Port success

Praise God!

The port is finally in place. They came in and said that the reason they could not get it in was that the tissue around the port opening was swollen and they believed there was a blod clot at the site.

They decided that they could have Mom put ice back on it and then they would use a topical anesthetic on the skin for a while, then inject an anesthetic under the skin. They got her really numb and then they got the first one inserted. They were unable to find the place of insertion for the second port so they did an x-ray to have a reference point. They came back and got the second one placed.

She had a great nurse and Dr. that placed the needles. The needles are good for seven days before they need to be changed. It would be great if we could get the chemo done before the needles have to be replaced.

Mom is doing great, so subsequently we are all doing great. Thank you for praying for Mom and thank you for checking on the blog to see how you can pray specifically.

God is faithful always. He has been so gracious to us during this stressful time and we are so grateful to Him for is peace and presence.

Love,

Kimberly

Communication update

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to clear up something. Some family have mailed some cards and items to Mom and Dad to their house and others to mine. Unfortunately, we have a new address, so to all our family and friends that we corresponded with in the last 18 months, our mailing address has changed. I am sorry if this has caused cards to not get here.

Here is my new mailing address:

Brian and Kimberly Gibson
P.O. Box 269
Kapowsin, WA 98344

However, you can still mail Mom and Dad to their home. Carmen and Troy are coming up and bringing their mail when they come so they are still getting cards here.

Here is their home address:

Warren and Ladeva Dahlin
127 Brian Dr.
Chehalis, WA 98532

The hospital address is:

UWMC
1959 NE Pacific St.
Seattle, WA 98195

Attn: Patient Ladeva Dahlin

(For now her room number is #6308) but we do not know if it will still be the same room during chemo, although we are hoping to not move. When Mom goes home and comes back the room will change so the best bet may be their home address or mine.

Hope that clears up the confusion.

XOXO
Kimberly

Port needle

Two more attempts were made this morning to reinsert the needle into the port this morning unsucessfully. (This is done bedside) They are consulting with the surgeon again. Mom may go back into surgery to have it redone. Now we just wait to hear. Mom said it was less painful than before, though not pleasant. The swelling is less and she has been icing the area on and off since Sunday so hopefully that along with your prayers made the difference. Will update you all as we hear more.

Thank you again for your prayers.
Kimberly

Big Monday

Mom and Dad slept well last night after a LONG Sunday and were refreshed ( a relative term ) this morning when I arrived.
The things that we had been expecting did not happen today. They were going to come in and try to get the port needle placed, but Dr. Krueger ( from Seattle Cancer Care Alliance) came in and learned about the problems and pain Mom had experienced and decided to cancel the placement until he has spoken with the general surgeon that did the surgery.
Later, the Dr. that administers the chemotherapy came in to get a medical history from Mom and examine her then discuss the chemo treatment with her.

Here is what we learned today:

1) Mom's tumor/cancer is called Sarcoma. It is a soft tissue cancer that is rare. Only 1% of tumors are a sarcoma, which translates to about 8,000 a year. It is also tough to treat as there are so many sub categories of sarcoma. Mom's pathology report did not come back with much more information than sarcoma, so it did not narrow it down as much as they would like. They have decided on the type of chemo she will receive. It is a high grade tumor and they have found in research studies that the best treatment with a sarcoma is chemo, radiation and surgery. So, this has added a third dimension (in radiation) that we thought would not happen. It is her best chance of survival, but they are saying that it is not a "home run". We had been told at our first appt. that her benchmark is 5 years. If she can get through the surgery, the cancer can be removed and she stays cancer free for 5 years, her chances go up exponentially.

2) Her treatment will be chemo for 6 days in the hospital. One of the chemo meds will run 24 hours a day for the 6 days. The other one will run during those same 6 days and run 4 hours a day. She will then go home and return on the 22nd day after the first day of treatment for her second cycle. After the second cycle they will most likely do another PET scan and MRI to see if the tumor has shrunk. She may at that point need the radiation. Next will be the surgery to remove the tumor.

