Zoe Rocks!

Thank you everyone who has prayed, called, stopped by, sent notes, and just thought of our tough and amazing Zoe. Thank God she is a forgiving and patient soul with her parents. Hal and I take pride at times saying that we do not worry about things and take days one at a time (we have no choice on the one day at a time part) but we feel we could have prepared a little more on what to expect with Zoe's surgery. All went well but took a good part of the day. She insisted on going to school for as long as she could which once I picked her up was evident on why she loves school so much. The kids in her class were amazing! Every single one of them hugged her telling her good bye, we are praying for you, we love you, and then a classroom hug made the last tear fall. All you parents out there and you Ms. Brown should be very proud of yourselves for the little souls you have been responsible for. So, the rest of the day was Zoe saying hello to all of her regular nurses, doctors, pharmacists, anesthesiologist etc.... She is a regular there as we do her botox at this location 2-4 times a year. They have a lot of fun getting caught up on her life and watching her grow. The surgery entails a cut to the inside of each muscle in her lower leg. They cut it so that it will grow back longer and allow her to get her feet down flat. After the cut they then stretch her feet in a 90 degree angle and then placed casts to each leg just halfway from the knee. She is zooming around with a walker and determined to even get rid of using that. she plans on going to school tomorrow so look out in the hallway!
Our poor planning unfortunately had us miss the wine tasting that our dear friends planned and worked so hard on. We heard that the evening was just awesome and filled with so much love and generosity. That's what it's all about right? We just cannot get over the overpouring of your constant giving and giving to our family. It is sometimes difficult for us accept everything you give. There are so many people who are in need and we intend to pay it forward when we get back on our feet!!!!
Speaking of help. Hal's mom Judith left us on Thursday. The girls continue to call me grandma whenever they need something. She was such a tremendous help and we miss just having her around. Thank you Judith we love you.
Our plans for Thanksgiving were to drive out to Colorado to be with my entire family but just the thought of preparing for it leaves me exhausted and overwhelmed. We are so bummed because even the Mclaughlins from Tampa will be there and the annual beating of the Florida Florida State game will be missed. We love you guys and will be there in spirit and orange and blue.
Have a great Thanksgiving holiday and be sure to lay back and realize all of your many blessings that you are surrounded by each day given to you by our lord Jesus Christ.

Back On Track

The pneumonia had held on for a bit so we held off on doing chemo last week. My chest x-ray had not changed so we decided to let the antibiotics settle and wait another week. So I did get both chemo treatments this past Wednesday. Yippee we are back on track!
Today is Friday and I am feeling blah so my feet are up and taking it easy. Judith is keeping an eye on me closely and not letting me over do it. I seem to have the itch of purging and I don't mean throwing up. Just getting rid of stuff in the house.. clutter.. Poor Hal doesn't know what he is in for this weekend. Not only do I want to get rid of stuff but have decided that if I must sit on the couch and be in my bedroom most of the time then I want to be surrounded by comfort and serenity. A place where I can meditate and heal, to be with God and block out the worldly stuff. Living my day in the present moment and not being anxious about anything.
I attended a wonderful and inspiring retreat at our church last weekend. I am still what I call decompressing from it all. The presence of the Holy spirit was everywhere and was just a great experience! I was so glad that i was feeling well enough to attend but wish I was able to really feel 100% as I felt it was hard for me to truly concentrate and get the whole experience. At times I felt a bit dizzy and overwhelmed but my goodness what a glorious weekend! I know lives have been changed, families have been changed, and Christ is smiling!
Thank you to all of you who worked so hard on making the weekend so awesome!!
Let's see what else is going on in the Schierts house? Well, to add to our craziness, Zoe is scheduled this Friday the 20th for out patient surgery. she will be having both of her Achilles released. This will stretch her out allowing her to get her feet flat and relaxed. She will then be in walking casts for three weeks and after that back in her braces for six months which she will wear with her shoes. Now that she is almost nine years old she can get involved with decisions on her care. She was very grown up asking the doctor questions. Her main concern was if she could shower. The answer is no so she'll have to have sponge baths until the casts come off. Life in the Schiert's household is one fun thing after another!
Judith will be leaving next week and we will miss her!!!! what a God send she has been to us. Not only does she do everything around the house, she has been able to see our daily lives and feel better (I hope) at how we are doing. I know she along with all for you who live and love from far away worry about us but please know that when we say we are doing well, we are. We rely on each other more and have tended to hibernate a bit desiring togetherness. Gracie doesn't even want to go to birthday partys, she'd rather stay home with us (that we may have to worry about a bit). I guess this is where the whole clutter thing is coming from, simplifying our lives.
My hope for you is that you slow down and declutter your lives too. Stop running form here to there. Don't be consumed by the world. Listen to the Holy Spirit. You cannot hear him if you are constantly in motion and saying yes to everything.
Whatever you do, do it in the Lord. Whatever you need to live solidly in his kingdom today—patience with the family, faithfulness at work, joy in your relationships, self-control with food or drink—ask Jesus for it, and know that he will give it to you. Be ready for whatever comes, not out of fear and worry but because the kingdom of God has come, and is always within you.
“Jesus, free me from concerns about the past and fears of the future. Teach me to live in your kingdom today and every day, confident that you will provide everything I need.”
Have a great weekend and remember......before saying yes ask yourself.... DOES IT TIRE ME OR INSPIRE ME?

