the “party room.”

The nurses were happy to see her. They commented how much better she looked compared to the last two visits to the “party room.” She met a French lady named Henrietta, French accent and all, receiving her chemo. The two of them conversed. Overall, it seemed, according to Susan, a more upbeat visit than usual.

At some point, Dr. Nguyen came by and paid Susan a visit. He was more cheery than normal. Though her hemoglobin was down a little, her platelets were at 108 (pretty amazing when you consider that in the beginning of all of this the level was at 16), and her white blood cells were good, too. She still needs a blood transfusion tomorrow, but he was very pleased with her results. He said that from the very beginning he told her that he’d be straightforward with her and not sugar coat anything. But today he was “Pleasantly surprised” by her blood count. He attributes her success to her positive attitude. Susan attributes her attitude to her family and friends.

Keep it up. We know it’s working.

Ray

My Thoughts on the Swing

2008-04-08T21:42:00.002-05:00

Hello, everyone!

Not much news to report today. I had my blood work taken. Hopefully we’ll hear from Dr. Shree tomorrow. We’ll post more once we hear from him. Keep praying for normal sodium levels so that I can go off the antibiotic and drink more.

Tomorrow at 9:30 I go in for my blood check, and hopefully chemo therapy session number 3 in the “party room”.

I had my second shower and I feel doubly clean. I sat on the patio swing for the very first time in what seemed so long. The last time I was on it was moments before I had to go to the hospital emergency room in early March. Sadly it was also my favorite haunt for smoking, and I had my worst craving yet while on it. But I am staying strong and not smoking again.

Here I am sitting on my swing. See? No cigarette in my hand. Nothing under my hat, either.

We’ll have a lot more updates tomorrow. I’m looking forward to the Walstads family arrival on Thursday. Love and blessing to y’all.

Susan

Sue's Good News from Doug....

2008-04-07T11:40:00.003-05:00

I got a news flash update for you,THE DIAPER( Kaylee's nickname for Sue) HAS SHOWERED!!!!!!!We got Sue into the shower, and was she happy. I rigged up a dining table chair next to the tub, Sue sat on it swung her legs in the tub and stood up for the great shower Mom assisted her, but she did it mostly by herself !! Hooooray!!!. So that is the best news of the day as Sue said"I feel almost human again". Take care and talk at you later. Dad

(Sorry no shower picture...)

Susan Says....

2008-04-06T16:15:00.005-05:00

Hello, everybody – I can hardly believe that it is already the end of the first week of April. March is such a blur to me. I spent time on the blog today getting caught up on everybody’s comments. And again I want to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart for everyone’s love, prayers, and concerns. It overwhelms me so. Also, thank you for all the beautiful cards and letters that were sent. They really brightened up my day.

Speaking of receiving great things in the mail, I can’t believe that I was remissed for not sending a huge thank you to my Sis Kaylee for the great package of wigs, scarves, and hats. Kaylee you are the best. I love you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Here I'm donning one of the wigs Kaylee bought for me. Next to me are the other gifts she gave me - hats, scarves, etc. Thank you, Kaylee!

Me and my wig.
Me with wig and hat!

The week ahead holds Monday physical therapy. Tuesday some blood testing that hopefully will show my sodium at A-Okay levels, and then I’ll be able to get off the antibiotic and finally get off the no-fluid restrictions. But we will see. Wednesday I hope to be in the "party room" having my third chemo session. So keep your prayers coming so that my blood levels will be so high that it will blow Dr. Nguyen away.

I send prayers to each and every one of you.

All my love

Susan

Doug's Update!

2008-04-06T00:15:00.002-05:00

I, Like alot of you check this blog to see updates and tonight I thought I'd share my dad's end of the day emai with you! Please keep Susan in your prayers!

Not much news here, all is quiet on the western front. We are going to watch a movie that Sue wanted to see, we had a flying pizza night as Mom and the Kook came over so that was fun.Sue is doing great, I finaly got her out on the front patio to sit with me for a while it was so nice,we gabbed and had a nice time. she can walk out there all by herself and in by herself, "piece of cake" as Sue says. So our little diaper is doing the very best she can to beat the beast within her.We can not forget the struggle ahead even as Sue improves she still needs every bit of strength and love and support we can muster for her which includes doubling our prayers from everyone.

Hope your weekend is going well!

XOXO Kaylee

On Cloud 9

2008-04-03T21:15:00.009-05:00

Last night was the first night Susan had with the couch. The following morning she reported having slept really well on it. Indeed the chair has rightfully earned the name the Coma Couch, and thus it will be named so. Not only is the couch astoundingly comfy, it’s much easier to rise from when Susan needs to. In fact, when she had to make her nocturnal visits to el bano at the wee hours of the night, she did so with absolutely no assistance from either Doug or me. Three times in the night – which included rising from the sofa on her own, doing her business, and returning to the sofa, then situating herself, and falling back to sleep without hailing her father or her husband for help. THAT is a huge triumph for somebody who hasn’t had that type of independence for quite some time.

After lunch Susan had the urge to visit the front patio. Doug and I went ahead of her while she carefully attempted the feat. You don’t need me to tell you what happened next. You can guess it. She stepped out there on her own. Well, Doug did hold onto her arm, but that was more for reassurance and not so much for support. Then she tried returning to the living room from the patio on her much weaker foot. No problem, she did it. She came back out and went back inside. As she demonstrated, her legs are becoming stronger. The little leg exercises she learned from the therapist and Susan’s own recipe for stamina that she practices daily is giving her strength.

