Sept 29

Mark had his bowel test again today for the 4th time. He was thrilled when he woke this morning and got to go to the hospital for the wonderful colon test again. YIPEE!!!!! Anyway, we finally got a good report. His colon has almost completely healed. The fistula is down from 8 cm to around 1 cm. The radiologist commented on how dramatically it had shrunk. We will now have to wait on the Pittsburgh doctors to look at the films when they arrive and give us their opinion. We feel we are getting close to getting rid of the ileostomy. Mark will be glad to get rid of that.

Mark got to go by and see Dr. Farmer today while he was in the hospital. She still seems okay with the fact that we're waiting this long off of chemo. Mark looks wonderful and if you didn't know any better, you'd never guess him to be sick at all. He looks great. He still gets tired easy, but who wouldn't with all he's been through in the last year. We were just talking tonight about how tomorrow will be 3 months since his major surgery and how drastically it has changed our lives. It has been a bunch of highs and lows, but definitely all highs these days and we thank God for each and every one of them. We are quickly approaching the one year anniversary of Mark's cancer diagnosis. It seems like forever ago in some regards, but just like yesterday in others. Funny how you wake up one day thinking everything is okay, not realizing your life will never again be the same.

We are staying very busy with both boys playing football and Colton's baseball team is still together and gearing up for a tournament in October. Mark is helping to coach Colton's team and is very animated on the sidelines and in practice (imagine that!!!!). Emily is funny and sweet and such a mess. She keeps us very busy. She continues to do her ballet and tumbling classes every week. She can't wait until her recital (which isn't until May).

Thanks to everyone for all of your support, love and prayers through this journey. We appreciate all the caring and concern for Mark's health. God bless!!!!!

Sept 21

Hello to everyone. I know it's been a long while since I've updated. That is definitely a good sign. Mark is doing fabulous. He is back to normal weight and feeling so much better. He still gives out easier and quicker than he used to, but I think that is to be expected given all that he's been through. We feel so blessed to have been given this break from the surgery and chemo. Maybe this fistula was really a gift to all of us. (Trying to stay positive).

Mark has gotten to spend a lot of time with Calen and Colton this football season. He has made it to most of Calen's practices and enjoys watching them. They have won all 3 of their games so far and just beat Opelika (their big rival) 26-0 last week. It was a good game and the boys earned an "A" to put on their helmets with that win. Colton's team played their first game Monday and also won big. Colton was so excited. He recovered a fumble, scored a touchdown and made several great blocks. Emily was just glad to have found some friends on the sideline and played princesses and ran from the "Big Bad Wolf" during the game. She is so funny sometimes. Her only concern is whether or not the concession stand will be open.

We had a great tailgate Saturday for the Auburn/LSU game. In spite of the loss, we enjoyed the day long social event and the seafood boil along with the gumbo and red beans and rice that Mark made for all to enjoy. There was some great Cajun cuisine out there!! We certainly missed watching OU play since this was their week off. We hope to see them play TCU next week. It is hard to get the Oklahoma games down here, so we usually end up buying the ESPN Gameplan to get to see our Sooners play. Yes, we bleed Crimson and Cream.

Mark's next test will be September 29th (a week from Monday). We are praying hard that everything in the colon has now healed so we can proceed with the next surgery and then finish with the chemo. We have truly been blessed and are trusting that all will go as planned to restore Mark's health. Keep praying for the colon to be healed. God bless!!!!!

Sept 8

Hello to all. Not much to report here. I hope everyone got to watch a little of the Stand Up 2 Cancer program on Friday night. What a great way to reach out and raise money for cancer research. It is so important as there are so many people affected by this awful disease.

Mark continues to do well. He still gets fatigued easily, but is so much better than we could have ever imagined from his initial diagnosis to now. What a blessing and miracle!!!!!!!! Mark has been out helping with Colton's football practice. He was getting a little too animated with the players and about passed out the other day. He had to lay down on the ground for a bit to get himself back together. He forgets sometimes his limitations. His biggest challenge besides the fatigue is the ostomy. He would really love to get rid of that. Hopefully that will be our next big hurdle. Mark's test will be September 29th and we will find out whether or not the colon has healed. We pray hard that it has.

The kids are all doing well. The boys both love school and have great teachers and classes this year. What a blessing. Emily is growing up so fast. She keeps us laughing a lot (or pulling our hair out). The Drake football team won their first game Thursday night 28-6 in Valley. Calen was excited about that. Colton was mad that he didn't get to go as he had football practice that night. Hopefully he will get to watch a game or two. His football season will be starting soon as well. We definitely stay on the run with the 3 kids.

Thanks for all the support. We hope to have a quiet month and then great news to end the month. God bless!!!

