doing well - still alive and kicking

sorry, i have not kept up with this. i have received enough feedback, that i need to let you know what is going on with me, i am still alive and kicking, for that i am truly blessed, i have great family and friends and great support, it has been a tough month, i ended up getting a blood clot in both my legs and both my lungs, so i had some minor surgery to place a cvc filter to keep clots from moving from my legs to my lungs, i am still on Avastin and do an infusion every other week.other than that i am trucking right along, waiting for Alyssa to get home in November, we are hoping in time for thanksgiving ,thank you all for all you do, i love my wife so much as she keeps me going, and has been such a trooper through all of this i have seen the Lord's hand in my life everyday. working with Ty and Shayne to submit their application to go on a mission

Doing better

I had my 3rd round of chemo on Tuesday, a new MRI, doctor appointment and chemo infusion. The good news is this chemo seems to shrinking the swelling and tumor better than the docs thought, this chemo is supposed to control the growth of the tumor, but does not destroy it, so odds are when/if we go off of it, it can grow back, so it looks like every other week I am scheduled to have another treatment up at the U of U (definitely not my favorite place)being a BYU fan, btw nice win tonight Cougs!! Many have chastised me for not keeping up on this blog. I am feeling much better now and feel stronger everyday, still working full-time and walking to work each day which is nice. I see the Lords hand in my life and families life every day. I am working to get back to my old self every day, but still have to learn patience. ( I have to stick around until my daughter gets back from her mission in Russia, and I can send off my twin boys in January.

If she can endure Siberia, I can endure this :) ) Thank you all for your continued prayers and support.

Kyle

We are home again from Texas

I had all the tests done in Texas that I needed, but will have to wait 3 weeks for the final results, but I did start a new chemo protocol, which we can do here in Utah, so Lynette and I flew home on Thursday night so I was able to go back to work today. I will try and keep things updated on the site when I know more, but I am feeling good and Lynette has me walking to work every morning, which is good, I told her it would take 45 mins to an hour to walk, she said, 20 mins, I timed it today and made it in 30, I am sure after a week, it will be down to 20 minutes and of course Lynette will be right again :) Thank you all for the support and prayers on my behalf.

-Kyle

Another Trip to Houston

On Monday (8-8/2011)Lynette and I flew to Houston Texas to talk to a doctor about a clinical trial. We are having an MRI, PET scan and electrocardiogram tomorrow we run these tests to see if I qualify for his clinical trial, they are also getting my tumor tissue from M.D. Anderson to be tested for which chemo will be effective for me. As soon as we know more, we will update the this blog We don't have a scheduled time for when we return yet.

-Kyle

Lastest Update

On Saturday, July 9, Kyle had a seizure right before we were going to go boating. It's a miracle that he wasn't behind the wheel of his truck, pulling the boat, with a truckload of family and friends. That would have been devastating!

The seizure was caused by a new tumor growth. We are not going to have it removed because the risk of affecting his motor function is too high. We are praying that the new chemo will control the tumor from growing.

Kyle's heart went into atrium fibrillation (A-Fib) during the seizure. Today they zapped his heart back into a normal rhythm, so hopefully tomorrow he will be able to come home from the University of Utah Hospital.

We still need your prayers-- we are in this for the long haul.

Lastest News about the Birthday Boy =)

Sorry that I haven't taken the time to update this blog in a while, but I do have to admit that it was easier in Houston to get it done. I have a lot more things pulling me in many directions when I am at home.

Kyle jumped back into work too soon. Not that going to work was bad-- just working eight hours a day was not wise. By Friday, he was exhausted and his incision started to leak every so often a clear liquid. He was unable to sleep all Saturday night because the leak was now a gush. He and I went to the emergency room Sunday morning and finally at 4:30 p.m. he was admitted to the hospital. Surgery was scheduled for early Monday morning to stop the leak and add a few drains. He has been in ICU since then because they are the only floor that deals with drains. He has a major headache and is very nauseous, but is doing well. Hopefully, the drains will come out Thursday or Friday. He wants to be home in time for Alyssa's Mission Farewell on Sunday. I'm sure that he will be there.

Today is Kyle's 49th birthday. We are so glad that he is here with us and pray that we can share many more birthdays with him in the years to come.

Back to work...

I was able to go back to work today, feels good to be feeling more normal. I know everyone is surprised to see me back so soon, but what can I say, prayers are answered. I know this. I have seen so many miracles in my life this past year, how can I deny them. My head is still a little swollen and sore, and still a little nauseated, but can push through it. Thanks again for the support, thoughts, prayers on my behalf and my family. I truly do appreciate it. It was nice to get home to see my youngest boys go to Jr. Prom :) Even though they fought it. Its not their favorite thing to do. But they seemed to have a fun time.

