Prayer

Yesterday Boo came down with a fever. Nothing else wrong just very hot and tired.

We gave her Tylenol and watch the fever bounce between 100.7 to 103.2 to 102 to  101.

No normally a fever isn't a real big deal but it could be deadly to Nat with her chemo so I was worried all day.
Last night as Boo and I went to bed she asked if we could have prayer. So we went out with Mom and had a prayer.
She then went to sleep.
I have to admit I hit my knees several more times before morning.
I also went out and stuck a look and quick touch of Nat's head asleep on the couch to make sure she was breathing and not hot.

Glad to report Boo's fever has broken and all is well.

I should have hollered at a neighbor and just given Boo a blessing yesterday but I was so involved with non stop calls for work.
Good news on that front is at 6pm last night My main client signed the new contract, so I got work for the next 5 years hopefully.

So grateful for prayer and the peace it brings. 

Miss Big Helper

This is a picture from a couple of weeks ago but it still rings true

Boo is such a help to her mom! (Well most of the time)
She loves to help with the was changing loads from washer to dryer even if she does need to use a stool to get to the bottom of the machine.
Sometimes I think she may get stuck in there.

So grateful for this little helper.

Good Weekend. Family is the center!

We started the Weekend by going up to see my dad at the Veterans home where he is staying.
We were able to be there with my Mom and sibling as well as 2 of my nephews.

 

I go up every Tuesday afternoon for a bit to sit and talk with him. While I really don't enjoy the drive I am grateful for this man whom I call father!

 

Then we went to lunch and shopping then came home and while Nat rested from being out all morning Boo and I went out front. She did not want to be in the house. It was hot and bright.

I told her to put on a hat so she grabbed my big floppy one. Soon however she was complaining about the hot sun on her back.

We figured this umbrella would do the job.

 

 

Then Sunday we went to the blessing of grandchild number 6!

 

What a fun time. We were able to see family and even Cody showed up which was nice.

Too bad Misty had to stay home with a sick Addy but her cake pops were great.

 

 

 

Family is the center of my world! They are why I am who I am as well as why I do what I do most of the time.

 

Finding Dory and feeling Tired!

The last few days have not been good for Nat. She feels like it is next week already.
She didn’t have her couple of days feeling ok before the truck hit her. It seemed that her nausea and tiredness and tingles hit Thursday.
She missed Church on Sun and today was feeling lousy.
We had already made plans to go see the new Disney movie with all the Seabury’s.
As we were driving over Nat felt really bad, in fact so much so that she had what Maggie calls Chemo Brain. This basically means one of 2 things, either Mommy can’t remember things well or that she is extremely short tempered.
This has happened a few times but Boo has been a trooper and as Nat is venting she just looks at me like It’s ok dad I know it’s chemo brain.
Well we got into the movie and sat there.
I was feeling mad and sorry for myself.
I was so tired of not having my wife back
Not having good days at work
Not being able to do anything right it seemed
Just having my own pity party.
Then I heard something I haven’t heard in quite a while and I started to cry from being so happy.
My wife’s laugh filled the air. Not just a chuckle but her fun filled, full of life laugh that I have missed so much.
I was called to instant repentance and told myself to man up and shut up.

So grateful for this.

So grateful that I have my wife\best friend to laugh with me
So grateful for what a great mom she is to Boo
Life is good, we will get through this together.

 

A very sick BIrthday

Well today is Nats 42^nd birthday and she feels like a semi-truck has run her over.

Not only is her nausea there but the tiredness and the tingling are in full force and she just wants to sleep.
So Boo and I are letting her do just that.
The last few days have been worse than last go round, but the Dr said it might be this way. Hard thing is that everyone reacts differently to Chemo.
I guess the effects are worse since the Chemo never fully gets out of her body before she gets hit with another dose.
So grateful we only have 3 left.
So grateful for Nats positive outlook even when I am not so bright and cheery

Little MErmaid

Well tonight we sat through 2 hours of little mermaid themed dancing just to watch my granddaughter dance for 5 minutes.

