Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Our trip to Fiji
On March 19, 2009, our 39th wedding anniversary, the miracles happened for us to take our vacation to Fiji. Jeff went w/us along w/Ford's sister, her family & a couple of her husband's siblings w/their families. We had quite the adventure! The most important thing was that we did have a very enjoyable time. We really loved the people of Fiji! They were very giving, hospitable people, eager to do what they could to make you happy & comfortable. Fiji is a very lush, tropical jungle type area, anyway, the island we stayed on was that way. It is also pretty remote and is not as modernized as one would think. There was no electricity on the island, the power source were diesel generators. A lot of the Fijians didn't even own those because of the expense to run one. The resort we stayed at had 2 generators & they ran 24/7 for which we were very grateful because it was terribly HOT & HUMID!!!! We felt we needed to take a shower as soon as we stepped out of our bure (bungalow) each day & we had just showered before leaving it. Ford was able to cope with his pain, he didn't get his pain pump installed before we left, but did get it taken care of in April after we returned home. He didn't do a lot of sightseeing because of his situation, but he rested a lot which was something he needed to do so it worked out for him. This island, called Tavenui, was pretty impoverished, but the people were a very happy group. Their poor circumstances didn't bother them. We were there for 8 days. I have posted some pictures of some of the things we did and saw while there. Hope you enjoy them! Bula! (their greeting for "hello or good-bye", but its real meaning is "happy life"!)
Saturday, February 7, 2009
It has been awhile since I last updated my blog. Actually, I have had trouble remembering how to access my blog, that's how long it has been since I wrote. Yikes! I am going to write down my info this time so I can remember it a little sooner. Jaren, I hope you keep checking my blog, because I finally am able to update it. Thanks for checking on it for me.
Ford's cancer has now spread to both lungs, which has been a shock to us all! Surgery is not an option, so our only choice is to do chemo. In the past, chemo has been ineffective in shrinking or destroying the cancerous tumors, but our oncologist told us that there is a new chemo drug, just 7-8 months old that has been proven to be very effective in treating tumors in areas where they can't be surgically removed. We are hopeful this drug may help to kill/maintain the tumors located in Ford's lungs. The problem is Ford still has an open wound from his cancer surgery last April when they removed his tailbone & all else they could find. Yes, it has been almost a year since that surgery & he still is trying to heal from it. Unbelievable I know, but he had so much radiation from the surgery done in that area the first time, that the damage has really taken a toll on the healing process. We just got him approved for hyperbaric treatments, where he goes into a pressurized chamber, does a dive(as if he were scuba diving under water only there is no water involved, just the pressure) & pure oxygen flows into the chamber for him to breathe. He has to wear this big plastic type hood that seals around his neck & they pump the oxygen into his hood. He takes little breaks about every 30 minutes, where they remove the hood & he can breathe regular air, then back under the hood he goes. He is in the chamber for 2 hours. He goes for these treatments 5 days a week-Mon.-Fri. for 30 treatments or 6 weeks, unless the wound happens to close before the 6 weeks are up. We are praying that is what will happen with Ford. We have a trip pending on the wound healing, getting his chronic pain under control, & hoping to have a pain pump surgically inserted in his back which would numb the pain in that area. It will take several miracles to make this all come to pass before March 19th, our 39th Anniversary & our take-off date to fly to Fiji with some family members & their friends. What do you think the odds are for this all coming to pass? Probably slim, but I'm a firm believer in miracles! Ford has had a lot of pain due to the fact that his body has, we believe, become tolerant to the pain meds he is on. That is normal when you are on the same pain meds & the same dose over a long period of time, which is the case with him. We are hoping to get that resolved with our next visit to our pain management Drs. They really haven't listened to what we've been trying to tell them about Ford's pain, but this next time, I will make sure they understand just how bad the pain has been & if they refuse to do anything about it, we will be looking for another pain management group to help us! I will not continue to see my husband suffer because of his pain that should be better controlled than it has been!
