December and January have been quite the eventful months! I've been pretty facebook and blog "silent" because I've had things to process...a heart to examine and holidays to celebrate! We had a wonderful Christmas with both of our girls and their hubby's and the "grands" with us...all except Miss Rylie. She was having fun at her mama's over the Christmas holiday this year.
I'll get back to December....but before I do, let me introduce you to the newest member of our family!
Bentley Reid Frahm
Born January 25th, 2012
8 lbs. 3 oz. and 21" long
What a beautiful baby boy! At first, I thought he looked like his big brother, Carter, but the more I looked at him, nope....he looks like his Daddy! Amy had an awful pregnancy, but a very easy labor and delivery. What a blessing!!
I'll get back to December....but before I do, let me introduce you to the newest member of our family!
Bentley Reid Frahm
Born January 25th, 2012
8 lbs. 3 oz. and 21" long
What a beautiful baby boy! At first, I thought he looked like his big brother, Carter, but the more I looked at him, nope....he looks like his Daddy! Amy had an awful pregnancy, but a very easy labor and delivery. What a blessing!!
He is a healthy baby boy and from what I hear, he likes to cuddle! Good thing, because Grammy and Poppie get to come see him real soon! Can't wait to get my hands on him...and give him all the cuddles I can get! Poppie is taking Carter and Rylie for a "choc-lock-it" donut! Dennis hasn't been able to get away from work to see Brian and Amy's new house in Phoenix, so he's excited to be getting away from the cold winter weather for a bit too! Here's a snappy of Mr. B just about 24 hrs. old. Oh my...isn't he a handsome little man??
For friends and family that read my blog, we've had a little disappointment and trials in December, but so thankful for January....and for the new life that we are celebrating!Adam and Allyson were looking forward to the birth of their second baby in July, but the Lord had other plans. She found out mid December that her pregnancy was a "blighted ovum" and although it was a sad time, they know and trust that The Lord has other plans for them and they are doing fine. Counting it as a blessing...she had no complications and everything is fine with her. They have been busy moving furniture, painting rooms, laying tile and finishing a workout "room" that they can stay healthy in...or store things in! Ha!
We have a BIG trial on our hands now too...but we are trusting that the Lord has allowed it for our good...and ultimately HIS GLORY! We will walk hand and hand with HIM and are thankful for what He has allowed to bring us closer to Himself. What a blessing!
"They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them." Psalm 112:7
See that handsome man of mine in the picture below? Well, after 6 weeks of tests, waiting, 2 surgeries and 1 "port" later, we found out he has Mixed Cellularity Hodgkins Lymphoma. He has been staged at a 2B, and we are thankful they finally got a solid diagnosis and we are on our way to being "cured"!
The past few months, Dennis has had a cough that wouldn't let up. He blamed it on "allergies". I felt it was something else but couldn't get him to go to the Dr. He felt fine, after all. The end of November, he thought he might have picked up a virus b/c he had the shivvers and a low grade temp for about 3 days. With the holidays coming up, 2 pregnant daughters and grandbabies coming, I convinced him to go get it checked out. Pretty normal office visit. He did have a 99.8 temp. that day. Everything else looked good, so she put him on a Z-pak for a couple of rounds and said to call if he didn't get better after a week. I just asked her to "humor me" and do a chest x-ray. His lungs "sounded good", but he hadn't had one in a few years, so she did it. Called us out to the desk and showed us the film and said there was no fluid in his lungs...no pneumonia or bronchitis. Whew! Fast forward 4 days. The office called and said the radiologist found something "suspicious" on his film and he needed to have a CT scan to identify it.
I tried to remain calm...but I "knew" there was something that wasn't good in there. The holidays were fast approaching and we went on with our lives. CT scan day came and went without a hitch. That was on a Saturday AM. Monday at 9:45 I got a call from our doctor that changed our lives on this earth forever.
"We didn't get the news we were hoping for. Dennis has a 6.5x6.5x4.5 cm. mass behind his sternum and we need to get a biopsy right away. I have a call in to Dr. Fara to consult and they will be calling you".
Oh dear Lord. Is this real? MY husband? He just worked all night and he's asleep...HOW DO I TELL HIM?? I RAN to my bible...RAN, I tell you! Read many Psalms that reminded me that our God is sovereign, He is able, HE is in control, HE has our days numbered before even one of them began, HE WILL BE WITH US THROUGH THIS STORM! I could hardly breathe. Honestly...I was sobbing so hard I didn't think I could catch my breath! SURELY they had made a mistake! SURELY this is a dream and I'm going to wake up! Didn't God know that Christmas was coming? Didn't He know that the kids were flying in from Phoenix and I had lots of fun planned for us? Didn't he know this would change ALL of my plans?? For the rest of my life??
