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Donnie has been feeling very good these days.  He has enjoyed so much wonderful time with family and friends. It has been wonderful and extra special.  We even got the opportunity to see “The Rock and the Rabbi” (for the 5th time!) in Lakeland at the beautiful Polk Theatre with family.  Then we spent a couple more days in Brandon with family.  Lots of love for the Donnie Mac, DMAC, Dose, Bubs, Son, etc. 🙂

As you can see, he looks very good these days.  He is eating great, and feeling pretty good.  He still has a few rough moments here and there.  He doesn’t have much stamina, but makes up for it in a great attitude!

Please pray for him the next several days.  He will be getting Abraxane and Gemzar starting tomorrow.  Abraxane has typically given Donnie many rotten side effects, including extended days of nausea.  Please pray for NO nausea, and NO undesirable side effects this time. He is scheduled to receive this chemo every other week for now.

Matthew 17:20  . . . Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “move from here to there,” and it will move.  Nothing will be impossible for you.

We are grateful to God for all the time we have had with Donnie, and pray to our Lord Jesus Christ to heal him, so he can continue to be a witness in his life here on earth.  God’s will be done, and we praise Him for all life!

Love,  Donnie & Tina

Donnie has really been enjoying some great days.  He has felt pretty good, so we have been spending time with our children, grand babies, extended family and friends.  It has been uplifting and encouraging!

We left Naples, after seeing Wendy and Robin, and Ron (my birth family) and Carole, and drove across the state to St. Augustine to see Jeff, Flora, Kaia and Liam.  Such a wonderful day at the park (even if it was pretty cold).

Next, we had the privilege of meeting dear friends, Keith and Debbie Jones.  So WONDERFUL to see them in Orlando!  Keith is the pastor of O’Brien Baptist Church in O’Brien, FL.  They had a great time catching up!

Then off to Blue Springs to see the manatees with Rachael, Jared, Brianna, Sophia and Bradley.  Manatees, and a picnic, and lots of running and playing.  Another great day!

So after several weeks of feeling great, we went to our chemo appointment this Tuesday.  Donnie had tumor markers drawn, and received his chemo.  Dr. Z called us today (Friday), to let us know that Donnie’s tumor marker (Ca19-9) increased from 53 a month ago, to 153 this week (normal is 0-35).  It increased 100 points in one month.  We were pretty bummed, but not surprised.  Our new plan is to put Donnie back on the Abraxane and Gemzar at his next chemo appointment on March 8.

We would like to invite our family and friends to our Easter service at WaterStone Fellowship on March 27th.  Rodger, Donnie’s younger brother, will be our worship leader, and he will be singing special music that day.  If the Lord is willing, Donnie will sing a duet with Rodger called, “Your Grace Still Amazes Me.”  We are hopeful he will be able to sing that day.

We are so grateful to God for the wonderful days Donnie has had over the last 6 weeks!!  Please pray for the Abraxane to be effective, side effects to be minimal (this drug gives him some big problems) and pray that Donnie would be able to praise God in song on Easter.  It would be extra special for him and for me.

We thank you for your precious prayers through this entire journey!

Much love,  Donnie & Tina

 

If I don’t post for a while, you know we are having some fun with family and friends, or just enjoying ourselves.  Donnie is doing great these days (his words).  No nausea at all lately (and he got chemo on Tuesday).  He still very sensitive in the area where his port was removed, which is challenging.  That has been going on for 2 months now.  We are grateful that seems to be his only big issue currently.  He has no pain, but continues to have neuropathy, so he remains on morphine extended release 15 mg twice a day.  He continues to get his chemo, Gemzar, every other week.

This week, we drove to Naples to see my sister Wendy and her husband Robin.  Donnie sang in the car all the way there (4 1/2 hours) . . . we were jammin with the sound cranked!!  We stopped in Brandon on the way to Naples, to eat deviled crabs, yellow rice, grilled shrimp and garlic bread at Momma’s.  He stuffed himself!  So great to see him eat like that right after chemo on the same day.  Of course, its always great to get some quick lovin’ from his Momma, too!  He is eating great these days, and weighs 171 pounds.

