2006 is OVER and good riddance!

I for one am glad that this year is over. It seems like it has taken forever to come and go, and I'm glad it's finally at the end. I can't imagine that we could've borne any more bad news or circumstances than we already have. We do really appreciate all of the help we received from family and friends this year and we're hoping that 2007 is going to be a much brighter year than 2006 has been!

Happy New Year!

Craig

My Funeral Tribute

We just returned from the memorial service in NYS. We really appreciated all who attended, and hope you enjoyed reminiscing about Dad and finding comfort in the community.

Gail thought it would be appropriate for me to post my notes from the funeral service on October 11. I had written them out because I knew it would be difficult to say with all of the emotions of the week.



Integrity, curiosity, humility, steadfastness, and guts………

These are a few of the things that my father taught me, and these are things that I will hold dear.

My father taught me about integrity……….

My father may not have been a perfect man, but he held his integrity above all else. This served him well, and also earned him many retractors who complained that he “wouldn’t go along” or “keep his mouth shut.” He did not do these things lightly. He fought for what he believed in, and would not waiver to popular opinion.

My father taught me about curiosity……….

He always sought to find a better way to do things. He was constantly looking for ways to save money or speed processes at his various jobs. He spent the most time on things that interested him including trees, plants, minerals, and gold panning. He knew the name of every tree in the forest, and he could name every rock we walked past. Once he amazed you with this information, he could tell you how it got there (generally from a glacier from Canada), and approximately when.

My father taught me about humility…………

My father had some rough roads in his life, and he did his best to get over many obstacles, and sought out assistance when he needed it the most. I think this made him appreciate the people around him even more and enriched our lives in the last few years.

My father taught me about steadfastness………..

This was evident not only in his jobs, but most recently in working for his friends at Coventry Place. When he went into the hospital this last time, one of the first errands I was directed to run was to get the notes he had typed up from two meetings to Jean to ensure that they would get distributed to the appropriate people. Who else but my father would think of such a thing lying in a hospital bed struggling to breathe?

My father taught me about guts…………..

Through all the hardships of life, my father fought to make things better for himself, for his family and his friends. He had a heart attack 9 years ago that the doctor’s said would have killed most people. Dad fought back, and continued to fight through surgeries, hospital stays, and dragging around that oxygen tank for the last year. He did this just to get as much time as possible with the people around him.

Integrity, curiosity, humility, steadfastness, and guts………

These are a few of the reasons why I loved my father. These are the things I will cherish, and these are the things that have helped to shape me as a man, and these are the things I will teach my son.

NYS Memorial Set

The Memorial Service for NY is set for October 28, 2006 at 2.00p. The service will be held in Ilion at the First Presbyterian Church where Dad was baptized.

First Presbyterian Church
90 Morgan St
Ilion, NY 13357

Phone:
315-894-2070

Finalized Funeral arragneemtns

The funeral will be held at our church at 11 am. WE will have visitations that morning starting at 10 am as well. AFter the cemetary the church will also be having everyone back for a lunch.

Please feel free to come and attend this as well. It will mean a lot to Craig and I.

Our church is the First Farmington United Methodist Church - I know you can look up the address at the www.umc.org website.

Thanks for all that have expressed the sadness and all that stuff - we appreciate everything very much.
Love,
Gail, Craig, Nate and the rest of the Backus family.

Ronald C. Backus (November 20, 1935 - October 7, 2006)

Age 70, of Redford Township. Born in Frankfort, New York.

Loving father of Craig (Gail) Backus and Jennifer (Tim) Farmer. Cherished grandfather of T.J. and Nate. Dear brother of Lynn (Susan) Backus and Sandra (Richard) Herron.

Funeral Wednesday (time pending) at First United Methodist Church of Farmington 33112 Grand River Avenue, Farmington. Officiant Rev. Dr. Jeffrey R. Maxwell, Pastor.

Visitation Tuesday 2-5 and 7-9 p.m. at Thayer-Rock Funeral Home, 33603 Grand River Avenue, downtown Farmington (1 blk. W. of Farmington Rd.).

Memorial contributions may be made to Volunteers of America, 24701 Swanson Rd., Southfield, MI 48034 or the American Lung Association of Michigan, 25900 Greenfield Rd., Ste 401, Oak Park MI 48237.

Ron's slipping again

Ok - we don't know exactly what is going on, but he was totally not responsive today with Craig when he went to visit. He didn't even look at him, nod or verbally respond. I guess the doctors called Craig today to let him know Ron seems to be slipping - he's just more distant every day. It sounds bad.

Even one of the nurses asked Craig if he had the medical power of attorney - of course we don't yet. WE have it all ready, but waitig for Ron to be "sane" again - so that it can be done.

Please continue your prayers - its looking like another LONG weekend.

One positive this weekend is that Liz is here for a visit - Nate has really taken to his Nonnie - he really likes her - its so precious I love it. He was holding her hand and walking in the parking lot after dinner tonight. Its just adorable. It just took his turf and a lot of quiet.

Gail

Many Questions with Ron

Good morning,
Well it seems a lot of questions still remain over Ron's condition and all that. On Tuesday the vents were removed, but he was havng a lot of bleeding. It appears that has stopped as of last night. Unfortunately, he was having problems and pulling out the tubes, pick line, etc.

Last night during Craig's visit Ron was better, but having problems with thoughts and memory. Basically the nurse called is ICU Psychosis - where people just go a little whacky while in there. He was saying a few odd things, questioning things that happened long ago - things like that. But then the next minute he was asking the nurse why she didn't do one of his eye drops and actually said this long name of the medicine. So we don't know.

They said its possible there may have been some brain damage when from the lack of oxygen to his brain on Friday/Saturday. We know his heart stopped for 30-60 seconds. but I'm not sure if they knew how long he had not been getting enough oxygen. So we'll see.

