Sophie's World

03/02/2010

2010-03-02T22:58:56Z

5:00 PM CST: It's been quite an exciting time here lately! Sophie had her 3-month oncology checkup yesterday and all was well.

In addition to my recent illnesses I described in my last update, I've been having some issues with my heart as well. Unexpected rapid heart rate (over 200 BPM), usually in the morning while already standing up. I went to a cardiologist, who diagnosed me with supraventricular tachycardia and put me on a blood pressure medication (Cardizem) that regulates the heart rate) after some testing. My issues contninued, but the cardiologist said I need to give the medicine some time to get in my system. On a Friday two and half weeks ago, I had an episode that wouldn't stop, and I ended up going to the ER, where they were able to get it under control. The cardiologist suggested doubling the medication dose and wanted me to come back that week. When I went on Thursday, he said he wanted to do an angiogram first (to rule out blockage) and then an ablation (to destroy the nerve that creates an extra electrical pathway, causing the heart to beat too fast). The angiogram (Friday a week and a half ago) went well, and the doctor said I have Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, which the ablation should definitely fix. I went in on Friday for the ablation, which is normally an outpatient procedure, but they wanted me to stay overnight because of the distance between hospital and home. Due to some complications (unexpected bleeding and low blood pressure), I ended up staying two nights. I wasn't happy about that, but I definitely needed the extra day. I've been resting at home and am getting back on the computer today (tried to work, but it was a bit too much).

The girls both got their report cards on Friday and did well, and they both seem healthy and happy (though a bit worried about me). Randall is also doing well.

We appreciate your continued thoughts and prayers.

Is anyone still reading this, or have you given up on us??

Love,
Susan

02/09/2010

2010-02-10T03:39:47Z

9:40 CST: Randall is now on his third of three trips, and this one has been a bear. His flight to Dallas was delayed, and then he found out in Dallas that hsi flight to Little Rock was cancelled. He got rerouted to a different airport, which meant that his pre-paid rental car at the original airport did him no good (and he lost that money). No rental cars available at the new airport, so he took a shuttle. There is still no sign of his luggage, so after wearing yesterday's clothes all day today, he is headed to Walmart to buy necessities (and a new suitcase).

Meanwhile, I've come down with bronchitis and am really having trouble with my lungs. I have asthma, so i can usually take an inhaler, but I'm also having some issues with tachycardia (looking into that with a cardiologist, and we think it's getting under control), so the albuterol isn't really a good option right now. After two shots in a place I won't mention, and several prescriptions, I'm hoping I'm going to be feeling better soon.

The girls are well. As reported on facebook, yesterday I dealt with one child who lied about being sick so she could come home from school early (Lizzy, who didn't feel well, but she wasn't that bad), and another child who apparently has a boyfriend (Sophie, who came home yesterday and drew a picture of a boy named Trace).

Until next time,
Susan

2/5/2010

2010-02-05T23:09:13Z

5:00PM CST: Randall is on his second of three trips out of town, and we're surviving, but we sure do miss him! Everyone is doing well, in spite of the recent snow storms. We haven't lost power, thank goodness, and the kids only had to miss a little school.

Lizzy got 4th place in the mid-high spelling bee yesterday, which included 6th-8th grade. She lasted the lost longest among the 6th graders, but she doesn't get to go on to the next level (only the top 3 do). I was really proud of her though! Her losing word: luxury. Maybe it's a good thing that she's not familiar enough with that concept to know how to spell it!

1/19/2010

2010-01-19T22:27:41Z

4:30 CST: This is Lizzy. Sophie is fine; she is "working on her DS". (Translation from Susan: Sophie is playing a game on her Nintendo DS.) Butters (Translation from Susan: our dog Butterscotch) is being sweet. So are the cats (Update from Susan: We have three cats now!).

Grammy (Susan's mom) is here, and Sophie and her are going to make deviled eggs. I am about to go to dance class.

We have gotten all A's this semester, so we are doing fine. I think she is very smart. Daddy is resting his eyes, mama is working, and I am worrying about a big project that's due on Friday.

