Holding Pattern

Today we’re waiting for a call from the other Oncology group in Redding who reviewed my records at their weekly meeting on Tuesday evening. They are trying to make room in their schedule to see me next week.

We saw a different orthopedist yesterday. Steve and Johanna were with me at the appointment. We all liked him very much and will use him to continue to monitor my bones throughout treatment and the progress of my disease. He said if I could get one more week of healing on my foot before beginning treatment I would be able to at least put some weight on my toes by then. The ligaments and tendons are going to take several months to heal under normal circumstances. Although the high dose steroids, which are the initial treatment for my type of cancer, will slow the healing process significantly, being able to bear some weight on the leg and toes will be important and will aid the healing. And, it seems every new prescription that I bring home has a warning label that says, “May cause dizziness”. I certainly don’t want to be dizzy while hopping along on one foot with my crutches!

There is still quite a bit of swelling over the area where the bone is fractured. But the orthopedist reassured me that it was a small fracture and my bones looked healthy. I will be having a bone scan done in about 10 days to determine if there has been any mineral loss since my first scan was done about 5 years ago. This will also give us an idea of the health of my bones before beginning the steroid treatment. If they start to show signs of thinning, then medication can be started to help prevent that from progressing further.

In the meantime, we have reviewed a lot of information for alternative/complementary care. We have ordered several kinds of special supplements and herbal remedies and are in the process of working out a diet plan. These will help keep my body healthy during treatment and, hopefully, contribute to healing.

Thanks again for your comments on my blog, your cards, emails, phone calls and visits. I feel so blessed to have such support and encouragement!

Family Pow-Wow

As of now, treatment has not begun and there are more rounds of doctor visits this week.

We all met as a family on Sunday evening to discuss my condition at this point: Do we choose to delay treatment for my fractured heel bone to heal? What about second opinions? Should we include alternative or complementary care? What should we expect when treatment begins?

My time has been consumed with seeking counsel from friends and acquaintances in the medical or allied health professions and doing many hours of research. So, this week, we see my primary care doctor again; get a second opinion on my fractured heel from another orthopedist; gather all my records to send to another cancer care team in Redding for a second opinion. Gathering all my records has been a challenge, as my oncologist has not supplied my primary care doctor with all of my test results. She has been very good about making sure I have copies of everything, which I have been told is important for me to have and carry with me whenever I seek any kind of treatment for any kind of condition.

The swelling in my foot has gone down, although it is not gone completely. The bruising on my foot and lower calf is slowly dissipating. Several times a day I take off my “boot” and massage my lower leg and tenderly exercise my toes and rub my foot, to stimulate the circulation and to promote healing. I’m getting quite adept at getting myself up and down the steps and stairs in our house and have improved enough that I’m able to use the crutches more and have parked the walker. I still use the wheelchair when we’re out of the house, as I do not have the energy to walk very far or very fast on the crutches.

There are times of great discouragement, but the notes, phone calls, cards, etc. always pick me up again and keep me going. It gives me the courage I need to fight the battle ahead.

Diagnosis

Well, my cancer has a name and it isn’t a name that I like very much. I have a very rare form of myeloma called nonsecretory myeloma. It has attacked the cells that make my white blood cells and my antibodies for my immune system. This takes place in the plasma cell in the bone marrow.

Within the bone marrow, there are many steps in the process of making all of the different things that make up our blood – red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, immunoglobulins (antibodies to protect us from illness), etc. At each one of those particular steps there can be something abnormal begin to take place and each one of those abnormalities would be called a different kind of cancer. My abnormality is taking place in the plasma cell. It is called “nonsecretory” because I am not “secreting” white blood cells and immunoglobulins. Consequently, I am quite fatigued and susceptible to easily getting very ill with just even a simple cold. This has forced me to stay out of large crowds of people and to avoid contact with anyone who might be ill. I pretty much stay at home. I have managed to attend a few special gatherings of friends for birthdays, bridal shower, etc, but my outings are generally visits to the various doctors who will be managing my care.

My treatment was to begin this week, but I slipped and fell last week and broke my heel bone! That has delayed treatment for a week. It was our hope that if treatment could commence quickly and I was responding well, that I could still do choir in the fall. However, with the broken bone delaying things, it is beginning to look doubtful. But I won’t make a final decision for a few weeks yet.

Thank you for the phone calls, emails and cards! Your love, support and prayers are a great source of comfort and encouragement to me!

Welcome!

Here is a copy of the letter that was sent to XL Choirs. Please check the blog again soon for updates on Kati's health.

Dear Choir Families,

I am writing to let you know that I have had some developments with my health this summer that may interfere with choir in the fall. But before I go on, I want you to know that I am committed to the future of XL Choirs and will continue to offer choir every semester that I am physically able.

My energy level has been dropping the last few years and it came to a point that I knew it was more than just “my age”. I covet your prayers for my health as I have been diagnosed with a bone marrow cancer, the exact name of which is still being determined. I have typical and non-typical symptoms for a couple of different kinds. I have been through extensive testing over the last six weeks and am encouraged that it has been discovered before it has caused any damage to my bones and internal organs. I am grateful to my local hematologist/oncologist who has sent my bone marrow biopsies and other test data to top researchers in the country for evaluation. I won’t know the final diagnosis or treatment plan until I see my oncologist again on the 18th or 19th of July, so I do not know if it will interfere with choir in the fall. Although they say there is no cure, remission is possible and, hopefully, that will be for many years.

I am blessed that all of my children will be in the area this summer. Both of my married sons live in Redding and my oldest daughter, Johanna, just returned on July 5th from her position in Indonesia. My youngest daughter, Jennifer, feels the Lord is calling her to return home from her job in Colorado to be of help to my husband and I during treatment and will arrive July 21. We are grateful to her employers for releasing her a few weeks early from her one-year commitment. Please pray that both of them are able to find work in their respective fields in the Redding area.

I covet your prayers and if you feel lead to do so, please put me on your church’s prayer chain. With God’s help and the prayers of the Saints, I am determined to overcome this trial. I continue to trust in God’s provision for the ability to have many more years serving the Lord through the ministry of XL Choirs.

I have enclosed a photo of my husband and I so that you might put it in a place where it will remind you to pray for both of us.

You will be notified by the middle of August by email or regular mail regarding choir in the fall.

In His Majesty’s Service,

Kati Rosten