Please continue to pray for Ron and all of us that he gets better soon.
Love,
Gail

Removing Ventilation Tubes

Wow - what an amazing turn of events the last few days. I called to just talk to a nurse on Ron's status today - she told me he's fine and breathing well. I asked how long it takes to wean someone off the vents - she chuckled. They were removing the tubes right then. Yeah - so that means he'll probably be able to start communicating over the next few hours/days. I can't even imagine how sore his throat and everything will be - but something is better than nothing. We are very excited and thankful for this miracle.

Thanks for the prayers. Please contue, because Ron is still a not in the clear. His systems are still failing him, the kidneys are pretty much done, his heart is just not going to recover - its weak, worn out and has numerous blockages that just can not be removed. Plus they think there is possibly some damage when he flat lined over the weekend. But he's still mentally there - and that is what counts right now. He's a fighter and NOT giving up. He's amazed us all, especially his doctors for the last few years. So its "a matter of time" - but we have a little bit more - and that is what counts. And no matter what - today is a joyous day - the ventilation is done.
Love,
Gail

Light

Well, it didn't get us far, but we were finally successful in using a pen and paper to communicate, and the first word was light, as in turn on the damn light! Unfortunately, once we got that, we couldn't get any more because it looked liked scribbles. He was really PO'd at the nurse because he was kind of dozing and she just pries open his eye to do his eye drops and wonders why he squirms! He wanted to communicate something but we just couldn't get it.

He was pretty lively for a while tonight, but the attempt to write wore him out. It's pretty difficult because he's trying to write with an oven mit on his hand (that's what I call it anyway). His all wrapped up because there's so much extra fluid in his arms it's just leaking right out. Hopefully soon they'll be able to take that off and he'll be able to write or get the ventilator off so he can talk. I told him he's doing a heck of a lot better than Saturday morning when he was actually dead for 30 seconds! He noded in agreement, and his hopefully settled down for the night.

We'll try the writing routine again tomorrow, but we'll see how far it goes.

It's really amazing how far he's come, and we'll have to see where he goes from here. The other good things about today were that he's getting some food, his sugar was 159 when I was there, and his pulse was down to 90 beats per minute. It was usually about 120 for most of the weekend, so 90 means his heart is getting a bit of a break after the dialysis wicked off a lot of extra fluid.

Keep sending us your positive thoughts and prayers as it really seems to be helping.

Holding his own

Well since Ron was pretty stable all yesterday, we decided we needed to go back to work today. Please feel free to visit Ron at Botsford Hospital in Farmington HIll. He currently is in room 154 in the Critical Care Unit. Please - if you are sick - stay home. but he does enjoy visits even for only a few minutes. He needs his rest as well.

I spoke to the nurses this morning and he was still maintaining his own blood pressure with out medicine, and she noted he did decent with the dialysis yesterday (being sedated). So we are happy. My dad is up there now and I'll have an update later today.

Please continue prayers that Ron will be pain free and at peace - no matter what the outcome may be. That is what we want, him to be pain free and if possible to come home (nursing home or heaven).

Ron's very strong - so there is a good possibility he can pull through, but it will be a long haul. His body is just failing in many different systems. The doctors don't know much more of things to do - right now it may appear the ventilator is helping keep Ron alive.

Thanks for all the prayers and we will continue to update as major changes happen.
Gail

Ron is doing better

Ok - nothing makes sense at the moment, but Ron's doing a lot better today. He was able to stop taking the one medicine that was keeping his blood pressure normal (well considering) last night. And its maintaining something fairly normal now all on his own. He also was able to do dialysis today - and now he's resting. Craig's on his way up now - well I just dropped him off after dinner. WE've been up at the hospital all day again. Its been a very long, tiring and extremely emotional weekend.

But the good news is - he's still here and still alert typically. So we are happy for that. Not sure how things will turn out, his main doctors don't know what else there is to do for him - right now its keeping him on the machines to stay alive. So we'll see.

I'll be updating the blog from now on - so you can keep tabs that way and I will not bombard people with emails. you can get to the blog by going to www.craigbackus.com. The very top link is to the Backus/Wilcox blog - and on there you will be able to see all the postings.

Please remember, we will try and keep this up to date. However, its very difficult trying to update everything. Right now, we figured we will both head to work tomorrow, and Nate will probably come home tomorrow night. So with a 2 year old, work and visiting Ron we do not have a lot of time to update every detail all day. WE also are exhausted - so its hard to keep up to speed on emails - but just know we will do the best we can. If Ron continues to maintain - I'll be able to update from work daily - lets hope for the best. Its still very touch and go - but better than it was 36 hours ago.

Love
Gail

Ron's still hanging on

We are not very sure what has happened today, but after Ron told us and some doctors and nurses he was ready to go - we were all ready. Then when the intern talked to us, she had to ask Ron and he said no - so needless to say its again a waiting game. There isn't much anyone can do for him now, he can not live without a ventilator at this moment. His heart and lungs just can not function. He is too weak to survive dialysis as well. So we will "re-evaluate" in the morning.

Craig is there with his sister Jen right now. Her husband and I came home to relax. Craig and I were called around 6:15 am this morning and been there pretty much all day.

Please keep us all in your prayers, its a very emotional and trying time right now. We want to abide by Ron's wishes, but also do not want to see him in pain. We know he does not want to live like this either.

Love,
Gail

Dad is ready to go

Dad is ready to go to heaven. He'll be there soon.

Not good

Please pray for Ron tonight, he's not doing well in the critical care unit. He's got sever bleeding in the esophagous (spelling?) - and his blood pressure is VERY low. They had to put in a central line to even get the pressure.

