Tuesday Afternoon.

This is Tuesday afternoon–our 6 week “anniversary”–we went to
Christiana this morning and made out very well again–by the way, a
correction on Melanie’s IVIG–it was to boost the immunoglobulin–I
said white count–this afternoon, we met with Dr. Miller, who went
over plans for the near future in terms of chemotherapy –they plan to
treat the low stage Burkitt’s lymphoma (the orange size mass in the
colon) starting tomorrow if all goes as planned–early morning, we’ll
go downstairs for a CT scan of the entire mid-section to make sure
there are no infections going on–the reason for this is because her
white count was a little elevated and they don’t want an infection to
be starting when they start chemo–
Melanie is out for therapy at the time–not a favorite activity,
but a very necessary one–I took a picture of her with her therapists
and she smiled a little bit–the Dr. told her that they call them
“physical terrorists”–she would like to agree!
We discussed plans for coming home, and as it appears now we will be
home Monday afternoon to early evening–with chemo having begun, we
felt it would be best to stay up yet for Monday’s treatment, instead
of turning around and coming back to duPont and also Christiana.
I’m sure we’ll have to adapt to a different lifestyle for awhile,
but know that God is interested in only giving to us His very
best–there is a lot of comfort in knowing that he will not give us
more than we can handle–Continue to pray for strength for what seems
will be a long journey, and through the process that we would be more
like our Master–Love to all–Marty & Lori–Lauren, Joelle, Melanie,
Cameron & Jana

Monday Evening

This is Monday evening–we went for the first radiation treatment at
Christiana today–Melanie made out pretty good–we had to stop and get
a soft pretzel for her before coming back to duPont–her appetite has
been almost insatiable!  The ambulance driver was an 18 year old that
took us on Friday also–he was telling me today that after he met
Melanie on Friday, it really affected him to the point of making him
take a good look at his own life–he said he just couldn’t forget
her–it made him very grateful for a lot he had taken for granted-
This afternoon they infused her with IVIG-the replacement protein
that is low–it will boost her white blood count–she did very well
with that–I also met Dr. Powell coming off the elevator–he told me
that pathology from Jefferson had said the lymph nodes from the lower
colon area are clear–we are again most grateful for yet another
direct answer to our prayers!  Dr. Miller, another oncologist, came in
and said they want to try to wean Melanie off the liquid nutrition,
and if she does well with eating and drinking, we may be coming home
by the weekend–we can hardly dare to hope–but I think our hopes are
pretty high–We really have missed Sunday services, and many other
happenings that go along with daily routine–
Dr. Powell also met with us this afternoon and is wanting us to meet
with Dr. Masters from Christiana–he has asked his input on treatment
for Melanie’s lower colon cancer, since it is more of an “adult”
cancer. He also said that this treatment will probably take place
after the other radiation and chemo have been done–he also offered at
any time he would be happy to pray with us or Melanie or all of
us–we’ll probably be back as an inpatient for chemo, which will take
us into about March–so I guess this is the beginning of many
trips and some more stays–it looks like a big assignment, but will
take one day at a time–I am not looking forward to the frequent tests
to look at progress, but know it will need to be done–I don’t enjoy
the waiting for test results–it can really send one’s mind many
places it should not be going, with lots of stress filled moments
during that wait–
Continue to pray for God’s grace and peace to fill our days as we
seek to find our place in His plans–”plans for good, and not evil,
plans for a hope and a future–to give us an expected end”–we do
appreciate the many prayers offered on our behalf–it is our only
strength and source of hope  Love to all–Marty & Lori & family

Sunday Evening.

Well, here it is Sunday evening–we have immensely enjoyed a full
day of friends & family & good food–we are finding a lot of time
passes quickly when we have things to occupy our minds–we feel so
blessed that people have not gotten tired of holding up our arms
through this journey–
Melanie has a low level of a gamma protein,(IGg) which is 289, but
should be between 640-1300. They plan to infuse her with this protein
after we come back from radiation tomorrow–there are again side
effects. We would ask you to pray that this would go well and it would
give her body what it needs to boost her immune system–On Saturday,
the Dr. in charge of her chemotherapy, told us that we have the final
say on treatment–if we ever decide this is not the plan we want to
use, we are free to tell them–it makes it tough to be the ones to
decide for her, but are trusting God to show us clearly as we go what
we should do–
We enjoyed having our children here and hope that it will only be a
few more visits for them–they are well cared for and once again we
are grateful for those that have stood along side of them–there are a
lot of things that run through one’s mind when it comes to our
children–such wonderful gifts to us, and yet it is so easy to hold
onto them as though they belong to us–how do you move forward and not
look back on wishing one could redo what is already in the past? We
continue to give our hopes, dreams, desires, and wishes to One who can
only give to us His very best–that is where we leave our future–We
continue to ask God to grant us what we need for each step of the
way–With love–the Miller’s

Saturday Afternoon.

