Final Entry

Hi all.

I have been waiting to write this entry for a long time, and the day has finally arrived!  We are done*, Hannah is cancer free!!!  (* still blood test once a month for the next year, then once a year for the rest of her life).

I have been writing this entry in my mind since my last entry just over a year ago.  There were times I wanted to just post it, but held off, even though I knew the day would come, I didn't want to jinx it.

Yesterday, was filled with hundreds of "likes" on Facebook as the last dosage of medication was taken and announced to the world.  

Fighting cancer never goes away.  Over the last year, we laid low, not saying a lot, just waiting for this day. During silence things are forgotten, people move on, totally understandable.  But for those in the inner circle, cancer is like the "elephant in the room".  Always there.  Not a day has gone by in the last 2 1/2 years where I have not said to myself, "My kid has cancer".  A very hard thing to say to yourself.

This battle can not be fought alone.  Friends, our Church, people that we do not even know have been praying and pulling for Hannah.

As a family, we have grown closer than I ever thought we could.  Our Faith, one word, unshakable.

Selfishly, this blog was for me.  I needed it. It was my therapy, my comfort.  Thank you all for indulging me.

Only one question remains for Hannah. 

What lies ahead?

Her life.

Live it well Hannah, you deserve it.

Eucaristia

Hi all.   Well it has been awhile.  All is well.  Hannah is attending school and taking online classes.  And oh, I almost forgot, she is in her final 11 months of maintenance.  There will be a major party next January.

This blog has pretty much run its course.  Keeping you updated, and helping us as a family (mostly me) cope with what we were going through.  I have said it many times, but I don't think that I can say it enough,  words can not express the appreciation that we have for all of you that followed along, prayed and supported us.  We truly are a blessed family.

The blogging will not stop however, both Hannah and I have started new blogs if you care to take a look.

Hannah's  http://marvelous-mayhem.blogspot.com/

Mine http://reallyhowsthatworkin.blogspot.com/

Again, thank you so much..

Eucaristia

Update Time.

The easiest way for me to share the latest Cobley family news is to quote Hannah -

"After being down at school for a week, I decided it was too much too soon. My chemo meds I take everyday have been increased and I'm just not physically ready for all this yet. I spent the past 6 months waiting to go down to college, just wanting to move on but once I finally did I realized I couldn't. So I'm gonna come home, get a job and start classes then transfer out of state as a junior. This

is a really hard decision for me and I'm having trouble with it. I don't think I've really dealt with everything and it's time for me to. Its hard cause I wanna be starting over so badly it's just that my body isn't ready for it all. Sleeping 16 hours every day and then feeling like I'm gonna pass out while I'm walking to class is not the college experience I want."

Also,  Hannah has started Team Cobley. We will be out in full force walking so raise money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. If you wish to donate to help cure cancer please click the link below.

http://pages.lightthenight.org/az/Phoenix12/Cobley?fb_action_ids=4118457474134&fb_action_types=og.recommends&fb_source=aggregation&fb_aggregation_id=288381481237582#Welcome-to-our-Teams-Homepage 

 Eucaristia 

Perspective

I am writing tonight with a heavy heart.  In fact, my heart hurts.

Not for Hannah, she is doing great.  Flew past her one year diagnosis, and leaves for the UofA on the 16th of this month.  We are all very excited.

Tonight is different. 

Things are happening.  The Olympics!! I can't get enough of them.  Chick-fil-A, freedom of speech/choice issues.  Unemployment, the economy, elections, the world is spinning very fast, and we seem to focus on issues that we can not control.

 From a global standpoint, I saw a great post this week.  Please think about this.  "Don't hate me because my sin is different than yours."

This past week, we have had two issues that put life into perspective....again.

First, a young family that we are friends with, that has had trials this year, has been hit hard.  They have a child that has been diagnosed with a life altering condition.   While this condition is not life threatening it is life changing on a major scale. 

Please pray for them.

News number two came today.  We have friends that have lost a child suddenly.  I do not know what to say, I only pray that God would use us to help minister to the family.

With what is going on in our world, many people may ask, "Where has your God gone?"  Why does your God allow suffering?"

I am here to say that our God is firmly planted in our lives.

Our God has gone no where.

Why are these things happening?  I don't know.  I may never know. In fact I do not know if I would like to have that knowledge.

