Savannah

Savannah had her post-op appointment at NIH August 4th & 5th. They ran the scans and did all the testing and found that she has a small tumor on her existing adrenal gland. They recommend that she has a treatment called Ipilimumad.
It is an infusion that she will get every 3 weeks. It is considered experimental medicine since it has not yet been FDA approved. There are only certain places that administer the drug. Fortunately, there are 2 in Arkansas....Little Rock and Hot Springs. Her first appointment to discuss the treatment will be next Tuesday, August 24th in Little Rock. After that, they will schedule the start date. Once she starts, she will have one treatment every 3 weeks for 4 or 5 months........I think! We don't really know much about it til we have the appointment. They did tell Savannah at NIH that it has some pretty major side effects but we believe God can take care of all the details.
From what NIH told us, the other 2 options they were discussing were not good options at all....(unless the Ipi doesn't work). One was to do the Til cell therapy again but they said that was like taking a bazooka to kill a fly. The other was removing her other adrenal gland which would put her on hormone replacement therapy for the rest of her life....so....that would be the last choice!
Apparently, this is a tumor that had been the size of an apricot and then disappeared and is now back the size of an acorn. That doesn't sound too bad til you realize how aggressive this form of cancer is.
Please pray that the treatment will work and that the side effects are minimal.
She will be trying to go to school and work during all of this. Please also pray for her spirit and attitude. So far she has been a real trooper!

Shelby is home from Germany! She had a fantastic time and was a little sad to have to leave. Only a week after she got home, we encountered the "German Invasion" (just kidding). Corinna and her family came to America to visit us and see where Corinna had spent a year of her life. Her Dad's name is Berthold, her Mom is Kordula and her sister is Saskia. All very sweet people!
We thoroughly enjoyed their visit. They were gracious and charming, spoke English very well.....(probably better than us!) and had great personalities. We enjoyed a cook out while they were here so that some of Corinna's school friends could stop by and see her. The next night at Dinner, Saskia, who is a wonderful pianist, entertained us with some classical pieces and Kordula, who is a former Opera singer sang a beautiful song in Italian...of coarse!
They were interested in the American Indians so the next day while the girls did "girl things" the adults went to Talaquah to the Indian Village. It was a nice day although it must have been at least 110 in Oklahoma! :(

The day the Fischer's left to go to Las Vegas and San Fransico, Shelby started back to school.....she is a JUNIOR this year.....oh my!
The day after that , Bo arrived home with my nieces, Rose and Lilly.....
they had been here before for only 2 days when their great-grandmother Dot passed away....so....Donna and Jeff asked Bo if he would accompany them back to VA for the service and then back to AR to finish their visit. As it happened....Savannah was finishing up her appointment in Bethesda at the same time Bo was checking out the sights in DC. Her airport is in DC and she just happened to miss her flight...so that made it very convenient to meet up with Bo, do a little sight seeing, stay in a nice hotel, have a nice dinner and sight see some more the next day. She finally made it home....two days later. :)

I am looking for a job! If anyone knows of anything please let me know.
Of coarse, I would love to do something creative in art, music, something with kids or adults but at this point.....I would probably consider anything that I'm physically able to do. :)

Thanks to all of you out there that have never stopped praying for Savannah.
We have received so many notes and cards from individuals and churches that have been praying every single week since her diagnosis. God hears those prayers.
We still hold to the belief that God is in control.....not the cancer.
Thanks again and love to all!

Home again

Mom, Melanie and I got back last night from our jaunt to Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic. My elbow surgery was a little more uncomfortable than I had hoped but I'm doing great besides being a little sore, black and blue. I had to bring a therapy machine home with me that is the size of a small fork lift. We really had to do some tricky packing to get it in the car with all of our other luggage. It's now in the middle of our Living room because it doesn't fit anywhere else.
All in all we had a great trip. God answered those prayers to keep us safe, healthy and out of trouble.......although........for a really interesting story.....ask Melanie about driving at night near Des Moines, the Exit, the Atlas, her cell phone in the median and the scary twist of fate that put me in the drivers seat for a while!!!! :0

While we were gone we had some news that Dot (my sister-in-laws Grandmother that lives with Jeff & Donna) had a really bad fall out their back door and broke her hip and her upper femur bone. At some point...before or after....she had a heart attack. She now has had surgery and is in serious condition. We would appreciate prayers for her. She is very special to her whole family as well as ours.
She is such a precious person.