01/02/2010

2010-01-02T16:04:33Z

10:00 AM CST: Happy New Year! We have had a wonderful holiday and hope the same for you. Randall's mom Karin visited us during Christmas, and it was so great having her here. The 24th was a busy say for Randall, since he was preparing a worship service for that night, but we tried to celebrate his birthday as well. Christmas day was wonderful. Sleeping in (a little bit!), opening gifts, and just having a relaxed day. We tried to make a pot roast, but it was a little dry. I ended up dicing it and cooking the living daylights out of it until it was much more tender and made a green chile stew out of it.

Karin went home on Monday, and we've had a lazy week. Have gotten some work done, but mostly have spent lots of time together, doing things around the house and waiting for the snow to melt so we can ride our new bikes.

On New Year's Eve, we let the girls stay up until midnight (east coast time!). The girls finally got to ride their bikes for a little while yesterday, but we haven't taken ours out yet.

My mom comes to visit on the 15th, so we're going to leave the tree up so she can see it (we invested in a nice artificial one a few years back, so don't worry about us burning the house down!).

All is well with us health-wise. Sophie and I both got glasses (she picked hers up several weeks ago, and mine are ready to be picked up next week). Here's a picture of her wearing her new glasses. I've been having hip pain for several years (when walking extended distances), and I finally got an MRI. Turns out I have some kind of a cyst that may be causing the pain, so I'm arranging an appointment with an orthopedist. Randall and Lizzy are doing well, as always. Hope you are too!

12/10/2009

2009-12-10T18:38:28Z

12/10/2009, 12:40 PM CST: So sorry we haven't updated in such a long time! We're all doing well

Sophie is meeting with the oncologist every 3 months now, and she ahd a checkup last week. Everything looked great, and her doctor told us that after two more appointment (in June), Sophie will go from being considered "in remission" to being "cured"! We were so thrilled to hear that! The other big news on Sophie since our last update is that apparently she inherited her father's eyes. With 20/70 vision in both eyes, she is now the proud wearer of glasses. We just picked them up on Tuesday (12/8), so no pictures yet, but we'll try to post some soon! She's having a good year in the second grade and is enjoying dance class and piano lessons this year. Favorite activities: reading and playing on the computer.

Lizzy is in 6th grade (middle school!) and is having a good year. The school has a mandatory band program (which I think is great), and she plays clarinet. She's learning quickly and loves music. She is also still taking dance and piano lessons. She has a spiffy new cell phone, and she loves to wear "Hollister" shirts just like the other kids her age. She's a good, sweet kid.

Randall and I are both doing fine. We still like living in our little town and hope the Bishop lets us stay a little longer. I've been traveling a lot for work and meetings lately (six weeks in a row if you count driving to Randall's sister's house for Thanksgiving). But it's winding down now, thank goodness.

Happy Holidays!

9/3/2009

2009-09-04T02:06:39Z

8:00 Central time: Hello everyone! Sophie had her oncology checkup earlier this week, and everything looked great. I didn't get to go with her because I had a work meeting I couldn't miss, but Randall said there were no problems. Always a relief!

The girls are in their second week of school--Lizzy in 6th grade and Sophie in 2nd. They both like school a lot and were eager to get back. Lizzy has already had three teachers tell her she needs to be more organized. Sigh. She doesn't get that from us, so it either comes from an earlier generation, or she's already rebelling against her parents' nature!

Lizzy began playing clarinet this week. Band is mandatory for 6th grade (which I think is great). She wanted to play mallets, but apparently about 20 kids wanted to play, and she didn't do as well in the tryouts (rhythmically speaking) as some others. The director told Lizzy he was low on clarinets this year, and when he heard that she already had one at home (Randall used to play), he encouraged her to choose that. (I was hoping for the tuba, of course!) She's practicing as I type! Both girls will also start piano lessons next week. It will be Sophie's first time with formal music lessons, so we're excited about that!

Otherwise all is well. Thanks for checking in with us!

7/7/2009

2009-07-08T00:00:28Z

6:00 PM Central time: It has been too long since our last update. The page was blank again! Now that we are only going to the oncologist every 3 months, there isn't too much to report. But perhaps you are wanting to know how things are in our normal lives.

Well, it's the summer, so the girls are in a day camp every day. They're actually out of the house more in the summer than they are in the school year! They are also both taking tennis lessons this summer (twice a week for 30 minutes each). Lizzy is at church camp up in the mountains this week, so Sophie is enjoying some increased attention from us (which is mostly a good thing, but not always, right?).

