Hello From Red Lion

Hi everyone!


I thought I would post the most recent pictures taken yesterday after we returned home from my doctor appointment. My friends said seeing me "in person" has helped them to be reassured that I am doing "okay". I think I look pretty darn good for the shape they tell me I am in...LOL. Nothing wrong with my self-esteem. I also have a new doo....short....all I do is wash it, gel it and finger comb it. Hair dryer and curling irons are not suggested at this point in time and I am finding that I like the ease of styling.























I have an 86 pound weight loss to my credit which has changed my appearance somewhat. Fifty-six of those pounds were intentional over the last two years while the other thirty pound loss took place this last month because of not feeling well and being unable to keep anything down. Thank goodness that problem has been corrected!

I am sitting here having my evening snack of dry Cherrios before going to bed. Michael has been sleeping since 8:00 as he has to go to work tonight. He has been a God-send.....a true nurse and helpmate. He changes the bandages on my drain every three days and has transported me to all of my Chemo appointments and doctor appointments. This week alone has been three days in a row! He has stopped for my prescriptions and brought me groceries as needed. He even cleans the kitty litter box and he hates cats! So if you see him or talk to him please give him a HUGE heartfelt THANK YOU for helping me! Patsy has been supplying him with his favorite bread that she bakes at the store (rye and pumpernickel twist)which he uses each night to pack his sandwich.

I am fervently praying that the nasty side effects do not visit my body. So far so good.....I do not feel the least bit ill and it has been six hours. I was able to eat a good dinner tonight. I still need to get in several more glasses of beverages before bedtime so I am sipping away. Got to pee off those dead cancer cells!

I do hope the rest of the family members join us here on this blog. I just think staying in touch is SO important for family, especially when we are all scattered about across the country.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Love,
Doris

Flowering Tea

Wonderful, captivating and engaging; flowering teas transform the simple act of drinking tea by producing an aesthetically rich experience full of color and vibrancy. Hand-sewn flowering teas are produced in remote tea gardens in southwestern Yunnan province in China near the borders of Laos and Vietnam. White, green and black teas are picked in the early mornings. While damp, the tea leaves are flattened and sewn with cotton thread into the various shapes and bundles. (Tea leaves may also be scented with jasmine blossoms before sewing begins for a more floral flavor.) Some shapes take about one minute to sew while other more elaborate designs may take up to 10 minutes. While still moist, the leaves are shaped into balls, mushrooms, cones, etc, and finally, the teas go through the usual drying, oxidation and firing process which closes the process and provides the finished product.

I bought mine at Linen's and Things but they can also be purchased on the internet. LaDonna

It looks like the tea party was alot of fun. Wish I could have been there...I have always thought they would be fun.
What is flowering tea? Where do you get it? I'm not up on teas but it sounds interesting...
Also tell Holly I love her hat. Doris will have to send a picture of her in the hat I made her. Its for working in her garden this summer..Hey Doris that's an idea, we can have a tea party in your back yard or deck this summer...
I see Athena has joined the blog but no comments yet...Come on Athena I know you always have something going on to talk about.....
Patsy

Tea Party

The following picture probably says it all. We all tried our best to dress up our blue jean ensembles with jewelry, scarves, hats and boas. Some were more outlandish than others. We all walked up the hill to my friends house where we held the tea party. Wade said we looked somewhere between people heading to a soup kitchen or going to Mardi Gras. It was a delightful afternoon with friends and family. It was the first tea party for many of my guests but they have decided that it won't be their last. My company left on the train back to Oklahoma and Minnesota yesterday evening and I have spent the day putting my house back in some order and doing PILES of laundry.

Dalton was the only male at the tea party but as you can see in this picture with his mother he also had on a party hat.

Our menu consisted of tea sandwiches in heart shapes of chicken salad, egg salad, cream cheese with marmalade on several different types of bread, mixed green salad inside of pita pockets, 3 types of scones, biscotti, heart shaped sugar cookies, a french cream cake and a chocolate delight cake. My friend Patty demonstrated the proper way to make and serve a pot of loose leaf tea as I prepared another type of tea in the kitchen. I had also placed one of my flowering teas in my clear glass tea pot so that the guests could watch it bloom as it brewed. Another friend had supplied each of us with a different china cup and saucer from a family collection. After we had eaten, I read a story about how tea parties first began and then we each shared a story. Some stories were true stories and some were fantasies. We ended the afternoon by giving each guest a gift bag containing a candle made by my friends husband, a knitted dish cloth made by my sister, a necklace made by me, a flowering tea and a heart shaped chocolate. A good deal of work went into the planning and preparation but I think it was worth the effort. LaDonna

Okay, I have been waiting to hear all about the Tea Party and still no word as of this moment.