What I do know is this.  God promises to take care of us.  God promises to have all things work together for good for those that love Him. 

While what is happening in the world may seem as a contradiction to God's promises, we have to remember this.  God has given us a free will, and because of this, we live in a world of sin and are separated from God, and because of this, we experience pain and hurt.

It is not because God has moved, it is because we move away.  I am in no way saying that these things have happened to these two families because they have moved away from God.  What I am saying is that we as people have moved away from God.

We need to refocus. 

What is important?

Please take a moment to answer that question. 

I think your answer may put things into perspective.

Eucaristia

Destination NYC... Make A Wish

As I said in the last post, any kid under the age of 18 that is diagnosed with cancer is eligible for a Make A Wish.

The process started in the hospital, letting Hannah know that she could have a Make A Wish.  That was before all the bad chemo and drugs hit.  So a moment of excitement went to not even a thought over the next 30 days. 

Once Hannah came home after her first hospital visit, we were visited by two Make A Wish reps, Raheem, and Erica.  Both of them are volunteers, and put so much time in that it is really wonderful and amazing, their passion for helping grant wishes is amazing.

After much thought, Hannah said that she wanted to see the Broadway show, "Anything Goes" and to meet the lead, Sutton Foster (Google her).

Hannah had followed Sutton's work for awhile, saw her in the show in the Spring, and had a role in a local production of the play when she was diagnosed.

Needless to say, she was unable to perform in the play, and one of the very worst nights in her first hospital stay was when she wanted so badly to see the play.  Tough night.

Over the next several months, Hannah battled, while Raheem and Erica worked to grant her wish.  Honestly, with the holiday's and trying to get Hannah home in time for them, we did not think much about the wish.

After Hannah's second hospital stay, we were told the wish would happen and when it would happen.  When dealing with a wish that involves meeting a "celebrity", schedules have to be very flexible to make the wish happen.

So this last weekend, we went off to NYC to meet Sutton Foster.

It was an incredible trip, with lots of photos to follow.

Being picked up by driver "Mogi", and riding to the airport in a stretch Excursion Limo. Sarah is missing from this picture and the trip because of work conflicts - we missed having her along.

Walking to dinner on Friday evening we see that one of the greatest guitar players in the world (in my personal opinion) is playing.  Phil Keaggy (Google him).

Friday's dinner destination, Shake Shack, OMG.

Meeting friends and shopping after dinner on Friday

 Good morning NYC Saturday morning.

Hanging out at Grand Central Station before the show on Saturday

Another Limo, We must be important.

Meeting Sutton Foster after, the show.  Her first Make a Wish.  She was great!! This was her last weekend of Anything Goes before she is off to Hollywood to be a part of a new series, we were told that she may only be able to spend 5 to 10 minutes with Hannah, well, she spent 45+ minutes with her/us and was so amazing and gracious - we could not have asked for more. Truly a wonderful experience.

Metropolitan Museum of Art

Central Park Sunday

The trip was amazing.  The Make A Wish team did an incredible job and we thank them from the bottom of our hearts.


Eucaristia.

The Cobley's Take Manhattan

It has been quite awhile since the last update, so time to bring everyone up to speed.

First, Hannah's health.  She is great!!!  Her numbers are very good, and she is getting stronger everyday.  She is now having to deal with a little boredom, however she is babysitting more, and has actually started working back at church.

Mentally she is doing great, it's as if she has said, "OK, cancer is done, lets move on!"

This weekend is going to be very exciting!  Hannah's Make A Wish has been granted, and we will experience it this weekend.  Just to clarify, anyone under the age of 18 that has a diagnosis of cancer is eligible for a Make A Wish.  It does not have to be terminal cancer, just cancer.  So with that, we are headed to New York.

As many of  you know, Hannah LOVES Broadway shows, and that is her wish.  Sharon, Jessie, Hannah and I (unfortunately, Sarah can not go due to work obligations) will be leaving for New York.  I am the only one of the four of us that has never been to New York, so I will be the ultimate tourist.

We are staying at the Grand Hyatt on Park Avenue in midtown, which looks wonderful and very fancy.  We have 2 scheduled events.  On Saturday, we will be seeing "Anything Goes" and afterwards we will be meeting the star of the show Sutton Foster.

Sunday, we will be going to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.  Between those two events, we will be taking in as much as NYC has to offer before we head back home Monday night.  Personally I am really looking forward to a New York deli style pastrami sandwich.

