Accident

Can you remember 26? I can because that was the year that I was in loved.  I had found the man of my dreams which I married.  Life was good.

Well today my son Michael turns 26 and he can’t even plan what he will be doing this weekend, it is very sad.  As you all may know, he was in a car accident where his dear friend Mai died.  They had been out to comedy night and celebrating that Mai was leaving for Japan in just a couple of days.  That was Michael’s dream at the time, graduate with a Japanese degree and go to Japan to teach English. He had only one semester left, four classes.

This happened over 18 months ago and his fate is still in the hands of the California judicial system.  You see, in California they do not use the word accident so they have to make sure that he is guilty of something, and while they try to sort this out his life is on hold.  Some people would say, so what, Mai’s life stopped and that is true and it is also true that we can’t change that, that there is nothing that Michael can possibly do to bring back Mai.  We lost a life but does it make sense that the punishment be to destroy another life?   For how long?  How many more lives have to suffer?  I can tell you that Michael has as well as me, his father and sister and really all our family.

So here is what is even more painful, I have terminal cancer and my only wish left is to see my son free.  At one time I thought that I wanted to go to the beach for 3 months, I also hoped to go to Venezuela once more and see my old classmates and friends but none of that matter until this is resolved.

I would love nothing more than for the judicial system to accept that this was an accident and let my son go.

For now, I pray, we pray.  Today I say Happy Birthday son, my birthday wish for you is that this year is better.  And ask for you to pray or think positive thoughts for this Friday, January 13^th when Michael goes to court once again to request the reduction of the charges, just one step closer to ending this nightmare.

Thanks you,

ME

THIS TREATMENT IS KICKING MY BUTT

THIS TREATMENT IS KICKING MY BUTT

So I have not written in a while and I apologize but this treatment is kicking my butt.  And there is a lot going on around here.

My mother, who was diagnosed with lung cancer around October, came down with pneumonia right before Christmas and spent a few days in the hospital.  The main cause is the location of the tumor.  Crazy right?  She has one little tumor and it is located in the airwave to the middle lobe of the right lung.  So my dear mother who is usually strong in personality, who was doing aerobics 3 times a week at the senior citizen center, my Mom who loves a party and a get together is now seating on her chair, with oxygen, unable to care for herself…  crazy right?  And it all happened so fast, cancer really sucks.

I was moving right along with the cancer trial treatment when my face erupted in hives, not the ones that itch but the ones that burn, within two days my face looked like I had stuck it in an ant hill and it really hurt.  Now I have them all over my body and some itch and some hurt, I have one cream for the ones that hurt and one cream for the ones that itch and of course there is always Benadryl.  If this was the only problem I would suck it up but no, my cough which never really went away is back up to full swing so there is cough, cough, breath, cough, cough… again not the only two problems, when I went for my last checkup the blood test showed that my liver enzymes were five times higher than normal so they to pulled me off the trial for one week and then I will have a retest, if all goes well then I will restart the trial but with a lesser dosage.  In the meantime, I sleep, yup that is all I do all day because I do not have energy to do anything else.  I might get a load of laundry here and there but not more than one small chore a day.  And then of course there is also that visit to the emergency room because my temperature was 101.5.  Bottom line, I am falling apart and I do not have the energy to stop it from happening.  God better pull a good one while I still have pieces of myself to pick up and make better.

Please know that I am not giving up although at times I feel like I should, but that it is important for you to know that with cancer, there are weaker moments that really suck and although many of you view me as this very strong person, I am not.  What keeps me going is my family, wanting for Michael’s ordeal to be over with a positive outcome, and all the friends that are counting on me.

On a side note, I wanted to tell you that because we pray and ask God for things is not a guarantee that we will get them.  It also does not mean that he is not listening, sometimes the answer is NO.  Right before Christmas I went to Michelle’s church to listen to a special guest speaker named Alan Vincent (fascinating man), during the ceremony the pastor’s wife asked if she could pray over me and I said yes.  It was a loving prayer and it gave me a sense of comfort.  After the ceremony, Michelle and I along with the pastor’s wife and several other church members approached Alan and ask that he and his wife Eileen pray for me and they did, again I had a feeling of peace.  A few days later, I received a prayer cloth that I was to wear by my adrenal gland for three days.  I truly believed in my heart that I would get another miracle, that this would clear me of cancer.  Sadly it did not but I do not believe that the answer from God is NO; I think that the answer is ‘LATER’.