Are you still resting up from your visit LaDonna?

Inquiring minds want to know details!!!!

Hugs,
Doris

Something New

I decided I needed to put something else on here so I didn't have to see my ugly mug every time I checked the blog. Are Ya'll out there? One thing I can mention is that the date has been finalized for the family gathering. The kids say that the weekend of June 13th will work well for them. That date is just a few days after Justin's birthday, so we can celebrate his birthday instead of Joe and Wade's this time. Aidan will be turning two shortly after that, so we can celebrate his birthday too. I don't remember if anyone else has a June birthday or not. If so, speak up! Other details will be posted as we get closer to the date. if you have questions you can email, call or post them here.

We are getting ready for company this weekend. My sister and her one daughter left Oklahoma on a train this morning. Her older daughter, Cindy and Cindy's 19 year old daughter will be getting on a train tomorrow from Minnesota. They will meet up in Chicago and arrive here on Friday morning. We are all looking forward to a nice visit. LaDonna

Happy Valentines Day

A very Happy Valentines Day to you all. I hope you are sharing this day with the people that you love. Kenny & I will spend the day watching some old movies, a trip to Sam's and then babysitting Dalton while Justin & Holly go out for a romantic dinner and a Valentine's dance. The picture below is of these two Valentine lovers on the day Kenny returned from a tour in Viet Nam. LaDonna

Quotes

I am collector of quotes. I thought I would start a thread where we can collect some of our favorites. Sometimes the quotes are funny, sometimes they hit home, some days they are just what I need to hear to get me through the day. Words are powerful....and if we act on them....give them motion......we gain momentum in our lives.....and we all know where that takes us.

Have you a favorite quote?

Care to share? Just add to the comment section of this thread to include your inspirational words!

Good Morning

Hello all. I've been enjoying the posts. Doris, I'll be thinking of you today as you have your next treatment and praying that you continue to come through the treatments with little adverse effects and that the tumor continues to shrink. It is times like this that we wish we were not so far away from our families, but the good thing is you don't have to be close to feel love and prayer! We know you are being well taken care of.

Patsy, look what I found! I had completely forgotten about you getting married that day. and I had to go back and look through my photo albums because I knew I had pictures from that party. That was our old house on Main Street in Felton.

I saw those posts from Tommy but how did they end up where they did and not with all the others . . . now how did he do that? And I was really pondering why Doris had such dirty feet in the hospital! LOL

I'm know there are some family and friends who think we are a little crazy for doing some of the things we have done, and perhaps we are a little nomadic! LOL I guess Norman and I were meant to be together because we both like to keep life interesting. We've made some choices that perhaps were not the smartest thing to do, but looking back we both agree that we wouldn't change a thing and we have learned so much and grown from all our experiences. We may end up working until we die, but we've sure had fun, made wonderful memories and met so many friends along the way. When I look at pictures of us sitting on our mules in the Rockies, the snow capped peaks behind us and the awesome beauty that God created, I don't regret spending any of that money for those trips, and although we pray we can see more of this beautiful country we know we have been fortunate to do what we have. So although we have to be somewhat reasonable and responsible in what we do, everyone should have their "bucket list" and not wait too long to start checking things off! That was certainly reinforced to us when Norman was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I don't think any of you realize the Hell he went through with that but I thank God every day he is here with me and his PSA level remains low and consistent.

One thing I hope everyone one knows is that we love you all. I know we don't say it enough and we may not see you often, but you have all played such a huge role in our lives in one way or another, in ways you probably don't even realize.

Well, it's getting late and if I'm going to walk I need to get going. Trapper is waiting -- he knows about the time we go and he doesn't let me forget. Some days I don't feel like going but he keeps me motivated. I think we are in for some sloppy weather again the next few days so we may not be able to walk so I need to go when I can. I am so ready for spring! I know it's just around the corner from the sounds of the birds and the peep frogs . . . and I can't wait!

Hugs to all,

Kathy

Tommy

Just wanted to comment that even though Tommy's eyesight is not the best (as in seeing my dirty feet _those were slippers on my feet) his computer skills are improving daily. We have discussed the possibility of him going to Washington to become Obama's Technology Advisor (Tommy is coveting Obama's personal Blackberry #). First we have to practice here........learning how to hit New Post and then Washington here he comes! I can see him wearing a power suit (not the "money suit") and carrying his bag of computer "tricks". I think perhaps he has found his calling.

