Thursday, August 28, 2008

YIKES!!!

Hi All:

Please pray for Jim. He's not been feeling up to snuff. Today's blood labs were NOT good at all. He's going into the hopt. for another blood transfusion tomorrow, and his neutraphil count is basically non-existent, at 0.10. A good count would be 7.50. So, he's neutropenic and has to watch what he eats and can't be around anyone that's been around sick children, etc. His white blood count is 0.6. (Jim wants me to tell you that the units are x 10 raised to the 6 power per decaleter.) (yeah, hon...okay, whatever you say.) His red blood cells are down, too, that's why he needs the transfusion.

Actually his blood flags say that he has:

Leukopenia
Lymphopenia
Neutropenia
Monocytosis
Anemia
Microcytes
Macrocytes
Thrombocytopenia
Schistocytes
Pancytopenia

I'm not looking them up.

We're not so sure he'll be able to receive his next chemo. His blood keeps getting worse and worse. He's just not bouncing back like he did. The doc says that's eventually what happens, and that's when they stop trying different types of chemo.

With the Budwig diet that he's on, we weren't sure whether he should continue chemo if the PET showed the tumor uptake was gone. You need at least 3 to 4 months for the diet to work. Not sure if Jim's tumor would stay gone that long. But it's in the Lord's hands. It's too big for mine.

It's all so very sad if we dwell on it, which we try not to. So, thanks for your prayers. They must be working.

We love you and appreciate you
Jim and Gloria

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

PET SCAN #...who can keep count

Hi Everyone:

It's like a drum roll.....and the verdict is. Only we have to wait a week or so before we get the results. And then once we get the results, based on what they are, what do we do? And how many more times do we allow them to give him scan after scan, exposing him to more and more radiation. When do we stop all conventional and go with alternative? When when when... what what what... why why why... how how how...and on and on it goes.

BUT FOR TODAY...he is getting a PET scan.

Please pray for me and Jim, that we rest in the the Lord's hand.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Normal...hmmmm

Well, Maddy, you got me thinking, and it reminded me of something and made me laugh. So thanks for the laughter amidst the madness.

All of my life, I have been saying, "as soon as.....(fill in the blank) I can start living. And while doing it, I realized, THIS IS LIFE, but I would still say it and live it anyway.

As soon as:

Johnny's out of diapers
John quits drinking
basketball season starts
basketball season is over
I'm remarried
I move
I can go to the cottage
Cottage season is over and fall is here
Christmas is over
College is over
The wedding is over

I thank God that while I wished certain aspects of life away, awaiting life, that he was actually richly, very richly, giving me life and allowing me to enjoy it and love it. I truly can say that I have loved it all, even the junk.

Last night as I was feeling very very sad, rather than say, "as soon as Jim is better, I can enjoy life again" I went outside and lived in the present with my husband and was very very thankful that we could enjoy our life together in that moment.

I struggled in my sleep again. I woke up and spent some time with the Lord. He called me to praise Him. He told me years ago that I would learn to trust Him through Praising Him. And well, I do trust Him because of it. Today it means "trust Him with me" through praising Him. It was hard to praise Him because my feelings were not there. First, it was 3 a.m., second, my heart is broken. So I went through some of the alphabet.

A- Praise God that you are the Alpha, there from the beginning, the Almighty, All in All, my Air that I breathe, the Apple of my eye, as I am His Apple, too.

B- Praise God because you are Beautiful, Bold, Beyond Description, Better than anything...

well, you get the idea. It's hard thinking that early, but my spirits were lifted by the letter "M", although I skipped a few between A and M. After that I felt God wanted me to pray for healing for Jim, and I did. Then I fell off to sleep. Woke up, feeling heavy hearted again. But at least I'm going to find life today with Jim, just where I'm at, rather than waiting for some other feeling.

Know what else came to mind? It's no fun being a fun addict. I am a fun addict. Anybody want to come over and play some games?

Gloria

Saturday, August 23, 2008

FIREWORKS

Well, I got a lot of questions and calls on my last "post" and I wasn't even going to post anymore because it just seems like its nothing but me complaining and moaning. It's not because I'm a negative person, it's because there's been a lot to complain and moan about. There's been a lot of good, too. It's just been so long since I've done anything fun. I want to go fishing. I want to go to a carnival, on a vacation, out to dinner, a movie, a walk, a bikeride...ANYTHING...

Last night I had a bunch of bad dreams, and today I was really sad mostly all day. I was getting ready to shut down the computer and I saw a big firework from the window and went and got Jim, and we sat on the front porch and watcher what was the best firework display either of us have ever seen. And having lived on Haslage with firework displays displaying every week through the summer, that's saying a lot.

So, tonight, we did something normal, and it was fun.

