One Last Post

So where do I begin? I want to say thanks to everyone for all of the prayers, thoughts and support for myself and our families over the past week and a half. I have talked to most of Carrie's family and we are still adjusting to her not physically being here.

Carrie's visitation and funeral were how Carrie would have wanted them and thanks to everyone who came by the funral home and church.

On a personal note, I want to say thank you to all of friends and family from outside of Auburn for all of the prayers, cards, phone calls, Facebook messages and visits over the past two years. To our Auburn friends and family thank you for hanging out with us, traveling with us and praying with us. Thank you to the College of Veterinary Medicine, faculty, staff and students. You have put up with me on good days, bad days and everyday in between. Thank you for letting me be off whenever I needed to be with Carrie. You all have made working at the Vet school the best job I could ask for.

If I have forgotten anyone, please forgive me. To everyone, thank you for everything. That should cover it. :)

Some have asked about my plans for the future. So here is the rundown. I plan on staying in Auburn for the time being. My job has been so good here, I can't see myself walking away and I really like the Auburn area. I am returning to work next week to try and get back to some type of normacy. My parents have been here the past week helping me with odd jobs around the house.

Please continue to pray for us during this very tough adjustment.

With that, I finish this final blog post. As Carrie would say, thank you to everyone for all that you have done for us.

Jason

Remembering Carrie

As most of you have already heard, Carrie went home to be with Lord Tuesday night around 9pm. She was surrounded by family. We are saddened at loosing her but at the same time we rejoice that she is no longer suffering and is cancer free. Visitation will be Thursday from 6pm - 8pm at Frederick's Funeral Home  (1801 Frederick Road, Opelika). The service will be Friday at 11am at Lakeview Baptist Church (1600 East Glenn Avenue, Auburn). Burial will be at Memorial park Cemetery.

Thank you to everyone that has taken care of us and supported us for the past two years. We love each and everyone of you.

Carrie Chavers
October 12, 1984 - October 25, 2011

Jason

Another day with Carrie

Not a whole lot to report in this post. Carrie's status has not really changed since yesterday. She had one burst of energy today and she spent most of it asking why she felt like she could get up and walk around when she knew that she shouldn't be able to. She seemed to be resting more peacefully than the last couple of days. We have not had to increase any of the morphine dosages. They seem to be enough to keep her comfortable for the time being. This was day 4 that she hasn't had anything to eat or drink. She wonders sometimes why she is still here, even though mentally she is ready to go be with the Lord. We tell her that he wants her to be here with us a little longer and we are taking advantage of every moment that we get.

Thanks to everyone that has posted your favorite stories of Carrie on the blog. I read them to Carrie tonight and each one brought a smile to her face.

As always please pray us and our family.

Jason & Carrie

Almost Home

Today has been better than yesterday emotionally. Even with the amount of morphine that she has in her system, she has been pretty coherent. Since yesterday afternoon, Carrie hasn't really been able to talk where you could hear unless she was talking right into your ear. This morning, my parents were sitting in the room with her when they called me back to the room. When I got there she was wide awake and moving her left arm as is she was leading a band.  My dad asked if she was leading the choir and she said yes. For about 15 -20 minutes Carrie was back to her old self, talking just as clear as she could and cracking jokes with us. After that she seemed to have lost that burst of energy. Later this afternoon the burst returned for about 10 minutes. This time though she said she was trying to figure out what was real and what wasn't. So she appears to be in limbo. Also, her uncle asked what her favorite popular song was. She said the theme from Dirty Dancing was very appropriate. Title of the song...I've Had the Time of My Life. Being the music entusiaist that I am :) I just so happened to have it on my iPod. So we played the song for her and she bobbed her head and mouthed the lyrics. Needless to say it was very touching.

So all in all it has been a good day here at the Chavers' house. We really enjoyed the few minutes when we got to have the old Carrie back even if for a short time. We know that eternity is coming.

I will let you know if anything changes.

Jason

Favorite Carrie Stories

Ashley Burt had a great idea of your favorite stories of Carrie. Leave the story as a comment.