We are very scared and will have all phones by our heads tonight.
Continue to pray that he will make it through the night and day and then weekend.
Love,
GAil

dad is moving to the

dad is moving to the Icu. He's been coughing up blood today and they need to get him stabilized.

Shunt being placed today

They're moving forward with dialysis. They will be placing the shunt this afternoon, and plan to proceed with the first round of dialysis tomorrow. Gail spoke to his primary care doctor today, and he said that if Dad responds well to the dialysis, then he'll likely move to a rehab facility with the hopes of building up strength to return home. There's a lot of what ifs involved, but it's some encouraging news anyway.

We've got a lot of visitors coming through over the next couple of weeks with his brother Lynn in town this week, Jennifer due to arrive on Saturday, and Mom is coming in at the end of next week.

I'm really hoping that this dialysis will have a positive impact and give Dad some encouragement, because he's really down right now.

Too Much Fluid

Dad is still fighting the battle of the fluid. They're seeing how he responds to a different diuretic, and hopefully that will show some positive signs. The doctors are going back and forth on doing dialysis, evidently because they're concerned about his heart and how well it can take the added stress. Something's going to have to give sooner or later because all of the extra fluid is putting too much stress on all of his systems.

I'm sure he'll be glad to see his visitors this week. His brother, Lynn, will be arriving later this afternoon from Tennessee and will be here through Thursday, and my sister will be arriving later this week for a couple of days.

Ron Update

Well it looks like Ron will be starting dialysis very soon. They need to put in a shunt or something to get that started. We think it will probably start within the week or so. The doctors also think that its possible Ron will need to enter a longterm care facility. Its still not 100% sure, but I know Ron is disappointed at the idea. So please keep everyone in your prayers. Ron still has a horrible rash on his legs, a bed sore now and can barely move from his bed to a side chair. Its not fun. Please pray the dialysis will work so that he can go back to a fairly normal life.

Dad moved around

Dad was moved to the fifth floor for a planned colonoscopy this week, but had to move back to progressive care because his heart rate was erratic. Gail spoke directly to his doctor today, and he outlined that they're dealing with a number of different issues from his lungs, to his heart and kidneys. Everything is connected, and when one area has problems, it starts impacting the other areas. He may have to go on dialysis sooner rather than later, but the doctor hopes to get his strength built back up so that he can return home after a stint in the rehab facility. I think he still has some time left in the hospital until they can get him stabilized and over this rough spell.

Dad is back in the

Dad is back in the hospital. his pneumonia was not cleared out which is why he's had such a hard time this week.

Dad is home from the

Dad is home from the hospital.

Dad's Still in the Hospital

Well, he thought he might be released over the weekend, but it didn't happen. He said that his lungs are still clear, and that he's been moving around some, but he's still concerned about his sugar. He said that his eyesight has been really poor lately, and he's guessing that his high sugar has had an impact on it. He's been getting insulin injections over the last few days which has helped to manage it, and I'm guessing he's going to have to continue this on his own in the future.

I know he was having a hard time watching the Lions game yesterday, and I saw him a few times just listening to the TV broadcast. I think he was still able to enjoy it, but his eyesight must really be bad as he wasn't even making an attempt to watch it. He has a larger TV at home, so hopefully that will help when he gets out because that's his chief form of entertainment these days.

I haven't heard anything from him yet today, so I don't know if he'll be getting out or not. I'll plan on stopping by there later if I don't hear anything to see how he's doing.

Craig

Dad May be released tomorrow

I saw Dad tonight and he says he may be released tomorrow. He still looks pretty haggard, but they said his lungs are clear, and he is feeling much better. He mentioned that his sugar is still screwed up, so he's going to have to follow up with his primary care physician on that, so we'll see what comes of it. It could be screwed up from all of the other various drugs he has to take.

Updates on Mom and Dad

I see we haven't posted in a while..................

The latest news on my Mom is that she has been doing pretty darn well. It sounds like the lung tumor has been reduced to nothing, and they're still treating the tumor on her adrenale gland with chemotherapy. She hasn't had this evaluated in a while, but I believe there is more news to come of that later this month. During the last weekend in August, a bunch of the family got together in Lake Luzerne, NY (near Lake George). It was a little rainy, but we sure managed to eat a lot and had fun getting caught up on each other's lives.

My Dad went back in the hospital over this past weekend. I guess his breathing got progressively worse during the week, and while he was going laundry Saturday night, he went back to his apartment, tripped and hurt his knee. He had trouble getting back up, and I think had some angina pain, and called for help. EMTs arrived and took him to Botsford Hospital. It sounds like he's got pneumonia in his right lung, and his sugar has gone wacky for some reason. It was 415 at the hospital Saturday night, but it was down to 190 yesterday with some insulin. It's unclear as to whether this is a temporary thing connected to the pneumonia, or if he might have to monitor his insulin going forward.

He seemed in pretty good spirits yesterday, but was tired. He's in a huge corner room in the hospital with 4 beds in one room. It settled down after a while, but when I was there yesterday, they had a new admission, and it was crazy in there for about 45 minutes while they got his medical history, weight, etc.

Please keep everyone in your thoughts and prayers.

Nate's 2 Year Pictures

Here's one of the pictures from Nate's 2-year "photo shoot." The rest are available on Yahoo! Photos, so check out the link if you like. I'll try to get more photos up from his birthday party soon.

Craig

TGIF

Mom didn't have chemo at all this week because she was feeling so crappy. She is scheduled next week for chemo. Mom was nauseated this week but the heat had some to do with it. She is planning to go to the doo-dah parade this evening so she must be feeling a bit better.

Chemo a no go

Mom is not feeling so good today. She was supposed to have chemo but she will be having it tomorrow instead. I am not sure if it is heat, chemo or both but it sucks no matter what it is. Her nausea pills aren't working so good, she couldn't keep toast down today unfortunately.

