Dear family and friends

I have been slow in keeping up with the blog and have not communicated with most anyone since the holidays. So, here is a bit of a catch up to get everyone up to speed.

We moved into our new house on Thursday the 26th of March. It was a whirl wind weekend where Scott worked very hard and I sat around and watched because of very low energy and difficulties breathing. We managed to get everything transferred and Scott got the condo cleaned to perfection in time for the walk through on Tuesday. So, we are officially out of the condo and into the house. Woo Hoo!

On Saturday of this week, a crew from Team Survivor Madison came by to assist Scott and I in getting a bit more settled. They moved and unpacked boxes for 2 hours and it is amazing what they got done. Scott and I really appreciate the extra help and the friendships that have grown from this group of wonderful ladies (and their wonderful men).

On Sunday (last week) my breathing was getting considerably worse and Scott was beginning to worry. So on Monday I went to the ER to have things checked out. They admitted me for pneumonia, but later decided it was a combination of the cancer, some fluid on my lungs and general issues with my health. However, when in the hospital many tests were run and additional cancer was found. I now have cancer in my lungs, my bones and my brain. This leaves us with few options at this point. The chemotherapy is not helping to slow the cancer and is definitely not healing it. So, we will stop chemotherapy for a bit. To slow the stuff in the brain and keep me on a cognitive even keel, they are doing full brain radiation for 10 sessions. This should add a bit of time to what I have left to work with. In addition, they are concerned with my liver function. All the drugs have taken a toll. Maybe a break will help.

The doctor in the hospital was a bit of a doomsayer. She told us that I have only 2 months or so to live. However, others do not agree with her opinion and I am staying with the “we have no idea” perspective. We are currently looking for a miracle though.

I will stay off of treatment for a bit so that I can qualify for any clinical trials that may come up. I have to be off treatment for 4 weeks for most of them. So, we will keep our eye on the science arena and our hearts and prayers in the spiritual arena and see if we can not find a miracle.

Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers. Keep them coming. I do have a bit of difficulty with talking and breathing, so although it is not as personal, email, letters, cards, etc. are probably better than phone calls if you want to get in touch. However, I am still open to the occasional chat with a good friend  If you need our new contact information, please email me shauna at schullo dot com. Take care all! – S&S