MORE GREAT NEWS!

Today (Monday) we went back to MDA for Steve's barium swallow tests and to meet with the dietician. I am so happy and relieved to report that the plumbing is all working! He can swallow well and there is no leaking at the new juncture site(esophagus to stomach). He started small bits of solid food already! This is so fantastic . I am just amazed. Thanks again for all your prayers, efforts and good energy to help get us to this point. He is a precious man. I know that he has been held up in prayer, love and light by so many to whom I am/we are most grateful. It will take some doing to get his return to eating coordinated and planned out. He is so excited that he wants to eat everything right now but noooo way is that a good idea. It will be a good challenge to eat healthy and in the right quantities. I guess that is the challenge for us all! So here's to a New Year of good health and happy eating. May 2010 be a good year for all of us. Denbie

Here he is!!!

Many Blessings!

Steve is home! I think most of you know now that Steve is home and doing well. We got home about 10:30 pm Monday night and were so glad to be here. Yesterday, besides resting up, we celebrated and welcomed to the world our first grandson! Dylan did a great job of setting the computer up for several perfect Skype sessions so we felt like we were there! Liam (we're pretty sure that will be it)is just precious weighing in at 7.3 lbs. and being long and lean like Madylan. He looked like a Nash boy with little Eskimo eyes and lots of dark hair. We got to watch as Mary's mother, Loislyn, and sister, Angelyn, brought Madylan to meet her new little brother for the very first time. It was sooooo precious. She giggled and smiled and wanted to see his feet, his back, knees and his butt (2X). She helped Dylan change his diaper and seemed to be totally enamored. Mary looked absolutely beautiful with that new mother glow. She was so patient and sweet talking to Mady and introducing her to her brother while Dylan held the computer for us to see and hear. What a thrill it was for us to witness these most precious events. So technology and tech savy kids are additional blessings for which we are so thankful. Scott and Donna, Steve's brother and sister are on their way from Oklahoma to see us today. Jadon & Mindi will stop over on their way to Lafayette tonight, Kacey and Julie as they travel back from Lafyette on the weekend. We will go over to Dylan and Mary's for Christmas dinner and will get to meet little Liam in person. What joy we have this special Christmas season. We hope you and yours are healthy, happy and filled with the peace, joy and wonder of this magical time of the year. Thanks again, so much for all your prayers, love and support during this time of Steve's journey to being cancer free. It has meant the world to us and as a result he is well on his way to healing. We love you all.

Progress

Steve is doing much better. He made a good turn while Kacey was here over the weekend. I got to go home for a night of rest (yea!) and Kacey stayed with Steve. They watched football, laughed and joked and Kacey got all the equipment working in sync....the nurses were as appreciative as Steve....he managed to stop some of the constant and questionable beeping. Thanks so much Kacey! Steve seemed to turn a corner and is making good progress. they are talking tube removals today and that means we are closer to going home! Still don't know when that will be. Appreciate your continued prayers, love, good thoughts and support. P.S. Still waiting on #2 grandson to make his appearance. Will keep you posted! Denbie

Surgery + 3 days

We spoke with Denbie yesterday afternoon and Steve is hurting quite a bit.  Doctors are very pleased with his progress but there is just no way around the pain after such a major surgery. 

Even through the intense pain, his spirit is incredible!

Up and Moving

Steve just took his first walk around! He surprised everyone (including the nurse) and did not one, not two, but three laps around the nurses’ station. He's feeling a little pain, but it seems to be tolerable. -Jadon

Post Surgery Conversations

So it's 8:50 p.m. and I just received a call from Steve (dad). He never ceases to amaze me at how well he is able to recover from such an event. After a short conversion which lifted all of our spirits, he was on his way to begin a stroll through the halls of MDA. While it may be doctors orders, it is still so awesome that he is able to talk and move so soon after the surgery! We just ask everyone to continue to pray for him as he continues to amaze us all!

Esophagectomy

5:30 PM Update - Steve has been moved to post-anesthesia care.  Encountered some post surgery pain issues and his epidural had to be repositioned.  All is good now and he should be moving to room #703 soon.

