Serry Lee

Ding ding ding! Listen to the bell for Round 12, because that's what Serry's going in for tomorrow--Round 12 of radiation!

Hi everyone, Emily here again. It's been awhile since we've had an update, so I wanted to post for you all. :) As I said, Serry's on round 12 of radiation tomorrow--that means she's over 1/3 through with her radiation! She is supposed to have 30 total. She can still tell that the radiation is doing what it's supposed to--the pain in her face and leg have diminished, and I haven't seen her use her walker for a few days!

The weekend was, again, a great time of resting on the farm. Serry even got to see her best friend since 2nd grace (now a doctor in Idaho!). We picked walnuts (though I'm not so sure they were any good... ew!--beating up the tree was fun, though!), spent time resting, and simply enjoyed those toasty rays that came out. It may not be summer anymore, but the sun still has enough warmth to keep us happy!

The radiation seems to be making Serry pretty tired. It has to be exhausting--but, as usual, I'm in awe of her strength. And, as is a likely process for anyone going through treatment for cancer, her hair folicles don't seem to be as strong as they always have been.

I'll leave you with thoughts from her doctors...
Her neural oncologist told her that she doesn't even need to see her this week--because she's progressing so well and is totally responding to treatment the way she needs to be.
Her radiation oncologist said that this is an example of what radiation is supposed to be!

And Dr. Emily (or can I use my Rev. Emily here?) says that your prayers and happy thoughts are coveted, your comments on here appreciated more than you could ever know, and your love felt across the miles.

Hello everyone,

Thank you so very much for all of your positive thoughts and prayers. I have drawn on your comments and posts over the past few weeks to help keep me positive, focused and feeling completely loved!

Its funny how I’ve gone through life knowing that I have good friends and family, but it wasn’t till this that I have been able to truly appreciate how special those relationships are. Thank you for your words of encouragement and for the occasional weather report J

Before I say anymore, I have to bow down and give MAD PROPS to Emily for taking on the role of communications master for my blog. Without her help I would have been overwhelmed immediately by trying to respond to everyone. She does an excellent job of managing and disseminating info and I greatly appreciate it.

~~Thanks Em~~

This has been the first week of Monday through Friday out-patient radiation and so far it has been going well. I have weekly chemo every Thursday after which I meet with my Radiation Oncologist, Medical Oncologist and Neural Oncologist.

The pain and numbness that was rapidly advancing across the left side of my face has been retreating daily for about a week now and still shrinking. It is amazing to me that the radiation treatments are so obviously nipping the tumor in the bud! My back and leg pain have also been reducing and increasing in function – My big thing today was walking for short periods without my walker!! This is a huge improvement since this time last week, I could walk 100 feet (w/ walker) and only do three stairs!!!

Thursday will be long and exhausting, but I will have family to help take care of me and let me sleep between treatments, etc. My spirits are high, though oftentimes sleepy. I look at this whole thing as a marathon or like climbing a mountain. It certainly won’t be easy, but one step, one foot in front of the other and we’ll get through it.

Thank You All and Take Care
~Serry

Good evening, everyone - Emily here again.

Serry was HOME this weekend--I can't begin to tell you how GOOD it was to have her here. I ended up over there, Gentry (our little sister) came down... it was just a nice weekend.

I was there when Serr got home on Friday... Physically she looked fine, but she was slow, not feeling good, and obviously in pain. That night, however, started some of the most healing time... Here's some of the highlights:

* Smelling the fresh autumn air -- Serry's sense of smell is completely heightened right now and she can smell EVERYTHING. Sitting outside for periods of time just allowed her some peaceful recuperation time.

* Sleeping -- Serry slept a LOT this weekend! (despite staying up with Gentry and I till midnight on Saturday...)

* Fuzzies! -- She got some special fuzzies this weekend to keep her warm!

* HORSES!!! -- Some of our family friends rode three of their Clydesdales down to our place on Sunday! We spent about an hour outside in the sunshine, feeding them apples, scratching their necks and noses, using their rumps as pillows, and just laughing and talking with their humans. (On a side note--Serry and I used to babysit their kids... who are now 23 and 20! Boy do we feel old!!) Thank you to our friends!!! Your big boys sure cheered our Serry up!

* Love -- between the loves Serry gets on here and the big hugs from family... and knowing everyone is rallying around her... I'm not sure when the last time is that I've seen her glow like this.

