Week 4 -- Making Progress!!

We're steadily counting down the treatments........all anxious to get Leslie through to remission and total healing.  At times like this we really realize how precious each day is and how wonderful to walk through life surrounded by the love and support of our family and friends.

Leslie and her family have been added to so many prayer lists in so many churches and organizations.  Last week she received letters from Lampasas, Texas.  I had to Goggle that place!  How nice to open your mailbox and find cards and letters from strangers who have rallied around in friendship and support! 

 

This morning Les visited her oncoloist for an update and received very good news!

"Blood counts look great! 
Breasts seem less swollen and lymph nodes seem smaller.
Continuing the same course of treatment." 

God is so good!

As time marches on and we continue moving forward with Leslie's treatment, thankfully Little Miss Avery seems oblivious to the stress in her world.  She is now crawling everywhere and pulling up on everything.  She is such a happy little girl.  She loves splashing around in the kitchen sink as she bathes.........

Mother & Daughter -- Bathtime is so special........





Riley keeps us busy too!  This past weekend Miss Riley recruited "Larry-the-Beau" to help her "create" a stick horse for school.........Leslie was sooooo relieved to relinquish that task!  Resourceful Larry cut a stick from the woods and he and Riley devised a plan to use only items they had on hand.  Riley chose the pink towel (of course she'd choose pink)......no thread around, so Larry sewed everything together with fishing line.  Riley gathered a couple sweetgum balls for eyes, an old dog leash for a halter/bridle..........they laughed at the wooden ears and Riley decided she really wanted a "horse" and not a "mule".........so, she talked Larry into shortening the ears.  Her words were, "Can't we gnaw those ears off a bit?"

Final touches included some purple beads for the necessary bling...........and "Patches" came to life!  Riley was proud to take "Patches" to school for the race down the hallway!  I wish I had a picture of the finished stick horse.......  Larry LeBeau saved the day and created a sweet memory for a very special little 7-year-old.  We appreciate you, Larry LeBeau!

This is one of my favorite pictures from our Christmas in Frisco, CO.  Not a care in the world and looking forward to a fun week.........even Spencer has a happy face in the background.........who would have thought just a few months down the road we'd be battling breast cancer with Leslie.....

Les helping Riley get ready for her first ski lesson on Christmas vacation



We appreciate all the love, the prayers, the cards...........and Kelli Elmore's lasagna!  Have a great week! 

                                                                                                                                   ~Penny~


NOTE:  Several people have asked for an address.........
Leslie Herlocker
PO Box 894
Mineola, TX  75773









Springtime Smiles (Week #3)

 

Springtime Smiles (Week #3)

As Leslie & Jim move through the ritual that has temporarily become part of their

world, we are all blessed with beautiful Springtime skies and giggly little girls that make us all smile!  What wonderful little blessings! 

Riley is so excited that her little peach tree AND her rose bush both have blooms........Little Avery is crawling everywhere, but does not mind being in the stroller,,,..as long as she is outside......just like her sister, Avery is sure to be a country girl!

In fact, she is so content in the stroller, she catches a little cat nap as Mom relaxes with her lastest book.........."The Cure" by Dr. Timothy Brantly.......a fabulous 'read' for us all......... Les set a goal a few months ago to read one book per month.  From George Bush to Josh Hamilton to "The Cure".......her determination and positive attitude are truly amazing.  I am in awe of my daughter!





Avery's Sunday Afternoon Nap

Mondays are "full" days with the trip to Tyler, the treatment and the stress that accompanies it all.  Stacy comes to Mineola every Monday morning for her special time with Avery.  Stacy has been such a blessing to us all......even though I'm sure she is lovin' having that little bundle of sunshine all to herself for a few hours.  Thank you so much, Stacy for all that you do!!

Tuesday & Wednesday Les must rest and be sure to stay hydrated by consuming three large mugs of water designed to flush out the bad stuff.  Leslie is tolerating the chemo pretty well, although none of us really know what it is like for her.  We all try to help in whatever small ways we can, but we all realize that only Leslie knows the depth of the journey.

Jim is right there with her.....such a devoted, compassionate and loving husband.  He is even drinking three big mugs of water to encourage her ever more.  Before the first week of chemo, he surprised her with an iPad to help pass the time during treatment........from Words with Friends to Bejeweled.....she is one tough competitor.......Aggie24.......she 'whoops' most of us!

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are the toughest days.  By Thursday, Les is regaining some of her energy and feeling more like herself.  Friday and Saturday are a little better, then Sunday, Les and Jim both start silently dreading starting the treatment all over again on Monday.  It is tough for them both, but each week brings Leslie closer to completion and wellness.

Sunday afternoon, Riley helped LeBeau with the porch swing project..........they cut little stars and moons out of the back of this neat over-sized swing and then hung it on the front porch for all to enjoy special times.......She would help for a few minutes, then you'd hear her flipflops as she went running through the grass, laughing and picking up catepillars and "saving" them from getting "squished."  Riley gets so excited and loves to be a helper. By the way, Riley took this picture of the swing.....

Not long ago, Avery spent the night with me.  Crawling everywhere...... we quickly discovered how neglected my hardwood floors were.........Leslie called her "Our Little Dust Buster."  A very accurate statement!

We also had a little shopping spree to Target.........that little girl with the big eyes.....was the center of attention in every aisle!  What a charmer!!

Avery Shopping at Target

    

These little girls with all their smiles and giggles certainly help to keep us all moving forward.  With week 3 almost complete.........Monday begins Week 4 of the twelve straight weeks of chemo.  Thanks to all of you for following Leslie's progress and continuing to send up prayers.  Truly you are helping us all and you are are all so appreciated!

 ~Penny~

                                         





Chemo -- second inning....oh wait, that's baseball!! What's a golf term for week 2?

