Arleen is Alive, Awake and Alert !

Yeah !!   She's in ICU now and coherent enough to have given me and Duane directions back to the hotel.  They gave her an epidural, so the only pain she is in is mild pain in her throat from being intubated.   The surgeon did additional biopsies (as long as she was in there...) and they all came back clean!  So no cancer in her body at all now and we all pray that it stays that way.

Thank you to everyone for your kind thoughts, wishes and prayers.  It means a lot to Arl and to Duane.

Debbie for Arleen and Duane.

On to the surgery

Hi everyone,

I just want to thank you for all your prayers and good wishes for my surgery tomorrow.  I want to tell you how much I appreciate it.

Til next week when all this unknown is in the past.

Love to all,

Arleen

Settled in our new home

We have just finished settling into our new home away from home.  At least it will be for Duane and my sister, Debbie.  I will spend most of my time in the hospital.

We are staying at the StayBridge Suites at DIA.  We have a direct phone line.  Isn't that cool !  If any of you tried to call us at our last hotel, you know how difficult it was.  So our new number is 303-583-1886.  Our cell and home number still rings to our cell, but when we are at the hotel we can be reached at that number.

I am trying to rest up for Monday's surgery.  Now that we are settled, I hope to get more rest.

I could use some help with a dilemma I am facing.  I understand that they will make me start walking around as soon as I am out of the ICU.  So, I don't want to be showing off my behind as I amble around the hospital.  We are trying to figure out what to buy to wear on these outings.  I need to be able to undo the shoulders so that my IV's stay in place.  Pretty picture, huh?  Any ideas would be appreciated.

Duane just volunteered to walk the hallways behind me.  That could work.......

We found a temporary home !!

 

We just booked a hotel for the next month.......yeah!

Thank you all for trying to help.  We spent 6 hours going from hotel to hotel today.  We have a 2 bedroom suite.  It is only 15-20 minutes to the hospital. 

So, we will give you contact info when we have it. 

Need to rest now.

Love to all,

Arleen and Duane

some good news

 

Just heard from the doctor.  There is no other cancer in my body.  Thank you for all your prayers.

So on Monday I will be going into surgery.  It is MAJOR. 

I expect to be in the hospital about 2 weeks.  Then have rehab for 2 weeks.  Then recovery for months.  Because it is major, I can expect some sort of follow up complications, so we are not sure how long we will be staying in Denver.

We will start looking for an apartment later today, when we start breathing again.

So, sorry, more prayers are still needed. 

Thank you again for caring.  Duane will have to figure out how to email an update after surgery.  It can take up to 14 hours, so don't expect anything on Monday or maybe even Tuesday.

With love and gratitude,

Arleen

On we go

 

Hi everyone,

I just got back to the motel.  I had my procedures yesterday and they kept me overnght for pain management.

On Friday I went for 2 surgeries.  For the first we had to check in at 5:30 am.  What they did in that procedure was put a wire into the lymph node they are concerned about.  They used a ct scan to find the node.  That wire was left in so the next surgeon could find the right lymph node to cut out. 

The second surgery was done around 1:30 pm.  During the waiting time I could not move the bottom of my body.  That was necessary so that the wire would stay in place.  Alicia and Michelle, our daughters from Colorado Springs, came and kept Duane company during the procedures and visited with me when I got admitted.  It was wonderful seeing them.

So here I am back at the motel.  I feel OK.  We are controlling the pain.  As long as we do that, I am happy.  We are both happy and VERY Tired.

We now await the biopsy result.  The results are expected by Tuesday.  We are hoping for a clear report so that we can go on to the next option.  That is what to hope and pray for, an option.

Thank you for your prayer and wishes, and keep them coming.

Love to all,

Arleen and Duane

The not good news

 

Hi again,

Got the call from the doctor this am.  The cancer has returned.  &!!#@&*@! 

So they will remove a lymph node on the 20th, next Friday, and have it biopsied.  Seems the 7 samples they took on Tuesday weren't good enough.

Once those results are in, they can present options to me.  As you can imagine, none of the possible options are easy or have any guarantees.

So we are staying at the La Quinta until at least Sunday.  (303-373-2525  rm 314)  Maybe go to Blackhawk for a couple days before the preop on Thursday.

So that's all the news.

Tests over

Yesterday we spent over 10 hours at the University Hospital.  They took 7 biopsy samples from the lymph node in my right groin.   I didn’t think it would be painful, since I was told the lymph node is just under the skin, so I had them put in the IV so I could ask for light sedation, but chose to go without any to start.  Not my best decision.  The needles were 5” long.  Don’t faint, they did numb the area.  I think that was the worst part, you know like at the dentist.  It was not fun…..but it is over.

