Good News!

Hi Everyone,
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Thank you so much for all of your prayers and positive thoughts - as always you carry us through the most difficult times. I am happy to report that Dallas no longer needs his meds by injection and he is getting both his energy and appetite back. It is truly miraculous for me to think that a little over a week ago he had difficulty walking on his own. We have been granted another reprieve and are so thankful for that.

We are staying close to home and are enjoying special times with our family. Having Jordan here now is incredibly helpful to both of us. Marcus and Heather are here as much as possible too. Having our family all in one place is a very special gift. More later...

Love, Patty

Another Update on the Big Guy

Hi Guys...the last couple of weeks have been our most difficult as you have probably guessed. Dallas was having trouble keeping any food down and last Wednesday was the worst. We went to see Peter and Dallas needed a wheelchair for the first time. Peter immediately set another plan in motion for us. Dallas was given an injection of dexamethasone (strong steroid anti-inflammatory) as well as one for his stomach, which was continually in painful knots. The next day a nurse was by to set up two different IV ports in Dallas's arms and also pre-filled syringes for me to administer.

As you can imagine, things are very difficult right now. Thankfully Jordan flew in from Calgary for a visit on Friday night, assessed the situation at home and immediately put in for a leave of absence from work. He flew back to Calgary on Sunday to pick up a few essentials and drove his truck here yesterday. He has been such an immense help to us both already - he has learned how to give Dallas his meds and is freeing up some of my time so I can stop and take a breath. It is such an amazing gift to have my son share the load with me.

I am happy to report that the dexamethasone is doing it's job and Dallas is now carefully eating some light foods. A nutritionist will visit us soon with some more food suggestions. The nurses visit almost every day and we know that medical help is just a phone call away.

Now that Marcus and Heather are back from their honeymoon they'll be spending more time with us. We have a family dinner planned for tonight - I love it that all my kids are good cooks!

I am sorry that I haven't answered emails and that phone calls and visits are still difficult for us. Right now we are spending time together as a family and coping as well as we can. I'm afraid the "No Vacancy" sign will remain on our B & B as we enjoy the time that we have together. More later...

Love, Patty

Belated Happy New Year

Hi there,
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I just wanted to give you a quick update on how Dallas is feeling. We saw Peter, our doctor at the Cancer Clinic, on Wednesday. As usual, Peter was upbeat and made us both feel better. He reassured us that the exhaustion and appetite loss that Dallas is experiencing right now is all part of the recovery process from the aggressive radiation treatments he had. We are noticing slight improvements in how Dallas is feeling almost every day now and Peter said that although Dallas won't completely rebound to his previous energy levels they should continue getting better. We realize now that we've been granted a reprieve and are in the bonus round so we're going to enjoy every minute of it together.
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Thank you for all of your calls, cards and emails. Sorry that I've been slow to respond to them - I know you'll understand. We wish you and yours a happy, healthy 2011. More later...
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Love,
Patty