Tina's in Houston at MD Anderson!

About two weeks ago, Tina had a Pet Scan done to check on the progression/regression of the cancer. It showed that the cancer in her organs (liver, lungs, chest nodules) has shrunk. (yea!) Unfortunately, the cancer in her bones has spread. That's why she's looking to MD Anderson to find a treatment that will help with both.

Tina has been trying to get into MD Anderson since her hospital in Philadelphia told her to get second opinions and try to get into any clinical trials. This trip was pushed back due to her hip surgery. That healed nicely and on Thursday, she and my mom made the trip.

Thursday was also Tina's 33rd birthday! They spent the evening celebrating with our family in the Houston area. We're really lucky to have family that is near the hospital that is willing (and happy) to help. Tina and my mom are staying at Debi and Joe's house, our cousins. Debi is the one that organized the Tina's Texas Team Mother's Day Walk last year. She's getting everything ready again for the walk coming up in May.



Since she doesn't have appointments on the weekends, they drove to Austin to come visit me and to see her best friend, Casey. For Tina's birthday we went to our favorite restaurant, The Melting Pot. OMG, YUM! I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate...you know, other than a cure for cancer.

She has an appointment with the specialist at MD Anderson on Wednesday to find out what type of treatment they recommend. Depending on what that is, they may treat her there, or hopefully, the hospital will relay the information to CTCA in Philly so she can be back with Paul and Ashley. I know it's hard for her to be away from them and equally hard on them.

Wedding plans will be getting going very soon and very quickly. She's thinking June 26, 2010. Clear your calendars!

Update

Tina was at the hospital on Friday. Instead of getting chemo, they gave her fluids and some IV pain medication. They are holding off on the chemo to see if she can get into MD Anderson soon for the trials and second opinions. If they don't hear by Monday or Tuesday about a date to go, they will start chemo back up until they hear from MD Anderson.

She is going to get a PET Scan on Tuesday to check out the status of the cancer. She has a follow up with the surgeon to have the stictches taken out and for him to check the site.

I'll give more updates after the PET scan results come in.

Ugh, Surgery

While Tina was in the hospital earlier this week, the doctors made a discovery. She was getting an MRI done to check on the nerves in her lower extremities to figure out what was causing the pain. They found that she has fractured her right hip. Oddly enough, this is not what's causing the pain, but it's a good thing that they caught it now because it's not displaced.

They scheduled surgery for Saturday. I got to talk to her just before she went in yesterday. She sounded good, not nervous at all. My mom said it went very well. The docs put in three pins to make sure it's fully stable. The last time, when she fractured her left hip, she was up in one day walking. This time the recovery will be a little longer, but they should release her in about three days.

I do have to say, the title of this blog is really true, lots of ups and downs lately. Hopefully we'll be able to stay away from the latter. There's a homonymal joke (yes, I just made up that word) in there about ladders and elevators, but I'll leave that one alone.

Tina Update

Tina went to Philadelphia today for a chemo treatment. She's been in a lot of pain over the last few days. When she went and described her pain, they opted not to do the lumbar puncture and the chemo through her spine today. Instead they admitted her overnight tonight and most likely tomorrow night.

I hate to hear that she's in pain, but the good news is that the hospital has a lot of drugs to make her more comfortable. I talked to her about an hour ago and she said she was feeling much better. What a relief.

Right now she's hanging out with my mom and doing whatever she can not to be bored. It's difficult when you're stuck in a bed, but she does have the Internet. Write a comment on here, send her an email or contact her on Facebook. She always loves to hear that you're thinking of her. I love you all for your support. Keep those prayers and positive thoughts coming.

The Good News Continues

I received a call while at CTCA just before I went to the airport. It was from The Dream Foundation. They make dreams come true for adults. I spoke with the representative today and got great news. Since wedding plans are underway and it might be a difficult dream to fulfill, they have decided to go with Tina's back up dream. The Dream Foundation, in conjunction with the Memories of Love foundation, is sending Tina, Paul, Peyton and Ashley to Disney World. It's six days and five nights including park tickets, airfare and meals. This is incredible.

There is one draw-back. The trip includes the family of four, but not my mother who is Tina's caretaker. It makes sense that they only include two adults since usually the other is the caretaker. Since Tina won't be able to go on all the rides and the kids are too young to go alone, if Paul went, Tina would be left by herself and you know how long those lines can get. My mom is also there day in and day out; they have their routine down. I'm going to try to raise money to pay for my mom's airfare, the additional money for the room, and food/expenses. I know this may not sound like a worthy cause, but it is the only way to grant Tina's wish. If you can help, please donate to the right, anything helps.

Everyone has been so amazing and now that help is coming in (finally), it really does relieve some of the financial burden.

Right now I'm working on wedding plans for June. Most items/services have been donated, but we're still looking for invitations, the reception hall, and a caterer; the latter being the two most expensive wedding services. Tina's "Wedding Team" is also working on ways to get all of the details taken care of. Thanks to everyone for all your support!

An Amazing Christmas Present

I have sent applications and letters to many different charities. When possible, I try not to tell Tina about it so she doesn't get her hopes up. Yesterday, she got quite a surprise in the mail.

An old friend of mine is a lawyer and he is on the board of the firm's charity board. He and Tina were in the same optimist club together so he knew of her story. He emailed me an application. I've been waiting with great anticipation for a couple months now, hoping she would get it and not able to tell her about it. She called me today to tell me she got a big check. Her insurance is now covered until she and Paul get married, as long as there aren't any other financial set backs.

Jon Lomurro and his father's law firm, Lomurro, Davidson, Eastman & Munoz, in Freehold, NJ has given this family such an amazing gift. There are no words to describe how grateful I am. It WILL be a great Christmas afterall, not necessarily for the money, but what the money represents. It has created an assurance that Tina doesn't need to worry about where the money will come from. She has more important things to concentrate on like Paul, Ashley, and staying as healthy as she can possibly be.

As for an update, she is going in for a lumbar puncture this week. That's also known as a spinal tap. I told her to make sure they go to 11. :)

Although the people at the hospital poke and prod her, give her medication that makes her sick, and litterally pump poison into her body, she's making them muffins for Christmas. Is she crazy?! Just kidding. Those people do amazing work and I'm very thankful that they're doing everything they can for her.

They suggested that Tina find trials and get second and third opinions. She is going to try to get an appointment at MD Anderson which is the best cancer hospital in the country. The good news about that is she'll be close to more family.

I really only want one thing for Christmas this year...a cure for cancer. Please pray that my Christmas wish comes true. Merry Christmas to everyone!

Countdown to Christmas

It's been a crazy month and I haven't updated this in a while. I had to move so I've been mighty distracted and for that I apologize.

Tina's daily radiation is finally over. She had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday to discuss their next steps. They won't do another scan of her brain for a little while since even though she's not getting the radiation, it doesn't mean that it's not still working on the lesions. The doctor has put her on two different chemos. If these don't work as well as we want them to, there are three more options. See, donating to cancer research really does help.

The countdown to Jersey has begun...just 12 more days! I'm so excited. We've got family coming in from Minnesota too. I hope to see snow and I'll love watching Ashley open up her gifts, but I'm so looking forward to seeing Tina. In all her recent pictures she looks fantastic!