July 20th

Hi everyone,

Well Kirk's liver enzymes were still up this morning so they will probably have to do an endoscopy to see what is happening near the stent. He has been put back on a liquid diet so at least he can drink and have popcicles today.

Mike Huff visited with him for a couple of hours yesterday and he enjoyed their visit so much. By the time I got back out there they had put a tube through his nose to his stomach to drain any bile backup so he was feeling pretty miserable but they removed the tube this morning.

He will probably have the endoscopy tomorrow so that will tell us more about what is going on with his liver and as soon as I find out I will let everyone know.

Thanks for the calls and visits!

God Bless!

Kirk and Laura

July 19th

Well Dr. Swan told us this morning that Kirk's liver enzymes are up again. He thinks that there could be a blockage at the end of the tube that empties the liver. This is around the area where he has the stent so he is hoping that it could just be some undigested food. So today he is not allowed to eat or drink and they are going to see if this will help clear this situation up. His platelets were also low today so he is receiving platelets now.

Yesterday he had a very good day and even though he can't eat or drink he is feeling ok today.

Please keep him in your thought and prayers and I will update as soon as we have more news.

God Bless!

Kirk and Laura

July 18th

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to let you know what was happening as of today. Yesterday they had to take Kirk off of some of his pain medications because Dr. Swan was worried about his color. He was starting to look very yellow which means the liver is having trouble with all the medication it is trying to absorb and his liver enzymes were very high. This caused Kirk to have a very rough afternoon and night but when Dr. Swan came in this morning he said that things were looking better and that they would work with getting his pain back under control.

They are still not sure what is causing the blood to get low but today it was still holding at 10 and his platelets were 45 so he is good for a little while.

I came home just to rest and take a shower and head back out but while I was here Kirk called and said that he was feeling better as the day went on. I hope to find him doing well when I get back.

Im not sure when they will let him come home I hope that they will have everything under control in the next couple of days. Thanks again for the blood donations and prayers from everyone.

God Bless!

Kirk and Laura

July 17, 2008

Hello everyone. I am going to post an update for Kirk and Laura today. We haven't updated for a while because really there hasn't been much change until now.



Kirk is in Johnson Memorial in Abingdon, VA. He was admitted into the hospital on Monday night (early Tuesday morning). They gave him blood on Tuesday and he had a colonoscopy yesterday which came back with good news. There is no cancer in the colon. However, they are still not sure where he is loosing so much blood. His blood level was 11.7 yesterday and this morning it was 10.5. His platelets were down to 13 this morning so he will be getting more platelets today.



He is eating pretty good and they have his pain under control for now with medication.



They want to thank everyone that donated blood to the hospital the past couple of days. I am sure Kirk will be getting more over the next few weeks.



Please pray that he will get stronger and will be able to have a treatment soon. Please post comments and well wishes. We will be printing these and delivering them to him. It is so good for him to see that everybody here at home is pulling for him and cares about him!



Laura will update tonight or tomorrow or whenever she is able to run home for a while.



Monica

Jan 8th

Hey everyone. Im am so sorry I haven't posted for a while. First, our computer went down and I lost all of my passwords and what I needed to log in and then we have just been really busy. For the most part Kirk is doing really well. He recovered from the surgery and is eating really well. But at our last visit to Doctor Swans office the tests he had done on December 20th showed that he still has the cancer in his back and there are a few more spots. They aren't bad but we really need to keep a close watch on them. He will be seeing Doctor Swan again this Thursday and they will check the blood markers that they have been using to monitor his cancer to see if they have gone up any. They were up just a little on the last visit and if they continue to rise Kirk will have to take more chemo. We hope and pray that they will stay down. He is still doing the monthly trial study and they said that this would also help.

We had a very nice Christmas and we just got back from Florida were we watched the Hokies lose their bowl game but we still managed to have a nice trip.

There are a few more of our friends who have been diagnosed with cancer lately and we ask that you put them in your prayers, Becky Harrison and Ted Patton. Your prayers can do miracles and we all need them.

Again I apologize for the delay in getting information to you I will definitely do better. Take Care.

God Bless!
Kirk and Laura

October 22nd

Hello everyone, we are finally at home again. Kirk was released from the hospital yesterday. He is doing O.K. but he is still having to use the feeding tube. We have a home health nurse that is helping but for the most part I have to take care of most of the feeding part because he has to have it 24/7. He is eating as well but until he is getting the nutrition that they feel that he needs he will be on the feeding tube.

Next Monday he has an appointment with both his surgeon and Dr. Swan who he hasn't seen in almost a month so I'm sure they will want to do a full check-up.

Again thank you for all the cards the phone calls and prayers. It helps that he knows how much he is loved by all. Just pray that he continues to improve.

God Bless!
Kirk & Laura

October 4th

Hey everybody, sorry I haven't posted until today. It has been a little crazy. Kirk had his surgery on Friday and that went great. They put a new connection from his stomach to his intestines to help with the emptying of the stomach. They left the stent area alone because it was to close to the pancreas. But that should be O.K. because the biopsy from that area was benign. Kirk is doing O.K. but it is taking a little longer than expected for his digestive system to kick back in so he is still on I.V. Food (TPN) and liquids. They want to start him on tube feedings first (the tube is in his stomach) so that this will help stimulate his intestines. Once this works he can then start to eat some soft foods. Right now he is having trouble with the tube feedings because his system is just not working well enough. Hopefully things will start to move in a couple of days.

I've been going out every morning after I take Chase to school and then coming hope at night to get Chase. Then I try to stay on weekends so I haven't been at home much. As soon as I have more news I will try to post. Keep Kirk in your prayers he really needs them right now. Thanks!

God Bless!
Kirk & Laura