Sunday, December 23, 2012

Almost two weeks ago the Cedar High Wrestling Team had a cancer awareness night.  At their wrestling match against Hurricane they honored three wrestlers fighting cancer.  One from Cedar, Hurricane and Canyon View.  They called and asked if Daren and I could be there to accept the gift they had for Cole.  I was honored to do so but it was an emotional evening.  The Cedar boy was there but the Hurricane boy and Cole were both in Salt Lake undergoing their therapy.  The Hurricane team accepted his ( I wish I knew names but I don't) and then they called for Cole's parents to come up.  Daren wasn't able to be there and I couldn't talk Erika into walking out on the mat with me, I don't blame her I don't like getting up in front of a big crowd.  But as I walked out there I was overwhelmed with gratitude for those boys and their coaches for thinking of Cole and for their support during this hard struggle in our lives.  It really meant a lot to us and to Cole.  They gave him an awesome blanket that had this message embroidered on it, "Keep Up the Fight and Get Well Soon from the Cedar Wrestling Team".  Thanks so very much Cedar Team, coaches and wives!!

This event gave us the boost we needed to help us though these past two weeks.  Cole has been really sick.  Having both chemo and radiation has really worn his body down.  He has had 3 transfusions in 7 days to try to build up his blood.  When they checked it Friday is was finally stabilizing.  Now hopefully it can start to build back up.  He has had some other side effects that have been very painful.  He will see a gastrointestinal doctor on January 3rd to see what's going on.  Please continue to keep him and Taleena in your prayers.  Thanks again everyone for your love and support.

Friday Daren and I did the LAST of our shopping!!  I think we are ready to enjoy the real reason for the season... to celebrate the birth and life of our Savior Jesus Christ.  How grateful I am for the plan of salvation and eternal families.  For the hope and peace the gospel brings into our lives.  Also to  spend time with family and friends and eat lots of goodies and delicious food and watch Christmas movies!!

Merry Christmas everyone!



Sunday, December 16, 2012

I have an extra week to catch up on....
Let's see, we took Daniel to an allergy specialist and found out he is allergic to just about everything except food.  I thought for sure he had some food allergies but no he is allergic to , animals, grass, sagebrush, dust, mold, leaves, I think that is about it.  He will be getting shots twice a week for quite a while to get his allergies under control.  Oh and he has asthma.  It isn't severe and I'm thinking it will be even milder when his allergies are not so out of control.
This past week was pretty tough on Cole.  He is having some painful side effects.  He has been down in bed most of the week.  His platelets were very low and causing him to have bad headaches and dizziness whenever he would try to get up.  This has happened before and a transfusion helped.  So on Friday he went in for a transfusion.  We talked on Friday evening and his spirits seemed to be good.  He isn't one to complain.  I just know when he's not feeling well because he sounds so tired.
Saturday Daniel had a wrestling tournament in Salina.  He did very well.  He won 4 matches and lost 1 and had 2 buys.
After the wrestles we headed to the Mecham Family Christmas Party and a great time was had by all!!  The only bad part is we got there late because of the wrestling tournament and left before it was over because of the long drive home.  But while we were there it was great to see and visit with everyone.  We are blessed to have such a wonderful family!  After dinner my Aunt Camille shared a very thoughtful gift to my Mom, Cole and my Aunt Joyce who are all fighting the "cancer monster".  (My aunt Joyce was diagnosed about a week or two before my Mom found out hers was back.)  The basic message of the poem was that our family is always there to support and help.  They care and will be there through the good, bad and the ugly.
Thanks again for all the prayers and concern.  Someone said today that it doesn't seem like much that all they can do to help is pray.  But prayer is very powerful and is the best thing you all can do to help.
Have a great week.  :)
I almost forgot to mention on December 11th it was a super day!  It was our 25th wedding anniversay!!  Time sure does fly.  Cheers to MANY more wonderful years together!!

Sunday, December 2, 2012

Before I forget to say THANK YOU to all that donated items for the Craft Fair Fundraiser for Cole.... THANKS soooo much.  I am always amazed at such generosity and kindness in Cole's behalf and ours.  Friends and family are such a blessing and we are truly blessed.  I can't say thanks enough.  My Mom, sister Janeen and Aunt Janet came to Cedar City to help me man the Lovell booth that day and I really appreciated their help and support. 

