The Fight

This will be a continual update on our dad's journey to fight and beat cancer. We will do our best to update weekly if not more as we receive news and as he continues thru his treatments. We hope to keep as many people informed as we can thru this process. Please continue to keep both he and my mom in your prayers as they will need added strength, love, and support as they push thru. We are so grateful to all who have already done so much - please know that we appreciate everything! We are looking to the future - and will pray it is as Bright as our Faith!

Friday, September 26, 2014

More News/Udpates

It has been an eventful couple of weeks for this Cancer Champion.  The last update was regarding a Dr's visit they were going to have to make on their way back from seeing a new grand-baby.  That Dr's visit led to 2 rounds of Radiation on Rick's back.  It was an extremely difficult decision for my parents to make (to opt for this treatment).  It is not a treatment plan/option that any of the Dr's had ever discussed with them previous and all of the sudden - they were being asked to make this huge decision in just a matter of 24 hours.  The information provided gave them information on how - by them doing this treatment - it would alleviate some of the pain/stress that was in the broken back area.  That is the only area that the radiation was concentrated.  One (of many) reasons given as to why this would be good - was because that was where they discovered the problem...so they knew that the bones in that area were already a problem - why not help them?!?  So - that is exactly what they did.  Last week - Rick ended up going in for the two rounds of radiation and this proved to be a little harder on him than the chemo.  He was still a CHAMP - but got nauseous and really tired.

While in Salt Lake - they also did another bone marrow biopsy to see where his numbers are at this point.  So - they will have a starting point when transplant time comes on how much they really need to do for him.  We are waiting for those results.

I am pretty sure that Big Rickie is wishing he didn't come back to Logan - because this week - he was dragged to the dentist for a cleaning - to learn that he needed a couple of wisdom teeth pulled.  So - that happened the other day - POOR GUY!  I guess when it rains - it pours...right :)

Now - we play the waiting game again.  We are now waiting to hear when he needs to be in Salt Lake again for them to start harvesting his stem cells/bone marrow for cleansing to prepare for the transplant.  We are praying to hear that news in the next couple days.  Again - thank you to ALL for your thoughts, prayers, words, and love at this time.  It is such a strength!


Please don't forget to help if you can...every little bit helps!

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Donate - Donate - Donate

Big Rick had his last chemo treatment last Thursday - he was able to enjoy a weekend in Manti visiting a new grandbaby and while there - they received a phone call from the Huntsman Center to meet with the Dr.  The visit was initially scheduled for the 26th - so we are praying they moved it up so that we can begin treatments sooner.

With the transplant happening soon - my parents are going to have to find a place in Salt Lake to live for 20-40 days while he goes thru the rigorous process of the transplant.  This is an out of pocket expense as the insurance doesn't cover something like that.  They will also be paying out of pocket for a lot of the transplant expenses - so we have set up a Fundraiser sight to help them out.  Please feel free to donate what you can - even the smallest amount helps!

We are continually in awe of the outpouring of love and support from so many people.  Please know that each of you hold a special place in our heart and we ask for continued thoughts and prayers and we enter this new phase.

Donate here:

WOW - i am way behind!

I can't believe it has been since July that this has been updated.  Can I just take a moment and apologize to those who are keeping up with the journey thru the blog and not thru Facebook.  My mom has done a fantastic job at updating Facebook with their journey and - i just forget to transfer that information here to the blog.  So - here it goes...i will just copy and paste the continued updates from her so that you are up to date!

🌲🌲🌲🎣🎣🎣🌲🌲🌲🎣🎣🎣
We are finished with 2 rounds of chemo.
THIS IS HIS WEEK OFF.
We are headed to the Unita Mountains to fish for the coming weekend. Rick found new confidence at I ur reunion at Lava Hot Springs......so here we are packing the trailer & headed to Roosevelt, Utah & up the Uinta Canyon.
Jami & her kids; Nikolai & Nina will come Thursday.
Kelly & Aydre; Sunny & Junior will come Friday.
When we get back next Monday, we will go in to the Dr. and at that time there will be extra blood work & tests done to see where Rick is at in his battle with this bone marrow cancer.
When the results are back the Dr. will call us for a consult and we will know if Rick will qualify for bone marrow transplant.
🙏🙏
Please keep us in your prayers❤️

😑😕😬😑😕😬😟😮😕😯😶😬😮😑😦😟
We waited & waited at the Dr.s office only to be told that Rick's results were not back and they had NO NEWS for us. I could only say that I hoped no news was good news. Seems like we have waited a long time to know if the chemo is working for us. So now all of you know exactly as much as we know...NOTHING. Will post when we get the results.



💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥🎈🎉
Finally results worth hearing about💚💚💚💚💚
6-17-2014. Immunoglobulins. 1067
8-11-2014. Immunoglobulins. 245
Dramatic change showing we are kicking this cancer in the butt.
Another marker showing an abnormal pattern was
6-17-2014. Pattern. 872
8-11-2014. Pattern. 107.69
They are (💥as we speak💥) scheduling an appointment for Salt Lake to talk to Drs. Out there for BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT.