Susan and me on the patio. She seems awfully proud of herself. I know I am - proud of her, that is.

We couldn't resist a congratulatory kiss.

Velma , the therapist arrived today. She was impressed with Susan’s new variation of a technique that Velma showed her a couple of days ago. Susan was originally taught how to move her legs in a marching fashion while sitting down. Well, Susan had to up it with an adaptation of it: She marched around the house – from living room, down the hall, to the kitchen and back. Velma was pleased.

Since Susan is standing up longer, Velma gave her additional exercises to work on her legs. At the end, she massaged Susan’s “tick hand” and arm and scheduled for another visit for tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Here we have Susan and Velma. The Therapist is massaging Susan's troubled arm. In no time Susan should get full use of her right arm.

As I was prepping dinner, I answered a knock at the door and a delivery person was there with what looked like a bouquet for Susan. A large balloon was attached to it that said “Thinking of You.” It was a bouquet of fresh fruit cut into shape of flowers – pineapples, grapes, melons, strawberries, and chocolate covered apple slices.

Here is how the gift looked before it was unwrapped, balloon and all. Hey, it's blocking my view of the TV!

A closer view of the bouqet of flower-shaped fruits.

The lovely gift was from Susan’s long-time friend Deb Haas. In case you’re not familiar what Deb is doing for Susan, Deb and Kari Wells are planning to do the Breast Cancer 3-Day walk, which benefits the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the National Philanthropic Trust Breast Cancer Fund in Dallas on November 7th (if I have the date right). They formed the Captain Susan’s Pirates team. Correct me if I’m wrong, but the walk is a 60 mile journey, and it’s no easy task for anybody to take. Susan is blessed with such friends to do this for her.

Okay, here's another photo of Susan having unwrapped the gift from Deb. She can't wait to dig into the orangutan food.

Here's a more subdued Susan posing with the bouquet and balloon.

If there was ever a time to feel blessed during these trying times, we do. We have great families, great friends, and great doctors working together, praying together, and doing things that I thought I’d never see happen. Thank you for all the blessings. May it return to you a thousand fold.

Ray

Happy Wednesday!

2008-04-02T20:47:00.007-05:00

A quick rundown of what happened on Tuesday that made her and everybody at home proud:

What may seem small to most of us who do it on a daily basis without thinking, but for Susan who hasn’t been able to do it for over a month, it became a great accomplishment. She made her own lunch. That’s right! She walked right into the kitchen, warmed up leftover Chinese food, and prepped a bowl of what she calls orangutan food consisting of raw vegetables and fruits. If you really think about what all is involved in making lunch, you’ll realize all the effort that it requires. Walking is involved. Lifting and arranging the food from the refrigerator, opening containers, spooning them into plates and bowls, and popping them in the microwave oven can be a challenge when only one arm functions normally, and your legs are not always certain of one step to the next. Plus, you have to walk your achievements to the table to truly earn your prize. And Susan did that.

Hooray!
Here we have Susan just about to sit down and enjoy the spoils of her victory.

Today’s Update:

Susan had to visit two doctors today: Dr. Shree and Dr. Nguyen. Typical visit, you think? I don’t think so, and I’ll tell you why. Susan, unlike her previous visits since she left the hospital, did not enter either doctors’ offices in a wheelchair. She walked the distance from the car. She visited each office with only a walker to assist her.

Susan and Kay WALKING to the elevators to meet with her doctors.

Susan walks from one office and ventures to the second one. Where's the wheelchair! Oh, wait...that's right. Susan doesn't need it anymore.

Susan is shown here signing in. What makes this picture signifcant is that Susan is standing at the receptionist window filling out the check-in form when in the past she had to reach up from her wheelchair to reach for the clipboard. Not anymore.

This is what Dr. Shree had to say:

He said that all her numbers are normal. In fact he’s adding 500 fluid ounces to her fluid intake, adding to her 1000. What does this mean? She can drink more liquids. What she was doing was eating ice chips and only very small sips of herbal tea, Gatorade, and water. Now she can have significantly more. The good thing is that she won’t be so thirsty all the time.

He’s also cutting back on her antibiotics. She only needs to have one per day instead of the regimental two. Which is great, since the dosages she’s been taking makes her feel yucky. If her sodium levels are normal again next week as they were today, then he will take her off the antibiotics altogether.

Here's Dr. Shree (I know I'm seriously misspelling his name; but geez, have you seen the length and spelling of his real name??? Cut me some slack, Doc)

Now, as far as Dr. Nguyen is concerned, this is what he had to say:

He said her blood count is where he guessed they’d be. Good, bad? Neither, actually. He had hoped it would be higher, but the numbers continue to climb, and they are higher than what they were from last count. Nonetheless, he was very pleased that she able to walk to his office.

He’s scheduled her to return next Wednesday for another blood test. If they’re good then she can have her third chemo. I believe they will be. Keep the prayers coming.

After the examination Dr. Nguyen paraded Susan to the “party room” so that everybody there could see her walking and standing for her office visit instead of using a wheelchair.

The last thing he requested was the address to Susan's blog. So, if any of you guys want to say anything to him, I'm sure he'll be reading this. A Shout out to Dr. Nguyen! Woo-Woo! Great job, Doctor. Thank you for saving my wife's life.

