Monday, June 20, 2011

Maybe Next Year!

Hello all…I have been waiting to talk to more Doctors before I wrote another blog, and during my time waiting I got caught up in wedding plans and kids being out of school.

On June 7th we went to see Dr. Blair, he will do the radiation.  It is quite the process to get ready for radiation.  They take multiple scans and then put them all together to see the prefect direction to shoot the radiation.  Dr. Blair and his staff are great people.  Craig mentioned to him what great doctors we have come across in this process, Dr. Blair thanked him and said that all Doctors that go into oncology usually do because of someone they’ve cared deeply for that went through the experience.    

On June 13th we went to see a new Doctor, Dr. Griffin, a rectal surgeon.  He had already spoken with Dr. Breyer and discussed a new plan of action.  In addition to radiation and chemo, on this coming Friday, June 24th he is going to “take a PEEKY” at the tumor, can’t remember the name of the procedure, it’s like a short colonoscopy.  He will be putting tattoos around it so that he knows how much it shrinks.  As we were driving home from the appointment we passed a tattoo shop and I started laughing with the thoughts that we could go into the shop and ask for a tattoo, and then explain to them where Craig was in need of it.  I think just the thoughts of that could cure anyone from wanting to “give or get tattoos”.  It’s never a bad time for a good laugh.

Craig has continued to eat and put on weight during this time off chemo.  It is like a day and night difference in how he feels.  He is still down 28 lbs but is looking really good. 

 The past few years, Craig has run with a team from his work in the Wasatch Back Ragnar Relay.  It is a race from Logan to Park City (192 miles) with 12 people to a team.  It is not just a race but a party for 30, plus or minus hours.  They say, “Run, Drive, Sleep? Repeat.  This year the team decided to run in Craig’s honor.  The team name was “Craig’s Crusaders”.  The whole team ran in shorts with the rubber bum on the backside, and blue rubber gloves.  The suburban’s were decorated with decals that turned heads continually.  A few of them read, “This won’t take long” with a doctor pulling on gloves.  “Thumb for the bum & cure for the crack”.  “Are you buying me dinner after this?”, and, “I love the smell of petroleum jelly in the morning!”  We were honored to have them run for Colorectal Awareness.  We were able to go see some of the team run through Heber and then again at the finish line in Park City.  It was quite an event.  Hopefully Craig will be back to running in it next year.  He looked just about as tired as the runners did after their 30 hours of running.  The walk to get to the Park City football field from where the shuttle buses dropped us off was really hard for him.  Thank you to all team members who ran for the Nutraceutical team.































                                         Kristy Mitchell


                 Jaymi Gale, Lori DuPaul,Craig, Michele Patterson, Josephine Booth.



                            Nancy Ortiz finishing in Heber.


    Lori DuPaul, Nancy Ortiz, Craig Perry, Michele Patterson, and Jaymi Gale


    Lori DuPaul, Nancy Ortiz, Craig Perry, Michele Patterson, Kristy Michell, and Jaymi Gale.



     Josephine Booth running her last time through Heber, and still smiling.


                   It was a long walk in for Craig


                   Crossing the finish line with the team!














Jaymi Gale, Nancy Ortiz, Kristy Mitchell, Josephine Booth, Michele Patterson, Andy Nelson, Craig Perry, Todd Christopherson, Tonii Humphrey, Bill Hughes, Lori DuPaul.  Missing from the picture are Dave Bunch and Tim Ashby. Pretty good looking team for running 192 miles with very little sleep.


                      Proof that they are behind Craig all the way!









                                      Marsha and Craig


This week we have appointments 4 out of 5 of the days.  We start chemo on Tuesday, a dry run through of the radiation on Wednesday, then start the regular, 5 days a week, radiation on Thursday, followed by our appointment in Salt Lake with Dr. Griffin for the PEEK, and tats.  We’ll be quite pinned down for the next 6-7 weeks with daily visits to the various doctors, but we know that we are now very near the end.  Following the radiation treatments, which will end very near the wedding date, Craig will get a month off to gain enough strength to be able to undergo surgery to remove the remaining mass of the tumor.  By the end of September, almost exactly one year from the time he began experiencing problems, he should be recovered from the surgery and on his way back to full health.

We continue to make wedding preparations with the help of friends and we look forward to August 2 for the wedding and reception in Centerville and then a reception in Provo at the Utah County Historical Court House on August 6th.         

5 comments:

  1. I love that they dedicated their Ragnar to him! Good luck this week!

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  2. All I can say is that I am glad it is nearing the END, and that bare butts sure are ugly. What a wonderful group of people.

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  3. That was awesome they did that for him and that he was able to be there to support them. Love the pictures!

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  4. What an awesome group of friends. Fabulous sense of humor - Loved the outfits!!! I am surprised we didn't see them on the news. Craig looks great...

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  5. I was getting so emotional when I saw you guys on the road in Midway...I almost started crying while running because I was so happy to see Craig there! We love you Craig and hope to have you back in the office soon! We ran this race for you!

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