We're ALL in need of some type of "CANCER" treatment- and we are continuing ours!

This week has been more testing , waiting, few surprisew and treatments... mostly focused on Ronald Kidneys as they became inflammed with signs of obstruction thus causing pain and most likely the consistant fevering Ronald was having so..... treated that and his renal function has continued to improve and no fevers in several days. On the cusp of that his medical team felt that Ronald may benefit in receiving another transplant of stem cells to try to increase the chances for this most recent chemotherapy to be more successful - thank goodness Rhonda's initial bone marrow donation was so incredibly large - we are so blessed to have enough in storage to do this!!!  Thank you Rhonda!!!! 

We truly appreciate your continued faith and prayer as we really want Ronald's body to work with all these treatments to fight against the cancer cells that are loving living in Ronald body wayyyy to much!! Ronald continues to be quite tired and is experiencing some abdominal pain but overall is handling everything well. Doctors are just wanting us to stay the course and address any concerns as/if they arise.

This week , our kids brought a few of our fall/halloween traditions to the Huntsman to enjoy... favorite treats, music, halloween cookie decorating and of course pumpkin carving... although Ronald was tired he was a real trooper and joined in the fun as much as he could. 

We continue to remain positive and hopeful in great things to come and continue to appreciate all the faith and prayers on family's behalf especially for constant divine direction and instruction not only for Ronald and our family but also for his medical team as they continue to charter the once again unchartered territory we like to call.... RONALD!  

We continue to pray for you all too as we know every family is experiencing "cancer"-(undesired cells that infiltrate , vigorously trying to take control of the whole) in many forms , whether, physical, emotional, mental, spiritual or a mixture of a few... and we know it is only in and through the power of Atonement of Jesus Christ that individuals and families can be administered the necessary treatment for necessary healing. We are all experiencing what I refer to as "SERIOUS  MORTALITY" thankfully not ever alone!!  We Love you!!

So... Our family motto this year has been "With God we are LIMITLESS" so the kids

carved a pumpkin with that in mind... even creating a logo of sorts for it.... Sure thankful for our 

resiliently faithful children!

                                                   Syvanna took this panoramic picture of our pumpkin and
                                                   it looks like a very coooool catapillar ;-)

DAILY DEVO:
 We consistently pray that our minds and spirits will be clear, so that we will be able to identify truth and error and that we can hear and understand clearly any instruction and direction from the Lord... ...as we have worked even harder at this particularly for the correct cancer treatment and direction for Ronald's health we have also become very aware that the more we desire that, the more the adversary desires to confuse us.... As I was becoming more and more aware of this ....this clear direction came directly into my path...

Hope it comes in handy as you seek for clear instruction and direction to treat effectively the cancer cells that enter into your individual and family life!! 

And....Fieldtrip over!!

RONALD UPDATE:

So we  had about 55 absolutely wonderful hours out of the hospital before Ronald spiked 
a fever and was once again admitted back into the Hunstman Hotel. Since Thursday he 
has been fevering off and on without any cultures or test giving reasons why, so doctors are wondering if it from the cancer breakdown (tumor lysis) response causing a fever, or also 
possible it may be a neutropenic fever response since all his numbers are down now. One 
way or another, were being told that it may be best that he remain in the hospital until his 
immune system returns, which apparently could be a minimum of 40 days with this particular treatment. Meanwhile, Ronald is very tired (expected), receiving transfusions (expected), 
and continues to want to work his online medical consulting job as much a possible (also very expected) as we wait to see how his body will now be responding to treatment, hopefully, uncomplicated by any type of infection. He is in good spirits, very optimistic and other 
than some serious cancer continuing to insist on residence within his body, he is looking 
and behaving pretty much like normal, well as much as normal can be within the hospital.
Our prayers are focused at this time on his immune system returning as absolutely as soon as possible as the longer his system is down the greater the chance of  infections and complications arising in is recovery.

Thank you for all of your concern, fasting, prayers ignited by your faith- we continue to feel the great power  and intense love of our Savior and his personal attention to the detail in all of our lives!

*Love this picture of Ronald recieving his IV antibiotics in the hospital while he is doctoring another.

He is so awesome and loves keeping things going on as normal as much as possible! Love that!!

Getting a Fieldtrip Home!

RONALD UPDATE:

So After Ronald's 3rd and final round of this crazy chemo the doctors determined that since he has tolerated the last 2 treatments well, and his counts are not dropping very quickly that he should go home and spend time with family and a few normal daily activities until/unless he gets a fever, sick etc.... SO WE TOOK IT and RAN!! So we headed to the temple for an endowment session and got home in time to attend Ryker and Syvanna's Weber High Choir/Orchestra Extravaganza last night!!...It was an absolutely wonderful day!!

Ronald is pretty tired, but overall looking and feeling well. We have been preparing our home and family and friends with all precautions needed to provide for the highest level of protection for Ronald's upcoming neutropenic phase, which doctors are expecting to last a minimum of 40 days this time. We are soooooo very blessed to have unbelievable support and so many wanting to show their love and concern for Ronald and our family and continue to feel so uplifted and loved--We are truly feeling so grateful and so blessed,- with that said and genuinely appreciated, It will be of the up most importance that we do all we can to keep Ronald's body free of any type of infection during this time to avoid some pretty serious complications, so we will need to have anyone wanting to visit and support him during that time to do so via phone, email, facetime, skype, mail etc as we are entering cold and flu season during the same time.

