The answer is No :-(

So we went back to SF for a few days, to have another scan done, and see Mom's doctor.  After taking it to the Liver Transplant Team, they have decided to give an absolute no for putting Mom back on the transplant list.There reason her doctor was still fighting to get her back on the list, despite her issues that prohibit her from being on the transplant list were as such.  He said that the care that Tanya and I have given to Mom is off the charts incredible.  He couldn't believe how well she was doing for how low her numbers are.  He also said that the cancer invading one side of her liver was still pretty much the same as three months ago.  Also, her liver and kidneys are functioning very well still.
The reasons he couldn't get the team to even give her more time, or another chance was two fold.  First of all her weight is way too low.  Her BMI was below the allowed amount.  Secondly, there is a second tumor, that is in the other side of her liver.  That tumor was small and not doing anything, so they just ignored it before.  However, now it has grown, and is becoming active.  It is still fairly small, but with the growth and activity, combined with the other tumor being an invasive cancer (as opposed to a single mass) is what kicked her off permanently.
They said that there is no way of knowing how long she has at this point, because doctors can always be wrong in these situations.  So it could be as long as 6-12 months with good care and Mom doing all she should.  Or it could be as short as a month or two.
Mom is doing fine with the news, and her biggest concern is when she can begin eating what she wants!  The problem is that the worse her eating habits, the faster she will decline.  She has agreed to stick with her eating plan at least for another month, until we have our trip to Disneyland at the end of June.  After that, we will see what happens.
I will keep you updated - and again, thank everyone for their love and support through this roller coaster we have been on.  And a huge thank you to everyone who offered to let us use their donations for Mom's continued care and funeral plans.  She wants to have just one graveside service and be buried in Grants Pass, OR.  We have already begun to get everything in order, and are getting as much of that paid for as possible right now, which wouldn't have been possible without your help!  Thank you, thank you!

Mom moved, and was in the hospital - twice!

Sorry I haven't written in a while, but we have been very busy moving Mom in with us.  She was going to live with Tanya, because she has more space and cleared her schedule to care for Mom.  However, because of how Medical and Medicare works, Mom couldn't leave the county - or it would change her benefits and doctors.  It was very sad for Mom to leave her home at the Dold's - she really loved it there.  It was also hard for her to go through all of her things, and decide what to keep and what to get rid of.  Unfortunately for me, she couldn't decide very well - so I now have a garage, living room, dining room, entry way and Mom's bedroom full of bins and boxes.  It looks like a hoarders house around here - but we will get through all of that!  Thanks to the loving help of Tina, Amy, Katy, and Cindie - we were able to be out of the house on time.
See, Mom decided we didn't have enough excitement, so on Sunday, April 29th, we had to take Mom to the hospital, because she was extra confused, shaky, etc.  We had trouble getting a blood pressure reading, and when we finally did, it was way too low.  So they admitted her, and found it was a lot of small things together causing the problem.  Mom doesn't want me to share the details, except to say that her body wasn't functioning properly.  So the next day they released her, and we got home about 5:30pm, and got her settled at home - then we went to her old house to finish moving things from the shed, yard and to clean.  That is where the loving help of Tina Becker, Cindie Blodgett and Amy & Katy Sellers saved us!  They had come during the day and did almost all of the cleaning!!  All we had left were the neurotic finishing touches we always do (washing walls, moving out the fridge and cleaning behind it, vacuuming (there wasn't a good vacuum there for them), and blinds.  Thank you so much for heaven's angels on earth!!  Because of their loving service, we weren't there until 2 am cleaning!  I was actually in bed by 10:30pm that night!
However, Mom began having issues again - so I brought her back to the hospital the next day.  They admitted her again, and ended up moving her to ICU.  They gave her plasma, more fluids and did some more tests.  Again, Mom doesn't want any details given - except that she is doing fine now, with the exception of having the ascites back again.  She forgot how miserable it was, and although she isn't nearly as huge as she used to get, she still looks pregnant (just not 9 months with triplets)!  They filled her with fluids, and dropped down one of her water pills, because they felt it was dehydrating her too much, which was causing the blood pressure issues.  We are working on finding a balance to all that again.
So, now, if anyone wants to send a note to Mom, you can send it to my house.  You don't have to put a "c/o" on it - just address it to her, and it gets here just fine.
Next week we will be going to San Francisco, to have the scan that will decide if she gets back on the list or not!  We will be in San Francisco on Monday and Tuesday - and then the doctor will be presenting everything to the board on Wednesday.  So we should have a final answer by Thursday.  I'll blog again when we have an update!  Until then....have a wonderful Mother's Day coming up, and be extra nice to your Mommy - life is short, we all make mistakes, but love....love is eternal!