As a matter of fact, Tommy just called me. He is heading to the VA hospital to have a spot on his back checked out. It's probably misplaced RAM or GIGs but better to be safe than sorry.

Okay, time for more meds..........got to go.

I look forward to seeing a new post from Tommy.

Have a great day!

Doris

More From Tommy

I found another comment from Tommy so am posting it here in case others have not seen it. I am glad that he has gotten this far and hope one of you down there can show him where to post a new post. We need his since of humor on here. LaDonna


Hey!! I'm here.I doing this between jobs.Working on cars.Charging batteries getting ready for work tomorrow.Watching Fox News & Bill O'reilly.Then hit the sack.I'm glad Doris is getting her treatment and will beat this slowdown in her life.Love to allThMcDee

Sharing From The Heart

Thanks for sharing those very special thoughts with us Doris. I have known for many years how precarious life can be, as my mother died almost instantly at the age of 54 with no indication of an illness. None of us know when our time here may end and it is wise to live each day as happy as we are able. I heard a speaker many years ago tell how people are always WAITING to be happy. When they are children they think that they will be happy when they are grown up, then it is they will be happy when they get a job, and then they will be happy if they can just meet someone and get married. Then if they could just have children they will be happy, children come along and they will be happy when the children are grown and on their own, then it is that they will be happy when they retire. One day on their way to the grave they realize that they have spent a life time waiting to be happy. I am with Doris and believe that we each make a choice each day whether we are going to be happy or not. I choose to be happy. Not that life doesn't throw us curve balls from time to time but our happiness is based on how we deal with those curve balls.

I am also a believer in the importance of family. On that note, I want to extend an invitation to you all to a camping weekend at the home of Justin and Holly this coming summer. The kids are working out the best date but it looks like the weekend of June 13th is the best possibility for them. The thinking right now is to have ours, Wade's, Justin's campers plus a few tents set up at Justin's place so that people can stay over without the expense of a hotel. We can cook all of our meals over Justin's fire pit. Wade is an awesome outdoor cook. The kids live right next to a lake that has playgrounds for the kids, fishing and paddle boats that can be rented. Justin also has volleyball, horse shoes, ladder ball and all sorts of yard entertainment. It is also possible that some could go out to Holly's families farm to do some four wheeling. Anyway, this is something to think about. Let me know your thoughts and if any of you think you could make it.

Have a wonderful day! LaDonna

What Do I Say?

Well, now, Doris, what can I say to all of that?

I am responding to this question which is really not a question but keeps appearing over and over in communications with friends and family as the news about my health gets out.

I just want to say there is nothing that needs to be said other than that which needs to be shared from the heart. All I ask is that my friends and family not shut me out. Life goes on.....and it IS going on with me.........some days I may be the caboose....some days I may be Eeyore and other days I may I be Tigger......but each day I am here.......I care about each of my friends and each family member and what I am going through DOES NOT take precedence over everyone else's life. I want to continue to share in your lives.......and I want the opportunity to let you all know that I do care about you and what you are going through.

I know first hand that this is NOT news that is easy to deal with but it must be dealt with in all ways. It is not going away and is not going to be ignored.

Ask questions when you need or want to. I will try to answer.

Do not rely too much on research done online because my cancer is one of 5,000 cases in the world and nothing is written in stone about the treatment or response......or remission lengths. Each case seems to be very unique and very individual.

Don't entertain one negative idea about this cancer. It's only cancer...no different than diabetes, heart disease, or many of the other hundreds of medical maladies that we encounter in our lifetime. Cancer is NOT a death sentence. The doctors sent me home to live and that is what I plan on doing.

Talk with me......not around me.......share your fears......your concerns, etc. Just do not ingore me or shut me out.

As far as funks.....depression, etc.........just everyone PLEASE seize the day and make it count for something. No excuses. No promises that tomorrow will be a new start because we DO NOT have that promise. Two weeks ago I was working, taking care of myself, playing with Aidan, etc. and in a matter of four hours my life was turned upside down.

RIGHT NOW. THIS MOMENT IS ALL YOU HAVE. MAKE THE MOST OF IT. PUT YOURSELF FIRST EACH MOMENT OF THE DAY BECAUSE THAT IS THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN OFFER YOUR PERSONAL BEST TO OTHERS.