Thanks,

Jason

Toughest Day So Far

The post title just about says it all. Carrie is currently resting as peaceful as possible. This day two that she has not eaten or had anything to drink. The hospice nurse came by this morning and checked on her and Carrie asked what she is going to do since she can't eat or drink anything. Sadly the answer is nothing. The mass is pressing on her stomach so much that she cannot get anything down. Her current pain medicine schedule was 60MG morphine pill every 8 hours and she could take .5ML of the liquid morphine every 1 to 2 hours as needed for pain. While the nurse was she said that she was not comfortable and the one thing that she kept saying was the she didn't want to be miserable. Unfortunately the only way to get her comfortable is to put enough pain medicine in to keep her mentally "out of it". She said that would be fine and she has been able to talk to all of her family in the last couple of days. At 2:30 pm this afternoon we increased her liquid morphine to 1ML every two hours and that has seemed to make comfortable. She has lost the energy to be able to move any parts of her body. If you ask her a yes or no question, she is still able to comprehend and answer by nodding or shaking her head. Her speech is very weak and we have to listen very closely if she says anything. Our families are taking turns sitting with her.

It has been comforting for us to be able to sit around here at the house and talk about all of the fun times that everyone has had with Carrie. Probably the most talked about story is our 17 hour drive from Columbia, TN to Miami, FL just to get on a cruise ship. It could be a movie by itself. Comedy of course.

As always, please remember us and our families in your prayers. It has been a tough day with the toughest yet to come. We rejoice that Carrie is just waiting on the Lord to call her home. We expect that to be in the next couple of days given how her health has declined. But she is one tough cookie.

I am trying to keep the blog updated daily. I know that a lot of people use this and I appologize for the updates coming so late at night.

We love you all and appreaciate everything that you all have done for us,

Jason & Carrie

Still Declining

I was planning on updating the blog daily considering how things have been going, but I just didn't get a chance yesterday. Carrie's health is still declining. She had some coke yesterday and it didn't stay down very long. She then was able to eat very small portions of mashed potatoes and cream corn. Her strength has greatly decreased and she is no longer able to get out of bed even with assistance from me. This morning she woke around 5am and said that her mouth was very dry. I gave her a little water and it didn't stay down as long as the coke did. We called the hospice nurse and she came by around 7:30am this morning. Carrie is still taking 60 milligrams of Morphine 3 times a day and now I am giving her .5 milliliters of liquid morphine every 1 to 2 hours as she needs it for pain. The liquid absorbs quicker and gives a quicker relief to the pain. Since she is not able to get out of bed she now has a catheter. Her oxygen level dropped a little bit to the low 90s and so Hospice ordered her an oxygen machine.

As I stated in the previous post Carrie is mentally and emotionally ready to go home to be the Lord. We are just waiting on His timing. I estimate that given her current physical condition that she has a couple of days to a couple of weeks left. Again this my estimation, and I have been known to be wrong on a couple of occasions. HA HA.

I am doing as good as can be expected given the circumstances. I had planned on starting a leave of absence on Monday but actually started yesterday. Both sets of Carrie's parents are here as well as my parents. So yes I have two sets of in-laws and my parents as well, the best way to describe it is like the family from National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation without the Christmas decorations. I am just kidding. I am glad that they are all here.

Please continue to pray for us and our families. The next few days are going to be tough. Thank all of you for your continuous support. We will never be able to thank everyone for all that you have done.

Jason & Carrie

Reality

Well it has been while since I have posted on the blog. Carrie has been handling most of the updates. Carrie asked me to write this update. So a lot has went on since the last one. This past weekend was pretty tough for us. Carrie had a couple of friends come in from Nashville and allowed me to go the Auburn/Florida game (War Eagle) and while I was at the game she texted me and told me that she was feeling pretty bad. She said on a scale of 1 to 10 with 1 being the best and 10 being the worst, she felt like a 12. The bloating that she has been having has become consistant and got a little worse. She said that she felt like if she swallowed a pill she would throw it back up. She called Hospice and the nurse came out and talked to her. Carrie has been taking 60mg of Morphine every eight hours and now she is taking it every two to four hours as needed. She has been getting a sharp pain in her right leg if she stays on it for too long. It has gotten to the point where she is confined to her bed and her portable toilet. This afternoon she was getting up to use the toilet and her legs gave out from under her and she fell next to the bed. This fall is nothing compared to the fall that she had earlier. No bumps or bruises but she was unable to get up off the floor. Carrie's mom and my mom were here but they were not able to get Carrie up. I left work and came home and get Carrie back in bed. I was planning on taking an extended leave starting Monday but I am going to start it tomorrow.

