tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-14814095685912611492024-03-13T17:38:54.858-07:00Five MilesSyndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481409568591261149.post-56581551811059247672011-12-01T11:45:00.001-08:002011-12-01T11:45:25.834-08:00Chemo - Round 9 <br />
Chemo – Round 9<br />
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The numbers are getting bigger and we’re getting closer to being finished with chemo! We are hoping that January 11th will be his last chemo session. Received really good news from the doctor this week. Dakota had a heart test and he was in the normal range. We had been really worried that he had heart damage from the chemo because he tends to have a lot of chest pain. The doctor thinks that it’s acid reflux and gave him medicine. The doctor said that his blood work is looking better every time and that means that the cancer is going away. Dakota is starting to recover faster after each session. He’s starting to feel a little normal again by Monday but lives in a fog from Wed – Sun. We were also worried that he is having a lot of back pain which was one of the symptoms of cancer but the doctor thinks that this is caused by inactivity. We won’t know if the cancer is gone until he has a bone marrow test. The test can’t be given until he has recovered from the chemo and everything is back to normal. I breathed a sigh of relief after this doctor’s appointment because I was really worried about his heart and his back. <br />
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I know Dakota is ready to live a normal life again. He has decided that he isn’t cutting his hair or shaving, and he is going to look like a mountain man. I’m ready for that day too! This was a kid who shaved everything and thought chemo might be cool since he wouldn’t have to shave anymore. It’s funny the things that you miss when you no longer have them. Dakota has gained most of his weight back and I think he looks really good and much healthier. I know he is ready to get back in shape and plans to start that as soon as he is finished with his last treatment.<br />
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We have learned a lot about how to fight off his sickness. The Amend that the doctor gave him for the sickness has been a godsend. We have learned that whoever goes to work needs to give Dakota his medicine before we leave at 5:00 a.m. We give him all of his medicine at that time and then he takes whatever he feels like he needs when he wakes up. He has learned to doctor himself up before he goes to treatment. Remember that this is the kid that wouldn’t even take aspirin when we first started. I told the nurses what he was taking and they said “whatever gets him through.” He takes one anti-anxiety and two pain pills and this makes him a little silly. If he doesn’t take the medicine then he gags the entire time and can’t calm down. We can’t even talk about his chemo without him gagging. Normally he acts a little silly on the ride up to the hospital and then he crashes for his treatment and that’s always a good thing. We normally won’t see too much of him until Saturday because he sleeps until then. He is still blessed with a very healthy appetite and we are very happy that he has gained weight when so many tend to lose weight. I was showing his nurse the blanket that was made for him and the ties that show when someone has prayed for him. The nurse said “no wonder he is doing so well.” I should have told her that we have a whole community and many that we don’t know praying, so YES there is a reason that he is doing so well. <br />
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It’s nice to have some good news and glad to report we are all doing well. <br />
Syndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481409568591261149.post-8602759545713328792011-10-28T19:11:00.000-07:002011-10-28T19:11:24.786-07:00Grandma Was One Tough Lady<span lang="EN"> I have thought a lot about writing about my mom. I went back and forth about if I should write about her or not. We have thought about her so much since finding out about Dakota having cancer. I call my sister a lot and ask her "how did mom ever do this?" Dakota came home this week and said, “man, grandma was one tough lady.” My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 45. She went through three rounds of treatment before she succumbed to the disease at the age of 50. I have always shared stories of my mom with the kids and how tough she was but I don’t think any of us really understood how tough she was until going through it together. My mom was a very shy woman and many may have thought she was stand-offish but really she was extremely shy. I always thought it was sad that so few people really knew her but that’s the way she was. I see a lot of her in myself and my kids. We are often misunderstood and thought snobby when we are really just socially awkward. Another thing that we inherited from her is her strength. I don’t think we will ever be as strong as her but we did get a little of her backbone. Some people have said that we are so strong. I will never see myself as a strong person as I will always compare myself to her but I have a little bit of her in me. <br />
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Why do I think my mother was so strong? I will share a few things that are a testament of her strength. My father died unexpectedly at the age of 40. My mother and father were on vacation and my mom was gearing up to start her new job on the following Monday. My father stepped outside and was struck by lightening and died instantly. We buried my father that week and my mother started her new job on Monday and didn’t tell anyone that she had just buried her husband the week before, and that she was left with three kids to support. <br />
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She never missed a day of work for sickness and I don’t remember her ever being sick until she was diagnosed with cancer. Even going through chemo she made her appointments late in the day and still never missed work, even though she felt terrible. She always said “why would I stay home? To feel sorry for myself?“ By the time that she was diagnosed with cancer all of her kids were grown and out of the house and she lived alone. She went to work, chemo, came home and did it all again. Every time that we go to chemo now and see a woman sitting there by herself we all think about my mom and we instantly feel sad for the woman sitting there alone. Later in her fight with cancer she was diagnosed with bone and liver disease. Both are excruciating but she still went to work and tried chemo one more time to try to ease the pain. She worked until two weeks before she died. Her biggest fear was that she would be a burden on us and that we would have to take care of her. The first day that we would have had to take care of her by ourselves she died in her sleep at home. She never wanted to be in the hospital and never wanted oxygen or anything to help her in the final days. The last day she was struggling terribly. We tried to put oxygen on her so she could breathe and get some sleep. We tried everything to try to get her to put the oxygen on. My mom told us in no uncertain terms that she would not put the oxygen on. I had to laugh that even in her final hours we were not going to tell her what to do. That’s my mom and I loved her for it. I thought it was so her. Just a last reminder that she was one tough lady. <br />
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One other piece of advice that my mother gave me when I was whining about something. “Syndi, there are people in this world with a lot bigger problems than you will ever have.” My mother didn’t correct me often but when she did I took her words to heart. I have always remembered that and I know that no matter what my trial is, there is someone out there who has way bigger trials than I could ever imagine. Thank you for that. <br />
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We are her legacy and I hope that we are living up to what she expected of us. I know that this blog is about Dakota and his journey but she laid the groundwork for how we handle this. I love you mom and you will always be my hero and the strongest person that I ever knew, or ever will know. Thank you for being such a great example for me and making me the person that I am today. I am so thankful that you were picked especially for me. I love you Mom. <br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Grace Watkins - my mom</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIa4DlHDHRMjODK43fjuhAvVaWMmNTpbBPki1RRJExTJffawq-0bifpdNszFuaW65WDjSXAmAGVswXS_wTi92laCpPo69dLDlGBQScGZf7FE1FNw0AC_vm-Io2VrlQYyhn7G8z7RF1w_J/s1600/Grace+Watkins.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIa4DlHDHRMjODK43fjuhAvVaWMmNTpbBPki1RRJExTJffawq-0bifpdNszFuaW65WDjSXAmAGVswXS_wTi92laCpPo69dLDlGBQScGZf7FE1FNw0AC_vm-Io2VrlQYyhn7G8z7RF1w_J/s1600/Grace+Watkins.png" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"></div></span>Syndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481409568591261149.post-35971337488633575202011-10-20T19:29:00.000-07:002011-10-20T19:29:56.645-07:00Chemo - Round 6<span lang="EN"> I haven’t posted in awhile because there wasn’t much to tell. Dakota is on his second day of round six. The next PET scan will be in December. Not sure when they will do the next bone marrow test. The doctor seems satisfied with Dakota’s progress and everything still looks good. The biggest problem that he is having now is a little bit of panic attacks when he goes to get his chemo. He starts shaking and has even been sick just going in the room. When we walk in he smells the room and instantly feels sick. I smell nothing but of course I’m not taking the medicine. He tastes and smells the medicine so it’s not a pleasant experience for him. Today they gave him a prescription for an anti-anxiety pill. Hopefully that will help him chill out a little. The chemo changes his tastes and there are things that just don‘t taste the same. One of which is soda, but I don’t consider that a big loss. He eats pickles now and that wasn’t something he ate regularly before. The medicine also makes the skin in his mouth peel, but that isn’t a big deal just a little annoying. The doctors are also giving him steroids which makes him very cranky. We have learned to just let him sleep and not bother him too much for about five days. He loses a few more eyelashes and eyebrows every time he takes chemo but he still has a little left. He thought losing all his hair was going to be cool since he used to shave his body. Don’t ask me…something about man-scaping. He has decided that it’s not so cool when you don’t have a choice. Maybe he will be a hairy bear once all his hair grows back. He said he may even try a beard. It’s amazing what you appreciate when you no longer have it. He has been very blessed that he hasn’t had a cold or anything. We are very fortunate that none of us get sick very often so hopefully we will make it through the cold and flu season without any sickness. <br />
