Moon Memoirs

It's a Family Thing...

2010-10-21T09:21:00.000-07:00

It's Official...

2010-08-18T15:16:00.000-07:00

Nikki has now been initiated into our family camping trips! And she did marvelously. I knew she would do fine when she had to go to the bathroom and went behind a tree:) You mountain woman you!
Nikki's parents were able to come and we all had a fantastic time.

Fathers Day Fun

2010-06-21T16:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was Fathers Day and Jeremy and I spent part of the day with my parents. We were talking about the "good ol' days" when we would go on our camping adventures. It was so fun remembering all the fun things we did as a family. I thought I'd post some old pictures of our camping fun! There are so many things I admire about my dad and so many things he taught me. When I look at these pictures it reminds me of how strong and brave he was, and still is. He was the one that taught me not to fear but to always trust in the Lord:)
Happy Fathers Day Dad! I love you!

Last Minute Camping Trip

2010-06-14T14:16:00.000-07:00

Kinda last minute, Jeremy and I went to Pineknot campground in Big Bear!

We only went for one night but it was AMAZING!

Growing up, my parents always took us camping, because that's what we could afford and I wouldn't change it for the world!

I have the best memories of our crazy family camping trips:) I am so blessed that Jeremy loves to camp too:)

I told my dad he should be a camp ranger and we could be his jr. camp rangers! haha!

It was so beautiful, all the trees that smelled so sweet
It was super cold, got down to 39 degrees that night. The high was 55! Brrrr!

This is part of what we hiked

Mmmm...one of the best things about camping is the food. Not healthy but at least the whole wheat pancakes made me feel better:)

Got to the top of the summit and climbed the ski lift

S&N's Secret Wedding Cookbook

2010-04-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

For the last few months I have been working on a secret cookbook for my brother and Nikki as a wedding gift. I was able to finish it in time for Nikki's bridal shower so I gave it to her then. It was a family effort, between the numerous emails and mailings of pictures we were able to put together something very special:) I love the way it turned out and Stephen and Nikki loved it too! Take a look! Just click on the link then click on the book itself.

Here is a picture of Nikki opening it at her shower, she went through it and explained what every picture was-it was soo cute!

Wedding Cookbook by cinderellygirl Cookbook

2010-04-06T14:40:00.000-07:00

Great news! Dad's home! He was able to come home yesterday.
He worked with the physical therapist walking the halls and even the a few stairs!
Well let me rephrase that- it was more like the PT and nurses telling him to slow down!
He was determined to get around but he is still pretty shaky and his left side just isn't
cooperating. The PT showed us some exercises we can do with my dad to help get
his motor skills back to normal.
I forgot to tell you all that during the surgery the Dr. had to stop and look at the MRI
because that only showed one fluid sack but when he opened him up there were three.
It ended up being a good thing because the Dr. lanced all three and all of it including the
tumor pulled away and he was able to make a clean cut and get all of the tumor. Praise
God!
Love, Cindy

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD,
plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give
you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

Dad's Updates

2010-04-04T21:01:00.000-07:00

Day 3

Happy Resurrection Day! This morning the physical therapist came and worked with my dad. She asked if my dad had a A type personality, she said she could tellbecause she does too:) She had him comb his hair, brush his teeth, and shave. Good thing he could use his right hand cause his left hand is still uncoordinated. He later tried to answer his room phone and knocked himself in the head! There was a 7.2 earthquake in Baja CA and we were rocking pretty good. We were on the 4th floor and the nurse said that the building was on rollers so it was definitely a strange feeling. Right after the earthquake a nurse came, with a wheelchair, to move my dad out of ICU to a regular room. He was so excited he wanted to "help" her and started pulling off all his tubes and wires, good thing he didn't pull out his IV! The nurse had to tell him to "stop helping":) From working with the physical therapist to the earthquake to moving rooms he was so wiped out that he didn't walk today. Later this afternoon and evening his cough came back, from the bronchitishe got a couple weeks ago. He was trying so hard not to cough because he said his head felt like it was going to explode. His nurse put an order in for some robitussin. Please pray that his cough will go away and he'll be able to sleep. His neck pain seemed better today though.Thanks for your prayers! God is good!Love, Cindy Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead1 Peter 1:3