This is Saturday afternoon–we are having a lazy day–Melanie made
out fairly good with her first treatment of Rituximab–it is a drug
used in conjunction with chemo, but is outside of the realm of being
an actual chemo drug–they premedicated her with Benadryl & Tylenol to
guard against any reaction–she was closely monitored for any changes,
especially a drop in blood pressure–at one point when the dose was
increased, she felt like it was difficult to breathe, so they slowed
the rate–it continued to run throughout the night, and she feels
pretty good at the moment. We think she will have more of this drug on
Monday. She ate breakfast and has been sitting up on the “couch” most
of the morning–it is always a good feeling to watch her when she’s
feeling good. She enjoyed a crab cake from the cafeteria for lunch,
even though she is a bit nauseous.
My parents are coming up again this afternoon so Marty & I are able
to go out for dinner–we are looking forward to this, and we think
Melanie is secretly glad to have a change in scenery–she is still
worn out easily, but is getting stronger. She said she didn’t want me
to wheel her down to the cafeteria because of “germs”–she is thinking
a lot about school too, and we told her that when treatments are done,
and her white blood count is where it needs to be, she can go to
school. We continue to be blessed with many reminders of people who
care for us, and are grateful once again for people who have stood by
us over these 5+ weeks–we know it is a sacrifice to say the least, to
have cared for us, not only here, but also for the rest of us at
home–I personally will never be able to write all the “thank-you’s”
that should have been written, but want each of you to know, we are
deeply grateful–we do get and read all the e-mails, comments, mail,
phone messages, and ETC. and ETC.–we do ask God to bless you for
blessing us–we love and appreciate each one of you! Marty &
Lori–Lauren, Joelle, Melanie, Cameron, & Jana

Friday Evening.

This is Friday evening–Today Melanie was taken to Christiana for
more prep work for radiation treatments. Dr. Powell is starting a
cancer drug today to deal with the lymphoma, it is not chemo but
targets lymphoma as well as a few good cells, so her blood counts will
need to be monitored closely. The actual radiation treatments will
begin Monday. Dr. Powell thinks we may be here for another ten or
twelve days, so we’re figuring two weeks. The fact that Melanie has 3
different types of cancer going on complicates the treatment process.
The cancer that was found in her lower remaining colon,( that was
removed Monday) is an adult cancer, so the Drs here are consulting
specialists elsewhere to get treatment feedback. Melanie is gradually
feeling better since surgery, her appetite is coming back nicely.
Thanks to all of our wonderful supporters, we would feel so alone
without you. I’m finding it important to take one day at a time, if
you let your mind play the “what if” game there’s no end to it. Even
tho satan is a defeated foe he still tries his best to throw a wrench
where he can. Some of you know what it’s like to be in life’s blender.
Trusting is always easier to give lip service to than really truly
resolve your will to the One who has our eternal best interest at
heart. What is the true nature of faith? Is it wishing for light when
He wants to extend His hand in the darkness? Is it wishful thinking?
Is faith and prayer some kind of magic wand to get what I want? Or is
true faith knowing we can ask our Father for anything, but only He
knows what will be best for us. We have already seen God work and move
on our behalf. We are created by God to live eternally. We all have
expectations of what our life was “supposed” to be. Sometimes God’s
voice is heard more clearly through disappointment. But I still say
that the blessings far outweigh the negatives. If this sounds like I’m
rambling it’s because I am… May all of our trials and triumphs blow
our ships heavenward, the love of God anchor us, His grace sustain
us, and His mercy renew our hope. Your love is tangible and it means
everything.

Marty for all of us.

Thursday Evening.

