Christmas blessings

May your home be filled with laughter
May your pockets be filled with gold
And may you have all the happiness
Your Irish heart can hold

Hello friends! Long time, no blogging! We are amazed and blessed to report that the last few months have brought nothing but good news. Jane's latest CT shows a continued decrease in the tumor that was left--even months after she finished chemo. After some minor complications, Jane and her cancer team decided to discontinue her participation in the Avastin clinical trial. It made more sense to avoid potential further complications rather than continue with a drug that might only have small benefits. Since stopping the drug, she feels much better and is really getting her energy back. She looks and feels fantastic. What a difference a year makes!

Jane had a great visit to Denver a few weeks ago, and we were so happy to have her here to help us put up the tree and get ready for the season!

 

 

 

 

Hope the holiday season finds you all happy and healthy!

Another CT, more good news

May God in His wisdom
And infinite love
Look down on you always
From Heaven above.
May He send you good fortune
Contentment and peace
And may all your blessings
Forever increase.

Hello, friends! Happy fall! We write again with more good news. Jane had her 3-month follow-up CT scan last week, and it's all good news. The remaining spots, which may or may not even be cancerous, have shrunk even more, and her CA 125 scores are still low, low, low! We are feeling very blessed and happy that we have such good news to share. Jane is feeling better every day, although still somewhat tired. She's continuing on her clinical trial drug, and that's likely what's making her so fatigued. Other than that, no complaints. Well, we're complaining about the Hawkeyes losing to the Cyclones yesterday (although Scott isn't!), but at least no cancer-related complaints! Thanks to all for your continued prayers and support.

Welcome to Colorado, Grandma Jane!

Let's all put on our dancin' shoes
And wear our shamrocks green
And toast our friends both here and there
And everywhere between.

Grandma Jane has her traveling shoes on again! Although she's made several trips to Kansas City since feeling better, she hasn't yet made it to Colorado . . . until now! Grandma Jane and Grandpa Randy arrived in Denver on Thursday night, and Jack couldn't be happier. It's been almost a year since Randy has been here, and since October for Jane. It is so wonderful to have them back and for them to have some great quality time with Jack. He's already waking up from his naps and in the morning saying, "I need my Grandma Jane." Mommy and Daddy are quickly taking a backseat. We haven't taken many pictures yet, but many more are sure to come. Happy weekend everyone!

Celebration!!

By all the shamrocks
In old Killarney
Tis a joy to know you
And that's no blarney.

Hello, friends! As I'm sure most of you have heard by now, we have good news to share! Jane's cancer is mostly gone! The CT still shows a couple of spots, but because they are so small, the CT can't accurately diagnose whether they're cancer or scar tissue. Jane said that Dr. Bender was beaming when he walked into the room and said that this is the best news that we could have hoped for. And this is exactly what we were praying for! The awful, terrible, no-good, very bad chemo did its job! No more of that awful stuff any time soon.

Jane and Randy got to celebrate the good news with the entire family in Burlington last week. We stayed two nights at Pzazz in Burlington and had a great time! The boys had a blast in the arcade, bowling, in the go-carts, and even just playing with beach balls in the rooms. All of us--especially Connor--enjoyed the water. And a few of us adults even snuck away for some time at the casino. Here are a few pictures from our trip:

Ann Marie and Randy on the go-cart track

Jack and Connor deep in conversation

Thank you to Martha and Terry and Jim and Teresa for being such good local hosts!

Next up for Jane: rest! She's feeling better every day, but is still pretty tired and feeling the last few bits of chemo that are left in her. She'll continue to have labs drawn every few weeks and get Avastin, which is the clinical trial drug. She'll also have CT scans every three months.

Thank you once again to everyone for all of your prayers, positive thoughts, cards, e-mails, comments, hugs, food, and gifts. We couldn't have survived these last six months without you, and we are so grateful. We'll continue to update the blog with cute grandson pictures every once in a while. Hope you all have a wonderful summer!