Indiana said no :-(

So we got a call from Dr. Frederick today with bad news. The team in Indiana reviewed Mom's case, and they are not willing to take her. This is sad, because they are one of the most liberal at taking higher risk patients - so if they said no, it isn't good for other centers either. So at this point, we have to wait another 2 months, and then Mom will have a CT scan. If it looks the same or better, they will put her back on the list in San Francisco, but if not, then they will just let us know how long (at their best guess), that we can expect her to live.
They are not going to continue the radiation treatments, even though Mom did extremely well with them. This is because they are not sure if what they are thinking could be the cancer spreading is actually inflamed cells from the treatments. So, if that is the case, then by avoiding radiation the inflamed cells will calm down, and it will show on the CT scan, thereby putting her back on the list.
When the time for the CT scan comes closer, she will be having a priesthood blessing, and we will be asking those who are able and willing to fast and pray for her. We will keep you updated - but for now, it will most likely be no news for a few months.
Thanks again for all your love and support, prayers and well wishes! We love you all and appreciate you so!

Happy Birthday Nathan!

Nathan is 5 today! He has opted out of his birthday party, and instead wants to fly in a plane for his birthday. So we are scheduling a flight for him. The pilot was unable to do it today - so it will most likely be next week. Nathan is still obsessed with all things boy! Cars, planes, trains, building, destroying, etc. He is the typical annoying little brother to his older sisters, getting into their things, harassing them; and an amazing, protective and loving big brother to Esther. She just lights up when he comes home from school. He plays with her, shares with her, talks with her, and sneaks with her! He does have a mind of his own that is always ticking, scheming, thinking, planning and contemplating! He is very loving, funny and intelligent! We are so grateful to have him in our family! We love you Nathan, Happy Birthday!!

Still hopeful!

Ok, so I know it has been a while since my last post, and I apologize. I am behind in everything, and just trying to tackle one day at a time with my crazy schedule.
So the really good news is on Lucy. She was having symptoms (eye twitching and her right foot feeling like it had a 100 lb weight in it), so they moved her MRI up. The results show that the tumor on her brain stem, and the other active tumor are stable. The spot where they removed the tumor has a little "lighting up" on the MRI, but the surgeon doesn't think that is the tumor returning. He said that she is probably just getting lazy about remembering to pick up her foot/toes, so it is getting harder. As for the eye twitching - it is her eye lids, not her eyeball that is twitching, so that just means she is tired (which makes sense, since Lucy has trouble sleeping), as well as the fact that her pupils look good. So we are clear for another 6 months when she has another MRI.
On the Mom front it was good news also. The doctors reviewed her case, and although they are still concerned and not sure it is a good risk; they are pleased that her liver is holding up so well, and some of her test scores look really good. Also, they are very pleased with the radiation treatment that seems to have worked very well, and Mom did just fine with it. They said the biggest factor was Mom's support team (Tanya and I), and how dedicated and willing we were to do anything it takes to save our Mom. So here is the scoop: They have decided to give it 3 more months. After that time, they will redo the scans - and if she is the same or better than she is now, they will put her back on the list. If she is worse, they will give us a definite no for the list at that point. This is all with the understanding that if they put her back on the list, and they get a liver for her, that when they open her up to do the transplant, if they find that the cancer has grown and/or spread, they will close her back up without the transplant, and give the liver to the backup person; and she will be unable to get a transplant at all, putting her back as terminal.
They also are referring her case to a team in Indiana. In Indiana they are not as conservative as they are here when it comes to transplants. Also there is less of a wait. They usually transplant people with a meld score of 22, and Mom has a meld score of 28, which means that she would be the absolute top of the list for a liver. That, plus the fact that she is A+, which is a very common blood type, means she would get a liver very quickly. I do have to research and see what will happen with her insurance (which usually will NOT cover surgery outside of CA, unless you are traveling and have an emergency). First though, we have to see if the team in Indiana is willing to add Mom to their list. The doctor said he will send everything over, and we should hear back something by Monday, March 19th. This will be in addition to the recheck in 3 months here. They are hoping that if Indiana takes her, and it works out, that she will have a liver and be recouping in 3 months, instead of just finding out if she is eligible here.
So sorry for my rambling and poor grammar, I haven't slept well in a while, and really couldn't sleep last night. I will blog again when I have a new update. :-)

