Side Effects & Hospital Stays

The last couple weeks have been marked by many ups and downs. After the second infusion, Clay has been dealing with side effect after side effect. Some were short lived and others are more ongoing. Most were relatively tolerable or able to be managed. However, last week he began having stomach issues that made it difficult to eat and nothing he tried over the course of the week helped. On Saturday morning, he began having intense abdominal pain. We ended up going to the ER around 5:45 that morning. They were able to quickly get the pain under control and start him on antibiotics that has kept the pain at bay since then. 

In the last few days, Clay has been undergoing test after test. We have heard multiple theories as to what is causing all of these problems only for each test to come back clear and blood work looking great. I have put off writing a blog update because I want to have clear information to communicate, but as of right now, it seems like there aren't any major issues in his organs, but that this is a side effect from his immunotherapy. They are running a couple more tests today to continue to try to get a better understanding of what is going on. His third infusion is supposed to be Thursday, but we are unsure if that will be the best decision at this time. 

However, there has been some good news! The CT scan showed that his tumor has shrunk by over 2.5cm in each direction since our last scan on July17th! This was such an encouragement to us as we have not had much good news (medically) since May. 

Once again, in the midst of another unexpected trial, we have been met with the Lord providing abundantly through the Church. Friends tag-teamed taking care of the kiddos before Clay's parents got here- answering the phone before the sun was up and being there to pray for us before we left and be a source of comfort when the kids woke up. People have brought meals to the house and to the hospital, sent texts, brought overnight bags, washed our clothes and dishes, teamed up to make sure the kids could go to a pool party, and so much more. As I was leaving to come back to the hospital Sunday I checked the mail and we received a package from our church in NLR that was a scrapbook full of encouraging notes and verses. Only the Lord could orchestrate such perfect timing, and it brought me to tears. 

We are not forsaken. The Lord is near and drawing us ever-nearer as we face this. 

Prayer Requests:

• Clarity to know what is making Clay sick and that it would be resolved quickly
• Wisdom for what to do moving forward with treatment
• That we will be able to go home soon
• Clay can start eating again and gaining strength back 
• Our hearts would not be discouraged
• That we will continue to see this rate of shrinkage of his tumor and that it wouldn't spread anywhere else 

Ready, break! 

Quick Update

 As the title indicates, we'll keep this update brief. We are thankful that we have less to update everyone about because at least that means we aren't receiving as much new hard news.

We had a successful trip to MD Anderson in Houston last week while our "big" 3 kids hung out in AR. We met with a couple of doctors there and now have a team there that we can lean on if needed (though we would prefer to not need them). We even snuck out to catch a baseball game at Tropicana Field because I just can't resist. To top it off, we made some new friends while there. Thank you to Ms. Carole, Joshua, and Catie for your hospitality and for taking such good care of us and Judson.

The first few days back home were a little rough, unfortunately. I think that being out of my routine and traveling with luggage was just a little too much for me. And some side effects from the medication only made the situation worse. My back and shoulder pain intensified while an itchy rash and mouth ulcer showed up to the party. Thankfully the ulcer didn't last very long and the itching is tolerable. The weekend was a good (annoying?) reminder that the road to healing isn't a straight line.

This week, we are thankful to have our 3 big kids back in New Orleans and for some slight physical improvement. It's certainly a new routine, but we are just about settled into it. In spite of poor stamina and more doctors appointments than one person can manage on their own, I'm still able to go into work everyday. Bekah and the kids still go on adventures during the day a few times a week, too. And Bekah is excited to start homeschooling Eli next week. Again, it's a new "normal" but we are adjusting.

Prayer requests for this week:

1. I have my second immunotherapy infusion tomorrow (Thursday). Three weeks ago fatigue was the only real side effect I dealt with. We are praying that additional side effects don't hit this time around. We are also praying that we'd see some more physical improvement. 

2. Pray for Bekah and Eli as they start school next week and for the other 3 kids who will be around, too. Adding a new "thing" to our lives seems much more daunting than it used to a few months ago. Pray for Bekah's patience and energy levels.

As always, thank you for joining us on this journey. 

Ready, break!