Here We Go Again

Hello All!

It's time to bring all of you up to speed since I last posted an entry in December.  Let's start with the good stuff!  In January, the Hager clan gathered in Florida to help Mom Hager ring in her 85th birthday.  With only a few exceptions, she drew in her children, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, & great grandchildren -- it was a wonderful weekend in all regards!  David & I enjoyed a week in our cabin in the Colorado mountains.  We hit a perfect window of weather with a couple of beautiful snow storms & temperatures that weren't nearly as cold as they could have been.  We were able to spend time playing in the snow & visiting with dear friends.  The peacefulness of that mountain retreat always feeds our souls!  We also got to spend some time on a cruise of the Southern Caribbean exploring the islands of St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire, & Aruba.  Once again, we had very nice weather & met some new friends.  Unfortunately, we have also had some very difficult events of late.  I will share them in the order in which they happened.

On February 12th, Milli (our 19 year old girl kitty) died in our arms from a stroke.  She had been gradually declining over the past year & had suffered at least two smaller strokes prior to the final stroke that ended her life.  But, up until her final night with us, she had continued to eat well & enjoyed being loved (and she had to endure a lot of loving!).  So, we have no regrets ... we believe we provided her with a really quality life & she certainly repaid us with love & funny kitty antics over her lifetime.

Milli doing what she loved best ... sleeping in a sunny spot.

On February 21st, one of David's brother's, Brad (61 years old -- 15 months younger than David), died very unexpectedly of a massive myocardial infarction while camping at Doheny State Beach with his wife, Mindy, & their 16 year old daughter, Emily.  Brad was our musically talented, spiritually strong, Purdue football loving brother with a large family & circle of friends.  This loss has been a huge blow to the entire family.  We are all so grateful for the time we were able to spend with Brad in January at the family reunion.  

 Brad & Mindy in Florida in January.

 Brad lovin on David at the family reunion.

On Tuesday, David had a recheck CT scan & this time we did not get good news.  Over the past six months, there has been narrowing noted on the CT studies of his superior mesenteric artery by soft tissue fullness -- no one could determine if it was from scarring or tumor recurrence & it isn't an area amenable to obtaining an aspirate or biopsy.  So, we've been watching & wondering, but now based on the progression of the amount of soft tissue fullness, elevating tumor markers on blood work, & an increase in David's intestinal issues, there no longer seems to be a question about this being tumor recurrence.  On this scan, he also had a small amount of ascites (fluid in his abdomen) & some changes to his liver (no signs of liver mets), which they feel are secondary to vascular compromise.  There are also a couple of cavitary nodules in his lung, which may represent mets.  So, chemo starts back up on Tuesday, the 21st.  The oncologist wants to do the same chemo that David had originally (Folfirinox -- a combination of Oxaliplatin, Irinotecan, & Fluorouracil or 5-FU for short) since David had a good response to this combination back in 2013.  It will be an all day infusion followed by 48 hours at home on a pump of the 5-FU.  This process will be repeated every two weeks as long as David is tolerating it & responding adequately.  We are, of course, bummed, but David tolerated the Folfirinox regimen before pretty well (but, he didn't have any intestinal issues at that time) & we are hopeful we will have similar good results as before, so that he may get a break from chemo in the future & we can do some more short trips & enjoy time in Colorado.  

So, once again we will fight the fight to continue to be a survivor!  We know that each of you is in the fight with us, for which we are extremely grateful!  Big hugs to all, Janet