Hi Gang,

Chemo brain is in full swing.  Last night was pretty rough – a series of 30 to 90 minute naps, 10+ hours to get 7 hours of sleep.  Tonight is starting off worse…..

We’d be very grateful now for your prayers for rest.  Thank you for being there!

 We’ll do a more complete update on the health situation tomorrow.

Thanks,

Scott & Lynne

Yesterday was chemo day.  It was a monumental because it was the 4th scheduled out of 8 that I’m supposed to have – halfway done!!!  Best of all though is that over 24 hours later and I’ve not had vomiting or other stomach reactions, and my temperatures have remained normal.  So from all indications I’m on a normal track and will avoid some of the horrific pnuemonia / seizure reactions that have landed me in the hospital.

Also I’ve made it two straight nights without restless leg syndrome requiring me sleep a lonely time alone on the couch.  Lynne and I have decided to give me two Benadryl before bed and another in the middle of the night.  It has been so great to get 3 straight hours of sleep in my own bed, put a couple of those streaks together, and all of a sudden have it be morning.

So thank you again friends and family for your prayers!  It is so great to have you there with us during this battle.  God is good to show mercy and answer our prayers, isn’t he? 

Some of the medication I’m taking makes me cranky, and I am feeling that a bit.  I’m unable to process a lot of info without getting tense.  Poor Lynne has sometimes caught it from me – that feels pretty lousy afterwards, to realize my mean response to the person who’s giving everything to take care of me.  Fortunately my personal RN is kind and forgiving.

I continue to have pain in my feet.  The need to stretch my legs continuously in response to restless leg syndrome evidently is the culprit.  We’d appreciate your prayers for healing for my feet.

Thank you as always for standing with us.  Halfway through chemotherapy – how great is that!

Oh yeah – I’ve gained about 6 pounds in the last week.  I’m jamming the food down, most of the time when I don’t feel like it.  I’m now about 8 pounds under my NBA weight. 

So grateful for all of you!

Scott & Lynne

Hi Gang!

 Day 1 of the Chemo treatment was today.  The retuxxin treatment went fairly well.  They give me benadryl through IV – wow, talk about something that makes you sleepy quickly.  This makes the procedure very relaxed.  But some of the meds they gave me today made me tense and cranky.  That’s no fun for any of us at the Halversons, and I hate watching it happen.  The effect seems to be fading away by the end of the day.

Lynne’s brother Craig came over today with his wife Kim and kids Kevin and Rachael.  We had dinner with them and encouraging talk and prayer.   Plus they brought over some bonus high salt / high fat foods for the recovering patient!  It was great to see them.

On the second to last posting, Cathy Huckaby asked the following: What else can we do Scott and Lynne? Can we send books, flowers (or plants for your garden/yard) What address can we MAIL things to you at? Did you receive the card we sent a few weeks ago?
ALl these emails are helpful, but i think if you 4 had something to LOOK FORWARD to…a surprise/blessing EACH day it would help you feel the touch of all us supporters in a TANGIBLE way…
Anyone else out there interested? Please just blog your generous YES, and as soon as we all see a HOME ADDRESS posted on your wonderful updates, then that will be the signal….and we can let the Surprises Start!
Are you all with us? Can’t wait! Bill and Crutches Huckaby.

I answered as follows at the end of the posting – I’m thinking Cathy and others may not have seen this:

Cathy,

You are right, having something to look forward to is a huge deal. The biggest things people can do for me that way is:
1. one on one visits as I have energy…..sometimes I go days between having enough energy to see people but it really charges me up when I can get that one on one time.
2. someome planting flowers etc in my garden in my absence. I think Barbara Grensted is going to do a lot of this.
3. someone giving Lynne enough help (rest & paperwork espectially) so that Scott can go on little drives with Lynne.

These things – one on ones with people, flowers in the garden, drives with Lynne – give me a lot of energy and something to look forward to.  Cathy, we did recieve your card.  Here’s our home address: PO Box 335, Mount Hermon, CA 95041.