Why, yes He did! And yes, this too, is a blessing!
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." ~James 1:2-6
So we have set out on an adventure from the Lord to face some trials ahead. Probably the biggest one so far has been the one to "accept this as from the Lord" and now move forward. I honestly think the 6 weeks of waiting for a final diagnosis was harder than finding out what it was and moving forward with treatment!
Here's his timeline:
So...this is where we stand.
Cancer. UGH. Scared of it. UGH. Had his first treatment on Jan. 26th. 7 hrs. long b/c of having to do test runs on the meds. He passed! Came home and he was tired. That might be b/c they gave him 50 mg. Benadryl in his IV...ya think?? He woke up for dinner...ate well. We went for a brisk walk around the block in the fog. Pretended we were in London and we decided we weren't going to come back to America. We ended up back at home in 20 minutes! Ha!
He slept really good...even with the mega doses of steroids they pump into you and make you take them for 2 days following treatment. Those caught up with him. We did errands the day after chemo. No nausea at all...ever! PRAISE GOD!
Day 2 after chemo he was jittery. From the steroid. Felt fine...tired, but fine.
Day 3 after chemo he was jittery in the AM but better in the evening. Fell at work, not b/c of the chemo, but b/c he was backing up and his pant leg caught on a pallet...not a good mix. He felt a bit sore this morning, but was okay.
That has you all caught up to date now. I'll try to not make my boring blog into a boring "medical" blog, but I will update you on here b/c I can't keep writing individual emails and facebook messages forever. I might let the FB world know...I'll have to see how the new format is first.
Thank you all for praying as we walk this road. It is not one I thought I'd be on so soon after losing Mom and Dad, but it is what the Lord had designed for us, so we will walk it hand and hand. I asked Dennis the other day if this is the "for worse" part of our vows? He smiled and said, "nope...we aren't going to have any "for worse"! I love that man!!! He is a gift from God and I'm here to tell you, if you get mad at your husband for not doing or saying what you want him to do or say, just imagine for a moment that he has cancer...one that is in his blood. I'm thinkin' you won't be mad any longer! I am Dennis' helpmate. I have prayed that I will be an encouragement to him throughout his chemo...and his entire life, for that matter! I've prayed little things like, "Lord, put on my heart the things that would taste good to my husband as he goes through these chemo treatments so it would be pleasing for him to come home and have dinner!". I've prayed for healing...total and complete obliteration of all of the cancer cells. I've prayed that we would have opportunities to share the joy and love of Christ at the chemo treatment center as we go and sit for 4 hrs. every 2 weeks. I've prayed that above all, Jesus Christ is glorified in this trial! We want it to count! We want to run the race...and finish well!
Please join us!
"You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees." ~Ps. 119:68
I tried to remain calm...but I "knew" there was something that wasn't good in there. The holidays were fast approaching and we went on with our lives. CT scan day came and went without a hitch. That was on a Saturday AM. Monday at 9:45 I got a call from our doctor that changed our lives on this earth forever.
"We didn't get the news we were hoping for. Dennis has a 6.5x6.5x4.5 cm. mass behind his sternum and we need to get a biopsy right away. I have a call in to Dr. Fara to consult and they will be calling you".
Oh dear Lord. Is this real? MY husband? He just worked all night and he's asleep...HOW DO I TELL HIM?? I RAN to my bible...RAN, I tell you! Read many Psalms that reminded me that our God is sovereign, He is able, HE is in control, HE has our days numbered before even one of them began, HE WILL BE WITH US THROUGH THIS STORM! I could hardly breathe. Honestly...I was sobbing so hard I didn't think I could catch my breath! SURELY they had made a mistake! SURELY this is a dream and I'm going to wake up! Didn't God know that Christmas was coming? Didn't He know that the kids were flying in from Phoenix and I had lots of fun planned for us? Didn't he know this would change ALL of my plans?? For the rest of my life??
Why, yes He did! And yes, this too, is a blessing!
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it's work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." ~James 1:2-6
So we have set out on an adventure from the Lord to face some trials ahead. Probably the biggest one so far has been the one to "accept this as from the Lord" and now move forward. I honestly think the 6 weeks of waiting for a final diagnosis was harder than finding out what it was and moving forward with treatment!
Here's his timeline:
Dec. 2: Went to the GP
Dec. 7: Dr. called to tell us he had a mass
Dec. 10: CT scan
Dec. 12: Dr. called to tell us it was big...and needed to be biopsied. 1 hr. later, our friend the pulmonologist called and said to meet him at his office at 3 and he'd show us the CT and talk to us. We went, we saw and we were scared. He "thought" it was lymphoma. He didn't think he could get to it with a bronchoscopy so he had already called a thoracic surgeon. He'd be calling us. He couldn't tell us what type of lymphoma it might be, but he did say there was no lung, spleen, heart, kidney or node involvement. PRAISE THE LORD! Then, Dennis went to work for the night!