LIVE LIFE! Take a walk, take a nap, read a book, listen to some music, reach out to a friend, go shopping with your eyes not your wallet (because things really do not bring you happiness), organize something even if it is your thoughts, give yourself ten minutes each day to wallow ( set a timer and at the end of 10 minutes get on with living life). You can change anything you want to change about your life (diet, exercise, smoking, etc.) and that includes changing the outcome of cancer.

My dear friends and family, life REALLY is way to short. PLEASE hear me on that.

And if you cannot change your life by yourself then ask for help as I have had to do. My family and friends have grown so close the last two weeks. We cry together, we laugh together, we pray together and sometimes we just sit in quietness together. It's all good and it's all healing......and it's all soothing to the soul.

I am here for each of you and I mean that with every breath that I take.

You are not "stupid" or "crazy" when you find yourself "stuck" in unproductive thought patterns or just the crazy business of life. You just have not heard your wake-up call. Let mine be yours. Change today. This very minute so you are healthy, vital and energized to enjoy all the precious moments that are yet to come into your life, the lives of your children and yes, even those yet to be born grandbabies.

No anitdepressants here....I am high on life........be that life a month, a year or 25 years. No more waiting for "some day" because I have seen my someday and it is RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW.

I was waiting to reach my goal weight to eat a piece of pizza. NO MORE. Pizza is on my list of things to eat. It is going to be my "losing my hair treat" and I may treat myself once a week if I feel the need.

I was waiting for the "right time" for a family trip to the beach. The RIGHT TIME IS NOW. As soon as I am physically able there will be a NO EXCUSES ALLOWED trip to the beach for some real family time. Can we say crabs!!!!!!

God is looking out for each of us and He wants us to have His very best. It is there for us..........we just need to grasp it.

I love you all.

Keep me in your scope and I will do the same for each of you.

Prayers abound..........

....and the only thing that needs to be said is that which you feel the need to share from your heart.

I have a favorite quote "Into the cracks of this broken heart the seeds of love do fall.....and there within a beautiful garden grows."

What do you say?

Just let love to do the talking.

Sincerely,
Doris

Update From Doris _ Thursday, February 12, 2009

Good morning......couldn't sleep so I decided to come here and check out the family blog.

I must say, I have been sitting here smiling especially over the fact that Tommy seems to have made it to the blog. GOOD JOB!!!!! (Hey Aidan has taught us to celebrate everything.)

It is good be home and around my own things. There is no place like home!

I am sort of on a baby's schedule......sleep, eat, drink, pee, poop, nap and then start it all over again....LOL. Napping is good!!!! The only relief I get from the muscular pain in my right back is from pain medication and heat. The pain was caused by the procedure done to open my bile duct because the tumor was closing it off. In time the drain will be reversed and the pain will go away. Until then I manage the pain so I can do what I need to do.

My second Chemo is on Friday at the hospital. It's hard to get a schedule going because my chemo takes all day (6.5 hours) once a week. I have to be dropped off and then picked up at the end of the day. Michael will take me to the hospital, go home and sleep and then come back to get me around 4:30. The following week I will go to Cancer Care at Apple Hill Medical Center for my treatment. By that time I will have a schedule set up so I know what I am doing on any given day (Chemo, blood work, tests, etc.).

Already a change has been detected in the size of the tumor and everyone involved is excited about that. There is only one outcome......and that is WINNING!

My friend Jim said he is calling my cancer (follicular lymphoma) FOOLicular lymphoma ...because it's a fool if it thinks it will get the better of me. I like the way he thinks.

Everyone is asking what they can do for me. Right now, prayer is enough. I can't stress that enough. My medical needs, my physical needs, etc. are all being met. I have to be real careful what I eat and how it is prepared....little fat because my liver cannot process it with restricted blood supply.........no bacteria....no getting sick......because that will stop my chemo. I am sure as time goes by there will be things I need and I will ask....I promise.

My job right now is to get better.....recovering from four major operations in less than four days......my body adapting to the drain, the port, the chemo.....it's all just a bit much. The time will pass.....and before I know it I will be out in the yard gardening.

I am so glad to have this easier-to-use blog. I am going to delete the Multiply site which I DID NOT LIKE. I am not interested in doing Facebook either so I will make good use of this blog. Thanks LaDonna for setting this up.

It is almost 5:00 so I guess I should finish my Cheerio and apple juice snack and get back to bed. The wind is blowing so hard here it is going to be hard to sleep. It sounds like the shingles are being ripped from the roof. At least it is NOT snowing.

