PRAISE THE LORD!

Shane's voice is pretty much back to normal in only 2 weeks!!!  His scar is looking so much better and healing well!  We have so much to be thankful for:)

We got to celebrate cancer coming to an end by staying at the Alderbrook resort.  It was so beautiful!  It was so fun to get away and not be staying at Swedish;)

Going Home Today!

We found out this morning that we get to go home!  Shane's pain is under control with heavy pain meds....which also make him super tired.  They took the tube out of his neck.  His voice is still pretty much gone. He sounds like he has a deep whisper.

Thanks for the prayers, emails and texts!  They mean a lot to us!

Recovery Update....

After yesterday's surgery, Shane barely had a voice and we all just assumed it was like all his other surgeries....sore from having the oxygen tube down his throat. 

Well, the surgeon came to check on Shane this morning and said that it could take up to 6 months for him to get his voice back.  And if it didn't come back, he would have to do another surgery to get it back. 

Please pray that it does come back on it's own!  This was a curve ball we didn't see coming. I feel so badly for Shane:(  He has been through so much already:(

And We Can See the Finish Line!!!

 

Shane had his last surgery and it went well!  It went about an hour longer than expected, but they got everything they needed to.  It looks like his therastic duct (the tube in your neck that carries kile from your stomach) didn't get cut......which was a HUGE answer to prayer because that means he won't have to be on a zero fat diet.  

Shane is expected to have a quicker recovery than in the past.  He then will have blood work and scans done Dec. 27th and Dec. 29th he has an appointment with his Oncologist to go over everything.  Our prayer is that he will then be told he is cancer free!  2012 should be a fresh start for us!

Shane is really looking forward to eating normal and getting back into his active pace of life!  We are SO excited for this to all be done:)  We really couldn't be more blessed with our amazing family and friends!  You all have prayed and been there for us when we didn't have the energy! 

LAST Surgery.... DEC 2nd!!!

What was expected to be his new scar.....

                                                  Right before going into surgery.....

Shane after his surgery.  About a 6-7inch scar that is expected to heal up pretty well in the next year.  He also has a drain tube that will be taken out in the next couple days.

Home-Sweet-Home

We are home!  Shane is still in a ton of pain, but we are keeping up on the pain meds.  He is doing so much better than his last surgery!  He is expected to have his next (and LAST) surgery in about 4-5 weeks (after he is healed).  Please keep him in your prayers for that!:)

Here are a few pics from the hospital:)

3 SURGERIES DOWN.....1 TO GO!!!

Yesterday's surgery went great!  It took about an hour longer than expected (about 4 hours total for the surgery) because the lymph nodes on his right side were a lot smaller and spread out than on his left.  Everything went well and Shane is doing wonderful!  He was in a ton of pain for an hour after being released from the recovery room, but they gave him some heavy meds and it really helped! Shane slept through the entire night and seems to be doing fine:)  Praise God!  He is expected to be released from Swedish either today or tomorrow:)

Thank you for all your encouraging emails, texts and phone calls!  I am sorry I haven't been able to keep up on responding!

Next Surgery....

Shane's next surgery will be October 27th.  It is expected to last only 2-3 hours to takeout some lymph nodes that they weren't able to get last time.  Our prayer is that his recovery will be less painful and quicker than the last surgery:)  Thank you so much for your prayers and support through this!  We are on the tail end!  Only 1 more surgery after this!

Home-Sweet-Home

We have been so slow about updating the blog!  Sorry!  We got home about 2.5 weeks ago and Shane has been slowly recovering.  He is still extremely sore and taking it very easy.  He went back to work last week and said it was his best medicine yet;)  (I think staying on the couch all day was getting really old!).  His next surgery is scheduled for Oct. 20th and that will be taking out more lymph nodes in his back that they didn't have time for during his last surgery.  Our hope and prayer is that they can also do his neck surgery that same day so we can be all done with this!  But that will depend on if the neck surgeon is okay with that.  (We are still waiting to hear back).

That is all for now!  Thank you for all the food, texts, visits, fun gifts and prayers!  We love and appreciate you all!  We can hardly keep up with all our thank you cards!  Sorry if they are late=)

Hospital Stay....