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A few weeks ago I read all my posts on the blog and was amazed at the things I had already forgotten about, so I’m really glad that I’m writing it all down. Maybe someone who is going through this in the future will be able to read this and have an idea of what will happen each time. I know it was nice to talk to someone who is taking chemo with Dakota, that is on the same medicine and we compared notes. <br />
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I do know that we are all ready for this to be over and get back to a normal life. Right now Dakota is very tired of being sick and tired. He wants to feel normal and live a normal life. He feels like he looks very strange and is feeling a little insecure about how he looks. Of course, I still think he looks handsome but I’m a little biased. I thought it would be strange when he lost all of his hair, and it would make me sad to see him. All I see when I look at him is how proud I am of him and I don’t feel sadness. I would imagine that a lot of that is from all the prayers that we have received. I know we couldn’t do any of this without your prayers and God’s grace. <br />
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I am always touched at how many people are praying for us. Many churches are praying for Dakota and they don’t even know us. Last week a friend of mine from work brought me a quilt that his sister’s church had made for Dakota. Emmaus Baptist Church in Oklahoma City has a Prayer Quilt Ministry. This was written on the brochure that we received with the quilt. “The prayer quilt is a lap-sized cover, hand-tied with square knots. As each knot is tied, a prayer is offered for the person who will receive the quilt. When fully tied, the quilt is given as a gift of love and prayer. Each prayer quilt is a statement of our faith in God and our belief in His power to comfort, encourage, strengthen and heal.” What a beautiful ministry this church has and we are very honored and touched that you thought of us. Thank you!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeQYYWVBRqV42oL2niB1z02T_paWY0tQbrssMasRjQEUHaiKAIUGTH5RBT3G-SQCxgSJ2Qoaph2EscwP_49mmO4gtfRwh3WywEwb-pUZibH0JOWpoEVpuHG8QjbHjX8rdOilxyKBofhQfS/s1600/097.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeQYYWVBRqV42oL2niB1z02T_paWY0tQbrssMasRjQEUHaiKAIUGTH5RBT3G-SQCxgSJ2Qoaph2EscwP_49mmO4gtfRwh3WywEwb-pUZibH0JOWpoEVpuHG8QjbHjX8rdOilxyKBofhQfS/s320/097.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6LddduPnfGuOtUKweIk7U1GqM3VNEKhBNLAOrAR5HtFONEeFvQeMySzf3EISH_KcDYrZSSC_lyeOoaSXlxgZE__yj25uplw6Kq8li9-nZnPYhJQVP9L69x40u6yHNnA9q9mMo7EfbHzVG/s1600/102.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6LddduPnfGuOtUKweIk7U1GqM3VNEKhBNLAOrAR5HtFONEeFvQeMySzf3EISH_KcDYrZSSC_lyeOoaSXlxgZE__yj25uplw6Kq8li9-nZnPYhJQVP9L69x40u6yHNnA9q9mMo7EfbHzVG/s320/102.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
The school also had a Power Puff football game that was put on by FCCLA and Keri Laxton. The officers in FCCLA and Keri decided to give the proceeds to Dakota to help with the medical bills. We are so very touched by your kindness and want to thank each and every person that helped with this. I know Dakota has been overwhelmed with how kind and generous everyone has been. Keri Laxton, you are a class act and we appreciate you.<br />
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Many people have been very kind and send encouraging notes, texts, emails, cookies, presents. It would take me forever to list all of them and I’m sure I would forget someone along the way. Just know that your kindness is never taken for granted and we appreciate and love all of you. <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Dakota at chemo with his quilt. He has learned to sleep through chemo.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjovd2sMlng7ZVmMr1aRkedLRpQQDBk1_mcz74MrUT7F_gw4_PWVLo9OzA2BHF_FHvb0ohgyNZsW1PXt-qqXRagZcqFfaLiSBKYWBlQFZLTMIjNxs5PYubKtLwzTXY0kaT3-0CuMwe8_u-e/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjovd2sMlng7ZVmMr1aRkedLRpQQDBk1_mcz74MrUT7F_gw4_PWVLo9OzA2BHF_FHvb0ohgyNZsW1PXt-qqXRagZcqFfaLiSBKYWBlQFZLTMIjNxs5PYubKtLwzTXY0kaT3-0CuMwe8_u-e/s320/003.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Paige is on fall break and went with us to chemo</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC51j1mZSENobhu19M3FpQHmeCAVeZ5U3Pp-GI37hRHhA9vPVhOzdJdV2onqlOxrguaKwdTed5sDwDD621T60a2X-5cZDt_BbQHNoXATplcZZaZ7CiBC4UQRArMApUWQON5R7NxNXeuUHq/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC51j1mZSENobhu19M3FpQHmeCAVeZ5U3Pp-GI37hRHhA9vPVhOzdJdV2onqlOxrguaKwdTed5sDwDD621T60a2X-5cZDt_BbQHNoXATplcZZaZ7CiBC4UQRArMApUWQON5R7NxNXeuUHq/s320/005.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> She shared his blanket. It's cold in there!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvRAucozzBoNLofdgkRLKKwGMfwpLKkFCltYHoS61rZtKLjEb_KMGCp7BnNDS5AkyCBkMI0egwcT4u7FzsM4pOMWfUIvGFLNJERg08_pGmEz9AZauV0A0Zcf4Xm-9kcqx7DFTbva92grnp/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvRAucozzBoNLofdgkRLKKwGMfwpLKkFCltYHoS61rZtKLjEb_KMGCp7BnNDS5AkyCBkMI0egwcT4u7FzsM4pOMWfUIvGFLNJERg08_pGmEz9AZauV0A0Zcf4Xm-9kcqx7DFTbva92grnp/s320/008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>This scripture was on the brochure from the church that made Dakota’s quilt and I thought I would share it with you. <br />
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“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” 2 Corinthians 1.3-5 <br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Amen.</div></span>Syndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481409568591261149.post-9941167931135570562011-09-23T20:27:00.000-07:002011-09-23T20:27:38.907-07:00Chemo - Round 4 Done!<span lang="EN"> Round four of chemo went well this week. The new medicine is working and no sickness. Dakota had some sickness last week but hopefully we can head that off this time. He did get another new injection this week that is causing muscle spasms in his chest and arms. Called the doctor tonight and told us to give him a pain pill. Still having some spasms but hopefully they will subside. If it continues to worsen we will take him to the doctor this weekend. Dakota slept a lot after the first round and was a little cranky. When he came in Thursday the nurse asked him what was wrong because she could tell he wasn’t his normal self. I just love his nurses and how they know his name and get to know each and every patient. Dakota gets anxious each time he gets ready for treatment and dreads it more each time. It’s hard to be 20 years old and stuck at the house all the time but I don’t think that’s the part that bothers him the most. The sickness is what he really dreads but hopefully he won’t have that any longer and he will have a better attitude. I had talked to his nurse about Hodgkin’s and if she knew if it was hereditary because David had read that it was but I hadn’t seen that while looking on the internet. His nurse went home and looked it up and said that it was hereditary. I thought it was amazing that a nurse would take the time to look it up after she went home. That just goes to show you how great the people are at St. Anthony’s. <br />
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We have had a busy couple of weeks. David and I celebrated our 25<sup>th</sup> wedding anniversary on Sept 12<sup>th</sup>. I was able to get all the kids together and get family pictures for the occasion. The next week I went to the State Fair with my sister and her grandkids to see Disney on Ice. My sister takes us all every year and the kids get to ride the rides. I took a lot of pictures at the fair. David’s parents made a surprise visit from California and we had a nice visit with them. Then on Sunday we had dinner with all of the Oklahoma Miles crew at a Mexican restaurant and I took pictures there too. Lots of pictures in the last few weeks. Of course I can’t post many on here but I will post a few. <br />
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While at his first round we sat across from a gentleman about my age with Hodgkin’s, stage one. We had a nice talk and compared symptoms from the medicine. Even though he is stage one they are both on the same medicine. Both are having problems sleeping. I thought it was because he doesn’t expend energy during the day but I guess it’s the medicine. The man remembered seeing us before and told me that I looked much calmer this time. So much for thinking I looked calm and collected all the time. He told me a few times so I must have looked a mess. Of course I don’t remember seeing him because I only had eyes for Dakota. It’s funny the people God places in your life at just the right time. Dakota was feeling blue and it was good to talk to someone going thru the same thing. <br />
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God did place some scripture in front of me, and he did it three times in two weeks. How can you ignore that? We receive a magazine from Jesse Duplantis. We had the opportunity to listen to him last spring at Meeker and really enjoyed him. He definitely isn’t a Baptist, as he will tell you, but I enjoyed his message and his magazine always seems to have an article about something we are struggling with. Last month was faith and those with super faith. This month the he talked about a woman with an issue of blood from Mark 5:25-34:<br />
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25. A woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. 26. She had suffered a great deal from many doctors, and over the years she had spent everything she had to pay them, but she had gotten no better. In fact, she had gotten worse. 27. She had heard about Jesus, so she came up behind him through the crowd and touched his robe. 28. For she thought to herself, “If I can just touch his rode, I will be healed.” 29. Immediately the bleeding stopped, and she could feel in her body that she had been healed of her terrible condition. 30. Jesus realized at once that healing power had gone out from him, so he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my robe?” 31. His disciples said to him, “Look at this crowd pressing around you. How can you ask, ‘Who touched me?” 32. But he kept on looking around to see who had done it. 33. Then the frightened woman, trembling at the realization of what had happened to her, came and fell to her knees in front of him and told him what she had done. 34. And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Your suffering is over.” <br />
