Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Twas The Night Before Christmas


And all through the house, every creature was stirring and our house smells like cookies. Well Done cookies at that.


We are all ready for Christmas, now if we could just fall asleep and stay asleep all night. If this Christmas is like any of the past ones, Julie will be up all night and around 3:00am she will nudge me and ask if it is time to get up yet. Oh the joys of Christmas.

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

What A Day At The Hospital Today

Well, today was the big day for my mapping. We had to be there at 6:30am which was fine, then they took me in and started to hook me up to all the hardware and all of a sudden I started having panic attacks as I flashed back to the time I was there before.

I started feeling okay up till they told me that they would have to shave me again to prep the area. That is were I lost it. You just lose all manhood when they do that to you so I was not feeling good at that point.

The good news was that they only shaved my legs in that area just enough to make a 1/2 inch incision. I was now feeling pretty good. they then rolled me down to the operating room and gave me the drugs to get me loopy before they started. It worked.

When I was done, I woke up and they said I had been there for a while but was still recovering so I went back to sleep. Later they gave me lunch and then told me I could go after they took out my IV. That is when it went bad. I ate my lunch, got my IV out and stood up to go and got sick and had to vomet my lunch right out.

I then felt okay so we started to leave and I got on the elevator and went down to the first floor and I started to black out so when I got out of the elevator I dropped right to the floor and was close to out.
Note to anyone reading: When you pass out in a hospital, you get a LOT of people that come running. I looked up and found about 10 people that were standing above me calling for help and asking me how I was feeling and checking my blood pressure. They finally got a gurney and put me on it and took me to the ER. I told them I didnt want to be checked in there so they just let me sit on the chairs outside of the ER and watched me for a while. after about 5 minutes, I started feeling fine so we stood up and left.

I tell you, it was really strange having so many people fuss over me. I have always been on the side lines watching other people have that type of stuff happen to them. I really felt like an idiot but oh well. I guess it was the safe thing to do.

So now I am home and letting my leg heal up so that I dont start bleeding. I was told not to drive today but other than that, I am fine.

We really never found out what made me pass out but I think it was just that I was still groggy from the meds and should have waited a little longer before trying to get up and leave.

Now we have to wait for a couple of weeks and then they will call back and set up the day for the Radiation treatment. Then back in for a repeat.

I will keep you posted.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Just for Fun




So today I am posting a picture of my fourth grade class here. Yes, that is me in the back second from the right in the yellowish shirt.




Okay, now that you have had a good laugh, let me point out the really funny thing.




If you look at the top left hand corner, you will see my sweet wife Julie. Yup, that is her, right there in my fourth grade class with me.




We have known each other a LOT longer than the 20 years we have been married. It makes it interesting when we look at this picture because we both know all the kids and can point them out easily.




Here's to Good Ole Times !!

Monday, December 8, 2008

Latest Dates for my Cancer Treatment

So here it is, the middle of December and I am gearing up for Christmas and Radiation. I don't know which one I am least looking forward too. At least the Radiation treatment wont come with lots of boxes and wrapping paper that I have to find a place for right?

any way, so here is the deal. I am scheduled for a CT scan on the 19th of Dec. They want to do that to make sure that everything inside looks normal and ready for the mapping.

Then on Dec 23rd I will be going in for "mapping" which is where they will do an incision into my groin and into the Arterial artery and they will shoot die into my blood and watch it via live X-ray and see where it goes. if that goes well then they will proceed with the scheduled Radiation treatment on the right lobe of my Liver.

That will take place about two weeks after the mapping but the exact date will not be determined until I do the mapping. I will keep you all updated on when that will be.

As for Christmas, I am not really the type that gets excited for this holliday, (unlike my wife) and this year is no different. I cant believe that we are only a few weeks away. I think I am more excited for January 1st so I can get this year over with. It has not been the best of years and the only good thing that came of it was that our Daughter was married and is happy.

well, thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Cody having the Time of His Life


Here is Cody in our backyard the day that they poured Cement at our home, he was having the time of his life.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Thanksgiving Today

Today is Thanksgiving and I thought I would tell you a few things that I am thankful for. I have been extremely blessed in my life and have a wonderful wife and family. I am truly thankful for them and for all the support they give me.

I am also thankful that I have been given an extension on my life so that I can be with my family and watch my kids as they grow and mature.

I am thankful for the ability I have to love, to feel, to to simply be alive. My wife and I have been married for 20 years now and I am thankful that she has loved me unconditionally all these years and continues to amaze me as to how giving she is. She is the best!!

I am thankful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for the understanding that I have of the truths that he taught. There are way to many things that I could list here but just know this, that I am thankful for so many things this year. I have been tested almost beyond what I could take and have learned so much through it all. I truly am thankful just to be alive. That is something I never thought I would say.

feel free to reply and say what you are thankful for. I think it does the spirit good to know what we are thankful for.

Monday, November 24, 2008

Today's Radio News

So today while I was driving to work I was listening to the radio which is what I usually do. And yes, because I am getting older, I listen to the news when I drive in the mornings. It seems all that they report on is Bad news.

Someone robbed a Bank, Someone Got Stabbed, The Economy is going terrible, our retirement investments are shrinking by the minute, and on and on.

It makes me sick to hear so much Negative News. I wish there was a station out there that just talked about the positive things in life.

Something like this:

Hello everyone, Today is going to be a great day, we are going to be able to see the sun come up and shine on us and warm us up today, we are also looking forward to having some callers call in and tell us where they are and how great their day is going.

