Dads Home !!!

Hello everyone!
     Yup, you read correctly, Dad is home!! On Wednesday morning, Day 20, dad was sent in for a minor surgery to take off his triple catheter and then he was home by 5pm! I want to thank everyone for their support, love, and prayers during this crazy season in our lives. The storm is over and now its time to rebuild. Dad will be going to the Sylvester center 3 to 4 times a week and then less frequent where they will keep a close eye on his progress and help him to rebuild. For the next two weeks dad is pretty limited and will be home, but we were excited that we were all able to be together yesterday for the 4th of July! Once his immune system is back to normal (Doctors estimate 2 to 3 months) he will have no limitations and be back to his normal life. Thank you all again for your continuous prayers! I ask that you pray for My dads body to be strong during this rebuilding stage!
   

Here's a little visual on the extremes the chemo took on my dads body. The picture on the left was taken today and the picture on the right was taken last summer after his first set of chemo.

Transplant Day #18

Hello everyone,
     I want to thank everyone for all your prayers and concerns! It is so amazing to have so many people behind us! Thank you to all of you at Dance Town for constantly checking in with me or joey to see how hes doing. Thank you to all that have been visiting: Omar, Diego, Frank, Hildy, Henry, Maribell, Rossy, Dan, Uncle Tony, Tia Ella, Kaki, Gaby, and my grand parents Lala and Pipo. You have no idea what a difference it has made for him to have your company!
     This past week was a hectic one. We had a couple scary nights were dads heart rate was at over 200 (the norm being 80). They gave him medicine to to normalize his heart rate until the cardiologist came. Through this, they found out he has Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome. The name is scarier then what it really is! In other words, they would need to do a minor arthroscopic surgery to a vessel in his heart. This would have to be done later on in the year because he cannot have surgery until his immune system is 100%.
     Please continue praying for physical and emotional strength. Its been a rough ride but its almost over! Hopefully dad will be home at the end of this week! feel free to visit him at the Sylvester Center. God Bless!

These are pictures from when dad was given the medication to stabilize his heart rate. He was feeling better and decided it would be a good time to do pay roll on the computers he set up in his room. You could imagine the nurses were not in agreement ! lol

Transplant Day # 14

Hello everyone,
The pictures below were from day 9 and 10 when dad was still feeling pretty good. No, it was not my dads actual birthday. When a transplant patient finished their chemo and has their stem cell infusion, the nurses call it their new birthday! Technically they are completely wiped out and made new! (What a parallel to what God does in us!!)

If you read my last post, I told you all that the doctors were preparing us for a tougher week. That was an understatement. When I saw him yesterday, he was very weak and nauseous. Last night things went haywire and his heart rate went very high. Hes having rapid heart beat, and so he was put a heart monitor and was given an oxygen mask. He is at his worst point with his white blood count at zero a fever of 102. The doctors assume it will be about 2 or 3 more days like this and have asked that he has no visitors for the next few days.

Our hearts are heavy and we are a bit overwhelmed. We need your prayers!

  

Transplant Day #8

Hello everyone!
I hope everyone is having a wonderful day! We are finished with week one! Dad did great this first week, he's even been exercising more then when he was at home! He walked over one mile ever day ( 27 laps up and down the units hallway is a mile and he walks 30!). Yesterday was an exciting day as dad finished his last chemo ever!! Some might say its ambitious to say "ever" but I am so secure in knowing that God has healed him! Yesterdays chemo was real intense; it was only 45 min long and he had to be eating ice the whole time to protect his mouth. And Dad was so happy to have Omar Giritli come visit and spend some time with him! Since Thursday night dad started feeling crappy and its slowing progressing. The doctors have warned us that week #2 is supposed to be a nasty one, so please be praying for this week in particular, for lots of physical and emotional strength! Today is the actual "Transplant." The nurses have been going through a process all day of slowly unfreezing his stem cells and then administering them through a transfusion. So happy to say that we are slowly but surely on our way to recover! God is so good and he has held our hands through out this entire process! LOTS OF PRAYERS!!