Our amazing double room they gave us! 

 We both got a hospital bed and the room was HUGE!

Thank you for the company!  We love you guys!

1st Surgery.....Removing Mass from Abdomen

Shane had his first surgery August 11th at Swedish Hospital.  It was a 7 hour surgery to remove the tumor mass in his abdomen area.  After the surgeon spent 3 hours from trying to remove the tumor around his kidney, it ended up having to be removed.  They are going to have to go back and remove some lymph nodes in his back and he will also need the lump on his neck removed.  (So 2 surgeries left!)  Those will happen in the next couple months.  

Shane's first few days were miserable for him.  He was in a ton of pain and could hardly move.  Slowly, each day he was able to move a little more.  

Thank you to Brian and TAnya for keeping me company during the 7 hour surgery!  

We had a fun day in Seattle!  What wonderful friends!!!  

And the Surgeries Begin......

August 11th (this Thursday) Shane will have his first surgery.  (He is expected to have 2 total).  His lymph nodes will be removed from his abdomen.  After being on chemo, it causes his tissue to be really sticky and difficult to work with.  The surgery will begin robotically, but Shane will most likely have to be cut.  If he is cut open, his recovery is longer, more painful and there are more side effects with that go along with it.  Our prayer is that it can be done robotically and that Shane has no complications.

Our friends Jessika and Steinar created a website so Shane is covered in prayer for 30 hours: before, during and after surgery.  If you would like to be a part of that, please check out the website and sign-up=) www.prayerforshane.com

After he is recovered from this surgery, he will then have his 2nd (and last) surgery to remove the lump on his neck.  That should happen sometime in September we would guess=)

Thank you again for your love and support!  

We have needed it and greatly appreciate it!

LAST Chemo Treatment!!!!

 We went to Red Robin after to celebrate!

Shane had his LAST chemo treatment 4 weeks ago! (Sorry it took so long to update this blog!) He started feeling much better the following week and is almost feeling his normal self again. Shane goes back to Swedish July 13th for blood work and scans and then has an appointment with his oncologist July 18th to find out how many surgeries exactly he will need.

A surprise visitor and gift....

Shane's sister Shamra is friends with Josh and Molly Brown.  Josh is a kicker for the St. Louis Rams (a previous kicker fo the Seahawks). They came with a football signed just for Shane along with other signatures....Matt Hasselbeck, Dane Looker, Brock Huard, and some others!  Josh was so kind and told Shane he was been praying for him=)  It was such a thoughtful thing for Shamra to set-up!

Whew! 10 weeks down.....ONLY 2 to go!!!!

What a journey this has been!  Shane's HGC #'s are amazing and his body is no longer "creating" cancer!  Praise God!  He is feeling so sick and we are not looking forward to this week coming with recovering at home.  We are really looking forward to him feeling better and feeling 100%!

The following 2 weeks are on Tuesdays and the treatments are out-patient.  We are excited to not be traveling weekly to Swedish=)  Although we do have to say that the staff on the Oncology floor are amazing!  They really are wonderful nurses and love what they do!

Shane will start his surgeries in 6-8 weeks after his final chemo treatment.  After that, he should be in remission and just have check-ups every 3 months for 5 years.


Thank you so much for your continued prayer!

Fun pictures from Shane's last 5 day stay @ Swedish......

Random Testing....

This isn't the best picture, but it shows the machine that tests Shane's lung capacity because chemo can have an effect on different things...lungs being one of them.  He also has to have his ears tested for hearing.  Shane's results are coming back very good!

Cycle 3....6 weeks to go!!!

This week was more laid back than the other weeks we have stayed at Swedish.  Shane was more tired and bogged down.  His #'s are exceeding expectations and we know it is because of all your prayers!  Even with his #'s dropping dramatically and quickly, his oncologist is still wanting him to do the full 12 weeks of chemo.  Surgeries of the skeleton tumors will then be removed.  

Daddy's FAVORITE Visitor=)

Sadie could hardly wait to visit daddy!

She is daddy's BEST medicine!

Sadie kept her eye on Nurse Heidi making sure she did things "just" right;)