~~~~The End To The Holidays~~~~

Well, the end of the Holidays is fast approaching and even though I have not been at work I have not managed to find the time to blog. Since I last wrote my father has VERY SLOWLY been showing improvements in his health and healing; it is like one step forward and three steps back.... literally. We went to see them on the 26th and he was having a yucky day... tired and just wanted to sleep.... I was able to get my mom who was also tired out of the apartment and take her out to dinner. I think that she really enjoyed that.

Since we visited them my mom has been taking him out of the apartment each day on little excursions; drive thrus, grocery stores, banks, or just for car rides to get him out and about. I really think that this is a great idea and that they BOTH need a change of scenery; it is good for the physical, mental and spiritual mind. At the last appointment with the transplant doctor my dad found out that his leukemia is in remission (PRAISE GOD!!!) and that he just needs time; LOTS OF TIME to heal. The transplant doctor said it would most likely be summer before he would be ready and strong enough for another round of chemo to bring him down to neutropenia and ready for the transplant. My dad has a really LONG road ahead of him but thanks to all of you and your prayers I know that he can make it down this long path. If God sees you to it, he will see you through it!!

I am looking forward to a much better 2009 in many areas of my life; but most especially for my mom and dad. 2008 pretty much stunk!

I am attaching a few festive pics from the holidays with my children!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~2009 - The Best Is Yet To Come!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Transplant Doctor Thursday

Well, today my father went to MD Anderson and met with his transplant doctor. According to the doctor, my dad still needs to regain his strength and heal. The transplant doctor will be ready for the transplant and have the donor ready and waiting when he regains his strength. So, I think that we all need to be praying for the Lord's healing power to come over my father and help him to get better; and most especially regain both the initiative and desire to push himself. From what my mom mentioned this afternoon he did not want a rehab doctor to come to the apartment to work with him, I have not asked him about it though. My mom is also exhausted; living in the city is not her cup of tea and she has given of herself tirelessly. She is with my father 24/7 except to do the laundry in the laundromat in their apartments, run to the grocery store and get take out if my dad is hungry. I truly applaud her and appreciate all that she is doing; since we have no family besides me, her and my father there is no one to relieve her except for me; and at this time of year with Duane gone so much for basketball, I am really busy and run ragged myself. I look forward to my holiday break in about a week to begin when I can visit with both of them.

WAH...... Sorry about the pity party - thank-you to all of you for your continued thoughts and prayers.... God Bless....

I pray for healing mentally and physically for my father, the will to want to get better and for my mother's strength and endurance.

:)

~~~IT SNOWED LIKE CRAZY HERE TONIGHT~~~

So, we woke up this morning to falling (and quickly melting snow). It was about 38 degrees when we woke up. We didn't have to tell the boys more than once (which never happens) to get up and out of bed; they were out the door in no time making one inch snow balls and an eight inch tall snowman! Unfortunately we all had to hurry and get to school and work. The day remained cold all day long and seemed to get colder, by 3:00 there were huge snow flurries falling to the ground. Right now it is 8:30 and it is still snowing lightly. After school D had an allergist appointment and afterwards RE was cancelled. We went to Carino's to celebrate my birthday day that is tomorrow. It snowed NONSTOP from 3:00 until now and from about 4:00-6:30 it was coming down really hard. After we ate the boys had a snow ball fight and were able to make HUGE snowballs. Driving along Hwy 30 by the mall and the college apartments college kids were making snowmen all over the place. They were normal size too - some up to six feet tall. I have to say I really am enjoying this snow! Listening to Christmas music and watching the flurries dance and float to the ground is pretty darn beautiful and relaxing. Below are some pics I took of our front and back yard.

This is the backyard - our fire pit circle and furniture are covered and on the right side even the palm trees have snow on them!

Tons of snow!!

I guess that our plants will be dead when this dried up!

In this picture you can see it falling!

The boys and I are secretly hoping that it will freeze tonight and school will either be cancelled or at least be delayed! Then we can relax in the beauty of all of this! What a great birthday present that would be for me!

I did talk to my mom and dad a couple of times today , dad wasn't feeling well and was throwing up this afternoon. He sounded better than he felt. Tomorrow is the big day and appointment with the transplant doctor, I am looking forward to hearing what he has to say and I will keep all of you posted!.

God bless all of you!

What a weekend!!!

Well, this was a nice weekend at the Fikac household, had just a little bit of down time and time to recoup before the next week begins, got the Christmas lights up, the house finished (decorated), the weeds pulled in the backyard, presents bought and wrapped, and the garage cleaned out. I feel like I accomplished a lot; I was even able to take a short nap. WOW!