 
 

Bone Marro Transplant Day 4

Hey Everyone!
I hope everyone had a wonderful Fathers Day, we sure did! Well all except for the Heat loosing!
We are now on day four and dad has been doing great. We have three days left of chemo and then on to our rough yet exciting recovery!! My dad is a man that never quits! He is the strongest man i know! As you can see in one of the pictures below, he has even set up his office in his room! lol Dad has been doing all his exercises with out a problem, and is ready to kick some butt!! Because this is going to be a long process I will be updating the blog every few days instead of daily. Feel free to send my dad some love directly to his cell! =)
I have always been a believer in praying specifically. So I ask that you all please be praying that this Chemo destroys every single cancerous cell in my dads body, while protecting the rest of his body. Pray for guidance for all of the doctors and nurses working with my dad. pray for healing. pray for physical and emotional strength. And pray that my dad can be a light in that hospital and to others going through a hard time! =)
God Bless!!

 

 

 

Dad started his bone marrow transplant

Hello everyone!
     I want to thank everyone for there continuous payers and love towards my dad and our family. Its been a while since my last post because they've had dad waiting to build up his strength and then waiting for bed availability at the transplant unit. We finally received word that there was a bed open earlier this week and dad went in this morning to begin his bone marrow transplant. The entire process will take 3-4 weeks. The first 7 days dad will be receiving intense doses of chemo, and is expected to feel a bit tyred. Then on day 8 dad will receive his stem cell infusion (Friday June 21). This process should take a few hours. The infusion marks the beginning of week #2 which is where they  expect the side effects of the chemo to kick in and dad feel his worst.This is the time we are asking most prayer for. Dad will then be on to recovery and hopefully start to feel better throughout week #3. This Chemo they will be giving my dad is extremely strong and will be on a mission to destroy, the doctors are setting him up with lots of pre meds to protects his organs and all the important stuff. They even have him doing breathing exercises daily to protect his lungs. For any visitors, they even have a washing station before you come in.
     Many Christians use the term "born again" to describe the spiritual process that takes place when we come to know God. God cleanses us of all the bad and makes us a new and pure creation. This is a perfect way to describe what God is doing for my dad physically through this bone marrow transplant. All of the bad will be wiped out of his body and he will be like a new creation, physically "born again"!
    Although we know dad is in remisson and the storm will soon be over, we are about to embark on the darkest part of this storm. Please be in prayer for my dads physical and mental strength! God Bless!
    

PRAISE GOD!!

Hello everyone!
   Yesterday was my dad's PET scan, this is a scan that can check the whole body for cancer and determines whether or not the treatment is working. Today mom and dad went in for the results and where informed that the scans are looking awesome!! they even declared dad to be in REMISSION again! All that is left is the transfusion to make sure this does not come back again, in other words its like our insurance.  We are so overwhelmed with Joy! God is so good! While there, they checked his blood work and saw a lot wrong, nothing severe but he is extremely weak and fatigue. Because of this they are giving him a blood transfusion today and another tomorrow, and they are postponing the Bone Marrow Transplant until he is stronger again. The toughest part (physically) is yet to come, but God has just given us a glimpse of the beautiful rainbow that is waiting for us at the end of this storm! God Bless you all and thank you for all your prayers! Keep them coming!!!!

Chemo #4

Hello everyone!!
I'm sorry for the delay! Apparently when you think life is at its craziest, things can continue to get crazier! Lets update a little. Last week when dad went in for his Stem cell collection, things took a little longer than expected. Instead of one collection, Dad had to do three eight hour collections (one a day). This pretty much drained him out! This past Tuesday Dad went in for his additional Chemo #4, which has gone pretty smooth despite his weakness from the transfusions. The doctors where able to give him some medications to pump him up and even ended up getting shushed by the nurses for being too loud during last nights Heat game! lol Lets just say that by the end of the game he was pumping up all the nurses in the hall way! Dad will be coming home tomorrow night, recover for a week, and then another PET scan on May 29 to see if hes responding to all these treatments. Once that's done he will be going in for the Bone Marrow transplant.

Prayer Request:

• May 29! PET Scan! That God would show us His healing power!
• for my dad's body! That God would protect my dads body while allowing the chemo to destroy the cancer.
• Our hearts! Pray that God would bring us a Peace that transcends all understanding! Pray that in the midst of all the stress God would hold us together.
• Abuela: my grandmother is always such a great help when we need a little extra. Last week she broke her foot and cant drive for 4-6 weeks which has left us with her daily routine of picking up our cousins. Pray for her speedy recover and all the craziness! lol

Dads Stem cell collection: This bag is going to save his life!