Yesterday Daniel had a wrestling tournament and he did very well.  He hasn't wrestled for a few years and is now back into it and working hard. 

The tournament was in Spanish Fork so Cole and Taleena were able to meet us there.  It was great spending the day with them. 


What a crazy crew!!
Cole's first week of radiation went well.  The doctors say it will take about 4-5 weeks before he starts feeling the major side effects from radiation.  Tomorrow he will start another week of chemo as well, if his blood counts are good.  Cole looked really good.  I know the next 6 weeks will really take a tole on him so thanks for all the prayers and positive thoughts on his behalf!   Taleena is doing well also. She looks so cute.  She is finally looking pregnant. :D 

We were able to go to Kyle and Kayla's wedding. (Kyle is my nephew.) It was a wonderful day!  They sure make a cute couple.  I wish them the BEST!




Sunday, November 25, 2012

Thanksgiving was great!  The dinner was yummy.  It was nice to be able to visit with most of the Lovell Family.  We missed Kjerstin, Megan, Teresa and their cute families.  And Falcon, Blake and his wife. Addy got to visit for a while but had to leave before the dinner to get back to Logan to work.  :(  I hope the cherry pie was yummy.
Yummy Pie!

Cole, Taleena & Erika

Playing Games after Thanksgiving Dinner
As I sit here trying to figure out what to write so much is going through my mind.  Cole starts radiation tomorrow.  He and Taleena are doing well and they continue to have the best attitude and outlook on life through  this whole "experience".  They are amazing.
I have struggled with some news that I, for several weeks, didn't want to really think about and I didn't want to tell Cole and Taleena knowing that they are going through so much I didn't want to add to their stress.  But during their visit for Thanksgiving I decided I needed to tell them that Grandma Mary (my Mom) had a mastectomy last week.  Her cancer came back but the very good news was they caught it very early and she will not need radiation or chemo.  She will be fine, another very tender mercy that it was discovered and taken care of.  Now she is recovering and doing well.  Sore and tender but doing well.  We went to see her and my dad yesterday and she looked very good.  She is a beautiful woman and I'm grateful for her.  
I'm so blessed to have such great friends and family with so much support on both sides, the Hatch's and the Lovell's.


Sunday, November 18, 2012

If any of you have not head the song "Blessings" by Laura Story you should google it.  It is a great song that puts our trials into perspective. I know trials truly test us and I believe in miracles and faith.
Cole got another week to recover.  His blood counts weren't where they needed to be for him to have chemo.  Next week he should have his short week of chemo then the following week he will start radiation.  The following 6 weeks will be tough.  Thanks for all your prayers and support. 
A great friend of ours took Cole fishing yesterday.  He taught Cole how to fly fish.  Cole had a wonderful day!  Thanks Phil!
Addy is going to be able to come down for a few days but has to be back work Thursday evening.  It will be great to see her.  She is doing well in Logan, but she misses scenic Enoch ;)

Sunday, November 11, 2012

Cole had an MRI on Monday.  We were very happy to find out that his tumor that was the size of a cantalope is now the size of a golfball!!  We were very happy to hear such great progress is being made.  He will now start radiation starting on Nov. the 26th.  For 5 weeks the radiation will be targeted to the large area where the tumor is and was.  The 6th week they will then focus the radiation only on the tumor.  He will continue chemo every other week, Monday through Friday.
It will be a hard 6 weeks but he is tough and we pray all will go well.
The Dr. said his bone where the cancer formed will always be weak and he will have to be careful... Cole being careful might be possible?!  I think he will somewhat because the Dr. said if it every gets broken or fractured there won't be anything they can do for it and it will be very painful.  I tried to get him to promise me that he would be careful but he just smiled.  He wants us to bring the motorcycles to the Thanksgiving gathering.  If you have seen the movie "Little Giants"?  It's a movie about a  little league football team and one of the Mom's sends her son to practice all bundled up in foam pads to protect him.  I told Cole I would make him one of those protective outfits!