We had a great visit with Robin and Wendy!!!  Robin decided he wanted to learn how to play the flute, so Wendy is teaching him.  All 3 of us spent a couple of hours playing flute duets along with me accompanying them on the piano.  Donnie was sleeping on the couch listening to us, as flutes are mesmerizing.  It was great fun!!!  (Sorry, no picture of Robin playing with us, as Donnie was asleep on the couch by then!! haha)

We also got the opportunity to eat dinner on the beach in Bonita Springs and watch a sunset.  It was crazy windy and cool, but beautiful!

Then off to visit Ron Fritz (Marion’s husband and Wendy’s Dad . . . Marion is my birth mom) for an afternoon.  So GREAT to see him!!  He took us to a great place for brunch called Old 41 . . . delicious food!!  Donnie ate chicken fried steak and all the breakfast accompaniments, too.  Wow, he is eating really great, and ENJOYING IT!!

Then, driving back home, we HAD to drive over the Sunshine Skyway bridge.  It was a destination on our first date 26 years ago.  It was as beautiful as ever!  Of course, pictures cannot possibly do it justice.  It was a clear day, with the sun shining on the water.  Just breathtaking!!

Then we were stuck in horrible traffic in Tampa at rush hour, just a few miles from “malfunction junction,”  and we were praying we might be able to catch Ronnie and Darlene to eat dinner with us downtown, since they work there.  We lucked up, and they met us at Longhorn Steakhouse.  We got a great visit in, the traffic subsided, and then off to Oviedo.

It sure is great to travel with Donnie when he is feeling good . . . or do ANYTHING AT ALL when he is feeling good! He is cutting up, singing “made up” words to songs, and is getting more and more energy each day.  He told Ronnie and Dar that he feels as good as he did BEFORE his diagnosis.  What an amazing praise!!!!!!!!!  He also told me he wants to try to go to Alaska this summer . . . a bucket list goal of his.  Yay!  I’ll be working on it 🙂

Thanks for hanging in there through all of his ups and downs by praying for us, and giving us encouragement in so many ways!!!!!!!!!!!!  If I don’t blog for a while . . . no worries . . . good things are going on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Much love,  Donnie & Tina

Donnie has really been feeling good lately.  No “poison” for 4 weeks puts a “hitch in your giddy-up!”  He has been asking to eat at some of our favorite places, and seems to really enjoy the food.  As you know, food has always been a PRIORITY for this southern boy, so having it taste delicious has been very, very encouraging.  It certainly helps the mental battle!!  So, yesterday, we went to Outback on our way to chemo, and enjoyed ourselves!

When we got to the clinic yesterday, all the staff kept telling Donnie . . . Wow! You look really great.  Wow!  You look awesome.  Wow!  You look so good.  It was great to hear all those accolades.  They have not seen him for a month, so there have been lots of improvements 🙂

It was so nice having Beau join us at the clinic.  It’s hard for him to come much, as he is in nursing school now, but classes let out early today.  He gets some in-depth education at the clinic with us, plus he gets to advocate for Donnie.  We both like him being there with us!!

When the clinic nurse tried to access Donnie’s PICC line yesterday, it was not functioning well enough to draw blood or give chemo.  The decision was made to remove it.  Since D was having nerve pain from the PICC up and down his entire arm, we both felt this was a big relief.  They placed a peripheral IV, drew his blood, gave his chemo through it, and removed it when his infusion was complete.  Although it is disappointing that the PICC did not last long enough to give him chemotherapy even once, at least he had it for his IV antibiotics that he was able to finish at home.  The plan going forward is that Donnie will get a peripheral IV at the clinic every other week to have blood drawn and get his chemo.  We are both truly happy about that at this point!