Sept 2

Hello to all. We got news from Pittsburgh today. Dr. Bartlett reviewed Mark's films. He feels that the colon needs a little more time for healing and is still hopeful that it will heal up on it's own. They want to wait on chemo as to allow for better healing time and not stress the body or tissues any more. Mark will have another test to see if the colon has healed in one month. We will pray very hard that it has healed and we can procede with the next surgery. It still makes me a little nervous waiting this long before restarting the chemo. I am a bit paranoid maybe. I know that Mark is thoroughly enjoying the break from chemo and it feels good to see him feeling so good.

Dr. Farmer's office will set up Mark's next test and an appointment for him to come in and get his port flushed. It hasn't been used in a while and they will have to flush it with anticoagulants so that it will not form a clot. Other than that, Mark will be free from Dr. appointments for the next month.

Continue to pray for healing, especially the fistulas in Mark's colon so that Dr. Bartlett's team can finish their work and we can procede with the next step in treatment. God bless!!!!

Sept 1

Hello everyone. Not much exciting news here. We did find out that Mark's films were delivered and signed for on the 27th after all. They have reached Dr. Bartlett's office. YEAH!!! Now it is a matter of getting them to view the films and give us feedback. Mark will probably call them in the morning and check on the status of things. We're not sure of Dr. Bartlett's surgery schedule, but we are just anxious to find out the next step. Most likely it will be more waiting. We may end up starting the chemo before having the second surgery (again this is just my speculation). We will wait to see what they say this week.

Mark is doing well overall. I think the tailgating wore him out a bit, but he certainly enjoyed visiting with everyone and getting back into the swing of things. He slept late Sunday and we attended the 5pm mass. He didn't feel like doing a lot today either. We had a pretty lazy day around the house which was kind of enjoyable.

Tomorrow starts another busy week. Football practice for both boys and Emily's ballet class is tomorrow as well. Calen's first football game will be this Thursday night for the middle school. He is getting excited about that and I know Mark can't wait to watch them play.

Thanks again for all of the support and prayers. God bless!!!!

August 27

Hello everyone. Good news to share. Mark had both of his urology tests this week and he passed both with flying colors. He will not need any more follow ups unless he develops problems. YEAH!!! One less thing to worry about. We were glad to get the news.

We are still waiting to hear from Pittsburgh on Mark's tests from last week. Yes it is another mail saga. We decided to use the Post Office Express Mail service since UPS messed up severely the last 2 times we've used them (despite charging an obscene amount of money and not delivering as promised overnight or even that WEEK!!!!). We felt like a change needed to be made, so we thought we'd try the good old postal service. I sent the package Friday and specified that I DID NOT want the package delivered Saturday as there would be no one there in the office to receive the mail, but wanted it delivered MONDAY. They wrote it on the receipt and took my money with a smile and stamped my package. Of course, I get a notice that they could not deliver the package Saturday because there wasn't anyone there for delivery (DUH!!!!!) and that Dr. Bartlett's office will now have to pick up the package from the post office or they will send it back to me after 5 days. I tried to get them to redeliver the package since they clearly messed up, but they'll hear nothing of it. Lesson learned!!!! I guess we'll have to try good old FedEx next time. Surely there is someone out there who can deliver with competence. So far we are 3 for 3 with not getting records there. It is very frustrating!!!!!! I don't know when they'll get the records. I guess eventually they'll wind up in the right place.

We've been very busy. Mark is enjoying being back in the classroom and back to work. He goes to watch the end of Calen's football practice every day as well and enjoys that. Colton will start football practices this week and Emily is still doing her ballet and tumbling classes. Of course this will be the first big football weekend for both Auburn and Oklahoma. We will be tailgating for the Auburn game. Unfortunately Oklahoma will not be on television (they are playing Chatanooga-doesn't sound like much of a game, but it would still be nice to get to see our crimson and cream play their season opener).

Thanks again to everyone who continues to pray and support us. We have come so far and couldn't have done it without all the love and support and the many prayers that are offered up each day. God bless!!!!

August 20

Hello everyone. Mark had his test this morning. We did not get the great news we were hoping for. He still has the fistula or leak from the colon. It has gotten a little smaller since the last study. They also found another fistula since the last study which was very tiny. I am not sure why he would have formed another one. This is common in people who have had radiation to their tissues, but he has not. I don't know if it is a side effect of the intraperitoneal chemotherapy. It can also be pretty toxic. Anyway, it hasn't totally healed as we had hoped and the chances of reversal soon have gone out the window. That is okay. We would rather be safe than do something to jeopardize Mark's health at this time.

We will send the films off to Pittsburgh again and wait on their opinion as to our next step. We may end up proceding with chemo before the reversal after all. Not sure yet if this is what they'll say, I am only speculating.

Mark's mother had her colonoscopy today. It was normal and we were all glad to hear that. His dad's test will be next week and then the whole family will have been tested.

Keep praying for healing and strength. It has done wonders for Mark this far and we have seen a miracle. God bless you all!!!