Day 2

My dad had a pretty good day today. His neck is still very sore but the pain medicine seemsto help. His motor skills on his left side are not fully back yet, when we got there this morning he was laughing telling us that he went to move his pillowand, "punched myself in the eye"! By the time we left tonight his coordination seemed to be a lot better though. This morning his nurse had him get up and sit in a chair, he was very dizzy and shaky. Later tonight he was sitting in the chair for about an hour and did really well. He had a ct scan this morning and it showed that he had a few air bubbles and a some blood where the incision was but the Dr. said that was normal. We think he will be moved out of ICU tomorrow. I've been telling my dad to take it easy but he's talking about how he needs to eat and walk so he can get out of there:) Since his neck pain and dizziness gets pretty bad when he tries to get up we've been able to hold off on walking, for now. I'm sure he'll want to be up and moving tomorrow. It is amazing the progress he has made just in the last 24 hours, God is good! Thank you for your prayers and encouragement! I've attached a picture of my dad about to eat lunch:) Love, Cindy Bless the Lord, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.Psalm 103: 1-5

Day 1

Hi Everyone! Cindy here. Wanted to send out a quick update. My dad's surgery was a success! Praise the Lord! Instead of taking 7-8 hours it only took 5.5. The surgeon said therewas calcium/bone starting to develop in the tumor, which made it a little more difficultto remove. He said, as far as he could tell, he was able to remove all of the tumor! My dad was in recovery till about 7pm then they moved him to ICU. My mom was able tosee him while he was in recovery and told him that the surgery was over and it went really well, he was very surprised it was already over:) Once in ICU Jeremy and I andStephen and Nikki were able to see him. He looked great! He was talking with us and praising the Lord:) He has been sleeping a lot, he said, "I've been sleeping like a baby" which is great! He reminded me to make sure I sent out the update email and also askfor prayer for his neck, he is having intense pain below the incision. I know all the troopswill be on it, thank you!:) Overall, a long day but a great day! We cannot thank you enough for your prayers, we are so blessed by all of you!! Love, Cindy

Magnificent Macaroon

2010-03-31T20:40:00.000-07:00

My dad's brain tumor surgery is supposed to be this Friday and I was thinking about something special I could make to surprise him with. I know he loves coconut, I made a coconut cake for our early Easter celebration and he loved that...I know! Macaroons! I recently saw a recipe for them and thought I'd give it a try. I bought the ingredients and stopped by my new favorite place, Sweet Mercantile Co. To find something cute/festive to put the macaroons in. This is a magical place that has everything you can ever imagine for baking. I just found this place and it is only 1 minute from us, I'm not exaggerating either-I timed it:) They also have cake decorating classes, which I am definitely signing up for. How did I not know about this place sooner! Anyways, I got everything I needed and went to work. I am always a little nervous trying out new recipes but they turned out beautifully! Jeremy and his mom taste tested them and gave them a big thumbs up. I will definitely make these again-even though they are so not healthy:) I am giving them to my dad tomorrow, hope he likes them!

The Best Macaroons Ever

1 large bag of shredded or Flake Coconut
*I used a 14 oz. bag of Bakers Angel Flake coconut, you can also use shredded.
If you don’t want to worry about spreading, add about 1 1/2 cups extra coconut.
They won’t be quite as chewy though.
1 can of Condensed Milk (Eagle Brand)
1 Teaspoon Almond Extract
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
dash of salt
1 egg white
Directions:
Heat oven to 375 degrees

Mix all ingredients together until well blended. Line 2 large cookie sheets with parchment paper, or spray sheets with cooking spray. With a small or large ice cream scoop, place mounds of coconut mixture onto trays. These macaroons spread a bit, so don’t place too closely together. Bake at 375 degrees until very golden brown. The bottoms of the cookies should be very brown. Approximate baking time in my oven is about 15-18 minutes. Check the cookies half way through. Don’t panic if they have spread! Take a knife or a heat proof spatula, and press edges back to center.These are also good filled with Raspberry or Strawberry jam, and drizzled with white or Dark Chocolate. You can also make macaroon cookies, and drizzle with chocolate or dip the bottoms in melted chocolate. Once dipped, place back on parchment paper lined cookie sheet, and place in freezer or fridge until the chocolate has set. These will stay moist and chewy for days.

Revisions

2010-03-06T16:59:00.000-08:00

I was asked to include the recipes along with the pictures I recently posted. I have almost all of them up there, must finish typing the rest:)

Try Outs

2010-03-05T16:10:00.000-08:00

I've tried out a couple more new recipes, and they were delectable!! I LOVE spinach in all forms and I found a fantastic recipe for Parmesan Spinach Cakes, you get all the nutrients from the spinach as well as good protein from the cheese and eggs - protein is soo important to have throughout the day. I also made Tuna Steaks, Oriental Style - Yum! Jeremy says the sauce tastes like Benihana sauce:) We both love this recipe and it looks pretty too! (I am still working on my photography skills, that might take a while:)