We’ve also been very blessed with something we never expected in this process – cash gifts.  This has been critical as the copays on ER visits and MRI’s rack up very quickly at $250 each, along with the other hospital and doctor copays.  So we’re moving cash out the door quickly.  Plus Lynne basically is not working and giving herself fulltime to taking care of me.  As of today, we’re received over $3,000 in gifts!!!!!  We received another $1,100 today which will be a huge relief.  If any of you want to help with this, please contact Debbie Franck at Mount Hermon: PO Box 413, Mount Hermon CA 95041.

Please remember to pray for the post chemo aftermath tomorrow – that I don’t vomit, pick up mystery diseases (like the pnuemonia I had) that put me in the ER.  We’ll have another posting late tomorrow.   Thanks everyone for your prayers and notes!  We read every one every day and receive so much encouragement and strength. 

Scott

Friends,

 Thanks so much for your prayers these last days.  I’ve slept better the last couple of nights with the restless leg not quite as bad.   So I’ve been able to be 6 hours in bed with Lynne, which really helps with what is otherwise overpowering loneliness.

We’ve asked our nuerologist for a medication to help with the restless leg.  He’s prescribed something, but it has the side effect of nighttime paranoia – which we’d like to avoid.  So we’re probably going to try to tough it out without the new medication.  Please keep praying that the restless leg issues will abate.

Chemo starts up again tomorrow.  Retuxxin treatment happens tomorrow – the drug that tricks the body, saying “hey you don’t need to produce cancer cells”.  Then the real Chemo is Thursday.  We’d love your prayers that I don’t have the awful side effects – vomiting, fevers, seizures – that have landed me in the emergency room in the past.

 Today was a cool day as:

1. Don & Linda Broesamle came over for 30 minutes and we enjoyed some good talk;

2. Bill Fernald, Ron Taylor and Scott Gullick came over and with Daniel we watched the great movie “3:10 to Yuma”.  We had some good talk afterwards about the movie. 

These small group / one on one interactions give me so much energy.  I’m grateful I’ve felt good enough for this and hope to do more with people soon.

Thanks for your prayers and care – it means so much!

Scott

Well, I’d love to have good news to report, but that’s not always the case. 

Sleep has been very hard to come by of late as Chemo brain – tired but can’t sleep has returned.  I’ve been taking 10-11 hours or more to get 8 hours sleep.

Worse, my restless leg syndrome problem has been bad enough that I’ve had to spend the majority of the last two nights out of my bed and in the living room.  This makes it very lonely at night, trying to fall asleep out on the couch.

Lynne’s sister Irene returned home last night.  We’re grateful for her help, and Lynne is less tired.

I also remain very weak due to weight loss.  We are jamming the food down but can only do so so fast.

So please pray for good sleep for Scott.  It’s been a hard couple of days.

Scott & Lynne

Scott here tonight!

 Thank you SO MUCH everyone for all your prayers.   I’ll start off with Lynne.  She got a really good night of sleeep last night, a nap today, the cavalry arrived today (her sister to lend extra support) and she’s feeling much better.

Now my part.  First of all, sleep wise.  They started me on a new (anti-seizure) medication and I was surprised the night before last to sleep nearly 8 hours at night.  There’s this thing known as “the chemo effect” that I’ve been experiencing in which you can only sleep so many hours at night and then  you wake up, so I was pretty happy wtih 8 hours.  But then last night – I slept over 10 hours!!!!~  That just doesn’t happen after age 40 – so I was astonished.  So we’re hopig the side effect of the new med is that it helps somewhat gets around the chemo effect.  I will now be taking it until done with chemo (probably last May). 

More importantly, the tests on the seizure show no meningitis.  The nuerologist looking at it today is concluding that I had the seizure due to a combination of 1. going off certain meds earlie this week and 2. low sodium counts.

I’m still very weak, and it is because of the weight I’ve loss, some of which is muscle.  So I need to try to put on weight….I finally have an appetite…..this after years of losing weight.

It gets better.  My doctor’s orders are for me to way unwind each day.  I said “what if I lay around and watch the NCAA tournament for the next four days?”.   “Perfect!” he said. 

So

1. I’m a guy

2. under doctor’s orders to watch the basketball tourament all weekend

3. that needs to add weight (after years of trying to lose weight) and

4. should add extra salt if possible!

I know I’ve been sick a lot and stuff, but does it get any better than that?!?