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This same scripture was given at church the following week. Then our friend Dave gives us a book called <u>A Message from God</u> and it has the same scripture in it. I believe God is telling me to have faith, loud and clear. Got it! Message delivered. Thank you.<br />
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I didn't know if I wanted to post because I didn't think that I had anything to really write about. Geesh, don't leave me alone with a computer!<br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">Family picture: Blake, Paige, Dakota, David, Syndi</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlizmyBb-u5XdkIJQwaYhdZAyfMO8k_H8W6dCRoip8xPCDIF4U2yAXP0OnJp174_PazpSuhoHRrMYfmaZnMLqz4H-8vaeQVNWllkK7EDma-ZzywUgNHTYh8_ZBwSKRb4qowfAmWL-8rAq2/s1600/112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlizmyBb-u5XdkIJQwaYhdZAyfMO8k_H8W6dCRoip8xPCDIF4U2yAXP0OnJp174_PazpSuhoHRrMYfmaZnMLqz4H-8vaeQVNWllkK7EDma-ZzywUgNHTYh8_ZBwSKRb4qowfAmWL-8rAq2/s320/112.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Eating cinnamon rolls at the fair before Disney on Ice</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe0iTzG92TJTl56slj-eG9IKPhbkqpl7OxcK6vhJkwjxE3XT3bOJa_9K_pgMuQRUA3O255pKfkj6ByBoTdMSU60p5YNKDB_XbbhJQrQ-6omVaK_A4mqurayVMQhuo06iozcyHLiZOWr-2/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe0iTzG92TJTl56slj-eG9IKPhbkqpl7OxcK6vhJkwjxE3XT3bOJa_9K_pgMuQRUA3O255pKfkj6ByBoTdMSU60p5YNKDB_XbbhJQrQ-6omVaK_A4mqurayVMQhuo06iozcyHLiZOWr-2/s320/005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Where do all young warriers carry their swords? Stuffed in their sweat pants, of course! Oh my gosh, I love this kid and his faces!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF2WtvfVgJPGKdzmNp0q7btI77mHS0p0bjpXU76rjuA0kGch7FO5Ru1Y1udpQfm3FZuP2QdBGBn-vGeMibhWpvvc_jT92rPGX8QeKlRUmA-66-KxtY3WaITu2iEDyzvlaascXZezhfWPF3/s1600/100.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF2WtvfVgJPGKdzmNp0q7btI77mHS0p0bjpXU76rjuA0kGch7FO5Ru1Y1udpQfm3FZuP2QdBGBn-vGeMibhWpvvc_jT92rPGX8QeKlRUmA-66-KxtY3WaITu2iEDyzvlaascXZezhfWPF3/s320/100.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> All four of them riding a ride and trying to catch the bubbles. Love all of their faces in this!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOR7_u3fYClBbjwQcUQ07X-0yTj1P9nJ472jvDvYcd55MT3a69NW30OXnjlAMyMR4MhohYQD9uKqHVzaeXe1tcUQroesmlnT7vKPGmn68zx9Sbj9WAIiBUeh0sfUTMz91Y-IvXfx-SI-Sh/s1600/156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOR7_u3fYClBbjwQcUQ07X-0yTj1P9nJ472jvDvYcd55MT3a69NW30OXnjlAMyMR4MhohYQD9uKqHVzaeXe1tcUQroesmlnT7vKPGmn68zx9Sbj9WAIiBUeh0sfUTMz91Y-IvXfx-SI-Sh/s320/156.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> You ask "why does my sister look like a crazy person?" She is laughing because her grandson fell. She is a sick person. She's trying to block the camera from seeing her sickness. I'm surprised that the picture isn't blurry because I was laughing so hard at her. No worries, her grandson was fine and he just kinda stumbled but it doesn't take much to get her started. She'll love me for this picture. LOL</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DJ2eQQ2qk4uRK9Et0n5ljJZm-HEz-eP4SyBf4w-pPTWqcyX8ePXlyrSWoGE6rxCMElcMWufrFY8DQUhrLsKh9I9XDRUTuUCjgjfzXa57hPXwD7hp5QxiWYmRZrhaAfEG7IIngmnXytnX/s1600/235.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2DJ2eQQ2qk4uRK9Et0n5ljJZm-HEz-eP4SyBf4w-pPTWqcyX8ePXlyrSWoGE6rxCMElcMWufrFY8DQUhrLsKh9I9XDRUTuUCjgjfzXa57hPXwD7hp5QxiWYmRZrhaAfEG7IIngmnXytnX/s320/235.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">The cousins</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVP_um83-mwUd5RQFBf0pnDLWeT5oOopTwg1UBFgNrwmrcwO7FIAkkdkjm4yC30k2J3Lkf6BL4d-ray4mFy6S7kPZRUmEd_SBlHFhHLWl0ypYa869Ra_9zlxr6pSzd5am0aWVBuBHxipH/s1600/262.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNVP_um83-mwUd5RQFBf0pnDLWeT5oOopTwg1UBFgNrwmrcwO7FIAkkdkjm4yC30k2J3Lkf6BL4d-ray4mFy6S7kPZRUmEd_SBlHFhHLWl0ypYa869Ra_9zlxr6pSzd5am0aWVBuBHxipH/s320/262.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> David's brother, Darrin and his wife Christy</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEnSgZiMyNq45NeHVGzKArqRv7mXwBNx_BHBC8bXtMG2V4RcEQp1siyXhbVGoOoWzHsmusRdNnk5cV8ak76-OmCUZvZpLlJQutk8Fol5VcWjVV4ckHNDAGA5f4oeg8CeDHnSGS2cZhiih/s1600/263.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKEnSgZiMyNq45NeHVGzKArqRv7mXwBNx_BHBC8bXtMG2V4RcEQp1siyXhbVGoOoWzHsmusRdNnk5cV8ak76-OmCUZvZpLlJQutk8Fol5VcWjVV4ckHNDAGA5f4oeg8CeDHnSGS2cZhiih/s320/263.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> David's parents, so sweet!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6DJIBxTBaRqewtQLfQHTarV5LkfWWrDa5dH4fAN_VF74U7icvOcab6V-x5cHzWaoG_rM5iarfDLBPhQF3ix4_3t_eX_-aaODS0Pwy7vEXMJoeRJJ-n5fCsA78txkvbzYoHKo2tV-bneI/s1600/268.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-6DJIBxTBaRqewtQLfQHTarV5LkfWWrDa5dH4fAN_VF74U7icvOcab6V-x5cHzWaoG_rM5iarfDLBPhQF3ix4_3t_eX_-aaODS0Pwy7vEXMJoeRJJ-n5fCsA78txkvbzYoHKo2tV-bneI/s320/268.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The Miles crew. Notice the family resemblance in the men?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLiuBVCmwKfEMWy77_OCdqDYO_fkbzFstqObSanvlZZyLk3Y37ztyOYJNsssX8xNqEV5XGRBo8cBe6vy9QyA_AibOo7nqH-sm1qiu4w_XktWMIg7vjW1b2cZhr77VukIwUNvUJapl8aTUi/s1600/275.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLiuBVCmwKfEMWy77_OCdqDYO_fkbzFstqObSanvlZZyLk3Y37ztyOYJNsssX8xNqEV5XGRBo8cBe6vy9QyA_AibOo7nqH-sm1qiu4w_XktWMIg7vjW1b2cZhr77VukIwUNvUJapl8aTUi/s320/275.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Bill, love the smile!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Nsmc-ZA6OyWQybJNdY9yGdGpXNrOx3DB76t8Iu5aHqKVlPU7rGmeqVuYyMNc6GYfk1vgROGK7IWXzrO51bYBeN44qsTMpLZCD8WMX-iDLDrT3nMOrFsQbeflNYnjXc2Z0qwQ0116cWRk/s1600/303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Nsmc-ZA6OyWQybJNdY9yGdGpXNrOx3DB76t8Iu5aHqKVlPU7rGmeqVuYyMNc6GYfk1vgROGK7IWXzrO51bYBeN44qsTMpLZCD8WMX-iDLDrT3nMOrFsQbeflNYnjXc2Z0qwQ0116cWRk/s320/303.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> David hugging his mom good-bye. He loves his momma.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_Ox0p71zlqdSMY43P2mGQYxTx_H5Mn5gZcGj5YJJ-2T9LFhqWENjnmYRxqfAPcMTN6-ZAGUBi6_AbB3ZANgvZKTpyIJxko2arjBwPyFjDQzuFGOsiOMjDFstciFA1SlX-pcgUlmBrMhb/s1600/284.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO_Ox0p71zlqdSMY43P2mGQYxTx_H5Mn5gZcGj5YJJ-2T9LFhqWENjnmYRxqfAPcMTN6-ZAGUBi6_AbB3ZANgvZKTpyIJxko2arjBwPyFjDQzuFGOsiOMjDFstciFA1SlX-pcgUlmBrMhb/s320/284.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Of course the guys had to show that they could climb this gate. I love how Blake has his hands out to catch his brother. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BA4FsiKq6RucK1DTOJatDUjGYs-6n_QfDpVDxSQDTd0zIk2JjSCKv3EWRWvMm-FTBIFdlpxmfwKLWB4XxY80D61QNnPa0k0bJpQvGwnVvJeIBXujaOxDnB0aY6GXS8K_GM_-pkEjGJtd/s1600/291.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BA4FsiKq6RucK1DTOJatDUjGYs-6n_QfDpVDxSQDTd0zIk2JjSCKv3EWRWvMm-FTBIFdlpxmfwKLWB4XxY80D61QNnPa0k0bJpQvGwnVvJeIBXujaOxDnB0aY6GXS8K_GM_-pkEjGJtd/s320/291.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> More of the cousins</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtx0H1fnQ8r8FM7pMaYBwr4ZQAKxAA45hz5fFe7JLhcb8IW4buQXwf8GsKJfMVJlcf5ruDXmDPjdrMrsX-jKK7fWn4mvKtp6bRdROPwpPRIsuDaujPmsvnCu-BHzujuBsct4CSSLb9Y1Zp/s1600/308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtx0H1fnQ8r8FM7pMaYBwr4ZQAKxAA45hz5fFe7JLhcb8IW4buQXwf8GsKJfMVJlcf5ruDXmDPjdrMrsX-jKK7fWn4mvKtp6bRdROPwpPRIsuDaujPmsvnCu-BHzujuBsct4CSSLb9Y1Zp/s320/308.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Dakota hugging his grandma good-bye...sniff, sniff</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_C9Jg9lXy5eeNMmYhEqtcIMyGY2ULgOUNcsbPuRZgbfdLJ9QY3GbOKGDj4MmEZPN4vVnsPIesuIfh5_1xUEezdiXozaoByKGU5lVLXRElETAAQA7PVOoZrMYkuRFQ-Ty5sHXRs6UYDi7Y/s1600/282.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" hca="true" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_C9Jg9lXy5eeNMmYhEqtcIMyGY2ULgOUNcsbPuRZgbfdLJ9QY3GbOKGDj4MmEZPN4vVnsPIesuIfh5_1xUEezdiXozaoByKGU5lVLXRElETAAQA7PVOoZrMYkuRFQ-Ty5sHXRs6UYDi7Y/s320/282.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">Romans 8:11 “But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you”</div></span>Syndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481409568591261149.post-47732092147945716362011-09-09T16:54:00.000-07:002011-09-09T16:54:40.078-07:00Third Round - DONE!<div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1315608111395115"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1315608111395114" style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Dakota has completed his third round of treatments. His breathing check went really well and his lungs and heart look good so far. He also gained 2 lbs in the last month so that is good news. This round has went really well as far as sickness goes. He was given a pill last time to help him process his food faster and to prevent his food from sitting in his stomach and another pill to knock him out. They also gave him another nausea pill so he now has three different pills for nausea. We are starting to look like a pharmacy. He takes a blood thinner every day along with his multi-vitamin. The blood thinner is taken to prevent blood clots near his port area. They also ask that you take Tylenol and Benadryl during your treatment as well. Our job is to make sure that Dakota takes all of the medicine. He doesn’t even like to take aspirin. We aren’t the type of people to take medicine unless we are feeling pretty rotten. We have to adjust to this new way of thinking and make sure that he takes everything or he could be very sick. His everyday routine isn’t too bad as he only has to take his blood thinner, multi-vitamin and nausea pill if needed. During treatment days he takes Tylenol, Benadryl, multi-vitamin, two nausea pills, pill to help digest food, and the pill to knock him out. </span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Here is a picture of some of Dakota's pills and his handy dandy barf bag that we take in the car. The chemo lab gave this to us. Much easier to carry around instead of the small trash can that we had been bringing. Luckily we haven't had to use either one of them but nice to have. </span></div><div align="center" class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGtkWW7UyFkA6BjGB7R7pCQus0rurLxFvXCN7g_7qYvxsU_Pdxca8r9f_xRWU5yNNLy5jJG37CsgkSYrLX5I_nnTDGDknSXRhDELQXCKDcVjqS8XsoJkjfZkQcI9rEpo0aJAhHNzlR8OJ/s1600/155.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVGtkWW7UyFkA6BjGB7R7pCQus0rurLxFvXCN7g_7qYvxsU_Pdxca8r9f_xRWU5yNNLy5jJG37CsgkSYrLX5I_nnTDGDknSXRhDELQXCKDcVjqS8XsoJkjfZkQcI9rEpo0aJAhHNzlR8OJ/s320/155.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1315608111395126"><br />