Parmesan Spinach Cakes

12 ounces fresh spinach,
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese, or low-fat cottage cheese
1/2 cup finely shredded Parmesan cheese, plus more for garnish
2 large eggs, beaten
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1.Preheat oven to 400°F.
2.Pulse spinach in three batches in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to a medium bowl. Add ricotta (or cottage cheese), Parmesan, eggs, garlic, salt and pepper; stir to combine.
3.Coat 8 cups of the muffin pan with cooking spray. Divide the spinach mixture among the 8 cups (they will be very full).*
4.Bake the spinach cakes until set, about 20 minutes. Let stand in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges with a knife and turn out onto a clean cutting board or large plate. Serve warm, sprinkled with more Parmesan, if desired.
*I only made a half of a recipe and put about 2 Tbl. of the spinach mixture on a cookie sheet - that's why my picture of them looks like spinach cookies instead of cakes:)

Tuna Steaks, Oriental Style

Relishing Recipes

2010-02-25T11:05:00.000-08:00

My dear (soon to be) sis-in-law gave me the book The Makers Diet while Jeremy was in the hospital and I LOVED it! It completely made sense to me that we should eat the way the "Maker" intended us to. Lots of veggies, fruit, meats, herbs and spices - well there is a lot more to it than that but I highly recommend this book. I've been incorporating a lot of the recipes from the book into our diet. We don't eat this way 100% of the time but we do more often than not:) These meals are DELICIOUS! These do take some time to make but it is so worth it! Here are a few pics of some meals I have made the past few weeks.

Chicken Fajitas

Red Meat Chili

3 lbs. ground meat
extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine
2 cups beef broth
2 onions, finely chopped
2-4 small green chilies, seeded and chopped
2 cans diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbl. ground cumin
2 Tbl. dried oregano
2 Tbl. dried basil
1/4 to 1/2 red chili flakes
4 cups canned kidney beans
No-oil chips for garnish
Chopped green onions for garnish
Sour cream for garnish
Avocado slices for garnish
Chopped cilantro for garnish

Brown meat. Add all ingredients to crock pot and mix. Cook for about 4-6 hours on low.

Beef Stew

3 lbs. beef stew meat cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup red wine
4 cups beef stock
1 can whole tomatoes, chopped
2 Tbl. tomato puree
1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
several sprigs thyme, tied together
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
2-3 small pieces orange peel
8 small red potatoes
1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
Salt and pepper

Place all ingredients in crock pot except the potatoes and carrots. Cook for 8 hours, put carrots and potatoes in 2 hours before it's ready. Season to taste.

Spicy Chicken Stuffed Peppers

2 free-range chicken breasts
2 Tbl. butter
1 cup organic brown rice
1/2 cup diced jalapenos
2 cups organic black beans
2 Tbl. soy sauce
1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, grated
4 red or yellow peppers (either whole or half)
1 slice ezekiel or sourdough whole-grain bread

Bake chicken at 450 degrees for 30 minutes. After 15 minutes of cooking, baste with butter. Bring 2 1/2 cups of water and 1 cup of brown rice to a boil. Stir once, then let simmer for 45 minutes. Add diced jalapenos and cheese to black beans; and cook on low heat. Add soy sauce to bean mixture, stirring occasionally. Take chicken out of oven and slice. Add to bean mixture and simmer for 15 minutes. Mix brown rice into bean mixture and mix well. Cut off tops of the peppers or cut in halves; place desired amount of stuffing into them. Slice the bread and place on top of stuffed peppers. Bake in oven 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Serve warm. Serves 4. (The bread helps the stuffing from not getting crispy on top)

Easy Curried Chicken

2 cups diced cooked chicken
2 cups coconut milk
4 Tbl. butter
3 Tbl. whole-grain flour(soaked)
1 Tbl. curry powder
1 tsp. chopped onion
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter, then add flour and curry powder; cook for 5 minutes. Pour in coconut milk and stir well until boiling. Add the onion, then put in chicken seasoning and heat. Add lemon juice when ready to serve. Goes great with brown rice and veggies.

Jeremy Update

2010-02-05T11:33:00.000-08:00

Great news!
Jeremy had his CT scan on Tuesday, we went to see the Dr. on Wednesday and he was able to get the picc line out! Thank you Jesus! The Dr. showed us the ct scan results from when he first went into the hospital and the one he just had, the abscess was dramatically smaller and the fluid around his lungs is almost gone! Jeremy has to take antibiotics by mouth for two months, the down side of that is his stomach is not liking it very much:(

When Jeremy went to the infusion center to get the picc out the nurse said it wouldn't hurt and told him to take a deep breath, well he kept thinking about how this line was going into his artery all the way to his heart and he almost passed out! You'd think after all he's gone through it wouldn't be a problem, haha! After the nurse took it out she put her thumb over the spot and put all her body weight onto it, that didn't feel very good and it was sore the rest of the day. He asked if he'd be able to work out and the nurse said that he should take it easy for the next few days and he asked how would he know if he is doing too much and the nurse said, "Well if you start bleeding then you'll know you're doing too much". So we decided not to work out for the next few days:)
Thank you all for your prayers!