Here are the BIG praises for the day:

1.  Port is out, and site is healing (its still painful, though).
2. PICC is out, and D has no IV access to protect.  That’s really nice!
3. His tumor markers remain in normal range (they are drawn every 4 weeks).
4. He weighed 168 pounds at the clinic.  That’s really good!
5. Donnie has no pain.
6.  Dr. Z said we will continue to get Gemzar every other week for about 2 months, then we will re-evaluate the treatment plan.  We loved hearing that!

Donnie was exhausted after our busy day with lots of decisions and changes.  Also, his body taking a hit from chemo after being off of it for a month is certainly a factor.  He was just slightly nauseated as well 🙁  

Please continue to pray for the chemo to be effective, for the undesirable side effects to go away, for the port site to completely heal and the pain to go away, and for continued strength and improvement.

I don’t really know God’s plan, but he is revealing it to us little by little.  We are walking with Him, trusting in Him, and grateful for the amazing time we continue to have with our friends and family!!  Thank you for your continued prayers!  We are humbled by your love.

Love,  Donnie & Tina

D has felt pretty good this past week.  He is eating great, and food tastes delicious.  He is walking in the mall with me again, almost every day, trying to gain some stamina.  His hair is growing again, including the white hair on his chin.  He is shaving almost every day.  It won’t be long till its back 🙂

He felt so good on Wednesday, he went with me to praise team practice.  He was my “surprise for the night!”  He so enjoyed singing praises to the Lord, and of course, we were all thrilled he could participate along side all of us!!!

On Friday, Donnie wanted to take me to eat at the new Townhouse Restaurant in the downtown metropolis of Oviedo.  Leigh-Ann, the owner, has been a friend of ours for decades (Yikes!  Did I say that??!!).  She used to “quiz” Donnie (while he was eating breakfast!!) when he was studying for his anatomy and physiology classes, back in the day.  It was just awesome visiting with her!  So fun to reconnect with wonderful people in your life!!

Today, D & I went shopping for some new hair barrettes for Bri and Sophia.  They both got their hair cut short, and needed some “hair control.”  We took the barrettes by the house this afternoon, where Bri was reading to Pa (Donnie).  It’s great to do normal things in our day . . . a little bit of this, and a little bit of that!!

Please pray for Donnie tomorrow, as he gets chemo in the afternoon.  It’s been 4 weeks since he has had any.  His former port area is healing, but remains very sensitive and painful.  Please pray for this to subside.  His PICC site is getting better and better.

I remain grateful to God, the great physician, for answering our prayers to heal Donnie.  Each day with Donnie is a true blessing.  I must say this past week (over my 60th birthday) has been wonderful . . . having Donnie by my side.  He is my absolute best gift this year!!!!!

Love,  Donnie & Tina

 

 

 

Donnie had his port removed 8 days ago.  All his cultures came back negative, but the site still looks pretty rough.  The redness has diminished a lot, but the skin at the site is still very wet looking, and is still oozing blood.  A stitch let go on day 2, so part of the site is open.  The site hurts him quite a bit, and keeps him from walking, or visiting very much, as he cannot afford for someone to even touch that spot on his shoulder, or move any skin that might move that area.  Just having his skin move on his right shoulder hurts him.  It hurts the area to move his right arm to dress, open a door, turn his head, take a shower, walk (it jars the site), etc.  He’s pretty much “over it.”

His PICC (peripherally inserted central catheter, inserted in his arm and goes to his heart) is in place in his upper left arm.  He has had nerve pain in his upper left arm from the insertion procedure for about a week, but that is improving.  He finishes his IV antibiotics this morning, which is good.

He has been off chemo for 3 weeks, and his hair seems to be growing back again. We laugh about that a lot.  His appetite is GREAT, and food tastes DELICIOUS again.  That is such a huge praise.  He wants to get out and walk, but his old port site is a pretty big problem for him.  He tries walk and move about, but it only lasts for about 15 minutes, then back home where he can relax and rest.  His shoulder keeps him tense, as it hurts quite a bit.