Then in the afternoon, I had a general anesthesia.  I’m no fool.  They did a physical exam to feel the growth and took a couple of biopsy samples.

So, all went well on both procedures and is proceeding well, so far, kennahura.

We don’t expect to have any results for quite a while.  So we will update you when we hear.

Health issues stop trips

Hi again,

 

Sorry to say, things are not as good as we had hoped. 

 

We came to Denver, via Nevada, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico.  We had a great, but tiring time doing it.  

I had a pet scan done yesterday and got the results today.  They found some concerning images on the scans.  So, we are staying in Denver for a week so they can do some biopsies and exams next Tuesday.  We should have preliminary results on Wednesday.  Final results will take longer.

 

So, the sad news is that our great polar ice cap adventure has to be postponed until all this is settled.

 

We don't know for sure when we will be home.  It all depends on the test results.  So, all good wishes and prayers are welcome.  Duane could sure use them......he has to deal with my situation and still be there for me.  What a great guy I have.!!!

 

Till later with more (and hopefully, better) news.  

 

In Denver

 

Just arrived in Denver, safely.  Will post again after we visit with the doctors on Wednesday.  We will be traveling toward home Wednesday night, if all goes well, and hope to be home on Thursday.

Til later

Pie Town

 

I forgot to mention that we went to Pie Town, NM.  It is a spot on the road, NM 160, and basically has one store, Pie-o-neer.  We stopped and had a piece of pie.  Since we got there around 3pm there were only 3 kinds of pies left.  We chose apple, pinion nut, pepper pie.  Sounds very strange, but tasted delicious.

The owner and baker is one of the friendliest people I have ever met.  She visits with every guest, not just saying hello, but sharing stories about your trip and her life.

Eating one slice of pie took about an hour.  Great fun and I recommend it if you are in the area.

We’ve been busy

 

As you can see by the latest postings, we have been busy.  When we haven’t been traveling we have been recovering from our travels.  Maybe it is age, but we don’t have the stamina we used to.

So please forgive the late postings.  We had a lot of catching up to do.  Because of that, if you want to view our travels in the order we experienced them, you need to page down until you get to the oldest one you haven’t read yet or choose from the list on the right side of the page.  That is how this blog works.

Also, if you see a picture you want to view more closely, just double click on it and it should load on a new page.

We would love to hear what you think of the pictures so we can know that the blog has been viewed.  You can comment on any posting by clicking on the bottom of the posting where it says either “no comments” or “ x comments”.

You can also follow us by email.  Then you will get notified when we post.  Just fill the space on the right, near the top.

We are going to Denver tomorrow, where I will get my pet-scan on Tuesday and see the doctors on Wednesday.  Then we set off for home.

We leave again on the next Thursday for the BIG adventure, if all goes well with the doctors.

Cimarron, NM

 

Outside of Cimarron is a boy scout camp on 127,000 acres.  A man named Phillips was one of the wealthiest men in the world around the turn of last century.  He bought over 300,000 acres outside of Cimarron for his family to ranch.  It had been a boyhood dream of his.  He called it Philmont Ranch, Phil for his name and mont for mountain.

This is the house he lived in

Part of the scout camp.  There are many permanent buildings, also.

There is a museum at he camp

                                      

In front of the museum is this replica of a rock found on the grounds.

Turns out not to be a rock, but a petrified mold of a dinosaur footprint.  More interesting, yet, is that it is the only footprint of a Tyrannosaurus Rex ever found.

 

From the camp we went to the St. James Hotel in Cimarron.

Evidentially there are ghosts here, too.  We didn’t see any, but we found these rules for Ghost hunters.

We were allowed to view the downstairs rooms.  Current guests stay upstairs.

 Since Cimarron was on the stage coach route between Denver (and other cities) and Santa Fe, many noteworthy people stayed at this hotel.

Many shootings took place at this hotel.  One happened in room 6.

 

 

There are many bullet holes in the ceiling of the bar.

For better looks at the photos, just double click on them.

Did I mention we have been following the Santa Fe Trail?  No….well we have and here is proof.

Cimarron Canyon State Park, NM

 

After leaving Eagle Nest we entered this state park.  We had traveled most of our trip in desert landscapes, then we entered the valley where Eagle Nest sits.  Now we enter a green, tree filled valley with beautiful rock walls and streams.  Very different, especially today after all the rain they have been having.

 

                                      

 

                                           

 

                                                

                                     

                                 

This drive was lovely. 

While driving through the deserts of NM, we saw antelope.  No pictures because we were always driving past them.  But today we saw deer.  The only time this trip.  We laughed as we took this picture, since we see deer all the time at home.