A strong end to the week

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope you had a great week.

In my last post, I wrote that Suzanne was feeling pretty worn down at the beginning of the week and may be in need of a blood transfusion. Well the good news was that her hemoglobin levels were actually good, so a transfusion was not necessary. The problem was that her white blood cell count was down... so on Thursday mom went in for chemo (her third treatment with the latest drug) and was a given a shot to raise her level of white blood cells. I'm happy to report that Suzanne was moving around like a champ on Thursday and Friday with somewhat less pain and fatigue.

So thank you for your on-going thoughts and prayers! We know they continue to make all the difference.

Missing the Outdoors

Susie headed off to her chemo treatment this past Thursday like the warrior she is accompanied by her best friend Norma. A dose of Demerol was given with this particular treatment because pain associated with the administration of this drug is pretty intense. The few hours after returning home meant some not-so-pleasant side effects (like fever, chills and more). Within a few hours (fortunately) those side effects were gone but utter and complete exhaustion has parked itself within her and refuses to depart.

This past weekend, San Antonio had one of the most beautiful, spring-like weekends we’ve seen in a long time. If you know my mom, you know that she loves the outdoors so much “Outdoors” should have probably been her middle name. As children she took us on hundreds of hikes through Eisenhower and McAllister parks, several spontaneous trips to Port Aransas, a climb up Enchanted Rock, on a road trip to New Mexico among many other adventures. Suzanne’s appreciation for nature and the outdoors is perhaps one of her most defining and endearing qualities. In fact, if you look at our family photo albums, I’d say a good 80% of our pictures were taken outdoors.

one of our many getaways to Port A

oh the stories we could tell about our trip to New Mexico... an adventure indeed.

a Corpus/Port A trip with our cousins

a family picnic... outdoors of course

this beautiful picture of mom was taken by Becky at Eisenhower park

Cancer and the debilitating side effects of treatment can, at some point, make it nearly impossible to get outside and do something as simple as take in the sunshine. This has been the case for Suzanne for some time now and it frustrates her to no end. This weekend was no exception; perfect temperatures for a hike through Eisenhower Park but feeling like she’d been run over by a tractor made it impossible to do much of anything. She was able to enjoy one dinner out to celebrate stepdaughter Mandy’s birthday and a quick trip to the grocery store on Sunday… and that was the sum total of excursions for the weekend.

In an attempt to build up strength and hopefully offset some of the chest pains she’s been having, Suzanne will most likely get a blood transfusion in the coming days. We will definitely keep you posted on how she does.

Mom has asked me to pass on her sincere gratitude for all of the emails and comments you have left for her. While these last few days have been challenging, I know that your messages of faith, strength and hope give her the grace to carry on each day. And for that, my family and I thank you too.

With love,
Lauren

Another round tomorrow

It's Wednesday which means today was labwork day in preparation for tomorrow's chemo treatment. Mom's feeling lots of pain these last few days. And while she's tried keeping pain medication consumption to a minimum to avoid feeling like a zombie, we're thinking it's time to up the dose a bit. There's just no reason to be in so much pain if you don't have to.

So tonight when you say your prayers, please pray for a successful treatment tomorrow, that this new drug starts shrinking those tumors and that her pain starts to subside very, very soon.

With love,
Lauren

She gives meaning to the word warrior...

…but she’d try to tell you otherwise. She’s been fighting the battle of her life for years, but until recently you would have never known. She’s beautiful, strong, fierce, determined, courageous, extraordinarily stubborn and epitomizes brave to the highest degree.

Her name is Suzanne and she is my mother. Suzanne’s life has been filled with many blessings which include Ray - her husband and caring companion, four beautiful, healthy children – Lauren (me), Christopher, Becky (a junior in high school) and Ashley (in 8th grade), a very helpful son-in-law Cris and three sweet grandchildren. Suzanne has seven siblings and is the daughter of my incredible grandmother Blanche, who also deserves a blog devoted to the journey of her life (maybe that will be my next endeavor!).

