The tumor is gone.

There are no traces of it left.

Her brain is healing beautifully.

Miracles happen. Prayer works.

We can never thank you enough.

As the tumor was aggressive and malignant, we keep fighting, we keep praying and we keep having faith that all her MRI's that she will have about every 90 days will have the same result, no tumor.

We begin maintenance Chemotherapy this week, we also have more appointments tomorrow to determine the digestion pain. But today, we are thankful. We are thankful most especially to our Father in Heaven who is in charge.

And now we pray some more. :)

Reality Check

Merry Christmas everyone!

Lets get to the nitty gritty. As usual, a lot and not a lot, has happened here at the Bird house. Mom has been finished with ChemRad for 20 days now. Time flies!!!

GOOD News!
Since December 2nd, mom has slowly come off steroids and other medications and her brain has had time to adjust and heal from all the surgery and radiation. Her scar down the right side of her head is looking prettier every day! Her hair is growing back in some places and has not grown back in other places, we heard it takes 3-6 months to see what really is going to grow back (we're crossing our fingers!), though her hair is the least of our concerns. :) We have had many friends drop by and say "hello" and drop off yummy treats, which her children have totally been enjoying for her.
We have fun going through the mail everyday and reading all the get well and Christmas cards! We love hearing your news and seeing how your families have grown and changed over the last year, thank you so much for sending them. Mom and I did all our shopping on Amazon Prime (the man who invented it should be given the Noble Peace Prize) and we eagerly awaited the arrival of France and Brett who are HERE and are so helpful! We love having our boys!
Elder Bird in Arizona is doing wonderfully and he and mom share some funny emails back and forth as mom is still typing poorly (or as Jake likes to say "she writes in Vulcan"). We are excited to talk to him on Christmas Day! Jen & Todd and the girls are having Christmas is Savannah and we will be video chatting with them as often as possible! Sienna took her first real walk across the room the other day when she heard "Grandma Sheri" on the computer and came over to say hi! Mom and Jen both shed some tears as Sienna remembered Grandma Sheri so well after living in Spokane for a year. Needless to say, mom loved it. We are all happy it's Christmas and we get to spend some much needed time together. :)

NOT So Good News

Since ChemRad, mom has not been feeling well, at all. In fact, she has been the worse she's ever been. Her legs have atrophied to the point of where walking anywhere is difficult, we cannot leave the house much, if we do, we make sure the place we are going has a wheel chair so we can push her around. She has also had severe pains in her abdomen and esophagus. She cannot eat hardly anything, just some broth, chicken and rice here and there and maybe a little oatmeal, then once it's in her system it causes a lot of burning in her stomach and other painful symptoms.
In the last four weeks mom has been through so many tests and Drs appointments to determine the cause of her pain. We have had scopes, ultrasounds, blood tests and UA's. All of which are inconclusive. She has been on so many different pills we can hardly keep up anymore as the dosages and frequencies change daily. Let me just say, her doctors are SAINTS! They want to help her as quickly as possible and hopefully soon we can have her out of some pain. We pray continually for her. For those of you who have been through ChemRad or know someone who has, you know it's not easy. In fact, it's quite the reality check. We are on a long road to recovery and sometimes we feel as though we have only just begun.

Tomorrow is Mom's MRI to see what the results of all of the surgeries and treatments have been. They are going to see her brain tomorrow. They are going to be looking for signs of a tumor tomorrow. Tomorrow is a bit of a scary day. It's also a hopeful day as we KNOW that ALL THE PRAYERS ARE WORKING and we need them now more than ever. Please pray for her tomorrow if you can. Please. We are going to plead for this beautiful woman's life. We can ask for that, and we will.

We will hear the results on Monday and the results will be the Christmas miracle we are all hoping for.

We love you, we thank you. Miracles are wrought through prayer. It's true. Christ lives and he loves us! Merry Christmas everyone!

Love, The BIRDS

The End of ChemRad!!!

Hey everyone!!!!

So mom finished her 7 weeks of ChemRad last Thursday, so it's been a week since she's been done! We celebrated the next day by taking her to the 2D version of 'Tangled' (the 3D would have been TOO much!). We LOVED it and it totally exhausted her and she slept the rest of the day.

