Wow...Praise Jesus!...but let's keep praying

Well, let me start today's post with Macy's good news....her number is 2!!!  For those of you who may not know what that means, we are talking about the level of hCG in her blood test.  Anything from 4 to 0 is considered 0 and means that the mass is gone and cancer is gone.  Last week, when she started the new chemo she was at 21.  Way back when all this started she was at 93,000!  Even when we thought this was gone about a month ago, the number was 8 and leveled off.  So for the first time she can say no cancer.  Thank you Jesus!

Now, where does she go from here?  We will be meeting with the doctor, as scheduled on Monday.  He has always said two treatments past zero.  We are hoping that maybe that will not be the case, but we will wait and see.  Macy is still dealing with the effects of the first treatment and will continue to until well after she is finally stopped with chemo.  So she still needs your prayers in that regard.  She is not officially in remission until further down the line and we are sure the mass doesn't grow back.  So we need prayers in that regard as well.

I can't tell you the emotional lift this was for Macy and for me.  And we are very excited and thankful.  But she and I are both cautious and know that this chemo still sucks and still will be hard and we are just ready to get her through this.  I am ready to not have to watch her suffer so much and for her to be healthy and strong.  And I know she is ready to just be healthy and back to her self.

So join us in our excitement and continue to pray as Macy goes through more chemo next week and help us get to the other side of this.  And let's pray this stays at 0 and stays gone.

Later...

Catching everyone up...

Well hello everyone!  We wanted to catch everyone up on what all has been happening.  Sorry, I am not as good at keeping you all in the loop as Macy is.  She will try to  blog soon.  But for now, it my job and I just don't do this thing well.  But enough about that....

So, Macy finished out the first treatment week of the new chemo and Friday night we both thought that maybe this wasn't going to be as bad as we thought.  They do a great job of taking care of her during the chemo and medicating her so that she can make it through.  But come Saturday, as the weeks medication wore off, the residual effect of the chemo began to take its toll.  Macy got very sick and we tried to keep her hydrated and but she basically spent all of Sunday in the bathroom or trying to get sleep and keep medication and liquids down.  Well that didn't work so to make a long and awful couple of days short...I took Macy to the hospital early on Monday and she was checked in and stayed overnight.  They gave her medication and fluids and Tuesday she was able to go home and try to get back to normal.

Macy is such a strong woman and has done an amazing job dealing with all this.  She definitely needs your continued prayers, especially as it comes to dealing with the weekends after treatment weeks.  Also, please pray that she doesn't have to do this chemo too long.  We need it to be effective and quickly.  It sucks to watch her go through this and I know it is so tough for her to go through.

Thanks again for all your support and for the food and prayers and help.  Want to especially say thanks to Dr. Lightfoot for coming down to the hospital at 6AM on Monday to help Macy feel so much more confident.  That was above and beyond and really helped a lot.  Thanks again to everyone for the help.

Love y'all and later...

Three down, only...

Just wanted to check in with everyone.  Macy had a tougher day today, but as always, she is a champ and continues to blow me away.  We have had a few more frustrating moments with our doctor/nurse, but Troy, the new chemo nurse is fantastic.  He really took care of Macy today and is great with an IV needle.

On a side note, Drake, our dog, is really worried about his Momma.  He knows something is not right with Macy and he is being so sweet.  But his Aunt Sara is doing a great job of taking him for runs.

We appreciate all the support and all the meals and especially all the prayers.  Let's knock this cancer out quick.

Meals....

Many have asked how to help Macy and Michael at this point and I got permission to update her blog with how.  A website has been set-up to help with meals.  You can go to www.takethemameal.com and enter her last name: Schultz and the password is 5479.  You can sign up for a night if you would like... Hope this helps.

Ever had a take home I.V.?

Well, it is Monday and we have lots of news.  We met with the doctor and after talking to him and hearing what he had to say, we decided to do the test and we also started chemo today.  We...who do I think I am...Macy started chemo today.  She is a champ!  The picture here is of Macy's new take home I.V.  Basically, this IV will stay in for a few days so she does not have to get stuck every day.  This chemo is given through the IV, rather than a shot. 

Macy will be doing chemo every day for a week and will then not have treatment the following week, and then will be back on for the following week.  We are hopeful that this will be a short term solution and will knock this thing out this time.

Please join with us in prayer.  We feel them and need them.  Thank you all so much for the support and help.  We are not sure how this chemo will be effect Macy.  Not sure how sick it will make her or what all the side effects will be.  This first week will tell us alot.  So far tonight, she is doing okay.

Thanks for checking up on Macy...and us!

What the...?

Well, Macy asked me to update everyone today.  It has been a crazy and somewhat confusing day.  On Monday, Macy went in for her check up and they took some blood just to make sure she was still on the right course.  Well, at about 8:30 AM today, she called me and was very upset.  The nurse called and said her number was back UP to 14!!  So, we had to go see the doctor and talk through the options.  So here is what we know...

Macy did a CT scan today to make sure the cancer is what it is and to just dot the "i" and cross the "t".  If all is "normal" and the number is still in that range, which the doctor expects, then Macy will be starting a new chemo treatment on Monday.  This chemo will be a little more intense and with more possible side effects.  Also, she will go in every day for a week to get the chemo and then will have a week with nothing, and so forth.  Again, once we reach the zero point, she will get about two more treatment weeks past that.

We don't know if this is same or new or what.  Basically, the false positive that was hanging at 7 or 8 seems to have not been right or for whatever reason Macy's cancer seems to be hanging on and fighting back.  So the doctor is going to a second bullet.

Please pray for Macy.  This was obviously a very emotional and hard day, but really, we just want her to truly be done and on the road to remission.  So pray that this agent does the job and does it quickly.  Pray that she gets to zero and that it stays gone.  And pray for her strength-emotionally, spiritually, and physically.

I love my wonderful wife very much and I admire her so much for how she has fought this fight and I am so awestruck at how God has worked in her life and in our marriage and in our family and family of friends.

Thank you for your prayers and support and love.