Hugs to all,
Doris

Oh no, Tommy you are going to pay for that one.........lol

Comment

I happened to check the comment section and found a comment from Tommy. It made me laugh so I have copied it here in case you all missed it. By the way Tommy, perhaps you aren't as dumb as a chicken, as you did sort of get yourself heard on here. LaDonna


Thmcdee said...
I'm giving it a shot,because Doris said I'm dumber than a chicken.(cluck cluck)Was in to see Doris K and she looked great,except for the black arm,hole in her throat,iv hookup in her hand,patch on her neck and dirty feet.I'm sure she will improve.If this goes through I will here about it,if not ,won't make any difference.Get better soon.Love ya Thmcdee
February 8, 2009 1:30 PM

Pictures

By the way, if you haven't already discovered it, if you click on the pictures they enlarge to full screen. LaDonna

Marriages and Such

Yes, Patsy I do, and suspect most everyone else remembers that moment when the announcement of your marriage was made. I remember the look on the boys faces as they had no idea you weren't already married. Nancy married Wade on her birthday too but she will have to tell you why she made that decision. Justin & Holly have something similar with Holly's birthday being on the 5th of Dec. their anniversary on the 15th, Dalton's birthday the 20th and then of course Christmas. A very busy month indeed.

Speaking of the little Dude, here is a picture from today as he and I enjoy some outdoor time on a 70 degree day in the middle of Feb. He does love the outdoors. LaDonna

Ladonna, you are right there are some things about your marriage I hadn't heard.
Does everyone remember when Ken and I got married. Dec.24,1980. We went to Elkton Md and came back to Norman and Kathy's in Felton for the family Christmas Party. Ken told everyone by opening bottle of champagne and asking if anyone wanted to toast their new brother-in-law. I had him for our anniversay and my birthday so he could have no excuse for forgetting either. My birthday is Nov. 13 and his was Nov. 12.
Doris came home yesterday evening and is doing good except for being tired and still having alot of pain in her back.
Patsy

Info Passed Onto Nicole

I did give Nicole the information for the new website but I don't know if she has had time to check it out. They stay so busy between work, church and the kids' activities, but hopefully she will find time to post occasionally. They are going to visit us the middle of March when they have spring break so she will have some down time that week.

LaDonna, your story about getting married brings back memories -- the King boys don't fool around once they make up their minds what they want. LOL

Hello Out There

Hi All,

Just wondering if anyone knows if Rob, Laurie, Wendy, Athena, Nicole, etc. have gotten the info to get on this blog? I was hoping to hear from some of them. Once things settle down a little I am hoping we will use this site more often. The blog my family uses is posted on nearly every day. We have done some fun things from talking about our favorite color and why, to telling stories about when we were growing up. It has brought us all closer together and I am hoping it will do the same with this family.

The following is the story I posted on my families site this week as we were each talking about when we got married. Some of you may not know this story, so thought I would share.

On the afternoon of August 27 1966 Kenny asked one of my brothers (not sure anymore which one) where our parents kept their important papers. He then asked to use Keith's car for the evening as he wanted to take me to San Francisco to see the newly released movie Dr. Zhivago. I dressed reasonably well as I was going to the big city. We headed out that evening for San Francisco but Kenny passed the turn off. I said, "you just missed the turn off". Kenny said, "I know, we aren't going to San Francisco, we are going to Reno to get married". My response was,"oh, OK". What I did not know was that he had retrieved my birth certificate from the box of important papers earlier that day, to prove that I was 18 and old enough to marry without permission. The other thing I did not know was that he had a notarized letter signed by his mother stating that he could marry. At that time the rule was the girl had to be 18 but the man had to be 21. Off we headed for Reno, permission in hand. It was a several hour drive, I believe 4-5 hours back then. We arrived after midnight at a little all night wedding chapel. We were informed that the court house in Reno closed at midnight but they would drive us to the next county to an all night courthouse to get our marriage license. Off we went and returned to the wedding chapel after 1:00 A.M. Now we need two witnesses to sign the certificate so the minister awoke some guy that sleeps there and the very sleepy guy and the ministers wife signed the certificate after the VERY brief ceremony. No flowers, no pictures but we were married at age 18 and 19. We then got back in Keith's car to make the return journey as no one knew where we were. Mom & Dad had been away on vacation so were not aware that I was out all night. We arrived back home around 5:30 A.M. exhausted and headed to bed---to sleep. We were wakened a few hours later with my three brothers in the next room discussing the fact that Kenny & I had been out all night and that he was in the bedroom with me. Soon the door opened and their heads peeked around asking where we had been all night. I showed them my ring and confessed that we had gotten married. I think they were relieved as they felt responsible with our parents being gone. Mom & Dad returned that evening. Kenny & I had gone to San Francisco that night so Mom & Dad learned about the marriage from one of the boys. I could not tell you what they were feeling as they never expressed that to me. Kenny & I didn't have a honeymoon until several weeks later and that is another humorous story but I will save that for another time. LaDonna

