Another Year, Another Surgery!

 Tis the season! Lol 

 Chad has his long awaited shoulder surgery tomorrow. God willing it goes quick, smoothly and without complications. It is to address his on-going issues related to his neck/shoulders. If you read this and can keep him and his surgeons in your prayers or send good vibes - it would be super appreciated!

 The surgery is out-patient, so we should be home tomorrow night.  He will be out of work for about 6-8 weeks for recovery. Hopefully this will alleviate some of the constant pain he suffers from. Being a painter has really worn out his joints :( Thanks again for your thoughts and prayers x

Colonscopy 2021

 Its that time of the year again. 

Chad was supposed to be having colonscopies every two years now but due to a resurgent of stomach and bowel issues he insisted on another this year. The big day is tomorrow morning at the unGodly hour of 7 am. 

My prayers are that all is normal and there are no polyps in sight. Currently his biggest issue is once again vomiting several times a week, or sometimes even multiple times a day. He has had these issues in the past and had every test under the sun and nothing provided any explanation.  They subsided somewhat but he seems to be in a flare up. 

Outside of his gastric related health stuff, his neck and shoulder pain continues to bother him. His surgery he had in March 2020 unfortunately did little to alleviate his discomfort and his physical therapy has currently been exhausted so all he has left are injections he gets every few months. 

Other than that, he takes everything one day at a time and soldiers on xo

Thanks everyone for your continued thoughts and prayers xo

2021 Update - Delayed Cancer-Check Update.

 I have not updated in awhile....

Usually on January 6th I write to report that Chad has received the wonderful news of NED (No evidence of disease) for another year.  I couldn't do that this year because while we assumed (hoped!) he was, we never had any tests since December 2019.  The VA wanted him to switch to scans every two years, even though his surgeon Dr Sardi said for the first five years, twice a year. After Five years, scans once a year. 

 

Well Chad decided to ask his doctor for tests anyways. So about two weeks ago he had blood work done to check his tumor markers and those were pretty perfect. Today he had his CT Scan and I am BEYOND thrilled to write that it was clear. So we can officially say he is now celebrating SIX years cancer free!  I still blink back tears when I write those words. I wonder if it will ever have less of an impact? I doubt it and that's okay with me because all the tears and gratitude mean is that we continue to be grateful for the blessings he has received in beating cancer. <3 God is good. 

In other health news - Chad's neck is getting painful again, which sucks. He had surgery less than a year ago so this isn't a surgical issue. The good news is the VA has approved both physical/massage therapy as well as Chiropractor and because of Trumps changes to VA healthcare - Chad can finally now be seen locally for the chiropractor care. God willing this doesn't change under the new administration because he's been waiting patiently for so long for it! Hopefully between to the two, he can begin to feel a little less pain. His wrist is also getting bad again but he has an appointment for that in a couple weeks, so God willing that also helps.

I'll tell ya. After his major surgery for cancer, it's like so many parts of his body started falling apart. I'm not sure if it's the old age (Sorry Chad lol) or a combination of that and mental/emotional/physical stress but the guy sure struggles. With that said, in the face of those struggles he still gets up every day and works hard for both his employers and his family. The world is a better place with him in it and I am grateful every. single. day for his determination, for the doctors who help him, the friends and family who keep him in their thoughts and prayers and of course God for watching over him. 

Thank you everyone who still supports us on this never-ending journey. For now, we're grateful he's got another year of Cancer-Free under his belt!