A Work In Progress

A Work In Progress

Wednesday, January 18, 2017

Scott's Scan Results - Debbie's Blog Post

Journal entry by Debbie Heiman — 2 hours ago
I have to admit, I was a little bit worried going into our appointment today. However, I was not afraid to hear the results. I've had much peace about this scan. God is so good to us! 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 reads: "Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."

We are very joyful this afternoon after hearing that Scott's cancer remains stable! There was no growth in the tumors in his liver, no new tumors, and no change of any kind on his scan. This is the best news that we could ask for, aside from a miracle to say his cancer is gone. We'll take stable any day!

More good news that we received was that his bloodwork is looking good to start chemo on Monday. He's only getting a 2 week break between rounds now, but it's working to keep the cancer from growing and spreading, so he is willing to do it. I love him for fighting with his all for our family! God keeps giving him the strength to fight, even when he's not so sure he wants to. 

Looking ahead, we have his chemo scheduled for January 23-26, and Neulasta injection on January 27. 

If all goes well with that round, he is scheduled for chemo again February 13-16, with Neulasta on February 17.

Mark 11:24 "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."

Thank you Lord for answering the prayers of everyone who has been praying for Scott! God is good!

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Waiting for Results of Scott's Scan and Prayers Needed for Our Mom


Here is Debbie's Caring Bridge Update from Today.  Mom's cancer fight often goes unmentioned since Scott's diagnosis, but she continues to fight her own 17 year battle with cancer.

Journal entry by Debbie Heiman — 5 hours ago

Scott and I were able to attend bible class together on Sunday. One or both of us are usually teaching Sunday school/teen group. It was a perfect topic with the CT scan and results coming up this week.

The topic was on Jesus challenging our view of ourselves. These passages were under the category about worrying. Oh how I love these verses! 

Philippians 4:6-7, 12-13, & 19 read, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus."

God has always met my needs, and I fully trust that he will continue to do so. From losing my Dad 17 years ago to watching my Mom battle her cancer for 17 years, and now watching my own husband be put through the ringer with his DSRCT for 21 months, God is always watching out for us! 

My Mom and Don could use your prayers just as much as we do. She took a break from chemo shots because she only had 2 tumors left on her bones, and they were small. She has been having back pain lately (worse than her every day back pain), and she had a scan done. She found out yesterday that the tumor on her spine has grown and is once again pressing on a nerve in her back. She started chemo shots into that tumor today. They are very painful! She has endured so much pain in 17 years from all of her treatments. She has an amazingly high pain tolerance and great attitude! She also has a minor case of shingles, but even a minor case can be miserable. Please add my Mom and Don to your prayers if you would.

We will get Scott's CT scan results tomorrow at 11AM, along with his lab work. If his counts are good and his cancer is stable, he is scheduled to start chemo again on Monday. Our prayer is that we get good news tomorrow. 

While we were in the waiting room before his CT scan yesterday, a couple walked in. When Scott got up to use the restroom, the wife came to talk to me. She had heard us talking to someone we know who works in radiology at Froedtert. She didn't know much about our story, but had gathered enough to know that Scott has cancer. She mentioned her 10 year old, and I said that we also have a 10 year old.

When she came over to me, she asked if she could talk to me. Of course I said yes. She began to tell me that her husband was just diagnosed 5 days ago, and that this is all new. She was still in the stage of shock. She asked me if I ever felt alone. I completely understood where she was coming from. Even with a huge support group, I often feel alone. 

She told me that she saw joy in me and it gave her hope that some day, she too would have joy again. I asked her if she has faith. She said she does and is actually Lutheran. That warmed my heart! I told her that God will take care of them. He has a perfect plan for all of us. We shared information and plan on keeping in touch.

 It made me feel so good to know that she, who doesn't even know me, saw joy in me. I am a joyful person by nature, because I have the peace of Jesus inside of me. I never want to allow cancer to take away my joy and love for life. That doesn't mean I don't have horrible days, but I want to shine and share God's love with others. I don't feel capable of doing that, but I just keep sharing my faith anyways.

 I was able to invite this woman to the cancer caregivers support group that I attend once a month. That meeting is so helpful to me each and every month! I pray that she will begin to come and benefit from the group like I have for the past 18 months or so.

I wish I could fast forward to 11 AM tomorrow! At least it's less than 24 hours away. We will be busy tonight with A team basketball games too.