 

Dads in for his transfusion!

Hello Everyone!
     As stated in previous posts, May 6th (yesterday), was my dads first check up to see if his body was ready for the transfusion. He has been injecting himself daily with a medication that would create more white blood cells. Once the doctors saw he had a sufficient amount it would be time for his transfusion and the stem cells will be frozen until its time for the bone marrow transplant. At first the doctors assumed it would take a few days, but sure enough he was ready during this mornings check up! His body has been responding very well to this process. Today's process will take from 6 to 8 hours and if they don't retrieve enough stem cells they'll go for a second round tomorrow. Once this process is complete, dad will be going in for his fourth (extra) chemo  next week for four days, then have a week or two off, and then in for the Bone Marrow transplant.
     Thank you all for your continuous prayers, keep them coming!!! God has been so faithful through out this entire process and I am certain your prayers have played a huge role in that. We also ask that every please please please be cautious of my dads health. I know you all want to just love on him when you see him, and that is so beautiful, but the chemo makes him very susceptible to germs bacteria and viruses that may or may not be showing on you. So lots of fist pumps and blowing kisses! =)
Please be in prayer for all that is to come and the rigorous physical side effect that will come with the process. Above all please be praying for our hearts, this has been a long an exhausting process and there is more to come. please pray that God would bring us patience and peace!

Blessing of the week: Joey graduated college!!

Chemo 3, day 3 .. Dads home!!

Hey everyone!!
He had a great third day and dad got to come home today. Everything seems to be going right on track and dad is still responding great to treatment. We are about to head into the toughest part of this whole process, so it's time to step up those prayers! Although, we already know God is already there and in control! For the next week or so dad will be taking these shots that will prepare his body for the blood transfusion (the first step of the bone marrow transplant). These shot cause his bone to ache and cramp up real bad causing him a lot of pain. Then starting may 6th they will start checking him daily to see when his body is ready for the transfusion. The doctors predict he will be ready anywhere between may 8-10th. Once he's ready he will have the transfusion done, then be admitted for his fourth chemo, and then be admitted for  three weeks for the heavy portion of the bone marrow transplant.

Please continue to pray for this process and all the physical and emotional burdens it will bring. I pray that God would be our strength!
I have a special prayer request tonight. A family very dear to our hearts, the Abreus, are going through a very difficult time and we ask that your pray vigorously for them during this time. Ralph Abreu suffered a heart failure last night and was put in an induced comma once at the hospital. Please pray for a miraculous healing, and strength!

I encourage everyone to pray big and pray boldly! Never forget that we serve a huge God and no prayer request is out of Him reach!

Chemo #3, Day 2

Hello Everyone!
     Thank you all for your continuous prayers! Dads surgery went great yesterday! The new catheter is in and the doctors were able to start using it right away. Dads real happy about this because now they don't have to pinch him every time he comes in or when they want to draw blood. Dad continues to show "out of the norm" side effects, instead of nausea and vomiting  he has been walking up and down the halls and has a full appetite.
     We have been so blessed with awesome people throughout this entire process  from our family and friends, our amazing family at Christ Fellowship, at Dance Town, and the staff here at the Sylvester Center. When my dad was admitted into the hospital this week he met a man who had a much more severe case of the cancer he has. It was so clear see that God was placing this man in my dads life for a purpose   He had a successful bone marrow transplant a year ago and was able to answer all of my dads questions. He had an amazing faith and a positive cheerful heart. He even came back later that day to visit my dad and brought his wife to meet my mom. My mom even questions if he was real or an angel. lol

• Please continue to pray for our hearts, that God would continue to bring us a peace that transcends all understanding
• Pray that the Chemo continues to do its job and that God would protect the rest of my dads body
• Pray for wisdom for the doctors; although we received good news last week, they decided the have my dad undergo a 4th chemo instead of the original three

Chemo #3, Day 1

Hey everyone!
so its been a while since dad has gone back in, they gave him a nice little break. Today he went in for his third round of Chemos. I want to thank everyone for their prayers! God has truly been so faithful to us throughout this whole situation. Here are a couple updates and things to be praying for:

• The doctors have decided that they want to do a fourth set of chemos. Although it stinks to have to do an extra chemo I am grateful that we have doctors that rather take an aggressive approach at all this. Because of this the bone marrow transplant will be delayed a little bit but they will still be starting the process of extracting his stem cells on May 6th.
• Because my dad had his port taken out back in December, He will be going in tomorrow morning for a minor surgery where they will be putting in a Triple Catheter into his chest.