Donnie is in pretty good spirits the majority of the time.  This port site problem has worn him down a bit.  He has been fighting every minute of every day for more than a year now.  Please pray for his right chest port site to heal, for the nerve pain in his left arm to resolve, and for continued strength to fight.  He continues to improve in small, but very important ways.

Psalm 28:7  The Lord is my strength and my shield;  my heart trusts in Him, and He helps me.  My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise Him.

We thank the Lord for your prayers for Donnie!  When our inner being can become weary, we are grateful for the words of encouragement from the Word and from family and friends.  We continue to praise God and be grateful for this time we have had with Donnie, and if God willing, we will have more time with him to enjoy the most important part of his life here on earth . . . the love of his family and friends.  He’s always had that priority straight in his life!!

1 Corinthians 13:13  An now these three remain:  faith, hope and love;  but the greatest of these is love.

Love,  Donnie & Tina

Donnie’s port was removed yesterday in interventional radiology.  They cultured the wound and the port (and his blood).  So far, no growth.  They were able to sew the port site closed which is a praise, as it is very angry (red and swollen).  He came back to the room after the port was removed, waited a couple of hours, then had a PICC line placed for his IV antibiotics.  Having a PICC line is another big praise, as he was stuck for IV’s 8 times the day before.  Chemo has made his veins friable, plus he is getting Vancomycin IV, which is also very caustic to veins.  It was a long day of procedures for him.

The port site was really hurting him after the lidocaine wore off.  He took Dilaudid twice.  He did sleep pretty well, and said his old port area hurts like a “2” on a scale of 1-10.  Yay for improvement!!  We were discharged this afternoon, and are so happy to be home.

All the wonderful staff on the oncology floor were pretty amazed at how good Donnie looks, as they have been on this journey with us for over a year.  He is feeling so much better these days.  He has energy, he is very talkative, singing some, and of course, always cutting up.  These days are pretty wonderful!!  The good days all started the weekend of his birthday.  What a blessing!!!!!!  When we came home from the hospital, he pulled the dirty clothes hamper out, and started washing a load of clothes.  He has not felt like doing something like that in 6 months.  It is so encouraging.

He will not get chemo for 2 more weeks.  This gives him a month break from chemo.  His hair is growing again.  He has no nausea.  He is eating really, really well.  Today he wanted tacos, and ate them.  It’s so great to have him like this again.

Romans 12:12  “Be joyful because you have hope.  Be patient when trouble comes, and pray at all times.”  Thank you for your fervent prayers on our behalf.  God has blessed us beyond measure!

Love,  Donnie & Tina

Just a quick update for prayer. Donnie is in the hospital due to a port infection we have been battling for 2 weeks. He got started on “big gun” antibiotics today, and will have his port removed tomorrow. So…no chemo tomorrow.

Please pray the port is removed cleanly, and the antibiotics work efficiently.  He is in very good spirits, as he had a very wonderful birthday weekend!!

Thank you for your prayers!! xox

 

Donnie said it was one of his best birthdays ever! I must agree!!  We are so grateful for every wonderful moment of every day.  Without a doubt, best weekend since September 1, 2015, for D!  We are so blessed!

Love, Donnie & Tina

Donnie is having some really good moments.  Monday happened to be a gorgeous day outside.  He ate a great breakfast at IHOP with me, then off to run errands.  We did some shopping at Home Depot, then came home.  Donnie said he wanted to put my decorative hose reel together for me, by himself.  Wow . . . he hasn’t wanted to do something like that in over half a year.

He turned on the music in the garage, put the hose reel together, all while whistling.  He has always been a whistler (and a singer) when he works.  That was so wonderful to hear.  So . . . off to mowing the lawn for me.