Moving on: We had a wonderful experience on the 16th of December. We had been to see the Kurt Bestor concert, which is one of our Christmas traditions in December, & lo & behold, who should be seated directly in front of us on row 8(we were obviously on row 9 right in the center of Abravenel Hall) but President Dietier F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency of our church! That's not all, behind us & down a few seats were seated Elder Dallin H. Oaks & his wife. Directly behind us was Kurt Bestor's parents, & seated right next to Ford was Kurt Bestor's pregnant wife. Did we have good seats or what?! Anyway, that was on the 10th of Dec. & during intermission we visited with Pres. Uchtdorf & his lovely wife. They were very warm & easy to speak to. The next morning our phone rang & the voice on the other end of the telephone identified herself as Elaine, Pres. Uchtdorf's secretary. I nearly keeled over. She chatted w/me for a few minutes about the performance the evening before & then told me that Pres. Uchtdorf would like to visit w/Ford & me in his office downtown. I said: "Why?" She then told me that our son, Jeff, who had also been w/us the night before w/one of his friends, had slipped a note to the Uchtdorf's briefly explaining what his dad had been through & what he was continuing to go through, asking them to please pray for his father, Ford Reeder. Well, Pres. Uchtdorf put his name on her desk the following morning & told her to find him, give him a call, & make an appointment for us to visit w/him, which she did. We made the appointment for the following Tuesday at 11:00, on the 16th. That is a day I shall never forget! We were able to spend 30 uninterrupted minutes talking with an apostle of the Lord! He was very warm & caring, wanting to know Ford's history w/colon cancer & wanting to know about our family, church callings, how we were dealing with the disease & all we have been through. There wasn't enough time to tell him everything we have been through with cancer, but I think he got the point of the extent of our challenge. It has been long, overwhelming at times, a lot of pain & suffering has been involved & still is, & yet, it has also been a spiritual journey for us because of all the miracles that have taken place to keep Ford here & the loving tender mercies sent to us by a very loving & understanding Father who knows what we are up against. He lets us know that we are never alone! He is always near, watching over us & blessing us with what we need. If it hadn't been for cancer, we wouldn't have experienced all the spiritual extras that we have had in our life since Ford was diagnosed in Oct. of 1999. We do have much to be grateful for! Our visit with Pres. Uchtdorf was the highlight of the whole year of 2008, not to mention a wonderful Christmas gift to us both, another tender mercy from our Heavenly Father!
I think that about sums things up for me to this point. I hope I can keep my blog updated a little better from now on. Things are still uncertain, but thanks to the love & support of our family & friends & the power of the Priesthood righteously administered by our sons on their father's behalf, we know that even though tough times are ahead, we will make it through & the Lord will determine the outcome of it all! We place our faith & trust in Him!!
