Letter from Linda

Dear Friends and Family,

Thank-you all for your prayers, love and support!! I attribute my successful surgery to your prayers and the grace of Jesus Christ. I am doing a great job of healing and am very blessed because that is all I have to do right now - HEAL. My daughter, Katrina is my primary care-taker and in addition, has taken over most of the household duties that I used to do. Michael continues to work and provide health insurance, as well as providing more help around the house and the yard, now that spring is here.

I will start radiation and chemotherapy on May 18. The doctor wants to do 33 days of radiation, if I can tolerate it. I will definitely be doing 30 days of radiation – 5 days a week for 6 weeks. Katrina will be my chauffeur. I will be doing 3 chemo treatments; one in the week of May 18 and the following 2 will be every 21 days. I am going to get acupuncture during this time too, because we have heard that it may help the side effects of the treatments.

I will still need your prayers (and you all have such a great track record!). There is a chance that the radiation could affect partial or full vision in one or both eyes. PLEASE PRAY for success in eliminating my body of even the smallest cancer cells, while maintaining my vision. My job is a host home provider for a wonderful 39 year old woman named Shari. It is similar to being a foster parent, except for developmentally disabled adults. It is my passion and my ministry – I need to be able to drive in order to continue having Shari in our home.

Shari has lived with us since November, 2007. She is a part of our family and we all love and adore her! Katrina has become certified as a Host Home Provider, so that Shari can come back to our home. Shari has been in respite, since my first surgery on February 25, 2009. She moves back home this evening, Tuesday, May 12! We are all so excited to have her here. Please pray for Katrina (it was her idea and initiative) to be able to easily handle one more job. Shari is very high functioning and independent, and can be left alone for 6 to 8 hours. Shari is anxious to come home and “help out the family,” especially with our two dogs – Mabel and Reggie. (They were the initial reason Shari decided to move in with our family)

Thank you all for your grace, in understanding the infrequent updates. I was on meds every 4 hours when I came home. This is not good for getting into a deep sleep. Katrina slept in the room with me, in case I needed help. It has been a time of sleep deprivation for all of us. I would have been in assisted living if Katrina was not here to take care of me. The addition we completed this last summer, adding a main floor master with the handicapped accessible shower was a major factor in my being released from the hospital. (I did not think that I would need them for 25 – 30 years!)

Since my CA125 blood work came back negative, and the ultrasound tests were not suspicious looking, we are going to wait until August to remove the cystic mass on my ovaries. The only way to really tell if it is cancer, is to remove the ovaries and to biopsy them. Since we know that my sinus cancer is very aggressive, we are opting for the treatment to kill the known cancer first. We do not have a date set in August, but we will let you know as soon as we know.

The updates will probably be infrequent during the time of chemo and radiation. My chemo treatment is about 30 minutes north of us – at Good Samaritan Hospital, and my radiation treatment is located at St. Joseph Hospital in downtown Denver – about 30 minutes south of us. We will be in the car most of the days, and it is going to require a lot of energy – not only mine, but Katrina’s too. So I want to thank you all in advance for keeping all of us in your prayers, even if we do not have regular updates.

Much love and appreciation for all of you,

Linda H. Wogan

Long awaited update…

First, thank you all for your continued love and support during this long journey. Secondly, I am sorry for the delay with this update. Life has been a bit tiring lately. Once we had Linda home all the sudden we became responsible for making sure that she took her pain pills every 4 hrs. I, Katrina, went 10 days of interrupted sleep every 4-5hrs. All I can say is that I found out that I don’t operate at even half capability when sleeping so sporadically. For those who have called or emailed, I am truly sorry that I haven’t responded. I just didn’t have the energy or brain power to respond!

Even though Linda is now taking her pain pills every 6 hrs and she is now in charge of taking them herself…we have found that sleep is still VERY IMPORTANT! As a result when trying to reach us, PLEASE ONLY CALL ONE of our phone numbers and leave a message. We promise we will return your call when we have the energy. Also, PLEASE DON’T CALL BEFORE 1pm MST, because the phone ringing wakes Linda up. Thank you for your understanding. I know that you all love Linda and call out of concern, but this is what she is going to need in order to beat this!

As for an update:

It has been 3 weeks since Linda’s surgery. Linda has been home for 11 days. The first few days were all about getting settled, in a routine and sleep. Basically we were up every 4 hrs and the rest of the time was spent trying to sleep.