A Wooha

Mom is doing great this time with the 2 chemo treatment. The new pill for nausea is definitely working super good!! She is a bit achy from the white blood cell shot but that is better than nausea. We have our new kitchen floor and new bushes going infront of the trailer, we're getting spiffy. The airconditioner is teetering on death i think though.

Nate's 2

Well Nate turned 2 on Sunday - his big birthday party was on Saturday - it was a beautiful day. Hot - and not much shade- but good anyhow. He had a great time and was just so excited to open up every single gift. The first gift he saw - sippy cups with Trains on them - you'd think they were gold. and it just continued from there - it was great. He even did good at his 2 year check up - no shots needed. Just a blood test - all is well. Just a slightly swollen lymph node - but the doctor checked it out and no problems (of course - my mind goes to cancer after mom)- so that was a huge relief.

He even had money to go shopping at Toy's R Us (picture in the car) - like we'll ever get him one of those cars - we keep telling him - no way kid. Not even Nonnie or Papa will get one of those (I think I'd shoot them if they did).

Other than that - we had pictures taken yesterday - had issues with anything after 3 shots - so pacifier was in most. But we were able to get a picture with 4 generations, me, Nate, dad and Grandma. It will be nice.

Hope everyone is enjoying the summer
love,
Gail

Cadillac Taste but only a chevy budget.

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Time to slide!

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E-mail-A-Friend: New organ arrives at Ilion Presbyterian Church

Comment:

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Story:
New organ arrives at Ilion Presbyterian Church

ILION - After six years of painstaking planning, the Ilion Presbyterian Church is finally on the verge of having a new organ.

The Ilion Presbyterian Church, on Second Street, has been using the same organ since 1913. With age and avid use, that instrument slowly deteriorated until, as the Rev. Victor McKusick said, it became unusable.

For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:

http://www.herkimertelegram.com/articles/2006/07/05/news/news01.txt

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Guess what i learned today?

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Good news (finally)

I heard from Jen earlier and it sounds like the trip to see the colonoscopy doctor was a waste of time. they had NO bad news at all - just wanted to tell her again - it all looked alright. So that is good news.

Also - Ron should be getting out of the rehab center today and returning home - yeah!

More updates

Not sure if there are other posts - but just wanted to give a few of my own.

1 - Liz should be coming home today - and will have an appointment about the colonoscopy results tomorrow and Chemo again on Thursday. She'll have plenty of visitors this weekend, Craig will be driving out, and I think both uncles and families are also planning some trips there as well. So this is good. We just want her to be home and not feel sick.

2. Ron is FINALLY getting out of rehab/hospital tomorrow (knock on wood). He's been in one of the two since April 21st! NOT fun at all. He's ready to go home. Its going to be some changes but they are in hope to conserve his energy and not run our of breath. So that is good.

3. We finally got our second kitten - Piper. She is not the original one we wanted, he had too many health issues. So now we have Chloe and Piper - they are doing well and finally getting along. Its fun to watch them - and its so true - get two cats. They totally chase each other around so that they are tired by night time and sleep all night long. Yeah.

Hopefully we'll have more news on Liz tomorrow -
Gail

Saturday June 24

Well, I think almost everyone knows this but here it goes anyway. Upper right lung is getting good air but lower right lung is partially collapsed with fluid surrounding it. The adrenal gland mass grew slightly 1/4 inch, which means chemo didn't really work so well the first round. The radiation helped with the lung though. Mom is on a new chemo which is 4 hours one week then 1 hour the next week with the following week off. This will be her new schedule to the next scan I guess. Mom is not tolerating the chemo very well. Yesterday she ate 2 crackers and barely kept them down.When we returned to the chemo suite for her shot they gave her medicine that was supposed to be better than what she had for nausea but it doesn't seem to be working yet. She is pretty tired and weak so if you call please keep that in mind.

Wednesday June 7

A bit of good news. Mom just got her new wig and it looks really good. Short and sassy! I will try to get a pic on here so everyone can see her new summer hairdo. She also got a graduation certificate from radiation which is over for now. Chemo will continue for 6 mos to a year depending on what the doc thinks.

Anne Tanguay passed away on Sunday

From the Evening Telegram

Anne Doolen Tanguay

Published: Tuesday, June 6, 2006 3:02 PM CDTE-mail this story Print this page
Services for Ilion woman planned FridayILION - Anne Doolen Tanguay, 56 of 72 Spruce St., Ilion, passed away peacefully on Sunday, June 4, 2006, at St. Luke's Hospital in Utica after a long illness.Anne was born on June 8, 1949, in Utica, the daughter of the late Owen E. and Betty (Williams) Doolen.

Anne was a graduate of Ilion High School and was employed by Duofold for many years in the accounting department.Anne leaves behind her six cherished sisters, Mrs. Joseph (Bonnie) Pettograsso of Guilderland, Mrs. Richard (Ida) Akullian of Guilderland, Betty Mae Pye of Ilion, Mrs. Lance (Linda) Crisman of Ilion, Mrs. Douglas (Darlene) Bauer of Guilderland and Mrs. Richard (Deborah) Stacks of Apollo Beach, Fla. She is also survived by several nieces and nephews.

Anne was predeceased by her loving husband, Rosaire Tanguay, in October of 2001.

Anne's family will receive relatives and friends on Friday, June 9, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Whiter-Hendrix Funeral Home, 100 Otsego St., Ilion. Anne's funeral service will follow at 1:30 p.m. at the First Presbyterian Church in Ilion, with the Rev. Kristine Jane Jensen officiating. Interment will follow in the Mohawk Cemetery.Friends have been asked to consider memorial donations in Anne's memory to the Dialysis Center at Little Falls Hospital, the Ilion Ambulance, or the Herkimer County Humane Society.The Evening Telegram, June 6, 2006

Fudd's Final picture. I hope he's at peace.

