A PERSONAL FAMILY UPDATE...

My posting schedule has been pretty sparse the past few months and I wanted to share some family circumstances with you to explain why.  I normally don't share health and super personal information here,  I prefer to keep things upbeat and encouraging with pretty things and pictures but felt led to share with you at this time, especially for those of you who are believers and will join us in praying.  This is difficult to share- I've meant to write this post for well over a month but day after day couldn't make myself sit down to do it- but many of you are long time readers and have always been so sweet and interested in how my family is doing, so I wanted to fill you in.  

About 2 months ago out of the blue we found out that my Dad has Acute Myeloid Leukemia.  He has always been relatively healthy and very active so this is not something we were prepared for (is anyone ever?).  There is so much background and information I'm condensing to share here, but I'll try to keep it brief while giving you a good idea of the situation.  (I tried to keep it short, but this is still a lengthy, wordy post!)  One important piece of background- he's had arthritis in his knees for years, but after a consult a few years ago the surgeon told him there was no hurry for a knee replacement unless he was experiencing pain, which he wasn't at the time.  So fast forward to the end of December, he had a routine physical with a good report. Around the end of January the family started being concerned and keeping an eye on him after noticing that things seemed a little off with him.  Around mid February, pretty suddenly he began having trouble with his left knee and difficulty walking.  Within a week the pain was so bad that he basically couldn't walk on it all all without extreme difficulty, and then only with a cane or walker for a step or two.  At the same time, his right foot became painful and swollen, which we thought might be from an untreated mis-step several months back. This took us to the ER for the first time, where after a multitude of tests they diagnosed gout and sent him home with meds and advice to follow up with his doctor.  

The next week at that follow-up, results from blood work that was taken were concerning enough that the doctor sent him straight to the hospital to meet with an oncologist.  Again, many tests were run but due to a wide spread multi-day hospital computer system outage (what in the world?!?), other than kind of an initial assessment and more tests they couldn't do much at the time and sent him home with instructions to come back the next week for an oncology appointment.  At this point a suspected cancer diagnosis was just based on blood work numbers, so we moved into March and he had a bone marrow biopsy to confirm.  The evening of his biopsy, he spiked a fever back at home so we took him back to the ER, and long story short after 18 hours there trying to figure out multiple complications he was again admitted to the hospital, this time for 8 days.  

So, all of this is happening while his knee is still almost locked in place and extremely painful even if it barely gets bumped or moves the wrong way, and he still basically can't walk other than to transfer between a wheelchair and the car, bed, or chair (which takes extreme effort for him to even stand to do because he's hardly putting any weight on his legs).  So while we're trying to get a handle on a cancer diagnosis, beginning treatment, and getting some accompanying heart issues stabilized, his mobility is also a huge factor making everything else much more difficult- and extremely discouraging for him as he's lost so much independence for the time being.  The gout is now under control but it's probably a combination of that, the bone on bone arthritis, and possibly even the leukemia that is causing the knee trouble.  

So during that week of a hospital stay and a couple of scares with his heart, his numbers were good enough to start a round of IV chemo, which he continues with oral meds at home.  Last week he finished his second round and yesterday he had another biopsy to determine the effectiveness of the chemo so far.  

My Mom has been amazing and refuses to hardly leave his side.  She is taking on the full time caregiver role that he needs right now- managing medication, personal care, a million appointments and lab visits, keeping an eye on bills, taxes, etc. which he's always done... so many things!  My sisters and I are rotating as well to help get them to clinics and appointments, advocating for his options and best treatment plans (that's a work out!!), trying to help with meals, laundry, etc. It is A LOT, which I know so many of you are all too aware of as well.  This has definity opened all of our eyes to what it's like to have a family member with a serious illness.  In the past I have genuinely felt for and prayed for friends in similar circumstances, but didn't truly know all that they were going through until know. 

The doctors have been very clear- with the combination of the type of leukemia (he has two of the worst mutations of AML), his age, and accompanying complications the statistics are not hopeful.  However, Dad is fighting and we are doing all we can to prolong his life.  He seems to be tolerating his chemo well but understandably is just as concerned about being able to walk again.  It looks like unless he goes into remission and can have a knee replacement at some point, even with physical therapy not much is likely to change with that situation. As believers, we have hope and are confident that God is in control even in this most difficult situation and He cares for and loves my Dad more than we ever could.  We are trusting Him and depending on Him for wisdom and guidance every day.  Thank you for joining us in praying for him if the Lord brings to your mind. That so many friends, loved ones, and even people we don't know are praying is humbling and we don't take it for granted! One of my college friends shared this scripture with me yesterday and it was such an encouragement! 