God is good!
Love, Cindy

"Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure"
Psalm 16:9

Crazy Adventure

2010-01-13T14:25:00.000-08:00

It has been a crazy few months for us! The three most important guys in my life have had quite an adventure. First, Jeremy being in the hospital 24 days. Second, my dad loosing his job because of down sizing and finding out his brain tumor is back. Third, my brother getting engaged to an amazing girl! And all this happened in about 2 months time! If you would have told me a year ago that this was all going to happen I probably would have had a nervous break down right on the spot! The Lord is so good. He knows what we can handle and when. He has blessed me with peace and strength that only comes from Him. The Lord has proven His faithfulness over and over again. I don't know why I ever question the Lord and ask, "why?". "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28.
AMEN! Thank you Lord!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-22T09:20:00.000-08:00

2009-12-10T17:59:00.000-08:00

Please pray for my dad, Don. He just found out tonight that his brain tumor came back and he is going to have surgery in January. It's been six years since his last surgery and it was not supposed to come back. He also lost his job a month ago so please pray that they can get Cobra insurance. Thank you.

Love, Cindy

"So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
Isaiah 41:10

2009-12-06T21:38:00.000-08:00

With Grandma and Grandpa at the hospital right before I came home.

Jeremy here.
I wanted to thank everyone for your prayers and support.
I am just overwhelmed at all the love that everyone has shown
to me and my family through this difficult time. I am grateful for
this trial, the Lord has shown me many things through it and I've
become more dependant on Him. To Him be the glory! I've been
home for 2 days, and it feels so good to be home! I would like to
ask for your continued prayers for my recovery, but know that my
spirits are high and God is blessing us everyday. Thank you.

God is good!
Love, Jeremy and Cindy

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD,
"plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give
you hope and a future.
Jeremiah 29:11

2009-12-04T22:52:00.000-08:00

Jeremy is home, after 3 and a half weeks! Thank you Jesus!

The Dr said his ct scan showed the abscess went from 14cm down to 6cm!!
His kidneys are continuing to get better, even after the contrast!
He has to keep the drain in and the picc line(iv) for 3 weeks!
He'll need meds once a day in the picc line. Nurse Cindy at your service:)

Today was an emotional and very happy day.

As I am writing I hear Jeremy singing to the Chris Tomlin song "I Will Rise" Beautiful.
This song has become very precious to us over the last few weeks.

There's a peace I've come to know
Though my heart and flesh may fail
There's an anchor for my soul
I can say "It is well"

Jesus has overcome
And the grave is overwhelmed
The victory is won
He is risen from the dead

And I will rise when He calls my name
No more sorrow, no more pain
I will rise on eagles' wings
Before my God fall on my knees
And rise
I will rise...

God is so good!
Love, Cindy

"but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."
Isaiah 40:31

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."
Matthew 11:28

Here is Jeremy at home eating some ice cream!

2009-12-03T20:59:00.001-08:00

Jeremy's kidneys were at 80% filtration today!!! The Dr. ordered the ct scan so he could see if the abscesses in his liver were still there and to see the size. His nurse had to give him all sorts of medication to help protect his kidneys from the contrast. One of the meds she gave him was something she mixed with juice and before she opened it she warned me that it smelled bad and it was not her passing gas-wow! And Jeremy had to drink that stuff, poor guy! After waiting forever they finally came to get him at 3pm for the ct scan and they were done in 10 minutes! We will get the results in the morning.
Please pray for no abscess and that his kidneys didn't get damaged. Thank you!

Jeremy's nurse just told him he doesn't have to take the 3 antibiotics anymore!! I guess he was supposed to be on them for a certain amount of days then he's done! I bet he will start feeling a lot better now:)

God is good!
Love, Cindy

I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.
2 Kings 20:5

This is what happens when they take forever to get him for his ct scan!:) zzz...

2009-12-02T23:19:00.000-08:00

Jeremy's kidney's were still at 72% today:( I thought for sure they would hit 80%!Let's just keep praying it will happen tomorrow:) His other levels are slowly starting to normalize. The Dr. said that for every day Jeremy is in the hospital it will take 4 days to recovery. 88 days, yikes!

New walking record...22 laps! He is amazing! He did so good today.

Jeremy's nurse, and Grandma, figured out that one of his anti nausea med. was making him nauseated! So, he stopped taking that and was doing better today, but tonight he started getting nauseated and sore. I think once he can get off all the meds that will go away.