So with that I say goodbye today and will write again LATER, and don’t forget to exercise like David Haas wrote in the previous post.

Love y’all,

ME

The Benefits of Fitness when dealing with Cancer

The Benefits of Fitness When Dealing with Cancer

Written by David Haas

Dealing with cancer can be an overwhelming task. Aside from the physical aspects of treatment and surgeries, it can also be emotionally and mentally exhausting. Frustration, depression and exhaustion build up over time, making it difficult to keep happy and positive around friends and family. Exercise is one of the key ways that cancer sufferers can deal with the influx of emotions that such a devastating disease brings about. Here are just a few of the benefits that exercise throughout the various stages of diagnosis, treatment and remission:

Improved Mood: Many men and women report having what can best be described as a "cloud" hanging over them after receiving a cancer diagnosis from their doctor. This might persist well into treatment. A proven way to lift the spirit is through physical activity. The endorphins released after a tough workout will make anyone happier, and can help to improve the mood and perhaps even bring a smile to someone's face.

A Sense of Control: Having cancer means for many people an increased reliance on others. You might need you spouse to care for you, your parents to drive you to and from countless appointments, or your friends to bring you meals and check in one you. Over time this can make someone feel less then capable. By incorporating exercise into the daily routine, a patient is able to have a sense of control about their situation. Even a short walk around the neighborhood can make someone feel as if they are in charge of their own life.

Improved Self-Esteem: Both cancer and the various treatments for illnesses like lymphoma, mesothelioma and ovarian cancer, among others, can be devastating to the interior and the exterior of the body. Surgery might leave scars, and lack of exercise or appetite might leave a once strong body weak or overweight. Exercise results in more lean muscle mass, and helps the body to look and feel better. By including even a short amount of moderate exercise into the day, a cancer patient will be able to have improved self esteem when they look in the mirror.

Can Control Nausea: One of the most dreaded side effects of cancer treatment is the nausea that accompanies chemotherapy and radiation. Exercise can reduce those effects, bringing a higher quality of life to patients.

By including exercise in the daily routine of a cancer patient, they can reap major benefits and feel better about themselves as well as their chances for recovery.

Nice to see you go 2011

Dear Lord,
It is me again, I know, I know, I ask for a lot but it is New Years Eve and today is the biggest wishing day of them all… and believe it or not I only have one request…
Please grant all my friends wishes for the coming year.
Amen

So many people look at a new year as a good thing, they have hopes that it will be better than the last one and look at the year gone by as a bad thing.  Do you realize that the fact that you can say good bye to a year and hello to a new one it itself is a good thing?

YOU ARE ALIVE

Not all made it, I lost some very special friends this year and although I miss them, the fact that they are now my angels in heaven makes it a bit better for me.

Now, I can’t count the year because that is 365 days too long, so I count the days and thank God for a new one, even if the weather is not nice.

Do you have a new years’ resolution?  Will you keep it?  Why bother?  If it is something important to you, it should be a new day resolution and do it every day…  How about if instead of giving something up, you do something nice?  Every day…  Think of someone, give them a call.  Your child has a nice hairdo, say it.  Your friend lost some weight, mention it.  Someone dropped something, pick it up.  It does not have to be something big like, paying someone’s rent for January, although it wouldn’t be bad, but any little bit helps to put a smile on people’s faces.

I smile just by knowing how my friends are doing.  Who got a new cat or puppy or car?  Or who won $10 Pearl dollars playing poker.  Just love it and makes me happy.

Today I say with a smile on my face ‘Good Bye 2011, it is my pleasure to see you go’ and ‘Hello to day 1 of 2012, hope to see lots more of you’.

Love yah,

ME

PS.  Now this coming year we will need to get serious about our health… expect some good stuff

Merry Christmas

… to all and to all a good night.  Wait, the day is just starting.  So still wishing you a Merry Christmas but adding a few things for the day.

First remember the reason for the season ‘CHRISTmas’ and do what HE would do.

Second, Love your family, kiss them, hug them….  Love them lots

Third, be happy, most people like happy people so smile a lot today.

Fourth, take time to remember and honor those that have gone before us.

Fifth, time is up, no need to be sad… rejoice and celebrate their life.

Sixth, count your blessing, keep in mind that if you can count, that is a blessing

Seventh, call your love ones that are far away.

Eighth, don’t drink and drive.

Ninth, eat, sing, dance and laugh tons

Tenth…  Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night

From my heart to yours, Love yah,

ME

Second Opinion - Number ONE priority

You owe it to yourself to have a second opinion and from the right institution.  It does not matter how much you love your doctor, how pretty she is this is about you and not the doctor.