It looks something like this...

• Please be in prayer for all of us, especially my dad, as we prepare physically and mentally for what we will be facing during the Bone Marrow transplant.

God has used this song to bring me so much Peace throughout this whole process. Mercy me - Jesus Bring the Rain

God Bless!

GOD is so Faithful!!

Hey everyone!
 Ive got a lot of updates, praise and prayer requests for you all!
I am so grateful for everyones prayers! Dad was feeling so good this week that my mom and him came to Orlando with us for our dance competition! He even drove most of the way and spent the day by the pool at the hotel!
Today was dad's bone marrow biopsy, this is a painful procedure where they had to drill into his hip bone. Praise God it was mainly pressure and heavy discomfort as apposed to the pain that was expected, and thank God its over!
But the biggest news is this! Tomorrow dad was supposed to have an appointment to receive the outcome of the scans that where going to determine whether all this treatment what working or if the cancer was winning. The appointment was canceled because the doctor came to see him today after the biopsy. We were thrilled to be informed that the treatment was working better then the doctors had expected and that my dad is making awesome progress!! The cancer that had attacked his bones and would light up the PET scans has decrease more then the doctors had expected!  Praise God!! Our hearts where so heavy for this news and it was so overwhelming to receive it today!
Now although we have received this AMAZING news, the toughest is yet to come so please continue to pray! Dad will be going in to the hospital for his third chemo next Tuesday instead of this Tuesday and then will begin the Bone Marrow transplant May 6th. The Transplant is going to be the toughest and most rigorous part of this whole process.
Please continue to pray for physical and emotional strength, for physical healing, and for God to provide financially.  Thank you again and God Blees!

That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:10

Sorry for the delay, but DADS HOME!!

Hey everyone!
     Sorry for the delay!! Everything ran smooth this time around again and Dad came home late Friday night. He's even got a new hair cut and is rocking the bald look!  Once again I want to thank everyone again for all your prayers and for all your concerns.
Under the circumstances, dad is doing great. During chemo at the hospital, dad is feeling good and constantly keeping up with work through his laptop. Once hes home he starts to feel pretty nasty for a few days, but good in comparison to the typical side effects. Then he'll feel good for a few days, and then if back to the hospital for the next round. We only have one round left before the bone marrow transplant process begins on May 6.
      Here's a few things we would like everyone to be praying for as we approach this week:

• This Thursday dad will be getting a scan done to see if the chemo is doing its job and kicking that cancers butt! We will mostly likely be receiving the results when he is admitted back in on the following Tuesday.
• Dad's starting to catch a cold. This is dangerous as the Chemo brings his defences way down. It is also very important that he stays as healthy as can be for his treatments and for the Bone Marrow transplant process. (Please refrain from hugs, kisses, and handshakes; Fist Pumps are whats in ;) lol)
• Continue to pray that the chemo will attack the cancerous cells and that God would protect the rest of my Dad's body.
• Continue to pray for emotional strength for my dad and the entire family!

We praise God for being in control of the entire situation!

PS. Dad thinks we should reconsider our definition of visiting him.. lol

 

 

Chemo # 2, Day 2

Good Afternoon everyone!

     As you can see in the pictures, both Dad and Gia were pretty excited about her playing hookie from school today to be able to spend some time at the hospital with him! Dad is half way through his chemos and still feeling pretty good. I want to thank everyone for their continuous prayer, keep it coming  please! Continue to pray for my dad physically, and that the chemo would only attack the cancerous cells in his body. Please pray for the family during this stressful and heavy season, that our hearts may rest on Christ and that he may bring us a peace that transcends all understanding. I want to share a praise with you all and thank God for the staff at the Sylvester Center! we have truly been blessed with the most amazing doctors and nurses. We have nothing but good things to say about these amazing professionals!

      If you recall, in an earlier post, i mentioned we were happy to hear that the Bone marrow transplant would be done by transfusion instead of through his back. We just received the news today that my Dad will be starting his preparation treatment for the bone marrow transplant on May 6. This will consist of a series of shots that will prepair his body for the transfusion. Please be in prayer for this process as well! God Bless you all!