We will post pictures throughout the weekend.

Thanks again for your continued prayer and support.



Eucaristia

Cancer...What I have learned..

Hi all, update time again.  It has been a while, and Sharon posted yesterday on Facebook that she and Hannah were at the clinic and some people freaked out.  No more freaking out, here is where we go from here.

As you know, Hannah made it out of the hospital before Christmas.  Her Doctor is amazed by that, she had fully expected her to be in PCH until after Christmas.  She had one week of outpatient chemo the week before Christmas and tolerated it pretty well and was able to get out and do a few things with friends.

She was at PCH yesterday to have a bone marrow aspiration and a lumbar puncture with a small amount of chemo injected in to her spine,  this is normal and part of the protocol.  The chemo injected into the spine is an extra precaution to fight against leukemia. Most leukemia patients with the other types –AML or ALL have 30 lumbar punctures so Hannah has been very lucky to only have to have 3, especially since it took 3 tries yesterday to get it.  The bone marrow aspiration was pulled from the front hip area this time which was new, and painful.

Provided that the bone marrow and spinal fluid are clear, there is no reason to believe that they will not be, she will begin her monthly maintenance.  Starting next Friday she will start new oral medication and to to clinic once a month.  The following week she will have her broviac catheter removed from her chest.  And oh yeah, because she is finished with chemo her hair should start to grow back.

To say that I have learned from this experience would be an understatement.  While I would never wish anyone to ever go through this, while I can not call it a blessing, I can say that we have been truly blessed.

Below is a list of things that I have learned or have been reaffirmed during the last 6 months. (no particular order, and not all of them)

The big things in life help us to focus on the little things.

God is in control

Tears, generated by fear, being scared, anger, joy or gratitude are a good thing.

Laughter truly is the best medicine

I love my family more than I ever thought I could.

My wife is a stud!

Watching "Big Bang Theory" with your kids is fun.

Each moment is precious, savor it.

Toughness is not measured by how many hits you can take, it is measured by how you move forward after each hit.

Friends are truly a gift.

My kids are the second most important gift that I have, being second only to the Gift of Salvation that I have received through Jesus.  I need to cherish both of these gifts more.

Eucaristia

Celebrate the Season.....

Hi all.   As I stated on Friday, Hannah is out of the hospital, and both she and Sharon are home!!!  I made it home from San Antonio on Saturday, so the entire Cobley clan is gearing up for Christmas.

Hannah had to go back to the clinic today for a spinal tap and bone marrow aspiration.  Along the way they injected chemo into her spine again, and then she had the first of 3 chemo infusions this week.  She has oral meds for the next two weeks, and then we are done.  If at that time her blood work comes back the same as it is now, she will be declared in remission and begin a 2 year maintenance program that will consist of monthly checkups and oral medication. 

While we are not at the finish line yet, we are close.

The last 5 plus months has been a myriad of of tubes, tests, tears, laughter, hugs, prayers and blessings.  As a family we have been touched by so many that we do not even know how to begin to say thank you.  In fact I do not think it is possible.  There are people that we do not even know that prayed, prepared meals, and helped in some way or another.

While we may not be able to thank everyone with words, I do know that as a family we will be dedicated to thanking you and helping others by paying it forward to help others that get this dreaded disease.  Our lives have been forever changed, for the better, for having gone through this, with your help.

As you gather with friends and family this Christmas season, please stop and take the time to appreciate all that you have, and realize that the material things are not what is important.  It is those that are in our lives daily for which we should be truly grateful.

Also, please take the time to thank God for this gift of His Son.  The most precious gift of all.

Merry Christmas



Eucaristia

Homecoming!!!!

Short and sweet and to the point.  Hannah is coming home today!!

God is good.

Eucaristia

Rebound..

Hi all, it was a rough weekend, as Hannah hit rock bottom on Friday, and stayed there through Sunday.  Saturday afternoon she had a bad reaction to a blood transfusion. She had received 2 bags of blood and did fine with the first one but at the very end of the second bag she reacted - this is quite common - we were very lucky the last time around and only had a slight reaction to some platelets. She started to get really wheezy and as she was getting a breathing treatment she started to develop an itchy rash all over her body. It cleared up on it's own and was completely gone by morning.

Sunday was a day of rest after the battle Saturday night.  She slept virtually all day.