We were anticipating some hard times coming off all the drugs and radiation as the side effects can be a bit harsh. We didn't have to wait long! As radiation 'seeps out' she is even more tired if you can believe it! She has slowly been allowed to cut down on steroids and little did we know that the steroids, besides making her a bit un-Sheri-like, have been giving her artificial bursts of energy that she so looks forward too everyday. The steroids have also atrophied her legs quite a bit-I tell her she has Jake Sully legs from Avatar-which is not funny and totally inappropriate, but hey, we laugh every time.

She also has been having some major stomach issues as all the drugs have torn up her little tummy. We have been trying all sorts of antacids that the doctor recommended, but to no avail, no relief has come. Finally we took her into the hospital yesterday as the pain had worsened and she's pretty bored of oatmeal and dried toast and ta-da! We got some MORE medication. But it IS working! Yay! All of the side effects are totally normal bytheway.

For better news: She is OFF steroids completely as of today, she is so excited! It still takes time for them to leave the body entirely though. Also, her hair is starting to grow back in 'like a weed' :). AND we got to have Thanksgiving a few weeks ago with Brett & France! France & I pulled together dinner (with Mom's help of course) and the boys helped by cleaning their plates and the kitchen! We set up the tree and have been enjoying all the pretty lights! It's funny, the timing of things. Mom's favorite holiday is Christmas and she gets the WHOLE month of December off of Chemo to enjoy it (until she starts up again the 27th for maintenance, which we will explain soon!). What a blessing.

We live one day at a time here at the Bird's and we are not sure what the next few weeks will bring as she continues to rest! But we sure look forward to having Brett & France back soon and cuddling up in Mom's room watching movies, playing games and just being a family.

Thank you so much for everything. You'll never fully know the impact your prayers and service have had on our family. We are so incredibly grateful and blessed to have you all in our lives. We have unwavering faith in the plan that God has for us and are excited to be celebrating the birth of our beloved Savior this month. Christ lives and loves us! Hope all is well with you and yours. We love reading everyone's messages, they are so fun and inspiring! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

Updatey

Hey Ya'll!

Ok so yes, it has been quite awhile. Thankfully that means we are two weeks closer to being DONE with CHEMRAD!!! Wahoo!

In the last two weeks there has been many changes, and a lot of sameness, let me explain:

Concerning ChemRad, we still have a radiation treatment every morning M-F. The effects of which are many and varied. Firstly, It's WORKING! The doctors are thrilled at her progress! Second, it causes her great amounts of discomfort, due mainly to the 'cocktail' of drugs she takes to help her through the process. Her legs have atrophied quite a bit. She has lost the majority of her lovely hair. Her sleep is more like 'restless rest' and the steroids are still...well....steroids, and we cannot WAIT to be off of them (though she is being slowly weaned off of them which is helping!).

As for her lovely hair, she still has her eyebrows and eyelashes which complement her....NEW WIGS!!!! I have pictures and will post them soon. They are pretty cool wigs too. I should mention that the back part of her hair, beyond where the radiation is hitting is still there, enough for a little ponytail even, and we have decided to keep it and allow the new hair to fill in around. No shaving the head on this one!

Mom started the experimental drug last Wednesday and was on an IV drip for 90 minutes. She slept mostly, I read 'Spokane' magazine. It was a long 90 minutes. :) (That'll teach me to come unprepared). We have our next drip this Wednesday, and Brett will be with us! France flies in later that day and then we get a BREAK for Turkey Day. Mom is so excited to have almost all her kids home.

Again, we ask for your prayers and hope to organize a fast in a couple of weeks around the time of her next MRI! She continually feels your prayers and the prayers from Temple Rolls. I read her ALL the mail, all the cards ALL the FB messages, emails etc! Thank you for sending all that love her way.

We love you, appreciate you and are full of gratitude that we can never properly convey. So know that what you are doing is working. Heavenly Father hears your prayers. Every single one.

Communication...

And that was her last post for awhile!!! :)

Lindsay here. I have grounded my mother. She has developed some nocturnal activities that are exhausting her and so the poor thing is grounded. No more 3 am blog posts or cooking sprees. So just for an update she is doing well, great, fantastic, amazing etc, BUT she is just plum tuckered out ALL the time.

I just want to let you all know, I have grounded her from her email and her phone as well. We have so many amazing friends and family members calling the house and her cell and I can tell you she will not be getting back to you.... for awhile, I have found that she tries to sneak communication when I am not looking and her current state and steroids have caused some interesting (for a lack of a better term) conversations that she may look back on later asking me 'why oh why did you let me talk to people while I was on drugs!?!'