Duane's team got third in the Reisel tournament and he was able to spend some time with us today; this coming week will definitely be crazy though; Monday - basketball, Tuesday - basketball, Wednesday - church and doctor, Thursday - basketball, Friday - basketball! I am just about basketballed out and the boys are only practicing at this point. My boys don't begin their games until January and we are traveling to other towns for them on Saturdays.....

I talked to my parents a couple of times this weekend. My dad is definitely getting his appetite back even though he only eats half of what he orders. He told me that he is beginning to dream about food and is getting the energy to go to places to eat (while in his wheelchair of course). Yesterday he was craving a roast beef sandwich with horseradish sauce from Quizno's so that is what my mom went and got for him.. he ate half of a six inch sandwich. I can tell that he is getting stronger in the tone of his voice; and his wild sense of humor is returning each day! My mom is doing well, adjusting to taking care of him. His nurse who was helping him shower is no longer coming so my mom has been helping. But, his other nurse still comes each day to help dress his wounds and make sure he does not fever. This Thursday they are really excited because he has an appointment with the transplant doctor to see what the next step is for him in regards to his transplant. They will also find out if there are any "blasts" in his bone marrow; since his blood was okay.

Once again, God bless all of you who actually read this blog. I know that your thoughts and prayers were what helped my dad to survive.. Until next time, bye bye~!

YEAH - A Great Day For Mom and Dad

Well, today the "fasttracks" started at MD Anderson. My parents were up early and at MD by 8 this morning for blood work, then they waited around most of the day to visit with his doctor. His blood counts came back normal!!!! I am really not sure what normal means, but I do know that this means that according to his blood work his leukemia is gone for the moment! BUT, they won't know for sure until they take some bone marrow out of his pelvis to see if it is in his bones. I believe that they are doing the bone marrow aspiration later this week. He will have his port removed tomorrow because the doctor feels that it is just a breeding ground for an infection; I must say that WE AGREE!!!! Especially since that is what screwed him up in the first place (his round of chemo was supposed to be easy but three months later here we are; weak and FINALLY healing). Thanks be to God! Anyways, the doctor said that if his marrow comes back clean then he will set up an appointment with the transplant doctor to get that part underway! YEAH!!! I do think that will be months away though. Still not sure how long it will be until that begins, one day at a time for now. I am positive that my mom and dad are exhausted after today; and they are resting well right now.

I cannot say this enough; THANK-YOU TO ALL OF YOU FOR YOUR THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS, God is wonderful and with all of your help he has helped my father through this. God bless each and every one of you.

Oh yeah, Snook won tonight !!!!! YEAH!!!!! Goodnight, until next time... ttfn...

Thanksgiving With Mom and Dad

Well, today is Saturday and I just got back home this afternoon. I got to Houston at about 6 on Thanksgiving. My mom and dad had Luby's for their Thanksgiving dinner, mom went and picked it up to go. I was so happy to see both of them. It had been about two and a half weeks since I had seen either of them and it is apparent that my dad has lost a lot more weight. He looks great though and his spirits are really good. We had great conversation, but we were all tired and went to bed at about 9 or so. On Friday I braved the crowds and was actually in the parking lot of Toys R Us at 4:45 am. But, I was finished with ALL of my Christmas shopping by 7:30 and was home before my dad even woke up. His nurse came to change his bandages from his blood infection - he has sores that have turned into boils that have to be packed each day. Mom made lunch and we enjoyed just being together. He took a long afternoon nap and got up at 4:15. He hadn't walked all day except to the bedroom (about 15 feet away) to sleep. My mom and I got him up and put him in the wheel chair, wanted to get him out of the apartment for some fresh air. He surprised both of us when he said he wanted to go for a car ride to see his old school - Lamar off of Westheimer. I am sure it was pretty uncomfortable for him being out and about with all of the commotion and noise after not being out for close to three months. But, he had a great time reminiscing about his days working at his uncle's restaurant, and going to school at Lamar. Forty five minutes later he was beat and ready to go lay down. We got him back into his wheel chair and back on the couch, he fell asleep again pretty quickly. I can really tell that he is getting stronger; and like I said above his spirits are really good. He went to bed by about 8:30 or so.

This morning he woke up excited because a nurse was coming to help him shower. He has not had a shower in close (only sponge baths) to two months. I left to come home before she came. But when I spoke with him this afternoon he said that the shower was GREAT and he loved it. He said that a lot of his skin came off (which is normal) while he was showering. I talked to him one more time today and my mom said that they have had a nice day.