In preparation for week 2.........Les & Jim had a night out at the movies and MoMo was the lucky one to have a little girlie sleepover..........how special!  In fact..........Sunday afternoon Leslie was up to a few holes of golf........although they didn't keep score, both players insisted "they won" .........imagine that!

Monday morning chemo was uneventful according to Les, except for the initial "port stick".......she said she didn't remember it smarting so much last week..........

As we move forward into week number two (still no golf term for that)........we get closer and closer to our W-I-N!

We're already witnessed a wonderful outpouring of love, prayers and support.  Thanks to everybody!  Keep it coming!  The journey is easier with all of you hoping on the golf cart and ridin' along with us............
Love,  Penny & Family

ET on my mind....

Stuck in Dallas attending a meeting....I have no doubt this meeting is extremely beneficial to somebody, but my heart is back in East Texas. My car is packed and ready! Come on 4:00! I'm so ready to see my girls!!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:Dallas

Chemotherapy Joins The Team!

     Monday (3-7-11) Leslie's day was motivated with Chemotherapy Teaching shortly after 8:00 a.m. It was then followed by her 1st treatment at 10:00am. Everything went smoothly and Leslie was actually glad to finally start fighting back with a powerhouse chemo recipe! Some side effects seemed to already take action that night - chills, nausea, etc. - but she was feeling better the next morning.
    
     Leslie will receive a chemotherapy treatment every Monday for the first 12 weeks. These treatments will be accompanied by a specific regimen of various drugs to help frazzle the estrogen receptors of this distinct cancer. Actually, this particular regimen also tends to make each treatment more aggressive than normal. After the first 12 weeks, they will back off from the weekly treatments. (We will update the blog as this occurs).


     After Leslie took her seat and the treatment began, she started talking with the gentleman who was sitting next to her and also receiving treatment.  At some point in the conversation, the gentleman told Leslie he was from "Grand Saline"......interesting that he should be from Leslie's home town.....well, to make a long story short, this sweet man was actually the owner/operator of this neat little mom & pop convenience store that Leslie frequented as a little girl with her "Paw T"......

Such happy memories flooded back as she recalled this man being such a "push over" when it came to handing out free goodies to the little kids who came parading through his store; a man with such a sweet spirit and kind heart.  How awesome it was for Leslie to have just begun this sure-to-be exhausting first chapter of treatment and at the same time be so blessed to be sharing it with someone whose only had to mention their shared home town.....prompted her to reminisce with him about happy, childhood memories and keep her mind focused on something so blissful. That's the power of prayer!!!


Memories sustain us in some of our most difficult times.  Memories like the ski photo posted here........Now THAT was a totally awesome experience and sharing it with my sister made it so much better!  We traveled to Frisco, Colorado for a family Christmas adventure and went snowmobiling up a mountain through the Arapahoe National Forest.  By the time we were coming back down the mountain, the snow was coming down harder than I have ever seen, as the sun was setting behind those breathtaking Arapahoe Mountains.  What a surreal experience.....  It's one of those Kodak moments that will never be forgotten. 

Enchanted memories like the one captured in this photo AND the childhood memories of "Bob" and his convenience store.......what a pleasant distraction as Leslie began moving through this chapter.....


Thanks again for all the prayers.....


- Spencer -

Baylor Cancer Center Update

Yesterday we had a fantastic meeting at Baylor!! The Oncologist, Dr. Joyce O'Shaughnessy, and her staff are in the process of moving across the street into the new Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center. This will provide an enormous amount of cancer research and resources to the North Texas area!


The highlight of our visit was hearing the results of the PET-CT Scan which shows the cancer is contained only in the left breast area! I could see a huge sigh of relief written all over Leslie's face after hearing the news. I told her that was margarita celebrating type news! The scan also noted that there is a small area that appears to be on the breast bone, but Dr. O'Shaughnessy wasn't in the least bit worried. In fact, she said that may cause some people to try and classify Leslie's cancer as Stage 4 and her response to that was "that is hog-wash!"


As my mom posted earlier, the Oncologist gave Leslie a 80% chance of recovery and later went on to up that number to 90%! All-in-all, this is obviously very good news! Dr. O'Shaughnessy (Baylor) has worked with Dr. Lee (Tyler) before and is comfortable working with her throughout Leslies "Scramble".


Leslie had an Echo done on her heart today so we can monitor her "ejection fraction" throughout chemotherapy. The ejection fraction is basically the strength of her heart. Some of the drugs used to treat her type of cancer have side effects that can effect this output.


Tomorrow Leslie will have chemotherapy teaching and should be starting treatment very soon. Dr. O'Shaughnessy has written a chemotherapy recipe from MD Anderson that she feels will beat the cancer! The thoughts and prayers are obviously working so DON'T STOP!!  :)  We have a loooonnnggg road ahead and need all the thoughts and prayers we can get!


- Spencer -

Tyler/Baylor Visit Update

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."  - Mark 11:24

So many prayers going up.  So many believers!

What an amazing outpouring of love & faith.  After visiting with both Dr. Ariel Lee in Tyler and Dr. Joyce O'Shaughnessy in Dallas at Baylor, both concur that Leslie's cancer has not spread to other parts of her body and is pretty much contained in the left breast and lymph nodes.  They have agreed that the best path to take is chemo to slow or stop the spread and perhaps even shrink the cancer, followed by mastectomy in about six months, followed by radiation.

They also told Les that there is an 80% recovery rate and in her case, perhaps an even higher percentage. 

Needless to say, Les has a hard road ahead, but the news shared by the doctors yesterday was certainly an answer to our many prayers.  Considering how rapidly this cancer has grown, we were so worried that it could have spread to other areas. 

Thank you so much for all the prayers!  God is so good!  Keep praying AND believing!     ~Penny~