Please continue to pray for us. Saturday night Carrie and I were talking and she is beginning to wonder how much longer she has. The constant bloating is causing her to be pretty miserable and that is the one thing that she didn't want; to be miserable. She said that she is getting tired of fighting. We have some really rough times ahead. Her mom, dad and step mom are here now. Yes, most of my inlaws are here under my roof. :) Right now, we don't know exactly how much longer she has ( only the Lord knows that). And we don't expect it to be in the next couple days.

I wish I could have written a better update but we wanted to update everyone on everything that is going on. I will try to update the blog every couple of days to let everyone know how she is doing.

Thanks for all of the prayers, thoughts and support.

Jason & Carrie

Sorry so long to give update....

You'd think with all the spare time I've had lately would make it EASIER to keep the blog updated... wrong. So let's see - since last weekend's post, nothing too much has changed (I don't think). I did double up on my Lasix for about 3 days and that actually seemed to helped some. It drew some of the Lasix off my feet and lower ankles, and actually helped some. My upper thighs and pelvic areas still got somewhat swollen but not quite as bad . I emailed Dr. Johnson Monday morning and he said that was great news! He said from now on, weight myself in the morning and if I've gained a few lbs. I can double my Lasix every other day, or even just every other day.

So on one hand, that has improved somewhat. On the other hand, Its been a struggle (you guessed it) getting any strength back. The last few days I've had problems with a little vertigo, either my body wanting to fall backwards or forwards. I've lost some strength in my upper arms and back, making it harder to to use them to support myself (but no falls so far!!!). As a result, I've gotten a simple fold up walker to help stabilize myself and get around when needed. In addition, Alacare has given me a raised seat and bed side commode just in case I need either one to assist me.

Overall, not too much has changed. I pretty much have someone here with me at all times in case I need them. Since my scare at the ER, my breathing has been fine. I'm losing some water weight it seems. I'm still having the same bloating feeling in my abdomen/pelvic area, but I seem to be able to eat a little more, which is good.

On a side note, both of our birthdays were this past Wednesday (the 12Th) and they ended up being a really good day for both of us!! We had a really relaxing day, which is just what we needed :) Thank you for all the prayers you've sent our ways the last few days and please keep them coming - we can certainly feel their presence! We love you all and will try and do a better job keeping you updated! Oops!!

Local Oncologist

We finally have an established oncologist here in Auburn I can go to without having to go to UAB should something come up last minute. Its Dr. Brandon Johnson at the hospital and its the doctor who gave me the shots when I was traveling between here and Houston. He had already gotten some data from UAB so he knew about my case. Regarding my leg swelling and replenishing my albumen (the protein that's seeping into my tissues keeping my kidneys from allowing my kidneys from draining off the fluid), they could try that but the only effective way to do that is to take my OWN albumen and re-inject it into myself, which kind of defeats the purpose. He said the best way to build it up is to eat the junkiest, cheesiest, bad for you food :-) There's not really a way to actually drain off the fluid. The other suggestion he had was to increase my Lasix (basically double it) like we tried before but for longer and if need be add another diuretic to the Lasix and see if together they can push the fluid off.

He knew about my trip to the ER and he was able to check my blood counts, all of which were fine except my albumen.. he said I didn't need to make a follow up appt, just call him if something came up. Overall we liked him and felt comfortable. Even though we didn't get great answers we left feeling good we have a doctor here should something arise.

That's about all for now. I'm sure I forgot something, so when I remember or have something new to report, you know where to find it! And once again thanks for all your neverending prayers-we know without you guys and our love for Jesus Christ we couldn't have made it this far! We love you all and will keep you updated!

Sorry for the late update :(

Not much has happened over the weekend so I apologize for the late update. After the surprisingly short ER trip I tried to rest as much as possible. My mom left Saturday morning and I stayed in bed until AU played s. Carolina (War Eagle!) At 2:30. Somehow, I must have twisted my back and pulled a muscle on my lower right back. Nothing sever, but I did get a heating pad and pretty much slept the rest of the night. I woke up Sunday feeling much better. Ill use it maybe once a day if I feel it flaring up but it seems fine for the most part.

A nurse, Gladys, came by to check on my Saturday afternoon and helped clarify a few things for us. I am actually considered a hospice patient, not home health,simply because I'm not expected to improve. That doesn't mean I won't, but the criteria they follow classifies me that way.

