Open House Memorial

Dear Family and friends,

Russ passed away peacefully this morning.

We are having an Open House type of memorial to pay condolences on Friday beginning at 5pm.
It will be at mom and Russ's home at 922 Shipley Cemetery Rd  Sale Creek, TN 37373

In lieu of flowers, the family wishes to have contributions to Johns Hopkins Pancreatic Research Center. I will post the address later today.

Hospice

Sadly, Russell is now at home with hospice. He is pain free and sleeping. Family is in town and he has had family with him these last few days.
I will update as needed.
Thanks for all of the prayers.

The Bad News

Well, Russ has been having chest pain since Tuesday. Today he went to the ER and discovered he had a heart attack.
Thankfully it was in an artery that the docs could reach and place a stent (it was blocked 99%).
He is resting now and doing well. He will be released to go home Saturday. He is at Memorial Hospital in downtown Chattanooga.

Update...Finally!

I apologize for not updating sooner. Here is what has been going on.....
Russ has been in  study in Nashville the last several weeks and last week they took him off the meds because he was really having a difficult time with the side effects. The chemo and drugs were giving him terrible a face rash, diarrhea, fevers and vomiting. He was also very anemic and needed 2 blood transfusions.
Today he got the results of his follow up CT scan and sadly it does not show any improvement. He was very sick for nothing.:-(
Now, he might qualify for another study after Labor Day, depending on what proteins are present in his tumor. In the meantime, he will be going to Utah to visit his brothers and son. The picture above is one taken last month when his 2 brothers came for a visit.
Also, we all plan to spend a long weekend in Mississippi visiting family. Since he has been off his chemo he has been feeling somewhat better so visiting family will be much nicer for him.
Please keep the family in your prayers and I will update more often!...I promise:-)

Happy Birthday!

Saturday was Russ's birthday so we all went to his house to celebrate!

Mom cooked a great meal of steak, shrimp and crab legs. The men were very happy!

Rusty flew in from Utah to help us celebrate.

David biked in from South Carolina to celebrate too!

It was a great day for everyone! Thanks, mom, for cooking so much! It was yummy!
Happy Birthday Russ!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday, Russell!

He is fortunate to have his son, Rusty, and David in town to help celebrate his birthday. Sami, Devin and the kids are also coming over for the celebration.

Russ went to Vanderbilt on Thursday. They do have a clinical trial for him to participate in, but he can't start until July 13th. They want to make sure all of the chemicals are out of his body before starting his new dosage. However, they did warn him that this is an aggressive cancer.

Please keep them in your prayers and let him know you are thinking of him.

Thank you!

Smack Down

Smack down is what we are feeling today.
Russ had a follow up CT scan Monday and the results show that his tumor has not responded to the chemo.
In addition, the cancer has spread to his liver. Smack down.
Currently the only options available are clinical trial studies at Vanderbilt and he will see about entering some of those studies. I will post updates as I get them.
Please keep him and mom in your prayers. This has been quite a rough year for them both.

What's Happening

1. Russ had his second chemo treatment today in Chattanooga. His platelet count was low, so they lowered the dose. Most likely he will skip his treatment next week, though he will go in for blood work. I also project he will get another evaluation mid June at Johns Hopkins.

2. Fishing, fishing, fishing. Uncle Sam came in for an extended visit and he has been fishing with Russ. They both seem to be enjoying the time out on the water. Who could blame them?

3. Late in April Russ also had a visit with his daughter Terri and her husband Jeff. They flew in from Arizona and stayed for a long weekend. It was so nice to see them again!!!!

4. Russ's honeybees have been doing great and he has been able to sell nucs from his hives. We are both crossing our fingers for a decent honey surplus.

5. The peach trees are loaded with fruit. Now, cross your fingers that the coons don't pick them all first:-)

Post-Pone and Re-Schedule

Russ had a CT Scan and it showed that his tumor has not shrunk enough for surgery. The doctors want it to get a wee bit smaller so that they can ensure clean margins when they remove it, they do not want to leave even a trace behind.

Here is the new plan:

He will need 2 months of chemo treatment and tyen they will do another CT scan and measure the size of the tumor. Further plans will be made from that point.

The good news is that it is being arranged so that he can receive the treatments here in Chattanooga and although the tumor has not shrunk much it has also not spread.

I expect them home this weekend sometime.

Surgery Is Next

Russ got his last chemo treatment Monday and he is now home for a short while.

He will go back on April 13th for an MRI and then his surgery will be the next day, April 14th.

The surgery he is having is called a Whipple and it is intended to remove the tumor that is on his pancreas.

The recovery after this surgery is about 6 weeks, although I do not know how long he will have to stay in Baltimore. I will update as I know more. Thanks for checking in.