Bo is taking off a few days from job hunting and going with some friends to Albuquerque, NM to go hiking.
Shelby is looking forward to their trip to Bavaria on Sunday to see the castle that Disney fashioned Cinderella's castle after. I believe they will will see another castle or two while there. I'm SO jealous!
Savannah is....just......being Savannah! :)
Thanks for the prayers! Hope all is well with y'all love!

It's mid July and Savannah is doing GREAT!....aside from getting robbed 2 times in one week! First- her IPhone then- her purse......both were found THANK GOODNESS!
NIH just scheduled her for her next visit the 4th & 5th of August. They will do all the normal scans etc... and we expect to hear that she is totally cancer free.

I am leaving in the morning after church to head back to Mayo for my elbow surgery.
Mom (Daisy) and Melanie (my cousin) will be going with me. Your prayers would be appreciated since I have never even seen the doctor that will be performing the surgery. The only thing he has seen of me is an xray of my arm. I see him Tuesday and will have the surgery on Wednesday. It's "probable" that I will be without pain and have full range of motion when fully recovered. :)

Shelby is living it up in Germany with Corinna (our former exchange student) and her family. She loves it there and says the architecture and history is just amazing. She has already visited a castle or two and seen the Catholic Cathedral in Paderborn. I'M SO JEALOUS!!!! She has been attending school with Corinna for the last 2 weeks but now that their school is out, I think they have some big plans......not sure what they are......it's probably best that I don't know! :)
She will be returning the last day of July. We miss her a bunch......as well as Kim, Megan & Laura and all of our other girls that don't come around unless Shelby's here!
She is trying to post pictures on facebook if anyone is interested.

Bo and Savannah are looking for jobs (again). They will also still be going to school in the Fall so if you hear of anything - please let us know!

Again we would appreciate your prayers for safe travel, good weather,successful surgery, pain-free recovery OR really good drugs and wisdom for the doctors and staff.
Thanks so much! love you ALL!

BTW - SALE at Fayetteville Trading Post - Look at their Face Book page and mention it at the register for 20% off anything in our Sassy Salvage booth.
We have new items weekly so check them out......they're Fun, Funky and perfect for putting the finishing touch in your decor.

We're also running a 20% off sale at Daisie's and Olive's in Prairie Grove and at The Treasure Chest in Lincoln.

IT'S AFFORDABLE CHIC !!!!!

Savannah has been home a little over a week and a half and is doing great! Of course she still has some pain due to surgery but otherwise she is getting around like usual only a bit slower. She says the only time she has to take her pain pills is when she is around Shelby or me. She says we make her laugh too much and it hurts her. ??? It's not like we're trying to make her laugh...... is she saying we're stupid or something????? surely not :)
While she was in Bethesda, Savannah got a cute, sassy little haircut that looks adorable. She could have gotten the same "do" here but of course it's much more trendy if you pay triple the price while you're out of town......right???
For the moment, all is well with the fam...Bo found a job, Shelby is getting ready for her trip to Germany, I'm preparing for VBS Crafts (june 21-25) and Danny is staying busy working and trying to keep up with yard work etc.....plus a little fishing here and there. And as always - Savannah lives in Savannah-land where everything is always wonderful. love!