I've been (of course) trying to build up strength and drinking Ensure drinks so get some nutrients in me. My nurse Joey will try and see me 3 tines a week for now. And we finally heard from Dr. Johnson (oncologist here in Auburn) so I'll meet with him Thursday afternoon and hopefully get things going!!

No Procedure

SO........After our visit to the ER last night, we paid another visit to the hospital this morning in hopes that we would get the fluid from last night drained off. They did an ultrasound and found that there was really not enough fluid to warrant doing the procedure. So we are back home and the Hospice nurse is here now checking on Carrie and we are working with our social worker on getting established with a local oncologist. As of right now we don't expect to have an appointment with one today but hopefully we will on Monday or Tuesday. We will update the blog during the weekend to let everyone know how we are doing.

New Record

Another exciting night at the Chavers' house. After I got home from work Carrie said that she had some pain when she took some deep breaths. When she stood up the pain increased and didn't ease when she laid back down. I called the home health nurse and we were told to go the ER. We were only at the ER for two hours. :) After talking to the doctor we found out that the fluid in her abdomen and the swelling she has had is two separate issues. We are going first thing in the morning to have the fluid in her abdomen drained off. It will be an outpatient procedure and hopefully not take too long. As for the swelling, Carrie has a low chemical protein in her blood stream that is allowing the fluid in the blood stream to move into her tissues in her legs and hips causing the swelling. I will be working tomorrow morning to get Carrie established here in Auburn with a local oncologist and hopefully get an appointment to get an IV treatment of the chemical protein. Hopefully this will allow the fluid in the tissues to move back into her blood stream and then to kidneys and flushed out I will update the blog to let everyone know how the procedure went and what we find out about the local oncologist and what we are going to do about the swelling in her legs. Please continue to pray for us.

Jason & Carrie

Still Fighting

We just wanted to give everyone a quick update on how I've been doing over the last few days since Home Health started coming out to see me. I met Joey, who will be my primary nurse, Monday afternoon. He basically went over the notes from the on-call nurse I met over the weekend (Amanda) to make sure he was up to speed with everything and clarify any questions we may have.

I'm still having the leg swelling and we told him Amanda had told me to double my Lasix over the weekend and wrap my feet and legs to try and push the fluid upward. That seems to have helped relieve some of the swelling/water retention in my feet and lower legs, but now it feels like all that fluid has collected in my thighs and lower abdomen. But the Lasix doesn't seem to be flushing that fluid out. As of right now, Joey is supposed to be coordinating with Amamda to see if they want to increase my dosage of Lasix or leave it where it previously was.

Other than that, no NEW problems have come up. I'm still having trouble regaining any strength/energy and it seems like every day becomes a little more of a struggle. I'm having to rely on other people more to help me - I'm still getting around okay, I just sometimes need that extra assistance. Luckily, we've been blessed with great family that have graciously taken turns doing just that.

Part of the services provided as a new Alacare Home Health patient includes a meeting with a social worker and chaplain, and they are supposed to schedule a visit with me today (Wednesday), and Joey is scheduled to see me again tomorrow (Thursday). I'm hoping tomorrow Joey will have some insight or suggestion or SOMETHING we can do to get the swelling under control, but we will of course keep you updated on anything we find out. Until then, please continue to pray for us and our families (as I know you will) and we will keep you posted. We love you all!

Latest Update, New Developments...

A few things have changed since our latest update this past Thursday... As you know, these last few weeks have been somewhat difficult and I've had trouble regaining my strength and energy. We've been becoming concerned obviously, but it was getting to the point where we were worried about me having the ability to make dr appts in UAB physically and getting around in general. Earlier this week they increased my Morphine to 60mg every 8 hours, and Friday afternoon my pain dr called to see how that was working and also see how everything else was going. I told him the pain dosage was good, but then I expressed our other concerns-lack of energy, not being able to eat much because of the bloating sensation, the leg swelling, etc. He immediately became concerned because it sounded like I'd developed a lot more severe problems since I'd last seen him and he was worried about me having to wait until October 5 to see them to address these issues. (BTW: I had emailed my UAB oncologist Thursday evening about our concerns and was waiting to hear back from her). After talking to the pain doctor for 30 minutes, we came to the conclusion that we needed to address things sooner and here in Auburn instead of Bham if possible.