Okay, now for a smaller bit of news. This afternoon, the new couch with the recliner ends arrived this afternoon, even though they gave us a window between 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. they managed to make the delivery right after lunch.

As soon as the movers installed the pieces, Susan sat on it. It didn’t take her long before she fell asleep on it. She loved it. I felt very pleased that it was everything I hoped it would be for her. One, it’s comfortable. Two, she can lift herself out of it easily – much easier than the previous couch. And three, she has a little more independence to get out of the couch, go to the kitchen, bathroom, wherever she wants to go without asking for that much assistance.

Here we are, just before the coma occurred.

Thank you everybody for your prayers.

Ray

Two Monday Gifts

2008-03-31T21:37:00.002-05:00

After such a long wait, the physical therapist finally arrived today to work with Susan. Her name is Velma, and according to Susan and Doug she is very nice and well acquainted with the needs of cancer patients and those with lymphedema. Velma will be here 2 to 3 times a week for a little bit of time for each visit. She gave Susan a list of exercises, how many repetitions to do, and helpful advice to make Susan stronger and to work wonders on her "tick hand."

One of the many suggestions that Velma provided was an accessory that we can buy for Susan so she can step in and out of the shower carefree. Susan was excited about that idea.

Susan said that she didn't nap as much today, and she said is determined not to. She moved around a lot, and she and Kay cleaned out the refrigerator together to make room for more grub. She made herself snacks and spent some time scooping watermelon into little balls and putting them in a container for future snacking.

For dinner she ate Chinese food - steamed chicken with vegetables, fried jumbo shrimp, and crab puffs. She got her protein and carbs for the evening. Her appetite is as healthy as before.

The second surprise that arrived today was from Susan's long-time friend Reed Herman. He wrote very kind sentiments in a card and got her two little gifts. They were the "Grow a Pirate" toy with peg-legged pirate with a hook hand. The other was a "Grow Your Own Pirate Treasure." You put the two of them in a glass of water and they grow 600% their original size. They were very thoughtful gifts, and Susan was very touched. Thanks, Reed! You know her very well.

Here we see Susan with the card from Reed Herman and the two Pirate gifts.

Susan's looking sunnier and determined to be more independent. I see that happening. It's a slow process, but it's an unwavering one. She's well on her way.

Ray

Ten Days Flew by Too Fast

2008-03-30T18:10:00.007-05:00

Saturday

Saturday afternoon, Kaylee, Kari, Ashlee, and I went to Star Furniture. I decided to use my bonus check to buy a new couch, with Susan’s comfort in mind. At first I thought maybe a new recliner, since my other one, the “coma chair” was beyond resuscitation . But then I thought a recliner couch would be even better, especially for Susan. Why should one person enjoy complete lethargy when two in a coma is better than one?

The sales lady was nice, but a little pushy. She really wanted us to buy a more expensive leather one which wasn’t as tranquilizing as the second one we saw. The tan couch with double recliner ends was what I decided with the sage-like advice from Kaylee, Kari, and Ashlee guiding me to the correct decision.

It is perfect for Susan: comfortable with pillow arm rests. The leg rests lift with a touch of a button. It should be arriving on Wednesday. I’ll be taking the day off to wait for its arrival, while Susan visits two doctors that day. Doctor Shree and Doctor Nguyen. We’re hoping that the following week, Susan will be ready for her third chemo. So keep the prayers coming for Susan to have a good and healthy blood count to receive the next treatment.

Here's the couch. I can almost feel myself disappearing into the cushions.

Kari and me with leg rests kicked up. Yep, you're going to have to peel Susan and me off this thing with butter-coated spatulas.

That evening, Mike had a very considerate and thoughtful idea. He was telling us about the Apple T.V., which I never heard of. I’m still a little vague about what it does and its full potential, but in essence, it’s a device that works with our internet, and with it we can download movies, music, play our IPods, display our photographs, etc., etc. on our television. It sounded very cool. So that evening he bought it for Susan. Awesome! We were anticipating it to work last night, but our television is old technology; therefore we need a new TV. But no worries; we have a tax refund coming up in a couple of weeks; we’ll buy a new one and get the Apple T.V. to work. Thanks, Mike; it’s going to be great fun for all once we have it up and running on a proper medium - a medium that's flat, wide, and plasma in nature.

Sunday

Sadly, after a ten day visit, the Walstads returned to Minnesota. We had a lot of fun with them, and they lifted Susan’s spirits like no other. Kaylee constantly ministered to Susan, while the rest of the family did their own thing to make each day they were here therapeutic and fulfilling. Even folks like Doug, Kay, Kari, and me felt an uplift with the Walstads here. An old saying goes that “you encounter more angels on a winding path than from a straight one”; and I’m inclined to believe that after these ten days passed - a little too quickly if you ask me.

The ministering angels surrounding Susan. We'll be all glad when they come back again

A quick Update:

During the Walstad visit I was amazed to see Susan progress so well. She’s moved around more than she has before. When the Walstads first came down, there were moments when Susan needed to rest more; but later on during the course of ten days, she was able to keep up more with the visits and stay awake much of the time ( the chemo and the antibiotics still make her a little tired, but that’s chump change compared to the other times when she’s awake and carrying on with the rest of the family).

This afternoon we find Susan walking into the kitchen and getting her own snacks and iced drinks. It’s an amazing accomplishment for her - for all of us for that matter.

