Bruce

My brother, Bruce is having open heart surgery this morning. He needs to have a valve repaired and one or two bypasses. He had chest pains on Sat. and thank goodness he went to the hospital on Sunday morning. He should have gone sooner and he knows it. We went to see him yesterday aafternoon and he looked real good. He should be alright with this surgery and probably better than before. We also went to the temple, one last time before the Ogden temple closes tomorrow night for about a three year make over. There were a lot of people there because it is going to be very different to have to go aways to attend in the future. We have so many wonderful memories of serving there and the great friends that we acquired from that experience. It tryly is a place of peace and comfort. I have heard from so many people lately, some who are going through similar experiences as me. They have giving good advice and today is the day that a new experience will start and I know your prayers are helping. Love.Margo

Finally got back the results from the bone marrow biopsy. There is no cancer cells in the bone marrow. Yea! I will start treatments next Thursday. She said to plan on being there for awhile. We discussed some treatments with the Doctor before so I am waiting to hear exactly what is going on. Some have asked for a little more detail. I have Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma, B-cell , follicular. It is a stage 3, which means that it is on both sides of the diaghram, in my case from the neck to the thighs. It is stage one (indolent) meaning that it is slow growing, treatable, but can reoccur. There is no reason to think that it cannot go into remission. We are certainly counting on that. We went to the temple last night for our last temple sealing group in the Ogden Temple before it closes on April 1st. The temple is a great place to go for comfort and peace. So we will be visiting other temples for the next 3 years. We are teaching a Temple Prep class right now to nine people, five of whom are young men getting ready to go on missions. also a mother who is a convert, and a couple. Teaching and feeling of each of their spirits is a blessing.
Wonderful news for my brother, Richard. He is being released to go home to Montana. His bone marrow transplant is doing great and some of his follow-ups can be done with his Oncologist up there. He will still have to come back here about every 6 weeks for awhile. He has gone through a lot to get to this point and we will continue to keep him in our prayers.
Thanks again for all of your support and prayers. I feel them. Love you all, Margo

Met with the Oncologist today. The cancer has not spread to the organs, but has spread to several areas between the neck and the thighs. They will perform the bone marrow biopsy on Thursday and then we will have a complet picture. That will probably take about a week to get the results back because they go to S.L.C. At that time we will know for sure what the treatment will be. Thank you for your great comments, love and prayers. Margo

More pictures...

These 4 women are from a family of 10 siblings and they have a special relationship. They are sisters! Can you tell?

These 4 sisters had to put up with 6 brothers. If you have been around any of these brothers for awhile you can just imagine the teasing that went on.

Here they are all grown up and they still tease each other. (Actually I am surprised that there aren't some rabbit ears for some of them sitting in the front.)  ( Maybe John was thinking about it?)

Here is the big sister doing what she does best. Taking car of everyone else.

(Bill is the babe in Margo's arms and John is the little boy to the side.)

Here is big sister Margo helping again. ( I think she was one of Bill's favorites.) I love the hat John has on in this one, isn't this a great picture!

Here are the fine people that started this clan of 10. I think if I was to put a caption to this one it would be,

Ma, I think you forgot the pitch fork!

From right to left, Gilbert, kneeling by the ditch with Jim, little brother John hanging on to Margo's skirt.

If I was to put a caption to this one I think it would be.

Now, should I put my hand on my hip like this, or maybe like this, John, stand back, I can't get both of my hands on my hips.

(Some times I crack myself up!)

Now, remember these are very old pictures and only people that are very old are in them. Sorry Jeryl Dean, I didn't know you were that old!  Who is that old girl sitting on Grandpa's lap?

Okay the caption would be...

Look where? If you don't hurry up and take this picture I am going to have to start eating my hand! and that girl to my left can't take her eyes off of that cake!

Grandpa, Dad, whoever he is to you, is standing in back. Gil, Margo and Jim are standing in front.

Are you ready for the caption?

Gil is saying,"Mom, is it a boy or a girl?"

Margo is saying, " I hope this doesn't take long, I want to go play with my doll. Does the north pole need any more elves?"

Jim is saying," What? I can't hear anything with these muffs over my ears!"

Hope this made you smile!!!

Mar 7th Great News!! Dr. Biddulph just called and said that the cancer has not spread anywhere else that they could see on the PET scan. I still have the lymphoma, so we will find out on the 15th what Dr. Hansen will recommend. It is a low grade now and we hope that it will stay that way. Thank you all for your concerns, thoughts, and prayers. I know that I have been blessed . Love, Margo

PET scan

I had the PET scan today. I have been quite nervous about this, not knowing what to expect. Bennett helped me a lot and then Don gave me a Priesthood Blessing last night assisted by Kevin. I know that it really helped. I stayed calm and relaxed and didn't move. It is difficult to stay still for 40 minutes. but I sang in my head a lot of hymns to keep my mind occupied. Dr. Biddulph should have the resutls in a couple of days, so I figure Monday or Tuesday. Then we can make a plan. I love you all for your support and prayers. Thank You! Love, margo

PET Scan

I was interested to know more about what a PET scan is and how it is different from other tests. I thought others might want to know too. X-rays, CT scans and MRI scans take photographs of your body and identify tumors based on their size, shape and location. PET scans identify cancers based on the high activity within the cancer cell. They are helpful in mapping and staging the disease in your body. They can also help decide what kind of treatment is best.

Mom, I will be praying for you to be relaxed and calm. I know you can do it. I love you!