So in order for us not to offend, we are just letting you know that if she/we don't get back to you to please not take it personally. If she does, lucky you, because her spelling and grammar will cause a chuckle. I still read her all the comments and Facebook messages everyday and they light up her life. She loves you all so much that she wants to talk to ALL of you and just physically can't. THANK YOU for all your continued support.

These are her hardest days. She has lost a great amount of hair and her comb-over doesn't seem to be doing the trick anymore :). We are working on what to do to keep this woman stylish!

I just want to thank you all for you help. Just letting us know you are praying and thinking about us HELPS. BIG TIME. We feel like we are in a bubble right now and want you all to know that we are ALL sludge-ing through some kind of mud in our lives, you the reader are going through tough times and we probably have no idea. Hang in there!!!! Whether our trials are visible to the world or not, they are still trials, they are tough and boy do they exhaust us all. So we know that we are not the only ones with cancer, we are not the only ones with husbands in Afghanistan, we are not the only ones with a family member with disabilities and we are not the only ones who feel lonely at times. Thank goodness for the Gospel huh? We are never alone.

Enjoy your weekend, it always seems to get darker before the sun rises doesn't it?

Tithing/fast offerings/gratitude

With five days of radiation, you get the weekends off. (you still take all your many RX'S but its basically a weekend pass from as I lovingly call it :being fried" And then you start up again on Monday. Last weekend was hard, but I think It it was just the unknown. I am grateful for the blessings from the Lord to help me recognize when I need to pay attention, slow down, drink more water, all body stuff.

This is my first attempt to write on this blog, I must admit I was one to never like the lime light...and a little embarrassed when I found that the girls had done this, but they said it has helped to answer and update family and then they basically said, we did it...end of discussion.
Jennifer and her girls are now happily moved to Georgia and Lindsay my nurse, right arm women, amazingly has been blessed to be here we me. Thanks girls..I love you.

I had a neat experience this week, too many to tell, but one sticks out and I felt impressed to write it down.

I have always been a tithing payer-will a man rob God? I admit when I was a teenager it was when I got around to it. As a young married, I always paid at the end of the month, never knew any difference, knew it to be a commandment, knew it to be the right thing to do. Commandment, you need to to get your Temple recommend, but probably never really had studied it, It Just a check mark on the oil lamp "its just what you do stick"

At my tithing settlement about two years ago my Bishop asked me about my fast offering and wanted to know if I thought I was paying a generous fast offering? I did not know what a generous one was as my husband as my dear husband had always taken care of that side of our finances and I just paid it.And at this point in my life I was still in the "widow" mind of snow tires, furnace needs fixed, sprinklers need blown out...kids on missions (I call it the trying to find the balance of being a Mom/Dad syndrome. Of all the things I wish Keith had compiled for me before he passed away, he forgot one thing...."COULD YOU HAVE AT LEAST LEFT ME A MAP OF THE SPRINKLER SYSTEM?" I may use that for a book someday.

Put your seat belts on kids, this is a long one. I may be banned from writing after the girls see this.

Back to tithing~So the Bishop made a few suggestions and then asked me to pray about it and I would know what to do. Seemed easy enough. I prayed, thought about it and followed his council. Again....check mark.

About 6 months to a year ago I had felt an extra need in my life to get very close to the Lord. Really close. I had the impression that I was going to need him more then ever. I was not scared, but it was an uneasy feeling that would not pass.

So, I sat down one night and said, what can I do to come closer to the Lord? I read a book called personal promises from the Lord to you. The continuous atonement, Hearing the voice of the Lord....and then one day in my chats to my Bishop...he kinda rolled his eyes and he can only do to me and said "read your scriptures and say your prayers every day, go to the Temple once a week and increase your fast offering" EASY divine answer.

So that it what I did, every week, every day without fail. No excuse. I could physically feel the blessings of the Temple, I was learning alot about the scriptures and setting my alarm and getting up became very easy. Things were well, but something was not there and I could not figure it out. Then it hit me...tithing...I was paying it at the end of the month along with all my other bills and just maybe my "generous fast" was not as "generous" as I had thought.

