Ringing out the Old Year and Ringing in the New Year

We are awaiting results of  the end of year MRI in the Cancer Center at Swedish Hospital today, after ten days of travel and enjoying a trip to Denver visiting Erin, Glen, new grand baby "Taj", Heather, cousin Bobbi, friends Gary and Debbie, Kez and Doug.... Phew, we are tired and ready to be home but very thankful for the time with friends and family, a few pounds heavier, and generally in good spirits.  Our annual eye exams went well and bleeding in Dennis's retina has subsided so that there are not the worries of last year.  Heather is off on a cruise to New Zealand for14 days, and Erin has off from teaching school so everyone except Bobbi is getting some r&r for the new year.  All is good with the world, the Broncos and Seahawks are doing great.... And well, Dennis is feeling good...
Our friends Karen and Jim are celebrating the completion of their new house in Thorne Bay with a big bash on new years so we'll hop on the ferry to celebrate with them for a day or two.
When I can post some family pictures I will.  Results from the MRI show no changes!, everything stable for another three months! Happy New Year to all, With best wishes for good health to you all, Faith and Dennis

A Mule Deer from Montana

Dennis has been busy on his six weeks down south. Besides meeting his new grand baby he was able to bag a 4 X 5 mule deer within 200 yards of the Missouri River. This hunting spot is just two miles west of the town of Fort Benton. Dennis really enjoys this spot and had friends in the area. He also replaced the engine in his truck in Dillon, Montana. THAT is a whole other story. He hunted in Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota.  He drove the newly fixed truck home via ferry. He got home right in time for Thanksgiving and to help with the move in to the Winter Arts Faire here at home.

Please realize we have a new PO Box and Zipcode.  Wait to send holiday mail to us until you hear.  We'll be updating you all on the medical results from the last visit.

Wishing you the best for the holidays, Faith and Dennis.

Dennis becomes a Grandfather! Taharqa Israel Neill Williams born on September 27th 2012 to Erin and Glen Williams

So there's a new baby in the family!!  A 7 pound 1 ounce baby boy was born to Erin (Neill) and her husband Glen Williams.  He has been growing by leaps and bounds.  Dennis was able to see the baby on his trip south.  At the time of this picture he had grown significantly.  Check out those camo pants!!  "Taj" is his nickname-he was 7 pounds one ounce when born, and he is quite a chunk now.  Further updates as we get them.  Hugs to everyone, Dennis and Faith

The Latest MRI shows GREAT NEWS

Dennis and I recently returned from Swedish Hopsital in Seattle with good news!  Tumors that had been measured and shown in dye flares in the last MRI two months ago showed a 40-60% reduction in size AND NO NEW TUMORS WERE NOTED!  Dr. Kaplan was thrilled with the results and noted that in about three months Dennis will have been on the temodar oral chemotherapy one year. 

Dennis also had a productive meeting with the speech pathologist who is working on exercises that use the brain to help with short term memory issues and the anomia, or inability to use nouns propoerly. 

Summer has finally hit our island in southeast Alaska.  Dennis fills his days with hikes, berry picking, helping me with Blueberry festival doings, and planning fall hunts...We are both looking forward to traveling to Denver area to meet the new grandbaby this fall.  Dennis has hunting plans for Montana, Wyoming, and South Dakota this year.

Faith's comfort Quilt that went to a healing friend

Although blood tests have shown no change, at the end of a year the doctors like to take patients off the chemotherapy-it causes leukemia or blood borne cancers with continued use.  We are staying in Alaska while I work on the Forest and looking forward to Dennis's steady improvements throughout the Fall.  Many of our friends have become ill lately and we send prayers and best wishes to you to steadily improve and regain health, Faith and Dennis

20 Years Together

For the last 20 years we try to celebrate this anniversary by doing a fun trip.  Sandwiched in between this fun trip to southwest Washington and Long Beach were trips to the medical folks in Seattle.  The good news is the bleeding in Dennis's left eye has stopped, so there was no need to start treating it with anything.  One less medication is always good news. So we hung around the beach and looked at old houses for sale and went to Fort Clatsop See Dennis above and then I went to a quilt store and Dennis went to some gun stores.  We did a lot of sleeping and ate good food. Overall it was a good trip and we were glad to be home in the end despite the rain and cold weather.  Hope your summer is starting out grand, Faith and Dennis

Spring visits to Colorado and Missouri

Heather, Dennis, and Erin with a Baby boy bot in the belly!