This is Thursday evening–a day filled with many mixed emotions, not
sure why except that it is really beginning to feel that this is a
very long journey. Having people do for our family what I as a mom
always enjoyed doing, and now can’t, leaves me feeling a little sad
and weary of not having a “normal” routine–it has also been hard to
just focus on today, and not allow fear, thoughts of self-pity, and
the unknown to not enter a mind that has a lot of time to think and
contemplate life–I do try to be strong for Melanie, but do not always
get it done–she is more like herself today, and as long as her pain
is under control, is in good spirits and loves to eat–she had a “to
order” steak for lunch!
 Tomorrow morning we go to Christiana for some testing for radiation
which is scheduled for Monday–depending on when we get back, we may
start one chemotherapy drug, if we’re not too late–otherwise it will
be on Saturday. We are still looking at possibly another week or more
of being an inpatient here–then will drive back and forth for
radiation at Christiana, but chemotherapy will be done here at
duPont–it is still not real clear how long, and other details will be
worked out as we go–
 Please continue to lift us to the Father–we know and choose to
believe He does have our best in mind, even when we can’t always
“feel” it–the phases of reality are sometimes hard-hitting and tough
to always process “correctly”–though we have found God’s strength to
be sufficient–we do desire to learn to be more like our Creator, but
are finding we don’t always learn so easily–we appreciate you all
standing along side of us in so many ways–we love you! Lori for the
Miller’s

PS–I forgot to add that at 2:30 this morning, Melanie’s ostomy began
to work–when the surgeon came in around 6:00 am he found her “bag”
filled with about 50 cc–the reason this was so exciting for us is
that they had told her no more food or drink for a day or two–but
since her stomach started working, they had no choice but to let her
eat–we are very grateful for this small answer to prayer!

Wednesday Evening.

This is late Wednesday evening–we had a better day as far as pain
control–we moved back to our previous room, but just before we did,
the nursing head, Ms. Rossi asked if we had any objections to the News
Journal taking a few pictures with a 5 year cancer survivor that was
back at duPont as a volunteer–he was to help escort us back to our
room–Melanie said that would be OK–we didn’t even have time to fix
her hair! We got settled back in our room– we did not have our
meeting with the Dr.’s–we figure it will come later. This afternoon
Mel got so hungry–the resident Dr. said she could go ahead and
eat–she wanted tomato sandwiches and salsa and chips–what a choice
for a very empty stomach–I met Dr. Powell outside the door and he
said he never had anyone go from NPO to a tomato sandwich–all was
well until the surgeons, Dr. Katz & Dr. Vinocur came to check on
her–they said no eating or much drinking until her stomach starts to
work–they also wanted her out of bed and sitting for awhile–well,
she wasn’t too happy about their orders, but soon realized if her
stomach is going to work she needs to get up and move–she sat in the
chair for about 2 hours!
Our prayer tonight would be that she would heal and be strong enough
to begin treatment, as well as her pain would be diminished so she can
go off the morphine–it was really hard on one particular nurse and
doctor to see Melanie not really be herself because of pain–we have
grown to love our wonderful caregivers– as much as we want to go
home, it will be hard to leave as well–thanks for carrying us through
this long journey with your prayers and special ways of showing much
kindness to us–We love you all–Marty & Lori & family

Dr. Powell (before last surgery)

Ron

Doriece, Alisa, Will, Haley, Janae

Shannon

Tim/Regina Nelson/Monica

Eileen

A silly Sunday afternoon

Trent, Tom, Katelyn, Sadie

Bob, Sandy, Mom Mom (Linda), Esther, Henry, John, Lucy, Kevin

Quinton, Emily, Nancy, Janette, Elvin

Surgeons Vinocur and Katz

Kim

Val

(Right to left) Pam, Sarah, and friend

Tuesday Afternoon.