Had to laugh about the bed pan tossing . . . Norman asked Julie the other day if Doris was being a good patient or if she was behaving like Thelma. Doris, I'm happy to say we got a good report that you are a model patient and the nurses like you. :)

So sorry to hear about Joe's mother. Gee whiz, those kids sure don't need that on top of everything. Julie and Joe, hang in there and you have lots of prayers coming your way!

Doris, I'll try to call soon. I am so tied up on the phone during the day it's hard for me to talk because I'm constantly interrupted. And I'm sure Norman will call again soon -- he is on his way to California, finally got a load that was worth putting on the truck. Now we have to try to get him out of there next week. The trucking industry is suffering big time, as is most of the country in this economic crisis.

I know we have a long prayer list, but please also pray for this country because it is in such a mess.

Hugs to all!
Kathy

DORIS REPORT

HI EVERYONE,
I JUST TALKED TO DORIS AND THEY STARTED HER CHEMO. IT SHOULD TAKE UNTIL ABOUT 12:OOPM TO FINISH. SHE WAS GETTING SLEEPY SO SHE ASKED ME TO LET EVERYONE KNOW. SHE ATE REAL FOOD TODAY AND SAID IT TASTED REAL GOOD. COULD'N EAT IT ALL BUT THEY WERE PLEASED WITH WHAT SHE DID FINISH. PRAY THAT SHE CAN TAKE THE CHEMO OK AND ALL GOES WELL. AS OF NOW SHE WON'T GET THE NEXT DOSE UNTIL NEXT WEEK UNLESS THEY CHANGE THEIR MINDS.
ALSO WANTED TO ASK YOU TO PRAY FOR JOE'S MOTHER. SHE IS IN THE HOSPITAL AND SCHEDULED FOR OPEN HEART SURGERY ON MONDAY. THIS ALL HAPPENED TODAY SO KEEP JOE IN YOUR PRAYERS TOO. AS HE SAID 'WHEN IT RAINS IT POURS. HE AND HIS BROTHER MARK WILL PROBABLY BE GOING TO NY ON SUNDAY . WE LOVE YOU JOE....
WE WILL KEEP YOU POSTED.
LOVE PATSY

Doris report

For those that have not been brought up to date, Doris had her port put in yesterday evening. I just spoke to her a little while ago and she says they are about to take her for her first chemo treatment. They expect shrinkage of the tumor pretty quickly. She says the port does not hurt but she does feel the pressure of it when she gets in and out of bed. Her spirits are good and we joked about bed pans and such. She thinks York hospital changed from metal ones to plastic after Thelma tossed one once. They are giving her excellent care at York Hospital and most are pleasant and helpful to her. She is getting hungry and hopes to be brought some food today. Keep sending your prayers and positive energy her way. LaDonna

DITTO PATSY!

I agree with Patsy -- Doris, with your attitude and faith, along with all the love and support you have behind you, I know you will get through this. It may not always be easy but we will be with you every step of the way . . . maybe not not physically but always with our thoughts and prayers. We send lots of hugs your way!

Norman is on the road for now but I'll keep him updated and be sure he has your phone number.

Many thanks to Julie and Patsy for keeping us posted. Times like this it's very difficult to be so far away and we wish we could do more.

Love,
Kathy

Comments

You will all notice that at the bottom of each post there is a place for comments. You can either respond to any post by commenting there or by just making another post. The problem that my family have with the comment area is that we forget to look there, so we have learned just to make a new post. Which ever way you want to do it will work. For those that didn't notice it, Kathy did make comments on a couple of posts. LaDonna

DORIS, ALL OUR HEARTS,PRAYERS, AND LOVE ARE WITH YOU. WE ARE CONTINUING TO PRAY FOR YOU. WE ARE ALL HERE TO HELP YOUR FAMILY AND MICHAEL ANYTIME. IF ANYONE CAN BEAT THIS YOU CAN...REMEMBER :GO TOWANDA......
LOVE, PATSY

News From Room 7113B

I am here WAITING....not a strength of mine but am learning. The surgeon was just here and is trying his best to get to me today to install my port. I don't have a great deal of time but wanted to give everyone the facts as they have been presented to me. I don't have time nor the energy to rewrite everything so I am going to paste a portion of a letter than will be read to the faculty and staff at my school today. Just remember, these are the FACTS as we know them as of today.