I again petitioned the Lord for guidance and asked what should I do? I was asked if I had enough faith to pay my tithing "Before" I even had the money in my account from my business? and then again up my fast offering.

Always paid, but BEFORE the check arrived. No questions, it was from the Lord. I can do hard things...DONE, only not a check mark this time, a humble thank you for trusting me with this and adding a little more faith into my life.
Now every fast day, at the beginning of the month, before I get paid, it gets written and its gone. I did it with no expectations, I don't do it and then say bless me, or I need... I promise you it is out of obedience and it felt right.

After you go through all this surgery, chemo, radiation etc. Then Cancer care NW (is amazing by the way if you ever get cancer) I cannot tell you how amazing they are)
but back to story;
I was filed into an office for "Patient advocate" advice on RX, health insurance and what kind of state assistance I would need to pay for my very expensive medication and clinic visits for the next year. Most people end up on state assistance because of cost.
I take a cocktail of Chemo drugs and just to shock you...one of the pills for 24 days cost $6000.00. REALLY. I am fortunate that even though we raised the insurance deductable in my business to save a little money in the long run, I pay $120.00 for that.
I asked the asked the advocate approximately how much would be out of pocket this year for me with all the MRI's, Medications, etc. She penciled and calculated and then gave me an approx.

On the way home from Treatment, Lindsay looked at me and said "Mom, do you realize you are seeing the blessings of tithing, but most importantly a Generous Fast offering" I burst out bawling like a baby....I was prompted, I obeyed without reservation and did it without expecting a thing....it was just the right thing to do.
I will be able to pay my bills with peace in my heart and not have this stress added upon.

Bishop Mclaws was doing his Friday night ward visits and he stopped by and we read the in "Old testament people" Malachi 8-12. Especially pay attention to vs. 10-11 I think that we fail to read on in to.

8 ¶ ^aWill a man ^brob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In ^ctithes and offerings.

9 Ye are ^acursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.

10 Bring ye all the ^atithes into the storehouse, that there may be ^bmeat in mine house, and ^cprove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not ^dopen you the ^ewindows of heaven, and pour you out a ^fblessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.

11 And I will ^arebuke the ^bdevourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.

12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.

This is fast and testimony weekend. Have the faith to pay a "GENEROUS" fast offering. Pay it even if it your last 20 bucks or 100, or 500. Have EXCEEDING faith to do what the Lord has asked you to do. What would be holding you back and why? Its the Lord's money anyway, what you have including the very breath that you breath comes from him anyway. Trust him and trust him enough to allow him to help you. Remember D&C 130 20 There is a ^alaw, irrevocably decreed in ^bheaven before the foundations of this world, upon which all ^cblessings are predicated—

21 And when we obtain any ^ablessing from God, it is by ^bobedience to that law upon which it is predicated.

Going out to dinner is fun, seeing that movie would be fun..but if you haven't paid your fast offering, that is all it will be....fun....not eternal nor everlasting.

Thank you for reading. I am usually not one to preach because of my MANY beams/motes etc in my own eyes. But felt impressed that this should be written down.

Thank you for all your notes of love, flowers,etc.I wish I could personally thank each of you and tell you how much your friendship and love has meant to me. When Keith died I felt bad because we got all fed and such nice notes of love and he could not enjoy them or read them. I on the other hand have been uplifted by the notes and love because I do get to read them!
So Thank you!
People ask what can I do? Not really a whole lot, It's the Lord and my battle now...I have awesome help and great friends who can drive and a daughter who is living here for awhile.
But, I do humbly ask for your prayers...miracles are wrought through prayer.

Make it a good week-there is so much to live for!

xoxoxo~Sheri

How Sheri is doing!

October 31st. Happy Halloween!

So, the most popular question people ask us everyday is..."How's your mom?" :)

Sometimes I don't really know how to answer it and sometimes I want to be cheeky and say, "Well, she had brain surgery, soooo..." Haha, no just kidding, but seriously today at Church everyone kept asking me that I just felt so overwhelmed with LOVE! I am so grateful for so many people, friends and family, who care and just want to know how she is doing! I am grateful for those who are offering to HELP, and who HAVE, and are still HELPING us! :)

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

Thank you for everyone who sends flowers Mom loves them! If you want to send them, please feel free! She loves all flowers, definitely pink flowers and/or bright happy colors. :) Thank you for your cards, thank you for caring and for loving mom and for visiting and bringing meals and for EVERYTHING!!!