</div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We see the doctor once a month and he was very happy with Dakota’s progress and he will take six treatments and then about mid-November he will have another PET scan to see how he is progressing. We were under the impression that if the PET scan went well that he would be finished with treatment. We found out this week that he will continue until January, so six months of treatment…UGH! I was so hoping that we would be finished by Thanksgiving. He will have 12 treatments in all. </span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1315608111395122"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1315608111395121" style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I did learn anther good lesson this week. Dakota did go out last Friday. He came home early and I asked him why he was back so quickly. He said, “I felt like everyone was staring at me.” I remember seeing a woman at a football game and staring at her and my thoughts went like this: </span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv59095417MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span>1.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> I wonder what kind of cancer she has</span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span>2.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I wonder if she’s going to be ok</span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoListParagraph" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1315608111395134"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span>3.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1315608111395133" style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I wonder if her family is ok</span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span>4.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Why is she all covered up in 90+ weather</span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoListParagraph"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><span>5.<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">How can she stand to be out when she probably feels bad</span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoListParagraph"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1315608111395138"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1315608111395137" style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">What I should have done was ask her all of those questions or at least some of those and stopped staring at her. I did find out from our dealings with chemo that you have to stay out of the sun during treatment because it makes you very sun sensitive. I also learned that you can’t expect a cancer patient to sit in their house all the time. Dakota spends pretty much every day sitting at home and trying to get stronger. We make every effort to make sure that he can get out on weekends between treatments. I think people dealing with cancer would appreciate it if I acknowledged them and talked to them instead of staring. I know that I am so afraid to say the wrong thing or be inconsiderate but I think talking to that person instead of staring is a much better option. Lesson learned for me! I'm sure it won't be my last. Seems like every week I learn something new.</span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Had a good time with my sister and her family last Saturday and Sunday and took a few pictures. I love hanging out with them and we always have a good time. Our family is the glue that holds us together. Unfortunately we don't get to see David's family much since the majority of them live in California but they are all behind us 100% and are always here for us. Family is a great thing and we are fortunate to have encouraging and loving relatives. </span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Here are some pictures from last week when I sent David off with the camera to his brothers house. This is David's brother Darrin and his sister Dayna. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1So9NAw0mQUA1tk9vwYTNVX66eFm74QZIIaHZ1rmKsmatAGud8AqsS_NGNHJWZkcAapqW1c3QNCqdcp4YBqEVWVtLKg2ZlYbF5XMvvmJ52QIdoasaPXyrJ7CVhw6bUS5OzwHmLpE73SAh/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1So9NAw0mQUA1tk9vwYTNVX66eFm74QZIIaHZ1rmKsmatAGud8AqsS_NGNHJWZkcAapqW1c3QNCqdcp4YBqEVWVtLKg2ZlYbF5XMvvmJ52QIdoasaPXyrJ7CVhw6bUS5OzwHmLpE73SAh/s320/016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Darrin, his wife - Christy, Dayna, Francesco, and Darrin's son - Myles</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgha6Ty6qI3hvVDY428qX6mft0ZRb5PWpZu1xMtVfdY3ivvbpdzXUNhXu_M2rBg877X4hWnVIX-yzx2lYDErE3x55ZW9zW4PgEv6TkM04ZrgCq0jBoS5YZXLLjgQyrKaN0saAs6edJaCel/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgha6Ty6qI3hvVDY428qX6mft0ZRb5PWpZu1xMtVfdY3ivvbpdzXUNhXu_M2rBg877X4hWnVIX-yzx2lYDErE3x55ZW9zW4PgEv6TkM04ZrgCq0jBoS5YZXLLjgQyrKaN0saAs6edJaCel/s320/019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">This is from last Sunday. My nephew Austin playing with the kids</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jZM__cjUOcGM4O-eKo6I1MCYtQMb6bZudegTaBjMigkSjNGZ-UdbmuokTg2KAPSktzyVbs15d0QpfUwA0mgEFZLQAKt3CUzGnN0dtVCsuXUAw3CB6bSv83L8OsOYDof1PTCflNfYmtO-/s1600/039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4jZM__cjUOcGM4O-eKo6I1MCYtQMb6bZudegTaBjMigkSjNGZ-UdbmuokTg2KAPSktzyVbs15d0QpfUwA0mgEFZLQAKt3CUzGnN0dtVCsuXUAw3CB6bSv83L8OsOYDof1PTCflNfYmtO-/s320/039.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">My neice Gracie and my nephew Raylan</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Z1itgRbGIP25G2xRLdO0ZNwYuzuCuAwkc7RByoZuIL8o5Pj01KnUmcPRTRfhYnPNBPxZ5UHWquz_EM-l-8SFi98KvFRjFTjlSyKpV-REkLa0TdwH96jcNcJ_OsiJqiay6nkbqBxsHwbZ/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Z1itgRbGIP25G2xRLdO0ZNwYuzuCuAwkc7RByoZuIL8o5Pj01KnUmcPRTRfhYnPNBPxZ5UHWquz_EM-l-8SFi98KvFRjFTjlSyKpV-REkLa0TdwH96jcNcJ_OsiJqiay6nkbqBxsHwbZ/s320/014.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> My nephew's wife Holly and my sister Danita</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUZ973-OAPDynfcHlBISei36KpWD56XsOg9TyA68QMwA-NixPtzdoSLKPEKQ4KAk-PejvjUr41y418m8zDhGuKTFLuMzFtPJtkpVU15YaYNAOd0j-wYREkxAUstIb4zL2h-78-dZ_Qw7x/s1600/035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkUZ973-OAPDynfcHlBISei36KpWD56XsOg9TyA68QMwA-NixPtzdoSLKPEKQ4KAk-PejvjUr41y418m8zDhGuKTFLuMzFtPJtkpVU15YaYNAOd0j-wYREkxAUstIb4zL2h-78-dZ_Qw7x/s320/035.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Gracie & Raylan</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDZozd3LhYYiVAv7nGEdVshvCjW6fhP-nb5R85BW2rbm6lIqldUeLfK_ZbF7osVtN7sjLAg0HpriV-l_y0YZiERqbCI2T_qXFO91IjmB4Cf-9hlbaui6mJmRjHn8MzmGQyx0HF60OVLf0/s1600/047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcDZozd3LhYYiVAv7nGEdVshvCjW6fhP-nb5R85BW2rbm6lIqldUeLfK_ZbF7osVtN7sjLAg0HpriV-l_y0YZiERqbCI2T_qXFO91IjmB4Cf-9hlbaui6mJmRjHn8MzmGQyx0HF60OVLf0/s320/047.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> My nephew Ben</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hEy99BpTxr9nPXQsANtIWVIiyz3FUdeJoMzIcOJdmprLEMIauZK062NQxdjUvFQAi9CzvDE5zW0e6-2gEua3SJvv7H8P4YmWbUxL3NGxpZx2rC1dH8w_SQRhRHaxuXotAOjac4OQi1qf/s1600/056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9hEy99BpTxr9nPXQsANtIWVIiyz3FUdeJoMzIcOJdmprLEMIauZK062NQxdjUvFQAi9CzvDE5zW0e6-2gEua3SJvv7H8P4YmWbUxL3NGxpZx2rC1dH8w_SQRhRHaxuXotAOjac4OQi1qf/s320/056.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> My best friend/sister Danita</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPv5wUbc8JfztRUDVO4rA2-0iBE4yEtyNycdA6eWQikDZcBCUz17_gCD0qrKhD00nfMiTrZBVkjTSQxu_pHejoAt3p5bi-7ZYZhhz8NiqKDhgMDoKU2-3dLsN2oD1z4hks3dzwZUenhiK/s1600/065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwPv5wUbc8JfztRUDVO4rA2-0iBE4yEtyNycdA6eWQikDZcBCUz17_gCD0qrKhD00nfMiTrZBVkjTSQxu_pHejoAt3p5bi-7ZYZhhz8NiqKDhgMDoKU2-3dLsN2oD1z4hks3dzwZUenhiK/s320/065.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Dakota and my nephew Rhett</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNlRkoJaVZ4dG8LyPV0Z98jp6buXpTdmrY-HQ5_vhaf3eQ7_paQGnXi66HdWwfR0SHvU_iRhy-5dJUBA_ASHyHbvOp2EomMqsTkkRiBUN7d5Q9iR9HfvryYS91zaJ-lXzI8xw0lO05OVZY/s1600/068.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNlRkoJaVZ4dG8LyPV0Z98jp6buXpTdmrY-HQ5_vhaf3eQ7_paQGnXi66HdWwfR0SHvU_iRhy-5dJUBA_ASHyHbvOp2EomMqsTkkRiBUN7d5Q9iR9HfvryYS91zaJ-lXzI8xw0lO05OVZY/s320/068.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> My neice Amanda</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zrLSZvTB2XsCnJHZVbxEUsy3hhyF6dkTlhJr_62P7wyLHNmn9s2gfUjRp1Jo923j27A3t_1RZbe7P_DnEgj2O0LyWlC2xPP_Yez2bFNkNG2tAg_5EPUrLpNRFd-2N8HLHLIluQ4U1DV_/s1600/090.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8zrLSZvTB2XsCnJHZVbxEUsy3hhyF6dkTlhJr_62P7wyLHNmn9s2gfUjRp1Jo923j27A3t_1RZbe7P_DnEgj2O0LyWlC2xPP_Yez2bFNkNG2tAg_5EPUrLpNRFd-2N8HLHLIluQ4U1DV_/s320/090.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> Danita and her husband Larry with Raylan. You can always tell the ones that love my camera, see the grimace. LOL!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARyrcjQq4geILddmAfSYvHioEyzFx106mJvvR1YBppYXtMEUsfimzjO-95tXw0MyeRtuM6z-hOo2TrJ-5eB367TvRftBn0kM9EO1g1op36t6iYh4p-2HdgNsvHefYX09BQMt-CuQPKjw8/s1600/085.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhARyrcjQq4geILddmAfSYvHioEyzFx106mJvvR1YBppYXtMEUsfimzjO-95tXw0MyeRtuM6z-hOo2TrJ-5eB367TvRftBn0kM9EO1g1op36t6iYh4p-2HdgNsvHefYX09BQMt-CuQPKjw8/s320/085.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> My nephew Cameron</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJPbxeWLlw2i9vzl-VJ-Zla0Rq5WzcsGodYBAwLnJ-qlJqwpHEig9HK8IitiFhYpcgIYsGJj8cymbCIm_YCeMf4xepShsacwPJzehzZPAxrBdUIM5hFHLhmaCkuBAQsB0gSVaPSh7cus5/s1600/095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqJPbxeWLlw2i9vzl-VJ-Zla0Rq5WzcsGodYBAwLnJ-qlJqwpHEig9HK8IitiFhYpcgIYsGJj8cymbCIm_YCeMf4xepShsacwPJzehzZPAxrBdUIM5hFHLhmaCkuBAQsB0gSVaPSh7cus5/s320/095.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"> The day wouldn't be complete without sword fights</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLnqaqBehy5Kkj0ffXb7giK8YKW777EPb-W0B2NOCh88skv_O89G0g6zIZaGJk6QnlmoZYgixQs6Qexvu75w0cx2mFMv1FYQoSav7hbMdtDAwmiozTfD1GO3BmWyMaSOtXGCkS8FOrrE-/s1600/099.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" nba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLnqaqBehy5Kkj0ffXb7giK8YKW777EPb-W0B2NOCh88skv_O89G0g6zIZaGJk6QnlmoZYgixQs6Qexvu75w0cx2mFMv1FYQoSav7hbMdtDAwmiozTfD1GO3BmWyMaSOtXGCkS8FOrrE-/s320/099.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1315608111395136"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1315608111395135" style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I also took some pictures from the Third Day concert. My favorite new song is from Trevor Morgan and it’s called Jesus Rides the Subway. He played this song with Third Day and I absolutely loved it! I posted the link on Facebook if you would like to listen to his song. I was going to post those pictures but I guess you can only post so many pictures on here. I had a great picture of the band and of Dakota chowing down on a turkey leg. Anyway...a good time was had by all and we made it home at 2 a.m. on Monday. Good times!</span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><br />