These are a couple of pics from this morning, as you can see his hair is gone, and he has lost A LOT of weight. It is going to take baby steps for him to regain his strength, but with God's help he will.

Good night everyone! :)

Terrific Tuesday!!!!

YEAH!!!! I have so much to be thankful for today! My dad got out of the hospital and sounds like a new man already, I have spoken with him a couple of times and you can hear it in his voice. I think it took a while for them to get out today, but my mom got him home.(or at least to their current home away from home). I will be going to Houston to be with them on Thanksgiving and I am looking forward to that! I think that next week his "fast track" plan starts where he has to go to MD Anderson every other day for blood work, lumbar punctures, etc. I guess at that point they will set up his next (and hopefully last) round of chemo and his bone marrow transplant....YEAH!!! I look forward to visiting with him and my mom for sure. The boys are going to stay in Moulton... dad can't handle all the noise quite yet... but that time will come soon I hope. I will post on Thanksgiving to let you know how he is doing.

I went to the doctor this afternoon... lost my voice yesterday.... while I was at the ENT for Dustin's disgusting oozing ear the doc could see that I was unable to talk. So he took a look and I have an infection and laringitis. It stinks not being able to talk. So now that four out of five of us in this house are on antibiotics, I guess the little guy is next. WAAA! I have nothing to complain about after seeing all that my dad has been through.

One thing is for sure, my family has A LOT TO BE THANKFUL FOR THIS YEAR!!!

Until next time on Turkey Day, take care!! :)

Sunday Night.....

Well, we had a nice relaxing weekend, enjoyed some family time. There is a place here in BCS called Bounce where the boys were able to run wild (since it was raining today) and play on moonwalks. They had a blast and got worn out. I have pasted a few of the pics. Amazing what moving to a city adds.... there is just so much to do. (BUT, I do miss the country and the QUIET for sure)

I talked to my dad and today was just a yucky day, the weather doesn't help. He said that he is feeling "okay" but last night and this morning they had to give him some anti-nausea medicine because he was vomiting. I am hoping that this has something to do with the meds that he is on and not a bug that he has picked up. Poor guy.... I know that he can't wait for Tuesday to come, then he can get out and be in the apartment away from the hospital setting at least for a little while... I am looking forward to seeing mom and dad next week. We get out of school on Tuesday and are off for the remainder of the week.

The weekend FINALLY arrived.... . YEAH!!!

Hello everyone. Sorry that I did not write last night but we were out late for Duane's homecoming basketball game, and yes they won!!! It was a great game. Today has been pretty mellow here, woke up early, made breakfast, went grocery shopping, went to UIL for my school, napped, ran, cooked, relaxed, etc. etc. The boys enjoyed just running with the neighbors,not having to be somewhere for once. Since three out of four of them are on antibiotics right now, at least everyone is feeling better.

I talked to my dad twice today, he was having a lousy day. Said that it was a normal day, wake up, eat, walk with the OT, watch TV, talk on the phone and more of the same this afternoon. He had some trouble with his line today for some reason it was clogged again but he said that they were able to fix it. I was supposed to take the boys and Duane down there today to see him, but with them all being sick he didn't want to risk it..... I miss seeing him and my mom. She said that today they had to make a choice for when he gets out next Tuesday, either have a nurse or an OT come by daily, they chose the nurse; I guess that insurance won't pay for both. I think that they made the right choice as long as he will force himself to get up and out of bed. I look forward to seeing him next week, I think that getting out of the hospital and back in civilization will be good for his mind and spirit. Beyond that, I don't know of anything else to say about him. If you are following this blog, please comment so that I can keep up with all of you. And, once again THANK-YOU for all of your continued prayers and thoughts for my mother and father. God is great! Have a great rest of your weekend, more tomorrow!! :)

A Thrilling and Tiring Thursday............

Well, today went on and on and on...... I am pooped out, the boys had a school basket auction/hamburger supper and we were out really late. It was fun though to meet some new people and see the kiddos that my boys hang out with. I miss that A LOT!! I am almost finished with grad school this semester, only one more assignment to do that hasn't been posted. I am really looking forward to this weekend to unwind and rest, then only a two day week... you can't get better than that for sure.