Our African Roots

We had a great day yesterday!
My nephew, Bryan, returned last week from his 2 year stent in Ghana, West Africa and everyone came to mom and Russ's house for a visit.
Bryan looks great and had some dresses and shirts custom made in Ghana for us all. This picture is all of us showing off our beautiful apparel.
We spent the day cutting down some dead trees, eating a great meal and playing outside in the beautiful weather. Russ felt good and helped cut trees and play with the kids. Yay!
They will drive to Baltimore this weekend so he can get one more chemo treatment on Monday, then the doctors will wait a week to run test and determine how much all of these treatments have helped in regards to "shrinking" the tumor so that it can resected, or sugically removed.
In the meantime, we have more visiting with family this week and I will update!

New Update

I apologize for the loooong absence.
Russ is doing well. Last week his 2 brothers came in town to visit. They also took him to Johns Hopkins for his chemo treatment. It was nice to have them in town and Russ enjoyed their visit greatly.
This weekend he will go to Johns Hopkins again for another round of chemo on Monday, then he will have one more treatment the following Monday.
Tuesday my sister and her family will arrive in town for a short visit and we are very excited. She will not only have her oldest daughter and son in-law and baby with her but she is also bringing her oldest son who just arrived home lastnight from a 2 year mission in Ghana, West Africa. I will post some pictures next week.
Thanks for the support and for checking in....I promise not to be gone so long next time:-)

Home Again, Home Again

 

They left about 9 am this morning and are headed home for a nice week. Russ was able to have his LAST radiation treatment done very early so that they could come home today.

His two brothers are driving up this weekend from Arizona to spend time with Russ and will even be driving him back to Johns Hopkins next weekend for his chemo treatment. That is fantastic!

Russ will need to get three chemo treatments each Monday for 3 three Mondays in a row starting on the 15th.

He feels pretty good and I am sure he will feel better after a week of home and family.....and warm weather! It is supposed to be very nice Monday!

The Ugly Truth

 

When you have radiation treatments on your pancreas, it also affects your stomach.

Ouch.

Russ has a peptic ulcer in his stomach and it has been very painful.

It hurts all of the time.

Eating is a chore.

It's an ugly truth about cancer treatments.

They have side effects.

The good news is that his doctor prescribed him a new medicine and he is starting to feel human today.

The week long break is helping him as well. 

He is still weak and low energy, but everyday gets better.

Tomorrow is another day to heal and rest.

Thanks for checking in!

Home for a Break

 

Russ was supposed to get his last round of chemo today along with 5 days of radiation before getting a week break.

Plans change.

His bloodwork this morning showed his white blood cell count too low for treatment so they are headed home for a week off. I expect them to be in late tonight and they will drive back Sunday.

Monday of next week he will begin his final week of treatment. I know they are ready to be home, even if only for 5 days.

And Dolly? Well, she's been having so much fun outside in the mud that she will getting a quick bath and groom tomorrow so she can relax at home with mom and Russ.

Thanks for checking in, and I will update again.

Feeling Good

 

I am happy to report that Russ is feeling pretty good! He has even been eating a little better the last couple of days, which is great because he needs to pack on a few pounds.

He received his second chemo treatment yesterday and this morning was having more radiation therapy.

There is still a ton of snow on the ground there, but I am confident it will melt...someday.

Where is spring?

Thanks for checking in!

One week down, two more to go

 

Well one week of chemo and radiation is through, and with very few side effects. Russ has felt a little tired some last week, but otherwise he has been doing well.

The snow is still everywhere, though mom was able to grocery shop a little Friday. 

Tomorrow Russ will get his second chemo treatment and another 5 days of radiation. I will update! Thanks for stopping by. 

The picture above? That is Dolly playing with my bulldog. Though she is very tiny compared to him, her attitude is twice his!

Blizzard

from the National Weather Service in Baltimore:

Blizzard Warning in effect until 7 PM EST this evening... The combination of snow...strong gusty winds...and blowing snow will cause near-white out conditions during the morning hours. People are urged to remain at home...do not drive. Allow Road crews the ability to do the best they can to keep roads clear for emergency vehicles. 2 to 5 additional inches of snow are possible this morning.

Fortunately, they are in an apartment right across the street from the clinic. This is Russ' 3rd day of treatment. He is feeling good, although he has broken out in hives again. We will see what today brings.

Treatment, Day 1

 

Today was the first day for chemotherapy and radiation therapy. I am very happy to say that, although it was a long day, it went well.

Russ was given an IV with medicine to combat the side effects such as nausea first, and I think that has made a big difference. He was also given some tablets to take every morning for 3 days to keep side effects to a minimal. Yeah!

He will continue radiation therapy each week day and have chemotherapy again on Monday, for the next 2 Mondays. 

Small steps lead to big journeys and we are all excited to see them both in a few weeks!

On a different subject, they are expecting MORE snow Wednesday! Tomorrow they are going to head to the grocery store and hope there is some food left to buy:-)

I will keep you all updated, check back in a day or two.

More Pics

Those "bumps" of snow you see are covered cars.