Updates....

If only I was as up to date on my blog as many of our friends are. Unfortunately, I am not. A lot of things have happened in the last month and a half. We have had a couple of trips to Grandma Pa and Grandpa Tom's house and a couple of trips to Nana and Papa's house.

Friday September 12th, we received a call from Josh's sister Alisha, that they were told that Grandma Toepfer had choked on something and was without air for some time. I had called Josh to let him know and immediately made arrangements for us to head down to Illinois that weekend. We had talked about Josh going down on Friday evening to see his grandmother and then the boys and I would head down on Saturday after swim lessons. We were not sure how Jacob would do seeing grandma Toepfer in the hospital on life support. We received a call an hour or two later, that she past away shortly after Josh's dad got to the hosptial. So, we decided to go as a family down to Illinois after swim lessons. We were not sure if we should explain to Jacob what was happening or just see if he had questions. How much would he really understand? We answered a few questions, but really he was just happy to see Nana, Papa, Great Grandpa Toepfer, Great Grandma & Grandpa Schultz, Aunt Alisha, Aunt Trisha and Abigail. Abigail is Josh's sister's youngest daughter, she is about a month younger than Benjamin. I think it helped Josh's dad and grandfather to see Jacob, Benjamin and Abigail. After Josh's Uncle Vic had talked with Grandpa Toepfer, he really felt that Grandma had a heart attack while she was eating. God decided it was time to take her home. The family has comfort in the hope that they will see her again one day in heaven. Many tears have been shed, as she will be deaply missed. She loved her family dearly, the Pastor's words at the funeral focused around Proverbs 31. I think it is an awsome testimony to be spoken of in that way! She was a very dear Grandmother-in-law and reminded me a lot of my own Grandma Koenig, I look forward to seeing them again in heaven one day.
The following Thursday Josh had an appointment with a urologist to review the results from a CT scan he had done the first Saturday in September. I guess I should begin with the end of August. I had scheduled Josh to go in to see Dr. Amy the chiropractor. He had been complaining of pain in his lower back. Since he was having pain, she wanted to take an x-ray. On the x-ray there was something suspicous and she recommended he see his regular doctor. So he followed up with Dr. Misorski at the Waukesha Aurora Clinic, his regular doctor. Dr. Misorski thought it was justifiable to get either an x-ray or CT scan done. An x-ray would be cheaper, so my frugal husband opted for the x-ray. The radiologist said that it was still questionable and recommended a CT scan be done.
Dr. Misorski scheduled a CT scan and a follow up with a urologist. That brings us to the Thursday appointment with Dr. Mark Waples. Dr. Waples said there is still concern from the CT scan2F. They had determined he had a Bosniak 2F cyst on his kidney. He scheduled an ultrasound to get more information. On the Bosniak scale a 2F is kind of a greay area. For a 1 they do not do anything and just monitor it, 3's and 4's they automatically remove. A 2F they can remove or continue to monitor it for growth. The ultrasound was scheduled for 9/25 and the follow-up appointment on 9/29.
Josh's mom came up to take care of Jacob and Benjamin so I could go to the appointment. I think we both went into the appointment thinking he would tell us it was nothing and that would be it. However, he did not. Dr. Waples told us that he had a Bosniak 2F cyst that was very suspicious and he recommended having it removed to make sure it was not cancerous. He told us that if it was determined to be cancerous that there was a 90% cure rate, since it was caught so early. Josh took it all in strides, I however freaked out. I know God allows things to happen for a reason, but to tell me my 31 year old husband has a high chance of having cancer was a little more than I thought I could handle. We had dealt with the loss of 4 unborn children, was that to prepare us for this?
Then I was to come home and tell my mother-in-law that her son might have cancer. Josh's aunt is battling cancer right now and he had a cousin who had lost a fight with cancer in August of 2005. She was only 30 years old. I had a long talk with God and I called a dear friend to talk through things before I came home. Josh also came home early from work to process things and to spend some time with the boys, his sister and his mom.
Dr. Waples also recommended another specialized CT scan to determine were blood vessels where and to get a surgical plan. So that was scheduled for 10/1 with a follow up appointment on 10/7. Josh's mom again came up to watch the boys while we went to the doctors appointment on 10/7. We were hoping to finalize plans with the surgery, however, Dr. Waples thought he was bringing better news. He came into the room and asked if Josh had ever gotten hit on that side during basketball. Josh said no, but he had gotten a few memorable hits during football. He was the quarterback of his high school football team. Dr. Waples told us that one of the radiologist who is highly respected said that after he looked at the specialized CT and the previous ultrasound that maybe what they were looking at was a cyst on the kidney that had ruptured and the blood calcified and created the tumor. If that is the case, it was not cancerous. But there was no guarentee that is what it was. The only way they could tell, is if they removed it. So, doctor Waples recommended waiting and in 4-6 months scheduling an MRI to see if there was any change or growth. He also told us that he could order an MRI in the next week to give them an apple to apple comparison, instead of trying to compare the CT scans to an MRI. I should have been thrilled, but I was not. I felt like the waiting game was just pulling us along. On one hand I am not the best at waiting, on the other hand, the surgery is pretty evasive, there is risk of infection, there would be a long recovery period and etc.
So, Josh had an MRI scheduled the next morning. He had had two CT scans already, I was expecting my normal call after his scan. However, I did not get the usual call. Josh called and sounded horrible and he said he felt horrible. He felt sick to his stomach and thought maybe he should come home. I asked if he wanted me to come get him, and he did. That was very unusual for Josh. Then when I got to work, he asked me to come up to his desk to get him. That was even more unusual. When Jacob, Ben and I got up to his desk he had thrown up and was crouched over at his desk. I was ready to take him to the emergency room. The urologist had given us no warning this would happen, the MRI tech had not said anything. I was shocked they had let him leave the radiology department. So, we got home and I called Dr. Waples. He was pretty suprised with the reaction and told me to bring him back to St. Luke's to have some anti-nautia medicine given to him. So, we packed up once again and headed back to St. Luke's. They checked him to make sure he did not have a rash. They said he is sensitive to Gallium, but it wasn't an allergic reaction. When he has a scan again they will give him something before hand to prevent the same reaction. Needless to say it was a little crazy. Jacob and Ben were troopers and did great under all the circumstances.
Tomorrow he has another appointment with Dr. Waples. I will not be going to this appointment. Pray for clear direction and guidance. We will keep you updated on what will happen next.