Everyone Deserves a Lifetime

I am VERY sorry for the lack of posts. A lot has happened since the last post. The posts slowed down because my mom was taking oral chemo, which meant no chemo photo shoots J. I’ll try my best to fill you in on all the latest news.

My mom started experiencing side effects with the oral chemo. They decided to do a CT scan and bone scan. The results from the scans were not what we were expecting. The CT scan showed that there had been no decrease in the cancer and one of the lesions on the liver had grown. The bone scan showed no improvement. So, the doctor decided to change my mom to a new chemo.

The new chemo is three weeks on and one week off. My mom has been handling this chemo well so far and she is enjoying having her hair grow back. We are not sure when the next CT scan is but we are anxious to see if the new chemo is working.

Dan and I participated in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day the weekend before Thanksgiving. With the help of friends and family we raised over $4,600 for Breast Cancer Research and awareness. We walked 60 miles over three days. It was an amazing experience and even though we couldn’t walk by the end of the three days, we would do it again and again for mom. What we suffered was nothing in comparison to what we have seen my mom endure with an amazing attitude. It was an emotional 3 days being surrounded by breast cancer survivors and walking in honor of my mom. The slogan for the event was, “Everyone Deserves a Lifetime.” My mom deserves a lifetime and that is why I pray daily for a miracle of healing.

Well, as you can all imagine, in the midst of chemo and side effects, my mom has done everything but slow down. Here is a glimpse into her life over the last couple of months.

- worked full time
- weekend trip to visit Amy in Chico, CA
- one night getaway with dad to a mountain resort in Ruidoso
- week trip to San Antonio with my dad and my mom’s parents
- entertained 37 people at Thanksgiving
- entertained many friends and family dropping by for little visits
- and much more

Below are pictures to catch you up. Please keep praying for a miracle and strength for my mom.

Weekend trip to see Amy

View from my parents night getaway

Isaac, Dad, Mom, and Kaelee at Thanksgiving

Mom and her girls : )

My mom trying everything to get her port to work...

Brenda keeping my mom company

My mom complained of looking like a boy. Nancy Erwin (my coworker) made bows for my mom to wear. My dad and mom had fun with them at chemo but they look really cute in my mom's curly hair.

Paula explaining nurse stuff to Tiffani (my cousin who is in nursing school)

Paula.....Where does this tubing go??? : )

Aunt Suzanne made a cute interactive bulletin board. People wrote their favorite season and why on the leaves.

Alaska, Colorado, Chemo, Oh My!!!

Even though there is a lot happening it's not as exciting as having a fun chemo treatment every three weeks. Mom is still taking the chemo orally from home. She feels great and only has a few side effects. Her best week is the one between the two chemo weeks. The main side effects are pain in her feet and her feet peeling. (Sounds fun doesn't it?) She has been having headaches which might be from high blood pressure. Of course she always deals with tiredness. All in all she feels very blessed to have no pain and mild side effects. Last week she saw her doctor and he felt like she had great color and was doing well. They will probably do another CT scan in about a month.

We are so thankful for Karen (PA) and her staff at the chemo center. Mom really does miss going to the chemo center weekly. They are always VERY helpful and genuinely concerned for her. I feel that Karen and her team are a blessing from God for mom during this time. They are always so helpful and friendly. The greatest thing is that mom feels very comfortable contacting them when she has a question or a concern.

My parents have done a lot of traveling the last month. At the beginning of September they flew to Alaska, with Erna & Darrell Crosby, to visit Mike & Linda Couch and enjoy the beauty. They had a WONDERFUL time! They also went to Colorado to visit Jeff, Krista, Isaac, and Kaelee. They loved spending time with their grandkids. Isaac turned three on Monday and Kaelee was showing off her new crawling moves. I know this is a lot of pictures but I'm making up for the lack of pictures from chemo treatments. : )

Gorgeous View Flying Into Anchorage!

Amazing Train Trip From Anchorage to Seward

Dog Sled Ride Without Snow in Seward

Future Sled Dogs

Dad and Darrell Both Caught Two Halibut (Very Happy Men)

Denali (Mt. McKinley) Only 20% Of The Visitors
Actually See The Mountain
Because Of The Cloud Cover

The Picture Doesn't Do The View Justice

Mom As A Caribou (they have heavy horns)

Dad As A Caribou (looks much better then mom)

Dad and Mom As A Mixed Up Moose

Darrell and Erna Crosby

Hanging Out At The Princess Lodge In Denali

They all stayed at a lodge and my parents were
given a room with this sign above their door.

The women did last minute shopping in Anchorage before flying out. The men waited patiently With their new friend (the bear). Next to the bear is our friend Mike Couch.

My Mom Brought Some Alaska Back With Her To Work

Train Ride In Cripple Creek, CO With The Family

LOVE THIS PICTURE!!!