She’s even able to stand up longer than before, which is a huge feat.

We always find her saying: “every day I’m getting stronger and stronger.” And those aren’t just words. Everyday there’s evidence of that happening. We couldn't be prouder of her

Susan cleaning her own mug...and then....

...Here she is getting her own ice for her clean mug. See what I mean about having reason to be proud?

Keep up your prayers! We can see how well they work.

Ray

Date Night For Sue!

2008-03-29T11:38:00.006-05:00

YEAH!! A family-free date night for Sue & Ray!! Look how happy & good Sue looks!! Ray's not too bad himself!! He is "almost" smiling!

Sat. am, Sue sitting at her table with Mike, Alex & Grandma!!

Happy Sue, she wanted a Starbucks iced honey latte (ashlee's fave) and Mike & Alex got it for her on Fri evening!!

Sue was doing great Friday! Her side effects at a bare minimum and she never felt sick or "hot flushy"! SO thank the Good Lord for the blood transfusions! They really helped her!

Her appetite has been good for certain things, now it is "orangatan food, strawberries, raspberries, grapes, cherry tomatoes and ice berg lettuce!! But it is so good for her!! We told her to eat what tastes good and what her body wants, and she has been eating VERY healthy organic food ( minus the nacho cheese doritos!!)

Friday, Ray had some good news, he had received a bonus at work, that was a surprise! We were all so happy and proud of him!! SO we decided as a family, to leave Sue and Ray to celebrate and have a night for themselves! So we all went out to dinner, and Ray picked up Sue's fave Chinese and brought it home for a "mini-date night"!! SHe was THRILLED!!

SUe has been gaining strength and able to get up off the couch by herself sometimes and she can walk around pretty good now, she uses her walker "just in case". SO we are

hopeful, with the start of physical therapy and help for her right side, she may be able to be independent soon. She really really is tired of having to always ask for help, even though none of us mind!!

Saturday (today) we arrived to find Sue sitting at the table, (see pic) which is new, shw always got too tired to do that so she is really doing well! Ashlee, Mike and ALex went and got us all shipley's donuts and kolaches and she sat and ate her orangatan food and kolache and a donut!! We are all so proud of her, and praying she keeps regaining her strength so she can do more things for herself!

Thanks for visiting! We leave tomorrow after our 10 fun days, the time has gone fast and we are all sad to leave! Especially when we heard there might be 5" snow arriving just in time for us to come home....!! Take care and please keep praying for Sue and leaving your beautiful comments, they really do make a BIG difference to Susan!!

XOXO Kaylee

Mo' White Cells and bring on the BLOOD!!

2008-03-27T22:18:00.006-05:00

Grandpa Doug was a little tired after all his late night wake up calls and early mornings...

Sue was treated to a "milkshake" hospital style - milk, shaken!!!
Kaylee, Sue & Mom ( Kay) with Sue while she is receiving her blood transfusions
Happy Sue, in the wheel chair she gets to borrow from the church my mom works at and attends, my dad had fixed it up with a right arm rest (for her lymphedema arm) and left leg rest!

Greetings to Y'All!!

The day was absolutely MN summer perfect, except this is Houston spring...and we heard the day we return we are supposed to get 5" of snow in balmy beautiful MN!! :( Oh well...a girl can dream!

Sue did A M A Z I N G today!! Her entourage, consisting of my mom, dad and I, again accompanied her to get her white blood cell booster shot at Dr Nyguyen's office, my mother watched as she will now be administering the shot going forward to skip the Dr visit! Then on to the hospital for Sue's two red blood cell transfusions which took 5 hours to receive. The nurse was wonderful and Sue rested and relaxed and actually, as hoped and prayed for, missed the whole "hot flushes" part of Day 2 of chemo!!! WOOO-HOOO!! She also was hungry and ate well all day! We were so thankful. She did not feel well this am, but dragged herself to the appt's and then was alot better with a beautiful pink flush to her cheeks when all was said and done and hungry! We were all happy! Thanks so much for your prayers! They are working! We are all so thankful for her great attitude and her resolve to kick the cancer in the bootie!! Have a great night and please keep praying. We prayed today for all of you and for the the Lord to bless all the blood donors who donated their blood to help others as it has helped Sue so much!! Take care and thanks again!

XOXO Kaylee

Sue's Chemo Today

2008-03-26T16:49:00.007-05:00

Ashlee, Sue, Mom and Dad at the Medical Center after Sue's chemo!! Ray had gone to work!

Dad, Sue's oncologist, Dr Nyguyen, and Sue getting her chemo!
Sue resting in her recliner while getting her pre-chemo meds
Sue's "entourage" Ray, Ashlee, Mom and Dad (Kaylee is the photographer!!)
Sue & Ray on the way to get chemo

Happy Wednesday and thanks for all your comments checking to see how everything went!

Sue's chemo went super, and super fast! With her permanent chemo port, they were able to do blood draws and push the chemo through so it took about 2 hrs total at the oncologist's office!

It was really a neat set up, they have nice cushy leather recliners and then they get the chemo as they relax. My mom, dad, Ray and Ashlee & I all went so were joking about Sue always having an "entourage"! I asked her if she wanted to wear my BIG sunglasses and act like a celeb!!

This laptop won't let me download pics, but I have them and will download when I have access to a different computer! I just wanted to let everyone know, so far so good.

