Hey guys, I haven't posted much lately. Laura is doing pretty good. She has good days and bad, but that is to be expected. She's getting around pretty good with little pain. We saw the oncologist a week ago. He told us, she will have to have alot of chemo. I asked him what is alot of chemo. He said, every 3 weeks and many many cycles. He had not determined what drugs to use at that time. So he couldn't tell us how long a cycle is. She starts chemo on Sept. 26. She will be getting almost twice the average dosage due to her age and overall good health. He told us, he wanted her to be able to resume a normal life as soon as possible. He's gonna run his own tests to determine exactly what we are dealing with. Her incision has opened up in 2 places and is having to be dry packed every 24 hours. Guess who is the lucky person who gets to do that. It is healing well though.
My Fire Department held a fundraiser for us today. They sold 600 hamburgers and raised $6500 for us. I was told a little while ago that checks were still being delivered. One thing really got to both of us. Her doctor and his nurse came out and wrote a $500 check. He keeps amazing us with his support and concern. We can't believe the support we have received both here at FnF and locally.
Thanks again guys,
Brian.
We will keep you in our thoughts and prayers wishing you and yours the best
Brian,
Thanks for the update. She sounds like a strong woman, but is going to need lots of support as well. Hang in there and your family will continue to be in my prayers.
Jerry
Prayers comin from WFD local 495 Brian.
sounds like Laura is doing better than expected :congrats: the Good Lord works miracles keep faith and you both will get through this with flying colors
in out thoughts and prayers
Ed
That great news Brian. :congrats:
Brian, Sounds like things are going in the right direction.
I will continue to keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers.
Chad
Thanks for the update Brian. Glad to hear ya have strong community backing ya up down there too. :congrats:
Thanks for the update Brian!! More Ohio prayers & Well Wishes are headed your way!! :biggrin:
Brian,
Hang tough and keep a positive attitude. We have been and will continue praying for ya'll daily.
Nelson
Good news. :congrats: And god willing, it will continue.
Pretty awesome feat accomplished by your brother firefighters there. It'd take a awful numb person to say that didn't put a lump in their throat.
Hang in there buddy....and remember you got a helluva team behind ya. :wink:
Sounds like a great fundraiser, and great support !
One step at a time. :thumb2:
Ya'll are still in our prayers.....
Joe
if its o.k. with you i will ask for laura to be put on our church's prayer list. even so i will pray for her and you.
Thanks guys.
Frshwtr, I don't mind at all. Thank you.
Brian.
Hey guys, we got some bad news today. The pathologist here got it wrong. Laura has been re-diagnosed with colon cancer instead of ovarian cancer. The oncologist in Little Rock said it makes things much worse than before. She will get treatments every 2 weeks instead of every 3, and it will be a much more aggressive treatment. He told me he couldn't promise anything at this point, but he would do his best to treat her. She had another CT last week, and it only showed a very small spot on her liver. Nothing else showed up anywhere. We are hoping that is all that's left. Once the oncologist sees the scans, maybe he will give us some better news.
Brian.
Brian,
We will hope for the best and keep praying for both of you and your family.
Nelson
Nothings changed..... you were setting your jaws for a fight before and your setting your jaws for a fight now. You had a bunch of good folks praying for ya before and they still are. You were planning on doing aggressive chemo treatments before and you still are. Sounds like you have good doctors and they are working the details of their part. You guys just have to stay focused on your parts. Attitude makes a big difference. Belief in success is fundamental. Fight the fight. You will succeed.
Brian,
Plus one to what Stu said. We are all thinking and praying for you and yours.
DD
Brian and Laura,
I think Stu hit the nail on the head. Hang in there. With my granddaughter, once the could put her under for the biopsy, they said that it was T-Cell lymphoma. Of course we wanted to know success rates and were told just over 90%. When we asked how Maddie looked compared to others we didn't get answers. We heard success stories and we hear heartbreak stories from other parents, but the doctors were pretty consistent in got giving overly optimistic reports. So just continue to fight on.
Jerry
Thanks guys.
Stu, thanks. That's what I told Laura. As bad as the oncologist laid it out, we won't know for sure how it will react until the chemo starts. It may easily get it under control. It may not. It just came as a surprise from the optimistic outlook we had already been given. Laura had a great state of mind in thinking positive, and now this news has kinda knocked her back some.
Brian.
Brian, sorry to hear this. Like I've told ya before, I'm not always the best with words, and I don't think I can say it much better then what Stu said. Sometimes with this stuff there can be a step or two back, as ya take a few forward. We'll do anything we can, and you guys are always in our thoughts and prayers. Scott
Thanks Stu!! :biggrin:
And Best of Luck Brian & Laura!! :biggrin: :biggrin:
Brain
Be strong and we are praying for your family.
man hang in there Brian and Laura the Good Lord works miricles every day and with all the prayers headed up there for you guys your in good hands
your both in our hearts thoughts and prayers
Ed
Prayers sent from Ga.
Jeb
The roller coaster effect has got to be draining you Brian. We'll pray this situations turns around, keep us posted.
Keep the faith, Brian. All things happen for a reason. Laura and you are in my prayers.
Semp
Brian & Laura, you will be in our prayers.
Prayers sent out from Moravia, Ny for you and Laura. May God be with you both in this time of sickness and may He speed recovery along.