So...to answer the question of the day, "How is mom doing (haha!)," she is doing as well and better than anyone in her situation could be doing! She has been doing Chemotherapy and Radiation treatments for a week and a half and she has to do that for about 7 weeks. She has, I think, 10 to 12 different kinds of pills she has to take everyday including the Chemotherapy (which in pill form is supposed to make you not as sick and make your hair either fall out less or not at all! So far she is doing pretty well with it)! She has to take these awful steroids that make her not herself sometimes, and then the steroid wears off and she goes back to normal. The steroids also make her cheeks feel a little puffy and so she is a major NON-FAN of those, but they are helping her so she is taking them.

Some days are a little crazier than others. Some days she feels like the wants to get up and run to the store for a minute, and then she is just wasted and has to come home and sleep. Other days she is just in bed. Tired. Really, really tired.

She has to go to radiation 5 days a weeks and everyday she comes home she is just completely WIPED OUT and has to lay down. She is as positive as ever and has complete faith that she can overcome this! She has to watch her blood pressure and it makes her nervous when it gets high, so she is trying to get her stresses down and keep it down so she can stay on this "study" that she is on with the chemo and radiation (Chemrad, as Linz so lovingly named it, ha!) so we are all TRYING to do the best we can to help her.

I will be leaving soon (which will take a huge stress off her with the girls not running around the house like crazy and us not leaving a tornado behind us wherever we go!) and Linz will be back with mom soon, and my Grandma is here helping out more than anybody knows around the house and is keeping everything running smoothly. Grandma, if you ever read this, you are a complete GEM, a wonderful mother, and you have been a huge help to everyone! THANK YOU!

Kels and Papa have been cleaning up the garage and basement and our neighbors have been helping us with the yard and everything so far seems to be taken care of as it comes at us. Thank you!

Mom says she feels like she got hit by a car ... maybe more like a train. Like her body isn't her own. In her head this is just not even happening, like it's not real, but it is and she just wants to get over this little "speed bump" and get on with normal life! We have all the plans in the world for next summer, and traveling, and plans when Jake gets home from his mission, and future weddings and grandbabies and everything that life has to offer for many years to come! Nobody is planning on this woman dying! She is a tank! If anybody can beat the unbeatable, Sheri Bird can and she will! Lord willing, we haven't seen that last of Sheri Bird people so watch out because she's got more faith in her little finger than 100 people put together!

By the way, if you know somebody who wants to know what is going on and how "Sheri is doing" :) , please send them here or to sheribird.com and it will forward them to this blog. We will do our best to keep it updated :)

Please, though, always remember mom in your prayers if you can. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!! Mom needs everyone's prayers and faith and with that she can do this! I don't care what your beliefs are, God loves every single one of us, HIS Children, and he hears YOUR prayers and he will answer them with your faith! He's got a plan for you and for me and for mom and we have to trust him and know that he is in charge.

We MUST have EXCEEDING FAITH! Faith precedes the miracle!

This is my all time favorite scripture that brings me peace when life just becomes overwhelming. It's D&C (Doctrine and Covenants) 121:7-8, and we are told to liken all scriptures unto ourselves so we read it as if God was speaking directly to us...because he is.

"My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes."

I know that is true. I have faith in God and in plan for all of us. And we aren't throwing any pity parties over here!

I've got one more thing and then I'll sign off tonight. On our fridge is a little quote that I love, it says:

"Be kinder than necessary because everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle."

So there you go. Everyone has SOME kind of trial in their life and this one is ours right now! So thank you again for your prayers and your kindness. We feel sincerely blessed and grateful.

With Love,
Jen

Sheri's Thoughts (1)

Here are some thoughts from the woman herself (as told to me on Friday, October 29th) translated by yours truly:

1. "Today the radiation hit like a ton of bricks...... did someone get the license plate of that truck that just ran over me?" she said.
(This is very normal...radiation becomes accumulative in the body about now and it means things are progressing on schedule).
2. Mom is pleased and says she "is so blessed for so many little things in life that if you did not take the time to look they could be missed," she goes on, "for example, my pharmacy is close by, everyone is so helpful and things that need to work out, just do."
3. She got to meet up with a cancer nutritionist and said "everyone should know this stuff!" Also, "The cancer center here is just amazing and I never knew this world existed."
4. She feels the Lord so close and knows he is in charge...she feels peace and just keeps saying "Thank You! How can I be so blessed?"
5. Her favorite part of the day today was when they asked her how she felt and she said..."I have no complaints, I get to experience the seven wonders of the world:

"I get to....
1. See
2. To hear
3. To touch
4. To taste
5. To feel
6. To laugh
7. And to love.”