We heard all about the side effects and what to expect. Not a real "uplifting" conversation. But in the end, the Dr. told Mom that she is relatively healthy and that she CAN do it. It will be a really hard chemo, but that she will get through it and that they have a lot more medications than they did even 10 years ago and that they can do a lot more to alleviate some of those side effects.
The other news that was not great is that the Dr. was not happy with the infected leg and wants Mom on iv antibiotics a full 7 days. So........... this means 3 more days before she starts her chemo and then 6 days of chemo before she gets to come home. She came up for a two night stay and will leave about a month after she came in. We are doing better tonight, but had to pace ourselves in order to digest all the news today.
It's 8:10 PM and still no news on how they will address the port problems.
Gordie and Sandy Bauslaugh ( Our pastor and his wife, who have known Mom and Dad for years) came up to pray with us this afternoon. We had just gotten back from a walk /ride with Mom outside in the sun. It was a nice way to wrap up the afternoon. We are relaxing in the room. Dad is watching a silly movie and Mom is writing a few cards.
Today was one more day that we were lifted by your words of encouragement, your constant prayers and God's continuous love and peace. It is good to know He is here in the midst of this craziness.

With love and gratitude,
Kimberly

Sunday

We had all planned on a nice day with Mom. They had told us they were going to attempt to insert the needle in the port on Monday. (as the first one failed right after the insertion. We are being told it was not secured so it slipped.) It has been so frustrating. But, like I was saying they were going to reinsert on Monday and we were coming up about noon to celebrate a birthday and have some down time with Mom. No tests, no iv's, no procedures etc. Dad called me about 11:15 and said they had decided to go ahead and "try" to get it in today. One of the nurses had already told her it would be uncomfortable so she was dreading it.

Poor Daddy was so sick with worry and Mom was really anxious. She was assertive and asked the nurse if she had done many. She said she had done some, but it had been a while. Mom asked her if she would please get her someone with a lot of experience as she was so sore and couldn't even raise her arm above her head. She told Mom she thought that was a wise decision and went and got two charge nurses with more experience. They put on a topical anesthetic and came back and worked for a half hour trying to get it in. No luck. She was so sore and we were all beyond frustrated.

It is so maddening that she has not had one thing be straight forward for her. Everything has had a complication, or a problem that has caused more pain or additional issues or delays as far as procedures go.

Daddy was emotionally spent and Mom was really struggling by the time we had arrived. Carmen had come up first and was here to help Mom get ready. It was hard to see them both so sad when we got here. They put ice on it to help the swelling go down before tomorrow. We all got situated in a waiting room and settled in for a family get together at the Ophthalmology clinic. :) We had a nice lunch and watched Paris open presents, and watched Sadie and Nate play with Brittain and Paris. Their giggles lightened a stressed mood and we were able to escape this place for a while. (except for the constant beeping iv, and Sadie saying "I don't like that sound!" Nate would respond with "I LIKE that sound!" :)

We don't know what will happen tomorrow if they don't get the needle inserted into the port. We are praying that it would slip in with no problem or pain this time. If it doesn't get placed we are also concerned that it sets her back again with starting chemo and going home. Please join us in praying for this to get in right away and for no more delays.

We got her in bed tonight, Dad took a shower, and Mom opened cards and packages from so many of you. All of her cards are taped up around her room for her to see throughout the day. Stark white walls are being transformed with each card you send, so we thank you.

Kirk and Deb Parnham sent a card with some of God's promises listed. They were a comfort after such and emotionally draining day. They are excerpts, and referenced with the verse.

I want to share them with you as they brought us comfort tonight when we read them.

"I will protect you...." Acts 26:17

"I will comfort you..." Isaiah 66:13

"I will give you peace..." Leviticus 26:6

"...I will listen to you" Jeremiah 29:12

"...I will carry you". Isaiah 46:4

"... I will strengthen you..." Isaiah 41:10

"... I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

"... I will be with you." Genesis 31:3

And finally, "...I have loved you with an everlasting love..." Jeremiah 31:3

So in Him we find protection, comfort, peace, a friend to listen and carry us, strength, rest, His presence and His everlasting love.

