To the Keheley Family

Deb and my family would like to sincerely thank all of you in the Keheley family for the beautiful wooden box over filled with cards of heartfelt love from everyone. Every card brings new strength to Deb! The engraving on top of the box was so touching and I cannot put to words how proud I am to be married to a teacher.

Over the last 19 years , I have had the true honor to witness first hand the precious gift of teaching from Deb and all of her elementary school families from Florida, Hawaii, and Georgia.

My deepest admiration is with all of you for the positive changes and everlasting inspirational happiness you change forever in children’s lives.

KTS and we love you Keheley,

Rod and Deb

Your the biggest part of me
Ambrosia

2nd Paracentesis, MRIs, and CTScan Completed

Deb had her paracentesis (abdominal fluid drain) Wednesday morning at 11am at Northside. They drained an amazing 5 litres which was twice the amount from last time. They also did a blood test ahead of time to be sure her levels were ok to handle the procedure. Results showed HGB at 10.6(L), HCT at 36.0(L), Platelet @ 497(H). When I went into the recovery room to get Deb, I could immediately tell that she was very pale in the face as result of the fluid drain. The nurse simply said that she removed as much as she could so Deb would not have to have the procedure for awhile. She sucked her dry!!!!! I then began to wonder if she took into account how weak and frail Deb was going into this procedure. Another lesson learned for next time…. Deb was very light headed when I was taking her to car in her wheelchair and I had to stop a couple times in hospital so she could drink some more water. She did great at home with her Mom Bonnie drinking plenty of fluids to replenish her body and definitely feels much relief in her abdomen. She slept fairly well last night and was able to get up by herself in the night without my help.

Overall, the procedure was a success and hopefully will be a while before this will have to be done again. We now have completed all the planned testing/procedures scheduled thru Dr. Yaffe for January (MRIs, CTScan, Paracentesis) and are still waiting results from MRIs and CTScans. Deb is now in a rebuilding phase for the next several months with our goal to build up her strength, weight, and energy levels.

To all of you,
It is important to us to remind you from time to time how much you have helped Deb maintain her quality of life at home with all the continued calls, cards and of course scrumptious weekly Highlander and Keheley meals! Please know that you all have added much love and care to Deb during her new journey in life. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being part of the Deb’s extended family. I cannot tell you enough on how much difference your love and care for Deb has been wonderful medicine to keep her strong thru her daily journey.

KTS and love to all,
Rod

We love our bracelets and surprises Paige, Ingrid and Paul. Thank you!

The only thing I hear is the beating of your heart

Faith Hill

January Checkpoint with Dr. Yaffe

It was a productive but tiring day for Deb. Deb, Bonnie, and I were able to "piggy back" first 2009 checkpoint appointment with Dr. Yaffe after Deb’s biweekly Sandostatin injection/lab test today. After doing Deb’s routine checkup, Dr. Yaffe has recommended/scheduled the following for first quarter 2009:

(01/07) Lab Test : Routine blood work to review current hormone, calcium, blood levels. Results show Calcium @ 11.8 (H). Blood shows HGB @ 11.8 (L), HCT @ 35.4 (L) which are both a little low but thankfully not low enough to being anemic and warrant needing a blood transfusion.

(01/09, 630pm) MRI – Brain : Follow up scan on brain hematoma possibly caused from 12/04 hospital bed fall

(01/14, 9am) Paracentesis : Second ultrasound guided abdominal fluid drain @ Northside due to current abdominal bloating.

(Scheduling) CTScan - Abdominal: Follow up abdominal scan to measure progress as a result of second chemo embo treatment on 12/04.

(Scheduling) MRI Neck/Back : Precautionary MRI due to new pain Deb is feeling in her neck and lower back.

(Scheduling) Hospice Consult : Consultation only visit to understand what services are offered for hospice versus home health care in the event that Deb will need full time care giving later on in her journey.

Beyond the above tests ordered, we also talked about further 2009 treatment options for Deb which most likely would involve a full body chemo treatment unlike the isolated chemo embo treatment to the liver. Because Deb’s overall state is weak and currently frail, Dr. Yaffe does not want to recommend further treatments at this time. These new treatments will require additional strength and we will just have to continue to help rebuild Deb one day at a time. We will revisit again at end of first quarter 2009 or earlier if Deb's strength improves greatly. This is not the best news to report but our strength is strong. We continue to keep hope alive while Deb rests comfortably in our home every day. Good night beautiful!

KTS and love to all,
Rod

Every little thing she does is magic
The Police

Happiest of Holidays

On behalf of Deb, Taylor, Tommy and myself, happiest of holidays! My apologies in advance for not being able to personally thank each of you during the holidays for the continued support to Deb and my family. All the holiday treats and goodies were wonderful! Please continue to know that your thoughtfulness continues to make the difference in Deb’s quality of life. T H A N K Y O U !!!!!

It has been approximately 4.5 weeks since Deb’s second chemoembolization of left liver lobe. Her post recovery has been very similar to recovery after first treatment. Deb’s appetite has been good but she was down to 100 pounds a little over a week ago. She is slowly gaining weight back but is very weak due to a lot of muscle loss. By the way, I was getting some very strange looks from employees at Kohls yesterday when I asked where to find the junior girls underwear. For the most part, she is able to sleep thru the entire night and not have to get up much like she has had to do in the past. Deb is sleeping more frequently throughout the day and is only able to stay up for 1-2 hours in between naps. Fortunately, Deb’s mental state during the post recovery has been consistently at her baseline which is comfort to us all. Her pain level has still been under control but continued daily discomfort with her whole abdomen area. For her pain, Deb is is currently taking 2 Oxycodone at night and 2 in the morning.

Deb also has not lost much hair with makes her continue to feel good about herself. Overall, Deb is still in her rebuilding stage as before with first treatment which took a solid 5 weeks. If there is any pattern to these post recovery treatments, I hope that Deb’s overall quality of life will be back to her near baseline by end of next week.

Because of her weakness, Bonnie (Deb’s Mom) and I help her up and down the stairs. It takes everything out of her on the stairs but it is much needed exercise and Deb does great putting everything into it. I have also converted the office downstairs to another bedroom so she can take naps downstairs during the day and not have to deal with the stairs. When not to cold, we try to get Deb out of the house just to keep her engaged and every little bit makes a difference in her overall state.

I was so pleased that Deb was able to participate and enjoy the Christmas holidays with all of her family at our house. There was enjoyment by all and a truly special time for everyone. We had so many wonderful treats and goodies from friends and family that added to the magic of Christmas. Thank you all again and feel bad that I couldn’t get the xmas cards out this year.

Deb’s next steps in her plan are biweekly Sandostatin shot this Wednesday and follow up brain MRI this Thursday to check status of hematoma from possible hospital bed fall back in early December. We do not yet have follow up CTScan setup to check the status of the second chemboembolization. We will not yet know next phase of Deb’s treatment plan until we meet with Dr. Yaffe in late January. At this time, we will discuss her Parathyroid gland surgery that we postponed in November due to Deb’s decreased strength.

Thank you Bonnie for staying with us during Deb’s post recovery and your endless love and caring for Deb. I am forever grateful to you and peace of mind that I can return to work during these challenging times.

Happy New Year, Love to all and KTS!

Rod

I believe in the power of love

Luther Vandross