My Daddy

For those of you who don't know already, my dad passed away on Sunday May 30, 2010 after a difficult fight with pancreatic cancer. Sorry we weren't the best at keeping the blog up to date. Things were starting to go down hill for my dad and the chemo stopped working, the tumors started to grow even with the treatments. So in mid April the family all agreed it was time to stop the chemo treatments and just go on our family trip to Cancun, Mexico and just have a good time. My dad was tired on the trip, but was still able to enjoy it and do the 2 main things he wanted to do. He was able to go to Chichen Itza and Tulum and go snorkeling. We had a good trip and when we returned things got a little worse, but still not terrible. If his passing comes as a shock to you, believe me, it was also a shock to us. It came extremely quick, with in about 7 days actually. One day he seemed okay and the next he could barely walk, talk, and eat. This was actually a blessing though. He had a very rough last week and it was a relief to see him be freed from the suffering. Thank you for all your love, support and prayers.

New Blog For Gordon

I have created a new blog for my dad that we will be using to blog about his situation. Both him and I are authors on it, so you will be probably hearing from both of us on it. I did this so that my family blog won't get in the way of those who are just wondering about my dad. The blog address is www.gojoehler.blogspot.com and there is a link on the top right of my blog that will take you directly there. Thank you so much for all you love and support!

Words from Gordon

My dad made a comment on one of my posts, but I'm not sure if everyone looks at that part or not so I wanted to post it.

This is Gordon. I just read Michelle's blog. She's doing a great job. I really appreciate her efforts to keep it up to date. She's an awesome daughter and mother as well. The weekend was really tough. The chemo, dyes for the testing, and all of the traveling messed me up and I ended up in the emergency room. I'm doing great now. Thanks to everyone.

Another Update

If your anything like me and are anxiously awaiting any news at all, than it's probably been driving you crazy not knowing what's going on since my last blog update. Well, really we don't know very much more. Things got put off a little again, but my dad finally starts chemo tomorrow. We found out today that he is not going to be getting the extra dosage/experimental drug. He still will be part of the research, he will just be the part that doesn't get the drug. I'm not sure if this is good or bad and I don't fully understand it all. I know we have been praying that my dad will have to do the minimal suffering and with the experimental drug he would probably be lots sicker, but on the other hand it could have increased his life. Once again though, it's in the lords hands so he will be here as long as he is meant to be. I also haven't mentioned (because I wasn't told this til after my last blog) that his cancer is at a stage 4. That is the worst stage it could be at. Anytime it spreads from one organ to another it is considered stage 4. This past week my dad has been to two appointments, but we really haven't learned much more. They wanted to do another pet scan and some other types of scans, but I'm not really sure why. My dad says, "Just because they can!" Anyway, he has learned some useful information at these appointments as far as diet and exercise type stuff, but really nothing is new. Like I said, he starts chemo tomorrow (friday the 6th) and I will continue to keep everyone updated. If there isn't an update, it's not because I forgot, it's just because I don't really know anything new. Once again, thank you for all your prayers, love and support!

Nothing New Really

So not much has changed after seeing the new doc. They for sure have decided to continue going to Huntsmans, which I am happy about. The doctor wanted to get a hold of the bioptsy results before starting anything, so they have another appointment next week where they will hopefully get the chemo started since it will be almost 1 month since learning about the cancer. Also, they are considering trying an experimental drug, but that's about all the new info we've gotten so far.

PET Scan Results

We got the result from my dads PET Scan and the news wasn't what we had hoped for. It showed that there is a large tumor in his Pancreas. So, he technically has Pancreatic cancer that has spread to the liver. The doctor didn't say much about it except that the treatment and the outcome remains the same. My parents decided to put off the chemo until next week after they get a second opinion from Huntsman Cancer Institute, (which is on monday). Because of insurance coverage, all of my dads tests have to be done at Huntmans and while there they felt there was a better support system and just overall felt better there, which is why they decided to get a second opinion from them. Things will probably be the same, but if they feel better about Huntsmans, then I think they are better off going there even if results will be the same. All the info I have now is from internet research, so I will wait to go into more detail once the doctor has explained more about my dads individual situation.