It was worth it to see her smile after the program and knowing that Papa and Nanny but most importantly Aunt Maggie was there to see her dance.
I am not sure who had a worse night Nat on my right side feeling bad and hurting or the very pregnant lady on my left that could not get comfortable at all.
So grateful for my hug I got after the program as well as for Nat being trooper

Chemo Round 4

Well today was not the best. It started out by Nat and I staying up till 2:30 talking about her worries and concerns.
She announced to me that she was done with Chemo. I said don’t think it works that way.
She was just tired of it all and was not looking forward to the morning.
It started off as usual of us going to get Nat’s blood drawn. It seemed to be taking quite a long time and they had pulled the curtain to the area so me sitting across the hall could only hear what was going on.

I had a lady sit next to me acting really nervous, she said it was her first time there and she was worried.I told her they were great and there was nothing to worry about.

Just then Nat came out from the curtain with her arm bandaged in 3 different places.
Without thinking I blurted out “What the hell did they do to you?”
The lady next to me moaned and got worried all over again.
I then told her no really they are good here and not to worry.
Turns out they had trouble hitting a vein just like Nat had been afraid of earlier that morning.
We then went into the room to talk to the Chemo team.
Now when I say team it is moving parts. Nat has the same main Dr and Nurse but since this is a teaching hospital we first get to meet with an intern or fellow then with the main Dr and the intern then they leave and the Nurse wraps everything else up and makes sure we are good.
I love our nurse, she is so caring and so concerned with us.
Once Nat said she was a bit tired of all this the Nurse asked if we wanted to talk to a social worker.
Well the rest of the treatment was good.
Nat is asleep on the couch and not feeling her usual self tonight.

I know I will be up sneaking a check on her but so grateful she is in my life and is my best friend.

Great 9 year olds

I have to say that this week has been the best one for Nat. She has felt wonderful and almost normal. Well as normal as you can without hair and slight tingle in your hands and feet and a bit of nausea.

SO grateful for that.
Also grateful for my Primary class. They are 9 years old and I teach with a great co teacher.
These kids are so on top of things. In fact we don’t do the games or “fun” type of things in the manual, we just open the scriptures to where we are covering and start to read and talk about what we are reading and what it means to them.
They are still 9 years old at times. One boy looked confused when one of the Presidency came in to have the kids write on hearts so they could do a heart attack to Sister Bradford’s door since she has cancer.
He said. My mom showed me her picture on face book without any hair but I saw her today and she has hair now…I replied “It’s a miracle! To which he said “No I don’t think so. Must be a wig”

So grateful for this class and the way they look at life.

 

Chemo Round 3

Round 3 is over. We are half way!

Nat’s treatment went without any problems. Other than her having to be poked and jabbed with a needle and toxic chemical pumped into your body…

Mother's Day with a Mask

Nats side effects this time around have been interesting and not in the best way.
She has chemo on Wed for Thurs thru Sat she feels ok,
Come Sunday she starts to feel very tired and nausea as well as this tingling in all her nerve endings fire off.
I so wish I could do something to take it all away.
Friday night Boo said she wasn’t feeling the best.
Saturday morning she had a fever.
Now a fever in our house with a chemo patient is not a good thing. In fact it could put Nat in the hospital or even kill her.

I took Boo over to Insta care and the Doctor checked her out and said nothing she could see that was causing the fever and that it was probably just a simple virus.

I asked the Dr to test for strep to which she looked at me and started to say that it was not needed but I interrupted her and just said.

Her mom is in Chemo
The Dr smiled and said ok let’s do a test.
Well the test came back negative so we went home with a few masks for Boo to wear when around Nat and instructions to keep doing Tylenol and watch the fever as well as hand washing etc.
So For Church Nat felt extremely tired and Boos was still running a fever.
I had to go teach my Primary class so I told Boo to stay in one end of the house and Nat in the other and I would hurry back as fast as I could.
Well it was heartbreaking to see Boo put on the surgical mask in order to give her mom a hug for mothers day.
At 9 at night we got a call from the clinic telling us that a more through test for strep that the DR had done showed that Boo in deed had Strep Throat and that they had just called a prescription for medicine into a 24 pharmacy that was near by.
I just got back from there.

Not happy that they were not on our insurance but due to the lateness on a Sunday night I just paid full price.But I am grateful that the Dr did a test and even a more in depth test so we were able to catch this early before Boo got worse.

It goes without saying that I think I will be up a lot tonight sneaking into check on Nat and if she has even the slightest hint of a fever.