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</div></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Romans 5:3-5</span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_1_1315608111395130"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_1315608111395129" style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">3. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hears with his love. </span></div><div class="yiv59095417MsoNormal"><br />
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</div></span>Syndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481409568591261149.post-49126898072057707232011-09-03T14:06:00.000-07:002011-09-03T14:06:26.273-07:00<div class="msg-body inner undoreset" id="yui_3_2_0_1_13150790397111873"><div id="yiv74432361"><div class="yiv74432361WordSection1" id="yui_3_2_0_1_13150790397111872"><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_1_13150790397111871"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_13150790397111870" style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Happy Labor Day week-end! We are looking forward to going to Tuskahoma on Sunday to see the band Third Day. I know Dakota is bored sitting around the house all the time but I am glad that he is getting to take this time to rest and get better. He did seem to take a little longer to recover from chemo this time around. I’m thinking that it may be a little tougher to come back each time as your body is getting weaker. Treatment will start on Tuesday of next week and go thru Thursday. Dakota will see his doctor first and then go to his treatment on Tuesday. </span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Last Sunday morning Dakota calls me to the bathroom and is standing at the door dripping on the floor with the shower going, “Mom, my hair is falling out. Every time I run my hands through my hair I have hair all over my hands.” Dakota decided to be proactive and shave his head. We were told that his head would be sore as his hair follicles are dying and his head was a little sensitive this last week. I did get to take pictures of David shaving his head last Sunday. Not sure if all of his hair will fall out but it looks like it’s still growing so he may have jumped the gun a little bit. </span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Before picture</span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaj1p3rNk8OxpYLapwEliRAwBwI4Ot0XgxTsQf7FrlMhAtrEBnS3JvkcbKQIfcJ5f6jTjsWRixSqVwz4WAIuVaikPWhQFDeOOW28RKzwOzpYTbI4i0nFH5Avcn4rFKqrMc3Beh98-9wCnr/s1600/021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaj1p3rNk8OxpYLapwEliRAwBwI4Ot0XgxTsQf7FrlMhAtrEBnS3JvkcbKQIfcJ5f6jTjsWRixSqVwz4WAIuVaikPWhQFDeOOW28RKzwOzpYTbI4i0nFH5Avcn4rFKqrMc3Beh98-9wCnr/s320/021.JPG" width="213" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-xTfGo5lhVbsgficqYMG2yUNs6EUITOr3R9Ytyl75YAu2vfpBtUdNB9BKIeMumGAFXMACeWFSG7RuueOAMUHMU1KbvSmj5hQJMF5r1pD2D56qH8sLds4Cfqwu7JI28GSsIxalZj3Y_T6/s1600/025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim-xTfGo5lhVbsgficqYMG2yUNs6EUITOr3R9Ytyl75YAu2vfpBtUdNB9BKIeMumGAFXMACeWFSG7RuueOAMUHMU1KbvSmj5hQJMF5r1pD2D56qH8sLds4Cfqwu7JI28GSsIxalZj3Y_T6/s320/025.JPG" width="213" xaa="true" /></a></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">David having a little fun with Dakota’s hair.</span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuyTBarp591AWsx4q5OOs8zQxvl1ssgLhjje8fMHN9IMMXV9sdteHpAxj6huxa1eAxyjqNTQVXcCkats2g9VV9FoC6y9_12lEYVQiEVouMJQKyf5DUA5Vtan_m315PLNiLfsjf-E9LPRk6/s1600/032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuyTBarp591AWsx4q5OOs8zQxvl1ssgLhjje8fMHN9IMMXV9sdteHpAxj6huxa1eAxyjqNTQVXcCkats2g9VV9FoC6y9_12lEYVQiEVouMJQKyf5DUA5Vtan_m315PLNiLfsjf-E9LPRk6/s320/032.JPG" width="213" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Dakota wanted to take a picture with Paige. She didn’t want to take pictures, it was late at night, she didn’t have on make-up and her hair was a mess. Of course bald trumps no make-up and bad hair so she took the picture. </span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwwjVezEMrfYgEyTQXNgfBRPMbW4_EcmYBnfy5bCIhtEkwuLSE5tNTY_PQkG_51b5Iqd6ycmnoF3oXzhqEDEQfjagIlyTT6WXGubQz9APQLVwo2HP07SHldtCjt8aubo5_59LvHx3XUdF/s1600/055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwwjVezEMrfYgEyTQXNgfBRPMbW4_EcmYBnfy5bCIhtEkwuLSE5tNTY_PQkG_51b5Iqd6ycmnoF3oXzhqEDEQfjagIlyTT6WXGubQz9APQLVwo2HP07SHldtCjt8aubo5_59LvHx3XUdF/s320/055.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">David and Dakota together with their bald heads. This could be something that Dakota needs to get used to since most Miles men are bald. He’s still holding out with the hope that he will take after the Watkins side of the family and get to keep his hair. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5gM3DCV4a4-SaEQL8XYZXHTjrOhI30dWjHvLadH0dSJJ57lmRWZ6Xj-uwoGq4V5mg5zQuQv1nDYvqpsIWcPjW1dKhCDzYi62nkwY8_1Tf4kzS5FshBL01B0PVUjGx12yUr58s-c6VFTC1/s1600/059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5gM3DCV4a4-SaEQL8XYZXHTjrOhI30dWjHvLadH0dSJJ57lmRWZ6Xj-uwoGq4V5mg5zQuQv1nDYvqpsIWcPjW1dKhCDzYi62nkwY8_1Tf4kzS5FshBL01B0PVUjGx12yUr58s-c6VFTC1/s320/059.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">We like to make jokes about cancer and have fun with it. We tend to not take anything too seriously around our house and pretty much anything is open for jokes. We have let Dakota live the good life around our house and he does a lot of sitting around and doing nothing. He has really taken advantage of it and doesn’t clean his dishes or laundry. He has cleaned the house once and the bathroom once. We have given the kids chores since they were little so this is a big thing to get to sit around and do nothing all the time. Here is a conversation between our family:</span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Me: Dakota would you please cut up some tomatoes and lettuce for me?</span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Dakota: (very pathetic with a big sigh) I don’t feel like it but I’ll tell Dad that you need help.</span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Me: Seriously Dakota, you can’t cut up some veggies?</span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Dakota then goes and tells his dad that mom needs help.</span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">David: What do you need help with?</span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Me: (laughing) I asked Dakota to cut up tomatoes and lettuce. I think he can handle that. </span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Me to Dakota: (still laughing) Ahhh, the life of a cancer patient. I think you can sit down in that chair and cut up tomatoes and lettuce. </span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">He did cut up the lettuce and tomatoes with lots of sighing. He was pretty wore out from the 5 minutes that it took to cut them up. I thought the whole thing was funny. Maybe didn’t come off as funny as it was but we’re funny…really. Maybe we’re just funny to us and not to everyone else. I think you have to have a pretty dry sense of humor to get us but trust me we are funny. But seriously, he has been very tired this week but is feeling a lot better now. </span><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"> </span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Wednesday the children at church all wore their “Pray for Dakota” bracelets and prayed for him. Here are a few pictures from Ms. Trinity. We are so touched to see children praying so fervently for their brother in Christ. Too sweet for words! Thank you Ms. Trinity and Ms. Susie for thinking of it. Of course, thank you to Erin and Nachole for making the bracelets. Love you guys!</span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Last week I mentioned that David’s sister was visiting from California. I sent David off with the camera while I stayed home with Dakota. I was really wanting pictures of all of the siblings together but David did something that I would do and left himself completely out of the pictures. Luckily I took some pictures on Thursday with David in the pictures. </span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">David's sister Dayna with her husband Francesco</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRAuPLZt2gCZwmPOAhaeHQ-UHoJYGId1Nik_2GccwS_MNV4IMs5PPs79zBpqPW0YIrxu95FSSipx9q6qDIc0aC5AF9O2AHeD8uM-UHcGxhq8Elqz3DHoLhvnlagfPRXJCTi1ZD4i9u6JUg/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRAuPLZt2gCZwmPOAhaeHQ-UHoJYGId1Nik_2GccwS_MNV4IMs5PPs79zBpqPW0YIrxu95FSSipx9q6qDIc0aC5AF9O2AHeD8uM-UHcGxhq8Elqz3DHoLhvnlagfPRXJCTi1ZD4i9u6JUg/s320/001.JPG" width="320" xaa="true" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I have more pictures to post with David's brother, Darrin and his family but my computer isn't cooperating right now so will have to post them later. </span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;"></span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable weekend. </span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><br />
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</div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">James 1:2-4</span></div><div class="yiv74432361MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_1_13150790397112041"><span id="yui_3_2_0_1_13150790397112040" style="font-family: "sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Dear brother and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when you endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. </span></div></div></div></div><div align="center" class="msg-attachments"> </div>Syndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481409568591261149.post-45020721757706284312011-08-26T18:06:00.000-07:002011-08-26T18:06:56.296-07:00Chemo - Day 3, Second Round<span lang="EN"> Today was the last chemo treatment for this round. It went about the same as it did last time. Friday seems to be his worst day as far as being sick. This morning he was sick six times and we finally made it to hospital to get his shot. I told them how sick he had been and they took him up to the hospital and gave him an IV for his dehydration and medicine to help him sleep through the sickness. It took awhile but he is sleeping peacefully at home now and even ate a sandwich. He will probably sleep most of the day away tomorrow and a little less on Sunday and start feeling better by Monday. He looks much better now since having the IV. I think we have a routine down now and know what to expect the next time and they have given him more medicine that he can take at home so hopefully he won’t have to do this again. All of the medicines do scare me a bit. This one could cause heart damage, this one could cause lung damage, this one could cause permanent mouth ticks. It’s all pretty scary at times. The bad thing with chemo is that it kills your good cells as well as your bad cells. I wish that there was a better way to treat cancer and I pray for a new way of treating cancer that doesn’t seem so barbaric. I’m glad that we have chemo but at times it does seem crazy that we still treat cancer the same way as we did many years ago. <br />