Thank you so much for all of your prayers last week. This was the first round of chemo since surgery that Scott avoided ending up in the hospital with a fever. He took it easy and I think that helped a lot. It may have been a coincidence too. Who knows? Our prayers were answered to remain fever free though!

Updates on Scott - Debbie's Caring Bridge Posts From 12/29 and 1/6


Journal entry by Debbie Heiman — 12/29/2016

We made it through the festivities with my side of the family in Indiana and Michigan with good health. Lexi started feeling sick the morning we left MI (26th). She was finally feeling better this afternoon (28th). She was feverish and had overall aches. She did a lot of sleeping.

We are all praying that the rest of us stay healthy in order to head up north for the Heiman side of the family Christmas/New Years on Friday morning.

We had a great time in Indiana and Michigan and got to stay overnight at Mom and Don's, Jenny and Jonathan's and Pam and Eddie's houses. It was a lot of packing and unpacking, but it was fun. 

Today was Scott's appointment at Froedtert. His labs looked good and he is set to start chemo when we return from up north. His chemo will be January 3rd - 6th. Neulasta shot will be January 7th.

Dr. Charlson wants Scott to have a CT scan after this upcoming round of chemo. It will be done on Monday, January 16th. We'll get results on January 18th. The next round of chemo is already scheduled for January 23rd - 26th.

Scott has been able to maintain his weight. We're really happy to see that he didn't lose any more since his last appointment. 

He still has his good days and his not so good days. I pray for more good days ahead. 

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! Happy New Year to everyone as well! 


Journal entry by Debbie Heiman — 1/6/2017

Scott had chemo Tuesday-Friday this week. He was able to work every day after chemo and make it home for dinner every night. This was a blessing for the kids and I! I was able to be with him at chemo every day, along with my 8 1/2 month old daycare buddy Joshua.

As always during chemo, he has a very hard time getting much sleep at night. The Dexamethasone steroid that he gets every day along with the chemo makes him figgity and unable to sleep for more than a couple hours at a time, if he's lucky. Tonight should be the last night that he is affected by that, so hopefully he'll start sleeping better on Saturday night.

He has to go to Froedtert tomorrow at 11 for his Neulasta shot. Then, we have a break next week. This is the week that we ran into problems and ended up at the hospital during the last 2 rounds of chemo. Please pray for a fever free week next week and minimal negative symptoms! He is going to do EVERYTHING in his power to stay out of the hospital this time. Unfortunately, I'm pretty sure it's mostly out of his control. His body is just reacting to the treatments.

His CT scan will be on Monday, January 16th and results on January 18th. The results will help us figure out what our next step will be. If everything remains stable, which is our prayer, then he will have 1 or 2 more rounds of chemo, I believe. After that, possibly a bit of a break for his body.

If there has been any growth in his liver tumors or if new tumors have returned to his peritoneum, then I have no idea what we will do next.

This aggressive cancer is so hard on a person's body! He has done SO much chemo, had his stem cells harvested, had major surgery, had whole abdominal radiation, more scans than I can count, and the list goes on and on! 

God is truly an awesome God, however! Scott has been battling with all of his might since day 1! It has been the hardest 21 months of his life! He has NEVER been alone in this fight, but has an ever present God who is with all of us every step of the way! He is doing better than I could have ever imagined after so much treatment! He's a fighter, and I know he's going to give it everything he's got. 

I can't even begin to tell you how important our faith in God has been in this journey! If our kids have any questions or concerns, I can immediately bring God into our discussion. 

Myles (7 years old) is our little prayer warrior! I better never forget to pray for Daddy with him every night (and for other cancer fighters that we know), or he'll be yelling for me to come back into his room. He sure does love his Daddy!!!

I don't even want to think about how our life would be right now without God at the center of it. Knowing that HE has a plan for our family is so comforting, even when times are SO hard! We have him watching over us, and no matter what our future looks like, he'll take care of us.  

If all goes well next week, then I will update on the 18th after we get his CT scan results. I hope this is my last post until then. 

For the next 2 weeks or so, we'll just be busy with our kids and their sports. Tonight, Tyler and Hannah have basketball games. Tomorrow, Myles starts basketball through the West Allis rec department, and Sunday is Tyler's baseball pitching clinic. I love it that the kids are involved in sports and staying active. It's fun to see them improve in each sport over the years! Enjoy your weekend everyone!

Much love from the Heiman family! ❤️