Upcoming Appointments

No real updates to give. I guess that's good news though :)

Rassie has some up and coming appointments.  On July 6th, he sees his oncologist again.   Not much to say about that until we go to the appointment.  I'm making Rassie write out a list of questions early so we don't forget to ask anything this time.  Of course, I'm adding all of my own questions too!  Feel free to give your input, I just might not know the answer to your questions and I can ask the doctor!

On July 7th, Rassie sees the 3rd party doctor on the worker's comp case.  This is the same doctor he saw back in February.  This doctor was assigned by the state to give a second opinion.  And at that time he agreed with Dr. F that Rassie needed therapy and would improve and get better!  He was right!!!! I am so thankful for that second opinion or else worker's comp may not have pulled through for us and Rassie may have never gotten approved for physical therapy. 

I am so thankful to be sharing my life with such a wonderful man! We've had our ups and downs but I must say, Rassie has stayed strong and pulled through all of this fairly well!  Keep the prayers coming!  You never know just how strong the power of prayer is until you're in a fragile situation. I am so thankful for all of you who continue to pray and support Rassie and our family.

Good Night & God Bless

Time for an Update

First off, Rassie has 8 more sessions of therapy approved! So four more weeks.  He's going twice a week now instead of 3 times.  AND after these 8 sessions he may be moved back to home therapy.  Which shouldn't be a problem.  We have a treadmill and a bike at home plus he has all that stretchy rubber stuff to do his exercises and should be able to do everything he was doing at physical therapy here at home with the therapist.

Rassie saw Dr. F this past week.  Everything is looking good. We saw lots of improvement in Rassie's right leg.  I love being there and watching to doctor go through all the movements.  You are really able to see the strength building up in Rassie's legs.  He's able to lift his leg. Kick it out some at the knee. He was able to bend his ankle up and down some.  It's just AWESOME to see this considering he couldn't do any of these things a few months ago.  He still has no feeling in his right leg from the knee down but he is able to get some movement out of it now!

I feel like I'm forgetting something... I just can't remember!  So I guess I'll remind everyone that Rassie has an oncology appointment coming up on July 6th.  Thanks for the continued prayers and support!

God Bless

No News...

Now news is not always good news.  Still waiting to hear back on that physical therapy.  My guess is that Rassie is now up and walking pretty well so they (the worker's comp ins.) figures they don't need to approve anymore physical therapy.  Guess we will just continue to work on that at home.  Rassie knows all his workouts and can do just about everything but the pool here at home.  Including the bike! With that being said, he shouldn't fall behind.

Rassie has two appointments coming up this week.  First, he is seeing an ENT.  He's been having some funky drainage in his tonsils.  They swell up and then this green gunky stuff comes out of them.  They treated him for strep once but the tests never came back positive and this has been going on for a while!  The first time he noticed the "mystery gunk" was back in September when he was first diagnosed with CML. That appointment is tomorrow, Wednesday, and I am hoping they can figure out what is going on.  Shouldn't be anything too serious is my prediction.

Rassie's second appointment is with PM&R again.  He sees Dr. F.  The same doctor he has been seeing since his arrival at S&W for the accident.  I am really curious as to  what Dr. F will have to say.  Rassie has been having some burning/tingling going on in his right leg and foot.  It's few and far between but it is something.  Not to mention, he woke up in pain the other night because, for a moment, he could FEEL the bottom of his right foot. To me, this means that the hematoma is starting to go down some more.  I can't wait for that thing to just go away completely so Rassie can feel everything again! Guess we'll find out Dr. F's thoughts on Thursday!

Rassie's next oncology appointment at the Glenda Tanner Vasicek Cancer Treatment Center is on July 6th.  For some reason I wrote on the calendar July 7th, so if I told you the wrong date before you now have the correct information. 

Oh! I almost forgot.  I haven't updated about Rassie's blackout spells in a while.  He is doing great.  I guess the stress is slowly melting off.  He hasn't had an episode in at least two weeks. Probably more.  And by episode I mean no going into a daze or passing out.  He's doing great.  With that said, I'm considering going back to work. I'm handing out a few resumes today so keep your prayers with me!  Rassie will be able to watch the kids on days he doesn't have therapy or appointments and family will be able to help out on the days he does. Plus, I'm hoping to put our oldest into daycare/preschool at least part time so he won't have to worry about her so much.

I think thats about it for now and that I've covered everything.  If I've forgoten I'm sure I'll be back on to blog about it.  Make it a great day.

God Bless

PICTURE POST !!!!!!

OUR LUBBOCK TRIP TO SEE RASSIE'S PARENTS

Daddy & Scarlett feeding the ducks

Daddy, Lane & Scarlett Feeding the ducks

OUR TRIP TO THE PARK

I thought I would throw this one in to show how happy Lane was that Daddy was pushing him on the swings!

Daddy pushing the kiddos at the park

Daddy Pushing the Kiddos at the park

THE ZOO

Daddy and the Doodlebugs at the Zoo Entrance

Daddy and Doodlebug looking at the Lion (that you can't see from here :)

Daddy & Doodlebug posing by the Giraffes

Daddy & Doodlebug at the Elephants

HOPE YOU ENJOYED SHARING RASSIE'S GREATESTS ACCOMPLISMENTS!

1) Doodlebug #1

2) Doodlebug #2

3) WALKING    

Sorry for the Silence

It's been a little bit since I updated and I truely apologize!!!!

First off, Rassie is doing well. 

Rassie had an onoclogy appointment on June 2nd.  Apparently his doctor couldn't see him that day so another doctor stepped in.  Overall, Rassie seems to be in good health   He's slightly anemic but he has been since this all began.  For some reason I can't remember the name of this but something to do with translocation.  Rassie's numbers have gone from 98% to 0.04%.  I feel silly not being able to remember at the moment. I'm going to have to pull out my notebooks tomorrow and refresh my brain! All in all it was a good but very short appointment.  Rassie goes back to see his regular oncologist July 6th.  We're going to go through more questions and answers and details of whats going on, what will go on, etc.  One topic that came up was Rassie's bone marrow biopsy.  It was over looked due to the back injury and although not needed to make a diagnosis they still want to do one.  The answer of when is still up in the air. I have a feeling the time is getting closer.

On another note, Rassie is WALKING! He's doing great. He does alot of walking without his cane when we're home.  It's when we're out an about that he uses it because you never know how the ground is going to look!  Rassie is still wearing a brace on  his right leg. Still no feeling.  One night he did have a tingly burning feeling on the bottom of his right foot one night.  This was a big sign. He hasn't had ANY feeling and then this! We were excited but it went away. Still praying that hematoma goes away. Soon than later if possible.  Rassie just finished up another round of physical therapy appointments.  We're now playing another round of 'wait and see' to find out if more therapy will be approved.  We're not very hopeful at the moment after a call from the nurse case manager stating she doesn't believe more therapy will be approved. 

We have also learned why the worker's comp insurance wants the doctor to state that "this is as good as Rassie's going to get".  Once this is stated there is a cap on the amount they pay out towards medical bills weekly.  If the doctor doesn't say this the worker's comp ins. has to pay 100% of the medical bills for up to 2 years.  We're still learning so much and expecting a phone call on even more information tomorrow!

Oh! Thanks again for our mystery gift giver!  Rassie has been using his recumbent bike daily.  He uses it for about 10 minutes at time.  He wants to start going longer intervals and I have faith that he will do just fine.

I wanted to share a few pictures of our outings lately to show just how proud I am of the progress Rassie has made. Watch for a seperate post full of photos to be coming soon!!!! Also, a better blog update

GOD BLESS & Good Night