ANOTHER POURING OF GOOD NEWS
All of Rick's kidney markers have returned to within the range of normal. In June when we received the cancer diagnosis, we were also told that Rick's kidneys were failing. On another note the Huntsman Cancer Center in Salt Lake called us today to begin the process of verifying that Rick is a quality candidate for bone marrow transplant.


This was our lucky day. Forgot to give Rick all his cancer pills. Had to go home and get them. Returning home I noticed these babies roll over. Geez I wondered are 7's still
Lucky? Then a few hours later the Huntsman Cancer Center in Salt Lake City/Bone Marrow Transplant Unit called & said our paper work has gone thru unusually fast....within days & they told us it would take weeks. They were calling to say that when at the first of the week they had told us to plan on October. Well....would it be possible for us to begin the process next Wednesday at 10:00
It will be a full day of information. First off. Social workers will screen us to make sure we can handle the process. Nurses will instruct me on care. We will meet the Dr and consult with him and be give a date when we can come back after Rick's fourth round of chemo


NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN-N-E--R-V-O-U-S-SSSSSSSESSS
We are on I-15 headed to the Huntsman Cancer Center. This is OUR BIG DAY. We've got ALL our paper work with us. They let us know in BLACK & WHITE that on average (and we know RICK isn't any average guy) these treatments have a research history of extending life expectancy 10yrs. Whereas in the 1990's that number was only 3-4, depending on health factors.
This is the first time the bone marrow unit has "eyeballed" Rick. We are expecting a lot of general information & then
The date of when the bone transplant can begin.
Stay tuned!!!!!!!!!


Welllll, my heart is full. We were told so much yesterday I have been overwhelmed to try & post. So just look at the picture I just posted. That is Rick's absolutely favorite place in the whole world. We had a bitter-sweet week there the first of August. Rick loves to fly fish. He hates to eat fish, but he loves to walk the Uinta river & cast out into the various spots he keeps secret & outsmart those old guys he has been catching & releasing ( even with his dad) for years. He has never used a spinning-rod & knows nothing about bait...just as someone would know nothing about wet & dry flies & when to use them. So Rick has never known how to fish, but to get out in the river. So being there with his walker and being unable to fish was a little hard to deal with. I would catch him gazing down at the river & I know we were both wondering at that time if we would both ever be back together. (Remember this was before ALL the good news).
According to our team at the Huntsman, Rick can start dreaming of getting his feet wet next summer!!!
It was amazing to be surrounded by people whose speciality is bone marrow cancer. Every comment, every question was seriously addressed.
Here's what I remember from yesterday (after helping Christy & I canned applesauce for those twins today). They started today to get everything pre authorized thru the Insurance..while that is happening Rick is to return to Dr. Ben-Jacob and do his 4th round of chemo. Then approximately Sept 26th we will return to the Huntsman and begin a 8-12 day process of stem cell collection. Those cells will be prepared somehow??? I can't remember the time frame here but they will be reintroduced to Rick's body to grow new healthily bone marrow. Along with this process, he will be given chemo. The Dr. explained in great detail how low Rick's immune system will be during this time, and how crumbie he will feel until he is able to rebuild his immune system. This reintroduction & chemo will be a separate visit to the Huntsman & we will be there 30 days.
Our Dr. was absolutely amazing. He spent over an hour with us. He probed us for questions & when Rick asked about the pain in his back that feels like a sharp knife is there. Instead of " oh darn that must be painful, or didn't we increase your pain patch to cover that......" HE SAID IT WAS COMMON WITH MULTIPLE MYELOMA PATIENTS. SO......hopefully while we are there for the 10 day stem cell collection process, we will also have a surgical procedure called Ballon Kyphoplasty for Myeloma induced Vertebral compression fractures...this is a minimally invasive surgical procedure where a type of balloon will be used to elevated the vertebra & take the pressure off the nerve that is being pinched & then bone cement is injected directly into the collapsed vertebra. Sorry, I am just overwhelmed with emotion at this point.It's just that's since Rick took that first fall in the snow coming out of the convenience store in late February....he hasn't walked without pain. Here is the Dr saying....sure we will take care of that. ANYTHING ELSE?
Sick of using the word amazing....it was amazing..


This was our lucky day.  Forgot to give Rick all his cancer pills. Had to go home and get them. Returning home I noticed these babies roll over. Geez I wondered are 7's still 
Lucky?  Then a few hours later the Huntsman Cancer Center in Salt Lake City/Bone Marrow Transplant Unit called & said our paper work has gone thru unusually fast....within days & they told us it would take weeks.  They were calling to say that when at the first of the week they had told us to plan on October.  Well....would it be possible for us to begin the process next Wednesday at 10:00☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️☀️
It will be a full day of information. First off.  Social workers will screen us to make sure we can handle the process. Nurses will instruct me on care. We will meet the Dr and consult with him and be give a date when we can come back after Rick's fourth round of chemo.

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Still Going Strong

I apologize for not keeping up to date - but I feel like there isn't really anything new to update with.  Rick is just about at the end of his 2nd round of the chemo.  His last shot is on Thursday and then he will wait a week and have his blood re-tested.  The Dr will then review his numbers and determine if he has to go through another round of the chemo - or if his numbers have dropped enough that he will be considered a good candidate to head to Salt Lakes transplant center.  We are obviously praying for the latter.