Monday, August 18, 2008

nice day

Well, it was a nice Sunday for Jim. First my sister visited, and then Tom and Judy met Jim in the elevator, as Jim was coming back from getting some sun on the terrace, and then I showed up, sooooooo tired, and Judy's ability to get me laughing, picked me up, and then Bob and Ruth showed up, Ruth with her beautiful smile, and Bob, with his great jokes, ahem ahem... I had dinner with T & J (thanks for the treat) and then spent some alone time with my dear husband. Jim was certainly blessed by the visits and the love. Thanks guys.

Jim will probably not be home until Wed. His blood is dropping fast, and he's probably going to need a transfusion. But his spirits are doing well. In fact, he's been doing really really good ever since the doctor told him he was going too die. Well, not me. :_P~~~~~~~~~ But I'm glad he's doing well.

He's on the budwig diet, as many of the alternatives so far have not been very promising, but we will try anything. And to you Dave, and Judi and other's who have suggested something, you may not have heard from me, but we are looking into it.

Thanks for blessing us
Me

Sunday, August 17, 2008

chemo number 4

Hi everyone:

Well, Jim is in the hopt. receiving his 4th chemo treatment. And it starts all over again. Please pray for him. His blood doesn't bounce back like it did. It gets harder with each treatment. He will get a PET scan after this treatment to see how it's going. Pray against the radiation from all the scans he's had. I bet he's had at least 12 in the last year.

Pray for me, too. I'm angry. And I'm tired. I'm very tired. Today, I refused to allow the weed eater to win a battle. It took me an hour to learn how to finally get the string on. I must have had to start it...of forget it, it's a long story, but I got done, and I finished it before I ran out of gas. I hadn't done it all summer, and it was bad, so, I'm glad I got it done. But before I could finish, I had to find the weed eater string cause it ran out. So that meant cleaning out THE ENTIRE SHED....AGAIN because it looked like a bomb went off in it. I visited Jim, and then I went and worked until 3:00. Then I came all the way home to find out that I left my house keys at my sister's house, cause she's using the truck, and they were on the same ring as the truck keys. So, now it's 4 a.m, and I've been working since 8 a.m, and tomorrow will just be another variation of today.

And to add insult to injury, I found my first age spot on my hand. Just wonderful.


GOOD NIGHT

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Alternative medicine

Hi Folks:

Well, today we had a doc appt. with a different type of doctor. I won't go into the details, but a 30 days of treatment will only cost 15,000.00. The treatment is extremely high doses of Vitamin C intravenously. So, (you know who you are) are you still buying? LOL. We wouldn't let you even if you could. But let's just say everyone we ever knew wanted to pitch in a dollar. Well, they would have to pitch in 2 dollars because if there is still evidence of disease, we would have to do it all over again, for a total of 2 months. So, that's 30K for no guarantees. But hey, it was a fun day driving on 79 through all the construction...

On another note. Jim goes into the hospital tomorrow for his 4th round of chemo. (We were going to forego this round, but we didn't think the tomatoe stand would raise the 15K we would need for the vitamin C treatment, so we have to go with the poison.) (And I was complaining about the $250.00 copay every time he's in the hopt???)

It's so hard to be here every time. I watch Jim finally get a bit of strength back, only for him to have to go and get poisoned again. Then I get to bring him home only to be "mostly dead all day" ...actually for 2 weeks, and then it starts all over again. Only this time, while we wait, I can play with the dread that I feel from the meetingi with the Stem Cell doc and continue to pray to the God that I love, asking him to heal my Jumbo, all the while knowing, that anyone I have ever prayed for asking for healing has never been healed. So, then I have stupid thoughts like, well, thank goodness "other" people are praying, which only feeds the the stupid "I must be doing something with God wrong" thoughts. And at about day 4 or 5 before Jim comes home, he's worked something out in my heart, and I have a respite and a time of peace. But before I know it, click click click click, I'm going up the hill again.

I hate the roller coaster.

I hope you all are still praying for us.

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Why I love Jim Baldauff

When Jim and I were dating, we each made a "why I love...." list. Several months I updated it. I thought I would share this with friends and family. I'm not sure why. I guess I just want everyone to know how wonderful he is to me and then you'll know how much I need him and keep on praying.