4:00 PM Update - Steve is sill not out of recovery.  Has some swelling around one of the tubes and they want to wait until that goes down before releasing him to a regular room.

2:00 PM Update - Surgery complete and Steve is doing well!  Surgeon spoke with Denbie and told her everything went quite well.  They found a spot on his liver, biopsied it, and it came back clean.  Inspected his lungs and they looked all clear as well.  Doc told her Steve is a very strong man.  Of course we all knew that already!  :) 

Thank God for protecting Steve today, guiding the surgeon's hands and giving Denbie strength.  We will continue to pray and now focus on healing. 

12:30 PM Update - Surgery still going well. Steve is on his side now, a couple of hours left. MDA has his room ready for when he gets out, and Jadon and Denbie are moving their stuff in.

You can send Steve/Denbie a message by clicking HERE. 
Name:  Steven Nash
Date of Birth:  07/31/1949
Patient No.:  0803100

10:30 AM Update – Nurse just came out and provided the first update. They have made the chest incision and will be rolling him onto his side for the side incision. Surgery is going well so far. Will get updates every 2 hours, expect him to be in there until 2-3 PM.

6:00 AM - Steve went through all of the re-diagnostic testing last week and the chemo and radiation appeared to be very successful. The CT scan and endoscope showed a significant size reduction in the mass and a PET scan indicated the cancer had not spread to any lymph nodes or metastasized somewhere else. Biopsies taken during the endoscope all came back clear and free of cancer. For a brief moment we all thought this might have been enough to eliminate the need for surgery but the Doctors at MD Anderson still felt confident the esophagectomy was the best course of action. They way the surgeon explained it to Steve was that even though the biopsies came back clean, they just couldn't possibly sample all of the tissue. His original tumor was so large that there was no way for them to confirm that every single cancer cell had been destroyed. So with that advise and after much consideration, all moved ahead for the scheduled surgery. Which brings us to today...


Denbie and Steve left our house around 4:30 AM headed to MDA to check in. Steve's surgery is scheduled for first thing this morning. From what we’ve been told (or read) to expect, the surgery will take 6-10 hours. Dr. Vaporciyan will be doing the surgery. Jadon and Vikki Benoit will be meeting Denbie at the hospital this morning. Please pray for Dr. Vaporciyan and his surgical staff, for Steve and for Denbie. We’ll post an update as soon as we hear.

Post Chemo/Radiation

As many of you know Steve completed his aggressive chemo and radiation treatments on November 6th, a little over 4-weeks ago. This week he is back at MD Anderson undergoing various diagnostic tests to re-stage his esophageal cancer:

• Today he had blood work, a resting EKG, x-rays and a CT scan.
• Tomorrow, he is scheduled for the PET Scan.
• Wednesday he has the day off.
• Thursday an endoscope.
• Friday he'll have a stress test and he and Denbie will consult with his doctors.

Next Monday Steve will have an additional consult and then check into the hospital Tuesday morning for his esophagectomy.

From what the doctors have told him and what we have read on the internet, Steve will be in the hospital 7-10 days after the surgery and then two additional weeks with significant home care. After about three weeks, Steve should be able to start swallowing on his own and after about 6 weeks begin back on solid foods. There will be some long term lifestyle changes Steve will need to adopt as a result of the esophagectomy, such as eating smaller meals more frequently and maintaining proper upright posture while and after eating. But in the end, to be cancer free, will make all the hard work and sacrafices worth it.

On a separate note, the nerve sensitivity from the shingles and the medications finally seem to be reaching an equilibrium. Whether it is from the increased dose of medication his doctror prescribed or the nerves are finally leveling out, we just don't know, but he is finally getting some relief. The medicines do make him a bit groggy and it is difficult to concentrate for an extended period of time, but he welcomes the relief from the pain and hopefully soon he will be able to phase off of the nerve medication.

Please send your love, thoughts and prayers to Steve and Denbie.

More things to be Thankful for...

God's green earth...

The laughter of a child...

A stroll with the girls...

Fried Turkey...

Basking in the sun...

Campfires...

Starry nights...