Jodi's Run

There's the joy of old Killarney
In these wishes meant for you,
There's a bit of Irish blarney,
There's a touch of magic too--
There's a wish for lots of laughter
And good luck (be sure of that)
And a wish that all you're wishing
May come true in no time flat.

Just a quick note with two updates: first, Jane is doing great. The side effects of this last chemo were fairly mild. Mostly she was just wiped out. She's starting to get her energy back though, which is a good thing because her post-chemo party is just 9 days away!

Second, Jeff and I ran in an ovarian cancer awareness 5K on Saturday. It was in City Park in Denver, which is right near our house, so it worked out perfectly. It was really nice to feel like we were doing something, albeit small, to contribute to the larger cause. We wrote on the "Wall of Honor" for Jane!

Final chemo!

Take all the many shamrocks
Growin' green on Erin's isle.
Take all the lilting Irish tunes
And every Irish smile,
Just add them all together
And you'll find they're quite a few
But surely not as many
As my special thoughts of you.

A short but sweet post this evening: Jane is finished with her sixth round of chemo!! After being infused yesterday, she still has the rough side effects over the next couple of weeks, but for now, a short celebration! (Insert your own happy dance here.) Jane's counts were still pretty low yesterday, so they gave her a reduced dose of one of the chemo drugs and sent her home with neupogen shots for the next few days. The best part about this round of chemo is that Jane has a mini-vacation with her grandbabies to look forward to in June! She'll get a CT on June 11, and we'll know then what the next steps in her treatment are. Until then, keep those prayers and good thoughts coming for happy news after the CT.

Happy Mother's Day!

As He brought new faith to Ireland
So may He bring to you,
A touch of Irish happiness
In everything you do---
And like the good Saint Patrick
May your home and life be blessed
With all God's special favors
That make you happiest.

Happy Mother's Day, Jane!! We hope you have a wonderful and relaxing day at home! As some of you may know, Jane's been in the hospital the past few days, but today (Saturday) she went home. To back up a little bit, her fifth chemo treatment was a week ago, and this one has hit her hard. She's been in quite a bit of pain and is very tired. A few days ago she spiked a fever, so into the hospital she went. Her blood counts were very low, which is to be expected with the chemo. She's on antibiotics and had a few neuprogen shots, which are designed to get her counts back up. The blood cultures all came back negative, which is more good news. As of yesterday, the doctor estimated that it could be Monday or Tuesday before her counts came up to the level that they'd be comfortable sending her home. Yet today, they were already up to where they needed to be! We're taking this as a good sign that her body is fighting back and making white blood cells as fast as it can. Thank you for all of the prayers and positive thoughts. They truly are making a difference.

We hope all of you moms, grandmas, great-grandmas, and aunts out there have a wonderful Mother's Day weekend with the ones you love.

Shrinking Cancer!!

May brooks and trees and singing hills
Join in the chorus too
And every gentle wind that blows
Send happiness to you.

Good news, friends! Jane's cancer is shrinking!! Apologies for the delay after Jane got her results early this week, but it's all good news. The cancer masses that Dr. Bender left after surgery have shrunk by over half of their original size. I'm getting goosebumps just typing this. What marvelous news, eh?

Jane had her fourth chemo treatment on Monday and is doing pretty well. She worked the rest of the week for four or five hours a day. She's pretty pooped and has some tingling in her limbs, but is otherwise in good spirits and feeling okay.

Thank you all for your prayers and positive thoughts! Look how far we've come in the last few months. We'll continue to pray that the chemo keeps kicking that cancer's butt for these last three rounds. Again, thank you all!

Back to Work

May the luck of the Irish be always at hand.
And good friends always near you--
May each and every coming day
Bring some special joy to cheer you.