Right now, looking at the roads it looks like most of them are traffic free and moving smoothly. Yes, there are a few that are backed up but hey, most of them are moving along greatly.

Today, we also need to report that there were 5 new babies born in our City yesterday and we would like to welcome them into this wonderful world. Lets all work together to make this a better place for those 5 kids as well as everyone else.

Don’t forget to hug someone today and smile at everyone. Remember, you only get 1 today. After that, today will be a tomorrow and you cant re-live it. Just make it better every day.


Now that is something I could listen to Every Day.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Bungee Cords

When we moved, we had a lot of help and someone brought a clear plastic container of Bungee Cords and they were left at our house after the move, does anyone remember who brought those or whose they might be so I can return them to their owner?

Thanks,

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

The Picture that I Promised


Okay, finally here is the picture that I promised I would take of our new house. It is about dusk so the lighting wasn't that great but it is okay. You can see the new Cement that we had poured on the right side. That is for our Camper. I sure hope it fits.
We measured two or three times and every time it looked good but I am still nervous. We will see the end of the month when we bring it back home.

Thanks for stopping by

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Weekend Entertainment

This weekend we were invited to go to the movies with some of my family and the movie we saw was called "Fire Proof" it was a very touching movie and had a lot of spiritual lessons in it.

We also decided that we needed shelves in the garage and built some and then cleaned up the mess that we had from the move. wow, it is sure good to get that whipped into shape.

Today is now Sunday and we went to my nephews home coming. He went on a mission to North Carolina and it was great to listen to his talk and hear all about his mission.

We have not really had that much else going on around our home and I am still waiting to hear more from my Doctor so at this point that is all I have to report.

Friday, November 7, 2008

SetBack to Report on My Health

Today we went to the Doctor's and met with the Doctor that reads the CT scan and he had a little different take on what he saw. He says that the Tumors in my liver are growing and have now increased enough to make him want to treat them. Not the news we wanted to hear, but we are going to fight this and get through it.

His suggestion is to meet with several other Doctor's and view the old scans with the new one and compare and make sure that he is seeing them correctly. At that point, they will set up an appointment with me to give me Radiation in small glass balls that they will feed directly into my blood stream and have then go directly to my liver. He said this is a very effective way of treating the Liver and thinks this is all that I will need. It will be two treatments, and will take a couple of months to set up and do.
I will keep you updated as I hear more.

Monday, November 3, 2008

We Moved and it went Great !

Well everyone, the move to the new house came and went without a hitch. we managed to pack up the moving truck and several other trucks and get it all over to the new house in about two hours. 8:00am to 10:00am then the hard work came of unpacking everything.

I cant say thank you enough to all those that came and helped. I think we had close to 40 people there and I don't know how we would have done it without all of them.

I still need to take a picture of the new home and post it on here and promise to do that real soon. (as soon as we find the Camera)

My health has been great. I feel better every day and my strength is coming back more and more as time goes by. I was even able to help with the move.

Thanks again to all who helped.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

The Move Is On

As many of you know, we have been fighting two battles, one Cancer and the other is Fraud. Well, we have come to an agreement with the Bank on the conditions of the sale of our house and the purchase of the new one and now are moving this weekend.

We are happy with the agreement we made and feel it is going to be a good move. This will finally get this nightmare of Fraud over with and we will be able to move on with life. Amen to blessings.

I will post a picture of the new house as soon as possible and any one that has time Saturday morning at 8:00am and would like to help us move please feel free to show up at our house and we will be there.

for those that live outside of Utah, don't bother coming, we will be done moving before you get here.
Thanks for all your support and talk to you soon

Friday, October 24, 2008

CT Scan Results from Today

Well, I went in today and had my CT Scan and when I was done, I dropped in to my surgeon's office and he said he would take a look at the scan results and go over them with us.

He gave us the Good News that we were hoping for. He said that the scan looks normal and the tumors that are in my Liver are staying the same size and there isn't a need for Chemo. He said that I should just plan on coming back in three more months for another checkup and I should be fine. It was great to finally get good news.

Thanks for all the prayers as I go through this recovery process.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

When it Rains It Pours..

Well, as you all know we are in the process of selling our house and we got an offer that we have accepted and are now under contract and will be moving Nov. 1st to the other house.

It is crazy because I am going out of town this week for work and getting back Thursday and then Friday (Oct 24th) I have my CT Scan and then the next weekend we move. I guess I should just be happy that in today's market we were able to sell our house.

So, the next two weeks are going to be busy to say the least but I am happy that our housing issues are going to be coming to a close rather than turning into a disaster. We thank all of you for your prayers. Again, we will let you know what the outcome is of the CT Scan.

Evan

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Two More Weeks

Well I am about two more weeks away from going back in for my CT scan to see if my Cancer is growing. I am hoping for the best but in the back of my mind I am planning for the worst.

The past few weeks I have been reading up on my type of Cancer and from what I have read, the outcome does look good. I read that Pancreatic Cancer is a terrible thing to get with a death rate pretty high. but the Cancer that I have is a Carcinoid that is close to the Pancreas and not the same. They say that Carcinoid Cancer has a much better chance of survival and that is all I can hope for.

I will keep you all posted on the results when I get them. as for now, my body feels back to normal and I am holding my weight and doing fine.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Explained Stress

I realised what the stress was. Oct. 4th 18 years ago was the day my Mother died. I guess it was just catching up to me and that day always is hard for me.

My Mother was a wonderful woman and died way to young. (54) she died of Cancer which of course scares me but it was not the same Cancer I have.