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Farewell to Fudd

Well I won't be able to do this tomorrow. But after talking to the doctor at the animal hospital and Craig talking to him - its been decided that Fudd will be in kitty heaven tomorrow. We are still in shock with all this - but its the best for him. We don't know all the details -but they can't tell us that quality of his life and the cost would be close to $10,000 - yes 10K. We just can't afford that right now -

We've extended Fudd's life a few times and love him dearly - he's our first son. I know this sounds horrible - but I just want him to be at peace. Its very difficult choice - but we will all say good bye to him on Thursday night.

Gail

Another problem

Ok - now its our cat Fudd. He's not doing well - we came home from a nice trip in NY to find him not eating. He's had problems with his urinary tract system - that is still an issue. But now his liver is the main concern. He's now in a local animal hospital trying to get care and we'll find out more options for his care and life today and tomorrow. Right now - it doesn't look too hopeful - its probably liver cancer or "fatty liver" - which this one is treatable. However, he may not be stable for a feeding tube - and we can't stop working to take care of him full time either. so its just one of those instances where a choice has to be made. As Craig put it - we have extended his life a few times with previous surgeries and treatments knowing he'll have a healthy life. Now - we aren't sure we can say that.

So keep us in your prayers. We at least have Ron out of the hospital - so that is good. And Liz seemed really good this weekend - more good news. Just pray we can do the right thing by our first fur ball and little guy - Fudd. the last thing we want is for him to suffer too.
Love,
Gail

My Dad is moving back to Botsford Common

Dad is moving back to Botsford Common this afternoon
around 1.30p. It's still not clear that they have all
of the answers so that he can move forward, but at
least he'll have an opportunity to gain strength at
the rehab facility with the hopes of going home.

It just seems that they're having a difficult time
regulating everyting with all of the various drugs
they're using, but having him sit in bed all day tied
to a 6' length of oxygen hose isn't helping either.

My Dad has been moved

My Dad has been moved to room 213B. We're on our way back from new york now.

Thursday May 25

Hello everyone. Not too much happening here with mom. Just the same old stuff, radiation and radiation. Chemo is next wednesday. We are looking forward to michgan visiting this weekend.

Dad Update

I realized I haven't updated from Michigan in a while, so I wanted to let everyone know that Dad is in the hospital still. He's at Botsford, but we're hoping that he might be leaving this week. They've prescribed a new medication called Ranexa that is supposed to improve blood flow to the heart and hopefully eliminate angina attacks. This is what led him back to the hospital after being at the rehab facility for a week. It seems that he's still having difficulties getting everything to work right at the same time as yesterday they expressed concern about his white blood cells and platelet counts. They don't understand why these are reduced as they don't feel that there is any problem with his marrow, so I'm not sure if more tests are going to be done.

We're still planning to travel to the Valley for the holiday weekend, and have arranged for additional visits from people at our church, my brother-in-law, Marcus, and my friends Jim and Joyce Warner.

WooHoo

Mom doesn't have to get lovenox shots anymore. We are both quite happy about that! It turns out TJ has Pneumonia not the other thing but mom's oncologist said her white blood cell count was good. Mom went out last night to a church thing and even drove herself. Her appointment went well other than having no shots. I was unable to go so I am not sure of everything that was said.

Wednesday May 17

Mom is doing ok, getting tired again from the radiation I think. She is also either very nauseous or very hungry and she can never decide which it is. I just give her a pill and give her food to eat that takes care of both problems. Her recent appointment with her G.P. Dr Hunsiker went well, still trying to work out getting off the lovenox shots. Hopefully she will be off them by the weekend. She also lost a few pounds, not sure how many I was unable to attend that appointment and she wouldn't tell me. She has another appointment with her oncologist Dr. Razia friday. Hopefully one of her valley friends can take her since Tim, TJ, and I will be in North Creek all day. She has been driving herself but she appears to be getting a titch weak so a drive to utica may not be so good.

TJ recently was diagnosed with Bronchiolitis with apparently is very contagious. He is on antibiotics again I just hope mom didn't catch anything. The doc's keep a good eye on her counts so she should be ok.

Back to Botsford Hospital

Dad is back to Botsford Hopital today. He had some minor angina Saturday night, but had a severe case this morning, and they sent him from the rehab facility back to the Botsford ER. They're going to admit him today, and we should know about a room assignment a little later. They're going to hold the rehab room for 24 hours, and then they'll have to box up his belongings and we'll have to pick it up. This will be a busy week as we're having our annual user conference, and I'm heavily involved in the setup and coordination of the event. Luckily, Gail had already taken today off to get caught up at home, so she's already been to see Dad at the ER, and doped out the situation at the rehab facility.

I'm not sure why he's continuing to have angina pain as they were supposed to be getting him on a new drug regimen to assist with the blockage in the one vein, but it's evidently not doing what it needs to.

May 11

Today was a good day for mom, she drove. First she drove from herkimer to ilion with me in the car. Then she drove herself to herkimer later in the day. She did ok but drive a bit slow with me, like 40 in a 55. But she isn't going to drive to utica so it's ok. Tomorrow is the colonoscopy as planned. Tonight she is preping, probably not a good time to call for those who are interested. Yesterday the nurse told mom to get out more and not be so home bound so mom is getting out more.
She went to wal-mart so all is right with the world again. Sunday we may attempt church if she isn't too tired from chemo and other stuff.

May 9

Today mom had her markings done for radiation. She will have 15 more days of radiation starting this thursday. This morning I began giving her shots of lovenox to thin her blood a little. She has blood tests everyday this week to see if they can do the colonoscopy friday, we won't know until thursday if that will still happen. That is all.