When I came back in 45 minutes, he was not in the garage.  I checked on him in the house.  He was nauseated (4 pm).  He laid down to try to ward it off.  He vomited around 7pm.  No more food the entire day.  No real rhyme or reason.

So, Tuesday, he was very, very exhausted.  He ate well that whole day, and just laid low.  Rodger came over from Brandon, and David (son) came over.  They helped me take all the Christmas decorations down and put them in the attic.  My heroes!!  It only took 2 hours with those 2 brutes helping me.  David is so tall, he didn’t even use a ladder.  Now that’s some help!!  In-between helping me, Donnie got some great visiting in with his brother, which is always a big encouragement for him!

Donnie’s port redness and soreness is finally improving after 7 days of antibiotics.  Please pray that it will be healed enough for it to be accessed next Tuesday for chemo.

Thank you for your prayers and love.  Our rollercoaster continues, but we are still so grateful for the good moments!  A friend of ours, Nancy Spears, posted a great saying today.  It is a picture of the beautiful heavens at night . . . midnight blue and full of stars . . . and it says:

I made all of this out of nothing.

Trust me, I can take care of you.

God

Thank you God, for every encouragement in our days.  You are awesome, and to be praised and worshipped.  We are so grateful to know and love You!!  Amen

Have a wonderful week!  Love,   Donnie & Tina

It has been an amazing holiday with family.  Donnie and I feel so very blessed to have so much family that love each other so much.  It is such a joy for all of us to be together ANYTIME.

After Christmas, my brother Don and his wife Elaine (married since they were 17) came to visit from Memphis.  Then they left, and their son Michael (our nephew) and his wife Lynn and two darling girls Gracie and Laura Mae came to visit from Memphis.  Of course, this means big meals, lots of kids playing, adults catching up, and lots of laughter.  It was really wonderful!!  The Memphis girls LOVED to swim in the pool . . . especially “night swimming.”  They were so ADORABLE!!  We miss them already!!

Then New Year’s Eve, Lorraine (Donnie’s sister) and Robert surprised us by coming over from Brandon and taking us out to dinner.  Donnie had a really good time.  Then we were off to be with our church family to ring in the new year.  It was a lovely night, honoring God for all he has done in our lives in 2015, and the promises He gives us for 2016.  It’s the first time Donnie has been able to be with any of our church family since June, so you can imagine how special it was for him!!  We even celebrated communion, which was very special for Donnie, as he has not been able to go to church in months.  You can tell how happy he is in the pic, and that he is feeling better and better.  Also, this is the first time he has dressed up, and his pants fit!!  He even ironed his own shirt.  Now you KNOW he is feeling better . . . picky about his appearance 🙂  He looked so handsome!

On New Year’s Day, my sister Wendy and her husband Robin came to visit us from Naples.  She is from my “Fritz” side of the family . . . my family from my birth mother.  It was too short of a visit (our fault due to our awesome family visiting!), but it is always WONDERFUL to see them.  Robin always makes us laugh . . . what a character!  They are very special to us!

We feel so blessed . . . our family members are our closest friends.  Their love and support encourages us every day.  The legacy from our parents to love each other is a priceless one.  I pray that Donnie and I are passing that down to our children.

Donnie continues to improve.  He has had no nausea for 3 or 4 days, and has not been taking any nausea medications.  That is a first since September 1st.  He has weaned his extended release morphine to 15mg twice a day, but he is experiencing neuropathy, so we will see if he has to increase his dose again.  He does not nap much during the day, and even stayed up until 1 am on New Year’s Eve, so his stamina is improving.  His port site seems to have an infection, and he is on antibiotics for that.  Please pray for that problem to get resolved.  Overall, he is feeling much better, and food is starting to taste delicious (his words).  Can I have a hallelujah in the house!!!!!!!

Donnie and I pray that your 2016 is full of the promises of God, the abundance of His love, and that you open your hearts to Him.  We are so blessed by God, and pray the same for you and your families!

Much love,  Donnie & Tina