Dec. 14: Met with the surgeon. He looked at the CT and didn't think it was lymphoma, but rather a seminoma. Oh dear Lord. (people die of those, very quickly!)
Dec. 19: 1st surgery. Mediasteinoscopy. Inconclusive results. Sent pathology to Mayo's. Waited forever.
Dec. 22: post op visit. No conclusive results yet. UGH
Dec. 23: Our AZ kids flew in for Christmas. Merry Christmas, Dad has cancer!
Dec. 24: We felt lymph nodes in his neck swelling! The office was closed.
Dec. 25: Celebrated Christmas...sort of. So glad our kids were here, even though they might not have been!
Jan. 30: Took the kids back to South Bend to fly home. I bawled all the way home, in the rain, sleet and snow.
Jan. 1: Happy New Year! It's gonna be a wild one!
Jan. 8: Called the surgeons office and told them his nodes were still swollen in his neck, it wasn't due to the surgery. Dr. scheduled a PET scan and wanted to see him.
Jan 10: PET scan done
Jan 12: Follow up w/ surgeon. He confirmed the swollen nodes. Jumped up and down b/c now he didn't have to go into his chest with a major surgery to remove more of the "mass" for a good biopsy! Scheduled for another biopsy. PET scan showed it was all contained above the diaphragm, meaning it was most likely going to be staged at a 2 instead of a 3!
Jan 16: Biopsy of supraclavicular nodes revealed HODGKINS LYMPHOMA. The pathologist was in the operating room and found the Reed-Sternberg cells we were praying for! Installed the port in his chest for chemotherapy. It's real now!
Jan 17: First appt. with the oncologist, labs done and tests scheduled
Jan 18: Lung function Test, to determine how well his lungs are functioning, duh! b/c one of the chemo drugs can damage them and they want to know where they are starting from.
Jan 19: Bone marrow biopsy done, then went to the dermatologist to have a couple of skin "cancers" looked at and treated. She froze them and said he looked good. (just goes to show you looks can be deceiving!)
Jan 20: Dentist appt. to have his teeth cleaned and then to the hospital for a MUGA test (to test his heart function b/c one of the other drugs can cause long term heart damage!)
Jan 25: Back to oncologist for test results, staging and plan. No cancer in the bone marrow!! {blessing!} Labs looked good! {blessing!} Lung function and heart test looked perfect! {blessing!} Stage 2 B. There are 4 stages of lymphoma (and most cancers). He is in stage 2 b/c it's all contained above the diaphragm! {blessing!} The "B" is b/c he had a few night sweats, nothing drenching, but even if you have a little, they stage you further along. He is also has a couple other negative prognostic factors, he's over 50 and he has what they call a "bulky mass", meaning it is harder to make those things go away completely. God is bigger than "they' are though and we are praying and trusting that He'll make all those cancer cells die! (while Dennis is on this earth and alive!) Doctor said there is a 90% "chance" {we don't believe in chance!} for full cure! Dennis wanted to know what happens to the other 10%? That's Dennis...always asking silly questions! Ha! The Dr. has him on ABVD chemotherapy. Every 2 weeks for 6 months. Pretty strict, but good results. We're ready...well as ready as we can be! "We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us".
Dec. 7: Dr. called to tell us he had a mass
Dec. 10: CT scan
Dec. 12: Dr. called to tell us it was big...and needed to be biopsied. 1 hr. later, our friend the pulmonologist called and said to meet him at his office at 3 and he'd show us the CT and talk to us. We went, we saw and we were scared. He "thought" it was lymphoma. He didn't think he could get to it with a bronchoscopy so he had already called a thoracic surgeon. He'd be calling us. He couldn't tell us what type of lymphoma it might be, but he did say there was no lung, spleen, heart, kidney or node involvement. PRAISE THE LORD! Then, Dennis went to work for the night!
Dec. 14: Met with the surgeon. He looked at the CT and didn't think it was lymphoma, but rather a seminoma. Oh dear Lord. (people die of those, very quickly!)
Dec. 19: 1st surgery. Mediasteinoscopy. Inconclusive results. Sent pathology to Mayo's. Waited forever.
Dec. 22: post op visit. No conclusive results yet. UGH
Dec. 23: Our AZ kids flew in for Christmas. Merry Christmas, Dad has cancer!
Dec. 24: We felt lymph nodes in his neck swelling! The office was closed.
Dec. 25: Celebrated Christmas...sort of. So glad our kids were here, even though they might not have been!
Jan. 30: Took the kids back to South Bend to fly home. I bawled all the way home, in the rain, sleet and snow.
Jan. 1: Happy New Year! It's gonna be a wild one!