Love,

Kimberly, Carmen and family

Saturday evening Two

Brian and I went to see Mom and Dad tonight. Our good friends John and Nichole Gruber (and blog administrator extraordinaire) kept the kids overnight for us. THANK YOU!
Mom was getting her hair cut short tonight to help her transition into her chemotherapy treatment. ( Thank you Aunt Sherry for doing it for her ) It was the fastest haircut in the history of haircuts as she was trying to do it before the nurse came in.
Mom has been dreading the side effects that will most definitely come from the chemo, and was hoping the transition might help her and the grandkids adjust as well.
She looks absolutely lovely with short hair and was in good spirits. She was supposed to be home this weekend and Sherry had told her they would cut it before treatment, but then we found out Mom wasn’t coming home. It was a huge relief when she said she could run up and take care of it for her this weekend.
She is still very sore, and the needle to the port is still not in place. I believe they will wait until they need to access it on Monday and fix it then. She is sore and tender in that area and she can’t put her arms around Daddy’s neck when he helps her stand. It is tender under her arm as well, so they did a little experimenting to get it to not hurt when he helps her stand up. He is so gentle with her and so worried about hurting her. Mom’s leg looked less infected, red and swollen to me tonight. The redness had decreased and they are still giving her iv antibiotics.
Carmen drove home tonight and left when we did just after 10:00PM. It’s a long drive for her and Troy and Maria when they come up. If you think of it and have a little extra room in your prayers, please pray for their safety as they commute.
One of Mom’s biggest disappointments about not coming home was that we had a family birthday party scheduled for Paris tomorrow. Mom was very concerned that she wouldn’t get to celebrate with our family, so we are taking the party to her tomorrow.
We spoke with the nurses and have found a clinic waiting room that we can use to have the shrimp pasta that Paris has requested. Don’t all 10 year olds ask for that on their birthday?
We are hoping that tomorrow will help in keeping her happy and distracted. It gets pretty boring for her in there day after day.
One thing I want to mention is that we still have not met with the Oncologist that will be administering the chemo. We don’t have the pathology report back so we don’t know what kind of chemo Mom will be getting. Once we know what kind she will receive, we can ask some more intelligent questions. For now, we just don’t know what to expect or ask. Some chemotherapy is administered once a day for 5 days and drips into the port in about 2 hours each day. Another kind of chemotherapy runs 24 hours a day for 5 days.
At this point we just don’t know what the situation will be like after she comes home. We have been told that the immune system really takes a hit 4-5 days after she starts to receive the treatment and her white blood cell count will decrease. It will be imperative that she not be exposed to anyone who is sick, sniffling, coughing etc. I am hoping we can get educated on the whole matter Monday and have more information to share with you then.
Thank you for your continued love, support, calls, emails, blog messages, offers for housing and childcare, meals, prayer and so much more that I know I am forgetting.
Mom and Dad feel very loved through this ordeal and we kids, and kids – in-law, thank you.
Will post something later Sunday night after we get home.

With gratitude and thanksgiving,
Kimberly and family

Saturday Evening

Hello all,
About noon today, Mom had another C-Scan. So far no reports have come from that. Mom is resting now. Her pain levels continue to change. Her port is VERY sore. The port is located around her left collar bone area. It really hurts to be touched, when she moves, and bending over even a little bitis too painful to do. As you know, I'm a light weight, but I did try to look at it a little at a time. There is a needle that is inserted through her skin and into the port. That is where they will be able to access the line. When the nurse checked it this morning to confirm it was working and to clean the line, she found the needle was not placed correctly. WHY??? We are so frustrated! She was as gentle as she could be. Taking it out wasn't fun, but Mom was a trooper. Her nurse told Mom that she wouldn't lie to her. When the needle has to be reinserted, it will be painful. They will have to push on the port area to get the needle inserted. Mom is so tired of being poked on. It breaks our hearts to see her have to suffer more than what was expected yet again. I know Mom would appreciate prayers for the reinsertion of the needle. Mom's nurse thought the needle might not have to be place today and maybe she can have a bit of a break from being poked for the rest of the day. We'll see. I'll try to shoot another report later this evening. Thank you for your prayers.

Love you, Carmen