Hello friends! Guess who's back at work?! Jane's working about five or six hours a day, which is enough to make her just the right amount of tired without wearing her out too much. It's taken some getting used to, but it's been nice to have a bit of a routine again, especially compared to how she felt just a month ago. Jane's labs last week and today show that the chemo is doing its job. Her blood counts are low, which is to be expected. As long as her counts come back up by this time next week, she should get her fourth round of chemo next week. Jane has a CT scan this Friday, and that'll let us see what the remaining tumors look like. Thank you to all for the prayers and well wishes!! She would not be where she is today without all of those prayers and the love you've sent. Thank you! Please continue to keep her in your prayers for some good news this Good Friday.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

May your days be very happy
May your life be free from cares.
May Saint Patrick ask Our Blessed Lord
To answer all your prayers.

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Hope you all enjoyed a fun weekend celebrating! Jane and Randy went to Mickey's for dinner with Joe and Linda Leu on Saturday night. They were lucky enough to get a window booth so they could watch people on the street while drinking their green beer.

Jane has spent the last couple of weeks resting and recovering. She's been feeling good and getting her energy back after her stint in the hospital. Today presented us with some great news. Jane had her third round of chemo and before it got started, she had her labs drawn. Her CA-125 level was down to 18! (CA-125 is a protein that serves as a marker for tumors. It doesn't tell us much on its own, but is a tool to monitor progress.) When Jane first received her diagnosis, her level was over 150 (maybe even higher, we can't remember for sure), and under 35 is considered normal. It doesn't mean she's cancer free, but it's another sign that the chemo is working! Today's news gave Jane great encouragement, and she was feeling good after getting chemo this afternoon. Next chemo is scheduled for three weeks, along with a CT scan to track how the remaining nodules are doing (hopefully they're smaller)!

Thank you all for the well wishes and prayers. Keep sending them for later this week as the chemo starts working its magic--and making Jane suffer the side effects. She needs your positive vibes and all of the extra energy you can send her way. Love to you all!

Going home??

May the lilt of Irish laughter
Lighten every load,
May the mist of Irish magic
Shorten every road,
May you taste the sweetest pleasures
That fortune ere bestowed,
And may all your friends remember
All the favors you are owed.

Good news! Our Jane is going home (we think)! We're cautiously optimistic that Jane will be going home from the hospital tomorrow. The weekend was full of progress. After her bowel obstruction resolved late last week, she got to slowly start drinking liquids and eating. Sprite, yogurt, pancakes, yum! She became dehydrated this weekend when her IVs were taken out, but is doing well. Her white counts are also low, which has led to a postponement of chemo for two weeks. Her team wants to make sure she recovers and is ready to handle another dose before rushing into it. While a bit disappointing to get off schedule, these next couple of weeks will be a good chance to recover before the next round. Keep those prayers and good thoughts coming!

On another note, happy birthday, Jack!! Our little guy turned 2 last week, and we had fun helping him open his presents this weekend. He loved his new lawn mower from Mom and Dad and his new water table from Grandma Jane and Grandpa Randy!

Happy Leap Day!

It would take more lucky shamrocks
Than Ireland ever grew
To bring the luck and gladness
That I'm always wishing you.

Hello, friends! Happy Leap Day! Today we are thankful for an extra day for Jane to rest and heal and for God to hear the prayers we're sending. We have two important updates after our long absence from the blog. The first is a huge thank you to all of you UI employees who donated time to Jane. Last week she found out that she had received over 5 weeks of donated time!!! Amazing! She gets choked up every time she talks about it and wanted us to convey as loudly as possible how unbelievably blessed she and Randy are feeling with all of your support. They have been overwhelmed by all of the cards, prayers, food, and offers to help and then to learn of all this donated time on top of that--wow! Thank you everyone!