Here are some dance pictures of the girls (I think this will work):

Lizzy

Sophie

I hope everyone is having a great summer!

06/01/2009

2009-06-01T23:43:36Z

5:45 Central time: Well, it's been two years since Sophie's last treatment, and she is officially still cancer-free! She had her every-other-month checkup today, and the blood test came back with perfect results. We knew she was fine, of course, but it's nice to have the proof! Randall and I both took her, and it was nice having some time together. I managed to get work done on the way there and back while Randall drove. We get satellite radio recently, so that make the 100 mile trip more interesting! The pediatric oncology clinic moved to a different hospital building (Covenant Lakeside, for those familiar with Lubbock), so it was a bit of an adventure finding the new office, but we were only a few minutes late, and the exam room had a lovely view of the lake. Now that we're this far out from treatment, she only has to go back every three months, so that will be nice.

The girls are both doing well. The last day of school was Friday, and today they started summer camp (a day camp at First UMC in Clovis). Sophie didn't get to stay because of the doctor visit but was happy to recognize a friend from last year when we dropped Lizzy off.

Our other big news--huge milestone--is that Randall will be ordained in the United Methodist Church Friday night. He began exploring a call to ministry 13 years ago, and it was exactly 7 years ago that we moved to North Carolina with a 3 year0old and 2-month old so that Randall could go to seminary at Duke. Four more years of school and two churches later, here we are! After he is ordained we will stay at this church as long as they will let us, and I think the only difference anyone will see is that he gets to wear a stole with his robe now! I'm sure there are other important things that will change, but that's probably the most visible! I can't wait for the ceremony Friday night--several family and friends will be there to celebrate with us!

If you're on facebook, check out the pictures I posted of the girls from ballet class. If you're not on facebook, what are you waiting for??? http://www.facebook.com/

04/06/09

2009-04-07T03:52:43Z

9:52 pm (TX time) Just a quick update to post that Sophie had a doctor's visit today that went very well. I confess that when Sophie was a little under the weather a week or two ago, I began to worry--she had a sinus infection, an ear infection, and a sore throat. She seemed pretty run down and tired for a couple days at a stretch. I was thankful that we were within a week or so of a doctor's visit to check on her counts. Of course, she perked right back up and her counts came back perfect today. She's strong and growing and doing very, very well. I took some pleasure in knowing that her next appointment won't be until June, when we'll move to seeing the doctor every three months. Hard to believe we have come this far already!

Lizzy is doing well too--she's losing teeth at what seems to be breakneck speed (two in the last week). The latest came out during worship on Sunday. No comment from her preacher father.

Thanks for checking in!

03/30/2009

2009-03-30T14:37:01Z

8:30 AM (Central time): Well, it's Monday morning, and I'm just ready to face work yet. Randall left this morning to drive to Las Cruces for a meeting with some other pastors. He comes back late tomorrow. Lizzy cried when he left (she is *so* tender-hearted). The girls and I had a very relaxed morning until I realize that the reason it seemed like we had so much time is that my watch had stopped. Yikes! Luckily, we were ready to go, and it was only 8:01, so they weren't late. But I think I need to go shop for a battery.

We had quite a bit of snow on Friday, so they cancelled school. The girls were home, and Randall stayed home too. It was so hard to motivate myself to work, but I did manage to get quite a lot done, and I feel like I'm in good shape today (which is partly why I'm piddling around now instead of working!).

The weekend was absolutely filled with church activities. We had a clean-up day most of the day on Saturday, and it was very satisfying to have so many people and getting so much accomplished. Then we were lucky enough to have both girls spend the night with one of Sophie's friends (who had spent the night with us the night before), so we had a quiet house to ourselves and were able to get ready for church in total peace. We had a great worship service at church on Sunday. Attendance was good, so everything just felt very vibrant. We had lunch with three other families, went to a wedding shower, then Bible study, out to dinner again, and then home to get those girls in bed. They went right to sleep (wonderful!).

Update from our last post: Sophie is over her illness. Lizzy brought home a progress report that did *not* have straight A's, so our excitement over the last report card was short-lived. Maybe it's just fifth grade? Ugh.