Trials

Ok, so as many of you know, my dad was diagnosed with liver cancer almost 2 weeks ago. Cancer...what a scary word. It is all around us and probably everyone out there knows someone who has been affected by it or knows someone who is going through it or has gone through it. In this day and age you think there are cures and many ways to beat it through some long hard roads. Well, in my dads situation there is only 1 cure...a liver transplant. Also that cure is pretty rare because the cancer usually spreads before a liver becomes available. In some types of liver cancer there are more options but the type of cancer my dad has is pretty rare. He has over 20 tumors throughout his whole liver and they have no idea what caused it. Usually, liver cancer comes from somewhere, such as, the stomach, prostate, gallbladder, etc. From what they can tell right now, it is only in the liver and thats where it originated from. We will find out for sure later this week when he gets the results of his PET Scan. My dad starts chemo on friday and we're hoping that is will start shrinking the tumors and keep them from spreading. The type of chemo he will be on doesn't usually make people really sick or make them lose their hair, so we're really hoping it works good so he can have a good quality of life while he is on it. How long my dad has left depends on how well the chemo works and how long it works for. The guesstimated time frame is 6 to 18 months. But like I said, it's a guessing game. No one knows when my dads time is up except for God. It's that way for all of us. Some people with liver cancer have been told they have 6 months and they last 5 years (that's about the max). So really we just don't know. There is also still that small miracle of a liver transplant as long as the chemo keeps the cancer from spreading. It is in Gods hands. I love my dad so much and this is the hardest trial I have ever had to go through, but my faith will get me through it. Now more than ever I am so grateful for the knowlege of eternal families and life after death. I can't imagine going through this without my knowlegde of the gospel and without a loving Heavenly Father who hears and answers my prayers. I don't want to lose my dad and I'm not ready to at all, but what I know and feel will get me through this. It will be a hard road no matter which way this goes, but I have an eternal family either way. This reality of how mortal we all are has helped me to realize how much more I need to do, how much better I need to be, so that I can have those blessings. My dad is the best dad in the world and I love him more than words can express and I would do anything for him. His faith and example has gotten me through some tough times in the past and I'm sure many more in the future. I will always cherish the time we do have left together as well as the time I have with others I love. Thank you all for you love and support during this time. All of your prayers are more appreciated than you know. It's helps to know how many people out there care.

Addi's 1st day of 1st Grade

Ok, so, I admit I have lost my passion for blogging. It takes so much time and I have very little of that these days, but I couldn't miss blogging about my baby starting 1st grade. Addison is so excited to be going back to school. She had a great first day and made lots of new friends already (which does not surprise me, she tends to make instant friends). She was nervous to go to a new school this year, but she already is adjusting. She wanted to hop on that bus and get there. Of course, I made her ride with me on her 1st day, especially since she hadn't been to her new school or met her new teacher yet. She allowed it yesterday, but today she HAD to ride the bus. The past two mornings she has woke up and got dressed for school all on her own. That won't last, but it's funny how excited she is. The picture's not the greatest cause I couldn't find my camera (don't worry I did later), so I had to use my phone and the picture's not very clear.

Anyway, I am working now (and more hrs. than I wanted to) so I am keeping very busy with family, work, running, etc. I'm working at a bridal shop and they are going to market the first part of Sept. plus they are having some family things they are needing to take care of, so I am working lots of hrs trying to learn the business because when they are gone, I will be on my own a lot. That doesn't give me a lot of time to learn everything, so I have to get the hrs in now. I'm catching on to things, but there is so much more to do than I ever would have thought. I enjoy it, but by the end of the day I am worn out. I am enjoying the early to bed, early to rise thing. I am feeling so much better between that, the exercise, and eating better. Plus I have a wonderful husband who is helping out so much at home. Spencer is still looking for work. We have had some crazy things going on with that but it is a LONG story that I don't want to try and explain, but we are hopeful that something good will turn out with it. The company he is trying to get on with is S-L-O-W with getting things done, but if he gets the position he is trying for it will be SO good for us. Better than what we had originally hoped for. I don't know what the lord has in store for us, but we KNOW things are the way they are for a reason and no matter what is going on, we have been SO blessed. Anyway, that's all I'm going to blog about for now cause I gotta get ready for work. I will hopefully get some pictures up from our chicago trip soon (Spencer's World Meet), now that its been a month, lol.

A GOAL WORTH RUNNING FOR!