Oh well, that day and that stress has now passed and I am feeling a lot better. I had the opportunity this weekend to watch LDS Conference and to listen to the wise council of our leaders. it was a great way to get back in touch with what is important in life. I really feel like one of the greatest things that was talked about was just doing something good for someone else will make you feel better. That is my goal. I want to do good for others. what ever it takes, I want to serve.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Stress !! I Hate It.

So you might have figured out by the heading of this post that I have been stressed a bit lately and I really don't like it. It makes me crazy and changes my personality which is something I hate doing.

So if any of you know of a good way to relieve stress, I am interested.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Happy Birthday !!

Yes, today is my Birthday and I am now 42 years old. Each birthday I have from now on will be a milestone for me and I will celebrate life.

One of the things that I want to do with my life is to make sure that every day, I make someone smile. I think that a smile a day is one way to make the world a better place.

That is not the only thing I want to do but it is a start. I know something bigger is in the works but I still don't know what that is yet.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Deep In Thought...

This week I have been thinking a lot about Life, maybe because I have been given an extension of my own.

I don’t know exactly what I have been feeling, but I know that I don’t want to waste any bit of what life I have left.

The Doctors tell me it could be any where from 5 years to 30 years but that most likely I won’t live to be 80. I am okay with that but not to only have 5 years. I think they said that as a worst case scenario but I am much better off than that.

So the big question on my mind is what big thing am I going to do with my life. I don’t want to die and have them say, “Well he was a nice guy but really never did anything”.

I am not sure what I need to be doing, but know that something out there is calling for me and I need to find it. If any of you know what that might be, would you please let me know. (Smile)

So my goal is to find out what is driving me and why I have been given a second chance at life and more years to fulfill it.

More to Come…

Monday, September 22, 2008

Thought I would Share




So, as many of you might already know, our Daughter got married this summer and I thought I would share a photo that was taken at the wedding. This is one of my favorite pictures that they have. (out of the 400 that they have)




I love the colors and they just look so happy.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Help us Sell our Home


Most everyone knows by now that we are trying to sell our home desperately and we are willing to pay $500 to anyone that brings in someone that buys our house. So if you have a friend that is looking, please help us sell it.

The downside to Food

As you all know, I was off of food for a long time and now that I am back to eating I forget that I cant just eat what ever I want and have it be okay. Last night we got Pizza and I LOVE Pizza so I was so excited to finally get to eat it. Well after 3 pieces I figured I was full and went into the other room to help Cody with his homework and after about an hour I just didn't feel right.

Well you can guess what happened next. Yes, my Pizza came right back up. I guess I am not quite ready for all foods yet, but it sure was good going down.

Monday, September 15, 2008

To Blog or Not To Blog

That is the question at hand. I started this blog as a diary of my medical progress but now I guess I am going to keep it going as a family Blog. I will of course update it with my Cancer information as it becomes available.

I also intend to add more pictures than what I have been doing. They say a picture is worth a thousand words and I would agree. If I add more pictures, I can type less words.

If anyone has any thoughts regarding my Blog then please feel free to post here and let me know. I sometimes think that I am writing and there isn't any one reading. (That would be sad). I know I have become addicted to reading others blogs. I have a bunch book marked and will add them as blogs I regularly view and read on the side of my blog soon.
Today is Monday and remember, every day is another day you can make a difference in someones life. Enjoy every minute of it.

Evan

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

This is Funny

Okay, I have to tell you about what happened at work yesterday.

After being off work for 6 weeks, I had to come back and bring a Dr's note saying I was released back to work and also see our company Dr. to get a release from him as well.

Well, when I went in to see our Dr. he was shocked to see me and was telling me how he thought I was basically coming in to say goodbye. He had read on the medical charts that my surgeon had called my cancer "pancreatic cancer" and normally that is a quick path to death. Then he read on this blog that they are not doing Chemo and he figured that meant that it was to advanced and there was nothing they could do for me.

I quickly corrected him and let him know that I am NOT going any where and that I am fine. He was so relieved to hear the news and we both had a good laugh about it.

Evan

Monday, September 8, 2008

Wow.... I Had No Idea..

Okay, I am feeling a bit overwhelmed today as I am finding more and more people that are reading this Blog and have been keeping track of my situation. I really had no idea how many people this would reach. I figured maybe 10 or so.

It appears to be closer to the 100 range and that is just a guess. I thought about putting up a poll and having everyone go in and click once on it so it would act as a counter but I know there are those that don't know how to do that and that is fine.

Again, I don't know how to thank all of you that have prayed for my speedy recovery but today I can tell you that things are going great and I am at work and doing fine. I will be able to put in my full 8 hours today and plan on doing so again tomorrow and the rest of the week. It really is great to be back.

Evan

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Today I am feeling a LOT better

Today is Sunday and I am feeling great!! I have managed to eat full meals today and am keeping it down which is good.

I continue to show signs of improvement and am returning to work tomorrow. My hope is that I will be able to stay the whole 8 hrs each day. We are moving our offices to DayBreak the first part of Oct. and so I will be working from there in the near future. I am looking forward to it. I like the look of the new building and think it will be great to be in DayBreak.

We are planning on keeping this blog updated even though we are at a stand still now medically. It will be a few months before we meet with the Dr. again to have a CT scan done. So I guess the only things we will have to tell about is our life and the situation we are going through with the houses.

As for the houses, we have both of them up for sale now and we have had a few people come view ours but no offers as of yet. We are hoping someone makes an offer soon so we can get on with life.

Thanks for all your support,

Evan

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Today's Dr. Visit Results

Today we met with Dr. Ott and he took out my feeding tube and said at this point I am recovering fine.