Details:

Her white blood cell count was up, her platelets were up, her spirits were high, her red blood cells down...so tomorrow she has to have a shot to boost her white cells after chemo, as the chemo brings the house down so to speak, and she will have a blood transfusion at the hospital. So after chemo today, we got her a few cool home health supplies which made doing a few things alot easier for her, and then headed to the hospital for a pre-check in and lab work so her blood will be all ready tomorrow and we can "express" in. Tomorrow is really the toughest day for her as she gets hot "flushes" and feels really tired. I was pretty excited that she is getting blood tomorrow as that really boosts her energy level and makes her feel better. She has had low blood counts since she has been home and it makes you feel tired when you expend any energy. So hopefully that may offset a few side effects! We'll see!

Sue is pretty much my new hero, someone to look up to, someone who is making the very best of a very bad situation and looking to the positive constantly. She is always worried about someone else. She has been getting up off the couch, yesterday by herself, walking to the door and walking back. She is gaining strength daily and perservering in the face of this dreadful disease. She is really amazing and using the power of positive thinking and an "I can do it" attitude and accomplishing more and more everyday!

We are awaiting the arrival of some new headscarves and wigs, which I cannot wait to try on her!! My mom and dad continue their daily "ministrations" and help her amazingly. I told her today, can you believe all the people praying and caring and supporting YOU?? She feels very very blessed by all of you! Thanks to everyone, we read your comments to her daily and they really help to keep her spirits lifted up! Ray has been a saint to allow all the Frangos' and Walstad's to invade his daily life and turn it upside down!! He has had a great loving attitude, for which I know helps Sue to keep hers!! My mom and dad have been more positive and more amazing than I have ever seen them. My mom went to her church to work at 4pm and took Ashlee with her to help out!! She loves introducing Ashlee to her friends! Ashlee said Grandma knows EVERYONE!!

Everyone has pulled together and it is a true blesing to all involved!

Look for pics in a few hours!!! Thanks again!

XOXO Kaylee

A Big Thanks from Susan!

2008-03-25T17:28:00.001-05:00

I just wanted to thank everybody for their prayers, love, comments, words of wisdom, humor, etc..!! I want you all to know how much it means to me that you are all thinking & Praying loving and caring and there for me! I feel lifted, and comforted everyday by your outpouring of love!

I have my 2nd chemo tomorrow and I appreciate everybodies prayers for a positive second treatment! I will post more in the coming days.

Love to you all,

Susan

Martinez Visit & A Venture Outdoors!

2008-03-24T20:57:00.004-05:00

On this beautiful day in Houston, Sue decided to get outside!! She walked around in the sun and the fresh air and sun on her face felt GREAT! Dad and Sue outside
YEAH!! You made it!

Sue with Ray's parents, Raymond & Janie!

Raymond & Janie came to visit Sue this am, bearing gifts!! Beautiful head scarves and fab barbeque from the Easter dinner we all sadly missed! We all had a great visit this am and Sue has been up and about all day! Her spirits are great and she was feeling some energy! We had a nice day visiting and cleaning! My mom had to work this afternoon so Ashlee went with my mom to her work at the church in the daycare and had a ball! Mike & Al golfed in the gorgeous weather!! RAy came home to find an excited wife who had felt the sun! Tomoorow is Sue's DR appt with her kidney specialist who is watching her sodium levels carefully and then Wed at 9am is her 2nd chemo!! Please keep SUe in your prayers for continued energy and blood levels that are closer to the normal range!! Have a great night!

Easter Blessings From All Of Us to YOU!

2008-03-23T11:42:00.006-05:00

HAPPY HAPPY EASTER BLESSINGS

FROM ALL OF US IN TEXAS!

Auntie Susie got a cool Easter basket from her niece Ashlee & nephew Alex
Happy Easter from Sue & Ray!!

LOOK WHO'S STANDING UP TO SAY~
HAPPY EASTER BLESSINGS ARE ON THEIR WAY!
Thanks for visiting Sue's blog and for your care, love & prayers! We are praying for YOU today!

XOXOXOXO
Sue, Ray, Doug, Kay, Kari, Kaylee, Mike, Ashlee & Alex!!

All Fresh on Saturday!!

2008-03-22T11:51:00.006-05:00

Oh NOOOOOO...Kaylee, Ashlee & Koo-Koo discover Shipley's kolache's....they are irresistable fluffy donut dough that melts in your mouth with sausage and cheese inside! I imagine they are not lo-cal and definitely NOT lo-carb!!

Ray, a Type 2 diabetic enjoying his first Shipley plain donut in 2yrs! So, that's what it takes to get Ray to smile....

Sue with her fab supporters and her cool turban and scarf this am!

My mom doing her "daily ministrations" to Sue! Here she is washing her feet and then applying lotion!

Ashlee & her Auntie Koo-Koo outside at Sue & Ray's heading for Shipley donuts...our new fave!

This am has started out great! Sue is in great spirits and loves her bald head! She said it feels good! I like doing her turbans and scarves! I even got her faux eyebrows and faux eyelashes, but that's for later!! Mike & Alex are on Day 2 of golfing at Redstone GC and loving this amazing weather! The national news showed Mpls snowstorm and we all laughed as we are here in shorts and tees!! Ash and I and Kari are going to do a little shopping today and get out and about for awhile! It is really really nice to be here ! We are deciding what to do tomorrow for Easter...we have alot of people and not alot of space to make a feast! We'll keep you updated! Have a great day and thanks for checking the blog!!