Ford's cancer has now spread to both lungs, which has been a shock to us all! Surgery is not an option, so our only choice is to do chemo. In the past, chemo has been ineffective in shrinking or destroying the cancerous tumors, but our oncologist told us that there is a new chemo drug, just 7-8 months old that has been proven to be very effective in treating tumors in areas where they can't be surgically removed. We are hopeful this drug may help to kill/maintain the tumors located in Ford's lungs. The problem is Ford still has an open wound from his cancer surgery last April when they removed his tailbone & all else they could find. Yes, it has been almost a year since that surgery & he still is trying to heal from it. Unbelievable I know, but he had so much radiation from the surgery done in that area the first time, that the damage has really taken a toll on the healing process. We just got him approved for hyperbaric treatments, where he goes into a pressurized chamber, does a dive(as if he were scuba diving under water only there is no water involved, just the pressure) & pure oxygen flows into the chamber for him to breathe. He has to wear this big plastic type hood that seals around his neck & they pump the oxygen into his hood. He takes little breaks about every 30 minutes, where they remove the hood & he can breathe regular air, then back under the hood he goes. He is in the chamber for 2 hours. He goes for these treatments 5 days a week-Mon.-Fri. for 30 treatments or 6 weeks, unless the wound happens to close before the 6 weeks are up. We are praying that is what will happen with Ford. We have a trip pending on the wound healing, getting his chronic pain under control, & hoping to have a pain pump surgically inserted in his back which would numb the pain in that area. It will take several miracles to make this all come to pass before March 19th, our 39th Anniversary & our take-off date to fly to Fiji with some family members & their friends. What do you think the odds are for this all coming to pass? Probably slim, but I'm a firm believer in miracles! Ford has had a lot of pain due to the fact that his body has, we believe, become tolerant to the pain meds he is on. That is normal when you are on the same pain meds & the same dose over a long period of time, which is the case with him. We are hoping to get that resolved with our next visit to our pain management Drs. They really haven't listened to what we've been trying to tell them about Ford's pain, but this next time, I will make sure they understand just how bad the pain has been & if they refuse to do anything about it, we will be looking for another pain management group to help us! I will not continue to see my husband suffer because of his pain that should be better controlled than it has been!
Moving on: We had a wonderful experience on the 16th of December. We had been to see the Kurt Bestor concert, which is one of our Christmas traditions in December, & lo & behold, who should be seated directly in front of us on row 8(we were obviously on row 9 right in the center of Abravenel Hall) but President Dietier F. Uchtdorf of the First Presidency of our church! That's not all, behind us & down a few seats were seated Elder Dallin H. Oaks & his wife. Directly behind us was Kurt Bestor's parents, & seated right next to Ford was Kurt Bestor's pregnant wife. Did we have good seats or what?! Anyway, that was on the 10th of Dec. & during intermission we visited with Pres. Uchtdorf & his lovely wife. They were very warm & easy to speak to. The next morning our phone rang & the voice on the other end of the telephone identified herself as Elaine, Pres. Uchtdorf's secretary. I nearly keeled over. She chatted w/me for a few minutes about the performance the evening before & then told me that Pres. Uchtdorf would like to visit w/Ford & me in his office downtown. I said: "Why?" She then told me that our son, Jeff, who had also been w/us the night before w/one of his friends, had slipped a note to the Uchtdorf's briefly explaining what his dad had been through & what he was continuing to go through, asking them to please pray for his father, Ford Reeder. Well, Pres. Uchtdorf put his name on her desk the following morning & told her to find him, give him a call, & make an appointment for us to visit w/him, which she did. We made the appointment for the following Tuesday at 11:00, on the 16th. That is a day I shall never forget! We were able to spend 30 uninterrupted minutes talking with an apostle of the Lord! He was very warm & caring, wanting to know Ford's history w/colon cancer & wanting to know about our family, church callings, how we were dealing with the disease & all we have been through. There wasn't enough time to tell him everything we have been through with cancer, but I think he got the point of the extent of our challenge. It has been long, overwhelming at times, a lot of pain & suffering has been involved & still is, & yet, it has also been a spiritual journey for us because of all the miracles that have taken place to keep Ford here & the loving tender mercies sent to us by a very loving & understanding Father who knows what we are up against. He lets us know that we are never alone! He is always near, watching over us & blessing us with what we need. If it hadn't been for cancer, we wouldn't have experienced all the spiritual extras that we have had in our life since Ford was diagnosed in Oct. of 1999. We do have much to be grateful for! Our visit with Pres. Uchtdorf was the highlight of the whole year of 2008, not to mention a wonderful Christmas gift to us both, another tender mercy from our Heavenly Father!
I think that about sums things up for me to this point. I hope I can keep my blog updated a little better from now on. Things are still uncertain, but thanks to the love & support of our family & friends & the power of the Priesthood righteously administered by our sons on their father's behalf, we know that even though tough times are ahead, we will make it through & the Lord will determine the outcome of it all! We place our faith & trust in Him!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
