"Feelin' Stronger Every day..." and a crash.

We returned from another trip to UCLA on Tuesday. Liz had two appointments on the 4th and 8th. She is feeling better and stronger. She has more energy and can eat more, and moves about more easily on her own. She has been on the study drugs for three weeks, and started the second cycle. She still takes morphine twice a day and oxycodone a few other times and in the night. Her body has been doing better at processing food, although she still is not eating as much as normal. She weighs 98.8 pounds now, and we think there may still be some waste to get rid of, as her stomach still feels hard sometimes. She gets cold often, as you can see from the picture on the plane.

Side effects - skin rash is present over nearly all her body. She has a red patch on her wrist that has now become thickened and rougher (since Monday when we saw a dermatologist). We have prescription creams and hope they will help ease discomfort and lessen the rash. The rash typically goes away after another 3 weeks from now, we hear. Liz also has joint pain, currently in her right wrist and index finger.

Her back pain is still there. We also mentioned that her vertebrae look different and had two doctors look at them. There may be some breakage from metastasis, making them stick out further. Because she is feeling better right now we won't worry enough to involve an osteo specialist; likely that would mean getting a brace, according to Dr Grossmann. We have a CT scan coming up in about 12 days, before the next visit to UCLA on 3/31.

Today we noticed new freckles on Liz's face - tiny ones, they just weren't there before. We may start taking weekly pictures. We are also trying to note location of pain daily.

CRASH - On another note, Rachel and Jill had way too much excitement when they tried to drive home last Friday 3/5. Jill was driving and the car hit some ice or slush in the HOV lane in Salt Lake. The car spun around and was hit in the driver door by a truck pulling a horse trailer. Jill had a 3 inch gash on the back of her head and was unconscious for a few minutes. Rachel had back and pelvis trauma and pain. Both kids were uninjured. Jill and Rachel both went to the U of U hospital to be checked over. Jill was released with stitches and/or staples, and she and her kids went home Sat or Sun with her sister driving halfway. Ben drove down Friday and Rachel was released from the hospital Saturday afternoon after her contractions lessened. They drove home Tuesday to Washington after Rachel was feeling more mobile. Their car (Ben's first) was totaled, and will need to be replaced.

We are just very grateful that it wasn't much worse, with two pregnant women and two children. Brad was there for Rachel when I could not be. The most frustrating part was that Rachel was strapped on a board and in a neck brace by the ambulance crew, then not allowed to move for 5 hours, causing her pain. This was due to lack of communication between the OB and Trauma departments. When they finally let her move, much of her discomfort left too. She is still very sore and will move slowly and carefully for a while, and is on Lortab.

We are grateful for blessings! We know the accident could have been much worse. We are glad to have family around to help and to visit and uplift us. God gives us what we can handle... sometimes we wish He didn't think so highly of us. :) We are so fortunate to have Val and Brent welcome us to their home in North Hollywood and loan a car for our use. We enjoyed watching the Oscars with someone who knows the business and voted. I loved getting to hang out with Val, buying fabric, going to church, pulling weeds, playing games, whatever. It's all fun and we love getting together.