Answers are coming slowly, but they are coming!

Dear Friends,

     This has been a difficult couple of weeks on many levels. A lot of decisions to make, some without much information. We have had to trust that God is in control of our future.

     Dwayne did turn in his paperwork for retirement last Friday. It can be accepted, delayed or denied-if the 'powers that be' decide they need him to stay there for awhile. We wait and see. Hopefully, in a couple of weeks we should have some answers.

     Nathan had the condo he was renting sold unexpectedly. He had a few days to move because he was working in Santa Barbara last week. So, he is back with us while he looks for a new rental.

     Jared was down from Monterey for a few days last week. The drug trial at UCLA is going well, the doctor is pleased with the results. He is still looking for a job.

    On the other front-we met with Dwayne's oncologist yesterday. The MRI he had last week was CLEAR-no changes from July!  Next week will be round 15 of the chemo.

     So, it has been a bit of an emotional roller-coaster the past couple of weeks, hope it will settle down some. Maybe, I can get a good night's sleep. Feeling drained.

Thanks for all your prayers and encouragement!

   

Update on the Update!

Dwayne's meeting with the supervisor was postponed last week. It has not be rescheduled. So, things are up in the air. We would appreciate prayers for wisdom. Really unsure how to proceed. He did confirm today that his birthday being 11 days after the cut off will not be a problem. So that is one answer.

He will have an MRI tomorrow afternoon-2:30 California time. Praying that there are no changes from the July MRI.

Thanks for standing with us.
Lisa

Update

     I know it has been awhile since I have caught you up with the Roberts' household. Actually, that is a good thing-we have been operating on a new normal and it's ok! Dwayne has done well being back at work for the past four months. He has had to re-certify in all his qualifications since he was off the premises for more than a year. Even got a call from an east coast security company to make sure he was not out of the country for illegal activities. Think he was ok on that one, he was not even out of the county! Has passed them all except one, that involves remembering a major amount of data. Think story problems on steroids! He will be able to retake that one. 

     A couple of things we could use your prayers on are as follows. Dwayne will have another MRI the middle of October. We don't have a date yet. We would appreciate prayers, that there have been no changes since July.  Also, Southern California Edison is going to be doing a significant layoff over the next few months, 700 people. To some, they will be offered early retirement-but they have to be 55 years old, by the cut off of November 16th.  Dwayne will miss that by 11 days. But as of November 8th he has 30 years with the company. So we are unsure of where that will leave him. 

     Our family has grown by one. Nathan surprised me with a cat for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. His name is Jeeves and he has settled right in and been great company.

MRI Results

For some of you this will be a repeat.

Dwayne and I saw the oncologist yesterday afternoon. The MRI looks good. There are still two areas-one 2mm , one 3mm that they are watching. They do not appear to be lymphoma. Dr. Cheng spoke with the radiologist while we were in the room and after a lot of conversation in "doctor", the term they used was artifacts (Didn't realize this was an archeology project). Could be scar tissue, or a blood vessel that is throwing a shadow. But bottom line-There is no change since May! That is the good news.

 So for now, we continue on with "normal". He will have three rounds of chemo, for you who are counting this will be the 13th round next week. Then another MRI in October.

Dr. Cheng was pleased with how Dwayne is doing. It was good encouragement for him. His strength continues to improve. He is working four full days a week. Has so much vacation time that will expire, he is taking Fridays off until sometime mid-November. He gets tried easily, but on the other had he is doing more. Dr. Cheng reminded him that for all the has been done to his body in the past year and a half, he is doing very well. Sometimes I don't realize there is much Dwayne does not remember about last year (in some ways this is a good thing). I am glad for this wonderful man in our life!

I realize that I have been on a bit of an emotional roller coaster the past 8 weeks. Even though I know that God has everything under control. I'm a planner and like to know what is coming at me. One thing this last year has taught me is to not hang on to my plans too tightly.

Thank you all for standing beside us through all of this.

Thirty three years!

We just got back from a wonderful three days along the central California coast. We celebrated our 33rd anniversary, enjoying the beautiful scenery, a great tour of an old light house and the grounds near San Simeon and stayed a delightful bed and breakfast in Cambria. Thank you Tim and Alice for introducing us to this area.

A full month of May!

 It has been a busy two weeks at the Roberts' household! On May 19th, Jared graduated from CSUMonterey Bay. The ceremony was wonderful and a very special day for all of us. We were in Monterey for four days. Two of those spent getting Jared moved into his new place. He has a very nice room that he is renting in Carmel. A Christian family from his church rent out two of their rooms. He was all ready to begin work on May 24th. Two days before he was supposed to start. He got a call that a contract that they were expecting was delayed. He is continuing to look in the area for another job, or hope this one will open up soon.