Here are some pictures of our Suzanne (Susie) Kuykendall in her younger years--

What a cute little girl!

and after having Lauren...

the very large Kuykendall family

and with Lauren and Christopher...

While Suzanne’s journey through life has been filled with many blessings, she has also been forced to contend with cancer on multiple occasions. The first encounter occurred in 1992 when she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Suzanne fought through her diagnosis and treatment with valiancy and grace; she endured the horrible (and I mean HORRIBLE) side-effects of chemotherapy while raising three young children and working full-time. She did not show weakness. She did not waver. She did what she had to do and pulled through.

Momma Susie in the middle of breast cancer treatment after having my little sister Becky...
she looks amazing as usual!

Suzanne then spent several years cancer-free! Here are some of those highlights...

with her sweet little Ashley

Susie and Ray

with her best friend Norma

(who by the way has given a whole new meaning to the title "best friend")

A Spring Break trip to Colorado...Christopher and Mom

Mother and Daughter.... or Sisters?

Nothing like having a mom that looks 20 years younger than her actual age!

with her girls... and Elvis

with her sisters Sylvia and Priscilla, her mother Blanche and her aunts Gloria and Jessie

2006 was the year when things took a turn. In March of that year, Suzanne was diagnosed with Stage 3 ovarian cancer. The first course of action following this diagnosis was a major surgery which meant a complete hysterectomy, bowel resection and removal of cancer throughout her abdomen. She spent two long and grueling weeks in the hospital recovering from that surgery (hard for anyone, but especially hard for someone ready to go home on day 4). Following this surgery, Suzanne braved six months of chemotherapy while working full-time. For a few wonderful months following this treatment she remained cancer-free. Unfortunately though, that ugly cancer came back in her abdominal area and for the last two and a half years she has faced countless rounds of chemo and another major surgery to remove a large mass from her colon in early 2009 – all while raising her girls and still working full-time… I told you she was a warrior!

Some memories from 2006-2008:

arrival of grandson Benjamin in May 2006

Ashley's First Communion in 2007

Ben's 2nd Birthday party in May 2008

beautiful granddaugther Chloe's Dance Recital in 2008

with her newest granddaughter Madeline in September 2008

the annual trip to Chandler House nursing home to sing Christmas carols in 2008

(hands down, she's the best singer there every year :) )

Christmas 2008

And a few from 2009:

Becky's Confirmation

San Francisco in September

and Christmas

As of December 2009, we finally convinced my mom to stop working to focus completely on her health. She had just completed an unsuccessful round of experimental treatment at UT’s Cancer Treatment and Research Center and the pain and discomfort (misery really) was taking its toll.

Suzanne went back to her regular oncologist, Dr. Fred Massey, for further assessment and treatment. He put her back on chemotherapy with a drug that she had not previously used. After a month of receiving chemo weekly, word last week was a little discouraging - the drug is not working. Her CA 125 levels (a blood test that determines the level of cancer cells in your body) had gone from 1,700 to 2,180 in three weeks (normal is 0 – 35).


Last Thursday Suzanne received another round of chemo with a different drug and we’re all praying that this one works. You can imagine this journey has been arduous beyond measure and even though she still finds a way to smile and make us all laugh, we know that she’s going through more than what words can express.

I have started this blog as a journal to document my mother’s journey through the toughest days we’ve seen yet. Many of you reading have shown your genuine and incessant care and concern for her and so through this I hope to keep everyone better informed.

Additionally, so many of you ask how you can help. If you’ve ever had a loved one with cancer, you know that the ups and downs of this journey create challenges you’ve never imagined. There are just so many. For those of you that want to help, I will be doing my best to pass on our needs in subsequent postings.


Here’s what I think would be helpful right now: encouraging words, positive stories and most importantly - prayer. Scripture, quotes and stories of individuals who have overcome tremendous odds are all welcome here. Just leave them in the comments section or reply to strengthforsuzanne@gmail.com if you don’t want your post to be made public. My mom will be reading and contributing to this frequently so I want her to see, know and feel nothing but overwhelming energy and encouragement.



Thank you for reading! More to come soon….


Love,
Lauren