And It Begins....

It's been a crazy month to say the least! It'll be one month tomorrow that our lives turned upside down. We've been through a lot and we've learned a lot (mostly about things we never wanted to know about), but we know we haven't come through this alone. It seems like every time we're faced with a new challenge, a tough decision, or a conflict of time we've had help come in all sorts of unexpected ways. We continue to feel the presence of angels all around.

Today we find ourselves back at the hospital. Nate's having a procedure where they install a "Power Port" under his skin, just under his collar bone. The port is a little bigger than a 2 liter soda bottle lid, and has a line attached to it that runs into his jugular vein and sits just above the right chamber of his heart. The purpose of the port is to more quickly disseminate the chemo by dropping it right into his heart, which will pump it through his entire body. They'll also be able to draw his labs from the port, so he won't have to be poked so much. The type of chemo he'll be getting is very caustic to smaller vessels, so the port will help eliminate a lot of damage and discomfort.

He's starting his first round of chemo on Tuesday afternoon. He'll spend about four hours in the infusion room, where the first two drugs will infuse, then they'll give him a pump to wear in a fanny pack (yes, Nate gets to wear a fanny pack...don't be jealous) that will infuse more chemo over the next 48 hours. He'll then have to go back to the clinic to have the line removed and give the pump back. He'll repeat the process every two weeks. The plan for now is to have about 4 rounds of chemo then have scans to track progress. Depending on how the scans look, we may be able to schedule his big surgery at that point.

We're hoping that Nate will feel well enough to go into work through the chemo, or at least be able to work from home. The doctor said that he should feel ok, maybe a little tired, but that he should feel good enough to work. I hope he's right! The chemo causes an extreme sensitivity to cold, so he'll have to be careful getting into the fridge and having cold drinks. Hoping that he fares well...he could use a break!

We're making some progress narrowing down our choices for our out-of-state surgeon. We've had some really great experiences throughout the process. I could call them coincidences, but I've learned better. I know that Heavenly Father loves us, and watches over us. I try to record all the little miracles, and it's amazing to look back and see the Lord's hand in our lives.

Thanks again for all the prayers and service. We still feel overwhelmed with gratitude and are thankful for all the wonderful friends and family we have in our lives.