Tis' the season to be traveling!
I had a great time visiting all our families this Christmas! We started Christmas day at our very own house, believe it or not. We slept in (until 7:45am!) and when Taigen got up, we opened presents. The highlight for her was a note that she got saying that we are going to let her pick out a new cat this week. After that, we spent the day putting together a Barbie Dream House and watching Taigen's favorite show, Eureka. We ended the night with an amazing Christmas dinner that Wendy made.
The next day we headed out to visit my mom in Eugene. We decided not to rush out of town but just take our time. The drive went well and we got to her house around 7:30pm. We had dinner and opened presents. I got one of the most amazing presents from Brianna and her husband Sam. They wrote to the Seattle Sounders, explained that I am a die-hard fan and asked if they could get something from the team for me. This is what they got back:
The Sounders are a class-act organization. This just makes me love them more!
After this we were off to Roseburg to visit Ann (Wendy's Mom) and Ron (Wendy's Step-dad). After a bit, Wendy's sister Juli and her husband Bill came over from Bend to join us for dinner and presents. It was a great time! The next day was just spent relaxing. I love going to Roseburg because I get to visit a world-renown artist, Kevin Clark. He does Japanese woodblock printing, which I love, and the crazy thing is that he is known around the world but not in Roseburg. I find this humorous and sad every time I visit him.
On our way back through Eugene, we stopped to visit Wendy's aunt Ellie. It was good for Wendy and Taigen to get to see her and visit for a while. Unfortunately, I had to stay in the car as we didn't want to leave it parked on the street with all of our stuff in it.
Next up, Portland and Wendy's Dad's and his wife Laisha's house. We had a huge family brunch with that side of the family: Dad, Laisha, dog Sadie, Wendy's step-bother Jim, his wife Jenn and daughter Jillian, step-brother Jeff, step-sister Janine and her boyfriend Adam. After brunch we opened presents and had a great time talking and laughing together. After this, I got another amazing present from the Seahawks - home field advantage throughout the playoffs. How thoughtful!
Now we are back in Seattle and I must have been on the very nice list or Santa felt bad for me because the Ducks just beat Texas in the Alamo Bowl! Merry Christmas to me again!!! They say that positive thoughts, energy and prayers are good for my health so right now I am kicking cancer's butt!
Merry Christmas and a happy new year to everyone!
Chris
'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the chemo center.........
Hello all, my new year's resolution is to write more on this blog. I never thought that so many people would care that I would get "yelled" at when I don't do updates. So I repent and will do a better job.
A Christmas miracle occurred! My garage is almost done. Yes you read that right. Justin Ferguson, Brad Bliven, Pang Sisavath, Scott Holloway and Eric Parmalee came over and took a big load to the dump, an even bigger load to Goodwill and helped organize my mess. Thank you so much for helping the Soethes slay the burden of our garage. Also, big shout out to the Lewis' for setting everything up. You all rock.
I also wanted to thank everyone for all the meals and childcare you have given us. It has blown us away how much love and help everyone has given us. We could not have done this without all of your help. We are blessed to have such good friends and family. We love you all very much!
My follow-up CT scan is set for Jan 13th and I will most likely get the results on my chemo appt on Jan 15th. Please keep praying for me!
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7.
'Til next time, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!
Chris
As I said before, this has been a weird week. For the past 3 chemos, my bad day has been on the 3rd day. The first chemo, I was hit hard on Friday. The next time, Friday was a bit better but still not fun. Last Friday was not bad at all. Didn't feel good but did't feel bad. So I was thinking that I was in a rhythm now. Wrong! My last chemo was on Tuesday and I was ready for Friday. I was set, but on Thursday felt really bad and on Friday I had really bad fatigue. So bad that I came home on Friday and basically passed out at 8. Saturday was tired but felt better. And today, feel "normal". I was laughing that I wished that I could get a system down to know how I would feel on what day, but what fun would that be!
I did find out that I was in a play this weekend. The Tacoma sector of our church had the kids Christmas play today where they talked about Barnabus and they used me as an example in the play. I had my 15 minutes of fame and missed it!