As a result of our conversation, we decided it would be a good idea to look into Home Health to assist me here at home, especially since right now I don't feel comfortable being home by myself and being so weak. He helped me get in contact with a home health company here in Auburn, called Alacare. They contacted me Friday afternoon and set up an appt for Friday evening. A nurse came out and talked to me and Jason about what they do and how they can help us. Basically, they will have a nurse come to our house twice a week (more often if we feel we need it) to check my vital signs, medications, or anything that would involve needing assistance with here at home. They would help with any problems regarding pain management, nutrition, appetite, sleep, etc. In addition, if something were to happen (I.e. falling or fever) and we didn't know whether to go to the doctor or ER, we would call them first and they will send someone out first to assess the situation and help first.

After talking to the nurse for a little over an hour, we felt it was definitely in our best interest to do Home Health, especially with the way the last few weeks have gone. They will come out to the house twice a week to check on me and see how things are going. Right now, the biggest focus is my leg swelling, which has progressively gotten worse. I was told to double my Lasix dosage for 2 days (Saturday and Sunday) and wrap my ankles and lower legs off and on to try and relieve the water I'm retaining. When the HH nurse comes this week, they'll reassess the swelling and see if the wrapping/lasix is helping and go from there.

Other than that, it looks like I'll always have someone here with me at home for now, not because I need around the clock care, but in case something were to happen or I need assistance. My parents and in-laws have all graciously worked out a schedule with us to help stay with me. We are also going to establish a local oncologist here in Auburn so I don't have to rely solely on the one at UAB if I can't make that trip. We are still keeping a positive outlook on everything and are blessed with every passing day! These past few weeks have definitely been the hardest and most trying thus far, but thanks to all of your prayers and support, we can feel the Lord lifting us up and getting us through! We will keep you updated over the next few days and expect the HH nurse to come Monday or Tuesday, so we'll let you know what we find out then. We love you all!

Recovering still...

Well, it has been a week since my fall, but thankfully my body is recovering from that incident pretty well. My knee is still blue and purple, and the swelling has stopped. I can put most of my weight on it so it's getting stronger. And my shoulder is healing too-it's still a little sore, but much better in general.

Other than that, I seem to be doing okay. I'm still having a lot of swelling in my feet, ankles, and legs but I'm pretty sure that's just water retention. I hadn't been taking my Lasix (water pill) like I should have been, primarily from fear of becoming dehydrated. But I started taking it again these last few days so hopefully that will help with that fullness in my legs. I'm still trying to regain my strength, which seems to be the biggest struggle right now. But I'm feeling a little stronger every day so hopefully I'll start feeling more like myself soon!

I am scheduled to check up with my oncologist in Bham on Wednesday October 5, as well as my pain doctor. Until then, I plan on resting & regaining my strength. Thank you all for your continued thoughts and prayers and we will of course keep you updated! We love you all!

Slowly gettin there

Since my slight mishap Thursday evening, nothing else has happened Praise the Lord! Jason stayed home Friday to take care of me and he did a terrific job!! The swelling on my right knee didn't progress too far-icing it helped tremendously. Its still 50 shades of purple and blue, but other than that it looks like it'll be okay :) My left shoulder actually looks like it got hit the worst. It has progressively gotten a little more bruising & is extremely sore, but nothing was broken, sprained, or even dislocated from what we can assess. I'm still very tired & weak, but I'm resting as much as I can and like I said, Jason has done a great job of taking care of me & making sure I don't have another slip.

We will call my dr in Bham Monday morning to inform her of what happened (I know, should've called last Friday), and we'll let you know what she has to say. But we did want to keep you updated & reassure y'all that I'm indeed recovering from last week thanks in large part to all your prayers & thoughts sent our way. God is good!!

Little incident last night...

We had a little bit of an incident last night (Thursday night), but it appears everything is A-OK. As you know, I've been very worn down and simply lacking energy all week and yesterday was no exception. But I managed to rest most of the day so I didn't overdo anything. Yesterday evening, however, it somehow got the best of me... Jason came home from work and was headed back out to meet with some co-workers for about an hour or so. I was home with the dogs and went to get off the couch, which wasn't a problem. I got up off the couch just fine, but my legs must have just gave out from under me because the next thing I know, I'd fallen and almost all my body weight landed on my right kneecap. The rest happened so fast, I really can't say what happened. I scrambled to get up off the floor but I was so weak and somewhat hysterical by this point I didn't have the strength. I somehow tried, but lost my footing again and this time when I tried to stand up I instead hit my left collar-bone/shoulder on the corner of our wall. By this time, I'm just trying to get to my phone to call Jason which is on the couch. By the grace of God I find the strength to get my phone and call him-luckily he was only 3 minutes or so away. By the time he gets home, I've managed to get off the floor and onto my feet. He helped me lay back on the couch and luckily nothing appeared/felt broken or out of socket. My right knee was already swollen and all shades of blue & my left shoulder was scraped pretty good and sore, but that appeared to be it. I finally calm down and realize I'll be okay.