As for the future treatments, he said that they would like to wait another two months and then do a CT scan to see if any thing has changed or if it looks the same as when I had my surgery.

So at this point, I am NOT scheduled for Chemo or any other treatment yet. We will wait till November and then we meet with the Dr. again to review the results of the scan and determine if we want to do anything then or wait another three months and do another scan.

So there you have it. That is the good news !!

Evan

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Latest Dr. Orders

Dr. Ott has now cleared me to eat what I can and just take it easy. I still cant eat anything heavy or it comes right up but I am expanding my diet every day and it is getting better and better all the time.

My next step is a meeting with the Doctor panel next Tuesday to decide what my next treatment will be. I will update you all when I have that visit and find out what we are going to be doing.

Thanks again for all your support. Together we are going to get through this and I plan on living a long life.

Evan

Monday, August 25, 2008

The Joy of TOAST !!!!

Ah, Toast, what a wonderful food.

I was able to eat my first food today and it was a Toast. It never tasted so good before. I am feeling better every day and today they are going to remove my PIC line so I will not have the TPN any more but will be eating regular foods going forward.

I am so thankful for all of the support that we have received during this trial that we have faced. I don't know what we would have done without all of you.

Friday, August 22, 2008

Food Glorious Food!!

Today we went to see the doctor and he pulled Evan’s JP drain. Yipppyyyyy!!! This means that Evan will now be able to start eating clear liquids but he can only have a total of 3 cups for the whole day. He is still getting fed TPN through the PIC line but the doctor said that perhaps on Monday morning we can have the PIC line pulled, it all depends on how well Evan does on the clear liquids. We talked with the doctor a little bit about the chemo and he said that we will need to meet with the panel of doctors on the Tuesday after next to see when they want to start him or if they want to watch him for a little while first.

On to another subject…

I went out into the garage a couple of days ago and just started laughing. Our son, Cody, had taken all of the gardening tools and organized them in the middle of the floor. I just had to take a picture. He was so proud of his organizational project and was pleased to tell me why he had placed each tool in its place. It was so hard to keep a straight face as he so proudly explained the details. (Notice how the shovels are in order by size) He has a way of lifting the grey clouds that seem to find us.

Random…

In effort to get my house in order, I turned on the auto cleaning on my oven so it can clean while we are sleeping. Boy does it smell bad!! Now when I have my neighbors over to help me tomorrow morning my house is going to reek. I have been working so hard today that now all I can think about is my pillow.

Love to you all
Evan & Julie

Sunday, August 17, 2008

A Step Back

For some reason, Evan started to throw up again on Friday morning and continued through the weekend. When this all started up again it seems that he must have torn something because he started getting blood in his JP drain and it appeared that there might have been some blood in his stomach too. So as you probably can guess, Evan didn’t make it up to East canyon with me but he is starting to feel better again. He has been able to keep his stomach at bay and there is no longer any blood. The doctor has been out of town but will return on Wednesday so there is still no word on when he feels Evan can start eating again. It has been hard to keep the smell of food down so that it isn’t a struggle for Evan. My sweet daughter had Cody and I over for Sunday dinner so that I didn’t have to cook anything at home. She has become quite the little homemaker and is having fun decorating her new little apartment. They are living in the basement of Matt’s parents home while they are gone. Matt’s dad got a job in Pennsylvania and will be there for the next 9 years so Matt and JayDee have a long time to save for their own home before they have to move.

We are still having a struggle in selling the construction house in Riverton and so it is looking more and more like we are going to have to put our own home on the market. The bank is saying that we must have the construction house sold by the end of this month or they will foreclose on both houses. This Saturday some of our sweet neighbors are going to help me de-clutter our home and get it ready to sell and I am going to put up the signs. The plan at this point is if we can sell our house then we would move into the construction house and continue to try to sell it. Once it is sold then we would see if we can find a small home or condo to buy. This is something that we had hoped would never have to happen but unfortunately it is not our will but the Lords will that must be done. We know that it is going to be for our good and growth somehow, we just have to let the Lord take control and follow his lead.

Friday, August 15, 2008

Hair Cut

Today Evan felt well enough to go get his hair cut, he even drove the car for the first time since his surgery. It is good to see him doing more and more everyday but at the same time he needs to be careful not to do too much. His little trip to get his hair cut took a lot out of him so it was back home for a nap. The doctor said that his body is burning calories as if he were running a marathon everyday because everything is concentrating on healing. This morning he weighed in and found that he has lost 20 lbs so far.

Tomorrow we will get to go on a little adventure. It is my families reunion up in East Canyon and we have decided to just go up for a little while on Saturday. It will be nice to get out of the house for a little while. We will take up our nice little lounge chairs so that Evan will have a place to rest and take his naps when he needs them. We look forward to visiting and being up in the mountains.

He still has to get hooked up to his TPN daily for his nutrition which means he still can't eat anything yet. We will talk to the doctor again on Monday to report in and see if he feel like Evan has made enough progress to allow him to start eating a little bit. He will have to remain on the TPN for a few days after he starts eating just to make sure he is getting the nutrition his body needs.

Well, I guess that's all for now.

Evan & Julie

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

The Wait Continues

Well, I am feeling great other than I am waiting for the Doc to give me permission to start eating again. It is driving me crazy not being able to eat. In fact, the past several nights I have had dreams that I am eating and it is so good. Last night was a dream that I was at the White House and I had 7 hamburgers with Bill and Hillary Clinton for some reason. They were real good Burgers but I knew I was going to pay for eating that much. Good thing that I woke up and it was all a dream. But it hasnt made it any easier to not eat. I had tried some Chicken Broth but the Doc says that it will be better if I wait so I guess I cant even do that.