It was sunny in the mile high city of Denver as we landed in the Plains ( of Kansas) to visit Heather after her surgery for the removal of a Schwanomma and see Erin and Glen. Many thanks to our friends The Qualls for giving us a pace to stay. We now have the great news that Heather is recovering well, out walking with her dog Charlie, and the happy (Erin and Glen) couple is expecting a boy in September. Then we were off to visit Dennis's mom Betty in Missouri and to celebrate mom's day with her. We saw lots of relatives, went to a graduation party, and enjoyed the relatively cool spring weather. Then we were back through Seattle for a visit to the oncologist and another MRI. Dennis has been feeling less pain in his hands and fists and that is good. He has been experiencing some spins in his brain that make him feel poorly. The oncologist has cut the amount of melatonin he is taking from 20 mg to 10 mg. The MRI results indicate that the rumors have not changes in size, they are stable, and some new flourescing areas are still present. So we are to return in two months. Next week we celebrate being together 20 years. We'll take a short break and go to Long Beach in southwest Wahington state. We are staying in a b&b and going to just chill for awhile. Then back north to Seattle to see the retina specialist and see if there is any more bleeding in the left eye. We really want all of you to know that the blogspot will be continued to keep you up to date. Faith has been really busy at work since March: a youth art show, a youth and educator summit on climate change, and lastly the completion of two interpretive films for the visitor centers. We hope to spend more time with each other as the year progresses. Happy summer to you all, Faith and Dennis

It's Sunny in Nome for the 40th running of the Iditarod

Dateline Nome, Alaska . The first day of the 40th running of the last great race. The teams are

racing to the coast A Zirkle and dogs of SP Kennel are ahead!! Deb, Hunter and I have only been on the ground 6 times today the sunset in Nome made it worth it We are here and ready to work.

What the MRI Shows: Good News!

Just a short update while Dennis is off working a Friends of the NRA table at the mall. We just returned from Seattle and a visit with his retina specialist and his oncologist. The new retina scan for his left eye showed about 2 microns of new bleeding below his field of vision. The doctor has chosen to watch it further, no treatments are planned. The MRI was the first new brain scan for four months-and the results were good. There is obvious shrinkage of some of the tunors and absence of some other flourescing areas-they put dye in the MRI-and some new areas to watch-they want to see him again in three months, and decided not to change his low daily dosage of temodar. We both came home feeling really tired but really relieved. So that is the latest. Thanks for all your prayers and thoughts, Faith and Dennis

Getting Piggy in Texas

Dennis spent a week in Texas, shot seven pigs and decreased the feral pig problem just a little with his buddies. They got 35 in all. He flew down to Houston and then spent some rainy days hunting boars and sows. Some were, admittedly, well, ugly. Here he is with his buddy Kevin (he is the one in the orange vest) and a sow.

He brought back a hundred pounds of meat! Sausage and biscuits here we come..... Now he is busy butchering and grinding.

Dennis is on his third week of a daily dose of temodar, the brain cancer poison. Next Tuesday we go to Seattle for the first MRI in 4 months to see if it has been effective. He says this daily dose doesn't bother him as much as the 7 days on 7 days off schedule he was on. His new oncologist is Henry Kaplan at Swedish Cancer Center, and we both like him. He is also seeing a retina specialist as well, due to some old bleeding behind his left eye that was found at the end of last year. She believes that it might have been prompted by his past radiation. So far it has not migrated to his central field of vision and therefore is not affecting sight. He turned 61 years old this last Monday and was treated to cake and ice cream at our local NRA meeting. He is also going to be a grandpa some time late this September. Congratulations to Erin and Glen on the exciting news!! Auntie Heather and all of us are very excited by the propsects of a little one being born.

Now that the weather is a little nicer in Alaska Dennis is out walking in what appears to be-well, sunshine!! Now the sun is up while rising in the morning and it is still light when leaving work at the office-what a relief that spring is almost here. Hoping you all are seeing the sun wherever you are, Dennis and Faith

Family and Friends on the Holidays

Dennis and I celebrated our holidays in Denver this year, sandwiched between doctor's appointments and a visit with a new oncologist, Henry Kaplan, from Swedish Hospital. It was a great visit-we got to see Heather and Erin and Glen, and spend time with them during their days off.

Gary and Debbie Qualls hosted us at their home for the first two days-thanks for all the help re-orienting me to Denver-it was surprising how fast I got around the old neigborhood with their direction....thanks G&D for your freindship & hospitality.

(above) Dennis, Sam and Scott Fitzwilliams from Glenwood Springs

We stayed in Lakewood at a guest room in Erin and Glen's apartment complex-it was handy because it was so easy to get around from there to all points north and south. Traffic in denver has only gotten worse. We got to see friends, some of whom we hadn't seen in as much as 20 years-it was awesome. Thanks to Erin and Glen for arranging it!

Heather has been diagnosed with a schwanoma, a kind of localized cancer of the nerve sheaths in her spine, which is likely benign, but is causing lots of discomfort. She is planning surgery for February. We were extra glad to be able have Dennis and his girls together.

Dennis's visit to the eye doctor in Lynnwood on the way south alerted us to a occluded artery in his left eye, which a retina specialist later took pictures of-apparently it is not blocking the central vision but they want to monitor it in case it expands. The retina doctor said it looked like old blood had pooled there and she chose not to laser it but watch it.

Dennis's new cancer doctor at Swedish Hospital spent a lot of time with us and may end up altering Dennis's temodar chemo regime to a low daily dose. He suggested the retina issue may be from the avastin Dennis received in the clinical trial. All in all it began the new year on a positive note for his treatments. By the time we got home to Alaska we were tired but glad to be in familiar surroundings again. Wishing you all the best in the new year, Dennis and Faith