Jan. 8: Called the surgeons office and told them his nodes were still swollen in his neck, it wasn't due to the surgery. Dr. scheduled a PET scan and wanted to see him.
Jan 10: PET scan done
Jan 12: Follow up w/ surgeon. He confirmed the swollen nodes. Jumped up and down b/c now he didn't have to go into his chest with a major surgery to remove more of the "mass" for a good biopsy! Scheduled for another biopsy. PET scan showed it was all contained above the diaphragm, meaning it was most likely going to be staged at a 2 instead of a 3!
Jan 16: Biopsy of supraclavicular nodes revealed HODGKINS LYMPHOMA. The pathologist was in the operating room and found the Reed-Sternberg cells we were praying for! Installed the port in his chest for chemotherapy. It's real now!
Jan 17: First appt. with the oncologist, labs done and tests scheduled
Jan 18: Lung function Test, to determine how well his lungs are functioning, duh! b/c one of the chemo drugs can damage them and they want to know where they are starting from.
Jan 19: Bone marrow biopsy done, then went to the dermatologist to have a couple of skin "cancers" looked at and treated. She froze them and said he looked good. (just goes to show you looks can be deceiving!)
Jan 20: Dentist appt. to have his teeth cleaned and then to the hospital for a MUGA test (to test his heart function b/c one of the other drugs can cause long term heart damage!)
Jan 25: Back to oncologist for test results, staging and plan. No cancer in the bone marrow!! {blessing!} Labs looked good! {blessing!} Lung function and heart test looked perfect! {blessing!} Stage 2 B. There are 4 stages of lymphoma (and most cancers). He is in stage 2 b/c it's all contained above the diaphragm! {blessing!} The "B" is b/c he had a few night sweats, nothing drenching, but even if you have a little, they stage you further along. He is also has a couple other negative prognostic factors, he's over 50 and he has what they call a "bulky mass", meaning it is harder to make those things go away completely. God is bigger than "they' are though and we are praying and trusting that He'll make all those cancer cells die! (while Dennis is on this earth and alive!) Doctor said there is a 90% "chance" {we don't believe in chance!} for full cure! Dennis wanted to know what happens to the other 10%? That's Dennis...always asking silly questions! Ha! The Dr. has him on ABVD chemotherapy. Every 2 weeks for 6 months. Pretty strict, but good results. We're ready...well as ready as we can be! "We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us".
So...this is where we stand.
Cancer. UGH. Scared of it. UGH. Had his first treatment on Jan. 26th. 7 hrs. long b/c of having to do test runs on the meds. He passed! Came home and he was tired. That might be b/c they gave him 50 mg. Benadryl in his IV...ya think?? He woke up for dinner...ate well. We went for a brisk walk around the block in the fog. Pretended we were in London and we decided we weren't going to come back to America. We ended up back at home in 20 minutes! Ha!
He slept really good...even with the mega doses of steroids they pump into you and make you take them for 2 days following treatment. Those caught up with him. We did errands the day after chemo. No nausea at all...ever! PRAISE GOD!
Day 2 after chemo he was jittery. From the steroid. Felt fine...tired, but fine.
Day 3 after chemo he was jittery in the AM but better in the evening. Fell at work, not b/c of the chemo, but b/c he was backing up and his pant leg caught on a pallet...not a good mix. He felt a bit sore this morning, but was okay.
That has you all caught up to date now. I'll try to not make my boring blog into a boring "medical" blog, but I will update you on here b/c I can't keep writing individual emails and facebook messages forever. I might let the FB world know...I'll have to see how the new format is first.
Thank you all for praying as we walk this road. It is not one I thought I'd be on so soon after losing Mom and Dad, but it is what the Lord had designed for us, so we will walk it hand and hand. I asked Dennis the other day if this is the "for worse" part of our vows? He smiled and said, "nope...we aren't going to have any "for worse"! I love that man!!! He is a gift from God and I'm here to tell you, if you get mad at your husband for not doing or saying what you want him to do or say, just imagine for a moment that he has cancer...one that is in his blood. I'm thinkin' you won't be mad any longer! I am Dennis' helpmate. I have prayed that I will be an encouragement to him throughout his chemo...and his entire life, for that matter! I've prayed little things like, "Lord, put on my heart the things that would taste good to my husband as he goes through these chemo treatments so it would be pleasing for him to come home and have dinner!". I've prayed for healing...total and complete obliteration of all of the cancer cells. I've prayed that we would have opportunities to share the joy and love of Christ at the chemo treatment center as we go and sit for 4 hrs. every 2 weeks. I've prayed that above all, Jesus Christ is glorified in this trial! We want it to count! We want to run the race...and finish well!
Please join us!
"You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees." ~Ps. 119:68