Surgery Update

Savannah was supposed to be in surgery around 10am this morning but they were running late in O R... so... in true "Savannah Land" style, she was taking it easy, basking in the glow of "Hot Doctors" morning visit. I know she wasn't looking forward to surgery but hey.....a girl does what she has to do to get near the man of her dreams!!! She wasn't exactly dreading it.
After several phone calls back and forth, Danny finally called me at 1:15pm and said she was on her way down and it would take 2 1/2 to 3 hours. 4 hours later she was just coming out. Wheeeewwwww! rough day waiting around.
They were able to make 3 or 4 smaller incisions instead of the really big one they first thought.
Everything went well except that when they removed her spleen, they found many more tumors in it than they had suspected. Thank God it is out of there!!! AND there were no more surprises.
Danny said she probably will be too drugged up to talk to me tonight so I'm trying to be patient :)
Tomorrow they will start her on jello and drinks so maybe she can get some of her strength back.

I would like to Thank everyone who has been praying for her all along. It's so comforting knowing there are so many others talking to God on her behalf.

A year ago tomorrow Danny and I celebrated our 25th Anniversary in Bethesda because Savannah was in treatment. This year we'll be celebrating separately but I will be here for Daddy's birthday (which is tomorrow) so.....party either way!!!!!! :)

SURPRISE!!! Savannah just called. She sounded good - but drugged up!
She said she is hurting right now and is not as loopy as she'd like to be but they have given her a button to press to release pain meds into her IV so she is in control of the drugs.....uhooooh!!! :)......look out "hot doctor"!!!
We would appreciate the continued prayers for a quick recovery without infections etc.... Thanks love!

So....Danny and Savannah left this morning at around 6am for NIH. Their flight was delayed a few minutes due to severe fog in NWA. When they were approaching the runway in Chicago, they were headed down but all of a sudden the pilot pulled the plane back up. It seems the plane in front of them hit some birds and it made a big mess. They had to circle the airport til the runway was cleaned and cleared.
Both of these delays ( plus the mile trek to her gate at the other end of the airport) should have made Savannah miss her flight, but once again, God had everything under control. As she was walking up they were just shutting the door and let her sneak in. Danny had a flight one hour later so he was there just in time.
Once in DC, Savannah made the shuttle to NIH but of course since Danny's flight was later, he had to catch the metro into Bethesda.
Savannah went straight to NIH and got admitted and prepped etc....
Danny got checked into SAFRA House. They were both going to turn in early.
Savannah is 2nd on the surgery schedule so they estimate she will go in about 10am or so. Danny has strict orders to call me as soon as she wakes up!
I thought I would be ok with not being there but it's killing me! What was I thinking? Although, Danny has it all under control and he is wonderful with her so I just need to give it up and pray!!! :)
We would appreciate all your prayers! Love and Thanks to all!!

Update on Savannah

SORRY! I would have updated much sooner if Melanie or I had taken a laptop with us on the trip. It's not fun being without technology....even if you don't know how to use it most of the time. :)
Once again, God is so good and kind and gracious and merciful.......
Savannah is going to require surgery on May 18th. They will be removing her spleen and one of her adrenal glands. They said that those two spots were different than all the other cells and didn't respond to the TIL Therapy. The good news is that after they remove the organs, she will be cancer free! They said they combed the scans over and over and there was no trace of anything else. We are SO thankful for this good news! The surgery is not really major....they said if she was at home she would only be in the hospital for 3 or 4 days. Since she has to travel home they will keep her a few days longer so they told us to plan on 5 - 7 days or so.
I think Danny will be going with her this time due to the fact that 1 plane ticket is cheaper than two- AND- I still haven't recovered from my 2 week jaunt from Minnesota to Maryland back to Arkansas and all places in between. It was SOOOO much fun hanging out with Melanie again (just like old times) but we are both worn out from all the traveling. I feel like I will never get caught up again with the mail, paper work, flea market stuff and sleep!
Mel and I kept a journal of our travels so as soon as I can get time I'm going to put a few stories on the blog.
Please keep Savannah and ALL of us in your prayers!
Thanks so much! Love y'all! OXOXOXOXOXOXOX