Monday

Today we found out mom's blood is normal and they want it thinner. So I have to give her a shot twice a day now, we'll see how that goes. Radiation is still on for tomorrow, and chemo wednesday. I guess the colonoscopy is still a question up until thursday, depending on her levels. More tomorrow.

Dad's Moving

Dad will be leaving the hospital today, but isn't quite strong enough to head back to his apartment by himself. He'll be going to a geriatric rehab facility associated with the hospital called Botsford Commons. They said they're planning to move him today by ambulance at about 2.00p. They'll be working on building his strength back up and he should be able to return home soon.

Help

TJ's birthday present is to ride thomas friday the 19th in north creek ny, which is 2 1/2 hours away. I can't drive that by myelf (and all our friends are busy) so tim is going to drive but that would leave mom alone. I am not comfortable with that at all so I was wondering if anyone can come up and stay with her. We would be leaving early probably 8am and we'd be back at night. If anyone can I would be very grateful.

Thursday

Well, no colonoscopy this week. They are still checking coumadin levels and they are not happy with it yet. So we actually have NO appointments tomorrow! Wow. Next week is really busy. Radiation starts at some point, Chemo next wednesday and they say the colonoscopy will be friday. Plus there are some random appointments thrown in there.

Mom is tired, and losing much more of her hair. Our pastor came today for a visit which was nice. She has been out of it as well so if you speak to her and she says funny stuff i guess it is a side effect of chemo or drugs or something like that.

Latest Updates

I spoke to Jennifer last night to get the latest news on Mom. She's continuing her treatments, and is proceeding with a wonderful colonoscopy on Friday that was scheduled way before any of this started. The doctors recommended she move forward with that to see what's what and deal with anything they might find. The side effects from the treatment have been more difficult to contend with. She's got sores in her mouth, and the medicine they gave her helps for a little while, but it makes it painful for her to eat, so Jennifer and Tim are working with her to try to get her to eat something each day. The next chemo is scheduled for next Wednesday, and there are some new cat scans scheduled to see where things are at.

Dad is still in the hospital, and had a catheterization yesterday. They determined that one of the grafts from his bypass surgery is partially blocked. Dad didn't have the whole story, but I doubt it's cholesterol build up because that's been closely monitored since the bypass, so it's most likely scarring that has developed over the years. They plan to do another catheterization to "roto-router" the vein so that it allows for better blood flow. This is critical because he's had three more incidents of angina pains since he thought he had a heart attack last week. There were two events overnight Sunday, and I haven't heard any more today. The next procedure will likely take place at a different hospital, but they said that it would just be a day trip, and then he would return to Botsford. If this procedure opens up the vein, then hopefully he can return home, maybe by the end of the week, but we'll have to wait and see.

Saturday-Happy news!

Yesterday was exhausting but we did get good news. The radiologist Dr. Crawford showed us the x-rays of mom's lung and it is much clearer now than it was, so it is opening up for her to breathe better. He gave mom the option to wait on doing more radiation or going ahead with more, the benefit to continuing it was making sure it remained clear. Mom said do whatever you gotta do! So we have more markings for radiation scheduled, followed by actual radiation. The oncologist Dr. Razia tested her white blood cell count and it was fine, so that was more good news. Razia set up her next chemo which will be in less than 2 weeks. She will be doing it in utica right at slocum dickson. Mom is getting some more side effects more sores and thrush, I believe that was from chemo. She also has a very sore throat from the radiation but she has this cool new medicine for that which she can take 3 x a day.

Dad Update

Got some good news yesterday about Dad. He did NOT have a heart attack on Wednesday, even though it had all the appropriate signs. He had chest pain that started moving up his neck and into his jaw. He got the nurse's attention and received nitro right away so that it probably helped to avoid any further problems. His doctor referred to it as an "episode" and they still plan to do a chemical stress test today, but if the results of that don't show any anomalies, then he may get to go home later today. If he doesn't get out by tomorrow, he'll likely be stuck all weekend because they don't have a lot of activity on the weekend.

More later once we have more details.........

Wednesday

Sorry I am slacking with updating, been busy. Everything is going ok, last radiation thursday with an appointment friday with the radiation guy. He will let us know when the radiation will continue. There is also an appointment with razia the oncologist friday so that will be a big day with lots of talking about lots of important stuff. Mom is doing ok, she has started losing some hair. We are getting on the whole cutting of the wig thing soon. I will most likely update again saturday morning when I come to work. Please continue to pray for mom, dad and anne. Also please pray for the rest of us cause our luck is getting pretty bad lately.

Craig's dad

Well if all hasn't been bad for this family - now Ron is in the hospital too. He went in on Friday with pnemonia and had a heart attack while in the hospital on Tuesday. Please keep him in your prayers as well.

WE were able to visit with Liz, Jen, Tim and TJ over the weekend - it was a lot of fun. Nate had a blast with his cousin, grandma and aunt Jen and Uncle Tim. He was able to play with some of TJ"s trains too.

Liz seemed to be doing really well over the weekend. Tired of course - but it was a nice visit. We even got to see Uncle Bill too.

Again - keep the whole Backus clan in your prayers.
Gail

Saturday

Mom is doing a little better. She was picking up her room this morning, sorting things so that is a good sign. She is having a hard time right now because she can't go see Anne in the hospital. For those who don't know Anne is in the CCU at St. Lukes and she is not doing all that well. Mom can't go due to all the germs. Mom is scheduled for radiation up to thursday and then thursday or friday she meets with a doctor to see where we go from there.

Thursday

Mom was tired today becuase TJ was up last night with nightmares so none of us slept too well. Plus she has been more nauseous. Luckily they gave her a pill for that too and it seems to be helping. She actually made two phone calls today so I was impressed but then she was exhausted.