October 18th

Wow! How do I begin!

All is good...MOM is GOOD. Getting better daily! She is not loving that her steroids have provided enough water weight to give her a cute and full chipmunk face, but she is appreciative that she is taking them for some health benefit amongst a myriad of other meds :).

We still don't get great sleep...maybe soon! Her scar is slowly disappearing under a mass of hair that is growing in (and it's very salt 'n' pepper), we've had a few good laughs about her silver status we are discovering.

So for some MEDICAL updates, Mom was approved for a new study that is brand new to the area and it's in phase 3, meaning that it's helping so many people and providing such amazing benefits to GBM patients that they want to test it on a wider range! The doctors have all been so excited that she was accepted as you have to meet very specific criteria.....

THEN....whomp. She didn't qualify anymore as of Friday. What a bummer! Here's why: She doesn't have enough tumor left to study....and we are UPSET!? What!? That's FANTASTIC NEWS....it also means she won't have a chance to take a drug that could reallly be beneficial and she will also been imaged LESS (MRIs, CT's etc.). We want her to be imaged!!!! We don't want that tumor creeping back without our knowledge (they will continue to image, just not as much).

WELL THEN Friday night, we hear that her radiologist, Dr. L* (name shortened to protect the innocent...ha!) spent his whole day fighting for her....and won.....if we could get her blood pressure down.

So that brings us to today. Her BP is up. Her stress level is at max. We had to make some tough phone calls about visitors and we basically decided to quarantine her. So we go in today for an mRI....things are looking the same....the EKG we have....also normal....the BP...still too high. At this point, mom and I are in the Cancer Care office, praying for a miracle. We have 1 hour to bring down her BP without medication. 10 diastolic POINTS!!!! Ahhhhhhh! No pressure.

Long story short, we prayed to the HEAVENS, turned on some MoTab, had the lady in the office turn off the TV, ate some snacks, rubbed her head and propped her feet up and prayed some more.....it took 45 mins and we got the number we needed. It was an absolute miracle.

She's back in the study. We promptly left amidst the congrats from the nurses and ate some Bruttles (ok, the Bruttles were for me) from the Davenport and now shes asleep.

SHE LOVES THE FLOWERS YOU SEND AND THE CARDS YOU WRITE!!! THE NOTES, comments and everything is majorly appreciated and as always...your prayers! Her name is on Temple Prayer roles allover the world and we FEEL it. We know it. OUR FAITH is stronger than ever. Many, many, many thanks. We are among angels.

October 13

Since we got home last Thursday I have been to Utah to be with France and Mom spent the weekend in her OWN bed recovering! Her mother, Gay Clark (and her husband) came and took over for me. Grandma is the best nurse and carefully made medical charts and schedules and waited on Mom hand and foot.

On Monday the 11th, Mom got her stitches out and the docs say her MRI's look as good as expected! Her hair is already growing back-- "like a weed" she says. :) We dry her hair with a part on the other side so we can swoop her hair over the scar and you can't tell she's even got one! We are getting creative.

She is eating, walking, talking (a LOT bytheway, steriods make her a cute blabbermouth) and sleeping...at least as much as we can make her.

We go to the Cancer Care clinics just about everyday getting to know the staff we will be working with and signing away who-knows-what in paperwork. :) SO that brings me to what we learned today:

1. They really did get most of the tumor out and they know they can get the rest with Chemo and Radiation.
2. THEY are soooo positive! So yes having the tumor is bad, but she has EVERYTHING going for her; health, fitness, positive outlook, things to live for and we know that she's got the Priesthood and ALL YOUR PRAYERS!!!!! Her radiologist is LDS and is so stinkin' positive and excited to get started it's not even funny! She even qualifies for a great new study that is helping so many patients!
2. Her radiation and chemo start on October 20th.
3. The Chemo will not make her lose her hair, but the radiation will in a few little spots.

