Purple Stride Success!!

This past Saturday, our team of 8 (pictured above + Ruby) participated in Purple Stride Atlanta to help raise awareness for pancreatic cancer and funds for research. In the past 40 years, the statistics for patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer have remained largely unchanged despite significant advances in treatment for other cancers. We had great fun participating in the 5k, and I personally was overwhelmed to be standing next to my dad at an event where so many were walking/running "in memory" of a loved one. Daddy even walked the first lap with my Uncle Dave! Corrie, my father-in-law, and I ran and walked the entire 5k, and my mom, Aunt Linda, and Aunt Cheryl walked it. And can you believe that we forgot to charge our camera battery, and the batteries on all of our backups (batteries and cameras) died? So the only picture we have is from my husband's phone. The fundraising goal for the event as a whole was $150,000, and they raised over $165,000! We are going to see what it might take to get one going in Charlotte next year. Thanks so much to all of you who made donations for our team, or just offered encouraging words.

Also, here's a picture from Corrie's birthday party -- I just liked it and wanted to post it. Daddy is doing ok, but still having the fluid build up so he has another follow up with his surgeon this week. He also continues to struggle with fatigue (which according to all I've read is one of the chief post-op symptoms from a Whipple), but is looking forward to cooking the turkey as usual for Thanksgiving this year -- hooray!

Quick update...

Daddy's procedure last week went well. They removed 17 lbs (aka 8 liters) -- yes, you read that right --seventeen pounds of fluid off his belly. Needless to say, Daddy was feeling much better the next day. I clarified the info I received and the blood clot near his liver is smaller, however, they think that it may be contributing to the fluid retention. They indicated that he may have to have this done every couple of weeks for a while or look at a longer-term option. For right now, he's content to take it a week at a time.

I was surprised on Sunday to walk in at church and see Mom and Dad on stage. They were able to attest to God's faithfulness over the past year, and thank the congregation for their incredible support. I echo what they said (I wish I had a little audio clip of it to post here, but I don't): God has been faithful and present, and one of the main ways we have experienced that is through the body of Christ. We are very blessed by our friends and family, and how they have loved on us through this challenging time.

Medical Procedure & Upcoming Purple Stride

I realized the other day that I almost forgot that we have a blog -- a testimony to how well Daddy's been doing, I suppose. He has had a few small (we hope) problems in the past couple of weeks, the main one being that he continues to retain fluid in his abdomen. Currently, he has so much fluid there that it is affecting his appetite and making him very uncomfortable so he is having a procedure tomorrow mid-day where they will pull the fluid off using a needle. Apparently, the fluid retention has something to do with them reconfiguring his "internal plumbing" and now the body has to learn to redirect fluid to get it out of his body, and it just takes time. That means that he will likely continue to have this problem for a while, and may have to find a longer term option than having fluid drained every 2 weeks. He did have a CT scan recently (just of his abdomen), and they did not see any cancer; however, the small blood clot near his liver is still there (but I think it's shrinking). I am a little vague on the details because I have not been going to his doctor appointments with him lately, and so the information I get is "filtered."

Daddy was hoping to be able to walk with us in Atlanta at the Purple Stride on November 13, but the doctor reminded him that he really needs to be patient with his body and take it easy so he'll be there cheering us on, but probably not walking. Mom has signed up, though, along with my in-laws so we'll have a good contingency! We're still hoping to recruit more of the Atlanta family(hint, hint, if they are reading this). If you are interested in joining us or supporting our team, here's the link http://pancan.kintera.org/purplestrideatlanta10/teamgarrett. It's less than 2 weeks away now, and Corrie and I are getting excited!

When I download pictures from my camera, I'll post one with Daddy from Corrie's birthday. Thanks again for all the prayers and support!

One Year Later

I don't remember the exact date that Daddy was diagnosed but it was around this time last year. It was all a blur, but I just remember feeling a strong need to take lots of pictures at Corrie's birthday, praying that he would be able to be at the hospital when Zoe was born (as a visitor, not a patient) and reading everything I could about pancreatic cancer online. And getting terribly discouraged and afraid because of what I read. But one year later, Daddy is a little thinner, although he's put some weight back on since his hospital stay, and he still tires easily but he continues to gain strength. We are extraordinarily grateful to have him here preparing to celebrate Corrie's birthday again AND... anticipating the arrival of another grandchild!! Wendi and Rich are expecting their first baby in March, and we can't wait! (I was going to let her post this news but she's been otherwise occupied and I can't keep it in any longer!) We are so blessed.

On a sadder note, our friend Kofi went to be with Jesus this week. He truly was a special, godly, humble man and we will miss him terribly. Please keep his family in your prayers, especially in the weeks and months to come.

Road Trip!

When Daddy was going through treatment and during his two months in the hospital, his siblings and their spouses were great about coming up to visit him. (And my kids LOVE when Uncle Bud, Aunt Dot, Aunt Betty, Aunt Linda and Uncle Dave come visit.) Now, he's going to visit them this week! He hasn't traveled anywhere for quite a while, and the fact that he feels up to a multi-day road trip says a lot about how much better he is feeling now. So, look out, Georgia! :)

On a more serious note, please pray for our friend, Kofi, who was diagnosed with cancer in the past 2 weeks. It was a rather sudden diagnosis and has metatasized. He has a wife and 2 kids (one in high school, one in elementary school). He has been a great friend to Daddy, and visited Daddy frequently during his long hospital stay.

Team Garrett

It's official! Corrie (who will be 5 and is terribly excited about running) and I signed up to run in the Purple Stride Atlanta on November 13. It's a 5k Family Fun Run/Walk hosted by the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to raise awareness and funds for research. We're recruiting for our team-- Team Garrett -- won't you consider joining us or supporting us? Here's a link to our team page.

http://pancan.kintera.org/purplestrideatlanta10/teamgarrett

And We're Back...

Sorry for the gap in posts -- I was on vacation, and forgot to update before I left. My whole family (3 girls and husband) had a weird virus two weeks ago-- the main symptom seemed to be laying around crying with no appetite for 3 days. I couldn't get the girls to tell me what was wrong, if anything hurt, etc. Then my husband got it and said he just hurt all over. He stayed in bed for a day, and took 2 more days to really recover. (You can see where this is heading, right?). Well, Daddy got it. We had been out at their house one day when my oldest daughter all of a sudden started acting like she felt bad -- really just crying and laying on the couch. Of course, Pop-Pop had to comfort her, and 3 days later he was in bed for 3 days. The good news is that he's much better now and back on the road to regaining his strength. The bad news is that it obviously takes him much longer to recover -- probably twice as long and he feels like it set him back a couple of weeks. Otherwise, since he recovered, he's doing well -- he was back to making barbecue sauce (not the meat yet) the other day. Seems like there was something else I was going to post about but it's late and my brain has shut down for the night!