An Update On Sue!!

2008-03-21T20:53:00.004-05:00

Swami Susan says that her outlook looks really good.

After having her head shared, Susan tried on purple three-tiered turban with artificial hair. She looked awesome.

Susan with her hair completely shaven off. This might be a new look for her after remission. Ray is completely envious; he wants his head shaved, too.

Carol arrives to shave Susan's head. They both look like they're enjoying themselves a little too much.

Before the head-shaving episode, Susan decided, just for kicks, to sport a mohawk. Here she poses with her sister Kari and her niece Ashlee.

Here's a side view of Susan's mohawk. Ray really wants her to have a mohawk after her remission.

Susan and Carol clowing around after she receives her mohawk. What a pair.

The shaving of the head begins.

Susan shows where the port was installed. Even her neck, with all the bruising, is healing really well. This demonstrates that her growing platelets are doing their job.

Susan and Ray posing standing together. Why won't Ray ever smile for the camera?

Greeetings and Apologies for the lack of information for the last few days!! We have been VERY busy here in Houston!

It is absolutely gorgeous here and none of us Minnesotans want to think about heading back any time soon, as the magnolias are blooming, the trees and grass are green and the flowers are in bloom! High 70's and not a snowflake in sight!!! AHHHHHHH! Heaven!

Mike & I and the kids arrived late Wed night, and went over to visit with everyone bright and early THursday am. Sue has really gained strength from the last time I saw her, she can get up with help, sit up and visit and her coloring has improved! We had a nice day and some great seafood for dinner!

Today, Sue had her blood tests and then possible chemo, but her levels were still sub par but had come up, so the chemo appt was set for this upcoming Wed at 9am.

We also found out that the oncologist believes that the cancer may have invaded her bone marrow which is causing her anemia, basically her blood levels to remain subpar.

Cancer is an evil demon, and it is very tiring and heartbreaking. However, Ray took the am off to go with my dad, Ashlee, Sue and I to the Dr and we had some lovely conversations with people in the waiting room, that made us thankful for what Sue has because she has hope, where so many people do not.

Sue's hair stylist came over this evening for another Antonio's Flying Pizza party and she shaved her hair off! When I got here Sue's hair was starting to come out and it was leaving some very thin spots, so Sue decided she wanted to be pro-active and not wait for the inevitable and have her head shaved! Carols her stylist brought her husband and came over and took her hair off in stages. First a mohawk, and we all got a kick out of it! Pictures to follow! I had brought head scarves and eyebrows and eyelashes with me, so she helped us learn to tie them and made it "fun".

Everyone is rallying around Sue and it is pretty amazing! Frankly, I cannot believe her attitude, she is so positive and upbeat in the face of losing her hair and some not so great news. She really wanted to get the chemo treatment as that's what goign to ultimately make her feel better.

My mom and dad have been attending to her every need and even needs she didn't know she had!!! So, thankfully she is drawing alot of strength from alot of people. So thanks and keep praying for Sue, for the cancer to be stopped in it tracks, for strength, for her blood levels and for her great attitude! Thanks for keeping up and Ray and I will keep up daily!!! Thanks for caring and for reading this and for praying!!

XOXOXO

Kaylee

Better Late Than Never

2008-03-17T21:02:00.007-05:00

SUNDAY

Sunday morning, Susan got the rare opportunity for another free massage from me. I'm going to have to start charging for my services. This is becoming a habit and I'm no richer.

Susan was sitting on the couch and she was practicing lifting herself up from the couch. Nobody really believed she intended to get up; I don't think she was even thinking about getting up. BUT SHE DID! On her own, with no help from anybody. Cheers went up. Victory! One of many to come.

To demonstrate it wasn't a fluke, Susan attempted to do it again ten minutes later. This time I was by her side, just in case her legs gave out from the first success. I touched her arm, but I didn't support her and I didn't lift her. Again, she did it on her own. There must be magic in my massages.

Later in the day she tried to do likewise from the chaisse lounge. It didn't go as she planned, but she was able to do it with a little assistance. Soon, maybe in a day or two, she'll be able to do it by herself.

MONDAY

On Sunday afternoon, Kay discovered a small irritation on Susan. Kay made an appointment with Dr. Nguyen's office to have Susan looked at on Monday afternoon. It turned out to be a minor tear in the skin. A little topical cream was needed. It wasn't serious.

While there, Susan had her blood platelets looked at to see how it had progressed since last Friday. They were still low. But her white blood cells was progressing really well. Last Friday, they were at .01. Today they were at .91. The ideal level for her next chemo would have to be 1 or 1.5. She's real close. Although her red blood cells and platelets were low, Dr. Nguyen believed that once the white cells rise, the hemoglobin and platelets will catch up. But he has doubts whether her blood count will be ready by Friday for the next chemo. He was hoping to shoot for Good Friday, but he said that even if her chemo took place the following Friday, she was still doing well - most chemo treatments are performed every three weeks.

He prescibed a shot to help boost her white blood cells. He even wrote up a prescription for two medicines to help her with the nauseousness she started experiencing Sunday.

Aside from all of that, she's doing well and the doctor seemed real pleased with Susan's growing strength, spirit and positive attitude.

A little repose with Luna until she is ready to go back to battle the next day.