This is Tuesday afternoon a little after 2:00- exactly 5 weeks that
we have been here–We were moved last night to a different room
because of maintenance–we will be moved back to our same room
Wednesday morning–we found that the room we had was a little “suite”,
so we’ll be glad to go back there–
After yesterday’s update, we met with Dr. Vinocur–he told us that
had we not come when we did, Melanie’s colon would have ruptured and
would have been critically ill–he expressed no question in his mind
that they did the right thing in surgery–I told him that is
specifically what we had asked God for–we are so grateful–Last
night, we had a little problem with Mel’s breathing–there was some
apnea–which is too long of a space when taking the next breath–they
felt because of the anesthesia still in her system, she was probably
getting too much morphine–so after trial and error through the night
and also today, at the moment she is resting comfortably –she is very
cautious about moving any of her body because of the pain–
Dr. Powell, one of the oncologists, was in a little while ago–we
were discussing pain management–he asked if there was anything else
we were to discuss–we said we’d like to know about the kidney
biopsy–he said when he called pathology he had to fight back the
tears–they are only cysts!  Dr. Powell said “Thank-you Jesus!”  –we
were right behind him–he also said he is praying for us–we cannot
begin to know how God moves, except in His own way—we have seen a
very direct answer to this specific prayer for which we are so
grateful– Dr. Powell wants to have a “big meeting” with us tomorrow
to discuss further plans, but in consultation with the others, also
said they need a week of recovery before any treatment begins–Once
again we are asking you all to pray for treatment plans to be
effective and that the Dr.’s would use careful judgment in choosing
Melanie’s treatment–and for our other children also, even though our
contacts are limited, they would be able to use this experience to
understand the true character of our Heavenly Father, and not become
doubtful of His wisdom– we miss you all so much and look forward to
the day when we can be at home again together–thanks for loving and
caring so much for us!  Marty & Lori & family

Monday Evening.

This is Monday about 5:15 pm–our Melanie has been through a lot
today–she went into the OR around 8:00 am, and they began the actual
surgery a little after 9:00–they soon decided they would have to go
to her old incision and actually make it a little longer–they removed
all the remaining colon and some surrounding tissue because the
cancerous polyp had spread into the wall–while there, they did the
open kidney biopsy. Our very good surgeons, Dr. Vinocur and Dr. Katz
worked together and are very pleased with how the surgery went–Dr.
Vinocur met with us after surgery and said he believes that the kidney
biopsy is only cysts–we really hope he is right but will know for
sure tomorrow afternoon–he also mentioned that with the Turcot
syndrome, the brain tumor will respond more positively than if she
didn’t have it–at this point, as far as their job is concerned, all
the visible cancer is gone–we should be able to start treatment yet
this week.
Melanie is in tremendous pain–is on Morphine and other meds as
well–it is always good to know that in a few days, pain will be much
less as she heals–thanks once again for your prayers and keep praying
for her to be able to bounce back from this last surgery–and that her
determined spirit would benefit her treatment–We love you–Marty &
Lori & family

Sunday Evening.

This is Sunday evening and Melanie is almost done with another colon
prep for tomorrow’s surgery–she said today–”Why does everybody bring
good food when I can’t eat?”–she set the popcorn in front of her and
just sniffed to satisfy her food cravings, and also put a pizza crust
in her mouth without eating it! She will be going for colon surgery @
7:45 am–at that time they will decide how much of the lower colon
area will need to be removed–there are 2 polyps which show cancer on
the inside and they need to determine whether it has spread to the
base or stem of the polyps or if it is contained–if it has spread to
the base or wall, the surgeons will remove a larger portion of the
surrounding area–if not, they will remove what has to go, and still
try to leave a very small piece to reattach–it feels like I am
repeating myself, so if you get that same feeling, it is probably
because so much can change in a matter of hours. They are also not
sure if the kidney biopsy was effective, so they may do an “open”
biopsy of the kidney tomorrow as well, while she is under anesthesia
anyway.
This afternoon, my sister and family brought 2 of our children
along–Dr. Powell came into the room and asked for Marty to play
something on the guitar (it is Dr. Powell’s guitar). We all sang
together “Blessed be the Name of the Lord”–just good to again remind
ourselves that God continues to place people in our path to encourage
us-
Tomorrow will be a big day for Melanie and we are again asking for
God to do His work in her body–He certainly knows better than we do,
and we’re trusting Him to give the surgeons much wisdom as they again
do one more operation–especially decisiveness and clearness of
thinking to be very sure of the decisions they will make– Melanie
would’ve preferred that they leave a small piece to reattach but is
understanding that the Dr.’s will have the final word on that–Thanks
for praying again–we have really felt God’s much needed peace as we
journey through this valley–We love and appreciate you all so
much–Lori for the Miller’s