You probably have figured out from the picture/banner what it is...or maybe you've heard since I haven't stopped talking about it for the past week, lol! That's right! I am going to run in the St. George Marathon, although it's still a long time away. I'm hoping to be ready to do it by Oct. 2010! That gives me about 15 months to prepare. Don't worry, I'm not trying to start big. I will start small and build up to the big 26 mile race! I'm planning to do my first 5K in Sept or Oct. I'm VERY excited about it! I haven't been training for long, but I already love it! Having a small goal in the near future has kept me very motivated and excited. I will keep building up until I feel prepared to do the St. George Marathon. That seems a little crazy from where I am right now, but I know with the dedication and time I can achieve it.

Finally, an update!

Ok, so it's been a while since I have done a post, mostly because I'm a slacker, but I am trying to get back into it. This is only going to be me rambling because I'm too tired to upload and edit the 300 pictures on my camera right now. I just figured I would update everyone on what is going on with us (at least what I can remember) and I'll work on adding pictures in the near future.

For starters I will let everyone know that Spencer was laid off 3 weeks ago. It's been kind of hard and scary, but we have been staying close to the lord and have had a lot of comfort from him. We were able to take off for 10 days and travel across the state to visit friends and family, as well as, look at options for us all over. We went to Lagoon with a bunch of Spencer's family, which was super fun and way good to see everybody and finally pick up our little Addison (who was in St. George for 2 weeks without us...that was tough!). Then we hung out in Salt Lake with our good friends Brandon and Valee for a few days looking around there for employment. We didn't really find much there that we felt good about so off we went to St. George. It was really good to spend some time with Spencer's parents and just enjoy being back home. We had one job offer there and planned on accepting it, but I couldn't get this nagging feeling out of my gut and after talking with Spencer and praying lots and lots about it, we decided for the time being it wasn't going to work out. Both of us weren't very happy about that because we wanted nothing more than to move back down south. Oh well. The lord seems to have something else in mind for us. After much praying and deliberation we feel like we're supposed to stay where we are. We were strongly prompted to move into where we did and really feel that we are supposed to stay, so we feel confident that the lord will provide a way. If not, then we are not very good at listening to him! We have a hopeful job opportunity we'll find more out about tomorrow, but since we know nothing at this time I will just have to update everyone on that later.

Also, we had a little boy turn 3 on July 3rd. That's right, Treyson is 3! Can you believe it? I can't! Time had flown right by! I remember so clearly the first time I saw my sweet little boy and It feels like only days ago. I love seeing him get older and all that is he learning, but at the same time it's sad to see how quickly my baby is growing up. I just have to cherish every moment with him because next thing I know he'll be all grown up. Anyway, Treyson had a great birthday and was sad when it ended. I made him a yummy breakfast and we let him practically plan the day, which of course involved swimming at the rec center. Although his poor cousin Dallin (who is 7) had to leave within five minutes of arriving because he cracked his head open on one of the slides and had to get 5 stitches in his head. I felt so bad. His main concern though was he wanted to get back and go swimming, lol. He has blood gushing out of his head and all he can think about is swimming. Anyway, we did the usual stuff like presents, cake, ice cream, and spoiling Treyson since it was his day. I'll try and post some pictures of his day later.

I guess that's pretty much what has been going on with us the past month and a half. Spencer and I will be going to Chicago for the Amateur (meaning drug tested) World Powerlifting Congress meet in Aug. We're way excited about that. It's an amazing opportunity where only 3 lifters from each country, in each weight class are able to compete. He had to earn a spot in the meet during his last competition and has been working hard training for the event. He is planning on breaking some more world records when he is there (he broke a world record in bench at the national meet last April). Anyway we are way excited and have had a lot of donations from friends, family and a few businesses so that we can get there and I just want everyone who has helped contribute to helping us get there to know how much we apprecitate it. This is a huge opportunity and without the help of those contributing we would have to miss it, especially with Spencer out of work. So THANK YOU SO MUCH! There are two specific people I want to mention at this time and that is Spencer's mom Sue Ann and Darcy Powell. You two have helped so much to make this happen and you will never know how much it means to Spencer and I, so once again THANK YOU!

That complete's my ramblings for the night and I'm off to bed now. I'll try to be better at keeping things updated so I don't have to play catch up!