James, Aria & Sasha: August 2007

The doctors have gotten on top of the pain for the moment. They've done some scans and taken some xrays and found that the cancer has moved into the lymph nodes and that those glands may be pushing against nerves and causing the additional pain. The doctor encouraged us to think about chemotherapy and we're looking into this possibility in Costa Rica. They seemy to feel that chemo has a good record of stopping the cancer in the lymph glands and that this will reduce the pain considerably. We're having bone scans done tomorrow and the oncologist can then advise us regarding another stronium 89 shot as well as bone meds, so we should be able to leave by next Thursday.

Unfortunately my Dad went through another tough night last night. He hardly slept and was in a lot of pain.
Finally, today a group of doctors came in who knew his history and had lots of very specific questions for him. They're getting x-rays and cat scans and lists of all the medication he's been taking (here and in Costa Rica) and we feel a bit more encouraged that they're going to come up with some sort of plan that will keep him pain free and hopefully be able to balance it so that he doesn't feel constipated, nauseated or dehydrated.
We picked up Lisa from the airport last night. My Dad (and the rest of us) was very happy to see her this morning.
He will be in the hospital for a couple more days at least. The hope is to get this all figured out by the end of next week, after his appointments with the Oncologist and Urologist, and they get him stable, so that they can travel back to Costa Rica where they can continue with the treatment from home.

We're so thankful for all your emails, phone calls, and loving thoughts and prayers.

We left the hospital yesterday when they told us visiting time was over. We left my Dad after he was fast asleep and went to the beach near by to say some prayers. After prayers we sat there for a bit longer and listened to the waves. A few moments later a beautiful, almost full moon appeared on the horizon. It was a really special time.

We're on our way out now to see him.

Another update will follow once we know what happens next.

Update

We brought my Dad to the hospital because since last night he hasn't been able to keep anything down: food, water, or medications. He became really dehydrated and of course in a lot of pain. We finally got him admitted and he will soon be hooked up to an I.V and put on his pain medication again. Right now he's finally getting some much needed sleep.

Meanwhile, Ali, my Mom and I are trying to comfort him as much as possible. We're comforting each other too and trying to keep our spirits up. We took a couple of pictures while he slept.

We'll keep you posted.

Getting some exercise

We got my Dad outside in his wheelchair to get some fresh air and some exercise by turning the wheels on his chair every now and then. Here we are walking around Ali's beautiful, peaceful neighborhood.

They were going to return to Costa Rica this coming Sunday, however they just got an appointment for Tuesday, September 4th to get a bone scan. The appointment after that is on Sept. 6th with the Oncologist. On September 24th he has an appointment with his care provider.
So for now, it looks like they'll be here until then.
We'll keep you posted.

Sasha knows her ABCDs!

While Aria is keeping us informed on Jere's health through the blog, I, (James) will keep her and the family informed on Sasha. (see post below this one for Jere's).

Last night I met my uncle Jan and my cousin Emily Cadik for the first time, and my aunt Adrienne for the second time at dinner. Everybody got to meet Sasha for the first time, and she made a great impression as always. Here are pics from last night, and a video I took of Sasha reciting the ABCD's, (as she calls them).
Posted by James

In Florida

I arrived in Florida today to see my family. My sweet friend Juliet picked me up from the airport. We had some nice talks during the hour and a half drive up here. Thank you again!

My Mom has been on top of the medication that my Dad needs. He's getting lots of rest and eating what he can. They're trying to figure out what foods he's able to eat and keep down so my Mom has created a log of everything he's eating and how it affects him. She and Ali have been taking really good care of him.
They're trying to get an appointment with an Oncologist. That will determine when they will be able to return to Costa Rica. For now, he's getting treated with Morphine for the pain.
In spite of everything, he's smiling and radiant as always.

Here are some pictures of them, as well as of Juliet and Ali.

Maybe this is why these finger paints are for ages three and up:

Here are some pictures of our trip to the children's museum, whale watching, and Sasha finger-painting. They're not in order (sorry about that).
These were the last things we did before Patti and Pat returned to Albuquerque. We miss them already... so does Sasha! She came down the stairs today and the first thing she said was "Grandpa and Grandma!"...but nobody was there.. :(

On another note, or house is almost sold! It's great news since we couldn't afford one more mortgage payment! If all goes well, it will be in the new owner's hands on August 29th. Keep your fingers crossed!

Puzzle:

Finger-painting:

Counting to ten in Spanish:

Whales:

Vermont

We're back from Vermont where we spent one week at a beautiful resort (for free!) and where there were lots of things to do.
It's been really great spending time with James' parents. When they first got here we took them into Boston. We went up the second tallest building in New England (the Prudential Tower). We got some really cool views of the city and a few of Boston's 50-some Universities, including MIT, Harvard, Boston University and Boston College.
I already posted some pictures of that, but here's a cute video of Sasha running down the hallway on the top floor:

Afterwards we went to the aquarium.

Didn't get too many pictures there. But here's one of Sasha trying to see the seals but getting distracted by other things:

Dancing and playing while we loaded the car and got ready for our 3 hour drive up to Stowe:

Sasha was ready to go in her pretty dress:

One of the nights in Stowe we went out for Sushi and sat in front of the hibachi grill. Sasha stared intently as the cook chopped, grilled and made food catch on fire!