Larry just completed his 4th, and hopefully last, round of chemo for awhile. Even though his inflammation markers and his liver counts are still elevated, he is doing miraculously well! After about a year and a half of being very limited in what he could eat, and having two different types of feeding tubes to even be able to stay alive, he is able to eat normally once again!!! At the worst of it he had went from being a 185 pound stocky man down to a bony and weak 116 pound man. His current weight is about 135 pounds!!! He also feels good and has returned to doing many of his normal activities (some of them he never stopped out of sheer will power and determination).
Larry has continued to fast through all of his chemo treatments as the fasting shuts down his healthy cells so they are not affected by the chemo. We learned about fasting through chemo on a documentary we saw a few year back that can be found on youtube under "The Science of Fasting". We were very intrigued with the science when we learned about it and said that if we were ever faced with chemo (we didn't ever imagine that we really would be) that we would try the fasting. As Larry fasts five days straight (two days before the start of chemo, three days during the chemo, and 24 hours after the chemo) it has not been easy, but the results have definitely been worth it. He has not experienced any of the vomiting and nausea, sores in his mouth, neuropathy, or hair loss that are common with the chemo that he is receiving. By the end of the five days, however, he is extremely weak from fasting (and possibly chemo), but he has been able to bounce back within a few days. The other downside is the unwanted weight loss from the fasting, but he has been able to put on more weight than he loses during his non-chemo time--two steps forward one step back. There is also still the yucky chemo detox that he goes through where his body sweats out the putrid, stinky poison and he can taste it in his mouth. So why do we continue to put this junk in his body? Because it has been a great tool to quickly knocking back the cancer in Larry's body with the hope that his own immune system will eventually be able to keep his cancer in check.
A few weeks ago he took what we hope was his last trip to Mexico to receive an evaluation and pick up some more medications that we are only able to get there. Other than the inflammation markers and liver counts that are still high, his overall evaluation was very promising. According to their scans the cancer in his liver is mostly gone and the cancer in his pancreas has been reduced by 25% (was hoping for more, but we will take it). He was also prescribed some medication to help support and heal his liver. On March 15th Larry is scheduled to go in for a scan with his local oncologist and we are praying to see some significant reduction of cancer in his pancreas. We would love to see complete healing of his pancreas, but we are not sure what is possible as he has developed insulin and pancreatic enzyme dependency within the last six months.We also know that some type of pancreatic surgery may still be in our future.
Through all of these trials we have gained a greater appreciation for each other and for God's miraculously healing power. I am especially grateful that God has given Larry more time and for all of the experiences we have had and memories we have made even though the doctors didn't think he would make it past last October. Larry's desire all along has been that the Lord would extend his life another ten years so that he could finish raising his children. I am hoping for a lot more than that, but we will be grateful for what we are given and continue to enjoy our time together.
Pictures of recent memories made...
He was there for Rachel's first time going through the temple
We celebrated our 25th Valentine's day together. In May we will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary!!! At the worst of his cancer, he promised that he would be there to take me out to dinner for our 25th anniversary. At the time he was not even able to eat normally.
Bekah's Senior showcase of dances
Bekah's dance performance at the basketball game
He was able to attend my cousins funeral with our family
He was able to assist Ben in putting together his new 3D printer that he got for Christmas
Bekah's senior recognition for dance at the basketball game
I LOVE this picture so much. Three generations of Ward men participating in something they love and are good at!!! Malad is the place where the tradition started so it is only fitting that we were able to take this picture there.