Yesterday was close. I mean very close. We now know that my white blood cell count takes a hit when I get my chemo. After my break, my count was fine. But this time it was a bit closer. I needed 3.5 on my count to do chemo and I scored a 3.6 to squeak by. I told you it was close! My doctor did say that everything was going great and he has been very pleased with my results. The cancer markers in my blood labs were down. He said that it could be due to the chemo or the fact that they had to drain some sludge out when they put the stent in my bile duct. Either way, good news. Dr. Gold gave me several fist bumps!
I did have a very weird weekend. Normally when I have chemo on Tuesday, my down day will be on Friday. I decided to see if I could work on Friday so I would not have to take another day off. I worked it and felt a little down. So I figured that on Saturday I would feel better. But on Sat. I felt the same. Not good, but not bad. Then on Sunday I was feeling better. Weird. I have to say that 2 days feeling 60% is much better then one day at 10%. I would say that this is a good trade.
Cheers,
Chris
On Tuesday this week, Chris had his third chemo session. He watched some TV shows on his iPad while I was working in a chair close by. We were both surprised that the whole process went a lot faster - they must be letting it drip a little faster and they overlapped some of the saline with the chemo. We were done in 4 hours instead of 5! He is doing great, though a bit tired tonight as is normal about this amount of time after the chemo. He is hoping to go to work tomorrow, which is normally his achy day but if he doesn't feel any worse than tonight when he wakes up tomorrow, he feels he can get through. Maybe better to be at school with his wonderful colleagues and kids instead of home alone for too long. TGIF tomorrow!
The best news was in talking to our oncologist before the chemo session. He asked if Chris had any change in his pain level since beginning chemo. Other than some lingering soreness from the surgery last Wednesday, Chris has no longer been experiencing much of the stomach and back pain that he was prior to his diagnosis. In fact, he had been told by the surgeon last week that he couldn't take any pain medication during the holiday weekend as they wanted to make sure if he had any side effects from the surgery that he would notice the change in pain levels, etc. He was nervous about going without his nightly Aleve, which he had been taking since the pain first presented in his back in Sept so he could sleep through the night. He was able to go without it all weekend and slept pretty well, especially considering he had just had the surgery and could only sleep on his back the first night or two. The oncologist asked why Chris thought he was experiencing a decrease in pain and when Chris said because 'the chemo is working' the doctor said the teacher got it right! :)
Thanks again to everyone for the prayers, thoughts, delicious meals and Christmas lights hung on our house while we were gone last weekend!
Love,
Wendy
Happy Thanksgiving all!
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. We went down to Bend OR to see family and it was a great time. During this time, I realized that even though I am going through a tough time, I have a lot to be thankful for.
- My family is awesome! Wendy is such an incredible wife who has been taking such good care of me. She has been cooking most of our meals from scratch and really has been helping me eat healthier food that will help fight the cancer in me. Even when I think I am being a burden she says that I am being silly and gives me a kiss. She is an incredible woman who I am so lucky to have as my wife. Taigen has been a trooper as well. She has been so brave and so encouraging during this time. I am constantly surprised at how strong, funny and loving she is. I love them both very much.
- My extended family. I was so encouraged seeing some of my family in Bend. My sister-in-law Juli cooked up a storm and served us constantly. My brother-in-law Bill was amazing. He showered me with gifts that encouraged the heck out of me. Thank you so much Bill, you don't know how much your generosity means to me. My in-laws were there too and they were great! My mother-in-law Ann is my shopping buddy. Our joke is that I was the shopper she always wanted because Wendy is not a big shopper at all.
- My Church family is amazing. I am so encouraged by their prayers and well wishes. I really don't know what I would do without them. They say that I am a great example but the truth is that for the last 19 years I have seen so many examples and miracles, that I am just following their lead.
- I am also so thankful for my Hazel Valley Elementary family. They have also been so encouraging and taking such good care of me. From the photos (Dave you rock!), to all the great meals that they have given me, I can not thank you enough. Nicole has been my mentor and has helped me navigate through the emotions and fears. You rock too! I do have to give a special shout out to my K team! I can not express how lucky I am to be a part of such an amazing team. Stephanie and Angela, you have been so encouraging and helpful I could never thank you enough. Natalie, I am so grateful for you. From setting up the take-Chris-dinner schedule to just joking around with me. Thank you for everything you have done, it means the world to me!
Cheers,
Chris