Sunday, November 4, 2012

We talked to Cole and Taleena earlier today.  They are doing pretty good.  It was a long week but he was able to have chemo.  He did have to have a transfusion on Wednesday and that helped. 
Tomorrow is a big day, time for the MRI to let us know what progress has been made.   Thanks to everyone for the prayers and those that were able to fast with us.  I know our prayers are heard and our fast recognized. 
Tuesday they meet with the surgeon to see if he will have surgery or radiation.  I'll keep you all posted!

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Cole surprised us and came down to go hunting with Duke.  He wasn't able to have his chemo treatments this past week because his blood counts were down so Duke invited him to go hunting for a few days.  We didn't know if he would be able to or not.  Wednesday he called us and he was in Beaver, just about an hour away!  It was great to see him and they had a successful hunt.  I'll have to add more pictures when I download more.  Daniel was a mighty hunter as well. 

Monday, October 22, 2012

Some Good News...

Cole called today and said that he needed another week to recover before his next week long chemo session.  They met with the doctor today and he said after this chemo session  Cole will have an MRI to determine if he will have radiation or surgery.  After radiation or surgery he will have 8 more sessions of chemo.  His short week counting as a session and his long week counting as another session.  So he could be finished with chemo as soon as February!! That is great news considering they were thinking it was going to take until late summer.
Their baby is due February the 18th.  It would be wonderful to be finished with chemo and on the road to total recovery when their baby is born.


Sunday, October 14, 2012

Hello!  This has a been an eventful week.  Daniel and Kaitlyn got their tonsils removed on Thursday.  All went well and they are recovering quickly.  They made it through two hours of church before needing to come home and rest.  They are napping now.
Erika and I went jogging late Wednesday night.  I told her I needed a head start up the hill if we were going to finish together!  I hurried up the hill and sure enough she caught up before we reached the "blue water tower".  We had a good jog! 
As we were jogging I remembered another late night adventure with Cole.  He was struggling to get his math finished for the day.  I think he was around 13yrs old.  I told him that no matter what time he finished we would take the motorcycle out for a ride.  What I wasn't expecting is for him to come wake me up at midnight telling me he was finished!!  I had promised so what could I do?  We went out and pushed the bike out front.  We decided in order to not wake up the family we should push it down the street a little.  So we pushed it parallel with the curb and got on.  It had to be by the curb because neither one of us had long enough legs to touch the ground with out the curb.  So off we went up above town, which is now full of houses, and had a good ride.  At the end of our ride we made it safely back to the curb.  :D  No one even knew we were gone!!  Great times!

Sunday, October 7, 2012

I always think I will post first thing on Sunday morning.... and here it is again Sunday evening before I am here at the computer. 
What a great weekend!  Conference was amazing.  It was nice to have all of our family here for parts of the week end!
Cole and Taleena are doing pretty good.  Taleena hasn't had too much sickness which has been a blessing.  Cole is doing pretty good. He was not able to have his chemo treatments this week.  His platelets were low and his white blood cells were low.  Hopefully next week his counts will be up and he can continue with the treatments.
We moved everything out of their Cedar City apartment and into a small storage unit.  Their landlords were very good to them and had been letting them keep their things there but Cole and Taleena felt they should free up the apartment .    Thanks Mr. and Mrs. Laws for being such good landlords and for helping Cole and Taleena out.

Sunday, September 30, 2012

Cole and Taleena found out on Friday that they are having a GIRL!  I really thought they were getting a boy?  We are so excited for this new little girl to be a part of our family.  Now Sophie will have a new cousin and friend! 
They are thinking of naming her Aspen.  Such a pretty name  :)   (I'm not sure how they will spell it.)
On Saturday Kjerstin and Kurtis had a Birthday Party for Sophie. She turned one the the 25th.  It was a great party and a good time was had by all!  Sophie loved the balloons more than anything else!  She was fascinated by them.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Adelyn has been up to Utah State for a month now, boy does time fly. We had fun taking up to her new apartment and helping her get settled in.  We miss her!  It's a good thing we have skype!!