My dad is supposed to get out next Tuesday and I am looking forward to seeing him and my mom ... outside of the four hospital walls for once.... it has been three months since he has been out... poor thing. I talked to my dad three times today. This morning he was in a great mood, said he was eating his "shi**y breakfast that the hospital had prepared", I know that when he uses humor he is feeling well. This afternoon he called me and was in a great mood, said that he had walked twice - 650 steps each time. At about 8:30 tonight my mom called and said that he was getting some blood and his pick line was clogged, when I called dad to ask him about it, he said it wasn't a big deal. It scares me though. I guess that they are not concerned about the new sore on his leg though. He is getting blood because he is still really weak. He gets out in FOUR days! I really feel that this will be wonderful for him emotionally and spiritually. Well, I am going to bed, more tomorrow for sure.... have a good one. God bless!

A Wacky Wednesday...........

Well, today I woke up with a husband who did not go to the doctor on Monday when he should have .... three days later he is still stubborn and goes to urgent care to find out that he has strep throat!!! He has had a fever since Monday morning...... Men will be men I guess. Work was nutso as usual, tons of issues to deal with. After work I picked up Trey and then headed to get the other two, when I got there Dustin had a fever and I had to take him to the doctor only to find out that he also has strep. Erik is fine but he has been on antibiotics for three for five days for an abscessed tooth.....guess things are working is his favor? Thus far Trey and I have been spared. I finally got home at about 8:30 from the appointment, Religious Ed, and pharmacy. I am tired, now I have homework to do....

Anyways, about my dad I talked to him twice today, he is having an average day. There was a meeting that occured with my mom, my dad, his nurses and his two docs to see what the plan was. He is supposed to be released (fingers crossed) next Tuesday. He and my mom will go to their apartment and have about a week off before he has to report to MD Anderson every other day before his next round of chemo and bone marrow transplant. He is eating averagely, was able to get up to use the restroom today and walked a little bit. Spirits seem to be good... I can always tell when he is feeeling better because he gets pissed off at little things. A few weeks ago he wasn't even aware of this emotion.... for this I am grateful. I found a pic from my cell phone from when he was in ICU and I am attaching it below.

Peace until tomorrow night!!

Thank-God he looks better now! This was a scary point for sure.....

About my dad............