Our second update is about Jane's health. She's had a pretty rough week, but is slowly rebounding. Two Saturdays ago (February 18) Jane was admitted to the hospital with a bowel obstruction, which is likely the result of the chemo drugs doing their thing. After a few days of bowel rest, she started eating again last Wednesday, but it was too soon. So she started strict bowel rest again, meaning no food and no liquids. A CT scan late last week showed the bowel obstruction was still there, but that the remaining cancer nodules had shrunk! The chemo is working! Because of this, the plan was to continue with conservative treatment of the bowel obstruction for as long as possible to keep Jane on her chemo schedule. Her doctors were comfortable with being patient and hoping it resolved on its own for as long as it took, with surgery being an absolute last resort.

Over the weekend, x-rays showed a slowly resolving obstruction. By Monday, the x-ray showed no more obstruction! Today they're hoping to clamp her NG tube and maybe even let her try some clear liquids today or tomorrow. Unfortunately, as a result of nothing but IV liquids for the past 10 days, Jane's pretty weak and tired. Nutritionally, she's fine, but it will be nice to get some food on board in the next few days.

Thank you again for those of you who've donated time and for everything else you're doing. Jane (and her family!) is so grateful for it all! Thank you! We'll try to keep the blog updated in the next few days as she heals and gains her strength back.

Happy birthday, Jane!!!

These things I warmly wish for you--
Someone to love,
Some work to do,
A bit o' sun
A bit o'cheer
And a guardian angel
Always near.

Happy, happy birthday to you, Jane! This is not at all how we wanted you to spend your 60th birthday (or Valentine's Day for that matter)! We hope you have an uneventful day getting chemo, a good book to read and movies to watch, good friends to surround you, maybe a few laughs despite this crappy disease, and that you feel all of the love and prayers we're sending your way. Thank you for the tremendous amount of love and care you've provided to all of us in the last 60 years. None of us would be who we are without the wife, mother (or mother-in-law), grandmother, sister, and friend that you've been to us. Sending you the tightest of hugs, the biggest smooches, and the loudest prayers we can today. Happy birthday and happy Valentine's Day!

A picture from Scott and family's visit to Iowa City this weekend:

p.s. We probably won't update after Jane's chemo tomorrow, so please assume that no news is good news. We'll post an update at some point later in the week to let you know how Jane's feeling.

Pictures!

From Jane's friend, Mick McGillin: "As our Granny Annie McGillin always said, 'You can't have hair and brains too!'"

We agree, Mick! We'll take the brains. As we mentioned in our post this morning, Jane had a big day--and it turns out it was a pretty good one too. She not only got her hair cut, but had a nice lunch with the Leus, and even drove to the mall by herself to just wander around for a while. She told Jeff she had a "cancer free" day, which is just what the doctor ordered. Today we are counting our blessings for a joyful, healthy, and happy day.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

May you have only pleasant hours
To melt your cares away,
And the warmth of Irish laughter
To bring gladness to each day

Greetings from snowy Denver! We have at least a foot on the ground already, and it's not supposed to stop until tomorrow morning.We're enjoying a great snow day at home. We even got to Skype with Jane for a while this morning while she watched Jack play. Not a bad way to start the day!

Big day for Jane today--she made a trip to the salon to get her hair cut off. She's heard from others that it's best to do it yourself before the chemo takes it away, so that's what she did. She looks great, and already has a green hat to keep her warm. Thanks to Heidi and Grace for going with her!

Jane is getting her energy back after a rough start to the week. She went to the ER on Monday feeling weak and dizzy. Her labs came back normal, but her blood pressure was low and she was dehydrated. Two IVs later, she was on her way home. The doctors felt that it was nothing more than chemo side effects. After a few good nights of sleep, she started feeling better again. Now that she's been through the first round of chemo, she has a better idea of what to expect (and when) for the next go-round, which makes it a little easier to face.

We'll leave you with a couple pictures of Jack enjoying the snow!

Feeling pooped

May your days be filled with laughter and the joy of many friends;
May God bless you with His grace
and peace that never ends.