Sunday, September 23, 2012

Update

This week was a little harder on Cole.  He hates his long week of treatment but he made it through another one!!!  Yippee!  He was pretty tired this week and more nauseous but he only "lost his lunch" once.  When ever I ask how he's doing, his reply is "I'm doing fine Mom", or "I'm doing good Mom".  He's a pretty tough guy.  :) 
Taleena and Cole will be finding out what they are having this week and we are very excited! 
Sophie (Kjerstin and Kurtis's little girl) is walking and climbing all over the place.  When she climbs and stands on the kitchen table we all about have a heart attack. 
This is Sophie Lee Carter.                                                  This is Cole Jr.
These are my precious grandchildren.  :D 

Sunday, September 16, 2012

Other happening last week...

 
Last Saturday was also the stockshow.  Erika, Daniel and Kaitlyn did very well showing their sheep.  They all got blue ribbons in showmanship and their lambs got blue ribbons!!  
It was our Stake Conference also.  Cole's first mission President was the presiding authority during our stake conference.  It was nice to meet Elder Terry and his wife.  Cole and Taleena were able to have dinner with them and the Stake Presidency Saturday night.  Conference was excellent!

Cole and Taleena were able to spend the week here with us because it was Cole's week off from chemotherapy.  They mostly relaxed, spent time with family and friends, and recuperated.  Cole is doing very well.  The nurses have commented that most people don't do as well with chemo as Cole has so far.  He has had side affects but nothing that has kept him down for too long.  He surprised us all when he and Andrew decided to take a bike ride down from Brianhead.  His comment about this ride was "I may be sick but I'm still going to live!".  I thought , Good for You!, so on Friday I drove Cole and Taleena, Duke and Daniel, and Andrew and Holly Christensen to the trailhead, dropped them off  then picked them up 2 hours later at the "old camping spot" at the bottom.  They all made it with not too many bruises.  Cole's leg gave out a few times but he never wrecked!  He did have one mishap, his left foot, mostly his toe got caught between his peddle and a rock.  The left side is his numb side but his foot is extremely sensitive because the nerve endings are crazy.  His toe is black and blue and he'll loose the toenail for sure.  But they had a good time and enjoyed the ride.

Great Success with the Fundraiser!

Before catching you all up on this weeks events I wanted to let you know how the fundraiser went last week.  It was a great day.  Many people showed up to help and those coming to support kept us busy all day!  The owners of the Raindance Carwash and Laundry-mat were very gracious to let us use the car wash and they also helped that day with the fundraiser!
Thanks Pamela for organizing this event and to the many people that helped her.  I am so grateful to all of you.  This event raised probably twice what we guessed it would, $1,160!  Cole and Taleena will put the money to good use :)  
Thanks again to all involved.  It amazes me how generous and supportive you all are.  I can't say thank you enough... THANK YOU!!

Sunday, September 2, 2012

Some of you may know Cole and Taleena's GOOD news!  They came down for a visit a few weeks ago.  This is how they shared their news with us. . .
When they came in Cole had his hat on and prior to taking it off he said, "I am going to be a ...", and showed us his head.  :D  Cole and Taleena are having a baby!!!!  We are very excited for them!  Cole's hair was going to start falling out so he decided to have Taleena buzz his head.  Then they decided to shave "Dad" into his hair to tell us the news. 

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

How this "adventure" all began...

