Skip to main content

Scary Rash!

By
His rash looks "more worse" than this:)
Aaron’s rash, from the perspective of a five-year-old friend: “Woah! Your face looks scary!” A few minutes later she saw Aaron again and said, “It looks more worse in the lightness!” That’s going to keep us laughing for a long time. She’s probably saying what everyone else is thinking, but too afraid to say it. I guess when you see it every day you don’t realize how bad the rash really looks. Besides, it’s an outward reminder that the medicine is doing its job, and what’s not to love about that?

We had a doctor visit on Thursday and he was pleased with Aaron’s progress. He was amazed to see that Aaron was not tied to an oxygen tank. It’s hard to describe how bad Aaron was before treatment began. In fact, Aaron asked the doctor how long he would have given him to live had he not had the EGFR mutation. His answer, “3-6 months.” We believe that means 3-6 months even after chemo and radiation. We are feeling very blessed.

We have tried finding hopeful stories of people with stage IV lung cancer. We have found one. She has been on Tarceva (the pill Aaron is currently taking) for over two years and she is still responding. We just don’t know how long Aaron will respond. For some people it works for 7 months, 11 months, 18-24 months. Everyone is different. We need Aaron to get the longest response possible out of this medication, so that when it does stop working we have more treatments available. There is another drug in phase III clinical trial that is very promising. We just take one day at a time, and today is a good day.

I frequently have to remind myself to focus on the things I know for certain, and place all the unknowns in the Lord’s hands. From time to time I still think about the unknowns, and there are a lot of them at this point, but I hand them back to Him when they become too heavy. I know in whom we trust. I know this will work to our good. We pray we will be blessed with the miracle of time. Maybe we are being stingy, greedy, audacious, but we are holding out for a good amount of time.  Time to raise our family and time to give ourselves more fully to the Lord. Call me crazy, but I am looking to get 30+ years out of Aaron. I know it can be done, but will it be done? Time will tell. Time. Time. Time.

Aaron has another PET scan and MRI in June. Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers. At every turn your goodness and prayers are blessing us. I’ll give you another update later in the week.

Love, Lorraine & Family

Comments

  1. SamApril 19, 2015 at 12:13 AM

    We love you and are keeping you in our prayers xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. SamApril 19, 2015 at 12:13 AM

    We love you and are keeping you in our prayers xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. AmyApril 19, 2015 at 6:29 AM

    This is so great to hear! Praying for you every day!

    ReplyDelete
  4. KathyApril 20, 2015 at 8:07 PM

    Time is dear and time is a gift. How wonderful that we worship the God who not only grants us time but also promises eternity. Truly we are in good hands.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AnonymousApril 23, 2015 at 4:41 PM

    I love you Lorraine. What a special family you all are.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Battle Begins

By
As Aaron's family, we think he is the greatest and we know there are many others who feel the same way.  He is a friend to all and sees the best in everyone.  Our Big A is truly one of a kind. Aaron has always been a healthy guy and has never smoked a day in his life.  When he became sick in January, we never dreamed it was anything serious.  Multiple doctors told him it was Bronchitis.  By March, he and Sweet Lorraine knew it was something more serious.  X-rays were alarming and the biopsy showed Adinocarcinoma Lung Cancer. He will soon begin treatment.  He and Lorraine, along with Kaitlin, Maddie, David, Brigham, Ella and Lily are asking for your faith and prayers.
23 comments
Read more

MVP (Most Valuable Patient)

By
We met with the oncologist yesterday and went over Aaron's PET scan. The prognosis came as no surprise to us. Aaron's symptoms have only intensified over the last two weeks and we knew there could be only one reason why; the cancer was spreading. He has stage 4 papilary lung cancer. It has spread to his hips, part of his spine, rib cage, and some small lymph nodes. Each place Aaron pointed to, on his body where he felt pain, the dr. would look at that area on the scan and we would see a green dot indicating cancer. We are waiting for more results to tell us if this cancer has any genetic markers. There is a 10% chance he has one of them and a 3-4% chance he has the other. If he has one of these markers it means the treatment is more successful. In the meantime, we proceed as if Aaron has neither of these markers present and we begin chemotherapy. He starts on Thursday. Once a week every three weeks for I don't know how long. He also has an appointment with a great lun...
29 comments
Read more

Aaron Vere Thatcher

By
Written by Aaron's Mom and siblings: To all who have loved Aaron throughout his life, we want to let you know that he passed away yesterday, December 18, 2018 in the hospital, surrounded by his family. Sunday night, Aaron took a turn for the worse and was taken to the hospital. We were hopeful that he could regain his strength and come home, but it wasn't to be. Yesterday he interacted lovingly with friends, church leaders, siblings, his Sweet Lorraine, and his children. In true Aaron fashion, and with great effort, he spoke to each person, looking in their eyes, calling them by name or nickname, expressing his love and gratitude in a personal manner to each one.  We wish that all of you who love him could have been there with us yesterday to witness his finest hour. He was the Aaron Thatcher we all love to the last moment, and there was an incredible outpouring from his wonderful soul. Each  felt personally loved and remembered by him. In his suffering, he tutored us ...
11 comments
Read more