Monday, the start of a new week, her immune system move off zero and began to climb.  Today brought about higher numbers, so she is getting stronger!! She has been fever free or low fever for 2 days so hopefully they will back off the antibiotics over the next couple of days. She is still pretty congested from a cold and has developed some sores down her throat making it hard to swallow and causing extra mucus (gross). Morphine is wonderful and they have started to administer some to help the throat pain.

As I sit here typing she is pulling out her hair - literally pulling it out. It has started to fall out and once you start pulling it, just like picking s scab you can't stop. Yesterday we had fun with tape and put it on her head and pulled it off, you do weird things when you're bored.

We had good news this morning, her counts (hemoglobin and platelets) are all doing what they're supposed to be doing, rising on their own. This means we MAY be home on Monday the 19th. She has a lumbar puncture on Monday morning and then home after that.

Thank you for your continued prayer and support.

 Eucaristia

Well it happened.....

A fever finally happened, we thought maybe we were going to avoid it this time but no such luck. Her counts are way down so this is very good however I guess it was just a matter of time before she started to run a fever. Her nose started to run last evening and this morning a headache all day and then the dreaded fever. Now after blood cultures have been drawn she has a lovely assortment of antibiotics hanging from her I.V. pole. So for the time being we will limit visitors, feel free to text and send notes to her on Facebook.

We continue to be forever grateful for the continued prayers and many words of encouragement.

Eucaristia

The Bunko Ladies

Hi all,  time for an update.

Lets start with Hannah's health.  She is doing well.  The chemo is done, and now we are just waiting for her immune system to zero out.  Over the last few days, her system has dropped over 3000 points, and is now in the hundreds.  She will hit rock bottom in the next day or two, so please text Sharon if you would like to visit.

Overall she is doing very well, as of now she is not having the really bad side effects that she had last time.  We believe that this is a result of prayer, and the fact that she went into the hospital healthy and we were able to "pre treat" before we went in.

If things keep going the way they are, there is a very good chance that she will be home for Christmas.

So last night the Bunko ladies visited.  A very supportive group that has delivered a tree for her room, a basket of Advent presents and meals.  Last night however took the cake.  The ladies showed up Santa hats, red noses and all. I think the pictures say it better than any words I have.

We are so blessed

Eucaristia

Tis the season

As Craig said in the update on Monday a lot of Christmas happened in a very short amount of time last weekend. I thought it would be fun to share some pictures with you all.

First a quick update from PCH, Hannah is doing great! Sleeping ALOT but that is a good thing, the medicine they give her for nausea makes her very very sleepy. Her last dose of "smurf blue" chemo will be tonight then we just wait for her counts to drop and build back up. If everything goes according to plan we will be home for Christmas.

As you can see from the pictures there was a tree to buy and decorate, lights to put up, cookies to bake, gingerbread houses to decorate and friends to laugh with.

Checking into PCH

Hi all, we have checked back into PCH.   Our room is 7113, just three doors down from the previous suite.  And guess what??? We have already gotten in trouble, no plug in Christmas lights, I guess they just don't understand how we Cobley's do Christmas.  

The days leading up to Hannah checking back in have been filled with laughter and joy.  Once arsenic was done, we were straight onto the holiday season. 

I am Scrooge, and WILL NOT decorate the house before the first weekend in December.  Well... Once we found out that Hannah was going back to PCH right after Thanksgiving, I was informed that all Christmas decor would be up before the end of Thanksgiving weekend.  I put my foot down for all of 30 seconds, and then got after decorating.  Lights hanging, tree up, traditional items in their proper place, Christmas is here.  The entire family welcomed in the holiday season with our traditional movies, White Christmas, and Christmas Vacation.

It all was put on hold this morning as we woke up at 6am for our PCH check in.  

The day started with blood work, a bone marrow aspiration, and a spinal tap.  And oh did i mention that they injected Chemo into her spine during the spinal tap procedure.  No rest for the weary, Chemo starts tonight.

The good part is that we know what is coming, the bad part is that we know what is coming.  

Hannah will receive Chemo through Friday then fight to get her strength back.  Right now, she is good and should be til the end of the week, as her immune system becomes compromised.  

I continue to be amazed at how Hannah handles this with strength and grace.  We are sooooo lucky.

Eucaristia.

Gearing Up....