Let me start from the beginning. In May of 2004 when my dad 57 he was diagnosed with leukemia, he was put into remission and we almost lost him two times while he underwent chemotherapy due to infection and organs shutting down. He emerged from this in December about 80 lbs. lighter, weak, yet strong in faith. Since 2004 he has done everything right, eaten correctly, taken the right supplements, taken care of his health and grown spiritually. He became a Eucharistic minister, worked with prison ministry, drove cancer patients to their chemo appointments, etc.etc. This illness changed my father in many ways. He was told that if he could go five years without the leukemia returning he would be cured forever. Each appointment he got good news on his blood counts and the date was approaching. Well, in August of this year he had to evacuate with my mom (they live in Lumberton) due to the hurricane. Then, in September they had to evacuate yet again. I think that this was very stressful for both of them. He was running a low grade fever at this time in the evenings. He didn't tell me any of this except when they evacuated for Ike and stayed in Bryan with us my mom mentioned that he thought that his cancer had returned. He had some blood work the week prior to this to check it out. Well, we all know how Ike was, things in Beaumont were crazy and closed so he waited a long time to get his results since the doctor's office was closed. When he did find out his results we were all shocked. His lymphocytes were up. He called MD Anderson in Houston and let them know his situation (his other doctor was in Galveston and was out of pocket and couldn't be found). They found a bed for him and he and my mom drove down that very day. It was a Thursday. His spirits were good and he was ready for whateve God was ready to hand him. I drove down on that Friday to be with him and stayed until Sunday with my mom at a hotel near MD. He began chemo the following Monday and would be released the following Monday. During this week of chemo he was not himself. He was angry and confused at times of which I blame all of the meds. In the mean time he was told he would be at MD for months off and on with blood work every other day. My dad contacted the American Cancer Society and asked for help finding an affordable apartment near MD. They did find one for him; thanks to the help he did for them with driving patients to their chemo appointments. His ministry paid off!! That Monday he was released my mom had a heart appointment in Beaumont and couldn't be there when he was released. So I was there when they released him. I got all of his prescriptions filled, got all of the discharge information and appointment schedules for the next month and brought him to his new apartment home. He was out of it, tired weak and not eating. He was able to walk somewhat. When he got to the apartment he crashed and I helped my mom decipher his twelve different medications and when to give them. I left for Bryan feeling like things were going to be okay. That night he began running fever and my mom took him to the ER on Tuesday morning. He had an infection of some sort and some sores on his legs that had appeared out of nowhere. He was put into ICU with sepsus and pnemonia. He was in terrible shape, not coherant and weak. He wasn't making sense if or when he did talk. I was so scared, I really thought that we would lose him. The sent infectious disease specialists to look at and biopsy his sores to see what they were so that he could be treated. I never dreamed that everything could turn for the worse this quickly. Finally they were able to find out that part of the infection was coming from his port. He had a port from four years ago and a new port that they had put in. They removed the new port and after days he was still not better. So then they decided that his other port was infected. After being in ICU for five days they moved him back to the floor that he was on before. He was hallucinating, not talking, not eating and getting worse. Once they figured out how to treat his infection they began other antibiotics. He was not responding and we found out that the reason that this was happening was because he had no white blood cells for the antibiotics to work with and his marrow was not producing. He needed other people's white blood cells. My mom and I sent out a mass email asking people to donate. Only donating was not an easy task, you had to be screened one day, the next day you took another screening and then that night you would give yourself a shot and take two steroid pills before you donated. Only one person could donate per day and my dad could only get one bag per day. We found this out on a Saturday which meant that they first day that he could get any white blood cells was on Wednesday. Luckily we were able to line up enough people - PRAISE GOD for those selfless people. I know that this was not easy for anyone involved, my sister in law donated, my friend Megan and her mom, three family friends and a complete stranger. The outreach by everyone was phenomenal and very moving. I had people calling me who none of us knew who had received a forwarded email and wanted to help. It was amazing. After five days of getting WBC's his infection was still there and his counts were not improving. He needed to get the port out because the WBC's were going directly to the port and not helping any other part of his infected body. His platelet count was too low to take it out because he would bleed to death. He was getting at least one bag of platelets, whole blood and WBC's per day. I was down for the weekend and donated my platelets. Since I am his only living offspring and share the same blood type our platelets would be more likely to mesh and bring up his counts. The Friday before this his platelet count went down from 19 to 3 after three bags of platelets. I did't understand this, he needed to get the port out. On the Sunday that he got mine his count went from 19 to 39. He needed a count of 29 to be able to get the port out. To make a long story short he got the port out the next day. We felt that he was on the road to recovery...wrong again. The next two weeks turned out to be hard also. He was weak, he was not eating, did not have an infection but just couldn't stay awake, he would fall asleep mid sentence. The doctor had mentioned putting him in a rehab hospital to get him eating, up and moving since he was only laying in bed at MD. Sometime during the next week he began speaking very incoherantly, not making sense. The doctor did a MRI to see if he had had a stroke or if the leukemia had gone to his brain. We were so scared. We waited several days for these results. I felt like my dad had given up. I was angry and scared. He had gone through so much to give up at a point that he was making headway. The next week he was brought to a rehab hospital two blocks from MD. As of today, 11/18/08 he has been there for two weeks. I saw him last weekend and he was walking (with the help of two therapists)- I could not believe my eyes. They are giving him medication to increase his appetite and it seems to be working. He is at least picking at his food. He has lost about 50 lbs. and is frail. But, he is coherent and calls me several times a day. He still needs help getting out of bed but the will is there. Yesterday he began running fever yet again and they took out his port once again. He also has a new sore on his thigh and they are unsure of its origin. We will wait for the biopsy results. They may release him next Tuesday, two days before Thanksgiving. What a thing to be thankful for. He will definitely be weak and will need help and assistance. Begining December 2 or so he will go to MD for his blood work ups and lumbar punctures every other day. From this point they will schedule his next round of chemo (we have been told that it won't be so bad this time) to put him in remission. Then comes the hard time - THE BONEMARROW TRANSPLANT. We will pray that his body will accept the healthy marrow so that he will be through with this disease FOREVER!! This illness has been terrible. I have seen my dad at his worst, unable to talk, unable to feed himself, unable to walk, wearing diapers, and crying for help. BUT, he has never given up hope in the Lord. He is ready for whatever God has in store for him. My dad is a very manly man who has been stripped of his integrity over and over. But, he still trusts in God. I also want to say something about my mom. She has been through so much with this ordeal yet she has remained strong. I am so proud of her strength and courage during this time. She visits him every day and tries to bring him comfort and hope. I know that she has had a lot to deal with beyond my father with now selling their home in Lumberton and with her own health. I love you mom and keep the faith! Dad is getting better and he will make it through this. The best is yet to come!!!

Well, here we go.....

Okay, here we go. This is my first time to blog. I am a little bit nervous about it but I feel like I need to do this both for my parents and for my sanity. I set up a care page for my dad when he first went into MD Anderson but since things have been so hairy-cairy and day to day now I will be able to type what I know and express myself for those of you who are interested.