His nurse was saying that Jeremy has such a supportive family and I have to agree! I just want to thank you all for your help! I stay with Jeremy from 7am-7pm. Grandma and Grandpa come at lunch time to stay with him, so I can go eat. Mom and Dad Siems come at lunch or dinner time to visit and go with me to eat. Mom and Dad Moon split the night shift and stay till 7am! You all are amazing and I am so very grateful to have such a loving and supportive family, I couldn't do it without all of you! And thank you to our extended family and friends for your prayers, encouraging words, visits, emails, cards, flowers, balloons! We love you! May the Lord bless you all in a special way:)

God is good!
Love, Cindy

I will praise the Lord God
with a song and a thankful heart.
Psalm 69:30

Jeremy doing his breathing exercises...*in not out Jeremy:)*

2009-12-01T21:22:00.000-08:00

Three weeks!

A great day! He walked 15 laps today! We overheard a guy saying
he walked 18 laps and Jeremy, not being competitive or anything:), upped his game, haha!

His kidneys are at 72%, just 8% more to go. Hopefully tomorrow he will be able to have his ct scan. Please pray he reaches that 80% tomorrow!

I was reading Jon Courson's daily devotional today and he talked about Jonah and the whale. He was saying that if nothing seems to be working out and life doesn't make sense, God is at work. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 He was saying how Jonah was in the belly of the whale for 3 days and nights, not knowing that the whale was traveling to the exact beach God wanted him to be on. Jon said, "through the days and nights when you thought nothing was happening, unbeknownst to you, the whale was moving." Indeed, the whale is moving!And thank the Lord, He is leading it!

God is good!
Love, Cindy

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
Jeremiah 29:11

2009-11-30T20:27:00.000-08:00

Day 20 today, I can't believe Jeremy has been in the hospital 3 weeks tomorrow!

Jeremy slept most of the morning but woke up feeling very nauseated. He is taking 3 different anti-nausea meds to keep it under control. Wasn't able to eat much today, but he did have a couple Ensure's-he is still on the nutrition iv though.

His kidney function was the same as yesterday, filtrating about 60%. The Dr. wants it to be at least 80% before they do the ct scan. Dr. Perez, the Infectious Disease Dr, wants him to have a ct scan so they can get a clear picture of what's going on, instead of just the ultra sound.

His hemoglobin levels were up yesterday but today they dropped again. The nurse said for his age, he should be at a 14 and he is at 8.5. His other levels were down a little today.

Today, Jeremy could get a new cell phone because his plan was up. So I got him the one he has been talking about and he was sooo excited. It was great to see him so happy, boys and their toys, haha!:)

God is good!
Love, Cindy

The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed
and restore him from his bed of illness.
Psalm 41:3

2009-11-29T21:16:00.000-08:00

November 29, 2009. Day 19. Another great day!

Jeremy's wbc is in the normal range!
Yesterday he told me he wants some home made cooking and asked if
I could make him a tuna sandwich, of all things:) You would have thought I brought him a filet mignon the way he was drooling over it! haha! I am so glad he actually has an appetite. Tomorrow he wants an egg salad sandwich!

Three of his Dr.s came in today and they were all very pleased with his decreasing levels and that the abscess is still draining. They are talking about just doing an ultra sound instead of a ct scan so he won't have to have the contrast that damages his kidneys. It will depend on what the ultra sound shows though.

He was actually able to sleep some last night. His legs are sore but we did another 9 laps today! His thrush is a lot better and his rash is better but it is still bad on his arms and legs. He wanted me to take a picture to show you:)

Pastor Brad Ormonde came today. He prayed and visited with us. One thing he said that really hit me was the verse that says, "be still and know that I am God." God is on the throne and He is in control, that gives me such a peace. In the mornings Jeremy and I have a time of devotions and I read to him, it is such a precious time with each other and the Lord. Today we were reminded that we go through trials to either bring us back to the Lord or to strengthen our faith. Like Jon Courson said, "...He's using it to make your life into a beautiful trophy of His grace." That is our prayer. Jeremy said that because of this trial he is so much more grateful for the the suffering Jesus endured because of his intense love for us, and that he died so we can have eternal life. "But God demonstrates his own lovefor us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8.

God is good!

"The LORD bless you
and keep you;
the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace."

Numbers 6:24-26

2009-11-28T22:28:00.000-08:00

November 28, 2009. Day 18. Jeremy had an amazing day today! Thank you for your prayers!
He walked 13 laps, yes 13, he said that he'll do whatever it takes
to get out of here:) Oh, and he did all that before noon! I couldn't
stop him, he was a walking machine! Needless to say he was
wiped out after that and his legs were pretty sore tonight. I am
so proud of him though, he did so great today:)

The next step in all this is to get his kidney function down to normal
so he can have another ct scan to check the abscesses in his liver
and see if they need to put in another drain. Normal creatinine level
is about 1.0, his is 1.6 today(and yesterday). His highest was 3.2.
So we wait, not fun. All his other levels were down today though:)

I knew our Jeremy was coming back when I heard him singing in
the bathroom, for those of you that don't know him well, that is a
normal occurrence!