Thanks for all of the prayers, cards and phone calls.

Love,
Doris
*************************************************************

This is a difficult time for sure but nothing that has been presented to me to date has taken away my hopeful spirit and my zest for life.

I want you to know the FACTS so that rumors and half truths do not taint your thought process. I NEED YOU ALL TO REMAIN POSITIVE for me. I will draw from your positive energy.

The news presented to me yesterday was not what we had hoped for but it is my reality.

What we know for fact:

1. I have follicular lymphoma......a rare form of cancer (only about 5000 people in the world have it). It is stage III only because it is both above and below my diaphragm. I have a 90% chance of a successful treatment into remission. There is no cure and it cannot be removed surgically. A complete remission is what I am praying for.

2. NONE of my vital organs are cancerous. The blood supply to my liver, bile duct and pancreas currently is being restricted by the large tumor in my abdomen. As soon as the chemo shrinks the tumor this will all return to normal.

3. I am NOT carrying any of the trace markers for any specific cancers such as colon, pancreas, liver, etc. Those results were ALL negative.

4. I will be starting chemo, probably by Thursday, in the hospital. A port will be placed today (Wednesday) sometime. (As of this time I JUST saw the surgeon and he is going to try his best to get into the OR today for the port because his next time will be Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YIKES!!)

5. I hope to return home by the weekend and continue my treatment at Apple Hill. The first course of treatment is once a week for three weeks. Week four will begin the second round of chemo. One chemo treatment builds on the next. We are looking to shrink the tumor, restore my blood supply to 100% and put the cancer into remission.

6. THIS IS NOT A DEATH SENTENCE. As I begin to respond favorably to the chemo I will simply (or perhaps at times not so simply) live my life with cancer as other people live their lives with diabetes, heart disease, or some other chronic condition. Three of my nurses so far are current cancer survivors, working through their treatment and living life to the fullest.

I am asking for specific prayer for a TOTAL REMISSION (and if God sees fit I will even take the honor of being the first person ever to be cured of this cancer).

I will work hard to remain strong and on the days when I can't be, because of the side effects of the chemo, I will ask everyone to be strong for me. I will draw from your prayers and strength. Your energy will be my energy.

Everyone wants to know what they can do for me. My physical and medical needs are being met. I have had EXCELLENT care at York Hospital.

I have an AWESOME spiritual support system through my minister friends Doug Winward, Dennis and Jean McCleary and Larry Parlett. What I need the most are prayers and positive thoughts because 50% of my healing will come from these kinds of support.

Please keep my children and Michael in your prayers as well. This is the second time for my children to go through this "cancer process". As Travis said, "it's harder this time because they're older and understand more about what is going on". Michael has barely left my side other than to work and I can see the strain this is placing on both him and my family.

My motto is this quote: Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve. ~~ Napoleon Hill

I CAN conceive and believe that God wants me to have a full remission.

With love and gratitude,
Doris
Room 7113B
851-4678

Well I think I figured this site out. All is well with Justin & I. Dalton is growing so fast. He such a blessing and joy to be around. When I have more time I'll post some pictures of him. Doris you are in our prayers!!

Holly

Welcome Kathy

Glad to see that you made it on here alright Kathy. It is not necessary to sign up as a follower in order to post. You can put a profile and picture on there if you wish but it is not necessary. The only thing you need in order to post is the user name and password and you did that just fine. Check back often to see if there are new posts until we can get the email addresses plugged in.

Yes, Wade is a new man in m0re ways than his weight. He has become very active. His latest endeavor is four wheeling and has recently taken up four wheel racing. He took a third place trophy at his first race. We'll have to get Nancy to post a picture of him in his riding gear as I have lost all of the pictures that I had on my computer recently. I asked Justin how he likes being the BIG brother now. He doesn't think much of it. Here are pictures of the boys with their families from Christmas time. LaDonna

Post from Julie

I noticed that Julie tried to post a message but it went into the comment section of the first post so I have copied it and will place it here.