New Nate picture

Ok - when on the blog - go to the family photo link. the "album" is - 200604 - its from Easter Sunday most are showing Nate with his cousing Travis and the easter egg hunt and blowing bubbles (our newest favorite thing). Note the LONG shirt Nate is wearing outside. We left the house that morning in a rush and forgot his jacket. So good thing Uncle Marcus could lend Nate a t-shirt to wear for a little warmth. Too funny - it was HUGE.

Talked to Liz last night too - that was good. Finally good to hear her voice. She's getting more energy - but sounds great. We are excited to go visit her this weekend - we'll see her Saturday morning.

Enjoy the pictures and please continue your prayers for Liz!
Love,
Gail
PS _ today is Craig's Birthday - he's again 1 year older than me! yeah

Wednesday

Mom was slightly better today. She was awake a little longer after her treatment. She is making a good effort at eating enough she is just not that into eating many different things. Cheerios or rice crispies with bananas rock right now.

Jen

Tuesday

Today was mom's first radiation in herkimer and it went fine. She will be going Mon-Fri at 9:30 am. She is still very, very tired. I have been busy with mom and TJ too since this was spring break week (bad timing for that). I am just making sure she eats at least something now and then and gets her meds when needed. She really isn't up for phone calls at all, she isn't awake long enough yet. I hope she gets a bit of energy by friday.

Jen

Good - NO.... GREAT NEWS

Liz is home! She came home from the hospital today. We are all very thankful. It sounds like the radiation and chemo treatments have her tired out. But in my mind - unfortunately that will be normal. And in my mind - SHE IS HOME! So that has to be GREAT NEWS! I can't see how they would let her go home if she wasn't doing good at least. So we are all very happy.

Craig, Nate and I are planning to head out to the valley this weekend to visit for a while. We are excited she will be home and hopefully up for some quiet visits with us all. Yeah - I know - Nate being quiet - won't be easy. But I'm sure it will be a happier noise than the hospital.

Please continue to keep Liz in your prayers and the whole family. Especially Craig, Jen and TJ right now. I think having Liz home will really be good for TJ to see her every day again. And pray for Liz's doctors that they have the guidance they need to treat Liz to a full recovery. We are all expecting that at the moment.

Love,
Gail

Mom is Home!

Yesterday mom was not doing well, just feeling the effects of the chemo. She was extremely tired and nauseous . Today mom was able to come home. She is still very tired and not really up to visitors for at least a few days. Phone calls will probably be short since she is so tired. I am glad to have her home where she can get some good rest without the hospital noises going on. She will continue radiation at the herkimer clinic monday through friday most likely. We will find out tomorrow. Thanks in advance for everyones continued prayers.

Bad Day Yesterday

After talking to Mom for about an hour late Saturday night, I thought that things were on a positive course as she seemed to not have any side effects from the chemo. She mentioned that she took some newer drugs that were intended to diminish the side effects from the chemo, and we thought they were really doing their job.

I tried calling last night between 8.30 and 9.00 and didn't get an answer, so I tried Jen on her cell phone. She said that Mom wasn't up to taking any phone calls yesterday. She was feeling really nauseous and tired. She was normally hosting a constant stream of visitors and phone calls, but yesterday she needed to rest. Hopefully it will pass in a couple days and then she'll have a couple weeks to recover before she has to have it again.

Craig

Treatments have started

I spoke to Mom last night, and she sounded good. She had the latest round of radiation treatment during the afternoon, and then the first chemo treatment afterward. She said that there were two IV bags of fluid that they infused and each bag took about an hour. She might feel some side effects today, but they have many new medicines available now that weren't around 10 year's ago, so the side effects will hopefully be minimal.

Mom's best friend, Anne Tanguay, has been staying at the St. Luke's Home which is just across the parking lot from the hospital. She has been having a rough time with her dialysis lately, but is determined to visit Mom today. I guess Anne's sister DiDi is going to come and get her and have one of the doctor's sign off so that Anne can go on the visit. Anne has designs on a great escape from the whole hospital scene, but I think they both require additional care, and are getting the help they need.

We added Jen as an official contributor to the blog, so that we won't have confusion like we did the other day when a number of people thought I popped over from Michigan on Thursday to go with Mom to Faxton. Jen will be able to post under her own identity now so it will be easy to know who is who.

With tomorrow being Easter, there will be lots of people in church tomorrow, so anyone that has a church with prayer lists, please make sure that Mom is on there. Maybe it will be like at the beginning of "It's a Wonderful Life" and so many people will be praying for her that God won't know what else to do but deliver us a miracle!

Happy Easter!

Love

Craig

Chemo starts today

Mom moved up to the sixth floor at St. Lukes today which specializes in cancer care. The room is set up to accommodate two beds, but right now it only has one, so she'll have some privacy as she recuperates from these procedures. She's going back to Faxton about 2p for the next radiation and that will continue for two weeks. The chemo is a one time thing that will be repeated again in 21 days. I'm sure at some point they'll do additional MRI testing and cat scans to see what impact all this is having, but she's definitely moving forward quickly with the treatments, and we'll hope for the absolute best outcome.

They haven't said anything about going home yet, but depending on how her system reacts to the chemo, it might be possible that she could go home next week. One doctor mentioned to her, "sorry to keep you through the Easter weekend," which seems to me that she might be able to go home soon thereafter. She'll need to get back up to Faxton for the radiation treatments each day, and Jen has been able to arrange her schedule to be there a lot during the day and will be able to assist with transportation. (Good thing she got her driver's license!)

Gail and I will be traveling back to Happy Valley next weekend with Nate, so we're looking forward to spending time with Mom again and letting her see how Nate has grown.

