Rugby!!

We went to watch Kelsie play rugby at Slippery Rock University today. What a hoot. The bottom photo is of a "scrum" and I don't know how they keep from killing each other! Kelsie did make a trip to the ER this week, but her thumb/hand is "just" sprained. The photo of her and Tara was taken because Tara and her good friend Lisa are the ones who started the rugby team at GCC ... they didn't even have jerseys...so Tara is a legend :)

Carli had a great time visiting with some friends from her sorority today, and the girl that she was going to room with this year went to dinner with us. There is a great place called "Rachel's" about 5 mintues west of the outlets that has great food. We had fun eating, laughing and getting the scoop from Kelsie. It is weird for Carli when she is on campus, and Kelsie is the one who is getting to experience college life. K was going to a concert tonight, a Christian group that, of course, I had not heard of, but the girls knew them. She was excited to go, and it was hard to put Carli in the van and bring her home...only a few more months...

Light the Night

Hello everyone!

This is Carli actually writing for once and I apologize for not doing this myself before now! First, I would like to thank everyone so much who has taken the time to check my mom's blog and stay up to date on how I am doing. Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who has been sending me cards as well. I never realized how getting this much mail would brighten my day! Having two weeks off of chemo has been a great blessing, and I have been able to accomplish much more than I thought I was capable of within this time. So yay for feeling semi normal again!

Another reason I wanted to make a post is to advertise a fundraiser that my sorority (Gamma Sigma Phi) and I are participating in next week. We are going to be part of the Light the Night walk in Pittsburgh at Heinze Field which is to raise money and support for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. This definately hits home to me and my friends and we are trying to raise as much money as possible through our school and by individual donation sites that we have created online. If you would wish to help us and donate, please visit my site at http://www.active.com/donate/ltnPittsb/2058_Carlibeth Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Thank you to everyone once again! Friends and family have definately made the biggest difference to us!

God bless,
Carli

Carli loves her new Figment towel! Thanks to the Mast's and Gannon's for thinking of her at Disney World!
I am surprised that she let me put this photo on the blog, but, as you can see, her hair is growing! She still hates it when I rub her head, but Tara and I decided that it feels like a puppy, and who doesn't love to pet puppies? (She will kill me for this).

She had a great time at Grove City this weekend, but was VERY tired when she returned. She loved seeing everyone, but I am sure that it was overwhelming. She said that it was great to be there without any work to do-she could really enjoy the campus and her friends.

She has another week to enjoy-it was so nice to get up this morning and not have to take her to chemo. Sometimes disappointments end up being blessings...isn't that the way God is?

Carli and Jeremy came home Monday night and Jeremy moved to Orrville on Tuesday. Needless to say, I haven't seen much of them yet. It is good to see her feeling good enough to do some "normal" things.

This week and next week of normalcy...I think that this will be really what we all need. Carli is planning on going to Grove City on Friday and Saturday for a visit. Will be nice for her to see her friends, and Kelsie, too!

Kelsie just found out that she will be a "starter" for the women's rugby team this Saturday! We are excited for her, but praying that she stays healthy and has no injuries! (She has already been "cleated"...and has a huge bruise on her leg).

Tara is taking a job helping to care for a teenage with Cerebral Palsy. Should be a challenge, but really good experience for her.

So, for 2 weeks we can relax and enjoy this wonderful weather. What a blessing the past couple weeks have been. Only a few more days of summer...enjoy!

We made it to Michigan and had a nice weekend. You can tell that Carli really gets revived at camp. (I wish sleeping on a mattress with a slippery covering did the same for me!) At least we had heat and a bathroom :) The weather was nice but chilly. Made for a fun campfire with a big kettle of popcorn...felt and tasted good!

Carli ended up getting some much needed rest, and, of course, spent time with Jeremy. Yesterday's morning session was very heavy talking about our times of lamentation to God. Carli didn't stay, which was a good thing. It was hard for me, and I always feel like a blubbering idiot when things make me cry. Crying can be helpful, and it can be embarrassing. Sometimes I feel like I can't get my mind to go anywhere else but with her. I hope that my family and friends (and Carli, too) can understand that. It is so hard to let yourself get caught up in the "normal" world. Priorities are just so different now. I was just reading a blog about a little girl with cancer...how much harder that must be, not being able to really explain things, at least I can talk to an adult child. Maybe the detour in plans would be easier at a young age, though. I don't know. Right now their commonality is their fuzzy heads.

She is coming home tomorrow night, Jeremy is moving to Orrville in hopes to get a job and possibly go back to school in the future. That will be nice for her to have him closer than 4 1/2 hours away!

She will now have 2 whole weeks of feeling decent d/t the doctor's schedule. Hopefully she can recharge her batteries and enjoy feeling good for a longer period of time. It will be a nice change for all of us! It started out to be a depressing factor for her, but I am hoping that it is God's timing for recharging....

Good news-she felt well enough to drive herself to class tonight and got home around 7:30. She is enjoying her classes, and today was a lot of review of develpmental stuff that she had in dev. biology. So, that was nice that she didn't get overwhelmed with a bunch of new stuff!