A Ray of Hope

So, we went to SF to have an angiogram done on Mom. The purpose of the angiogram is to check and make sure that this new radiation they are doing on her (called Y90) will go directly to the tumor, and not to the lungs or elsewhere. Apparently the liver can handle this strong radiation, but the lungs and other organs cannot. So the angiogram is done to make sure that it will go directly to the tumor in the liver and not elsewhere, as well as to map out the "plan of attack", and also to determine how much radiation is needed. The good part about this is that the radiation is so centralized and specific, that it won't make her sick at all.
However, it turns out that Dr. Wack, who is on the liver transplant team as well as the doctor doing the radiation, was doing the angiogram, and said that they might have made a mistake in reading the last MRI. That although everyone was sure that the cancer had grown and was spreading into the major vein going to the liver, that it could have been actually dead cells from lack of blood flow that just presented as part of the cancer. So long story short, they are going to be doing the radiation treatment in the next 10 days or so. Then 4 weeks after that, they will do a follow up MRI. When they have that MRI as well as the films from the radiation, and can confirm that the cancer hasn't gone past a 5 or spread outside the liver, then Dr. Wack and Dr. Frederick will both present to the Liver Transplant Team to see if they will put Mom back on the transplant list. There are other things that will come into play as well, such as Mom's current health and nutrition. Her last blood tests showed malnutrition - and that worries Dr. Frederick that the team won't put her back on the list. So there are a lot of "ifs" at play here - but there is still a glimmer of hope! We are trying not to get too excited, and are currently living in limbo and won't have any news for another 2 months. But during this time, Mom will work on exercise, sleeping routines and nutrition to do her part, and we will all be praying and helping her the best we can. :-) It is all in God's hands, as we have always known. :-)

Very sad news....

Well, we went and met with Dr. Merriman today, and our fears were confirmed. Mom has been taken off the transplant list, and has been given 6-12 months to live. It will most likely be 6 months - unless they can do some radiation and chemo pills, that may make it go to the 12 months, without the usual Chemo side effects. We will be going to San Francisco to be doing a test to see if they can do the radiation they want to try, which may give her that extra six months.
The tumor which was a size 2 has grown to a size 7, and it has spread into the main vein going to her liver, which has made it go from stage 2 to a stage 4.
We appreciate all of your prayers and love you have given to us all. For those who donated cash, we will be sending it back to you, since it was sent for the transplant, and she can no longer have it; and for those who supported our fundraising efforts - we will use that cash to try to get her through the rest of her appointments and procedures over the next 6-12 months, and then if we have any left, put that towards her funeral costs which we will need to cover.
Thank you again sooo much for your love and support. We are all hanging in there. Our faith in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as well as our knowledge of the plan of salvation strengthens us during this difficult time. We know we will be together again, and our tears shed are just for knowing how much we will miss her until our time to return to our Heavenly home comes.