At Jared's Capstone (senior project) presentation. 

Look at the list of thank yous...

Go Otters!

Beautiful Coast!

The graduate!

A windy, but sunny day! 

Dwayne and Jared
Two miracles!

This week a year ago, Dwayne was in the rehab unit using a wheelchair or walker. We even took a couple of walks on the beach! Grateful for God's blessings!

Dwayne was able to make a trip up to northern California. He had a good visit with his parents and sister. It has been almost two years since he had seen them. A big thanks to my sister, Kerri for the plane ticket!




On May 29th, he went back to work for the first time in 14 months! He is glad to be back. So far, it is going well. This week he is doing his 11th round of chemo. His last MRI showed a "smudge" the oncologist's word. He will be repeating the scan in July to see what it is doing. There is a good chance that this is only scar tissue. We appreciate your prayers on this.

Exciting things are happening!

Happy Mother's Day!

Today was bittersweet in some ways for me. This was the first time in 27 years, neither Nathan or Jared were living here.

Two weeks ago, I told you that Dwayne had gotten his driver's license reinstated. He has been driving quite a bit, even solo twice. He is doing very well. The latest for him is that he got a release from the doctor to return to work the beginning of June.

Two weeks ago, Jared was called back for a second interview for a company in Monterey. He really wanted to stay in the area, since there are more opportunities in the marine science field there. He found out on Monday that he got the job! In this economy to be able to get a job in the field he has wanted to go into since he was 13 years old.  Yesterday, he found a place to live in the area. We will be going up next week for his graduation!

Many years ago when Nathan was just a toddler, my wise friend Pat, whose children were grown, told me "As a mom, your responsibility is to work yourself out of a job." I have never forgotten that. The sweetness is seeing Nathan and Jared becoming responsible, godly men.  I am proud of them both.

Big Step-today!!!

This year has been a year of small steps. When Dwayne first came home from the rehab unit last May. It was like having a toddler in some ways, he could not be left alone, reasoning skills were not always the best.. Mid-summer, he could be left alone for short periods of time, was reasonably good about getting his homework done for rehab, fix a simple meal for himself, things you could expect from a older elementary student. Since the fall, I could go for the morning to teach, leave him with a list of things to do around the house and he was pretty good about getting them done. So, we're talking middle schooler.

Then we come to today, after 13 months.....

  He got his drivers license reinstated today !!!

This was a huge step for him. I'm so proud of him!

Now, where do I go to turn in my chauffeurs license? 

One Year

Dear Family and Friends,

In some ways it does not seem possible that it was a year ago today that an MRI had Dwayne in the ICU at our local hospital two hours after it was done. In others, it was a lifetime ago.

We have learned a lot this past year about ourselves, the people around us and God. When I look at where he was six months ago, there has been so much progress. But still a ways to go. Overall, we have adjusted to our new "normal". I am learning to let my plans go easier than I used to, to be more spontaneous and go for a walk, enjoy a sunset, and we have found that the birds, rabbits and lizards are quite entertaining to watch in the back yard. Dwayne is learning not to be so hard on himself when he can't do something the first time he tries. This was tough, because he has always been able to do most anything he puts his mind to. Nathan and Jared have been a great help to us. They have surprised us with their strengths and how they have used them. We have found that humor to be a great gift, because sometimes all you can do is laugh at the situation. My dear friend, Kathy sent my the book, 1000 Gifts last summer. Have tried to keep the "gift" in mind in our day-to-day life.

Most of all we have seen how God has been faithful and met our needs, many times even before we knew the need was.

March 26, 2012

We appreciate your prayers and concern for our family this year. Thanks so much!

Life!

We have managed to pack quite a bit into the past few weeks.

Dwayne's MRI came back clear incase you missed that post! He saw the neurologist and he did the paperwork for Dwayne to be retested by the DMV. That will happen mid-April.  He will have his eighth round of chemo this week.

Jared has now had four visits to UCLA. Last week when they took pictures, they couldn't even find some of the skin cancers that they photographed a month ago. Huge praise, the meds are working!

Happy 25th Birthday, Jared!

A special thank you to Judy Allen for all her care for Jared through the years!
I still remember the conversation we had when he was 5, and was he ready to start school. Amazing
to think he will graduate from college in May!
Thanks for your long friendship. You have been a blessing to our family. 