Isaac got to blow the whistle on the train
and loved the whole experience.

Isaac Being Silly And REALLY Cute : )

On another note, Dan and I, along with Bernadette (Dan's mother) are participating in the Susan G. Komen 3 Day Walk THIS November. We will be walking 60 miles over the course of 3 days. We are very excited to be a part of this cause and raise money for breast cancer research. EACH one of us have to raise $2,300. Below is a link to make a donation to help us reach our goals. You just need to search our names individually to make a donation. We are under Bernadette Coronado, Dan Coronado, and Sara Coronado.

http://www.the3day.org/site/TR/Events/General?fr_id=1170&pg=pfind


Thank you in advance for any donations.
Most of all thank you for prayers for my mom's healing.

Chemo Interrupted

My mom had a super super busy week during the NM district Family Camp last week. On Thursday she started having pain in her feet (not sure if it was from overworking or her chemo). Since feet pain is one of the side effects her Doctor decided to take her off the chemo until the pain got better. She was off the chemo for about 3 days and them started it back up again at a lower dose. We are thankful this has been the only side effect.

Mom received the results from her bone scan (only slight change) :-(

We praise God that she is in no pain! The cancer is in most of her bones so this is a real miracle!!!

BAD SIDE EFFECTS !!!!!!!

The new chemo has caused major facial hair and nose growth.
Hopefully this isn't permanent :-)

My Mom's friend Carol Molendyk joined her for one of her infusions.
I'm sure my mom won at Skip-Bo :-)

CT Scan-No Change : (

My mom received the results from the CT scan and there has been no change from the last CT scan. This is another sign that it was time to change chemo treatments. Obviously her body was not responding to her last chemo treatment anymore.

We are thankful for the progress she has made but bummed that there was no progress this past time. Please pray that this new chemo will continue to do a great job at fighting the cancer and that my mom will handle it well. She still has a bone scan next week.

Keep praying for a miracle!!!

Big Changes

My mom is in a transition point in her chemo treatment. She has now had 9 treatments of the same chemo. Overall, she has handled it very well. The only side effects she encountered in the beginning were loss of hair and exhaustion. Well, with the last two treatments a new side effect has occurred that we knew might happen. She developed Neuropathy, her feet and hands had numbness and tingling. It can become painful or permanent. It was never painful for her but we are praying that it will not become permanent.

Because of the new side effect the doctor decided to change her chemo. The new chemo will be an oral chemo taken at home. For two weeks she will take 3 pills in the morning and 3 pills at night. After the two weeks she will have a week off before she repeats the two weeks again. The great news is that her hair will grow back. Of course with all chemo treatments there are a list of side effects that we pray she will not have to deal with.

Even though the change is nice my mom still has some worries. She is worried if this chemo will let her live a normal life like she still has been able to do. This chemo is every day for two weeks instead of once every three weeks.

She also had another CT Scan today and has a bone scan next week. Please pray for the results of these scans and for my mom's reaction to the new chemo. She is still in high spirits and planning a trip to Alaska.

Commenting Issues

I realize that some people were having difficulty making comments. I THINK I fixed it...so comment away. : )

Aliens Invade

My Aunt Suzanne is from Roswell, NM and one of her friends Kenny was feeling a little green. She brought him to my mom's chemo session so the wonderful nurses could take care of him. As you can see my mom took his blood pressure and Aunt Suzanne put a cool cloth on his forehead while they waited and waited and waited for the nurses. :-)

As you can see Kenny was was well taken care of.

Kenny brought the nurses bracelets as a thank you for all their wonderful help.

The nurses asked my Aunt Suzanne if she would redecorate their office (she is VERY creative and an AMAZING decorator). My Aunt agreed but they only gave her a budget of $10. On that budget my Aunt was only able to decorate the bulletin board. She did a wonderful job!

Aunt Suzanne and my mom with alien antennas.

My mom is doing great but is starting to have some side effects. Please pray that they will be able to find a way to make her feel comfortable and still fight the cancer.

Hawaiian Vacation

My mom and Aunt Suzanne decided to take a Hawaiian Vacation
during my mom’s chemo treatment.

My mom dug out her bikini and tried to get some sun on her legs.
(It had been a few years)

Besides the wonderful vacation Chemo went well for the most part. PA Karen was unable to give my mom one of the medications because of my mom's blood pressure was too high. (It was probably the excitement of being in Hawaii.) The doctor said it was ok to miss it this time.

My mom is still doing great she just enjoyed a visit from Amy and she’s still working 40 ++ hours a week. I think she needed more than just a 4 hour Hawaiian vacation.

Mom and Aunt Suzanne enjoying a few more minutes in the sun.

Mom pretending she is a fish.

Aunt Suzanne, Elisa (office manager) Nurse Nettie and PA Karen (Can you believe Nurse Paula was on vacation - unbelievable that she would miss my mom's chemo day!)