So, this morning everything still seems okay, thank the Lord. I'm definitely banged up and will have several nasty bruises, but nothing else appears to have been injured. I still don't know exactly what happened last night, if I may have simply blacked out for a milli-second from being so weak or just lost my footing... it all happened so fast and it mainly just scared us. But as scary as it was, it could have been a lot worse. The Lord definitely had His hand over me last night. Jason will stay home with me today to help me out & we'll see how the weekend goes regarding if he'll stay home some of next week too. For now, please continue to pray for restored energy and that these injuries don't progress. We will update everyone this weekend on my "recovery". Until then, I will take it easy and do my best to stay on my own 2 feet. Thanks again for all your pray and support. We love you all!!

Better but still weak...

Since this last weekend, I've improved significantly. I haven't had a fever since Sunday morning and the pain has pretty much returned to its' normal level (normal for me at least). I still, however, can't seem to regain much energy and feel very worn out and tired. I've been resting and trying to (for lack of better words) do absolutely nothing, but nothing seems to help. I'm eating small portions throughout the day so I'm getting some nutrients. I have contacted my oncologist at UAB about this past weekend and how things have changed/progressed throughout the week-I'm just waiting to hear back from her to see if there's anything to be concerned about (hopefully not).

We just wanted to give a quick update about how I've been feeling this week. I know a lot of you have been praying for strength for me to regain some of the energy I've lost and I ask that you continue to pray for that strength to return. I will update you again if anything comes up or changes, but for now, thank you all for thinking of us yet again. We love you all!!

Back and Forth....

There seems to be a pretty steady pattern of good days and bad days, going back and forth over the past several weeks. Last week was a considerably good week, without too many bad days. The trip to UAB last Wednesday wasn't even as bad as I had anticipated - it made me tired, but that was about it! SO... after a seemingly good week, I decided to try and spend a few days with some old friends this past weekend, relax and do nothing but enjoy their company. And that's exactly what I did - absolutely nothing but lie around, talk, and enjoy their company! Unfortunately, Saturday afternoon I started experiencing some pain and discomfort that gradually progressed throughout the day. By Saturday evening, the pain had started to radiate around to my back, particularly my upper back. It started out as just a bloated, full type feeling (which is nothing new), but it had progressed to a level that was actually painful and no longer just a "discomfort". I took some additional Oxycodone, but that honestly didn't seem to give me any relief. I checked my temperature and I had a fever of 99.8. By this point, I decided to go to bed and hopefully wake up feeling better.

Sunday morning I woke up feeling about the same. The pain wasn't any worse, but it definitely had not gotten any better. I checked my temperature and this time ran a fever of 100.2 - 30 minutes later, I took it again and it was 100.8. I took some Extra Strength Tylenol and put a wet cloth on my head/neck and when I checked my temp again 30-45 minutes later, it had come down to 99.2. Needless to say, between the fever and the pain, I hadn't really eaten very much in the past 24 hours, nor drank much because it only added to the bloating/discomfort. Sunday night I was able to eat something small and drink a little more, hoping to prevent me from getting weaker and dehydrated. I didn't run a fever for the rest of the evening and went to bed last night feeling slightly better.

When I woke up this morning (Monday, September 12), I felt considerably better compared to the last couple of days. The pain in my upper back had significantly improved. I'm still experiencing some pain from the bloating/discomfort, but I was able to eat a little for breakfast, hoping that will give me some nutrients and strength. Overall, today has been an improvement over the last few days, but I'm still feeling very weak and in a fair amount of pain so I plan on relaxing and hopefully regaining strength and just feeling better overall.

I will keep you updated on how I'm feeling. We know many of you have continued to keep us in your prayers and for that, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We love you all and are so blessed to have you in our lives!!