We Are Finished!!!

Hopefully this will be my last post ever! I am very excited to write this... it's been a while since I have updated everyone. Layne has been able to complete all 12 rounds of his chemotherapy. We are all so proud of him. Sometimes at the end they have to adjust your medication so it is not as strong if the paralysis in your hands doesn't go away. Thankfully the tingling would go away in-between each cycle and thankfully there have been no hiccups since Christmas. We did get a phone call this week saying his white blood cell count was too low from the sample they took on Monday and if it didn't go up when they tested his blood again on Wednesday we would have to postpone his last round. They told us this was quite common at the end of chemo but we were all so excited for him to be done we really hoped the levels would go up. Thankfully they did and he was able to go ahead on Wednesday with his last round.

Starting his last round

Layne had a busy week this week. On Tuesday he travelled to Calgary for a PET scan with his Mom and Rusty. They do this scan to make sure the cancer hasn't spread while doing chemotherapy. Layne was able to get the results of that when he went in to his final appointment and get his bottle taken off today. The scan was clean! At this time there is no cancer showing anywhere in his body. We are all so excited. It looks like things are finally going in our favour. I was able to drop Layne off at his final appointment and Jackie, Rusty and Ty picked him up. They brought balloons and timbits for all the nurses. I guess Ty was very hesitant to give them up! haha

Registering for his PET scan

Getting ready for the scan

Thank you Jackie and Rusty for taking him to Calgary

Donuts and balloons!

Saying goodbye to the cancer centre (well for a month anyways haha)

He will now have to get the port in his chest flushed every month, get blood work drawn every three months, get a CT scan of his chest, abdominal and pelvic area every year and get a sigmoidoscopy every year as follow up. So we are not done with everything but we are glad he will be closely monitored. They say it takes 6 months to a year to finally feel back to normal following chemotherapy. So even though he is done today we still have a while before we can get back to normal life.

A final thank you to everyone who helped us out over the past 8 months. We are truly blessed to have such great friends and family. We have been well looked after. We could never repay all the help we have received but will try everyday. It's funny how trials like this make you more aware and sympathetic of all those around you. When you are looking, it is easy to serve others. I am so grateful to have a husband like Layne. He rarely got discouraged throughout these past 8 months. He has been an example to all of us. I am thankful that I have a belief in God, that I believe there is a purpose to this life. Because of this, we are able to find joy even in the darkest of times.

Things are seeming to work out for us. We have sold our house in Lethbridge. It looks like we have found a place to rent in Magrath and it looks like Layne might be able to do his final practicum in Magrath (fingers crossed). The kids and I are heading to Florida in 2 days with my family to visit all of my extended family. Layne is unable to travel to the US for 90 days, so i am being a mean wife and going without him. This will give him a few weeks to recuperate from his final round. It takes that long for him to feel somewhat normal anyways, so it will be a nice break for him. At the end of May if Layne is feeling up to it we are going to take a long road trip to BC to visit Layne's cousin and then travel back across through Seattle to visit his mission. This will probably be the only time both of us will be off work together ever in our lives (I love maternity leave), so we are going to make the best of this summer.

Today is a good day!

Amelia Maie Barnett

Two days after my last post our family welcomed a baby girl into the world. Amelia Maie Barnett arrived on her due date, January 11th. 7 pounds, 12 ounces. She came at Layne's worst time after chemo. I went into the hospital at 11pm at night. We were very sad Layne wasn't able to be there for the delivery. He stayed at home and my mom and sister in law Ciana were able to come in with me. Ciana was able to take pictures and take some video throughout the night. So, Layne is able to see how the night progressed and we got her first cry on video. I was okay that Layne wasn't there up until she was born. Then I was very sad he wasn't able to be there. Layne was able to come in about an hour after she was born and meet her, and then headed home to have a nap. Little things like that wear him out pretty good right now. I was actually a little relieved he didn't try to come to the delivery. He doesn't do well with me being in pain in previous labours. I won't get into details but dry heaving in the corner of the room is involved :) This labour was by far my worst. The pain was significantly worst than my previous two pregnancies. I was very happy to get an epidural and I know he would not have managed well with this one. Amelia is one sweet little girl. She is definitely a blessing in our lives right now. 

Layne first meeting Amelia

Layne was able to come back later on in the day to see the boys meet Amelia

Amelia gets to go meet all the nurses at the cancer centre tomorrow. Layne starts his next round tomorrow. He met with the oncologist today and he seemed pretty excited Layne is doing so well and getting close to being finished. It makes us excited. We also met with the surgeon today about Layne's hernia. He still isn't convinced Layne has one. He thinks it could just be muscle weakness. He will look at the PET scan that Layne is getting in March. It will give him a better look at his stomach and then he will see what it is. In the mean time he wants Layne to try and do as much strength training to build up his abdominal and back muscles as he can. He says he will not do the surgery until Layne is recovered from chemo and in good health. 

This weekend Layne celebrated his 31st birthday. It was fun to have my parents down to celebrate with all of us. Its good to have things to look forward to and fun things to do.

He got a gourmet meal of beef tenderloin for his birthday!

Singing happy birthday

First Sunday together! I love our little family!

Good Start To A New Year

Well I sit here 2 days away from my due date. Quite annoyed and uncomfortable. With both my other pregnancies I went early. But it looks like this little girl is quite comfortable where she is. I shouldn't complain too much because I was hoping for a January baby and I am so happy I didn't have her in December. I have an appointment with the Dr next Tuesday to make a game plan if she doesn't come this weekend. I had a Dr's appointment today and everything looks good right now. I am having a few more contractions tonight, that are getting a little more intense, so fingers crossed! I wasn't going to post anything until she was born but people have started to ask how Layne is doing so I thought I would give a quick update. 

His round right before Christmas went really well again. The boys were able to go and deliver candy canes to all the nurses and patients there. They had a blast. They dressed up as reindeer and went around the clinic. Everyone loved them and we really hope it brightened their day. I am glad that my children find joy in helping others, even at a young age. I think it will start a tradition in our family. We will try to do it every year! Layne finished his round Christmas Eve. We have a big family dinner and activities and nativity on Christmas Eve, and Layne decided to stay home. He didn't want to pick up anything from anyone. I don't blame him, and thankfully with everything thats going around out there, our little family still hasn't been sick. This is definitely a blessing in our lives.

Ready for the cancer centre

Ready to hand out their candy canes. They had "sweet ones and spicy ones", and people got to choose which ones they wanted.

It was a tradition for Layne to get 5 guys after each round of chemo before his second surgery. This was his last meal before his second surgery. He has been avoiding it because it brings back memories but he overcame that with his round before Christmas! We quite enjoyed the burgers!!

He just finished his 8th round this week. We are 2/3rds of the way done! He only has 4 more rounds to go. Things are still looking pretty good. With each round he just gets more and more tired. He could sleep forever I think but its nice he has 2 busy boys to help keep him motivated. He usually takes a long nap each day but is a wonderful husband and father and helps all that he can. His hands still bother him. They go numb on and off but it still goes away in-between treatments so they will not adjust his medication yet. He still goes to the hospital to get hydrated for 4 days after a treatment. This seems to work for him, so we are not going to stop doing it. I am glad things seem to be going so well and hope the last 4 rounds prove to be the same! I am excited for this year. I know what Layne is going through is hard but I have no doubt in my mind once he gets through this he is going to feel so much better than he has in a very long time! Happy New Year!