I just want to sing this morning...
"God is so good.
God is so good.
God is so good. He's so good to me.
He loves me so!
He loves me so!
He loves me so! He's so good to me!"
We had a great visit with the doc this morning. James' blood counts are all making their way back from being beaten so far down by the first two chemos. Everything is almost within normal limits and his AFP has decreased! It has made a small drop and we are grateful for it! We are at MD Anderson for the 3rd round of chemo. James' next chemo treatment should be somewhere around August 10 and he will have scans sometime after that!
~Praise~
- James is feeling so much better!
- God is meeting all of our needs just as He said He would!
- "19 And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. 20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. " Philippians 4:19-20
- Aunt Donna is feeling better from her treatment last week and she only has one more treatment to go!
~Prayer~
- Please say a prayer for my sister and her family as they set out on a ten day road trip!
- James continues to get stronger and heal from past treatments and stays healthy so this chemo can kick this thing!
Don't forget to email Lauren to purchase your wristbands! She's got plenty of 'em!
Much love to all! Have a blessed Wednesday!
Amy
James went to the doc on Friday and got this second dose of the new chemo. He's has some mild tummy issues but nothing as bad as he experienced with the previous two chemos. Continue to pray that he will continue to recover from the previous chemos and pray the new chemo will be effective! He will have scans after three months on the new chemo!
Loving a rainy night,
Amy
As a fundraiser for James and Amy, I am selling silicone reminder wristbands. They are available in green, the liver cancer awareness color, and camouflage with the words "Always Abell" imprinted. The wristbands come in three sizes: Large, Medium and Child. Large bands are 8 3/8" around, medium bands are 7 3/8" around and child bands are 5 7/8" around. I am asking for $2/band or a donation to James and Amy of your choice. You can donate via paypal using the button on the right sidebar or mail donations to James and Amy. Please email your orders or questions to me at abellwristbands@gmail.com Please include: mailing address, quantity, sizes, and colors desired! Please indicate if you plan to mail your donation and I will send you the mailing address. I will begin distributing the bands July 25.
Thank you in advance for supporting my brother and sister in law.
Lauren
James' Sister
It has been a while but I am happy to report that all is well around here! James is feeling fine and looking good. He went to the coast to fish yesterday with his buddy from work and got a little sun/wind burned. Besides being beat from a day in the sun, he is doing just fine! As it stands now, he will get blood work, see the doc and have another round of chemo next Friday, June 15. We're hoping for another uneventful round!
If you are busy tonight, come by UPS for some BBQ benefitting James and Geno! We'll be out there from 5:30 until 10!
Be blessed my blog friends!!!
Amy
What is causing the pain in his side?
- The tumor. We have to remember he is sporting an 8 cm mass on his liver. Changes in the tumor or too much activity can aggravate the tumor and cause pain.
Why is James running fever?
- It is tumor fever. The doc keeps sending us to the ER because if there is an infection in the liver it could be dangerous. However, James' blood work and cultures continue to prove his liver is functioning fine and it is just the tumor causing the fever.
- Unless James develops new symptoms, we do not have to go to the ER for fever anymore.
What is causing James to be so anemic?
- Iron deficiency caused by so much chemo.
- Because of so much chemo, his body is not producing red blood cells as fast and the red blood cells are not lasing as long in circulation.
- All these things will fix themselves in time. For now, I am working in extra red meat, leafy green veggies, and beans into the diet.\
Is surgery still an option?
- No. Dr. Curley is not willing to risk doing surgery at this time. It is too hard to tell how many lymphnodes are involved and the risk of leaving affected ones behind is too great.
No surgery, no clinical trials, now what?
- Another new chemo. It is not specific to germ cell tumors but has strength to possibly take care of this!
- Perks
- This chemo is totally different than anything else we've tried.
- It is, to quote our favorite doc, "a helluva lot" easire on James' body.
- No major organs are affected.
- Counts should not drop as low. The two WBC shots should not be needed.
- This new schedule is the easiest one yet...Three hours, One day a week, Every other week!
- Side effects
- James has to be on a pump for 48hrs after chemo. This has been his only complaint all along
- Numbness and tingling in the fingers and toes but nothing permanent
- Might not work but there are no guarntees in this life, right?
- Can cause some tummy troubles but we have a pharmacy of nausea meds so we should be set!
I am working as much as possible this week. James and Tate will be chillin at home out of this awful heat! I will share some pics of our KY trip soon!
Love to all!
Amy