They are waiting for my drainage to slow down a bit more and then I will be free to eat. It is amazing how much you crave what you cant have.

Other than that, I feel fine, I am in NO pain and havent had any since two days after the surgery. I credit that to an answer to my prayers. I was really worried about pain and didnt want to worry about getting addicted to pain killers. That just hasnt been the case. No Pain is a Good Thing.

I will keep you updated as time goes buy but for now it is just a sit and wait day by day kind of thing.

Evan

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Finally Back Home

Yes, today is Sunday but I got back home on Friday. I am starting to feel like I have turned the corner. I am feeling like the worst is behind me at this point.

I cant explain how grateful I am for my wife to keep all of you updated as I have not been able to do so for a while now. It feels good to be back where I can update you.

I am still on the TPN which is feeding me via an IV. that is all I get but it is working out okay right now. I don't think it will be long before I can start drinking liquids and eating Jello and starting back to some clear foods. I cant wait. it has been three weeks and that is a long time to go without anything yummy.

Well, I will update you more as time goes by but for now know that I appreciate all of your support and prayers. I have been truly blessed to not have any pain. I know it is the prayers that have been answered and I can tell you that it has been a blessing that I couldn't live without.

Thanks,

Evan

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Roller Coaster

Are we at Lagoon? It sure feels like I am on the roller coaster or more exactly the Colossus. Evan was supposed to come home today but he took a step back again. For some reason we can’t seem to keep him from vomiting. He isn’t eating anything but his stomach is still making bile and instead of having it move through his system, it stays in his stomach until he throws it up. I know this is more information than you really wanted to hear but this is the reason he is still at the hospital. The doctor has taken several x-rays to see why he isn’t processing anything but we haven’t gotten the results back yet. I have come home for the night and Cody is with me. I really hate having to pawn him off on others and he is getting tired of not being at home with his stuff and his friends close around him. I will return to the hospital again tomorrow with high hopes of returning home with my sweetheart. With all of this going on, it seems that life is at a stand still and I can’t seem to think past the door of Evan’s hospital room. I received a phone call from Evan’s oldest sister, Coleen, and I was reminded that her son was getting married tomorrow. Though my life seems at a stand still, it would appear that the world is still spinning and life is moving forward. Coleen, please tell Leo and Jamie congratulations and let them know that I have mailed them their gift. I am so sorry that I will not be at the temple to share in their joy tomorrow.

Again, I would like to take some time for thanks……to our ward members, thanks for the meals that we have enjoyed. I will have to get the recipes for all of the yummy dishes. Words can not express how important these sacrifices have been to me. I am burning the candle at both ends and it is so nice to know that I don’t have to worry about dinner.

We love each and every one of you, thanks for caring so much.
Evan & Julie

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Great Progress!!

Today was a much better day; Evan is making great progress and is doing so much better. We saw the doctor this morning and he said that Evan will get a new PIC line Wednesday morning and then he will be released from the hospital on Thursday. They have him on a very strong antibiotic that if it is given too fast it will make him deaf and mess up his kidneys. Of course they are being very careful, he can still hear me (poor guy) and they are watching his kidneys. He has been draining a lot of infection from his pancreas but it has slowed down dramatically and we are hoping that the drainage will completely stop soon. Once the drainage stops, Evan will be able to eat food again and the PIC line can be removed a few days later. The goal is to be eating again by Monday. We told the doctor that there were several people fasting on his behalf and he said that the fasting helped Evan more than he as a doctor could. This has been an amazing, testimony building experience for our family. Evan has been showing a lot more energy now that the infections are being treated and is taking laps around the 10th floor. They say that 10 laps equals a mile and today he has taken 8 ½ laps. He will probably take a couple more tonight just to say he walked a mile. He was even up to playing a game of rummy with me, of course he won but I’ll get him next time. Does anyone know a good way for me to cheat?? Teehehehe

Love to all,
Evan & Julie

Monday, August 4, 2008

Here we go again

Well that was fun, NOT!! It looks like Evan will stay in the hospital until Wednesday or Thursday. The CT scan showed that there was an area near the pancreas that was inflamed and the doctor wasn't sure if that was the reason for the high fever or if there was an infection in the PIC line. Either way, they have to treat it the same way with antibiotics. They removed the PIC line and so now Evan will be without any nutrients for the next two days until they can put in another PIC line. He still can't eat anything so the only thing he will get is IV fluids. It wasn't until nearly 2:00am before they had us set up in a room, we were both so exhausted. The Doctor said that this time when we go home, Evan will be doing much better than the first time. He will feel like a new man by Wednesday or Thursday. I think we just got released before Evan's body was ready the first time. We are feeling a little discouraged with this set back and Evan hates having to be back in that miserable bed again but I feel relieved that the pressure is off of me for a little while. I will continue to be with Evan while he is in the hospital so I will not return back to work until next week. Cody is back over to my sister's house so I know he is in good hands while we are gone. Thanks Heather for your sweet offer to help us with Cody. I also wanted to thank those that fasted on our behalf yesterday. I don't know what we would do without all of the love and support that we have received, we truly have been blessed.