As TJ's almost 5, he's understanding more and knows that something is up, and he's having some difficulties. He seems to have some kind of bug right now as he's running a fever, but the stress has likely impacted his immune system and made him more susceptible to illness. Please include him in your prayers as he's going to need support through all this as well.

Craig

second radiation treatment today

Today mom had her second radiation treatment today. I rode over with her in the ambulance and waiting in the waiting room and she was in and out in about 20 minutes. There has been no talk yet as to when the chemo is starting but the port is there and is ready. It is nice they can run her iv through the port and they don't have to poke her arms or hands anymore. She is in very good spirits and is very positive. She will be moving to the 6th floor which is where the chemo unit is, we are not sure when though.

Jen

Progress

Mom was back to her room at St. Lukes last night. She didn't get to eat anything after breakfast, so she was pretty hungry. She went over to Faxton Hospital in the afternoon for a radiation consultation and treatment. They discussed doing the targeted seed radiation, but the decision was ultimately made to use external radiation. They described it as something similar to the machine that takes the X-Ray at the dentist's office. It's a very targeted tool. She's going to be getting radiation treatments every day in this fashion, but she's not yet certain how long this will continue.

She also had the port installed that will be used for the chemotherapy regimen. She will likely be in the hospital until their at least finished with the radiation and to see how she reacts to the overall treatment plan. If all goes well, she'll be able to go home in between chemo treatments to rest and recuperate.

The staff at the hospital told her that they can't believe how healthy she looks, so we're considering that to be a positive. The radation and chemo will be challenging for her body to take, so it's good that she's in good health otherwise.

Bad News

I'm still hoping for some good news to report, but so far, we just keep getting more bad news...

I spoke to Mom last night and she got the results that the growth on her adrenale gland is also cancerous. She didn't hear any results from the lung tap, but since the cancer has spread to the adrenale gland, then that rules out surgery to remove her lung.

The next step is radiation treatment to hopefully reduce the size of the tumor in her left lung and allow it to function normally again. The concern there is fluid developing in the lung that can't get cleared because it's currently collapsed. After that, she'll start some type of chemotherapy regimen and should be able to do most of that from home.

Her spirits are high and she's going to hang onto every hope for a miracle so that's what we'll all have to hope for.

Tests were run as planned

I spoke to Mom last night, and she sounded good. They were able to do the two tests they had planned for yesterday. They drew some of the fluid that has collected around her left lung, and they did a biopsy of the growth on her adrenale gland. If these are negative for cancer cells, then they'll likely proceed with removing one or both of the left lobes. If they are positive for cancer cells, that means the cancer has spread and they'll move right to chemotherapy and radiation treatments.

We're hoping that the cancer HAS NOT spread, as surgery is the preferred option at this point. Gail read that the non-small cell cancer is slower to advance, but it sounds like this tumor has been growing for some time, and the doctors have just had difficulty in diagnosing it.

We'll just keep thinking positive and hope for the best. The test results should be back by tomorrow, but since they performed the test yesterday morning at 8.30a, then we might hear something back later today.

Latest News

News from this past weekend. We got the news on Friday, and Mom had a lot of visitors this weekend. We got a lot of news, which clarified some earlier issues.

There is a tumor in her left lung which has closed off the windpipe, and the lung collapsed as a result. This made it difficult to determine how big the tumor is at this point. We heard yesterday that it is a non-small cell lung cancer, which is the type which is supposed to be slower to spread, but it's still questionable as to whether or not it has.

There is fluid around the lung which is not typically present, and there is a separate growth on her adrenale gland. Each of these things could be unrelated, or they could also be cancerous. Mom is having both of these tested today. They will be drawing fluid from the lung, and performing a biopsy of the growth on the adrenale gland.

We're hoping that these both come back as negative, which will mean that the cancer has not spread beyond the lung. If not, then it sounds like they plan to do a radiation treatment to reduce the size of the tumor to allow air into the lung. This will reduce the chance of pneumonia developing and allow them a better view of how big it is.

They will then proceed with removing the one or both lobes of the left lung. She has been breathing with one lung all week and by this past weekend, her body has seemed to adapt well, and her pulse ox was normal with no supplemental oxygen and just one lung!

If the cancer has spread, then they will proceed with a combination of radiation and chemotherapy.

The results of today's tests should be available by Wednesday and that will outline what the next steps are.

Please keep her in your prayers and we'll hope for the absolute best. She is determined to beat this and will need lots of support to do so.

Love

Craig

Liz Backus updates

Well here we go again - this sucks. Anyhow - Liz was diagnosed with lung cancer late yesterday - the 7th. We were getting some conflicting information about having to remove her entire left lung and if or how they will do treatments.

The doctors have determined that the cancer has spread and therefore will NOT REmove her lung. So that doesn't sound good. However, they will be doing treatments chemo and probably radiation - I assume all over. We do not know where the cancer has spread at this time.

Liz is staying at FAxton - St. Luke's hosptial in Utica, NY and her room number is 173.

Please tell friends about this website that may know Liz. I realize most people that check may be our family - but we'll pass this along to the Backus gang as well.

Its important we keep her in our prayers - she's a wonderful woman and very strong. If anyone can beat this cancer- its Liz. She's a fighter and has a LOT to look forward to in life and she's young. So we are focusing on all those positives right now.
Love,
Gail

Woo HOo

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new year

Ok - a little late - but we have been running around in January.

Anyhow - you can check out Nate's 18 month pictures on the picture link. We are still going to download all the ones from the holidays.

Hope this new year is good to everyone so far.

Yes - Nate is 18 months - and starting the "terrible 2's" a little early. He's also teething - hence not as many happy smiles in his pictures this time around. He refused to pose. But enjoy - we have a few - bruises on the forehead and all. He's all over the place and a true boy! Its great.

Love,
Gail