His rash is starting to go away!

The reality of everything that has happened and how long he has been
in the hospital hit him today. He was sad and felt bad that he made
you all worry:) I told him to focus on all that the Lord has done and how
He is healing him and that he has people all over the world praying for
him. He wanted me to thank you all again and that he feels truly blessed!

When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought joy to my soul.
Psalm 94:19

November 27, 2009. Day 17. Today was a roller coaster of a day.

Jeremy could not sleep last night and early this morning his hands
started shaking really bad then his face started twitching, they paged the
Dr. and from the labs they found that he was low on potassium and magnesium
and started him on an iv of those to get him back in balance.

Jeremy's wbc and platelets are up but his kidney function is down.
The Dr. of infectious disease came this morning and checked his rash,
it was worse and spreading. After talking about the different meds he's on
and when he started them we think we figured out which one is causing
the allergic reaction. So, the Dr took him off of that and put him on another.
It seemed as though tonight the rash looked a little better.

Shortly after the Dr left Jeremy got sick again, it's been three mornings in
a row. They think it might be from another med he's on so we're going to
keep an eye on it. They upped his dose of anti nausea med. and that seemed
to help. He wasn't able to eat all day but tonight he had three spoon fulls of
tomato soup and a half of an applesauce.

His spirits were kind of low today, he said he was asking God to heal him and
didn't know why He allowed this to happen. I told him that I didn't know but
through all of this God will be glorified and he said, "To God be the glory!" We
don't know what the future holds but we know who holds the future and we rest
in the fact that the Lord is in control!

We took four walks around the floor today and while we were walking Jeremy
asked me how long he'd been in the hospital and I told him 17 days. He said,
"I want to get out of here!" and started another lap around:) That was the first time
I heard him say that, so that is a good sign! He had a renewed determination to
get better so he could go home and that was great to see.

He was having some pain where the drain to his liver is, he hadn't had pain there for a few days so that was strange. I noticed though that it started draining again!That was probably why it was hurting him. Hopefully that means he won't need another drain put in cause it's all coming out!

God is good!

God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1

2009-11-28T21:04:00.000-08:00

November 26, 2009. Day 16. Happy Thanksgiving!

I truly have a lot to be thankful for, my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
wonderfully caring family and friends and Jeremy, who has been going
through the most awful things and yet is still an amazing godly man.
I absolutely admire him.

Jeremy's nausea made him sick again today. I talked to the Dr. and
they are checking him for antibiotic induced colitis. He was not able
to eat today, and very little yesterday, so they put him back on TPN.
That is a nutrition iv connected to his pick line. He was already
malnourished and not being able to eat was not good.

His rash was worse again today so they started him on a steroid cream.
We should get the results from the biopsy on Sunday.

His kidney levels were down today:) but his wbc and platelets were up.

It was so nice to see a lot of family today, we all decided we'll celebrate
thanksgiving together when Jeremy gets out of the hospital. And he can
actually eat!:) I did have the turkey dinner at the cafeteria and it was
really good! A great buy for $4! :)

God is good!

"Surely God is my help; the Lord is the one who sustains me."
Psalm 54:4

November 25, 2009. Day 15. Another jump down on all Jeremy's levels today! Yeah!!!
His hemoglobin is low though:(

Last night and today he has really been struggling
with nausea. This morning after his cereal he got sick
in the bathroom, so I had the nurse page the Dr. and we got
one of his meds switched to one that doesn't have a side effect
of nausea. He was wiped out after that and slept a lot. It got better but
then tonight it started getting bad again, even after the anti-nausea med.
Please pray for no more nausea!

His rash is still bad so they called in the dermatologist to look at it and
he did a biopsy. He was pretty sure it is from the medicine Jeremy is
taking but he's been on so many that it makes it difficult. This Dr. was
extremely eccentric, I seriously thought we were on candid camera or something!
I kept checking his name tag to make sure it matched with his picture and the
name on his coat! This guy was out there, but he knew what he was doing-I think!:)

The ultrasound showed that the liver abscess is still there, smaller but there. It is toward the back side of the liver. Dr.s thinking that he'll need another drain put in:( We won't know for sure til he can have a ct scan after his kidney's improve more.
So, we wait. And pray:)

I cannot thank you all enough for your encouraging words and prayers.
I pray the Lords blessing on you for coming along side us and helping us through.

Have a 'thankful' Thanksgiving!!

Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.
Psalm 118:1

2009-11-27T22:27:00.000-08:00

November 23, 2009. Good news! Jeremy's wbc, kidney and platelets levels have improved
just a hair today!!! Going in the right direction!