3/18/09

2009-03-19T03:30:05Z

9:30 PM (CDT): So it's spring break here for our kids, which has been nice. Randall's sister Sabine is visiting. She and I had a little weekend trip for just the two of us in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and she drove back with me Monday night. She's been hanging out with the kids during the day while Randall and I try to work (wishing we were hanging out with her too), then we talk the night away. Unfortunately, she heads home tomorrow, and we will really miss her.

Sophie came down with a pretty yucky cold over the weekend. Today when she said her throat hurt and she might have strep (which is going around), we decided we had better send her to the doctor. Sabine took her, and Sophie has an ear infection and sinus infection. She is on antibiotics, a high-powered cough syrup, and a nebulizer. Poor kid. I hope it gets better soon. She seems pretty miserable, but at least she's not missing school.

Other than that we're all doing well. Lizzy now has glasses (in addition to braces--she's getting to be an expensive kid!), and both girls got straight A's (finally!) during the last grading period. Randall is being ordained in June (have we reported that on here yet?), so we're excited about that.

We are very thankful for our friends and family who continue to keep up with us and pray for us. Come join facebook.com if you are hankering for more frequent updates. We're both on facebook nearly every day, and it's a great way to reconnect and catch up with people!

02/09/09

2009-02-10T03:54:39Z

9:54 PM (TX time) Sophie had a follow-up appointment with the Oncologist in Lubbock today and that went well. Everything continues to look good as far as her blood counts go. Her reflexes have still not returned (the old hammer on the knee test), but that is the result of all the vincristine Sophie took in treatment. Her range of motion in her feet is fine, though, so we'll continue to expect improvement in her reflexes (they're actually better now than they were).

The most hopeful news was that our oncologist says that she has not seen a relapse after 20 months post-treatment, which is exactly where we are. Of course, Lubbock is not Chapel Hill as far as the volume of kids that are seen, but it was yet another small and encouraging milestone in this journey.

01/26/09

2009-01-26T16:51:08Z

Monday, 1/26/09, 11:00 AM (CST): Well, it's been a while, hasn't it? How embarrassing! We're all doing great, and we're still totally addicted to facebook, so we've been ignoring our little blog lately. We'll try to do better!

We had good holidays. We were home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Our family took a rip to Clarksville/Nashville right before Christmas to visit Randall's family (and for me to take Randall to a concert in Nashville). That was a quick, but fun, trip. We also took a week-long trip to Disney World a few days after Christmas. We were there from 12/30 through 1/5. That was fun, but exhausting. And it was SO crowded!

My mom came to visit last week and headed home this morning. She was able to be here for about a week and half, and we are really going to miss her. We were both incredibly busy working, so we didn't get to spend as much time with her as we would have liked, but she was a huge help with the kids, and they loved spending lots of time with her.

We've had some deaths to grieve during the last few months--good friends and Randall's cat of 18 years. But our health is good. Sophie's next oncology check-up is February 9.

Well, perhaps that's enough of an update to at least make our front page look not quite so blank. Thanks to everyone who has faithfully checked the web site! We'll try to do better....

10/30/2008

2008-10-30T17:40:59Z

11:41 AM (Central time): Looks like it might be time for a new update. Our page was blank! All goes well with us. Randall and I have been traveling more than we like, but I think that will calm down soon. I got in from a trip last night, and Randall left the same morning. Our cars briefly co-existed in the airport parking lot, even if we personally didn't get to share the same space.

The girls are doing well and are excited about Halloween. We finally got our decorations out last weekend, and we have costumes ready to go. Elisabeth is going to be a witch (her own idea, and she came up with all the props so that all we had to buy was a hat). Sophie will be Lizzy's black cat. We got her a headband with ears and a tail to attach to black clothes. I hope it won't be too cold outside. It always seems to be especially chilly on Halloween night.

I have been having some back pain, and am starting to learn some possible causes. They have discovered through an x-ray that I have scoliosis (an odd thing to have diagnosed for the first time at my advanced age), and there is some associated narrowing and degeneration that is likely causing the pain. I will see a physical therapist next week, and will visit with a neoruologist whenever they can find me an opening. Meanwhile, I have never had a baseline mammogram, so I will have one next week, and I'm also having a follow-up CT scan to check on some spots on my lung and liver that showed up in a scan from last year (when they hadn't yet figured out that my chest pain was not a heart attack or an embolism but turned out to be pleurisy). So I will be spending a lot of time in medical appointments next week.