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I always wonder what in the world am I going to post about that doesn’t seem like I’m rambling on, or I worry that I am boring people to death with this blog. Somehow a new experience will come to us or something happens that I feel like I need to talk about. Sometimes I will stay up late at night because I am writing a post in my head and thinking about what I want to say. One thing that David and I have come to the conclusion is that we need to be better about comforting people when they are going through difficult times. Normally we have no idea what to say and generally don’t say much at all. I always think that I am intruding and I don’t want to make that person sad by brining it up. I notice people look at us with the saddest expressions. I know I would do the same thing when I knew someone had been through traumatic experiences and I had no idea what to say to them. Don’t worry…I’ve been in your shoes and I never know what to say. It doesn’t offend me and I know that you are just like me and at a loss and don’t know what to say. New experiences give you new perspectives on life and how you handle situations. I know now that people do appreciate the kind words and if you don’t say anything, I still know that you care and are thinking about us. I realize with people looking at us they are wondering what we are going through and if we are ok. I realize that this is a challenge and we have the opportunity to show that we know God is in control. Not to say that we don’t have our weak moments but ultimately we know that we aren’t in control and God will bring us through this. <br />
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Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, “says the Lord. “They are plans for good not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” <br />
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No pictures today. David is visiting with his sister who is here from California and I pushed the camera off on him. He wasn’t too happy about being on camera duty again but he took it. I will post pictures later for David’s family in California. I didn’t get pictures of Dakota at the hospital for the past two days. I thought those pictures were getting a little old and you have all seen him sitting at the doctors office. I need something new to take pictures of. David will be on duty next time. Glad that I have a spouse who takes such good care of us and that I have a partner that shares the responsibility. I think he’s probably a better nurse than I am. Thanks for keeping up with us and for following along on this blog. </span>Syndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481409568591261149.post-56004313653151814412011-08-24T19:12:00.000-07:002011-08-24T19:12:59.128-07:00Week 2 of Chemo<span lang="EN"> Today was the first day of Dakota’s second round of chemo. One of the medicines that he needs has been on backorder for a very long time but somehow the hospital found the medicine that he needs and gave it to him today. The only hospital that had this medicine was in Houston so I’m very happy that the medicine was found. We will have a long day tomorrow at the hospital as we will have to be there early for a test to check his lungs. The new medicine can cause damage to the lungs so they want to make sure that his lungs are healthy. We will need to stay there until about 1:00 or 2:00 for his 22 hour medicine from his fanny pack to finish. <br />
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I just have to give our family doctor props for being so great. I started seeing her about three years ago and David just started seeing her a few months ago. Dakota had been going to Shawnee, which is where we used to go as it is closer to home. He made a few trips to see them but went undiagnosed. We decided to send him to our doctor in the city. She is the one that sent him for his CAT scan and found out that we were most likely dealing with cancer. She called Dakota and told him the results because he is 20 and that’s what they do. She knew we would be worried so she called us at 8:30 at night and talked to us for about a ½ hour or 45 minutes. She has always called me about 5:00 or 6:00 at night to give me results from tests that I have had and will spend at least a ½ hour with you at each office visit. She puts in some long hours and really worries and cares about her patients. I love her! I have never met a more dedicated doctor. I had to see her this week and of course she knew that I was Dakota’s mom and the first thing that she said is “I’m so sorry that you are having to go through this.” She then spends about 15 minutes talking about Dakota and taking notes on his chart. She finished talking about Dakota and went to my chart and started crying and had to take a moment to compose herself. She said “I’m just so sorry that you have to go through this.” My doctor cried for us…I was amazed. We aren’t long-time patients and she has only seen Dakota one time. She has been there for us the entire time and will call and ask us what’s going on with his treatment, and she gets frustrated when she sends him to the doctor and they don‘t give her the results. This is an example of someone following their calling and I am so glad that she did. What a blessing she has been in our lives. We could still be struggling to find out what was wrong with him if she hadn’t taken that extra step. Everyone else had said that his blood work was good so it couldn’t be cancer. We are taking his cancer treatments at St. Anthony’s and the doctor and his nurses are great as well. They are all so kind and answer all of our questions even when they are swamped like today. My niece Amanda is a nurse and I have even more admiration for the work that she does and all of the other nurses and doctors. It certainly takes a special person to serve the sick. <br />
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Many of you ask what Dakota’s symptoms were and I’m sure it’s so you can go home and check your loved ones; that’s what I would do. He had a gland on his neck that would swell and go back down. We didn’t think much about it since that seems to happen to many people. We thought he was just fighting some kind of cold or allergies. His lymph node swelled up to golf ball size and he went to the doctor. He was given antibiotics and was told if he still had problems to come back. The next week he had a rash all over his body and he went back to the doctor and they gave him a shot and more antibiotics. He would run a fever sometimes and feel bad and then feel good again. He had lost 20 lbs but we attributed it to his new job that required him to work 12-14 hours a day. Most of the time we would tell Dakota to get more rest and quit running around all the time. His health went downhill after his lymph node swelled to golf ball size. I never knew that all of these things are all indications of Hodgkin’s. Weight loss, itchy rash, swollen glands, and the last sign was pain in his back. I have heard of other people that have had rashes and were later diagnosed with cancer. I never would have imagined that a rash could be a symptom. I don’t say this to scare people with a rash but to be proactive with your health. If we had been more proactive we might have had a diagnosis much earlier. <br />
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Starbucks heals all ills. Notice the venti drink beside him.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsaKk1WvkkoRhns1q979ITCf6lRjLJgWJl1olhQXqy8Xu-pZ1kMkuag_NOUyJEZ0-oF-4iQaiu8fJEq_mNXX2ERRJjkUgTBXKE1sapFLdJJGCm-ntPgCjP2gh32dpONqEoiG6EraKzqQ59/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsaKk1WvkkoRhns1q979ITCf6lRjLJgWJl1olhQXqy8Xu-pZ1kMkuag_NOUyJEZ0-oF-4iQaiu8fJEq_mNXX2ERRJjkUgTBXKE1sapFLdJJGCm-ntPgCjP2gh32dpONqEoiG6EraKzqQ59/s320/004.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Dakota loves my camera, can't you tell by his expression? lol<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwtlz5FmROw-Wj-7lnVeprWBtWYbPCxDLQG7Jl2HuwQwSoKdA7J4SM6JfaF69LeqAgNv3R8JfLvF48syaFfK6ASzUtXYxH6kjpZ6IJS0icLz5Er4C-DAqOVMSA23nTLaw_iiy9ZVkUyW2/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFwtlz5FmROw-Wj-7lnVeprWBtWYbPCxDLQG7Jl2HuwQwSoKdA7J4SM6JfaF69LeqAgNv3R8JfLvF48syaFfK6ASzUtXYxH6kjpZ6IJS0icLz5Er4C-DAqOVMSA23nTLaw_iiy9ZVkUyW2/s320/006.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>Once again, another happy expression. I don't think he was happy to know that he will be sick again. There are good days and bad days. This was his not so good day.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2A5iImOoGVsND2zhYYyDbuQfv0UvvtYV40prvgOmpSc0kj5zVp86fj4ZQ03QwNIAvEiKmk5qyfvSGVYw5Mch3ijvbOSy17izC3Q23ecA8KCiJeJclq7nvyMxprK7iizThkjcVVizycDHh/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2A5iImOoGVsND2zhYYyDbuQfv0UvvtYV40prvgOmpSc0kj5zVp86fj4ZQ03QwNIAvEiKmk5qyfvSGVYw5Mch3ijvbOSy17izC3Q23ecA8KCiJeJclq7nvyMxprK7iizThkjcVVizycDHh/s320/011.JPG" width="213" /></a></div> Food always makes him a little happier so mom was happy to feed him <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC9kw_4LO46f0KqGhiONv4k1KfGrbqqm2n-3nIra5x7_PdIHwQvAKFNowBBE8bWZ7cSnxQw27yx043gWcaxtFWVV9tUcoNTeItpma0PvbHfDXgRnhcEzEa1lmFCBV1waS6ke4FrMkT12Ss/s1600/013.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC9kw_4LO46f0KqGhiONv4k1KfGrbqqm2n-3nIra5x7_PdIHwQvAKFNowBBE8bWZ7cSnxQw27yx043gWcaxtFWVV9tUcoNTeItpma0PvbHfDXgRnhcEzEa1lmFCBV1waS6ke4FrMkT12Ss/s320/013.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">He just finished off 1/2 of a Digornio pizza after this feast. He's still a skinny little thing but glad he's eating.</div><br />
