Wednesday, March 12

Last Thursday was Honey Bears final chemo treatment!!! Yea!!! The celebrating didn't last long, because Honey fell more and more ill as Thursday and Friday passed. Some suggested she go to the hospital, but oh no - there was a wedding she was bound and determined to attend on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately when the day came, Honey just could not do it.. too sick. To the Riley family Honey Bear admitting she is too sick to go somewhere means it is time for an intervention, so straight to the hospital we went. We packed her sorry self up and took her to Big Barnes in STL, and up until the moment she was admitted she claimed she was fine. After a few diagnostic studies she was diagnosed with a bowel obstruction. Honey ended up spending 8 days in the hospital, and was just released last night. She is feeling much better, and is very glad to be back in New Town. Oh yea, one more thing... while in the hospital Honey surprised us all by shaving off the few hairs that were left on her little head (a.k.a. her orangutan hairs)~ the good news is that the doctor says her hair will start growing back asap!

February 14th

Happy Valentines Day to all! Good News: Honey Bear has really perked up this week and is in good spirits. Bad News: Iron and Magnesium are low again, and she has an infection in her abdominal catheter. The Plan: A trip to the doctors office for a Magnesium infusion, an iron injection, and antibiotics. This is Honey's off week, so no chemo and she should be feeling pretty good. After this week we just have 1 more round (or 2 weeks) of chemo left!!! It's almost over :)

February 7th

Great News Honey's CA125 is now 8!!! Honey perked up a bit last weekend, but is under the weather once again. She had labs drawn on tuesday after passing out in the church kitchen while helping to make pankakes for the great pancake feast. Her electrolytes are all out of whack and she will be getting a magnesium and potassium infusion before her chemo today. You know Honey... no matter how bad she feels, she refuses to miss a chemo treatment. Someone once told Honeybear the cancer dies right before you do, and I think that is the best way to explain how she currently feels. Keep the prayers coming, she is in a tough place right now!

January 30th

Hello Friends! HoneyBear has been doing great. She is more than half way through her chemo treatments and her CA125 three weeks ago was in the teens! For those who aren't familiar with the CA125, a score in the teens at this point in treatment is absolutely amazing! Her #1 complaint is still nausea, but Honey was also given a prescription for the marijuana pill (marinol) to help with her nausea. It is working great, but beware if you run into HoneyBear after she has popped a "reefer pill" she gets a bits loose lipped! Honey has been a bit under the weather and nauseated for the last 2 days and she thinks she may be coming down with a cold. She had some labs drawn today and she is going in to see the doctor tomorrow. As usually thanks for all the prayers and support! We love you all!!!

Saturday, January 5

Hi everybody! As many of you already know Honeybear is doing great! She is handling chemo like a champ, and she has it all down to a science now. The nausea is much better and she has learned over time which days are going to be the worst, she at least she is prepared. As for the hair... it's still there! She says on certain days following chemo it gets really loose (so she just tries not to touch it or rub her head) then a day or so later it tightens back up and is almost like normal. That's Honeybear for you! We all had a great Christmas and New Years together! Cousin Jessica moved back to St. Louis from California and Cousin Ellen and Omar were in from Mexico. Omar headed back to Mexico and Ellen is off to London soon, but we have all had a great time together and Honeybear loves getting the whole clan together! With Timmy's help I should get some pics up soon!

Weekly Update 12.18.2007

Well, It was an exciting weekend for Honey Bear! She was surprised with a new car! That's right, Dad really did it this time. He traded in his Lexus for a little red convertible for Honey Bear! The cutest part was that when I called to talk to Mom about her new car all she kept talking about was the warranty Dad bought... bumper to bumper... it covers everything... for as long as the we own the car. Well woop-ty-do, what do I care about a warranty!?! Then, she finally said, "Christy don't you get it? If he bought a warranty like this, then he must think I am going to live."
Wow, I guess I would have never thought about it like that, but then again I never thought she had an option-

Weekly Update 12.13.2007

Hello all! My semester is complete, but the 12 hour shifts are still going strong. I am going to attempt a regular weekly Honey update...

Well, this week has been OK. Honey Bear had been looking forward to the annual Christmas party with the Bunco girls for quite some time. She rested up all day on Tuesday and hitched a ride to the party. She was feeling pretty good until all of the sudden at the dinner table... the nausea hit. There was a mad dash to the bathroom, and she very luckily made it just in time. After that Honey said she actually felt much better and she made it through the entire party and had a wonderful time! The next morning she called her doctor's office nurse as she has been instructed to do whenever any nausea or vomiting occurs. She spoke at length with the nurse regarding the nausea and at the end of the conversation the nurse suggested the prescription marijuana pill. She said she would talk to Dr. Rader and would let Mom know if it would be a good idea for her(and we all thought Honey Bear was goofy before - Watch out!). I'll definately keep you all posted on that one. As for her hair, it is very thin, but there is still a descent amount left. She has a little nearly bald patch up on top so she just wears her sunglasses up there. Dad feels no sympathy he said he's been living like that since he was 30!!! She is still protesting the buzz cut, so we will all just have to accept the bald patches :) She is still very tired and if she knows she is going somewhere she has to rest up for it all day leading up to the event. Dad has been awesome... he cleans, sweeps, dusts, vacuums, and he even cooks. However, he and Mom really appreciate it when you all bring dinner over (THANKS!) Everyone has been absolutely amazing!!!