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

THE BIKE

Rassie finally picked a bike.  He did lots of research. He did lots of  in store test runs and finally came out with one he liked.  It was sturdy, he like the way it 'felt', and it had good ratings. 

My brother, Michael, took him to pick it up.  As soon as he got home he assembled it along with the help of the kids!  He's been working on it everyday and has started setting goals for himself.  

Below are a a few of the pictures I snapped while he was putting the bike together.  Sorry for the quality, they were snapped from my cell phone.

Being good and reading the directions!

Opening up some boxes while the kids help. They're so curious.

Lane, happy to pose for the shot while Daddy is hard at work.

And yes, that is Mickey Mouse on the TV!

Sweet Scarlett helping out while Daddy puts the seat on.

Almost Done!

Putting the finishing touches on, tightening everything up.

Excuse the mess in the background!

Testing out the finished product!

Thank you Again to the person who helped make this possible.

A BIG Thank You

I'm not sure who you are. I do not know your situation.  I have no idea what motivates your generousity. 

I do, from the bottom of my heart, sincerely THANK YOU!

A few weeks ago I had blogged an update about Rassie.  In that blog I mentioned how Rassie and I were considering getting a stationary bike to help with the mobility of Rassie's right leg. (click here to read that blog).  Something about that blog reached out to one of our follower's and in return they reached out to us.

It probably took a week for me to realize someone was hunting me down! The kids had been sick. Rassie had phsycial therapy and his appointments.  I just hadn't been online much other than through my phone.  I use that mostly for facebook and pictures.   I believe it was late Friday night when I was checking all my messages.  Rassie and I both had one on  facebook. It was from a nice lady who works for a non-profit organization called Giving Anonymously. She explained to me who she was, what  GA was, and that she had sent several emails.  I also found a message from her on the comments here :)   .   So I went through my email.  Read them all.  And went to work researching Giving Anonymously.  Let's face it, this is the internet and we never know who we can trust.   I was very skeptical about what I was reading. 

 

It didn't take long to convince me that GA was a legit company. I found several articles that helped me to feel more comfortable with who they are and what they do.  And I read over their own personal site.  http://www.givinganon.org/ .  Here are a few articles I found about them.  Local charity Giving Anonymously nominated for MSN award and Making a Difference from the NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams in which they were nominated for an MSN Butterfly Award.

Rassie and I decided to accept the gift and verify our mailing address.

We were both blown away by the generousity of a 'stranger'.  We have no idea who this person is but any person willing to give such a gift will always have a place in our hearts.  Words cannot describe how thankful we are to have such a great support system out there.

Today we recieved the check from Giving Anonymously in the mail.  I did call the number and leave my name, the amount of the check and a short thank you.  Honestly, that thank you didn't do you justice.  We are much more appreciative than it sounded. I just couldn't find the words to express how greatful we are to you.  May God Bless you for what you have made possible for us.

 

For those of you wondering, let me get to it.  The person used Giving Anonymously to give us a cash gift that will go towards the purchase of a stationary bike for Rassie.  We're are now one step closer!  And in the future, when possible we plan on Paying it Forwad to another individual, whoever that might be.

Thank you all again for the support that you show to my husband, myself and my family.  We could not get through this without all of you and your support and prayers for us.

God Bless & Good Night

I guess I'm a  little behind on all my updates.  Rassie had an appointment with Dr. F last Wednesday. It was at the physical medicine and rehabilitatin department of Scott & White.  Dr. F watched Rassie walk this time. But he didn't poke and prod and all the normal stuff he does. I guess that's because he had seen Rassie 2 weeks prior to that and checked out all his accomplishments then! He wrote a prescription for Rassie to get an ankle brace for his right ankle. Sometimes he doesn't realize he rolls it or starts to walk on the side of it because he can't feel it still.  Rassie has done really good about watching his feet though to make sure he's standing on them properly.  Mainly just the right one.  He has great range of motion with the left. Another follow up to come in 2-4 weeks.

I am proud to say that Rassie has been wheel chair free for about the last 3 weeks. Prior to that he was only using the wheel chair as needed.   Rassie has also been walking with a cane for the last 3 weeks also. He as graduated from a quad cane to a straight cane (just a regular cane).  And the insurance has paid for him to go and get his own. He did have one on loan from the physical therapy dept.

We are all so proud of the progress he has made and is making.   Last October was a very hard time for all of us.  I still remember standing at the foot of his bed while the doctors asked him to move his toes and feet and he couldn't. I remember walking into his ER room with my brother and telling him we were in the wrong room.  My brother thought we were too.  On the phone Rassie had said he hurt his back.  When we walked into the ER room there was a man laying flat on his back. A neck brace, oxygen mask and all kinds of monitors.  Not something I expected to see, to say the least. It has been on long journey but we are making it.  Most importantly, Rassie IS making it and he IS improving.  It's all we have hoped for.

On another note, Rassie has an oncology appointment comping up on June 2nd.  Not sure what's in store for us yet.  The past few oncology appointments have been pretty calm and routine.  Go in, ask your questions, doctor asks his questions, check vitals, go over labs, etc.  Pretty much they make sure everything is going smoothly.  I have a feeling Rassie will be having a bone marrow biopsy in the near future but I guess I won't really know until after June 2nd.  I'll keep y'all posted!

Thanks for following along on our journey.  We really appreciated the continued support and prayers.  There's always strength in numbers and God knows that each and every one of you are praying!

God Bless!

An Oldie but A Goodie

Thought I'd share a smile

I want to cry

Tears of happiness.  I guess I haven't been on much with the kids being sick and 3 appointments for them alone this week.  Plus, we had Rassie's phsyical therapy and another physical med & rehab appointment.   I try to keep up with everyone through the internet on my phone and my options are a little limited there.

Ok, back to the tears of happiness.  There are some really kind hearted people out there.  Tonight as I was catching up on everything through the little screen on my cell phone I came across a message on Facebook from a volunteer who works for a non-profit organization called  Giving Anonymously. Apparently, they had made several attempts to contact me with little success.  But finally tonight, I read through some of the attempts and invesitigated the organization.

Someone who has been following my blog and Rassie's story was touched and wanted to send Rassie a gift.  They are helping us to get one step closer to buying Rassie a stationary bike that he can use here at home in an attmept to strengthen his legs and get better.  It literally melts my heart to know that there are people in this world who want to help.  I feel that our family is extremely Blessed to have the support of our friends and family in Rassie's journey to recovery.  I truely believe Rassie will beat CML and Walk again! 

Dear Kind Hearted Giver,

Rassie and I are very thankful for your generousity.  We never excepted someone to reach out to us with a gift like this.  God has wonderful things in store for you.  You are truely one of a kind. Thank you!

From the bottom of our hearts,

Amber & Rassie