Good news!

Hunter and I both had Dr visits this week and overall,  things are looking up.  My surgery was a success and they feel confident that they got all the cancer!  Wahoo!!!  The surgeon also said that there is a chance that I might not have to have radiation therapy.  I won't know for sure until I meet with the radiologist on Nov. 5th to discuss the pathology report and get his recommendation.  I will also be meeting with the oncologist to discuss the hormone therapy.  I don't have that appointment scheduled yet.  Overall, I feel better than I expected, all things considered,  and I know I am being blessed.  Hunters appointment went well, also.  We visited with his Dr. for about an hour and were able to ask questions and had a good discussion.  We seem to be on the same page about how to approach his care and that is comforting.  I have been concerned about jumping into a steroid treatment, and his Dr is being very cautious about that as well.  There is more evidence that points toward the systemic rheumatoid arthritis.  However, there is a form of the disease that lasts several months and then goes away.  We are all hoping that is the case with Hunter.  Some of his labs have improved, and the others seem about the same.  The Naproxen is doing a good job of controlling his fever and though it makes him itchy, he is feeling better.  So, for now, we have agreed to stay the course and watch what happens.  He will continue to have regular appointments and blood work to monitor his levels.  If his levels get worse, then we will have to get more aggressive with his treatment.  He is on "home and hospital" for now as he doesn't have the strength to make it through a day of school yet.  He is still anemic and gets tired easily.  He is in good spirits and has really been a trooper.  He got to pass the sacrament for the first time today.  He said it was fun.  We feel overwhelmed by the many blessing we are receiving and the love and support of all our family and friends!  Thank you SO much!!!!  God bless!

From Tiffany

The following is a message direct from Tiffany that she asked me to post:

Good morning everyone! I just wanted o let you all know how incredibly grateful I am for all the love and prayers sent our way these last few weeks, and for the countless acts of service revered in our behalf. The visits, the meals, the cleaning, the laundry, the yard work, playtime with Hunter (which he loves, by the way), the thoughts and prayers have been such a blessing and we feel overwhelmed by all the blessings we are receiving! Our family is truly blessed to have such a strong support group of family and friends! We couldn't have made it this far without you! We feel our Savior's love and many of you have been his hands and have helped lift us up when the burden seemed too heavy to bear. Thank you SO much for all you have done! May the Lord send many blessings your way! We love you all, dearly!

-Tiffany

Hunter Update

Mark and Hunter met with  the Rheumatologist this afternoon. The test for Vasculitis came back negative, and they are going to have another case conference with all the doctors after the latest findings on recent tests. They are leaning towards a juvenile systemic arthritis. They had to discharge Hunter early because of Insurance issues, so they weren't able to tie things up as they usually do.

Right now they are treating Hunter with a prescription anti-inflammatory drug, and we're supposed to monitor how he does. We also have to monitor his temperature regularly. We are unsure of when his next appointment will be. They will probably call and schedule that once they meet with all the doctors.

Post-Op Update

Tiffany's surgery went well yesterday. They got to the hospital at 8:30, and in to mammography around 9:00 am to have the guide wire placed (Which was NOT fun). That took about an hour. Her IV also hurt a lot going in, and it didn't really feel right, but fluids were flowing, so they kept it.  They gave her some pre-anesthesia medication, which made her start to feel a little loopy even though they said it shouldn't. Tiffany was finally wheeled into surgery sometime between 12:30 - 1:00 pm. The surgeon said everything went well, and they didn't have to remove very much tissue. We should get results from pathology in about a week.

Tiffany was very sleepy from the anesthesia, and it took a while before they could leave the hospital. Even then, it wasn't wearing off as fast as it normally does. This wasn't surprising as Tiffany's system tends to be quite sensitive to such things. The medication had made her so loopy that the dizziness was making her extremely nauseous, but she has been able to keep everything down. Her IV site was also very painful, and she is going to have some pretty bruising from it. Today she is pretty sore, and still a little dizzy, but she can walk around without assistance now. She's trying to rest as much as possible, and we hope the rest of the dizziness will subside by the end of the day. Tiffany has a follow-up appointment on Friday the 24th. That's when we'll know the plan going forward. Until then, it's rest and recuperation.

As for Hunter, he has been doing well. He has been able to keep his fevers low grade, and he was in high spirits yesterday. Our big focus is to keep him drinking fluids so he doesn't have to have another IV, or be readmitted. I don't have a lot of information regarding his latest labs, but he is at a Dr.'s appointment right now up at the hospital with Mark. Once they get home, I will post an update with what they discussed. Hopefully we will have some answers soon.

Thanks again for all the prayers and concern on our family's behalf.

Hunter is Home!!!

Yesterday was quite a roller coaster kind of day. On Sunday, Hunter's fever had not returned (the longest he had gone without a fever in 5 weeks), so there was talk of sending him home if the Monday morning labs and biopsy results checked out. However, his fever returned yesterday. It was a low grade fever, but the pathology report came back non specific, and his white count is still high. The Dr. that will continue to follow the case had a couple of ideas and wanted to run more labs, so they said he would have to stay in the hospital. Hunter's poor veins! THEN.., around 4:30, they decided to send Hunter home, and any further treatment will be outpatient unless he gets worse again.

SHEESH!

Jessica and I pulled together some dinner, hung some balloons, and our wonderful neighbor, Rochelle, helped with a Welcome Home sign on the garage.

Hunter and Tiffany were pretty tired, and a little overwhelmed with everything, but were happy to finally be home. Hunter will continue go in for labs and checkups until we can get him better. We feel incredibly blessed that Hunter came home without having to deal with a cancer diagnosis.

Our focus today is to prepare for Tiffany's surgery tomorrow. Please continue to pray for her, and that the surgery will go as well as possible in the morning. Thank you to everyone who has helped us so far!

Holding Pattern, and Fasting

Hunter's surgery went well on Friday. The Surgeon said it doesn't really look like Crohn's, but we will have to wait for the results of the biopsy before we know for sure. They might be back to the drawing board... Again. However, Hunter has made it through today without a fever yet. Let's hope he can make it through the night as well. Everything is on hold until Monday when they hopefully will have the biopsy results back.

For anyone who is interested, We are holding a large family fast tomorrow (Sunday, October 12, 2014). We will be fasting for Tiffany that her surgery will go well this week as well as her upcoming treatment, Hunter that the doctors will be able to find out what is ailing him, and Mark that things can go well with his work. We plan to pray and break our fast at 5:00 p.m. Anyone is welcome to join in this fast with us.

Also, an account has been set up for anyone who would like to donate money to help with the large medical bills that will be coming. You can visit Gofundme.com/markcrapofamily if this is something you are interested in.

We appreciate every one's love and support thus far. We know that we are in for a long and hard journey, and we are so grateful for the wonderful people who are with us to keep us going. We love you all.

MRI Results

The results of Hunter's MRI show inflammation of the small intestine just above the colon. This moves Crohn's disease to the top of the list. They are also looking at rheumatic fever because something came back elevated in one of the blood tests to suggest that possibility. In an attempt to verify Crohn's, Hunter is having a colonoscopy tomorrow morning. While he is out, they will also scope his stomach as well as get a liver biopsy. His liver enzymes have been elevated throughout this illness, so they are covering the bases. Hopefully this will give us all the answers we are looking for. Hunter has started his first round of fluids for his colon prep... aka rocket juice. Anyone who has had a colonoscopy knows what that means. It's going to be a fun night!