I can't figure out how to post yet, so I am replying to get a link to everyone. I was in to see mom, and her diagnosis is non-Hodgkin's follicular lymphoma. They are hoping to start chemo in the next day or two. But I wanted to at least get the official name online for you to know and if you are like me spend time researching! Continue to keep mom in your thoughts and prayers. Julie

We will all definitely be keeping your mother in our thoughts and prayers. LaDonna

I'm here too

Hi everyone. Well, I made it to the website. I have a question -- are we supposed to set up our own profile and, if so, how do you do that?

Love that picture of the King family, but where is Wade? LOL Everyone looks great.

Hope to see lots more pictures from everyone. I didn't get a lot of good picture over the holidays but hopefully when Nicole and her crew come to visit over spring break in March I'll get some good ones to share.

Doris King, I didn't know you had your computer with you. I was just thinking the other day that it would be nice if you had a laptop while you are in the hospital. You know, we love you very much and our thoughts and prayers are with you!

Kathy

sign your posts

Just wanted to remind everyone to sign your posts as otherwise they all look like they are coming from me. Just put your name at the end of each of your posts. I am guessing the last one was from Patsy. It is also best if you put some kind of title to each of your posts. That way if you want to go back and look at a specific post, you can just click on the title at the right to get that particular post. Once the posts start adding up it makes that much easier. I have loaded a short video so you can see what that is like. This was done from my digital camera last week as Dalton was playing with his toys. I was just testing this out. It may be a nice way to see family, especially the kids, in action. I do not have every one's email addresses so if you know of other family members that would be interested, let them know how to post. I think Patsy has informed many of them but not sure who has and has not received the information. LaDonna

HI DORIS, GLAD YOU MADE IT. WHERE'S TOMMY????? ITS PROBABLY TOO SIMPLE OFR HIM..LOL

PATSY

Welcome other Doris

So glad you were able to get on this blog without any trouble. You will find that posting pictures is very easy too. Just click on the little icon picture third from the right and it will browse the pictures on your computer. The icon to the right of that is for posting video. The ABC is the spell check. I have found this all pretty easy to navigate and hope to soon see some of the other family members on here. Once others get signed on I will post as many emails as possible so that we can each be notified when a new post is made. Until then just check often to see what is here. LaDonna

Hey everyone- I made it. After the trouble I had with multiply this was a breeze. Hope to hear alot from all of you. D. McDowell.

Welcome Doris

I'm glad to see you made it on to the new blog Doris. I hope that others will soon find their way on and we can start communicating again soon. Sorry to hear that you aren't eating well yet and hopeful that the doctors will soon be able to get a handle on that. Many prayers are flooding your way and are even coming from the west coast, as my family is praying too.

You will see that I have posted a picture of big Ben. We in this part of the country are celebrating the victory of our football team. WHEW! What a squeaker that was. It kept me on the edge of the couch and up past my bedtime. Poor little Dalton's arms are exhausted from raising them each time they hollered GO STEELERS! I was starting to worry about Holly's Mom's new heart, as she like Holly is a huge Steeler's fan. All turned out fine and they had a great time celebrating. LaDonna

I am here

Thanks LaDonna for doing this. I had wanted to do something for a while as I was not happy with the Multiply site and did not want to do facebook. I think this will be easier to follow.

I wanted to let all of the family know that I am in the hospital - much to my surprise. I have no definitive answer other than I have a lymphoma - possibly another round of the Hodgkin's Disease I had 20 years ago. I am remaining very hopeful that this is treatable and that within a few months I will be back to living a full life.

Everyone asks "what can I do". My answer is pray and pray hard for a complete cure. My physical needs are being met daily - sometimes by total strangers. I am blessed. Please be a support system for Julie, Joe, Aidan, Travis and Stefani. The hardest part of all of this is seeing my children suffer.

Thanks again LaDonna for doing this.

Love to all,
Doris

P.S. I am able to send this message because Michael was thoughful enough to bring my computer to the hospital.

Hello

Hi, I'm here. that was easy...looks okay to me...Patsy

Welcome

Hi All,

We seemed to have lost touch with each other somewhat since the change to the new family site. I thought perhaps a blog might be an easier way for all of us to keep in touch, post pictures and such. My family has had a blog for many months now and we all have enjoyed being able to communicate this way. I think you will all find that learning to post is very easy. We also have the option to program up to 10 email addresses so that we will be informed when a new post is up. There is spell check too, so I am grateful for that. My computer crashed at Christmas time and I have lost most of my email addresses, so I am going to have Patsy email each of you and give you the information that you need to not only look at the blog but also be able to post your own messages. I hope this will work for everyone. If you have questions about how to post to the blog just send me an email and I will try to talk you through it. LaDonna







Here is a current picture of my crew.