Hello all, Troy here giving everyone an update of our progress. Pam continues to amaze us with her strength and positive attitude. She had her 3rd Chemo treatment on Friday and it was pretty difficult. They had problems finding a viable vein to use and it ended up taking 4.5 hours to administer the treatment. They are probably going to insert a port and leave it in so it will be easier to give treatments. Pam had quite a bit more nausea this time and Sat. and Sun. were not her best days (which in regular terms means they stunk). Pam was very tired and slept 15 hours on Sat. night. She is getting increasingly frustrated with the fatigue and general lack of feeling good, it feels like this has been going on forever, and it has only been 1 month!!

We are having an x-ray done today to see if the tumor is responding as anticipated to the chemo. we are hoping for excellent results.

The support continues to be amazing, thank you all so much! Having the meals during the week is a lifesaver. Thank you all so much. Pam says that company is great when she is feeling well and if she answers the door of phone, then she is feeling good. If she doesn't, then she is probably napping.
Thank you all for your continued support,
Troy and Pam.

Amazing support! Thank you all!

Pam and I have been overwhelmed with the show of support we have recieved in this difficult time. Many days we are in tears when we think about how lucky we are to have such great friends and to live in such a great community!

There are to many of you to list for a thank for all you have done, you know who you are; food, flowers, books, organization, boys, the barn, cleaning: THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!

The Barn: The is done (mostly) and a special thanks to the crew who worked on it and other house projects this weekend: Shawn Oxford, Martin Clark, Peter Booth, Paul Nestler, Steve Smith, Mike Werner, Dan Noel, Stu Chase, Dave Trevithick, Adam Bunting, John Reed, David Knight, Dan Shepardson (and Donna for the meat mixture that was a big hit), and Doug Chase. We managed to have fun and get more done in a weekend then I could have in two years. (Steve's poker trophy will be coming) Also need to thank the three lovely angels that arrived and cleaned up our mess before Pam came back home!

Pam has finished her second Chemo which means one cycle is done. Hoping for only 5 more, which would put the finish time for chemo around late January, with the Radiation to follow. We are seeing more side effects from chemo now. Naseau is rearing its ugly head, fatigue is still the largest effect, and some bone soreness from one med. Pam is amazing and her strength and attitude keep the house from crashing down on us.

We will keep you posted,
love Pam, Troy, and the boys.

Update on Troy and Pam

The Background: Pam has “stage 3” Hodgkin’s lymphoma…primary tumor is in the left upper torso area but she also has a smaller amount in the lower right area, thus the “stage 3” gradation since the disease has spread across the midline of the body…because of that stage, it is expected that she will need 6-8 “cycles” of chemotherapy…She had her 1st chemo treatment on Aug 18 and will have her 2nd one today, that is considered “one cycle.” The chemo will most likely last until around February and then once the white blood cell count rebounds enough, she’ll immediately start with about 4 weeks of radiation…that’s a 15 minute per day treatment, every day…this type of cancer is very treatable and hopefully by March she’ll be completely cured!

The Support Groups: There are essentially 3 groups of people that are involved in the “support family;” Pam and Troy’s family and neighbors, the teachers and staff at the school where Pam works and the boys go, and CVU. Obviously there are some people that belong to multiple groups, but for ease of organizing we’ve split the work into those three groups. Each group has “jobs” that are being coordinated by a team of about 8 of us that met the other night with Troy to determine their needs. If you’re reading this here, we’re putting you in the “CVU” group and if you’d like to help, here’s what you can do.

The Plan: We’re taking on the “house cleaning” part of the support. As you can imagine with 3 boys under the age of 8, a dog, and Troy…things will get messy…while Troy and the boys probably wouldn’t care, Pam would and we need to help reduce her stress level. Since it might be awkward for Pam to have a “friend” cleaning her house, the team decided to hire a “professional” cleaner to come in once a week, or more if needed, to clean the house…all the stuff none of us like to do, the tubs, the toilets…can you say “aim boys”…so we are accepting cash donations to pay for that house cleaning. We do not yet have exact fees, but we’re anticipating approximately $50 per week for the next 7-8 months.

Food: Many of you have already contributed money that went into an account at Cubbers, a restaurant in Bristol. Those contributions totaled over $700.00 (a HUGE thank you) and allows Troy and Pam to go get pizzas, burgers, etc at a moment’s notice. Here’s “Part 2” of the food plan…Cubbers is delivering food every Wednesday and so the team has decided to provide a “ready to eat meal” every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. CVU has the month of “October” as our month (Robinson Elementary, where Pam works, has Sept and the 3rd group has November) as well as “January” and possibly “April”, but we hope by that time it won’t be needed. If you are interested in either 1) making a meal or 2) delivering a meal, please contact Pam Driscoll in Snelling.