It took about three days, but the chemo side effects started kicking in Friday afternoon. More than anything else, Jane's been feeling pain all over. It's pretty well controlled with pain meds, but it's still uncomfortable. Luckily there hasn't been much nausea, so the anti-nausea meds are likely doing their job. We're hoping she starts feeling better and less fatigued tomorrow.

Our favorite cook Teresa brought food for Randy and Jane yesterday, so they have a very full fridge! Thank you for all of the wonderful offers to bring food. Randy told us today that they're turning you all away from bringing food, which is a pretty nice problem to have. We'll keep you posted when they're ready for more.

Also, Jane was just approved for catastrophic leave at work. For those of you who are University employees, you can donate time if you're interested. The website is here: www.uiowa.edu/hr/benefits. Contributions are confidential and completed forms should to be sent to Julie Kasparek, 120-40 University Services Building. Please know how grateful Jane and Randy are for these donations, as well as everything else you all are doing. They are truly overwhelmed by it all.

Update from Martha

Hi all,

Below is an update from Martha after Jane's first day of chemo.

UPDATE: Jane and I are home from the hospital after 9-10 hours. She had her first session of chemo today. So far so good. It is now 8:06 p.m. and she is acting more "normal" than she has all day. She says she feels better than she has in weeks. She is awake, eating, and watching the State of the Union activities. Her CT scan had good results-no new growth of cancer and the enlarged nodules that were not removed have not grown. She is now dictating to me but I can't type that fast, but she won't take her eyes off the State of the Union!!! CA 125 blood test is 147, which is going the right direction and lower than when we started. Jane says thanks to everyone. Hopefully, tomorrow she will feel just as good and we will get out and walk, pick up some things she needs, then I will head to Burlington and back to work on Thursday. Her next chemo is scheduled for Feb. 14th. Nothing like spending your 60th birthday doing drugs!!!

Love,
Martha

Let's Try This Again . . .

Hello all,

If you're looking for an update on how Jane's chemo went yesterday, we don't have it. Unfortunately, she didn't get started yesterday. The good news is that it had nothing to do with her or her health. The bad news is that it was a mix-up in the office that resulted in them not being ready for her. As we mentioned, Jane has the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial, but somewhere along the line there was a mix-up so that she didn't have the pre-chemo tests she needed to participate in the trial, and they weren't ready for her. Needless to say, yesterday was very frustrating! Jane and I joked that instead of an Irish blessing we should just title our post "S.N.A.F.U.: Situation Normal: All F***ed Up." As of yesterday afternoon when she left, the office was going to do everything they could to get her started on chemo and get her test results read so that she could still be in the trial.

Fortunately, we're back on track today. Jane just sent me a message that she is starting chemo right now with the clinical trial and that she'll get it every three weeks. I don't much more beyond that, so we'll post updates in the next day or two as we have them. Martha is with her today. Also, Jane has a fun new iPad, so she can read your messages as she's getting chemo! Thank you all for the notes you left Sunday and yesterday. Keep them coming!! Again, thank you all!

Big day tomorrow!

May you be blessedwith the strength of heaven--
the light of the sun and the
radiance of the moon
the splendor of fire--
the speed of lightning--
the switfness of wind--
the depth of the sea--
the stability of earth and the firmness of rock.

Hello, dear friends! Tomorrow is the day that many of us have been both dreading and looking forward to for several weeks. Dreading, for obvious reasons, and looking forward to so we can get this fight started!

Jane is doing great. As she mentioned in her post, she's been getting her strength back by walking the mall and rewarding herself with ice cream. Jeff went back to Iowa for the weekend, and they had a nice, relaxing time. They even spent a few hours at the Riverside Casino on Saturday afternoon!

Tomorrow will be a long day. Jane's first appointment is at 9:30. She has several folks to meet with, and then chemo will start around noon or one, probably lasting all afternoon. Randy and Linda Leu will be joining her tomorrow, and Martha is going to come up to Iowa City for the evening/night. Although we have some idea of the chemo side effects, you can never know which ones will affect her, and at what times. It could be a day or two before we post updates, but please know we'll be feeling all of the love and prayers you're sending Jane's way.