He has remained healthy and fairly strong considering this stuff is attacking his bones.  (and considering he is dealing with the broken back)  The only side effect that has come our way so far is the that his feet have started to swell and little and there are a few cancer burns coming thru on his lower legs.  He claims they aren't painful - just uncomfortable.  I guess we will take the uncomfortable to the throwing up and losing hair side effects though.

The past month his life has been full of family.  We have had two family reunions and he has braved both of them with a smile.  We recognize now - more than ever - just how important it is to have family around at times like this.  My dad is eternally grateful to those who send him kind notes, phone calls, texts, emails and stop in for visits.  We - as his family - are also very grateful to those who keep us in their thoughts, prayers, and continue to do the little things to strengthen my mom and she has taken on the role of his care provider :)  We love that woman more than anything!!

As we head in to this last shot - we ask again for your thoughts and prayers that this will bring his numbers down.

and there aint nothin like a good family pic from a family reunion :)




Thursday, June 26, 2014

Test Results...



The test results came to us on Tuesday of this week.  This big hot cakes has Multiple Myeloma.  He has the myeloma in 96% of his bone marrow.  That is not a good number at all.  In fact, that is an outrageously scary number.  The myeloma has settled in specific areas and these areas of the bones are the most painful for my dad right now.  It is concentrated in his shoulder, ribs, hips, pelvis, lower back, and upper thigh on one leg.  He is also highly anemic right now - and that is something that generally goes hand in hand with the myeloma.  His kidneys are still not functioning at a very high level either.  So - treatments are going to be heavy and hard for awhile.  It is necessary to bring that 96% number down in order for them to consider him a good candidate for bone marrow transplant.

Treatment plan:  We prayed our GUTS out and called on our family, friends, and social media to join us...because in order for him to begin the treatment right away - his insurance had to approve it by today.  Otherwise - he would be waiting until next week and that isn't something dad was prepared to do.  He wants to jump on this thing and KICK it in the butt!  So - after multiple prayers from so, SO many - we were blessed with a miracle this morning when my mom got the phone call that he is all set to start.  He went in for his first round of chemo today.  He will go in on a Thursday/Monday/Thursday/Monday cycle for two weeks and then he will have one week to rest.  He has to do that twice (so over the next 6 weeks) and then they will re-test his blood and find out where they are with their numbers.  This will determine whether he goes to Salt Lake to talk to the transplant center - or if he has to go through another 6 week round.  I know what we are hoping for!!

Again - I just want to express how grateful we are for the love and support of so many.  My parents are so overwhelmed by so many who have reached out with thoughtful words and heartfelt prayers.  There is no way for us to truly express the gratitude when the word Thanks just seems like it is not enough at this time.  We are aware of so many going through different struggles of their own and it is humbling to know that they are also thinking of us - as we are thinking and rallying for them.  The Lord is truly aware of our needs and He will carry us through.  Thank you - Thank you - Thank you!!

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Update - more tests


Dad went it for his biopsy the other day - results will not be back until Friday.  But he is also scheduled for a skeletal survey to see how solid the rest of his bones are...that happens tomorrow.  Then next Monday - he has a P.E.T scan (http://www.radiologyinfo.org/en/info.cfm?pg=pet) to check the functions of all other organs.  This is his starting line - but the news Friday is what will get us off and running.

Thank you everyone for the prayers and concern!  We can't say it enough - just how grateful we are for the strength of loved ones (here and gone) that he has behind him in this.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Where it all began...


About 2 months ago Big Rick fell.  At that time - he thought he had only hurt his shoulder and his lower back was tight.  He started to see an acupuncturist for his shoulder (along w/ his own personal massage therapists...seeing how he has 3 at his finger tips).  His shoulder recovered - but his back only got worse.  He did get in to see a Dr - who did NOTHING for him.  Told him it was probably bursitis in his hips and there wasn't really anything you could do for that.  Thankfully - there were a few that were not satisfied w/ that answer and we finally convinced him, after some scary incidents, that he needed to get an MRI done.  Off to Salt Lake he went to get the test done and the results gave us some scary - but much needed answers.  It started with a fractured lumbar (basically a broken back)...this answered his back pain.  But - within the MRI and blood work that was done - they found suspicion in his bone marrow and kidneys.  So, they ordered more tests to be done thru his primary care Dr in Idaho...which means...off they went to Idaho to have more tests done.  It was there that his Dr gave him an 85% reading that he had bone marrow cancer.  He said he could not give the 100% because he needed to see a Hematologist and have additional work done to determine the extent.  But - he had already seen the numbers in a few other patients that have fought and beat this type of bone marrow cancer.  So - those words gave us encouragement.  The Dr told him that his fall probably saved his life.  It also provided us with answers as well as a path to take to help him begin what we are calling "The Journey".

This week he will see his cancer specialist.  He had the blood work done today and they will have answers to us by Friday as to where we go from here.  This is what we know right now and again - ask for your prayers and strength to be added to ours as we help him thru this.