Love Evan & Julie

Back in the Hospital

We are back in the hospital again after Evan began to have a fever every night but this morning and then again tonight it got up to 101.5 and so the Doctor wanted us to run to ER and get his PIC line pulled and get a CT scan. I don't have any more information at this point other than we are in room 1001. I'm sure we will find out more once the doc comes in. It is still the middle of the night so I will post the latest once we hear anything. I hope that we will not have to be here for very long. Bummer!!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Difficult Night

The last couple of nights were difficult for Evan. Yesterday we found out that one of the meds that Evan was on was lowering his blood pressure too much and it was making him dizzy when he stood up so it made him sick to his stomach for the majority of the day. After talking with the doctor, we didn’t give it to him last night but still he had a difficult night. He was up throwing up throughout the night and he started into a fever. We have been able to control the fever so far today but as a result of the night, he is having pain when he breathes. He feels that if he lies down he can’t take in enough air, and when he does, it causes him some pain. I think that it is just because of his muscles being used to throw up so much. My neighbor came over and checked his blood pressure this morning and said that he was okay there but that his heart rate was up just a little. Evan was a good sport today and went with me to do some running around even though he really didn’t feel well enough to travel. It took a lot out of him to do this but I still don’t feel comfortable in leaving him alone and I really needed to get some things done. I worry about having to leave him on Monday when I go back to work. I have a very sweet neighbor that is a nurse and she is going to come in and give him his shot and get him hooked up to his TPN on the days that she doesn’t have to work. On the days that she can’t do it, I will have to take some time away from work to come home and take care of him.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Dr. Visit

Today we went to see the doctor because of the concern over Evan’s incision. The doctor decided to open up a section of the incision and when he did, he found a large blood clot that needed to be removed. I guess that once you open up the incision it can’t be closed back up because you are pretty much guaranteed an infection so the doctor packed it up with gauze and covered it up. He now has the first opening that is 1 inch wide, 1 ½ inches long and 1 inch deep and this new opening that is about 4 inches long, 2 inches wide and 1 inch deep. We also will have to give him a new medicine to stop the drainage and this should help him heal a little faster. This new medicine is given three times a day by syringe. This has set us back a bit and will require a lot more care on my part. We also found out that Evan will be on the TPN for another 2 -3 weeks which means he will still not be able to eat or drink anything for that long. Physically, Evan still tires out easily but every day he is getting stronger.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

PUN vs RN

My house looks like a pharmacy; we have everything we need to play doctor. Teehehehe Evan says I am a PUN, a Personal Unregistered Nurse. I am really getting very good at this nursing thing. The home nurse has shown me how to do everything so I am pretty much on my own now. Every night I have to hook up a TPN bag (this is liquid food/nourishment) to Evan’s PIC line in his arm. Hooking up the TPN is a very long process because it has to be so sterile and I have to add vitamins and insulin to the TPN bag. The TPN is full of sugar so I have to check Evan’s glucose levels and give him insulin shots several times during the night. In the morning I have to disconnect the TPN and flush out the PIC line so that it doesn’t get plugged. Next I have to crush up his meds and liquefy them so I and push them into his “J” tube. Of course there is the replacement of the bandages and the list goes on an on. My days are very busy but I am learning a lot. It is looking like there is another spot on Evan’s incision that is going bad, but I will place my scheduled call into the doctor tomorrow morning and see if we can get an appointment to see him. The doctor might have to re-open the incision to drain the fluid that is causing all of the problems and then close it back up again. If he does this, it will just be an in-office procedure. I feel so blessed that we have the jobs that we have and that I can take the time to here to take care of my sweetheart. I must send a special thanks to our co-workers at UDOT and Kennecott for all of their support during our absences.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Home at last


We are finally home at last!

Dr. Ott and Evan


Sunday morning 6:00am Dr. Ott came to see us before he went to his church meetings. It's nice to know that your Doctor is being led by the spirit.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Almost Home

The Doctor said we might be going home tomorrow (Monday). :o) Evan still can't eat anything and is fed through a PIC line that goes from under his right arm into his heart. They tried to feed him through the “J” line in his abdomen but it caused some leaking internally. He is still trying to keep things interesting for the Doctor. Teehehehe We will have a nurse come to our house everyday to give him his bag of liquid dinner, check his vitals, and change his dressings. I will still need to keep close vigilance on him so I won’t be going out any where for a while but our neighbors might see us walking to the mailbox for one of our daily walks. He still gets tired easily but perks up quickly after a little cat nap. I can’t think of anything else to share so I will wish each of you a happy Sunday and we will see you all soon.

Evan & Julie

Friday, July 25, 2008

It only gets better

Everyday is better than the last. HE’S BACK!!! Today Evan was laughing and joking with everyone, he even challenged the nurses to a race down the hall. Of course they graciously declined because Evan could beat them. (not really) His walks tire him out but after a little cat nap, he is ready to laugh and play some more. My only concern is his incision; at the top, the skin has begun to die and has turned gray and mushy. This has left a hole about the size of a quarter and about an inch deep. It was only about the size of a dime yesterday but it is started moving down the incision. The doc has put a stop to it we hope but he is not going to be able to stitch it back together so it will just have to close on it’s own. He is also concerned that there is fluid trapped beneath the surface of the incision and is considering opening it back up to release it. This really is fairly minor and shouldn’t set his recovery back, it has just made it more interesting. Dr. Ott comes in and checks on him twice a day and seems pleased with Evan’s progress.

Saturday, I get to play with Cody. It has been hard to pawn him out to others and not get to see him very often so I am making tomorrow his day. We are going to go to Lagoon!! Cody has stayed with Julie and Travis Naisbitt (our friends and neighbors) for the first two nights and now he is with my sister, LaWaine. I have spent every day and every night at the hospital and the only time I am home is to take a quick shower and then back I go again. Evan has become to depend on me always being there and is feeling a little abandoned but he knows how important it is that I spend some time with our son. I have left him in the hands of his wonderful brothers and sisters, who are so sweet to take time out of their schedules to be with him. Evan is getting better at getting up and down and can do it without help now so there really isn’t a need for someone to be with him 24/7 anymore but for my own peace of mind, it is nice to know someone is close by. Saturday night I will be back up at the hospital ready to make the couch my bed again because it is too hard to be without him and it gives us both peace of mind.