"For in the day of trouble, He will keep me safe in His dwelling; He will hide me in the shelter of His tabernacle... I am still confident of this:  I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." -Psalm 27

This is a post I made 3 years ago on Father's Day, I've learned so much from my Dad! 

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A post shared by Jennifer Griffin (@jenniferdimplesandtangles)

On another note I shared this on Instagram but wanted to share here as well.  Three weeks ago I snapped a few Senior photos of my son around campus intending to come back again and take more when everything greened up a bit. 

One week ago he sheltered in the Raley Chapel basement along with his fiancé and many other students as a tornado roared through our beloved Alma Mater Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, OK. 

They heard the roar, felt the pressure as everyone’s ears popped, and felt the building shake as the tornado passed over and the power went out.  

Every building on campus sustained damage, with extensive damage to our historic Raley Chapel and Shawnee Hall buildings. 

It’s heartbreaking to see the place so dear to our hearts torn apart, but that doesn’t seem to matter much in light of knowing your child was inside one of those buildings at the time. Praise God for the Lord’s mighty hand of protection covering the campus and the miracle of no injuries. 

(top photo Fall 2021 "Blessing of the Hands" Nursing Ceremony)

Caleb lives a few blocks off campus but goes to a designated shelter spot on campus when needed. He was parked right up against the building on the other end of the Chapel, so heavy clay shingles that the wind ripped from the roof and other flying debris shattered his back window, tore off the side mirror and left some pretty significant dents and holes in the roof and hood. His house has minor damage and a large tree that fell into the street instead of on the house. 🙏🏻 He arrived safely home the day after and is going back and forth as needed now.  Classes are being held virtually this week as structural engineers, contractors, crews, and volunteers feverishly work to clean up and restore as much as possible for students to be able to safely complete the year.

So grateful for our Oklahoma Baptist University leadership and family that are taking good care of everyone afterwards and our sweet Oklahoma Baptists and Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief meal and chainsaw crews beginning the long clean up and repair process. Graduation is supposed to be in the chapel in a little less than a month… This group of Seniors are the same ones that went home at Spring Break for the rest of their freshman year due to Covid, shut down one for a period one year due to a major ice storm then the next year city wide water main breaks… I’m trusting the Lord that He will make a way for these students to finish the year strong and that we’ll be back at the campus we love for graduation!  

(If you're interested, you can help by donating to the OBU Tornado Relief Fund or Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief Fund here.  We give regularly in various ways to both of these organizations and both are extremely good stewards of any donations.  Thank you. 💚)

Lastly and least important in light of these other circumstances,  I'm scheduled to have rotator cuff surgery at the end of next month.  I have one full and one partially torn tendon to get repaired.  I can't pinpoint the exact time of injury other than it started hurting when we arrived in Poland last Summer, so all I can guess is that it happened sometime in our long travel day (probably from a super heavy carry on tote bag that I lugged around the whole time 😝).  I waited it out a few months and realized the pain wasn't going to go away, and by the time I scheduled various doctor appointments I didn't get an MRI until late January, more waiting to see an orthopedic surgeon, and now I'm tentatively down for next month.  It's hard to find a time that's convenient to have your dominant arm in a sling for 6 weeks + complete therapy and recovery after that and I really wanted to wait until after my son's wedding this Fall.  However, I realized something else will just come up by then that will make that an inconvenient time as well.  So, I'm doing some PT at home in the meantime and planning to get it knocked out as soon as school/graduation wraps up and we try to sneak in a quick family vacation if we are able to before Caleb starts his new job. 

my PT set up 😂

Thank you for reading if you made it this far!  I normally wouldn't download all of that health info. with you but even though we're "virtual" friends I still consider you all a part of my life and wanted to fill you in.   The frequency of posts around here and will likely be random for the unforeseen future and circumstances will definitely affect my project plans over the Summer.  I do have a great deal of content for posts stored up that I haven't written up and shared yet, so I'm hoping to be able to get that done in the meantime as long as I can work on my computer at some point after the surgery, even if it's a while before I'm back working on and sharing new projects.  As always, thank you for continuing to be here!  💚

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