Kyle

Going Home

Kyle is doing so good that we get to fly home tomorrow. We are just leaving the hospital right now and walking over to the hotel. We will spend the night and then Kevin Rieske is going to pick us up in the morning and take us to the airport. He has been so helpful both this trip and last year.

The pathology report has not been completed yet, so we will have a phone conversation with the oncolgist next week. Kyle will have 4 weeks of recovery before he can start anything.

Thursday's News

Yesterday was a long day for us. I have to sit in one room the whole day because that is where they come to get you when they have updates or when the surgeon wants to talk to you. It is physically taxing on me. I can never time things right because everytime I left for something or another the nurse was looking for me. I want to the restroom and when I came out the surgeon was there waiting for me. Luckily, I wasn't gone for long because he would not have waited for much longer. He told me about the surgery (see previous blog). Then the waiting continued. Kyle was in the recovery room from noon until 10:30 p.m. because there were no rooms available. I continued to wait in this room until his nurse would call me to go and visit him for 5-10 minutes at a time. He was very nauseaous--throwing up or dry heaving whenever he was awake. In the 10 hours that he was in the recovery room, I saw him a total of 4 times. Finally, he was moved to a surgical floor. I helped him get settled and off to sleep. I arrived at the hotel at midnight. I went right to sleep and slept like a baby.

Today, Thursday, Kyle was allowed to get out of bed. His tubes and IV's were removed. His pain level is a 3 in his head and neck. His head is swollen. He is walking great. Dr. McCutcheon had mentioned that second surgeries were rough and that the patient would feel so bad that they don't even think about going home, but Kyle is not showing any of the symptons that the doctor mentioned. In fact, he feels good. I hope that we can make it home by Sunday.

Today, we are just walking around the nurse's station, watching movies, and eating. Right now he is getting a MRI.

Thanks for all of your comments and prayers--love, Lynette

Surgery Successful

Although, Kyle and I checked into the hospital at 5:00 this morning, surgery didn't start until 8:20 a.m. and finished at 11:45 a.m.--a little over three hours. They were able to use the same incision line as before. Dr. McCutcheon said that it was a tumor and not nercosis. It was shaped like a sausage with a length of 3.2 cm. He cut out the main tumor and an extra 5mm worth of surrounding tissue. He also cut out some of the tissue that connections the right brain with the left brain. He mentioned that second surgeries often require a longer recovery time--so we don't have an idea as to when we will be home. He will reevaluate on Monday.

We have confidence in the doctors here and feel good about having this tumor removed. Dr. McCutcheon said that no two GBM's are the same. Some grow fast and furious, while others are slower. But as much as you try to get all of the fingers out--it isn't unusual for some of them to grow back. That is why regular MRI's are an important tool to catch them early.

I'm doing great emotionally and physically. It is very hard to sit, but not too bad. Thanks again for your concern for us. Love, Lynette

Oncology Report

Dr. De Groot is waiting until after the surgery and the pathology report to talk to us about any treatment. We are planning to talk to him on Friday after the pathology test confirms whether this spot is a tumor or a radiation necrosis. Let's all pray that it is necrosis because that means the Temodar (chemo) is still being affective. He didn't think that it was necrosis, but we can always pray for miracles!!!! Thanks for your prayers-- keep them coming.

Neurosurgeon Information

We met with the neurosurgeon, Dr. McCutcheon, this morning. He said that it is very common for tumors to grow on the edge of the void from the last surgery. He showed us on the MRI that this new growth is just to the right of the void, close to where there is a natural division between the left and right brain. Right now it is very small and in an area where seizures and motor functions are not a concern. That's great news. They will remove the surrounding area around the tumor so that the tumor doesn't spread to the right side of the brain. He was very optimistic that the surgery was not as extensive as the last one--only lasting about 4 hours--compared to the 8-9 hour last time. Kyle should handle it fairly well. We feel reassured that this is the right thing to do at this time. We have an appointment with the oncologist this afternoon and will post that information later.

An Update

We were hoping to hear from MD Anderson before the weekend, but when we hadn't heard from them by early Friday afternoon I (Lynette) called them only to receive their voice mailbox. Thankfully, they called early this morning to inform us that surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, April 27. Thanks for all of your prayers. We will keep you posted with any new updates.

MRI Results

Bad news, the MRI reveled a tumor that is about 1 inch long and 1/2 inch wide it just outside the cavity of my first surgery. The other part that is bad, is the oncologist said that the chemo does not seem to be keeping this at bay, so he suggested that we go back to MD Anderson and have it surgically removed. He felt that was the best option, so we are currently talking with MD Anderson and sending the MRI's that I have had here to them. Then they can let us know if it is in a place where they can operate on it. We are praying that it is. We will try and keep the blog up to date with any new information. I personally am feeling really good, it was a big shock that the MRI, came back with something, as I have been feeling strong and more normal. Just another leason in patience.