"If you allow God to put His "Super" into your "Natural" He's going to make some SUPERNATURAL things happen in your life!" - Steve Harvey

Chemo #2, Day 1

(4/3)
Good Morning Everyone,
     It's been about a week and a half since since dad has been home. The first half was a bit tough as he started to feel many of the side effects, but i proud to say my dad is one tough man! No matter how he felt he would ask my mom everyday to drive him to work for a few hours so that he could keep busy!
     Last night my dad was admitted back into the hospital for his second round of chemo and will most likely be there until Friday or Saturday. As of now he is feeling fine, but I ask that you all continually pray for physical strength as the chemo does take a huge toll on his body. Please pray that as he goes through several different Chemos this week God would allow it to kill the cancer and protect the rest of his body. I ask that you pray for my dads heart, soul and mind; that God would continue to build a strong Hope within him! Please pray for the family, although we are extremely Hopeful that the Ultimate Healer in in charge, the stress is starting to get heavy.
      When this all began, I confronted God with a confused heart. I know that God allows tough situations to happen for several reasons: to bring Glory to God in healing, to help others going through a tough situation, to learn to depend on Him.... But when the news came to us for a second time, I could help but ask God why. We had already done this, we already had the experience to grow and share God's miraculous healing! Why again?! But as I continued to pray, and it was as if i felt God whisper to me, "The bigger the circumstance, the bigger the miracle, the bigger our God!" I know I serve a Huge God! And although I may not fully understand what He is doing in this season, I will trust in Him and I will praise Him! I ask that you please continue to pray for Hope to be built up in our hearts!

God Bless!

Dads Home!!

 

 Rocking the Mohawk!!!

 

     Great News!! Dad came home from the hospital late last night! Hes doing good; a little weak but that's fine because when we are weak our God is strong! I ask that you continue to pray for his strength as he should start to feel the side effects of the chemo and other medications through out this week. Continue to pray for our emotional strength as this is just the beginning and he will be admitted back into the hospital in two weeks for round two. Thank you all for your continued prayers! keep them coming!

     I want to give a special thanks to my Incredible small group! this is a group of ladies from my church that for the past four years we have been gathering weekly to have fellowship and grow in Christ. Well let me tell you, this group of ladies have become my best friends! When God talks about fellowship and friendship, this is exactly what He was talking about! i have been so blessed with the ten most beautiful best friends anyone could ask for!

     Last night I was told we where going to wear green and bring green food as a late celebration for St. Patricks day. little did I know it was all a scheme to show support for my journey through all this. and of course the entire room was green, because lime green is the color for Lymphoma Cancer. Take a look at the pictures below! If anyone is interested I am hoping to order more of the green wrist bands that say "No One Fights Alone!"

 

 

 

Chemo #1, Day 3

Missing Gia!!

Hello Everyone!

     I want to thank everyone for their continuous prayers! Keep them coming because God is listening and working wonders! My dad is still feeling good! He has one chemo left tomorrow and should then be headed home by night time.  It is amazing to see what happens when Gods people pray boldly as a whole!

     I want to thank my parents small group for being so awesome through all this, especially his leader Henry! Thanks to technology they were even able to join in on small group tonight through skype.

     I ask that everyone please continue to pray for physical strength for my dad: That God would allow the medication to destroy the bad cells and not harm the good ones, that God would continue to strengthen my dads body through out these rigorous chemo sessions, and that God would give wisdom to all of his doctors. I also ask that you pray for emotional strength for him and the rest of the family!

 

Proverbs 3:5-6

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;  in all your ways submit to him,  and he will make your paths straight.

 

 



Chemo #1, Day 2

 

     Hi everyone, I am so overwhelmed with every ones love and support for our family during this difficult season! It means more than you could imagine! The best way to send my dad your message would be by leaving a comment on this blog.

     As you can see in the pictures, late last night we finally started chemo, and by this morning we were done with one of three of the chemos. Thanks to all your prayers and the powerful God we serve, up until now my dad has not felt any of the side effects. He has been walking around, watching movies, and of course working on his lap top! We ask that you continue to pray for a speedy recovery and physical and emotional strength!

     Thank you all for reminding us what a strong support team we have! God Bless!

 

Deuteronomy 31:6

 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”