Has it really been a month?

 Wow, life sure does fly by and Rory and I have been keeping rather busy.  Since my last post, Rory has gone through two more rounds of chemo, a stent replacement, a CT-Scan, and a PET scan.  Rory's second round of treatment was much like the first.  He had very little side effects and pretty much pushed right through it.  Following his second round of chemo (Irinotecan and Vincristine) Rory got his kidney stents replaced and a CT-scan done.  Here's the good news.  Rory's CT scan was the first time we have ever received a good report from the doctor.  Our doctor told us that there are no new spots (YES), that several of the sports have shrunk (YES and YES) and that a few other spots stayed the same or grew very slightly (OK, i'll take it).  According to the doctor, the slight growth could be due to the necrosis in the tumors rather than actual tumor cells growing (in laymen's terms - that's a good thing).  So all around a very much needed good report that has been (in my opinion) long over due!  For the very first time, I left the doctors office feeling like I could breath.

For Rory's third round our doctor added Temodar to the Irinotecan and Vincristine cocktail.  Our doctor informed us that this could really make Rory nauseous and could have a greater effect on his counts.  Well Rory finished this third round last Friday (11/5) and he has yet to get nauseous from this chemo and as I type this he is at the office hard at work.  This past weekend we were able to enjoy a busy Saturday with the Spartan football game, a steak dinner at a local camp, and a get together at my brothers house.  It was a full day and Rory was the last one standing, while I was the one who petered out early!  Also, Rory has finally gotten his appetite back and as you can see from the pictures has been gaining his weight back!  After surgery he was at 126lbs and at our last chemo visit he weighed in at 151lbs!  WOOHOO!  He's been working hard at it, eating non-stop and lifting weights.  So far, so good!  I pray it stays that way.          

One of Rory's biggest requests has been to get his ileostomy bag reversed.  After his surgery in NY we were told by the surgeon there that he could have it reversed sometime in October.  After the positive CT scan results, Rory contacted Dr. LaQuaglia's team last week to see about the possibility of a reversal.  Angela, the NP, got back to Rory, requesting a PET scan be done so that Dr. LaQuaglia could get a better look at what was going on in his abdomen.  Once Dr. LaQuaglia has a chance to look at the PET scan he will determine whether he can have the reversal at this time or not.  In addition to the reversal, while he is in there, Dr. L said he would remove any spots remaining that he can see.  WOW!  We weren't expecting that.  I have prayed continuously that God removes the present sports in Rory's abdomen and that he removes any of the sports we cannot see.  Talk about answering prayer.  Rory's CT scan showed no new sports (prayer answer #1) and Dr. LaQuaglia wants to remove the current sports that are remaining (answer #2).  Rory had his PET scan done just yesterday (11/8) and the results will be shipped of to NY asap.  Please pray that the results show the cancer is continuing to shrink and that Dr. LaQuaglia will be able to reverse the ileostomy and remove any remaining spots that he can see.  I will be sure to keep you all updated on whether or not a return visit to NYC is in our near future!


In other news, our wedding is fast approaching.  Seven months and counting!  I am getting extremely excited and all the details seem to be coming together (including Rory's recovery).

Thanks for all your constant love, support, and prayers.  They keep us going.

~Kristen

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.