Dakota's friend Erin came by tonight. We all love her. I love watching them together. They have been together since they were babies. I will have to track down their baby pictures with Dakota holding Erin sweetly. They even took some of their senior pictures together. Notice that he looks a little happier. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizilkU1d9DOyjLC2vBxKKzCLp8rrp3n4cXIVVk1QHiTRpbJjlKzZciu9wmJ1futQEVtMLDR-7Yty1RZRd4c1h1SK-VGhlj7ngBxEbNHuFJh46AAftSeK_qmIcIJimRNRsHAfIbKitT06yI/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizilkU1d9DOyjLC2vBxKKzCLp8rrp3n4cXIVVk1QHiTRpbJjlKzZciu9wmJ1futQEVtMLDR-7Yty1RZRd4c1h1SK-VGhlj7ngBxEbNHuFJh46AAftSeK_qmIcIJimRNRsHAfIbKitT06yI/s320/014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Erin and Nachole had these wristbands made. Love, love, love!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrH2spr78HOEF0uMPztbf4v7IiYBbmkKFUi8nocGsJY0W_9SaOUGtjRvrTr_Akg-cYTemF4A6r5nSqiPwX3uWjZmfRMdFD4yM6j98GpHjE_qXIGQcApjNJcKeLPAP994Wu8M2ggZnjT-24/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrH2spr78HOEF0uMPztbf4v7IiYBbmkKFUi8nocGsJY0W_9SaOUGtjRvrTr_Akg-cYTemF4A6r5nSqiPwX3uWjZmfRMdFD4yM6j98GpHjE_qXIGQcApjNJcKeLPAP994Wu8M2ggZnjT-24/s320/017.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> This didn't turn out very well but it says 2 Corinthians 4:16<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdr6o9nztU72fmmIAvY4ZaTywQKg_vtlOhDPfKXF4l_0CdLguqDxDBugibPWcjh4uuJTtmrrlpNmyaynJie_mn5a07qsV4fDitcwjPwFIhaPNHVrg7C5Pglv3Nd6iHzqHdNSovkmCm1O3J/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" qaa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdr6o9nztU72fmmIAvY4ZaTywQKg_vtlOhDPfKXF4l_0CdLguqDxDBugibPWcjh4uuJTtmrrlpNmyaynJie_mn5a07qsV4fDitcwjPwFIhaPNHVrg7C5Pglv3Nd6iHzqHdNSovkmCm1O3J/s320/019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Will try to post again tomorrow. Found a scripture that I liked today:<br />
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Proverbs 3:5-8 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom. Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil. Then you will have healing for your body and strength for your bones.”</span>Syndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481409568591261149.post-43193081921376445392011-08-18T17:10:00.000-07:002011-08-18T17:10:10.425-07:00A Personal Post<span lang="EN"> I hadn't posted for a little bit and thought I should update everyone on Dakota. He had a few rough days last week. Had some sickness and a lot of sleeping. His appetite has remained strong and is still about to eat us out of the house, but we are happy about that. I started thinking a lot about this blog and what I wanted to share. If you know our family then you know that we are a very private family. We felt called to do this and share our story. We don’t share our story to get sympathy. I worried that people would think that we were doing this to get attention. If you know us then you know that we are the type of family that stays in the background and not big sharers. Not sure who this blog is supposed to touch or reach but I know that we are meant to do this.<br />
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I also didn’t want people to think that this has all been sunshine and flowers for us. We are relying on our faith to get us through but to say that we haven’t had our doubts would be wrong. When we first heard about the possibility of cancer we were terror stricken and just kept hoping for a healthy outcome. David was and still is my rock through it all. When we found out that there was a possibility of cancer David was in a little bit of denial that this could happen to our family. He kept saying “God wouldn’t give you a child with cancer.” My greatest fear in life is cancer. My mother, grandmother, grandfather, and step-grandfather all died of cancer. I haven’t had a family member survive cancer. I always thought that it would be me or one of my siblings that would get cancer but never one of my children. David and I have been able to talk openly about our feelings and fears with each other and one day I was telling David that I didn’t know why God would give my child cancer when he knows that is my biggest fear. I was able to answer myself and knew that God was going to show me that cancer can be beat and it’s not a death sentence. I always wondered how David and I would do if something big happened to one of our children. How would we be together? We now know that we are even stronger than we thought. When I am weak he is strong and vice versa. Through it all we have looked for the lessons learned in all of this and first and foremost is our faith and what it can withstand. I know great blessings come out of great hardships and they are always there if your eyes are open. <br />
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1. I have a son and family that inspires me in so many ways.<br />
2. I have a marriage that sustains even in the toughest of times.<br />
3. I have family and friends that have surrounded us in prayers, offers of help, and well wishes. <br />
4. God’s got this. His plans are better than we could ever dream.<br />
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What more can a person ask for? <br />
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A little about Dakota; not once have I seen him get depressed, ask “why me?” or show anything other than a strong spirit. David had posted on his FB wall that he always wanted to be Dakota’s hero and instead Dakota is his. I see people ask Dakota how he is and he always says “I’m good” even when he’s not good. I know that God has big plans for Dakota and he is open to those possibilities. I am excited to see what is in store for his life. <br />
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What do I hope to accomplish with this blog? I have no idea. Maybe you know someone who is or will face Hodgkin’s Lymphoma and you can send them here to see how one family dealt with it. Who knows? God does. <br />
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Here is a picture of Dakota and his sister Paige at his treatment last Friday. Dakota said that the paparazzi wasn’t there so David only took one picture. No worries though, Mom will be back on the job next Wednesday - Friday. See you then! <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"></span></span>Syndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481409568591261149.post-5381449426092485802011-08-11T17:01:00.000-07:002011-08-11T17:01:22.502-07:002nd Day of ChemoI decided to stay with Dakota today with David. It's just too hard to go to work and not know what is going on. We had a quick day at the hospital and only had to get a few shots in the port and have his needle taken out. He finally gets to take a shower. He hasn't been sick yet, they said that many times young people don't get sick like older people do. He slept great and is doing a lot of that lately. His appetite is good and eats everything in sight. His breakfast tasted weird this morning but that was because of the medicine that he was getting. He said that his dinner tasted fine. <br />
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We have seen a strange thing going on at the cancer center. We have seen many men in there and every single one of them has a woman with them and it's generally their wives. When we went to the chemo class it was all men and they all had women with them and the women had out notebooks taking notes. The sad thing is we have seen many women in the cancer center and every single one of them are all alone. What is up with that? Makes me sad to see them there all alone. I'm thinking the next time I hear of a woman that is going for chemo, I will ask her if she has someone to go with her and if not then I will offer to go. <br />
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Getting ready to say good-bye to his fancy fanny pack...until next time. <br />
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Dakota loves to give me this terrible grimace when I take his picture. David and Dakota thought they would both give me the grimace. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlghf2fg4ubopi9PsufSZm4HopS5GR7Qq51Q69sPLkWxezpZvJ8BgNRDIMKuOVF6nZUszCB2iB1Mf9owFGHQ6RcJXn2M3uNNznYdx8ZvSbBkqrwATBBxJd570N9sbYDwBmHP8Eq7miE-S/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqlghf2fg4ubopi9PsufSZm4HopS5GR7Qq51Q69sPLkWxezpZvJ8BgNRDIMKuOVF6nZUszCB2iB1Mf9owFGHQ6RcJXn2M3uNNznYdx8ZvSbBkqrwATBBxJd570N9sbYDwBmHP8Eq7miE-S/s320/005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Leaving the hospital with my boy...I mean grown son. Sorry, he will always be my little boy even if he is 20. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJW1pmutUMp6-AVyq9Dq3Apk-OzjYgwDxjEhHDACgipMxk_8BtlNjJWneEDbn4oQKVljrBV77es2ayw_0dDYNF8a2xQHqwLHta7BVCkJKODUlIeirSA6zYf7hRvnjz0U07S_fbW5udJZT9/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJW1pmutUMp6-AVyq9Dq3Apk-OzjYgwDxjEhHDACgipMxk_8BtlNjJWneEDbn4oQKVljrBV77es2ayw_0dDYNF8a2xQHqwLHta7BVCkJKODUlIeirSA6zYf7hRvnjz0U07S_fbW5udJZT9/s320/008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Text today from our friend Jarrod: Romans 8:37, "In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loves us." Praying that no matter what you face today, you realize that HE has already conquered it for you!<br />
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Thank you Jarrod. To all of our other encouragers, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. It is so overwhelming to see God's love shown through all of your emails, text, and phone calls. What a blessing you have all been to us!<br />
Syndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481409568591261149.post-60456097736741396622011-08-10T17:01:00.000-07:002011-08-10T17:01:55.692-07:00Day 2 - 1st Day of Chemotherapy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">We have great family and friends that have reached out to us in so many ways. You are all such a blessing to us and we appreciate all of your well wishes and prayers. Our friend Jarrod sent us this scripture this morning and it was so fitting for today. "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day" 2 Corinthians 4:16.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dakota & David checking in for chemo </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifun9es1RzBXAR3YCHu_9FBsh9z054_AZTrsUPW4KE4_0QCa4dCQ_9jze1oFILPSHetZfKBUMScrRjv0DhSEpTMJ8KpJlljvW2ZeythfRu3AcRq-AB-x34EHVKXowwzCMBV9X6f1t4Wqu/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgifun9es1RzBXAR3YCHu_9FBsh9z054_AZTrsUPW4KE4_0QCa4dCQ_9jze1oFILPSHetZfKBUMScrRjv0DhSEpTMJ8KpJlljvW2ZeythfRu3AcRq-AB-x34EHVKXowwzCMBV9X6f1t4Wqu/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Waiting for the doctor to see us before Dakota starts treatment.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiNOLRAATKHmLcDhsq4ZSQjmXh43o4S1i7ByLynNrvTPM4hEF56UxHOqbheCX6D4eeWyUwuTpAGIiWlxhfZsKjQTG25BQGerPoJMmZ2SzqBvem-J8zeZ53nAD57IpYIXleObOye7az545/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZiNOLRAATKHmLcDhsq4ZSQjmXh43o4S1i7ByLynNrvTPM4hEF56UxHOqbheCX6D4eeWyUwuTpAGIiWlxhfZsKjQTG25BQGerPoJMmZ2SzqBvem-J8zeZ53nAD57IpYIXleObOye7az545/s320/004.JPG" width="213" /></a></div> <br />
