Great Nate

    I have struggled for the last week or so deciding how I would address this post. So much has happened and it's hard to know where the best place is to start. In partial, this is due to the fact that my emotions have mirrored that of the tidal wave schedule. One day I am completely hopeful and the next day I am a mess of trying to cram and hide my disparity and deny the levity of the situation at hand. Today I choose to be hopeful for the future, and tomorrow and the next day I will choose to do the same because Nathan and my kids need me to be strong. I still don't know where to start with this update because there has been so much great progress in the last 10 days or so, that I just want to shout it out all at once. I am so grateful that I have such good news to share with you about Nathan's progress and his improved health. So, I guess as I am with most things, I will just dive right in and get started.
    It seems where I last left off with my last in depth update was an explanation of the issues Nathan was battling with nausea, dehydration, pain management and antibiotics and attacking an infection. I had explained that the decision was made to ween him off slowly from the IV medications and fluids slowly so as not to shock his system. Making this decision seemed to be the right approach in handling the constant two steps forward and one and a half steps back. Before, they would try to take him off IV fluids, pain medications and antibiotics and Nathan would become nauseated. With the more gradual approach of slowly introducing oral pain meds and turning down the fluid IV drip and keeping him on IV antibiotics there was a slow, but steady success. Another great move was putting him on a pain patch as a means to manage his pain. Upon Nathan's improvement and the possibility of him getting discharged approached, there was still the issue of how to keep him on the antibiotics. Many antibiotics can be administered orally, but with the specific antibiotics he has to take it is imperative that he receives them from an IV or some other  similar way. Ultimately what they decided to do was give him a PICC line (Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter) and he could inject the antibiotics himself once a day and receive infusion treatment once a day at Stanford on an outpatient basis. Another issue that needed to be dealt with was his drainage bags for his Liver. One of the tumors in his liver is right next to the portal vein in the liver and it was starting to cause problems with the bile drainage. Rather than go in and insert ANOTHER bile drain bag, the team of doctors decided the best way to fix it was to start Nathan on localized radiation treatment and hope that the tumor would shrink enough to alleviate the blockage. While the antibiotic infusion and radiation treatments were available up in Chico, we decided the best thing to do would be continue his care with Stanford Hospital to make sure there was continuity with this treatments. Medical care doesn't always go as planned and we felt that in the event something wrong went up here in Chico at Enloe, Nathan's health could be jeopardized. The unfortunate downside of this, of course, is that he would have to stay down in Palo Alto. His parents, the kids and I had spent several days in Napa and traveling back and forth to the hospital, but the kids and I needed to get back to Chico for a few days. Stanford Hospital was able to put Nathan and his parents in  temporary housing during his treatments. The great news was that after 18 days, Nathan was finally getting out of the hospital!!! Being in the hospital that long can bring anyone down, and while Nathan remained his usual wonderful person, it still had some negative effect on his morale. Being out of the hospital would also allow him to have meals that were cooked to his specifications and he would be able to eat them while they were still hot. Since his appetite is not that great at this point, any improvements that can be made to his food is important.
    While it is very hard to be away from Nathan right now, I take comfort in the fact that he is getting excellent care by the doctors, his parents, and most importantly, God. I also know that I will be reunited with him very soon and will be able to hold him close to me where he belongs. Yesterday, there was a slight scare with one of the tubes from his drainage bags. When he was flushing the tube out with saline, some of the bile came out from around the site around his abdomen. Nathan's parents took him to see the doctor at Interventional Radiology and after putting him under a mild sedative, they discovered it was only a blockage within the tube and they were able to replace it and send him back to the temporary housing. After the last couple of months, the worse can come to mind and I panicked that something very bad was going to happen. We were relieved to find out it was a relatively simple fix and our decision to keep his care continued down there was affirmed. Had we been up here in Chico, who knows what would or could have happened. Another interesting development has been that Nathan has virtually felt no adverse affects from radiation and says he actually LIKES radiation. At this point, it finally feels like things are heading in the right direction. His test numbers are continually improving, as well. Nathan has kept positive, patient, and inspirational beyond what would ever be expected to be normal, but Nathan is not a normal person. Nathan has always been a very stable, sincere, genuine, patient, understanding, positive person and he has continued to display these traits since the very beginning of this awful nightmare. He has always inspired me to be a better person, but I think everyone could learn a lot from this amazing man. I feel honored that he loves me so much.
    Next Wednesday will be the last day of his radiation treatment and they will assess at that point if they want to send him home to Chico for a short period before starting chemotherapy and what will be the next step in his treatment. I have great hopes and expectations that him being home with his family, even if for a little bit, will do wonders for his healing. I especially want to spend as much time with him as possible before the kids begin the school year. I, too, will be starting Chico State in the Fall as a junior. I have struggled with the decision as to whether or not I should continue my education right now in light of the current situation, but I must try my hardest to succeed. It's going to be harder than it was before, but I have an amazing family and partner who support my decision to complete my degree. I also felt that by not going, it would be sending a negative message to my kids. The message I think I would be sending would be: "If something seems to hard to do, don't even try to do it".  I need to try for my kids, Nathan and myself. We know there will be many challenges in the future with school, Nathan's illness, comforting the kids and with our finances, but we will battle them as a team.
    I want to continue to thank everyone who is praying, hoping, supporting and helping us. I am sorry that I have not been able to thank every one of you individually as I would like to, but please know that your generosity and support do not go unnoticed. Thank you so much and bless you all.