Update (February 27)

Jane had a great check up last week at MD Anderson and she feels much, much better since her hospital stay.  She is completing Cycle 6 of the experimental clinical drug trials. With Jane’s energy levels returning closer to more normal levels, Jane has been able to get out of the house but she is still susceptible to infection.   In Texas, we all like to give and receive hugs, but for Jane, the least amount of physical contact the better at this point.

Jane’s next milestone is Thursday, March 8th, at which time Jane will undergo a barrage of tests including a CT scan.  The CT scan and the other tests will measure the effectiveness of the experimental drugs and then the doctors will determine the path forward, depending on the tests results.

As this has been a long journey, we continue to appreciate all of the prayers and support from family and friends and cannot thank you enough.

Rosaries during Lent

We have been praying the Rosary twice a week for Jane, Monday night at 8pm in St Jude Chapel at Saint Vincent de Paul and Thursday afternoon in the church or cry room at 2:30pm, and many have joined us throughout the last few months.

Since it is almost Lent, when many of us are considering an additional commitment of prayer, I thought of asking you again to consider joining us. 

It takes less than 15 minutes to pray the Rosary. The prayers of the Rosary, which come from the Scripture, are very helpful when we are praying for an intention that is close to our heart. When our minds are filled with a thousand anxious thoughts, the words of Scripture in the prayer help us to focus on God and His blessings.

If you are not familiar with the prayers, I have handouts that I bring every time so you can follow along (or you can print out your own from this link http://rosaryarmy.newevangelizers.com/prayers/.

 

There is also helpful information about why we pray the rosary and copies of the prayers for a scriptural rosary on this page:  http://rosaryarmy.newevangelizers.com/prayers/why-catholics-pray-the-rosary/). 

 

We pray the Joyous Mysteries on Monday and the Luminous on Thursday.

 

Please forward this info on to anyone else who knows Jane and who may be willing and interested in coming to pray with us.

 

 

Update (February 16)

Jane was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday, February 14 th - Happy Valentine's Day and is now resting at home.  Jane's fever and other related side effects have subsided and she feels great in general.  Although we hope to know about the test results from the bronchoscopy in a few days in terms of what type of infection (viral, bacteria,etc.) to better focus the treatment, the results may also be inconclusive.  It apparently is fairly common during the course of Phase 1 clinical drug trials to have atypical fevers and side effects from not easily detectable origins.

During Jane's five day hospital stay, Jane's in-laws, Rolie and Lana from big Breaux Bridge, La., came to Houston to help out with the boys.  Jane should start Cycle 6 of the Phase 1 clinical trials in the next few days.  Please keep praying for Jane.

Update (February 12th)

After Cycle 5, Jane has had a persistent fever and other side effects that have been pretty stubborn.  To get a better handle on the fever's source, Jane was admitted to the hospital for better round the clock care. The doctors will perform a broncoscopy to obtain soft tissue samples from the lungs on Monday February 13th in an attempt to determine the fever's source and better able to provide more focused care.

Due to her condition and susceptibility to infection, Jane needs to be in the hospital without visitors. We hope and trust everyone understands as we do not expect this hospital stay to be too long.

Thanks again for all the prayers and support. 

Update (Feb. 9th)

Cycle 5 has been the roughest cycle so far in terms of the severity of the side effects.  Jane continues to fight hard and take strength from all the prayers and support from loving family and friends.

We continue to rely on the MD Anderson supportive care to manage through the various side effects.  Jane's sister-in-law and brother-in-law, Kara & Mitch, from Baton Rouge, La. visited Houston and  Jane's older sister, Jeanie from Shreveport, La., also spent some time with Jane which really cheered Jane up.

Please keep the wonderful prayers, masses and rosaries coming as they provide comfort and support during the rough times.