Happy Halloween

And in three hours Happy Birthday to Grace! It's been another one of those bumps in the road and the Schierts family do a pop wheelie and end up on all wheels.. again!!!!!
Grace got the fever back and I ended up with pneumonia so on the couch the two of us spent again. Poor thing, she ended up missing her Halloween party and carnival at school and the chance of also missing out on Halloween all together but the fever has lifted and the witch was zooming around the neighborhood with her good friend Lula the crazy pink hair friend of Hannah Montana (alias sister Zoe). And mom even kept up going to a few houses and then handing out some treats. Tomorrow Grace turns seven (so hard to believe) and could not be more excited about her day. Today the whole clan treked out to Toys R Us and she picked out a new bike and it was such a beautiful day that she got to ride on it as soon as she got home(not usual warmness in KC this time of year). Her birthday pie ,yes pie will be grandma's homemade apple preceded by dinner at her favorite Japanese steak house. Life is good!
Like I said I came down with pneumonia this past week. I had not been feeling well at all for the past two weeks or so and when I went in for chemo on Wednesday we did a chest x-ray because i had some wheezing and my breathing had worsened and just feeling crummy. So instead of hanging chemo they hung bags of antibiotics. Three days later and I am feeling much better and hope to get even stronger to be able to get chemo this coming Wednesday. I am so grateful for God's loving kindness and mercy. I was very afraid that i would end up back in the hospital, but with great care from my family and your prayers, He saw to it that it would not happen. I do have to admit that this year has been a tough one. And I do have to come to the realization that I have stage IV breast cancer with survival rates at five years and this is year number two.I don't care about statistics and know that I have so many advantages over what "they" say, but am afraid that I can lose sight of those advantages when I am at a low. My faith in God never leaves me but my faith that this pneumonia or that fluid or some other side affect could cause a spiral downward and that is scary. But today the sun was shining, I ate a big ol' Chipolte burrito, my husband scratched my back, and I am still awake at 10pm.
Oh, and the Gators smacked down on those Bulldogs led by Tim Tebow who always reminds us of the love God has for us by writing it under his eyes to be seen by all (but is always clearly communicating to me) with Philippians 4:5-7 Your kindness 5 should be known to all. The Lord is near. 6 Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. 7 Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
It is so hard for us to lose sight of that especially when things are really really bad or even really really good. Goodnight.

The week has passed and so as the flu in our house (I hope). Both Zoe and Grace had fevers for five days and somehow grandma, myself and Hal escaped the bug. My prayers go out to those who are battling any of this sickness as there is so much going around!
Because the girls were sick and also my blood counts were low, I was encouraged not to do chemo this past week. With a bit of talk, we decided to go ahead and do the gemzar only and not the carboplatin as the carboplatin suppresses my immune system. My liver enzyme counts continue to drop as well as my tumour markers. This all indicates that the chemo is working!!!!!
I am feeling well. I still tire very easily but then get a burst of energy and then overdo it.
Judith continues to be a saint by taking care of all the business around the house.
It seems that the chemo has attacked my brain cells as it is difficult to even type this blog. My memory and mental abilities are a bit fogged and you'll have to forgive me if you don't get a thank you note or perhaps you receive two or three!
It's hard to believe that fall is here and the leaves are starting to drop. Another season, another reminder of God's love for us.