Meridyth
Prayers sent from CO. Tell Laura we're all pulling for her here.
Brian: That is good sounding news. Sounds like she is going in the right direction, improving. I will start a prayer train for her that will reach over 30,000 people within a week. We have done this before, and it really helped a friend of mine's daughter and husband during a bad time. God bless!
Thanks guys.
I have had my hands full over the past few weeks. Laura is doing ok. We went this past Monday for chemo, but her blood counts were a little too low for treatment. So, we go back this coming Monday to try again. Her doctor said if they are still a little lower than normal, he is going to change her chemo to every 3 weeks instead of every 2. She had almost zero side effects with the first round of chemo, but the second round knocked her on her butt. She was down almost the entire 2 weeks. She has had a cold the entire time as well. The doctor said that could be the reason she had such a hard time with it and why her counts were still low. She is feeling much much better this week. Even to the point she is going to start driving again today. :yoyo: She had a head to toe CT scan. We got the results from it 3 weeks ago. She has a small pencil eraser size tumor in her liver and a lymph node the sits against her pancreas that is cancerous. Nothing else showed up. Just to be on the safe side, her ran a PET scan as well. The same 2 tumors showed up in it and nothing else. This is very good news. The only bad news is she is no longer a candidate for another surgery. The doctor said it would do her more harm than good to go in for 2 small tumors that far apart. He is very confident the chemo will kill it. It's just going to be a long road ahead to do it. She will have another CT in a month to see how the chemo is affecting the tumors. We've got our fingers crossed.
On another note, guys take a very good look at your health insurance policies. We are having a hell of time with her's. They are trying everything they can to not pay her bills. The original policy her old employer picked had a clause for pre-existing conditions. It says, Once we reach $1000 pay-out on any 1 condition, you have to provide a Certificate of Credible Coverage from your previous insurance provider, and there has to be less than a 63 day period between coverages to be considered a non pre-existing condition. We have provided them with the certificate, but they are dragging their feet now. Unitl they get their thumbs out of their asses, they have put a 1 year per-existing condition on her even though this was found during her surgery. Since her surgery, Laura's medical bills have hit the $260,000 mark and growing. Her chemo is $12,000 every 2 weeks, and he wants to add an additional chemo drug to speed up the process, and that will bump it to $22,000 every 2 weeks. Her doctor is aware of her insurance problems and is prepared to accept $10 a month for the rest of our lives, if he has to. He said she has to be treated, and he is going to be the one to treat her, no matter what her insurance company does. He got us approved for financial assistance, and the drug manufacturer said, they would cover the costs of the chemo drugs if her insurance company decided they wouldn't pay. I just wanted you to be aware of this little clause. If you were on a previous group health plan, you will need your group number, member number and coverage dates to get the certifcate from a previous provider. If your policy has this little clause, and you can't provide the certifcate or there was a longer priod between coverages, you are screwed if you have a problem. That clause is used to make the coverage cheaper for the employer. While it rapes the employee. So take a look at your policy. If the clause is there, get the certificate and fill out the paperwork before you have to go through all the headaches we have.
Thanks guys,
Brian.
:shck: at the cost .. but Glad to here theres alot of good things comming from the dr's :yoyo: your family is still in my thoughts and prayers thanks for the update ,
keep your chin up were all still pulling for ya both :congrats: :congrats:
Ed
1st off I'm very happy to hear the good news Brian!! I certainly hope this good snowball keeps right on rolling. :biggrin:
Thanks for the insurance heads up too. Best of luck with all of that stuff. It's encouraging to hear the Dr & the drug manufacturer are going to help out as well.
Just keep up the good fight & we are always here for ya!! :biggrin: :biggrin:
Glad to hear that Laura is feeling a little better. Insurance, you will get used to it because it will continue to be a problem. They will try to do whatever they can to keep from paying. As for the amount of your bill, it seems about par for the treatment. Maddie was over that amount before she made it out of the hospital the first time she was in. My daughter quit keeping track of the accumulated total pretty quickly. It just makes you feel bad. If the hospital has a social services worker, give them the insurance information and let them start working on the company. Sometimes they can say thinks or know things that most of us don't.
Jerry
Man! that is a lot of money :sad: It's sickening.
Great news on Laura, Brian :congrats: Thanks for the update
that is great news. I am glad she is getting there!!! That Doctor sounds awesome!!!
Tell her she is getting lots of prayers from NH.
What Drug company is gonna cover the Drug costs?
I ask because I work for a Major Drug Company.
Good new Brian! You guys hang in there! And take it one day at a time!
Brent
Thanks for the update Brian. That stinks having to fight with the insurance companies, and to deal with all the money issues on top of whats going on already.
I know the dollar amount itself could be overwhelming. Sounds like you have some great people workin with ya. Keep the faith buddy. Scott
Thanks for the update Bryan. Sure been wanting to hear from ya. :wink:
Keep truckin pard. My wife and I haven't forgotten about your family before we close our eyes at night.
Speaking of Insurance, the AFLAC rep was here this month for her annual speech about why we should purchase MORE insurance. On top of the accident plan that the wife and I already have in place, we picked up the cancer plan with you in mind. Again keep after it man, good things don't come easy.
Anything you need don't hesitate to ask.
Joey