He has been feeling very nauseated all day today, the nurse said his
pain medicine can cause that side effect. It's like one medicine helps
one thing but causes ten more problems:/

Dr. Ismael ordered a chest xray to check the lungs and the pick line.
He could not get any medicine til the results from the xray came back
and he was 3 hours over due for his pain meds-not fun-but I read to him
from the book of Psalms and that really helped keep him focused
on the Lord instead of his pain. It was a precious time. The nurse finally
got the ok that the pick line looked good and gave him his meds.

The surgeon thinks that the liver abscess is not draining all the way, so when his kidneys are at an acceptable level they will do another ct scan. We don't know how long that will take though.

His rash is even worse today and Dr. Perez said that high platelet levels can cause
the rash, hopefully that will be gone soon.

Overall, a good day! God is good!

O LORD my God, I called to you for help and you healed me.
Psalm 30:2

November 24, 2009. After 2 weeks Jeremy has taken a turn for the better!

All his levels have gone down a few points today!
The Dr. took him off one antibiotic, he is still on two.
Started him on a less powerful/scary pain med. and switched
his anti nausea med. it makes him very sleepy. Hopefully he
can get off of all this stuff really soon.

He still has his rash and if it gets any worse the dermatologist
will do a biopsy on it.

He had another ultrasound on his liver today (get results tomorrow),
this is the third one and it takes the transport people forever to get him to and
from his room. They were supposed to get him at 1pm and got
him at about 3pm. It wouldn't be so bad but he couldn't eat or drink
anything before hand. So we finally get down to the basement level
and he gets the ultrasound and we're supposed to wait for the transport
to bring him back up to his room on the fourth floor. I told Jeremy we
were not going to wait and I would take him back, he didn't want us to
get in trouble but we did it anyway! As we snuck back to his room he
said, "we're fugitives on the run!" We got some strange looks but we didn't
get "in trouble":) What an adventure it was!

Thank you all for your continued prayers! God is good!

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete,
not lacking anything."
James 1:2-4

P.S. This pic is of me making sure Jeremy is drinking his water:)
Doesn't he look thrilled?

2009-11-27T22:21:00.000-08:00

November 22, 2009. Today was Jeremy's 12th day of being in the hospital. He went from the Emergency room to the CCU to the 2nd floor and is now on the surgical floor, it's been quite a journey for sure!

Dr. Perez came this morning and they were able to identify the strep that is in his liver. It started as a normal bacteria that was in his mucus and it got trapped in his appendix(only 10% of ppl that get appendicitis get it from that) creating a blockage and it turned into appendicitis. From there the bacteria traveled to the liver creating the abscesses. Jeremy is on three antibiotics and the Dr. said 2 out of the 3 are already treating that bacteria, so that is good.

At 5am his wbc was 21,000 and his platelets were 1.2 mil. At 11am they went down to 17,600 and 1 mil. He started taking aspirin last night because the platelets were too high and that causes blood clotting.

His kidney are still not doing good. The kidney Dr. said they will monitor his levels and to drink plenty of fluid is the mean time. Hopefully tomorrow there will be improvement and he won't have to have dialysis.

The Dr. said he does not have pneumonia but he has fluid around his lungs(caused by the infection in his liver) and if his wbc goes up or he starts getting fevers again they'll have to put a needle in the drain the fluid.

This morning when Jeremy got back in bed after a walk he asked me to plug his "boots" back in(those are the things that go on his legs to keep the circulation going) and he started singing "these boots are made for walking" haha!! It's so good to hear him singing again:)

New prayer request: Yesterday Jeremy started getting a rash on his back, thighs and feet. Today it was worse and spreading. Dr. does not think it is from the antibiotics because it would be welts that really itched. They did some lab work and we will know more tomorrow.

The LORD is my strength and my shield;
My heart trusted in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore my heart greatly rejoices,
And with my song I will praise Him.
Psalm 28:7

2009-11-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

November 19, 2009. Today was Jeremy's 9th day in the hospital and it was a great day! He had amazing nurses! He slept most of the day, he really needed to just sleep. Tonight he was able to walk around the floor, hasn't walked since he's been in there! White blood cell count is down to 16,000! His kidney function is low so they will keep an eye on that. Overall a good day:)

November 20, 2009. Crazy day today. Dr. said the good news is that the pneumonia in his right lung is looking better, bad news is that it has infultrated the left lung. Did an ultrasound on his liver, will get results tomorrow. Kidney Dr. said his kidneys are getting worse and may have to put him on temporary dialysis.
Jeremy doing his walking with his buddy:)