We would love your continued prayers that

1. the last vestiges of pnuemonia go away (I can still feel it a bit)

2. Scott gets real relaxed and healthy before next Chemo (next week)…..

3. with no more weird anything requiring ER visits.

By the way, I now have to GAIN weight to get back to NBA size….we think I wasn’t this light on the day Lynne and I married (back in 1985). 

Thanks so much for your support as the body of Christ.  Every post of yours is read and cherished by Lynne and I.  We are most fortunate to count you as friend.

 Much love, Scott & Lynne

It’s Wednesday evening about 8pm, Scott’s been in bed since 7:15, and I hope to sleep soon. Scott didn’t have to stay overnight at the hospital (thankfully!), and we arrived home at about 9:30. At the ER, Scott had a CT scan done of his head, nothing seen; a lumbar puncture to rule out meningitis – all negative, and got a loading dose of dilantin, an anti-siezure med, which he’ll continue to take for a while as they try to figure out why he had the siezure. This afternoon, we saw the oncologist, then went straight over to the outpatient facility near the hospital for an MRI of his head, and tomorrow morning we’ll see a neurologist we’ve been referred to. Needless to say, we’re exhausted.

Gordy, Scott’s oldest brother was down from Seattle, and though he was so tired, Scott really enjoyed his company. Scott continues to be weak, very tired, and continuing to lose weight (down 46 lbs. total as of this AM) in spite of trying very hard to eat as much as he can tolerate.

Please continue praying for the doctors to identify the cause of the siezure, and for strength, rest, and returning health for Scott. Thanks so much to all of you who have so faithfully lifted us up in prayer! We love you all, and are so grateful God has given you to us as friends and family.

Lynne

Scott was admitted to Dominican Hospital this afternoon following a gran mal seizure. He will remain overnight as tests to determine the cause for this event are carried out. The last report from Lynne was that he was alert and responsive – welcome news.

Be praying that a clear answer for the cause of the seizure can be determined, and that a plan for treatment can be determined.

Becky and Daniel will be spending the night with family friends. God has again provided help for this time, as Lynne’s sister had already scheduled a visit for this weekend. She will be arriving tomorrow–a much needed help and encouragement for Lynne and the family.

Reminder – prayer time for Scott and the family tomorrow, 12:15 pm in the Memorial Chapel – all welcome. Come if you can … either way, PRAY.

We just returned from the oncologist’s office this morning, and learned that Scott won’t have to resume his chemo regime until next week at the earliest. Thank you, God! Scott had a rough weekend with extreme weakness, fatigue, and confusion from the effects of the pneumonia. I think finallly today he’s turned the corner and beginning to regain strength. As the doctor said, “you can die from the cancer if it’s not hit hard enough with the chemo, but you can also die from the effects of the chemo – the secret is in finding the balance and having the strength to get well.”

Thank you to all of you who have kept praying when Scott and I didn’t have the strength to keep you up to date on this blog. We know God is there, even in the darkest hours of confusion and weakness during the night. Thanks especially to Chris and Thud for calling and coming over to give me some respite care and relief when I was so tired I couldn’t think straight and Scott couldn’t be left alone.

The eventual outcome looks very good, but the road to get there is still very long and hard. Please continue to pray for Scott to increase his strength. We wish we could give each one of you our thanks and love in person. It’s often very hard to be as isolated as we have to be for the sake of Scott’s health. This blog site has been such a wonderful way to interact with so many, even if it can’t be in person. God bless you all, we love you, and thank you so much for your love and prayers.

Lynne

P.S. – Scott says to mention that he’s actually 14 pounds below his basketball weight, for all of you sports fans out there, and he’ll be working on his cross-over dribble.

We have been together praying for Scott Halverson and his family during his bout with cancer. Scott’s treatments continue, and while the prognosis remains hopeful the treatment’s affects are very difficult. There is a profound need for continued prayer for Scott’s recovery, and for Lynne as she labors diligently in serving him and the family. Please join us in praying that God allows Scott to “turn the corner” on this, and that the Lord restores Scott’s strength and health.

We will have a special prayer time on Wednesday, at 12:15pm (lunch time) in the Prayer Chapel at Mount Hermon, for any and all who can attend. We need to keep vigilant for our dear brother and his family.

Don Broesamle