On Thursday the 16th Linda had an appointment with one of her nasal surgeons. Dr. Andrews said that Linda was doing fantastic and then proceeded to pick off portions of the scabbed over wound from the inside of her nose. Linda will keep on having an appointment to continue the removal of the scabs weekly until they are gone.

Linda had the staples removed from her head on Tuesday the 21st. She was very concerned that it would hurt. However, we were all pleasantly surprised when it was painless. Actually Linda barely felt anything. PRAISE GOD! She was so energized that after her appointment she wanted to go out to eat. This was the first time that Linda had been out to eat since before the surgery. Afterwards she still felt so fantastic that she insisted that we go shopping and get her a few new nightgowns. When Macy’s didn’t have what we were looking for she insisted that we go to Dillard’s. Even though she found what she wanted, she was on such a role that we also went to The Rack. It was a GREAT day!

Well, the next day Linda paid for her grand adventures. She was exhausted and fought her pain more than she had been, making her appointment with the OB/GYN that day a bit more challenging. It was our first meeting with her OB/GYN, Dr. Winters, to discuss the growths on her ovaries. It turns out that she has a mass on her left ovary that is just under 10cm/4in and also a smaller one on the right ovary. Dr. Winters ordered an ovarian ultrasound to get a better look. She is going to consult with another specialist from St. Joe’s. If they feel that the masses are suspicious there is a slim chance that they may move the 3rd surgery to remove her ovaries up to early May, before she starts chemo and radiation on May 18th. We should know more by the end of next, beginning of the following week.

Today was a very busy day. The afternoon started with Linda’s consultation with the oncologist. Due to the pathology they are recommending a very concentrated form of chemo. Basically he explained that SNUC tends to be more aggressive than other forms of nasal cancer. Because of that they are concerned that if they don’t completely eradicate it, that it will have a stronger chance of reoccurring then in other forms of nasal cancer. He is suggesting a six week cycle in conjunction with the radiation. Together he said that it should increase the potency of the radiation increasing our chances of destroying any cancer that may be remaining. Mother is so determined to live and only have to do this once that she said, “Let’s do it!”

All day Linda has been fighting pain more than usual. This is because they are trying to switch up her pain medicine. This made for a very interesting day/evening. Our day concluded with a 9:30pm appointment for her ovarian ultrasound. It was quite the adventure, as Linda had to drink 32oz of water an hour prior to the appointment and had to HOLD IT. :o/ What a trooper! She did it!! Yet once we were home her pain was so severe that she was crying. Linda has gone back to her other pain pills and we are praying they will enable her to a restful night’s sleep!

This weekend is all about resting up for another round of doctor’s appointments next week. I promise the updates will continue, just at a slower pace as I have the energy. After all Linda is my main focus at the moment. Thank you again for your love, support and prayers during the marathon of a journey!!

PRAYER REQUESTS: That God would guide Linda, our family and the doctors in how to proceed with the 3rd surgery, helping us to prioritize what is truly important/life threatening. That God would COMPLETELY ERADICATE ALL THE CANCER FROM HER ENTIRE BODY!! That God would give our family the STRENGTH to run the MARATHON BEFORE US!! That Linda would NOT be WEAKENED by the chemo and radiation! FOR GOOD HOLY REST/SLEEP!!!!!! Lots of it! And of course, however else the Lord may guide you.

Linda is Home! :o)

Linda came home this evening after 11 days in the hospital. 5 of those days were spent in ICU. We have had two very busy days…thus the lack of updates. We are all very tired, but doing well. I will do my best to have a complete update posted by tomorrow evening.

Thank you again for tremendous love and support during this challenging time!!

Slowly, steadily, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled…Habakkuk 2:3

It was a great day! There isn’t much to report. Linda once again had a challenging night, mostly because she was congested. However she faced the morning with great energy. After every meal she walked around her hospital unit, even stopping to go up and down a set of physical therapy stairs in one of the waiting rooms. Other than during her nap, Linda spent the day in her chair. She even enjoyed a Third Rock from the Sun marathon on TVLand. Man were we laughing! :o)

Linda had a good day when it came to pain management. She took at set of her pain pills around 9:30am and didn’t feel the need to take more until around 7:30pm. This is HUGE!! Linda wasn’t bearing through it, rather her pain although severe at times is lessening. PRAISE GOD!!

Once again tonight her temperature was 99.6 at 8pm. Thank you for continuing to pray that her temperature would consistently be normal! That her pain would continue to diminish to nothing! For her restoration back to remarkable health!