Since Jared is coming home every two weeks, he ended up being here for his birthday! We had a nice dinner and evening with friends.

Results!

MRI results came back today. ALL CLEAR!

Update

It does not seem like it has been a month since I last updated this, but I guess it has. Too much going on!

Jared has made two trips from school to UCLA and he seems to be tolerating the medicine reasonably well. We are learning our way around LAX and a new area of UCLA.

Dwayne finished up his 7th round of chemo on Friday. A bit achey, but not as much as last round, no fevers this time. He was released from physical therapy the end of January. Speech will be ending on the 27th of this month. His aphasia is better for the most part-still a goofy word here and there, but a huge improvement from six months ago.

Two big appointments are coming up - the first is  tomorrow the 20th, he will have another MRI. The second is March 2nd. Dwayne has a neurologist appointment. The doctor will look over all his scans for the past year and determine if he is ready to drive again.

So, our two requests would be no changes in the MRI since November, and for wisdom for the neurologist.

A Crazy Week!

The good news-yesterday we were able to finish all of Jared's pretrial testing done in two visits at UCLA. He went back to school today. The not so good news-because the biopsy results were not completed, he could not begin the medicine. So, that means that we have to get him back from school in the next two weeks or all the pretrial testing is invalid. After he begins the new medicine, he has to return to UCLA every two weeks, for the first 12 weeks of the trial. He is the only candidate in the UCLA study, others around the country, but since Basal Cell Nevis syndrome is so rare, about 900-1,000 cases nationwide, the studies don't come up very often.  We are not sure whether to try and do this, or wait until summer. But after graduation, Jared wants to get a job in the Monterey area. So, not sure if that would be any better. We need prayer on this one.

This round of chemo has hit Dwayne hard. Along with the fatigue and nausea,  he is experiencing fevers in the morning, headaches and body aches. Yesterday was the last dose of this round, Yea!!! He will have an MRI in a couple of weeks. We don't have a date yet.

Normal is just a setting on the dryer!

Well, the year has gotten of to a quick start. Life is just not slowing down.

Dwayne began his 6th round of chemo yesterday and will continue it for this week. He's tried. but doing well otherwise. The first week of February he will have his next MRI. Praying that this will remain the same as the one in November-no cancer!! He was released from physical therapy last week. Possibly speech the end of the month.

I had thought we were in our new "normal" of a routine. I don't think the Roberts do "normal". Jared's dermatologist at UCLA thought he might qualify for a drug trial for the basal cell nevis syndrome he has. Yes, another very rare condition-less than 1,000 documented cases. So, we have had two trips up there for pre-trial testing. Hopefully, only one more this week, maybe two. They are trying to get everything fit in before he goes back to school on Saturday, for his last semester! We thought we knew where we were going the first visit. Found out there are two different departments of oncology at UCLA-the neuro-oncologists in one building that Dwayne sees, and an entirely different building where a whole floor of offices are devoted to cancers that are not in the brain. Sometimes I am a bit overwhelmed at that place, but grateful we have such good people caring for them.

We have decided that Roberts in the original Saxon must have meant "unusual medical conditions"
Thank you again for your prayers and support. There is still more to this journey.

Happy New Year!

December was wonderful celebration of our savior and spending time with family and friends.

Jared is home for the month and then will go back for his final semester in Monterey. Hopefully, a job will follow soon. We stretched out Christmas celebration though out the week. Finishing yesterday with family coming from Burbank and San Diego. Great day, lots of fun and laughs. Overall I think something that we have learned over the past year is to take time to enjoy the small moments. Some of our best times this year have been taking walks along the beach, watching the rabbits eat our backyard-they are cute, but boy can they make a mess of a yard, enjoying a cup of tea with a fire in the fireplace. One thing we have enjoy more than ever is the chats, meals and time with friends and family.

Nathan and Jared got
Legos for Christmas

This brought back some memories!

Cindy and Rebekah

Tim and Rachel

Diana and Paul
Missed you,  Joel and Bethany

The cookie decorating was
very entertaining

My three guys!

The view from the hills behind our house

Dwayne and Jared 

This past Friday Dwayne and Jared took a walk in the hills behind our house. This was a major accomplishment for Dwayne, he said it felt so good to put on his hiking boots! Six months ago he was not walking around the house without a cane. We are grateful for the progress. He finished his 5th round of chemo last week and continues to do speech and physical therapy twice a week at Mission.

A very happy new year from the Roberts