An ongoing, never ending list of:

The Reasons I love Jim Baldauff

Because he put up a swimming pool for me
Because he put up a swimming pool for me
Because he is gentle
Because he serves me
Because he likes my singing voice
Because I love his singing voice
Because he’s a great father
Because he sharpens my knives
Because he built me a greenhouse
Because he put the most perfect path in the greenhouse, despite my hurry
Because he loves to go to Disney with me and sings “might as well show us your…”
Because he likes my gardens
Because he is good at his job
Because he really did love Ruby
Because he would do anything for me
Because he rubs my feet…
Because I just do
Because he is smart
Because he is kind
Because he is mine
Because he built me a cottage and he didn’t even know me yet
Because he built me raised beds for my gardens
Because he stole a fern for me
Because I wouldn’t know how to not love him
Because he’s a growing Christian
Because the Lord wanted me to love him
Because he Loves God and seeks him
Because he doesn’t hold it against me that I’m lousy at loving him and meeting his needs
Because he buys me mangos that I love
Because he doesn’t get mad at me when I don’t east those same mangos (confuses me too)
Because after a year of sickness he’s never taken 1 tantrum or hissy fit, or pity party
Because through that he’s showing me a depth of character that I could only pray I obtain
Because he rubs my feet
Because he’s a good kisser
Because he cuts pineapple perfectly
Watermelon, too
Because he bought me a bike when I didn’t even know I wanted one, and I love it
Because he still loves the way I say Peeparoo and would buy them for me at the drop of a hat
Because he bought me a basket for my bike even though it’s a silly girl thing to do
Because the silly girl things I do make him smile
Because he trusted me when I said buying a golf cart for the cottage would be great.
Because he bought that golf cart even though he still thinks I’m nuts
Because he loves to go for rides on the golf cart with me.
Because he bought me an Emerald cut engagement ring, even though he didn’t like it
Because as he looked for a ring, he grew to love Emerald cut diamonds (a special breed of people only do, you know)
Because he is special
Because he loves God
Because he loves God enough to change
Because he’s a great cook
Because he smiles at me
Because he went bald with dignity
Because he looks good bald…well I think he looks good any old way
Because he thinks I’m special even when I’m not
Because he’s soooooo quick to forgive
Because he’s a better person than I am and still loves me
Did I mention that he really did love Ruby?
Because he has shown me Jesus’ love
Because he needs me
Because I want to love him
Because he’s easy to love
Because he thinks I’m amazing
Because he is a servant like Jesus
Because I beat him at ping pong and was amazed “even at that”
Because he loves me like crazy
Because he’s funny when he doesn’t try to be and is perplexed at what is funny
Because he’s NOT funny when he tries to be and is perplexed that I don’t think he’s hilarious
Because he lets me talk funny when I rub his head
Because he loves me
Did I mention that he rubs my feet? Well…he even buys me special cream for them because I garden in my bare feet sometime and it’s not pretty…and this cream makes them pretty
Because even with the cancer returned, he put a hose bib in, which required 40 feet of copper pipe being place through a ceiling, going through the rafters, soldering, etc. so that I wouldn’t have to drag a hose around the yard anymore.
Because he forgives me of my selfishness that even with his cancer returned I can still tend to think of poor poor Dolly and what she has to go through
Because he’s a great fisher
Because he puts my hellgrammites on the hook
Because he taught me how to make jigs to catch walleye
Because he loves it when I catch more fish than him and bigger fish than him.
Because when he’s the catcher of more or bigger fish, he doesn’t gloat like I do
Because he doesn’t care that I’m not a girly girl with pretty nails and all that. THANK YOU JESUS CAUSE THAT BORES ME TO TEARS
Because he loves me with all my imperfections
Because he is so smart that it amazes me
Because even while he’s in the hospital getting chemo, I plop my feet up, and he rubs them.
AND THE NUMBER ONE REASON THAT I LOVE JIM BALDAUFF IS:

Because Jim is the best friend I have ever had or will ever have in the whole wide world. We are best buddies.

wow

Jim and I just cried for about an hour. I cried while at my doctor's appt. This hurts really really bad. It takes my breath away to think of it.

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Stem Cell Transplant Dr. Visit

Hi Friends & Family:

Well, we were with the doctor for 3 hours. I won't rehash the 3 hours worth of things we talked about, but the gist of it is as follows: The chemo and/or stem cell transplant (SCT) will not cure you. They just might give you an extra year or so....if Jim can get that far.

So. We're thinking maybe it's time to try those broccoli enemas. ;) At the very least, we're not so sure we'll even do a stem cell. Jim has to be cancer free for 2 months straight before they do the SCT. The chances of chemo bringing Jim into a full remission and him staying there for 2 months is slim. "When this type of cancer is systemic as yours is, Jim, remission or cure isn't likely." So we asked him. Well, let's just say that Jim does acheive NED (no evidence of disease) and can stay there 2 months, what will the SCT give him. His answer was, "it's extremely likely to come back. Very few get a cure. Sometimes it comes back months later, sometimes a year." Well, given the fact that it could take that long to recover from a stem cell transplant, what is the use?

So, we cried all day and went to bed. And I woke up smiling, excited about another day, as I usually do, and then I remember yesterday, and I'm a bit jittery. Jim's ready to take some of his brother Joe's advice and consider alternative medicine.

So pray for us, my jitters and Jim's everything. And pray for my son John and my daughter Leah. We don't want them to be sad. They are young and excited about things in their early married life, and that's the way we want them to be.

Love us