Hurdles and Milestones

To all those who have been following this blog I apologize that the last couple of posts were accidentally deleted. :(  It’s challenging to recap all that was felt and said at that time, but we’ll do our best to  try to catch everyone up since the last post.

The final months of 2010 were tough.  Rainya's body was having a difficult time tolerating any of her chemo treatments, so the doctors had to experiment with different brands to find the right fit.  Other challenges included her inability to produce enough white blood cells to fight off infection. This problem was most evident when she had a significant infection caused by her chemo port that had been implanted in her side.  She was hospitalized for the infection yet her white blood cell count was significantly below the normal range rather than elevated as would be expected with one in her condition. Additionally, she had a major wound from surgery that was not healing properly, leaving a serious wound in her abdomen.  A special vacuum medical device and bandage were used in order to keep her wound healing.  Her wound finally began to heal over a two month period.  Today her wound looks great and the scar tissue sealed the wound up completely.

Neal and Cammie (Rainya's Parents)

 Through these challenging months Rainya’s parents came and lived with us.  They took such great care of our home and family. We will be eternally grateful for all the time and love and support they gave to us. Church members and neighbors even brought us dinners on a weekly basis for several months. Over a three month period Rainya was visited by her Sister Tirza and four of her brothers Shem, Quinn, Saul and Thor, which really lifted her spirits.  During Christmas, Rainya’s parents went back to Idaho for a couple of weeks and my mom and step dad came to visit and help. Rainya came down with a nasty flu which really set her back, but finally by Christmas day she started feeling better. It actually snowed on Christmas day and made it very magical.  As you can see the end of this year was hectic, but we learned a lot and realized how blessed we were as a family.

Rainya and her sister Tirza

Rainya's Brother Saul

Rainya and her two youngest brother's, Shem and Quinn

Rainya and her oldest brother Thor

Christmas day with the whole family

Mom (Cindy) and her husband Floyd

March 6 was the date of a huge milestone.  Rainya’s last day of chemo therapy.  Her oncologist recommended that she continue with one year of preventative chemo treatments, but there was an inner voice inside that said no more.  After carefully weighing all options, she chose to forego further chemo treatments and pursue the natural route moving forward.  This meant continuation of eating a strict whole food diet that contained lots of raw vegetables and sprouts.  Also, she had to wean herself off strong narcotics that her body had become accustomed too.  She had so much pain from her surgery, open wound and chemo therapy that she was on a daily routine of strong medication.  Trying to wean off took nearly one month and she experienced significant withdrawal symptoms during the process. When she started feeling better I took her to Myrtle Beach to celebrate. It was wonderful getting away for a few days just the two of us.

April rolled around and she was completely drug free and in a much better position to begin detoxifying her body from all the chemicals in her blood.  So, she and her mother did a 10 day detoxification program at the Living Foods Institute here in Atlanta.  She had some cleansing challenges, but in the end benefited greatly from the raw diet, wheat grass and vegetable juice and lots of fresh water.  Soon after that program she went to Arizona for 5 weeks to receive treatments at the Brimhall Wellness center located in Mesa.  Dr. Brimhall and other practitioners provided chiropractic care and several other complementary therapies to continue detoxifying.  Top priority was increasing her physical strength, immune system and spirituality. It was there that she found out that she is sensitive to gluten, so now she has gone completely gluten-free and feeling better because of it.

When she got back in early June she and her parents planned a trip to drive with her and our kids to Idaho.  It was there in the mountains of Idaho that she hoped to be in an environment of continued healing.  However, there were a few set backs as she became physically spent and her immune system suffered because of it.  Consequently, she had strep throat 4 times over a three month period and struggled to regain physical strength.  So, we flew her back to Georgia rather than having her drive back home at the end of August. Once she came back to Georgia she began to see Dr. Lee again in Woodstock.  He advised her to take certain herbs coupled with complementary care.  His treatments and advice worked beautifully and has resulted in no more strep throat!  We are so thankful for Dr. Lee and his many years of experience as a chiropractor and healer.

Idaho Mountain Cabin

Rainya’s parents drove back with our four children at the end of August in order for them to begin school.  Once they arrived, Rainya’s Mom stayed for another month to help our family integrate back into normal life.  Also, at this time Rainya had another CAT scan and marker test done that showed continued improvement and no signs of cancer!  Her biggest obstacles now are her immune system and hormone imbalance.  She’s seeing another Doctor (D r. Byers) to hopefully regain proper hormone levels, but it’s very tricky and going to take time.  Overall, she is doing well and thankful to be experiencing more of a normal life again.

Wow!  This has been such a challenging yet blessed and wonderful year all at the same time.  So many lessons have been learned about health and things that matter most.  Every birthday, holiday season or even a meal together is so much more appreciated by all of us.   We appreciate every family member and friendship more than ever.  We find ourselves much less likely to take anything for granted.  So grateful to God for how things are turning out for the best.  What appeared to be devastating at times has proved to be such a tremendous blessing.  I can honestly say I’m finally grateful for trials such as these.  It has helped teach us in so many ways…  On the other hand I hope and pray we never have to go through another year like this last one… :)