the swinney's : 10/23/08

Today was a chilly day. Yay!! I'm so ready for cold weather. We went to the museum today with Mama, Lori, Ruthie, and Brady. It was fun watching the kids run through looking at the animals. I think they learn something new every time we go. Tonight Ruthie gets to spend the night with us for the first time. She is so much fun. Abby and Erin could not wait for her to sleep with them in their bed. I rocked her to sleep, put her in their bed with them and left them watching TV. A few minutes later I heard them in the living room. I went upstairs and Abby was rocking Ruthie. She is like a little mama to her. She got her back to sleep and she is sleeping soundly in their bed. Eventually I will have to go sleep there to. Just in case Ruthie decides to get up in the night I need to be close by. I had forgotten how much work it is to have a toddler. Notice how much she looks like Abby. But Abby and Erin both favor the twins. I took some cute pictures of them today, enjoy!

Dave's Leiomyosarcoma Journey

Dave was diagnosed with Leiomyosarcoma on September 8, 2010. His first appointment at the MD Anderson Cancer Center was October 11, 2010.

The first two rounds of chemotherapy consisted of Adriamycin and Dacarbazine (started October 20th). On December 6th we learned the tumor had grown. The next six rounds of chemotherapy, consisting of Gemzar and Taxotere, began December 9th. His scan on January 22, 2011 revealed that the tumor had neither grown nor shrunk. Round five of chemo began on January 27th and round six on February 17th. Upon completing scans on February 28th (and subsequent results on March 1st), Dr. Ravi ordered 2 more rounds. Dave resumed chemotherapy on March 14th. During his next appointment (May 28th) Dr. Vinod Ravi thought it best to discontinue chemotherapy (due to extreme toxicity). The next step would be radiation and surgery.

Dave began radiation on May 19th and had 25 treatments, the last being June 22nd. Dr. Raphael Pollock set the surgery date for August 23rd (one day before Dave's birthday). Surgery was a huge success! He was able to have the tumor removed without losing anything else!

The first scan following surgery was Dec 6, 2011. Clear Scans! March 2012, clear scans! May 29, 2012, clear scans! On June 5, 2012 Dave had surgery to repair incisional hernia. On July 2013 he had yet another surgery, stomach reconstruction for hernia repair. December of 2013, clear scans! June 2014, clear scans! 2014, 2015, '16, '17, '18, '19 scans, all clear. Bye, Felicia (hopefully).

the swinney's

Thursday, October 23, 2008

It feels like fall y'all

June 13