* We know that we have the right staff working with us and we are extremely confident in the way the treatment will go, we get to ask lots of questions and explore every avenue and they are soooo understanding! We're new at this ya know? :)


So again, we thank you. We love you. We will keep you posted as long as you are interested :). Thank you for your love, support, flowers, food, visits, chocolate :), and most importantly YOUR FAITH & PRAYERS! We know that our Heavenly Father lives and loves us and thank goodness He is in charge.

October 9 at 9:20am

Mom is doing great at home! She has even gone on a walk! Yay! I get to go to the BYU Homecoming Game today with France, but I will be back in Spokane on Monday. Thank you praying for her, she is having a much better than expected recovery! Amazing!

October 7 at 7:58am

Day 10: WE ARE COMING HOME! It's amazing!!!! Mom gets to rest up a week or two before chemo and radiation. It's time for some major sleep. We love you all, we thank you all. We are going to start a blog where we will post the videos and pictures we have taken and will take and keep ya'll updated so we don't take up you...r news feeds anymore! THANK YOU ALL AGAIN! Your prayers are working miracles!

October 6 at 3:22pm

Day 9: Well, we thought we were gonna go home today. Maybe tomorrow. Mom is great considering what lies ahead. We have incredible doctors with incredible technology! This little set back was cured though with some PF Changs lettuce wraps and a shampoo! That's right! She got to wash her hair, and if you know her well, t...his is all she needed (+ your prayers and love). How many ways can we say 'Thank You' everybody!?

October 5 at 8:03am

PS: Thank you again for loves and prays. Nighttime is the most challenging and when she needs comfort the most, your prayers are there. She says never underestimate your kind words and your friendship. Every name I read brings back amazing memories and puts a smile on her face.

October 5 at 8:03am

Day 8: We are quite a pair. Double orders of French toast and mom in a Boise state t-shirt trying to improve the hospital gown and me in my Costco mummy bag. She's sleeping better and we may see home tomorrow! More MRI's today. We had consults with a few radiologist yesterday and they are awesome! They're on our time n...ow rooting for the win. PS It's been a week....a long one. :) But you all make it easier on her.

October 4 at 10:30am

Day 7: We know the staff pretty well now :). Mom has a lot more color in her face and has had her first walk around the floor. She was able to see her grandchildren last night for a few moments. We spoke to her oncologist and are starting to plan the long road ahead. We're as optimistic as ever! We just want to be opti...mistic at HOME now! :) Hopefully soon! Thanks for making her laugh and feel loved continually. xoxo

October 3 at 10:01am

Day 6: She's out of ICU and the hospital is running out of French Toast! Her head is starting to heal and she really wants a shower:) She's still super tired, but is loving conference. We continually bring your messages to her. She loves you all and can feel your prayers and your strength. It amazes her the support she is getting from all of you. Thank you! PS She says toilets and toothbrushes are HIGHLY underrated.

October 2 at 11:29am

Day 5: STILL in the ICU! But we hear that is changing soon! Mom gets to brush her teeth and FRANCE is here! We have been watching General Conference and she is loving it. We are continually thankful for your prayers, notes, flowers, facebook messages, all the food at our house and all the letters we keep getting! Thank you thank you thank you!

October 1 at 11:39am

Day 4: Still in the ICU. Mom officially wants out of here :). Maybe tomorrow we'll see some different walls. I have read her ALL the cards you have dropped by the house and sent in the mail. She looks forward to them everyday! Again, THANK YOU, you are ALL AMAZING! THANK YOU for praying---we're feeling it!!!! PS She go...t to eat some French Toast last night, she said it was the best ever!

September 30 at 9:39am

DAY 3: We are still in the ICU. I keep reading her all your awesome messages. THANK YOU. She had to have surgery again yesterday to cauterize some bleeding, but today looks like a better day. We may even move out of ICU today! Your prayers are amazing. She loves you all.

September 29 at 10:22am

Update: We're looking for a miracle. Please keep us in your prayers. She has a malignant brain tumor and we start chemo and radiation in two weeks. We love you all. She's looking beautiful and strong. We have gotten ALL of your amazing notes-Thank you.

September 28 at 10:10am

She's heading into surgery in a couple hours. I am reading her all your emails and notes and we love them! Thanks everyone for your prayers and faith! :)

September 27 at 9:30pm

So my mom is having brain surgery tomorrow. If you pray, please add us to your list. No one likes a tumor. :(