 

Chemo Round 2

Needless to say I did not sleep well last night.
We are here at Huntsman having Nats round 2.
We started off by having her get blood drawn to send to the lab.
Then met with her Chemo Dr
Then over to infusion to get her hooked up to the machines.
 I was a bit vocal on making sure the nurse all knew what happened last time. In fact I think Nat got a bit upset with me but she didn’t have to look at herself turning purple.
We are almost at the end of the treatment and so far so good.
She is a real trooper and I am so proud of her.
I am so grateful for her Dr and all the team we have here.
Also grateful for the love and prayers from family and friends.
Also grateful that the lunch room at Huntsman has good food.

She looks good

She looks spunky

Well Nat got tired of her hair falling out whenever she touched it, so tonight with all the Seaburys gathered round she had her sister shave her head.

The little kids thought it was so fun!

I have to admit I think she pulls the look of well.

She did go and buy a really nice wig to wear for Church and when we go out.

So grateful to a great neighbors who are always thoughtful.

Good things small packages

Well with all that has gone on all week it was a fun time to go and babysit 3 of my grandkids while their mom went to the hospital to have their younger sibling.

No one knew if it was a boy or girl so it was a fun time to go to the hospital to find out. (Well I knew right after since my son in law goofed on a text to me.

Me: How is Jo Doing?

Josh: Great she is feeding her right now

Me: Do you realize what you just said?

Josh: Crap! Don’t tell the kids!!!

 

Grandchild #6 is a girl and she is perfect to us of course.

Also we had my uncle’s graveside service yesterday. I am grateful I got to see cousins that I have not seen in a couple of years.

 

I am grateful for my siblings sand mother shown here:

 

Random Flowers and Death in family

 

Awoke this morning (after a so so night of not sleeping, I seemed to have to check on Nat and that she was still breathing all throughout the night, so much so that she told me to stop) and walked out to the car to be greeted by flowers planted in our empty flower pots out front of the house and a nice get well message written on the porch in chalk.

I have a sneaky feeling it was the YW of the ward but can’t proof it.

In fact I told people on face book thank you but now that I don’t know who did this I have to be nice to everyone.

So grateful for our neighbors and this Ward.

We have had many ask what they can do which is really nothing but prayers please.

One of the older ladies in the Ward approached me and just looked me straight in the eye and said. “I am praying for you guys again” This same sister came up to me the first Sunday after Boo had been placed with us and said “Now I can stop praying for you”. SO grateful for the faith and prayers of true saints that we have the privilege of knowing.

I truly believe in the power of prayer and positive thoughts. We have some of the best prayer warriors in the world that live nearby and care about our little family.

 

 

 

Chemo round 1 Purple is not a good color on Nat

Well, Round 1 of chemo is now done. Not sure my heart can take this for 5 more times.

She got all hooked up and they started the chemo drug through the IV. Almost instantly she started having trouble breathing, her back was hurting and by the time I hollered at the nurse she was turning from red to blue to Purple.

As we started her treatment I saw 2-3 nurses around, once I hollered we had 6 appear out of nowhere and one carrying a bright orange tackle box labeled “Adverse reaction kit”

They quickly shoved me out of the way and got Nat breathing right and her color back.

They said this sometimes happens on the first treatment but not to this level.

They then started the dose again but slower and a nurse stood right there for quite a while.

I am not sure I breathed during any of this. I just sat there offering a quick prayer reminding God that he knows me best and no way am I able to raise Boo alone.

I can honestly say I have never been that scared in my life and hope the next 5 treatments are not the same.

Needless to say Nat came through the rest of the day like a champ.

You can be darned sure I will be reminding the nurse’s next round that this happened.

I spent the rest of the time pretending to look at my laptop but really watching Nats color and breathing.

If this is Chemo…oh well positive right?

I am grateful they handled this and Nat is ok.

This is right before the excitement started

My Uncle

My mom just called and told me that her brother passed away from the cancer he had. We knew this was coming but it is still a shock when it happens faster than you want or think it will happen.

I am grateful I knew him and even worked for him after my mission.

Chemo Team

It is amazing that when you get into Huntsman for cancer treatment that you end up with lots of experts and teams.

We have her gynecology team that will be in place forever, today we met with Nat’s Chemo Team and next week we meet with her radiation team.

I have to admit that I love her team! Her Chemo Doctor is so caring and every one of her little minions and nurses seem to be genuine and looking out for us.

Nat’s attitude is amazing and such a strength to me.

I admit I have selfish thoughts at times and am worried mainly because we have no idea what to expect.