Ray

Saturday at Spa Martinez

2008-03-15T22:12:00.004-05:00

The morning began with sleeping in (at least for me that was the case). Susan woke a little after seven to tackle the day. The bruising from around her neck is healing quite well; an indication that we believe is the gradual increase of her platelets. A good sign in preparation for next Friday's chemo.

That afternoon, Susan received a hand massage with the finest lotion meticulously plucked from Walgreens inventory, a shampooing from her mother, and a rare back massage from her husband.

I'm putting up quite the sweat for the love of my life. Susan seems well pleased, not to mention refreshed from my labors.

The day ends with the finest cuisine of frijoles barrachos (my recipe) and Mexican rice. Kari and Kay bought chicken fajitas from Escalantes. It was quite the feast. Now Susan is ready to call it in with a movie (Hairspray) and a small cup of ginger and peach tea. What a life.

3 Day Breast Cancer Walk

2008-03-15T11:19:00.002-05:00

Good Morning!

A few of Sue's friends are organizing a team to do the 3 day breast cancer walk in honor of Sue. They are looking for more walkers and more sponsors! My sister Kari and I and my daughter Ashlee are considering going to Dallas/FT Worth for the walk. If anyone is interested, please visit the site below. It is amazing! All the proceeds benefit breast cancer research and it is huge!! I was amazed and Deb, NICE JOB on the team site!! Here's the link that will tak eyou right there!

http://08.the3day.org/goto/captainsusanspirates

Let us know on the comments if you are interested!!

Friday's At the Doctor's

2008-03-14T21:38:00.002-05:00

Susan had her appointment with Dr. Nguyen today. She's been a little apprehensive about it. She was concerned that one, she'd either have to go back to the hospital for one reason or another; or two, they would have to delay her next chemo because of her blood count.

The four of us boarded the car - Susan, Kay, Doug, and me - and arrived minutes to spare, just in time to fill out a bunch of paperwork which was about as much fun as...well, filling out paperwork.

Apparently Home Health Care was supposed to have contacted Susan for physical therapy to help her build up her muscles and stamina, according Dr. Nguyen. They haven't, which surprised him. To say the least, he was none to happy with Home Health Care; he had the nurse contact them to see to to it that they set up an appointment with Susan. She has that going for her.

After a blood test, Dr. Nguyen determined that Susan's blood count was real low, as expected from the chemo. But it wasn't low enought to postpone chemo set for Good Friday; at least not yet. She has to take one more blood test next Friday, and if her blood count is good, they'll administer the next chemo. But the best part about today, she doesn't have to go to the hospital like she feared that she would.

Her white blood cells are low, too, and as a precaution she has to avoid some people for a time, and will need to occasionally check her temperature.

In spite of feeling a little weak, unable to fully lift herself off the couch or the chaisse lounge without some assistance, or completely work her right arm, she's still in good spirits. She continues to feel better about herself, and she's looking forward to her next chemo.

There appears to be no stopping Susan. She's determined to beat this.

Gettting Stronger; Getting Better

2008-03-13T20:33:00.007-05:00

There is no prouder moment in my life than watching Susan make a panty-waist out of this disease. She's getting stronger, and I can see it in the way she walks with the walker and as she pushes herself up off the couch. I can hear it in her voice, as it is thicker than when it was when she was in the hospital; there's even more spirit to it, which I've missed. Even her hugs are stronger when I reach down for one.

Now that she's home, she's moving more than she did in the hospital. She walks the distance to the bathroom. She stands up on her own without supervision to wash her face and brush her teeth. Granted, our home is not as large a the average home, but it's a perpetual triathlon when you consider her condition. And she's mastering it each day.

But she couldn't do it alone. Her mom and dad have been caretaking her while I'm at work. They help her out of the chaise lounge and prepare her meals and snacks.

Here we see Kay washing Susan's hair.

Susan's agenda was to go outside and sit on the swing today. She worked the nerve to take a step outdoors. Just as she was about to move further on the patio, it started to rain. Guess she'll have to reserve that plan for Friday. Stupid Houston weather.

Tomorrow she's visiting Dr. Nguyen, her oncologist. They plan to run a few blood tests on her and discuss the results, and determine if Good Friday is still set for her next chemo day. I'm sure it will proceed as planned. As I've been saying in previous posts, Susan is doing remarkably well. She's sleeping less during the day (and when she has to nap, it's mainly because of the antibiotics and the chemo). She spends more time either walking, standing, and less time warming the cusions of the chaise lounge. Let's face it, she was released from the hospital earlier than planned, and before my eyes each morning and every evening when I return from work, she's becoming more and more like the Susan I know. Indeed I am proud of her. I can't wait to hear what her parents have to say what she did while I was gone.

Ray

Power of Friends and Prayer

2008-03-13T15:42:00.002-05:00

Just another little blog entry...God is so good!!! I have truly had a ton of phone calls and emails every day from people all over, some I hardly know and some I haven't spoken to in years! Susan truly has ALOT of people surrounding her who care ALOT!! That is so uplifting! I got this email today and I wanted to put it out there as maybe some of you may be interested in participating/sponsoring or just encouraging this!! But I literally cried today when I received this as it is a great example of the outpouring of love and concern I have felt since SUsan was diagnosed. This is from one of Sue's long time friends who introduced Sue to her husband Ray!!

THANKS DEB!!! :) You made my day and I can't wait to tell Sue & Ray!