Things still going very well.

It is hard to believe that it has been a full year since this blog was started, a lot has happened the past year. Thank you again for all the prayers, thoughts, acts of kindness for my family and myself. I have a wonderful family and love them all. We did just get together a little while ago, before Tony had to ship out and took a family picture. I thought I would post it and pray this next year will still find success in beating this cancer thing. I have another MRI in 3 weeks, and will post the results when I have them. Bryce and I had a great time snowmobiling this last Saturday. It felt great to get out and play. I am a little sore from getting tossed off couple of times, but if you are not riding hard, your not playing hard :)

-Kyle

MRI Clean again. (Alyssa called to serve in Russia)

So I had another MRI on Friday and it came back clear again, which is wonderful news. I even went snowmobiling again, this time with Alyssa. Getting her acclimated to the cold for her mission to Russia next year. Yes, she has been called to serve in the Russia Yekaterinburg Mission. We are excited for her and she is excited to go as well. I am getting stronger each day and feeling better. I love life, and family and my job and am thankful for the many blessings in my life.

-Kyle

Feeling more normal

So Bryce and I are able to go snowmobiling again, feels good to be feeling more normal each day. Wow we have a lot of snow already here in Utah. Looking forward to a good season this year.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to all, its been a long year. Looking forward to 2011. I am so blessed. I have the best family and friends. I feel so blessed this year having gone through these trials. I am so grateful to family and friends and all of you. Your prayers, thoughts, kind words of encouragement, and your warm love to my family and myself. While I am looking forward to next year, looking forward to May, when I might be able to get off of chemotherapy. I also feel sad that this year is coming to a close. I have so missed the BYU 173rd ward, and BYU 6th stake. I am enjoying going to church with my family. As a family, we decided to go see the lights on temple square, so here is a little photo of our trip. It was very cold! I even had to wear my beanie cap. But it was nice to have most of us for the trip, Jocelyn and Tony were still in Virgina, but will be here for new years day. Looking forward to that. We had a wonderful Christmas together and again want to share my love and thanks to all of you. I am feeling stronger and better everyday. Bryce and I are going snowmobiling for New Years day, looking forward to that. One of my most selfish fun things to do. And Alyssa and I have already put a trip down in her busy calendar before she leaves for the mission field. Yes, she has submitted her papers to go on a mission. We are very excited for her. We have big map of the world on the wall in our family room where we have all marked where we think she might go. Should find out in a couple of weeks. Take care and God bless you all.

-Kyle

Still recovering from Gall Bladder Surgery

With everything going on, I ended up going to the emergency room on November 16th for a gall bladder attack, I did not know that was what was going on, I thought it was a side effect of the chemo, but this one did feel different, so Lynette decided for me to head to the ER. After the ultrasound it was confirmed I need to have my gall bladder removed. Great, another surgery, but after all the brain surgeries, this one seemed mild (a same day surgery). The ER let me go home that night and we started to find a surgeon that could look do the surgery ASAP. We found one that could see me 2 days later on the 18th. I went to an appointment to see the surgeon and after 5 minutes, he confirmed the thing needed to come out. So, he said, lets go over now to the hospital and do the surgery trying to get done before Thanksgiving holiday where everyone wanted to be gone, so Lynette and I said ok. 2 hours later I was prepped for surgery. Had the laparoscopic surgery and things went well, other than I am still sore somewhat. This is a picture with warm blankets all wrapped around me as I was getting cold (which is so not like me, until after this year, I find myself getting cold and even wearing long pants to work!). This last Tuesday, I was tired of not playing some basketball, so I tried, that was a mistake, I am still in pain from stretching all my insides trying to shoot and get rebounds. I will need to take another 2 weeks off of playing ball. Lynette has me walking with her now at the BYU field house to get exercise. Again I have been very blessed and this experience has again increased my patience and love of family and friends. I feel very blessed this year as we approach the celebration of Christmas. One side effect I was having from the chemo was the constant nausea, but now I and the docs think it was because of my bad gall bladder. I have started a new round of chemo and have noticed that I don't have the nausea now, so I am thinking now, that in a twisted sick way, it was good to have the gall bladder removed as now I may feel more normal. Merry Christmas to all and thank you again for all of your prayers love and support. I know I can beat this thing(cancer), and working everyday to do it.

-Kyle

MRI #2 is clean again.

I just completed my 2nd MRI, and all signs are still good. There was a big sigh of relief when the news comes back that it is good. So, I wait 3 more months for the next MRI, keeping up with the monthly chemo. I am back to playing basketball twice a week, feels good to be physical. Life is good! Look forward to the football games of Orem High School as Shayne is a Sr. We have a last season game on Friday. Here is a photo from a game of Lynette and I.