Thank you again for all your love and support, we are truly humbled by your generosity and love.
Evan & Julie

Thursday, July 24, 2008

Singing and Dancing

First of all, Evan wants me to convey his gratitude and his love to all of you. I have been reading all of the wonderful messages to Evan that you all have posted. I also add my thanks for your words of encouragement, love and support. We have also, enjoyed the many visits we have received.

Today was a great day for Evan :o) When he woke up this morning he was ready to go for a walk. When he stood up and was waiting for us to gather all of his IV tubes and such, he did a little dance for us because he was feeling so good. Then when the nurse asked him where he wanted to walk to….(the most he has walked was about 10 yrds) his response was “I’m walking to Costco”. He took a lap around the whole 10th floor and he has taken 3 more laps since. He even sang a little song for the nurses on his walk. It is nice to see his personality coming back. He has been awake all day today with only a couple of cat naps earlier in the day. The doctor came in again to check Evan’s incision and found that his skin has blistered and has caused some concern in regards to infection but nothing to worry too much about tonight.

I need to clarify some information on the type of cancer Evan has. Neuroendocrine Cancer is still in the Carsinoid cancer family and is a slow growing cancer. There are three levels of Neuroedocrine cancer and Evan has the lowest level. Really, the news we received was not as bad as I originally thought. After doing some research and thinking through what I had been told, I realized that perhaps this is a blessing. When we were told that it was Carsinoid cancer, we were told that chemo wouldn’t work on it. When the surgery was over, the doctor said that the tumors in the liver were too many to count. My theory is that if it was Carsinoid then all we could do would be to sit back and watch the tumors grow and not do a thing about them, but with this other low level cancer, we now have the option to battle the tumors with chemo. We have the option to fight now where we didn’t have any options before.

Thanks again for all you do for our family

Evan & Julie

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

Wow, what a day!!

I don't know if I should say today was a good day or a bad day. I stayed with Evan all night and he slept very well and in the morning he seemed to be doing great. I left him in the care of our daughter while I escaped to go home for a quick shower and a sandwich. While I was out, it got a little scary for her because Evan started coughing (which is a really good thing) but it made her a bit nervous. The floor doctor came in and said that he was not breathing deep enough because he was giving himself too much pain medicine with the medicine pump he got last night. If he didn’t start breathing deeper then he would be on his way to getting pneumonia so the doc took his med pump away. (silly boy) So, when I returned, we took him for a walk and then sat him in a chair to stimulate his breathing. While he was sitting there I noticed that his heart rate was up really high (150) and the alarms were going off. No one seemed to be concerned about it because no one came so I thought it was okay. (dummy me) After sitting there for about 3 hours, Dr. Ott came in and ushered everyone out of the room so he could check Evan. He noticed Evans heart rate and pressed the nurse button but of course no one responded (as usual). The doctor ran down the hall and the next thing we knew, every nurse and floor doctor was trailing after Dr. Ott and into Evan’s room. Words like “fibrillation” and “shock trauma” were being used. They were going to admit him back into ICU but Dr. Ott gave Evan an injection of some kind that slows down the heart rate and that seemed to do the trick. His heart rate quickly lowered down to 100 and now that he is sleeping it has lowered down to 74. He took another walk just before bed and sat in his chair for a bit and seems to be doing great again. They have changed his pain meds to a non-sleepy kind which should help him to breath deeper and not get so relaxed. I will stay the night again tonight to keep an eye on him.

Tuesday, July 22, 2008

Pathology Report

Well we just got the biopsy report back from pathology and it has been determined that the type of cancer Evan has is not Carcinoid cancer after all but is Neuroendocrine Cancer. In a month, once he has recovered from his surgery, he will have to go through chemo to try to get rid of the tumors in his liver. The report also showed that 28 out of the 29 lymph noids that were removed were full of cancer. So it looks like we have a longer battle ahead of us than we anticipated. He has been having a difficult time breathing today and we are thinking that it is because of the pain he has been in. The nurse has just hooked him up to a pump that will distribute his pain meds in 15 min increments instead of getting it all at once every 2 hours. If he can increase his oxygen saturation level then they will increase the dosage amount. We have a better nurse this evening than we did throughout the day but I am going to stay here at the hospital with him tonight anyway to make sure he is taken care of. Evan might be up to some visitors tomorrow but please call before you come just to make sure. His room is on the 10th floor in the tallest building here at the Intermountain Medical Center. (5300 South and just west of State St.) The number for his room is 507-1014.

Out of ICU

Yippy!!!! We are out of ICU!!! Evan has been moved to the 10th floor (Room 1014) and is looking and doing so much better today but he is still not up to visitors yet. They have had him up and sitting in a chair twice today, of course he didn't like that too much. He did great!!! He is doing a lot of sleeping but that is just what his body needs.