But I am grateful I have Nat as my team mate through this.

Look for the Good!

Look for the good!

Nat is doing well. We are feeling positive about what lies ahead of us without knowing all that it entails. You hear and read so much about Chemo and every person’s experience seems to be a bit different.

We meet with her Chemo team in a few days.

Work is pure hell. I am in the middle of trying to get my main client to renew their contract and seem to have to do everyone’s job for them.

But this blog is about being grateful and finding the positive in each day…so once more I am grateful I have a job that has insurance…

Oops our bad it’s Stage 3

So we just got done meeting with Nat’s Doctor for her follow-up from her surgery.

Turns out they got all the tumor (They think) but there was a pencil point of tumor on one of her Ovaries.

So this puts her automatically at Stage 3 Cancer and we are looking at doing Chemo and radiation treatment.

What a punch to my gut. Nat took it well, much better than I am.

She will be starting Chemo on April 13. Will have 6 rounds spaced 3 weeks apart followed up by 25 rounds of radiation daily (Well m-f) so she will finish Chemo end of July and radiation by middle of Sept.

NOT HOW I WANT TO SPEND MY SUMMER!

I am finding it hard to find the grateful in this news but know it is there.

I am grateful they caught the cancer and that it is treatable.

I am grateful that as the Doctor says “We take care of this now and you go on and live the rest of your life”

I am grateful for a job that has good insurance and will allow me to be flexible in my time in the office.

I am grateful I am not traveling like I used to.

I am mad this is even happening.

I am mad that my wife will lose her hair by her 42^nd Birthday

But over all I am grateful beyond anything that We have a good team of experts to get us through this and that we have the rest of forever to be together.

 

New Scar

Well Nat made it through surgery without any trouble. She was quickly in and out and the Doctor came out himself to update me and tell me how well she did.

So grateful for him and his expertise

She does have a pretty long new scar starting at her belly button and heading downward.

Her spirits are great and she is feeling as good as can be expected.

So grateful for the prayers that are offered. She feels them!

 

Update on life

So it has been a year since I last posted.
So much has happened.
First, the little guy in the last post is doing so good

See for yourself. Nat's other sister had twins as well so it is excitement when we get together to say the least.
Last summer Nat and I were in charge of our Ward Trek at Martin's Cove. Such a great place and it helped to mold lives of youth and adult leaders alike.

Our little Miss Boo has turned 8 and decided to be baptized.
We are so proud of her and cant believe that the years have flown by so fast.

So grateful for the Church and what it teaches us. At her baptism we had all the family there.

Lastly I am so grateful to Medical knowledge and blessings from a loving Heavenly Father.
For the last few months Nat has been having very painful and "weird" periods each month. About a month ago she went to see a Doctor. They took a biopsy of her uterus, turns out it was cancer.
We then got into Huntsman Cancer Center for treatment.
I sit here in her room as she sleeps from her surgery this morning. They did a full cut you open hysterectomy.
The doctor feels like they got all the cancer and it had not spread so baring any bad news from he lab reports we are very happy and grateful.

 

Stage 1 Cancer

Well I guess I better fill you all in on a secret we have been keeping.

About a month ago Nat went into the doctor to get some items checked out.

They found a large mass\tumor in her uterus and took a sample and sent it to the lab.

Turns out it is cancer!

We were referred to a local hospital for treatment\options but declined to go there. Instead we contacted the Huntsman Cancer Institute where I had my tumor from my head removed and Nat’s dad is currently being treated.

We met with the head of the gynecology department that deals with this sort of thing.

He was very nice and very informative. He said that the course of treatment was a full Hysterectomy and that he wanted it to be done ASAP. In fact he said how about Wed. (We met him on Friday the 4^th) we asked if it could be later since we had Boo’s baptism to get through. So we are scheduled for the morning.

We told the kids in person after the baptism and they took it well but were quite shocked.

We also told the rest of the family as they were leaving in the parking lot, away from Boo so as not to ruin her big day.

We have felt the prayers of family and friends and I am so grateful for modern medicine and knowledge.

So grateful for my wife and best friend. I hate to even think for a moment how I would ever do this life without her at my side.

 

Baptism!!!

So proud of Boo! Today she was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

She was surrounded by lots of family.

Her birth mother and birth step grandmother were able to make it as well.

Such a spiritual day.

I am so grateful that I have the priesthood and she wanted this.