April 21, 2015

We are a little late this week getting an update to the blog posted, but have quite a bit of news to report.  As of this date, Marjie has finished 27 radiation treatments, so 6 to go!  She still has minimal side effects from the chemo and radiation except for hair loss.  She has continued to have good energy for physical therapy.

PT for the leg is focusing on shifting more weight to the left leg, bending more at the knee, and developing a more normal gait.  The electromuscular stimulation machine (EMS) that we use at home, plus the great therapy sessions we are receiving at U of U Sugarhouse Therapy continue to result in gradual, but steady progress on Marjie's left arm.  Her left shoulder and back area are strengthening as well.  Joanne, our Occupational Therapist, has been very pleased with recent progress of the left arm and shoulder area, and we are thrilled that she stays late with us after sessions and gives us good ideas on what to practice at home.  Marjie still has virtually no feeling along the left side of her body, except for some tingling.  We hope and pray that as additional time passes, and after the radiation treatments are over (so the affected area of her brain is given a rest) that feeling and sensation on the left side of her body is restored. 

Last Saturday was a beautiful spring day,and we joined the Swanks on a picnic to the park.  Marjie spent a lot of time practicing her walking around the outdoor basketball court (with Scott's assistance).  It was great to be outside!

MacKay, Anika, and Karl, fellow runners from Twin Falls, came to see us on Saturday as well.  We had Ice Cream Sundaes and had a great visit!

We send out a HUGE THANK YOU to Sarah and Ashlyn Aardema for setting up a GoFundMe site for Marjie.  We have exhausted our medical insurance allowance for out-patient therapy, and this fund will be a tremendous help in continuing Marjie's therapy.  While we are very thankful that we have insurance, we were rather shocked to learn that the provision for outpatient therapy is so limited.  We were committed to continuing therapy by dipping into retirement savings.  The generosity of Marjie's many friends coming to our aide in covering this cost is humbling, and appreciated from the bottom of our hearts.  We have shed many tears of appreciation while checking the GoFundMe "Marjie's Miles" site.

We also want to thank my brother, Steve, for getting our sprinkler system up and running at our home in Twin Falls.  We look forward returning to Twin Falls about the end of May.  

And we want to thank the Marcellus family for mowing and taking care of our spring crop of dandelions.   Thanks so much!

 We end this week's blog entry with a couple of pictures from last week- Crazy Spring Weather!