Another treatment down who knows how many more to go. The blood tests indicate that my liver enzyme counts continue to decline which gives us great hope that this chemo is the concoction we prayed for. I also feel improvement in my breathing and overall pain. I have been discharged from all home health services and had a sonogram this week that reported back not one drop of fluid remains around my heart. Overall, I would say it's been a great and productive week! I had a treatment on Tuesday and will have two more back to back with the fourth week off . A bit of nausea and yuckyness the past two days but like I said it is doable (is that a word)?
Judith remains busy around the house making sure everything is taken care of. What a blessing God made when he created parents who woulda thunk!!!
Of course to all of you, thank you for your constant compassion and love. Please keep our family in your prayers because without you, none of this good news and health is possible.
We love you..............

What a change in the weather we are having here in KC. Super windy and cold, too much too soon. Where did summer go? Bring back those lazy days..........
Speaking of lazy days that's just what i am doing, hanging out with my feet up being served by grandma. Ahhhh. It has taken time to accept all this help you all provide but we have come to learn that this is what God asks of all of us, to serve one another. Some day soon I hope I can return it back to all of you again and again.
Let's see, what did we do for fun this week??? Back to see my oncologist with good news. My liver counts were down which means something we are doing is working. I know it is prayer but we have to give credit to all of the techno medical cancer cell killing stuff too. I did not do chemo this week as the drain remained but ended up having it removed yesterday. Please pray that the doctors were right in their decision to take it out. I was still and continue to drain quite a bit. We are not totally comfortable with the decision but are placing our trust that it will not have to be put back in. It does feel good to not have that ugly tube and ball hanging from me and oh how good it felt to take a real shower!! And LOOK OUT I have my voice back. a little froggy but it's there. Thank you Dr. Garnett for your love of your profession and for gentle touch. He shot collagen in both of my vocal cords to pump em up so that they can touch and I can sing and shout. I still have a bit of swelling but in the next few days I should be ready for try outs on American Idol. Zoe is getting used to it but at first thought I was yelling at her when I was just talking normally. Grace says i talk too much!!! Look who's talking!!!!
This weekend we are taking it easy and enjoying the weather. Hardy and Judith continue to be a huge help as sometimes I am not able to even drive due to my balance. even got me a handicap card for the car. Next Wednesday I will begin again with the chemo 3 weeks on with one week off. I feel good about this one and along with all that you are doing for us, we can beat this thing!!! Just wait when we do, what a party that will be.

And I am back! Sorry for the delay in posting but that hospital stay took a lot out of me. Thank you all for your concerns and compassion as always to me and my family. You are the reason for my healing and comfort knowing that you are praying and watching over us.
I was discharged on Sept. 15th and started chemo on the 16th. and another dose on the 23rd. We were not too thrilled to start chemo so soon but it is the only way to get rid of the cancer that is causing so many other problems such as labored breathing and the fluid around my heart. speaking of, my "window" or drain remains attached to me and will so until I stop draining more than 50ccs/day. It has begun to slow down but I still drain about 75-100. as pretty as this thing is and as much as I'd like it removed, I don't want it out too soon and have it put back in. Perhaps there is a new market for drain "bling"?
So what happened you ask? My oncologist seems to think that an accumulation of cells in my lymphatic system went crazy and caused my body to react with swelling and fluid. This is all just part of the cancer and until we find the right chemo will these pesky other problems dissipate.
Like I said, I have two chemo treatments thus far but will skip this next week until the drain is removed. Having a hole in my heart and suppressing my immune system with chemo is just asking for an infection. How am I feeling? Well, tired. The chemo is in my words doable as I was able to go to Grace's soccer game and Zoe's volleyball game this weekend. By the way, Zoe got her first serve over the net! very emotional moment for the proud parents I must say. we even joined the Book family at the Plaza Art fest yesterday okay so we used my new handicapped car tag and I walked a block and had Hal pick us up but at least we can say we were there! and Hal's sister and family were here for a quick visit from Minneapolis. I do a little rest a little.
Hal's mom has been here since I got out of the hospital and has been such a humungo help! she gets the girls ready for school, sporting events, life in general. Thank you Judith! grandpa arrives tomorrow and are both here to stay until they get sick of us.
Your prayers are needed for me this Wednesday as we are going to try and fix this vocal cord thing. my ENT will numb me up and shoot collagen to puff the babies up and get me talking again. It is really important to me to get my voice back as it has been nine months of me not saying everything I need to!!!!!
With all of this said, life is good and God is better. He continues to work through me to you and that my lovely friends is what this life is all about. Be good to each other. Love one another. Forgive one another. pray for one another. Spend time with one another. More later as it is time to pick up the lovely ladies from school.