Post from Jane

Below is a post from Jane herself! She posted it as a comment to the last update, but we wanted to make sure everyone saw it, so here you go:

Hi,dear ones!!!

It's me, Jane!!

Thank you seems such an inadequate word for all you are doing for me & my precious family. Love is more appropriate, I think.

Yes, I am gaining strength, walking the mall each for the past 3 days, rewarding myself with a hot fudge shake! Not yet ready for a 5K! but ready to get this fight going in 7 days! Today, Martha helped me try on hats & scarves at Von Maur, me sitting on the floor in front of full length mirror & Martha bringing the hats/scarves...a Kodak moment, I am sure! We did buy 3 hats!! One is practical-wool & GREEN; one is suede&copper; one is fancy: brown with a bow,my DERBY hat! We are gonna have FUN with this crap & party our way to the end!

Bless you all!!! Love to you!

Change to chemo start date

May Saint Patrick guard you wherever you go
and guide you in whatever you do--and may
his loving protection be a blessing to you always.

Hello again, friends! We're posting with an update about Jane's chemo start date. Instead of starting chemo tomorrow, she will be starting next Monday, January 23. After her meeting with Dr. Bender last week, his office changed her start date. Nothing to worry about--I think it was just a scheduling issue. She continues to do a fantastic job of recovering from surgery. Her energy is coming back, and she's going to be very well healed before chemo.

Her appointment next Monday is mid-morning, with chemo starting around noon. Randy will be with her all day, and Martha is coming up that afternoon/evening. We'll post an update about how she's feeling as soon as we can, but it may not be until Tuesday. Thank you again for the positive thoughts and comments--it's been great to get them even during this quiet period before she begins chemo. We'll continue saying prayers that Saint Patrick and his guardian angels watch over Jane in these next few weeks and months.

Quick Update

Hi friends,

I apologize for getting this post up late. We wanted to send a quick update to let you all know that Jane is doing well. She met with Dr. Bender yesterday to follow up after surgery, and once again, we are blessed to find out that the news is as good as can be expected. The pathology report from surgery came back and showed that of the lymph nodes that were removed from her pelvis, none of them had cancer! This is great news and her diagnosis is still stage 3c, as opposed to stage 4. We don't know for sure that the enlarged lymph nodes in the cardiophrenic space are not cancerous (if you'll remember, those are the ones that were enlarged on the initial CT scan but that Dr. Bender was not able to get to during surgery), but it's certainly reassuring to find out that the pelvic nodes were not cancerous.

Jane will start chemo on Tuesday. We don't have her schedule yet, but she will likely get infusions every three weeks, with one drug coming once a week. She has the opportunity to participate in a clinical trial, but her final drug regimen hasn't yet been determined. Needless to say, it will be some nasty stuff that will hopefully be nastier than the cancer, so that we can get rid of it all.

Thank you again for all of the support. Once we get a better idea of times for chemo--and Jane has a better idea of what help she'll need--we'll let everyone know. One thing that seems to be consistent with chemo is that everyone will respond differently. It's frustrating to not know what to expect, but in the meantime, we will continue to pray for the best. We probably won't have much news for the next few days (if not a week), but please don't hesitate to leave comments and send good thoughts. Also feel free to call or email Jeff or Nike too.

Thank you!

Happy birthday, Connor!

Deep peace of the running waves to you.
Deep peace of the flowing air to you.
Deep peace of the smiling stars to you.
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you.
Deep peace of the watching shepherds to you.
Deep peace of the Son of Peace to you.