Tomorrow we leave for Michigan...Camp Friedenswald is having a women's retreat and some ladies from church are going...Carli is going to volunteer on Saturday, and, of course, will see Jeremy. So, should be a fun weekend, and she is looking forward to being at camp again. I'll let you know how it went when we return! The theme is Embracing our Joys and Sorrows...should be interesting. We both could use some Joys about now, and have some sorrows that I guess we should embrace :)

She didn't feel well enought to go to class last night. Today she is very sore, more than usual. Has been basically a couch potato. Resorted to taking 2 Vicodin and wondering if there is anything stronger...so she must hurt!

Hopefully she will be able to go to class tomorrow night. It is only one class, so she says that she will try to make it. Maybe I will finally get a book finished that I started quite a while ago!

As I try to look for the silver lining, I just hope that she feels really good the next TWO weeks and has some fun times...and that she can feel God's presence through all of this....

Chemo Week # 9

Carli had a good time at the wedding on Saturday, then had a wedding shower to attend on Sunday. She also was fitted for her bridesmaid's dress...and it fits! She was happy, as since chemo she has gained a few pounds.

Today was LONG...we waited quite a while to see Dr. Stallings, and then another patient reacted to her chemo so they were all busy with her. The longer we waited today, the more anxious Carli got. She still gets so sick when they access her port, and then again when they give her the "red devil". She slept through most of the chemo today, which is good, but got real sick when they finished and flushed her port. He gave us a med to try next time to ease the anxiety...hopefully it will help decrease the nausea and vomiting.

Tonight she is questioning if she really would have to do the extra chemo. Dr. S said today that the new recommendations are 8 months (it used to be a minimum of 6). She said that she doesn't know if she can do this 7 more times...I said that she has no choice. It is hard, because I know that I really cannot understand what she is going through. But, on the other hand, she cannot know what it is like to be her mom and feel so terribly helpless. In talking with another patient at the office today, I said that you just have to realize that you are not in control. It is hard for me to leave this is God's hands, but that is all that I can do! He has promised to walk with us...and that His plan is best...

She feels very sick tonight...earlier than usual. She feels "chemical" again, and can't get comfortable. Please pray that she gets a good night's rest and will be able to tolerate going to classes tomorrow night.

A big thank you to the great friends who keep us going with food, cards, music, emails, calls, etc. etc. etc. I know that I sound like a broken record, but we couldn't do this without you!

Carli is in Michigan again. Jeremy's brother is getting married on Saturday, so she wanted to be there for that. She wasn't too excited about meeting his family when she has no hair and doesn't look her best, but you have to give her credit for going anyway! I really hope that they have a nice day, as I think that it is an outdoor wedding.

She did drop her Middle East class, and is now happy that she did. 2 classes right now will be enough to keep her busy without stressing her out. She is also teaching Sunday School (to 4-6th graders...what fun!) so she won't be bored!

I am going to pick up Kelsie today...my work schedule changed...and we are going to Jane's son Riley's football game. It will be great to see him play, it's his senior year, and always good to see Jane and Craig. Plus, it won't hurt me to see Kelsie!

Thanks again to our wonderful friends and family who are helping to cook, chauffer and, most importantly, pray. We couldn't do this without all of you!

What a great weekend weather-wise! Had the grandparents over today, and Carli relaxed a bit in the pool. She doesn't stay out long, she says that the sun really wears her out. This time she isn't bouncing back like she would hope...I think that it is partially emotional and just the chemo getting tougher each time...

She is really upset about the weight that she has gained...she is on steroids during the treatments and they make her hungry. I am just thrilled that she isn't losing weight!! Oh the things that bother you when you are 21...I gained weight from the stress and I just count it up to stress and old age...what a difference in how we see ourselves at 51 vs. 21!

Spoke with Craig tonight and he explained more details regarding her CT results. Put me a ease. Her tumor load has gone down considerably, which is great. She just wanted it to be gone so that she would be done with chemo in October. But, a few more months to make sure that it is GONE is what she needs to focus on...

She is probably going to drop her one class at Wayne. I think that is a good idea, 3 classes was a lot during her chemo weeks. I am just glad that she can take the other 2 and have something to do.

Carli found out that it isn't just GCC that is not understanding and willing to bend a little...she might have to drop her one class at Wayne because the prof says that he has to take off points if you miss class...and that is a possiblility on chemo weeks. So, here we go again!!

Last night we had a great time. We went to see "The Lion King" at the State Theater in Cleveland. The costumes were amazing, as well as the interpretation of the characters. What talent. Carli has watched the Disney movie many times and said that she can quote the dialog! She slept until noon yesterday and didn't do much so that she would have the energy to go. She started feeling yucky, had a terrible chemical taste in her mouth, but getting some gummy bears saved the day (or evening, I should say).

She said that she hasn't talked with anyone else with Lymphoma that has had more than 6 months of chemo. That is discouraging to her, as well as a little frightening for me. I don't want the chemo to have time to damage anything else in her little body. She has a good heart (in many ways) and the chemo can be damaging to hearts and other organs. This is a constant prayer of mine, that she tolerate the remaining months well, and that the chemo only kills the cancer and nothing else. Your prayers are still coveted!!

I have a quote from Corrie ten Boom on my bb at work that was given to me by a friend at work..."There is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still". I hold on to the promise that He is able....