The doctor had good news for us today. It seems that his body has been fighting the cancer and his blood count is still very good. He even gained 2 lbs this week. The cancer in his bone marrow was minimal and they did find other lymph nodes that were swollen but all of his internal organs looked good. God is good, all the time. <br />
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Waiting, waiting, waiting...lots of waiting today. Waiting for his chemo treatment in his new best friend, the recliner. Doesn't he look like a happy camper here? LOL<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_vxe5wSbJU8hvRSWf-BsGwKVZY2cV9zHMmlpxrvSzMNR4kSet_17BIjbHUnM33QGaExhrCLjJqiCpDBy888SQe4pUFnvQi37KIzh3cEK_jcprm_Y61_GJflOA9Z030Rm6x2ias0tz7vk/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE_vxe5wSbJU8hvRSWf-BsGwKVZY2cV9zHMmlpxrvSzMNR4kSet_17BIjbHUnM33QGaExhrCLjJqiCpDBy888SQe4pUFnvQi37KIzh3cEK_jcprm_Y61_GJflOA9Z030Rm6x2ias0tz7vk/s320/009.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Finally, chemo started!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzlsF331Z3EbmiAOwGqHXPmrZ9Gw6_yp28UZAlS_odv5QMQhn2OY01ZNurLRktWvaDgwO4pefnKpNpG97ecWHIow7B_QcYDnpRLmS64yDfAX10nZYVDQZpdQhvglwaoWRSIVIrniG-4X6i/s1600/015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzlsF331Z3EbmiAOwGqHXPmrZ9Gw6_yp28UZAlS_odv5QMQhn2OY01ZNurLRktWvaDgwO4pefnKpNpG97ecWHIow7B_QcYDnpRLmS64yDfAX10nZYVDQZpdQhvglwaoWRSIVIrniG-4X6i/s320/015.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">His port</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovA6MBwJsa_v_i_SCzXFmMCQWJugj-5lXWgC6ogRVY193QuaiU8Ifp_yTSGqlkpAW-ymPMMHifhxjdOV37EojsvYoWnK9lPNwzsdU_uFWKqxgWChOIaFU42aUbybh0XijnExCjzf_xGoF/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiovA6MBwJsa_v_i_SCzXFmMCQWJugj-5lXWgC6ogRVY193QuaiU8Ifp_yTSGqlkpAW-ymPMMHifhxjdOV37EojsvYoWnK9lPNwzsdU_uFWKqxgWChOIaFU42aUbybh0XijnExCjzf_xGoF/s320/017.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Dakota with his nice 24-hour fanny pack. He will go back tomorrow to get this taken out and to get a shot. This fancy little fanny pack will deliver the medicine known as the Red Devil...ironic. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqkt05O8pkki-YhigxmTrz5YnPOscWAH375PfoTMfaqIAXbjHPfmziB0gG-kdNNLUtySFjKoCyPTEALMCVe84VTIG84Ts8Ex8E-daUA44JPj-HBEr7VmvMsunQom4h11O-OBCV1XKOwoU/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOqkt05O8pkki-YhigxmTrz5YnPOscWAH375PfoTMfaqIAXbjHPfmziB0gG-kdNNLUtySFjKoCyPTEALMCVe84VTIG84Ts8Ex8E-daUA44JPj-HBEr7VmvMsunQom4h11O-OBCV1XKOwoU/s320/019.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Out for today. I will be going back to work tomorrow and Friday and David will be on daddy duty. I will get the next three days. We are very blessed to have good jobs that allow us to acquire a lot of leave. I can't imagine doing this and having to worry about not having leave or losing our jobs. Blessed... </div>Syndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481409568591261149.post-84874089011735266752011-08-09T17:28:00.000-07:002011-08-09T17:28:09.602-07:00Day 1 - The Port and PicturesI decided to take some pictures of Dakota and his girlfriend Sierra on Monday.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZn7U_FNypqfbxK2IjPbwTRCk4d6VSzYLfTN-jTvayx4RvxgxF9OlEmazBewiilGr8QE2Q2viVw8ZwR-C00RvJiYxniPIwNYEUX1lo6TyBIe41r5I8uxcR-6Cu_vcwBghV3RsvhitRITKl/s1600/039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZn7U_FNypqfbxK2IjPbwTRCk4d6VSzYLfTN-jTvayx4RvxgxF9OlEmazBewiilGr8QE2Q2viVw8ZwR-C00RvJiYxniPIwNYEUX1lo6TyBIe41r5I8uxcR-6Cu_vcwBghV3RsvhitRITKl/s320/039.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuBRNnY79BSA54tosrVmG5MoxoKdmlYtkDMZc-2N1KrTEvuEIteXx5Apz_1FOCufOILVlyRmoPct-Yyms-k-1TBHTTxFL-1AaMM92usvaFtwlvMgbPxql2NTW5rAx4EIe_xf9x_cBEyJC5/s1600/294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuBRNnY79BSA54tosrVmG5MoxoKdmlYtkDMZc-2N1KrTEvuEIteXx5Apz_1FOCufOILVlyRmoPct-Yyms-k-1TBHTTxFL-1AaMM92usvaFtwlvMgbPxql2NTW5rAx4EIe_xf9x_cBEyJC5/s320/294.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYveHcYZ2uIrtchOaTNhk6GqqnsH2oUphR5tIUpzQ4lkhVBgHRnfVlxaZ2mCCxnUD29WZaET-yNSP3s6vZI1ATPYpp82RRea_w9UZxIA4H3I2IIJQRFOsYiaL3KB67nM42C8NlNYixttk/s1600/337.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYveHcYZ2uIrtchOaTNhk6GqqnsH2oUphR5tIUpzQ4lkhVBgHRnfVlxaZ2mCCxnUD29WZaET-yNSP3s6vZI1ATPYpp82RRea_w9UZxIA4H3I2IIJQRFOsYiaL3KB67nM42C8NlNYixttk/s320/337.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0trp_3LOocUvU6G__S54MWg0Zt4lNynlJcj3RAW-Hsd7peNBlHwj5-w29ZZlF3nPSh9ePKl498J3lbi3433FHBreNQugQQeaqyaMZVd5CSLLRKlmwwOxnLdJwYpWPkqxXjbOFTm1FNhMc/s1600/290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0trp_3LOocUvU6G__S54MWg0Zt4lNynlJcj3RAW-Hsd7peNBlHwj5-w29ZZlF3nPSh9ePKl498J3lbi3433FHBreNQugQQeaqyaMZVd5CSLLRKlmwwOxnLdJwYpWPkqxXjbOFTm1FNhMc/s320/290.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Today was what we consider day one of treatment...the dreaded port. It wasn't as bad as Dakota had thought it would be. The procedure was very quick with a small incision. Dakota wanted to spend the day with Sierra and his adopted sister, Erin. We did have to go to a chemotherapy class after and it was very informative. Tomorrow will be the first day of chemotherapy and we will go back on Thursday and Friday. Dakota will then have 2 weeks off and then we will start again. Here are a few pictures of his day at the hospital.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvfHQFQ_WLhxxim9hbkIaupED3eA-OgQQVrD5cLNGwyNy7d6FLgjO3syTNfBOP2DH7kD_E9qFou41hCkXalhQnybU89LerLZESqa3mxzml_1Z9YstUDaUviEPyTrCSAq9EXQkFUdaUPEB3/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvfHQFQ_WLhxxim9hbkIaupED3eA-OgQQVrD5cLNGwyNy7d6FLgjO3syTNfBOP2DH7kD_E9qFou41hCkXalhQnybU89LerLZESqa3mxzml_1Z9YstUDaUviEPyTrCSAq9EXQkFUdaUPEB3/s320/002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWH5fL2Q7Gt4BRLIqlXASdzIXlHsmN-kBZBbVaqyiDbdoeIMCa-80IRBwZZcJ1R1-zR9dQI7QsI_fwRlKSa7f9s1-EuKcCxuOz5gGcXBfVyxEL81ua8bORO52Dgxo1rHu6Zw8utAd1ihe2/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWH5fL2Q7Gt4BRLIqlXASdzIXlHsmN-kBZBbVaqyiDbdoeIMCa-80IRBwZZcJ1R1-zR9dQI7QsI_fwRlKSa7f9s1-EuKcCxuOz5gGcXBfVyxEL81ua8bORO52Dgxo1rHu6Zw8utAd1ihe2/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyeKNXToddP9YBkGEtzgzMe37pux9h6hPwvuDxn0sCmUdkDdC8L01N3X3m3M831QB-FWzgc-vIE_zZdnuUqVmZD-gUlffYQZfd90iceDeyeNtnXa6JA82Z6GtEUiQSvJUJc4cvnGq8Ej0_/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyeKNXToddP9YBkGEtzgzMe37pux9h6hPwvuDxn0sCmUdkDdC8L01N3X3m3M831QB-FWzgc-vIE_zZdnuUqVmZD-gUlffYQZfd90iceDeyeNtnXa6JA82Z6GtEUiQSvJUJc4cvnGq8Ej0_/s320/016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-wm4eti9QdUlfT4M7I-G1Lm5mX3xEurGeUeQ9yGnXE8HKpWbFyaIbxsq4vuTOAOaJgUmQMS0K9wYhjPwdcPfkdj67kffntxaMVSCp756jKMOfXaGcsC9H_IuSmZkKSyvREJgXgBJD4c2/s1600/011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi-wm4eti9QdUlfT4M7I-G1Lm5mX3xEurGeUeQ9yGnXE8HKpWbFyaIbxsq4vuTOAOaJgUmQMS0K9wYhjPwdcPfkdj67kffntxaMVSCp756jKMOfXaGcsC9H_IuSmZkKSyvREJgXgBJD4c2/s320/011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4TnOCwJLr9l_vIbiFtagMAJFS67BsQoGZCNb-tTLquJxrkHjtneLhGT-Q8nP-6iup7wcfY5uuOaR8CHobcHqaf1hJMNchcVKqZtAwDRzvEZZ0jbf1CJxrnw4CNZUEIK5jm3DfSAvhg60w/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" naa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4TnOCwJLr9l_vIbiFtagMAJFS67BsQoGZCNb-tTLquJxrkHjtneLhGT-Q8nP-6iup7wcfY5uuOaR8CHobcHqaf1hJMNchcVKqZtAwDRzvEZZ0jbf1CJxrnw4CNZUEIK5jm3DfSAvhg60w/s320/014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Syndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1481409568591261149.post-81535686788335868692011-08-07T16:58:00.000-07:002011-08-07T16:58:07.597-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYq0FemcgdJrvTwUGs_CZQEutEb3wsbEkrcHXEAQLUEZISnfcf8UqutU2GqZrlZzpvLu0Kd9ZDdz9AGrUkHIAZUUM2OohqX8Yn_rcemynHVNve0r4Rdik69bbiFJZ80EgULJlnRxil_T_/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKYq0FemcgdJrvTwUGs_CZQEutEb3wsbEkrcHXEAQLUEZISnfcf8UqutU2GqZrlZzpvLu0Kd9ZDdz9AGrUkHIAZUUM2OohqX8Yn_rcemynHVNve0r4Rdik69bbiFJZ80EgULJlnRxil_T_/s320/006.JPG" t$="true" width="213" /></a></div>I have started this blog to keep family and friends updated on Dakota as he goes through his treatment for Hodgkins Lymphoma. This is Dakota on his 20th birthday.<br />
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Last week we met with his oncologist for the first time. Thursday they took bone marrow and Friday he had his first PET scan to see if any of his internal organs have been affected or his bones. The doctor's diagnosis at this point is stage 4 but we will know more on Monday or Tuesday of this week after we receive the results from his tests. The good news in all of this is that there is a 90% cure rate for this cancer. Tuesday he will have his port put in and Wednesday he will start chemotherapy. <br />
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I have to say that I couldn't be prouder of my son and how is handling all of this. He definitely has my mother's gene pool when it comes to strength. We found out about his diagnosis two weeks ago. What is my son's first response? "I want to go to Falls Creek." What is a mother's first thought...too many germs, he won't sleep, he'll get really sick, he needs to see an oncologist." All of this goes thru my head and out of my mouth. I get off the phone with Dakota and think, how selfish am I? He wants to grow in his relationship with God and get God answers and all we want is man's answer to his healing. I called him back and told him that he should go. Of course, he is 20 and really doesn't need my permission to do anything but he does honor us and our feelings. He did go to Falls Creek last week and yes he was sick and ran a fever most of the time and was really weak. It did take a toll on his body but it stregthened his spirit and for that I am eternally grateful. <br />
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God blessed me with a camera last year and when I received it I prayed that God would use me and my camera to honor Him. Who knew that I would be documenting my son's journey thru cancer treatments...God did. I will start taking pictures this week and will look like the crazy mom in the cancer unit taking pictures. I will post these pictures on here. If you are squeamish or can't handle that, I completely understand and won't be offended if you don't follow us. I know it will be hard for me to see as well but it's a growing process for all of us. Dakota isn't scared of the sickness or losing his hair, his biggest fear is the port. I do ask for your prayers. I believe in the power of prayer and have seen it work in our lives many times over. Many of you ask us if we need anything and we really don't at this time. If we do I will let you all know. I hope you will take this journey with us. <br />
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Love,<br />
The Miles Family Syndi Mileshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06088973133748039793noreply@blogger.com6