   Sometime during the first part of December, Cole started telling us that the back upper part of his leg was hurting.  At first we figured he must have pulled a muscle.  But it didn't get better.  In fact his leg would go numb off and on.  We figured he must have hurt his back to cause the pain and numbness, but Cole couldn't think of anytime that he could have harmed his back. 
    At the end of the Spring semester, Cole and Taleena were heading to Texas to sell alarm systems.  Cole went to a doctor before he left and the doctor gave him some stretches to do to help his back muscles.  He told him if the stretches didn't help that it wasn't muscle related and he would need to get an MRI to figure out what was going on. 
    So off to Texas they went.  Cole would have good days and bad days until it got to the point that he was in extreme pain and called one morning telling me he was on his way to the emergency room because he was in so much pain. 
     His experience in the hospital was terrible.  The emergency doctor basically treated Cole as if he was just there to get pain meds.  Cole tried to tell him he needed an MRI and the doctor just got obstinate and said "Do you want pain medicine or not?"  Of course he did, but he also wanted to find out what was wrong.  Needless to say Cole and Taleena left the hospital pretty frustrated.
     About a week later they went to a different hospital and there they got some help.  They were referred to a doctor but that also lead to a dead end still not getting the MRI Cole needed.  Duke and I both asked Cole if he had talked to the bishop to get a blessing.  That Sunday they were able to talk to the bishop and he gave Cole a blessing.  In the blessing Cole was told that he needed to take care of it now.  They packed up the next day and the following morning left for Utah. 
     Cole and Taleena went to see her family and spend the 4th of July there before coming to Cedar to see the doctors here.  While they were in Sanpete they ran into my sister Janeen and her son Morgan.  They visited with them and I got a call that night from a very concerned sister.  She said Cole didn't look good and she was very worried.  I am thankful for that call because I might have passed off my feeling as being a paranoid mother but since she saw it too I knew I was not just being over protective.  I made an appointment for him on the morning of the 6th.  When they left the doctor's office they were told the hospital would call and let them know when his appointment would be to get the MRI.
      We waited and waited and no call.  Seeing your child in pain put a parent into action/ fix it mode.  I called the hospital and they said the lady scheduling wouldn't be in until Monday.  I called the doctors office and asked them if they could fax Cole's information down to St. George and we would go there.  I felt such urgency and wanted it done as soon as possible.  They said they could do that.  About 20 minutes later we got a call from the Cedar Hospital telling us they could get Cole in within 40 minutes for the MRI.  This was an answer to my prayers. 
     On Monday they had an appoinment with the doctor to let them know the results of the MRI.  I was at the school trying to get my class organized when I got the call from Cole.  When I answered Cole said, "I have cancer."  I started to say, "are you kidding" but by his tone I knew he wouldn't tease me about such a serious matter and I broke down.  When I got control I asked him what  the doctor had said.  The doctor thought it was Ewings Sarcoma but more tests would have to be run to make sure.
     That night our whole family went to be with Cole and Taleena.  That day was one of the hardest days ever.  Duke and Jake, gave Cole and Taleena blessings that night and we are very encouraged that all will be well.  It is the journey to get to that end that will be the challenge.  Cole and Taleena have such faith and I know that they will be blessed through this expereince.   When I start to get anxious I remember the blessing and know Cole will be well again.
     Our Dr. in Cedar refered Cole to a surgeon in Salt Lake that specializes in that type of cancer and they made an appointment to see him.  Before they went up north, Cole had a CT scan, another MRI and a bone scan.  In Salt Lake they took a biopsy and said it would take a week to get the results.  So we decided to take the family and go on our planned vacation along the Oregon Coast. 
     The whole family (minus Kurtis because of working conflicts) loaded up in the motor home for a week long party! It started off really good, beautiful senery and it was great being together, but the last few days Cole's medicine was not working and the pain was getting really bad.  I panicked a few times and wanted to just get home.  We made it back to Salt Lake to his appointment and met with the medical oncologist.  The doctors had decided that the tumor was too large to remove so the first step in the process would be chemo to shrink the tumor.
     We had a few scares before Cole started chemo July 31st.  His leg started swelling and he gained 15 pounds in his leg.  This basically happened overnight.  After the first day of chemo it went down 3 pounds then the following day another 3 pounds and by the end of the weekend it was back to normal.  Another miracle and answer to many prayers and fasting.  Thank you all for your prayers!  They have brought tender mercies to our family.
     Cole had two sessions of chemo that first week.  Then he had the next week off.  The next week he had chemo everyday for 3-5 hours.  He has had side effects after each week but he has kept a good attitude and he is our hero.  Taleena is our hero as well. She takes such good care of him.  They are so blessed to have each other!  They are facing this with faith, optimism and strength.
     This week Cole was supose to start his second round of chemo but he was low on platelettes and so on Tuesday he had a blood transfusion. After another week of recouping they will see if he is able to resume chemo.
     Thanks again for all the prayers, love and support!  You all have been so generous and caring.  We have amazing friends and family!  : D