Monday, July 21, 2008

It's been a long day

It has been a very long day today that started at 4:00am. We arrived at the hospital at 5:30 and by the time we got checked in and had a chance to speak with the Doctor, it was just after 7 when they took Evan away for his surgery. They anticipated the surgery would take around 6 hours but it took 10 hours. As the hours ticked by, someone would call me to let me know how Evan was doing. Finally at around 7:00pm the surgery was over and the Doctor came to speak with me. He said that the tumor was larger than they thought it would be so it took them longer than expected. He said that the tumor was about the size of a large grapefruit and was fully removed. He then said that they didn't remove the two tumors in the liver because there was no point in removing the two and leaving 100 behind. They will biopsy the tumor to verify that it is Carsinoid cancer as they originally thought. If it is Carsinoid then they will do nothing at this point with the tumors in the liver but if it is another form of cancer then they will have to do chemo. We should find out the results of the biopsy on Wednesday or Thursday. They took Evan to the ICU and told me to wait until they came and got me. At 9:00pm I still hadn't been called back so after some checking, JayDee, Matt, Melody and myself were able to go and see him. It was very difficult to see him so miserable but it was good to see that he had color to his face. He was still not fully awake by the time that we all left but he knew we were there. It is now 11:55pm and I have only been home long enough to make this post. When I left him he was in room 507 but they will probably move him by tomorrow. Thanks for all of your prayers, phone calls and posted messages. I will continue to post information as Evan progresses through his recovery. We send all of you our love.

Evan & Julie

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Schedule Time for surgery

Tomorrow is the big day. We were told to be at the hospital at 5:30 in the morning so I imagine the surgery will start around 7:00. They said I need to go to the tallest building to check in, I don't know if this is going to be the same building that my room will be in but I'm sure Julie will post the room and phone number once I get settled in. Thanks to all of you for your thoughts and concerns. I gain strength knowing that others are there to support me and my family.

Evan

Friday, July 18, 2008

My Favorite Wallpaper

I love this picture because it is so peaceful. I wish I could be there all day.

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Dedicated to My Wife.

This is a song that I dedicate to you dear. I love you.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dVwhZ5GN_E


I Love you dear,

Evan

Rushing To Get Ready

As you all know, I am scheduled for surgery on Monday July 21st a week from today. I am trying so hard to get all the little things done that I feel like need to be taken care of before the big day so that I wont have to worry that something didn’t get taken care of and I will miss the deadline for getting it done.

I am a bit OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive-Disorder) so that should explain what I mean. When I stop and think about it, I can’t think of many things that still need to be done but then some times it seems like there are a million things that I should be doing.

One of the other issues that we are facing is this mess that some of you are aware of with the “House” issue. I confronted the guy who did this to us and he just continues to lie and won’t face the fact that he is fully responsible for this mess.

I have just had to face the reality that what ever happens will happen and we are going to have to deal with it. So we might be moving into the second construction home at some point and trying to sell our house.

Today I talked with one of the Lien holders and he has been fantastic in understanding what we are going through. We ended up talking on the phone for about ½ an hour and really we have become pretty good friends. I won’t mention his name but I will tell you that if you ever need any hardware supplies, you can trust Burton Lumber.

This has been a little bit of a long entry but I wanted to update you on how it is going and I plan on one or two more entries before I go in Monday.

I really appreciate all the support I have been getting. It helps knowing that people really care.

Evan

Sunday, July 6, 2008


For those unfamiliar with Carcinoid Cancer as I was, the Zebra is the symbol that is used because it is very good at blending in and hiding. It can appear to look like something else.

Breast Cancer has the pink ribbon and Carcinoid Cancer has the Zebra. Now that I have been diagnosed I am clinging to everything that I can that gives me hope and my hope is that the Zebra that was inside me was found before it had a chance to look like something else.

Evan

Saturday, July 5, 2008

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Today was a Downer Day

Well, today is July 3rd and it was a downer day for me. I have been deeply depressed today due to several situations. I am trying to deal with a financial mess that a neighbor got me in to and today I was trying to work on it with no success.

I also am starting to get more anxiety about my surgery as each day goes by. I hate being in the hospital and the thought of surgery puts me into panic mode.

The only good news I got today was a phone call from a Carcinoid Cancer patient’s daughter who runs a big foundation for Carcinoid Cancer and she talked to me for a while and helped me feel better about it.

Her mother has survived her Cancer for the past Twenty years and is still doing fine. There is hope !!

She was able to get February 14th set aside as Carcinoid Cancer Awareness day in her state and that makes me want to push for the same thing here in Utah. I am going to try and set up a meeting with our Governor to see if I can push for awareness.

Well, that is all for today, I am hoping to feel better about life tomorrow.

Evan

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Game Plan

Well,

I went to visit with the Oncologist yesterday and he advised me that he wants to do a surgery called a “Whipple” where they will be taking out the part of me where the Tumor is as well as 1/3 of my Pancreas.

The surgery is scheduled for July 21st and I will be in the hospital (Intermountain Medical Center 5400 S 700 W)for one week and then home recovering for four weeks.

He also advised that I should not need Radiation or Chemo after the surgery. I will just need to do regular check-ups and that I should be able to live a long healthy life.

Thank you all for your support as our “Fighting Hearts” battle through this.

Evan

Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Naming of My Blog

Just a quick note to let you know why I named my Blog "Four Fighting Hearts".

Julie and I have been married for Twenty years now and have two wonderful children and I just found out that I have a Carcinoid Tumor / Cancer.

So I thought it would be an easier way to share information with all of you on how I am doing by creating a Blog and updating it for everyone.

Well we as a Family are "Four" people, plus our Son-In-Law Matt. And we are all going to fight for my cure.

Hence the name "Four Fighting Hearts"

Evan

Monday, June 30, 2008

Getting Started.

I have never Blogged before so I am going to start one now and see if I can keep my family informed about my life and the comings and goings on in my life.

Evan