November 21, 2009. We saw five different Dr.s today, the Infectious disease Dr, Internal medicine Dr, Kidney Dr, Blood Dr and Surgeon . Jeremy's kidneys are getting worse, his platelets are high(not good)and his white blood count is up to 17,000. They changed his meds and took him off the nutritional iv to help the kidneys start working better. His liver sample started growing bacteria today and it is some kind of strep, they'll know more tomorrow. Jeremy has been in excruciating pain since he had the liver and appendix procedure on Tuesday and the only thing that helps him is dilaudid ever three hours, found out from the nurse that is 1000 times stronger than morphine! Yikes! Now for some good news...He went to have another drain put in his liver (he wasn't too thrilled about that), they go through his ribs and it is very painful. They had to drain the other abscesses and after doing a ct scan(with no contrast to hurt his kidneys)there were no other pockets to drain!!! Praise the Lord! They just had to flush the drain he had!:)

This morning, his best time of the day, Jeremy and I did 4 laps around the floor and he was singing the oldies song "'Cause I'm a wanderer, yeah I'm a wanderer
I roam around around around around" Lol!!
Jeremy wanted to make sure that I tell everyone thank you for your thoughts and prayers! They mean so much to him, and me:)

Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD!
Psalm 27:14

2009-11-18T23:49:00.000-08:00

November 18, 2009. Today was Jeremy's 8th day of being in the hospital. The first half of the day he had to stay in the recovery room because there wasn't a room available on the floor the surgeon wanted him to stay. He was doing so good! He was smiling and joking:) His nurses in the recovery were so attentive and caring, they took very good care of him. In the early afternoon they moved him to the 4th floor, room 4116.

His nurse was Rosa on the 4th floor, she was also great. When the shift change started his care from the nurses went down hill fast. He had to use the rest room and we called the nurse twice and no one came(he also had two nurses aids) I had to unplug his iv's from the wall and help him. His pain level was going up and we kept calling the nurse and even went to the nurses station for help. Finally his night shift nurse came and gave him his pain meds. Tom and I were upset and so was Jeremy. We need him to get better and not have to worry if his nurse is going to take care of him or not, good thing one of us is with him around the clock. When I got home tonight I called the hospital and talked to the floor manager and told her my concerns, she apologized and said she would take care of it and if we needed anything else to let a charge nurse know. 15 minutes later we got a text from Tom saying the charge nurse just came in to make sure all his needs were being met. I hope he will get good care now. If not, I will definitely talk to the charge nurse tomorrow. Please pray he gets good care from his nurses, he has gone through so much already.

Looking forward to a good day tomorrow! :)

A 5th Anniversary to Remember

2009-11-18T23:37:00.000-08:00

Took Jeremy to Urgent Care and they think he has H1N1:( Well, happy 5th anniversary baby! You're amazing even with the swine flu!:)
November 6 at 3:42pm

Took Jeremy to the Dr. today, he has pneunomia and was super dehydrated. Gave him an IV and 3 liters of fluids...8 hours later he is home and doing ok. Thank you Lord!November 9 at 7:04pm

Please pray for my husband, had to take him to the ER last night and they admitted him to the hospital
November 12 at 11:38am

Thank you all for the prayers. Jeremy has pnuemonia and really high white blood cell count of 24,000, normal is between 4,000 and 11,000. He is now in the critical care unit. His fever spiked again to 103. He's on a lot of meds. Please keep the prayers coming!
November 12 at 11:00pm

Jeremy is very slowly but surely getting better. His white blood count came down just a little today. He was able to eat a little. Now he just needs to be able to sleep. God is good! By the way, he is at the Fontana Kaiser
November 13 at 10:53pm

I wish I had more good news...Jeremy's white blood count is back up to 24,500. He spiked another 102.8 temp. Updated prayer request: wisdom for the doctors to find out where his infection is and the best meds to fix it. Thank you all!
November 14 at 10:44pm

For the most part Jeremy had a good day today. He was able to shower and felt great after that! Dr. said he thinks it's a viral pneumonia but now he is saying he's not ruling out h1n1. Did another chest xray but haven't gotten the results back yet. He spiked another 102 temp tonight. He was in good spirits today though:)
November 15 at 8:15pm

Jeremy had a ct scan today to see if they could figure out what is going on...he has appendicitis and an infection in his liver, on top of pneumonia! They almost did the surgery tonight but will wait til tomorrow. At least we now know what is wrong.
November 16 at 11:25pm ·

Today was a very rough day. Jeremy had the procedure to put a drain in his liver, they went thru his ribs. He was in so much pain, on a scale of 1-10 he was at a 10 most of the day and just kept moaning. Pain meds were not working.He had his appendix removed tonight, I was preparing myself for the worst when I went to see him in recovery but he looked amazing! Praise God! He actually had color in his cheeks and wasn't in horrible pain! I hope that continues tomorrow!
November 17 at 1:30am