The first line of this blessing was the theme of Connor's party yesterday--the beach! Pictures of the beach on the wall, a beach cake, beach clothes, and a water table! For those of you who don't know, Jane and Randy went on a beach vacation to Florida with Scott, Ann Marie, and Connor just before Thanksgiving. They had a wonderful, relaxing time. Thinking back to the warm weather and beautiful scenery--and looking forward to the next family beach vacation--has already been inspiration for Jane. So naturally, a beach party was in order to celebrate Connor turning 3.

Road to Recovery

Wherever there is happiness
Hope you'll be there too,
Wherever there are friendly smiles
Hope they'll smile on you,
Wherever there is sunshine,
Hope it shines especially
For you to make each day for you
As bright as it can be.

Happy Thursday! Just a quick update for all of you loyal followers: Jane is still doing great! She's getting lots of rest and helping her body recover as quickly as possible. She is loooooving all of the cards you're all sending. She said she got six in the mail yesterday and four more today. Thank you! She's still pretty exhausted, but she's hoping to get in touch with people soon when she's feeling up for some company.

Teresa went home yesterday afternoon. Thank you again, Teresa, for being such a wonderful caretaker and spending a few days in Iowa City. Scott, Ann Marie, and Connor are coming up from Kansas City this weekend to have a birthday party for Connor. It'll be great therapy to see her grandbaby again this weekend.

As for the medicine side of things, Jane's follow-up appointment with Dr. Bender is Monday afternoon. We should get an idea of how chemo will go and maybe even have her appointments set up then. If we don't post before then, keep an eye out Monday evening for an update. Thank you all again for everything! Have a good weekend!

Home Sweet Home

May this home and all therein
be blessed with God's love.

As you can probably guess by the title of this post and the Irish blessing above, Jane is at home!! She was discharged from the hospital early this afternoon and spent the rest of the day getting settled in at home. A huge thank you to Teresa, Martha, Scott, and Randy for getting the house ready and to Teresa for bringing a fridge full of food.

As we've said before, no news is good news in terms of updates about Jane's health. She's still pretty worn out, but is otherwise feeling good. She was moving around well before she left the hospital and that should continue to improve now that she's at home. The treadmill is set up downstairs to help remind her to walk a couple times a day if it's too cold out. Jane's follow-up appointment with Dr. Bender will likely be next week, and we'll know more about the chemo schedule then.

In the meantime, Jane's full time job is rest and healing. She continues to get fatigued by conversation and visitors. Although she loves the support and all the love you want to send her way, it will probably be a few days before she's up for many phone calls or visitors. Posting notes on the blog and sending e-mails is a great way to reach her and lets her respond on her own schedule. Scott is heading back to Kansas City tomorrow, and Teresa's going to stay the next few days to make sure Jane is doing okay and can move around the house as she needs to.

Thanks again to everyone for your thoughts and prayers. There may not be many updates in the next couple of days, but we'll try to post when there's news to share (or other cute Connor or Jack pictures!).

Here's a good one of Jane and Jack from last week that I don't think we've shared yet.

Up and Moving

Happy New Year!

We're posting from the road, so no Irish blessing tonight. The bad news is, we're leaving Iowa City to head back to Denver, but the good news is, that means Jane is doing great! We can't believe how well she is doing and how fast she is progressing. Once she felt well enough to sleep, she's had a couple of great days of rest, mixed with some hard work doing her breathing exercises and walking. Randy, Scott, Martha, and Teresa are all poised and ready for Jane's discharge, which we're hoping will be in the next day or two.


The NG tube, catheter, and IV are all out, and Jane is eating solid foods. She's had a great appetite, even for hospital food! Speaking of the hospital, Jane has had nothing but positive things to say about her care at UIHC. The nursing staff and Dr. Bender's residents have been wonderful and are taking great care of her. The doctors haven't done rounds yet tonight, but we think that as soon as that food starts moving through her system, she'll get to go home.

Thanks again for everyone's prayers and thoughts! Although the start to this new year is not what we planned, we are counting our blessings for a successful surgery and a great support team for the next step in this fight. Hope you all have a happy and healthy new year!