Love to you all! May you all have a Blessed Passover and a very Happy Easter!!

Oh what a difference a week makes!!

This morning Linda called the house to let us know that she had a tough night. In the middle of the night she said that it sounded like a rubber band snapped in her eye. Linda also started to have localized pain in different parts of both of her eyes. As a response her doctors ordered a CAT Scan. Within a couple of hours her nasal, eye & neurosurgeons all had read the CAT Scan and said that it look normal.

It was another big day for Linda. Besides the CAT Scan, Linda got to take her first shower and washer her hair since the surgery one week ago today. She was so happy to be clean and to have clean hair! Linda also spent the majority of the day in her chair.

Linda took a long siesta this afternoon. Once again she ate a very hearty dinner. After dinner she got out of her chair and literally walked around her unit. She was so cute. She is still experience extreme eye sensitivity, so she wore her sunglasses the majority of the day and on her walk this evening. SO PRECIOUS!!

This evening however her temperature once again is in the 99.something range. She is also becoming a bit congested. The nurses think it because of the dryness in the hospital…so they have put her back on oxygen that is humidified.

Please pray that her temperature would continuously be normalized! That her sinus would be draining properly, so that she can be getting the deep breaths she needs to fend off pneumonia! That her pain would be minimal to non-existent! That she would continue to be restored to miraculous health!

Blessings!

Linda is out of ICU!!

A day filled with much activity. They removed Linda’s two remaining IV’s and her catheter. She once again spent 2 hours of her morning in the chair. Rested and then walked around the ICU a bit. Then it was moving time. Once we arrived in her new room Linda spent another 1 ½ hours in the chair.

This hospital is AMAZING!! Linda’s new room has a BEAUTIFUL view of the Flatirons…it makes spending our days in the hospital as enjoyable as they possible could be. :o)

With the move out of ICU, Linda is now completely off of oxygen and all the monitoring devices. Every couple of hours the nurse comes and takes her vitals. It feels very different. A good different, yet there is that part of me, Katrina, that doesn’t like not being able to look up at anytime to see her vitals. Oh well, it’s ultimately a good thing!

As for tonight, she had a hearty dinner…at least by the standards of this week. Since she had such a huge day, she is very tired and has been resting ever since.

At about 8:30pm her temperature was 99.somthing. I know it’s not a large temp, but please continue to pray that her temperature would be consistently stable!

One of Linda’s neurosurgeons is going to be removing the staples in Linda’s head on Monday. As of today, they are saying that we will most likely get to take her home Monday. :o)

Please continue to pray for her pain. As the swelling goes down Linda is starting to experience new pain in her face and head. For a continued rapid healing! As previously mentioned, that her temperature would be consistently stable!

Thank you!

Another GREAT Day!

Linda had a GREAT Day! One of her nasal & one of her neurosurgeons dropped by…they are so happy with her progress that they have signed off to have Linda moved out of ICU. Now all we need is her main nasal surgeon, Dr. Chung to sign off and we will be moving to a different unit. Once we are out of ICU we are hoping to have her out of the hospital and home by Easter. It truly would be the finest Easter gift ever!

Linda spent two hours this morning sitting in her chair, followed by a two hour nap. Around 3pm they got Linda in her chair again for another 30mins, followed by brushing her teeth and a walk around the ICU. She was SO cute. She was talking to all the nurses and making everyone laugh. She even did this without the aid of any oxygen. After all that exertion Linda was ready for another nap. Then it was time for dinner. Linda has eaten more today then another day. She even ate meatloaf with mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, a small bowl of strawberry’s and of course a bit of vanilla milkshake for dinner.

This evening when I stepped out for a bit, Dr. Dragon Linda’s eye doctor dropped by to test her vision. Dr. Dragon couldn’t believe it, but Linda’s vision is better than it was before the surgery. We have been told not to get too excited, because the pressure around her eye is most likely altering the shape of her eye allowing her to see better. The doctors say that it will most likely go back, however we BELIEVE that God can do ANYTHING!! :o)

Tonight as I have been sitting by Linda’s bedside typing this, Linda requested that I include her following thoughts: She wants everyone to know that “to KNOW JESUS, is to KNOW PEACE. You will have PEACE if you allow God into your life, especially during trials and tribulations!” She thanks you all for your prayers and PRAISES GOD for the miracle of this week, for being cancer free and the continued HEALING process!

As I get ready to leave for the evening we PRAISE GOD that Linda’s temperature is a wonderful 98.1! :o)

In Gratitude!
XOXO’s