We are getting ready to gear up for December - it's gonna be a rough one. Craig and Hannah saw Dr. B today and she decided that Hannah would be admitted on Monday, November 28th instead of the original planned date of Wednesday, November 30th. Here is how it will play out...appointment for blood work at the clinic in the morning, head over to the hospital for bone marrow aspiration and spinal tap, a bite of sack lunch, head to admitting where Hannah will stand in the corner with a mask on (lots of germs in admitting) to sign herself in. Then we start 4 days of intense chemo. Most likely she will start Tuesday morning with 3 days of one drug (I don't know the name) so day 1,2,3 one drug then day 3, and 4 "smurf blue" chemo. There will be an overlap on day 3 with both - ugh. I have to say Hannah is glad that we are just getting after it. A few weeks ago she wondered why we couldn't just start on 11/28 why did she have to go to get her Bone Marrow and Spinal Tap done then go home and go back a day later, it just seemed to prolong the inevitable. Let's just get it done. Dr. B says it will take 30 days to knock her down and bring her back up but if all goes well she will be home for Christmas. Although, Dr. B did say if you have to be in the hospital for Christmas PCH is not a bad place to be.

Leading up to November 28th - especially the week of Thanksgiving we/she will have to be very careful about people contact. So we will be laying low for the most part, no movies or shopping etc... We have been very lucky that she has been pretty healthy during this time, one small cold that was very short lived. 

The other crummy news is that we are not allowed to have a live Christmas tree, I guess there is a lot of bacteria and icky stuff growing in the water - who knew?  We will be decorating for Christmas over Thanksgiving weekend, which, according to Craig is just wrong (he got over that idea real fast). We had a plan to get the biggest tree we could find, think National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation tree. But really for Hannah it isn't about the day it is about the season, the shopping for the special gift, the wrapping, the music (she already has her Christmas playlist), the ugly Christmas Sweater party, the baking, the cards, adopting a family - this year we have a family from PCH. You get the idea, the good news (i guess) is that she will not remember some of it and we will have a celebration when she is home. Some wonderful friends have already put a tree in her bedroom so she can enjoy it now and some more friends have taken on the decorating of her hospital room - we have the most wonderful friends and family. Sometimes I look at the families in the clinic when I go with her and wonder if they are surrounded by the love and caring that we are.

We are so blessed this season that Sarah is home from Seattle and has just landed a fabulous job as the store manager of Splendid in Kierland commons you should check it out, that Jessie is having a great year teaching 3rd grade in the Roosevelt school district, and that while Hannah has had a hiccup in her life she is doing well and is as funny as ever. We are truly blessed. Stay tuned for more updates.

Thankful

Hi all.  It has been quite awhile since I have updated, so I thought that it was time to bring you all up to speed.

Hannah is doing well, and life is moving along.  She has a few more weeks of daily clinic visits to receive her arsenic, and then will be admitted to the hospital the Wednesday after Thanksgiving.  Obviously we are not looking  forward to that, but I can see Hannah preparing herself for what she will be going through.

Tomorrow night there will be a gathering at Casa de Cobley that will be an early Thanksgiving.  We will use this time as an opportunity to step off the merry-go-round and give thanks to God and so many of our friends that have been with us every step of the way. 

God has used all of you to bless us and to experience His love through your help and caring.  There are no words that can express the gratitude that we have.  Since there are no words, we will give thanks the only way we Cobley's know how to, with good food, laughter and fellowship.

Thank you all for allowing God to use you to help us through this time.

Eucaristia.

A Prescott Get- Away!

Hello everyone, Hannah here! I am at the end of my two week break from the dreaded Arsenic and boy am I not wanting to go back to the clinic on Monday. This week us Cobley girls ventured up to Prescott with two of the Outcalt girls! It was a fun, quick trip that I desperately needed. We did some shopping, some walking, and a lot of eating. On the downside though, Mary and I both got some pretty bad colds. Last night when we got back I had a very sore throat and low fever. I am not allowed to take any cold medicine or anything because it's a bad combination with the arsenic and could cause heart irregularities. So I just need plenty of rest, cough drops, and my mom is at the store right now getting supplies to make chicken noodle soup!

Here are some pictures from our trip!

 Sarah made a friend!

 Bethanne's delicious apple pie!

Mary and Jessie

We met up with Sarah's friend Danielle and this is her ADORABLE Henry! 

Check out her blog here.