When I first got breast cancer, I had a second opinion but for the breast cancer.  I never had anyone advice me on what to do about the spots on the lung.  So we did chemo for breast cancer.  We know now that the spots were a separate primary Lung Cancer.  If we had known then what we know now, would I have had chemo for breast?  Or would I have had the mastectomy and chemo for lung?  Would the outcome be different?

No one can answer this questions, if the milk had not spilled would you have drank all of it?

Once MD Anderson biopsied the lung and determined that it was Lung Cancer, they conferred with my oncologist and determined the chemo treatment needed.  The report indicating that my cancer had mutated already and it was a KRAS mutation did not come out until later but NO ONE mentioned it, at least not to me.  If I had gone elsewhere for a ‘third’ opinion or if they had known then what they know now would I have received the same treatment?  How about the surgery or even worst the radiation?  I read an article in the internet that it clearly says that mutated Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) should not undergo radiation.  URRGGGG.  Even worst, if I had gone to a ‘fourth’ opinion once we realized that after radiation my cancer had spread, would I have started on a clinical trial earlier?

None of these questions will ever be answered, what I can tell you is: at the time, I did my homework (as limited as my knowledge was) and the decisions made were right.  I got a second opinion every time, but we were a step behind… no matter. I hope that you are reading this and keep it on the back of your mind in case that you know someone in a similar situation so that you can advice/guide them so that they do not have to second guess their decisions.

I am now a week into the trial and what I have not explained to you (all of you) yet is that on my scan last week, my brain still shows clear of cancer but my body lights up like a Christmas Tree.  At least I am in tune with the holiday.  But seriously, the cancer has spread to my good lung and my good adrenal gland.  At the request of the doctor, I have stopped all the alternative medicine until we see the effects of the new treatment.  It will not cure me but the success will be measured after 8 weeks to see if it has stopped the cancer from spreading and growing.

So we pray for that, yes 'you and me' pray because it is the one thing that no one can tell me to stop. 

The other night I went to a service at Michelle’s (my daughter) church where the speaker was a very interesting man.  He told us how he came about knowing Jesus… anyway, during the service the pastor’s wife wrapped her arms around me and prayed, then at the end of the service we went up to the speaker who is also known for healing and told him that I had cancer and was terminal and would like for him and his wife to pray for me.  The wife looked me in the eye and said ‘you are not terminal, your cancer is’ and they prayed.  It was amazing.  It reminded me of Randy when he tells me ‘don’t let your body participate with the cancer’. 

So the lesson for the day, ALWAYS have a second opinion, if it does not sound right is because it isn’t so find the right answer.  And believe, believe in God, Jesus and yourself because is the one thing that no one can take away and it sure feel good.

Love yah,

ME

Merry Christmas and wishing US all a much better year in 2012

This is the time of the year when most people send out Christmas cards wishing family and friends ‘Good Tidings and a Happy New Year’. Some people (like me) usually even write a bit or a lot about the events of the past year.  We believe that Luisa’s (my) blog has done that so we will not bore you any further but would like to highlight the blessings that we received in 2011.

Michael graduated from College with a degree in Japanese and he is now allowed to come to Oklahoma and be with us until the court case is settled. (Next Court date is January 13^th).

Michelle gave birth to an Angel named Magnolia Love (Maggie).  This little bundle of joy had a successful open heart surgery and has brought so much joy to us and everyone who sees her.
Michelle and Kevin are of course doing okay but now they play second fiddle to Maggie so all I can say is that Michelle is taking a sabbatical from teaching to care for Maggie and Kevin is rocking in college.
Luisa (me) started a clinical trial at MD Anderson for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC).  This trial offers the opportunity to have a bit more time with y’all.
Patrick is the pillar of the family, we are blessed that he is still standing strong supporting and loving all of us through our ups and downs.
Other honorable mentions are my Mom (Betty) who has cancer but is still living life and loving Maggie and my mother-in-law (Louise) who is still with us and continues to laugh and smile.
And last but not least for the dog lover… Cosmo is doing fine and loving Maggie too.

There is more, some good and some not so good which you can read up on the blog http://luisajones-parrakeating.blogspot.com/ but for now that was a highlight of the most important events of the year, what I call my miracles.

So with that, from our family to yours, we want to wish you a Merry Christmas and that next year brings you lots and lots of blessings.

XOXOXOX

La familia Keating