Hi Kaylee -

Kari W. (another of Sue and Deb's friends) and I have created a team to do the 3-day Susan G Komen 60 mile Breast Cancer walk in Dallas/Ft.Worth on November 7-9th. We've called the team "Susan's Pirates" and we'd like to put a pic (that one of her on the blog) on the back of our team shirts.I'll keep you updated!

Thanks -Deb

My Mom's Blog!

2008-03-13T15:22:00.002-05:00

My mom asked me to tell the story of how when Sue was first diagnosed, she told Sue to claim the bible verse:

Hebrews 13:5-6: I will never leave you or forsake you, The Lord is my helper I will not be afraid.

So she told Sue to memorize and know the Lord is with her and has a plan and will never leave her.

So my mom had asked her church to place SUe on their prayer chain list and they had sent my mom a card letting her know they had all prayed for Sue and her family and Ray of course and then they had the same verse from Hebrews as a comfort to claim! My mom and SUe were so surprised and Sue said it is the Lord's way of showing me He is here and has not and will not leave me and it was comforting to all of us!!!

Thanks for praying and Thanks to my mom for all her prayers and her diligence in helping Sue and taking care of her and making sure she is alright!!

My Dad's Update for Wed

2008-03-12T22:19:00.002-05:00

Update for today:

This has been a very productive rehab day, for the first time this afternoon when I would lift Sue up from the couch or chaise lounge, she was helping with her legs doing a small portion of the help. Up until then she realy had very little strength in her arms or legs. She walks all by herself to the bathroom and back also. We have set a tentitive goal of walking out on the patio and sitting in the swing tomorrow. So Sue is a little tired as she has been sitting up quite a bit today Hooooray. Your coming down on the 19th has been a motivating factor as she wants to be walking around by then. She is so darn brave and couragious, it is inspiring to me. So there you are. take care.

Love Dad

Kaylee's note-

Sue said she is feeling alot better and getting stronger, for those of you praying for Sue (and we thank you so much!) Please pray for her strength and for her great attitude and that the Lord will heal her from this!! It is so healing just to be at home with her husband and cats and my dad is there to help (and he has helped a TON and mom comes to help also during the day and the two of them are giving her amazing care -per Sue!!)

We'll continue to keep you updated!! Thanks for checking on Sue! :)

The Doctor Told You What?

2008-03-11T21:43:00.006-05:00

I received great news this morning! Susan called me and told me that Dr. Shree said there was no reason why she couldn't go home. I was like, "are you kidding?" She wasn't.

There was much excitement. Susan was out of her gown and dressed for the road. She was ready to go home. Now if only the doctor would hurry up and sign her release.

Goodbye bed. Goodbye I.V. Goodbye bedpan and those gosh darn uncomfortable foot massage contraptions. I'm outta here!

Waiting to get inside the car and on the road.

She's home! The t.v. remote is by her side like a faithful companion. Hey, isn't that my side of the couch that you're sitting on?

I can't hardly believe that Susan's recovery is so substantial that the doctor's felt that she could go home. They stated that by being home she should do even better. Amazing. Sure it took hours for the formal "okay," but it was worth the wait.

It's so good to have my beautiful wife home with me. The house was so empty without her. The cats don't know what to make of her return. But I do. I'm over the moon. She has a couple of appointments next week with a couple of doctors, but there will be no hospital stays.

Thank you, God, for bringing her back home where she belongs.

Ray

Thank You So Much!

2008-03-11T19:53:00.004-05:00

To Everyone who has called, emailed & left comments on the blog:

I cannot believe how many people, friends we have lost touch with a little or maybe alot, family from distant states, people I didn't even know could use a computer have left messages and emails of love, prayers and concern...THANK YOU!

Thank You to the Martinez family, Sue's inlaws for all your visits and calls and support, you are AMAZING! Thanks to my mom, dad, Kari & Ray for all your everyday love, support, time, help and encouragement and for keeping us all in pics and stories!!

Brad Herman out in Colorado Springs, THANKS for the emails and comments and getting back in touch! Keri (Stefan) Beyer my highschool and after friend, THANK YOU! Aunts & Uncles and cousins from all over THANK YOU! Reed Herman, sorry I cried, but THANK YOU! Cindi, THANK YOU! Mike's family THANK YOU! If I missed you it's not because you are unimportant, but because I am tired!! Sue needs all of your prayers and your comments on this blog, we have read to her and it buoys her up and keeps her fighting and that is SO IMPORTANT! You are all special people and if you need us to pray for you, we will...OH, Kristi & Sierra THANK YOU! Auntie Helen from all over on your travels and her family Vicki THANK YOU! Gina-you are AMAZING! Kelly, your comments made me cry...you seem like a great person and we appreciate your kindness and Ruben's (who we already LOVE!) in visiting Sue..oh and Eric, Sue's boss & friend THANK YOU for your many kindnesses and visits!!! You are all so important and to Auntie Phoebe & Uncle Ervin, you made Sue smile on Day 2 of chemo, when she felt the worst and your beautiful gift arrived! THANK YOU!! Auntie Karen, Uncle Mike & Michelle THANK YOU for all the messages!! You all have made a difference and we are all very thankful, especially Sue!! Scuba Steve, if you are reading the blog, THANK YOU for your phone calls to Sue! Susan in NM, THANK YOU for your calls and comments & friendship to Sue!! You have all made a difference!