So... When I left Sunday night, she was still tired, still hurting, but a little more ready to push forward for another week.

Oh, and lest I forget... THANK YOU to Aunt B and Uncle D for letting Serry and Mama Bear stay there during treatment. I hear only warm and happy thoughts coming from your home. And Cousin P, for letting Serry use your room... Gentry warned Serry not to look up. ;)

Yes, that's right... Serry's just in the other room!

Hi everyone, Emily here again. Serry and Mama Bear made it home last night despite Friday night traffic (which, if you don't live in Western WA--it's something that we all make a goal of avoiding!). For me, it was the absolute BEST thing in the world to give my sister a hug. She wasn't even out of the car when I got my first hug of the night! Although... the dog beat me to her. CW leapt up into her lap to give her as many doggie kisses as she could squeeze in!

We kept it a very mellow evening--just a quiet family dinner, then some rest time on the back deck and in front of the fireplace. Not a LOT to report... but you should know that I think Serry's time at home on the weekends will be as healing for her as the radiation and chemo are. She is getting real sleep here (as opposed to her time in the hospital when she was consistently awakened for someone to check her vitals). She's spent quite a bit of time outside, breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the crispness of fall.

I asked her what she'd like to tell her loyal fans (grin) and she said to let you know how much she appreciates your comments on here. They're so heartening, and she just loves to hear from each of you. And who knows... maybe you'll hear from her one of these days...

That's right! At least, that was the plan as I knew it several hours ago.

Serry has been released from the hospital tonight. I haven't talked to her other than through email for about a week, but I hear that she desperately needed a new view. She and Mama Bear are all snuggled up together, outside of the hospital, hopefully getting some fresh air and GOOD sleep. Serry still has one more radiation treatment tomorrow before she can head home for the weekend. Also, I've heard that she's been getting chemo this week, but I'm not exactly sure what's going on with that.

Serry got her first tatoo (that we know of... smile) this week, too. They had to tatoo her to be able to ensure that they do the radiation correctly. Uncle Charlie wanted dragons on her back, while Mama Bear and I voted for milder things like butterflies and ladybugs... unfortunately (or is that fortunately?!), none of us won--apparently they're just little dots to help guide the radiologists. Serry said that someone described them to her as if they're just little blackheads... Great, was my thought. Just what a woman wants--more blackheads.

Tomorrow is the end of week 1 of radiation. Please, please pray that the radiation and chemo are effective, that the cancer is completely killed, that our Serry stays strong (both mentally and physically), and that there aren't any side effects to any of the treatments. It feels like we just started this battle yesterday and that we've been fighting it for a year. It's exhausting--but extremely refreshing for all of us to be able to come here and read all of your love. Thank you.

...I know it's beckoning! Emily here again... with some good news. (I REALLY like good news, FYI.) Looks like Serry might be smelling some of this fall weather from HOME soon. Remember how we mentioned before that she would be getting 6 weeks of radiation, M-F? Well, this is technically week one, which means she should be heading home for the weekend to rest and just BE on the farm! :) I'm happy because it means I get to SEE her again! (please remember, just because she's home, she's still in treatment--visiting may not be the best option at this point.)

The OTHER good news I have is that, even after such a short time (since last Friday) the radiation seems to be killing what it needs to be killing! She's had a few issues (like the numbness in her face that has made it hurt when she smiles/laughs too much) that were caused by some key tumors. Those were what they first attacked with the radiation and the problems that she's had seem to be diminishing. They're still there, but to a lesser degree. I know we've got a rough few weeks (months... and more) ahead of us, but it's reassuring to me to know 1) these urgent problems are being resolved, and 2) radiation appears to be working.

There's a bunch of other stuff we could talk about on here, but I think this is enough for tonight. Again, as always, thank you for all of your well wishes, prayers, and support.

And Serry... love you, girlie.

Emily here... I just want to say thank you again and again to all of Serry's friends and loved ones... All day long there were more and more comments on here--it just blew me away! Serry... WE LOVE YOU and are WITH you through this whole thing!

I haven't personally seen Serry since Friday (both my Dad and I caught a cold and no sickies are allowed with her!), however I still get reports... Serry apparently looks fantastic--I'm not sure I could pull this off while still looking like a rock star like she is. It also sounds like some of the numbness in her face is going down... I'm looking forward to THAT--and having some sister giggle time again. :)

Anyway, keep the love a'coming! Serry--you're becoming my hero!