We will let you know as soon as he officially enters this phase and continue with updates as appropriate and needed. We continue to pray for the Lord to enlighten all of Ronald's doctors, fortify Ronald's body, and for the faith and focus on the Saviors unlimited power to protect, heal, inspire as there is no doubt that He continues to ignite our ability to press forward with a true brightness of hope in really countless ways!! We appreciate your  fasting and prayers- we also recognize that we are not the only ones dealing with some concerns, sickness, and unexpected adventures and want you to know that you are in our thoughts and prayer as well!!We are certain the Lord has an intricately designed plan for Ronald, our family and all of us and we can all absolutely put our trust in Him!

Inspired Course of Action in Progress!- Choosing to stay fixed on the Savior and Not Sink!

RONALD UPDATE:
After much thought and a throng of family and friends joining in prayer and fasting we had an 
extraordinary experience with our medical team head doctor that led to a unified and clear course- involving a rare and  aggressive chemotherapy plan. First dose, administered this past Tuesday afternoon, was followed by Ronald having a pretty violent and somewhat painful reaction throughout the night yet resolved for the most part by Wednesday afternoon. Ronald regained some strength and sleep Thursday and then received his second dose yesterday afternoon , this time with some additions pre-medications to help cut down on reactions and other than some weakness and fatigue, things went much smoother and last night and today Ronald has been doing well and even enjoying our kids, grandson  and some family and friends visiting much of the day. If all continues to go well,  he will enjoy the Sabbath and some resting and regaining strength for the next few days. He will receive his last dose of this chemotherapy on Tuesday. His medical team will continue to assess him and his overall response to this aggressive plan over the next week as his system responds and immune system depletes and will eventually make the safest plan for Ronald while we wait how his system responds and hopefully rebuilds which could take up to 40+ days! Seems like a long time but he's been through much worse so were up for the challenge! Meanwhile, Ronald continues to try his hardest to fill his days with all the mental, physical and spiritual activity that he can handle even doing some online medical consulting from his hospital bed...We have also had the joy of having all of our children (including our angel Rylan) all together this past week, as well as our sweet grandson, Cole and that has been such an infusion of joy, love and strength!! I'm also constantly amazed by Ronald's positive attitude and ability to confront his long-suffering with such bravery and without any complaint!
Thank you to all of you for your fasting and prayer as we are certain that the extraordinary experience of inspiration, hope and peace that we had that led us on the course we have chosen was absolutely ignited with the fuel of combine faith! We are certain we are on the course we should be and know it will lead to exactly what the Lord has in store, whatever that may be... and that has produced such welcomed,priceless peace! We will post updates as we feel is appropriate and needed.
We are truly blessed to have you in our lives.

DAILY DEVO:
This Quote from President Howard W. Hunter has entered our hearts so profoundly this past week and brought perspective, peace and invaluable focus... We join in President Hunter's firm belief and we are committed to stay focused on our Savior and His endless reservoir of power and perfect wisdom!... no matter the strength of the wind and waves that may rise or rage....

“It is my firm belief that if as individual people, as families, communities, 
and nations, we could, like Peter, fix our eyes on Jesus, we too might 
walk triumphantly over ‘the swelling waves of disbelief’ and remain ‘unterrified 
amid the rising winds of doubt.’ But if we turn away our eyes from him in 
whom we must believe, as it is so easy to do and the world is so much 
tempted to do, if we look to the power and fury of those terrible and 
destructive elements around us rather than to him who can help and save
 us, then we shall inevitably sink in a sea of conflict and sorrow and despair”
“The Beacon in the Harbor of Peace,”President Howard W. Hunter, Ensign, Nov. 1992, 19). 

This picture above really in not complete without  Shayli and Cole but they had to hang outside of Ronald's room as Cole isn't allowed because children under 14 are not allowed on his floor of the hospital-so they played right outside the window of Ronald's room so he could see and enjoy them, as you can see in the picture below (look close and you can see Shayli and Cole in the back on the other side of the window;-)

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you...Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Over the course of the past year Ronald has had his bone marrow transplant and then relapsed two times in different forms. Those relapses were treated successfully with various chemotherapy. During this year we have have been so blessed with him very healthy (minus the relapse of course) and he has been working full time and enjoying pretty  normal life. Unfortunately, the cancer has not been able to be controlled for the extended amount of time we have hoped.  Last week he relapsed again and  this time the doctors are not offering the regular chemotherapy options but rather, options that are more aggressive . This has led to this update. We are currently evaluating the different treatment options as we weigh risks and benefits we would love your faith and prayers in this behalf as we truly want clear inspiration as to the direction we are to go. At this point it is not only obvious but unanimous that only the Lord knows what is the right way to go regarding Ronald's treatment plan and we are anxiously and humbly desiring to feel what that is. As things continue to develop we will continue to update the blog once again so that you may know what is going on. Thank you for following our journey and please know that your prayers have been felt.

Daily Devo:

"On that very night, the night of the greatest suffering the world has ever know or ever will know, the Savior said, 'Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you...Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.' ... I submit to you that this maybe one of the Savior's commandments that is, even in the hearts of otherwise faithful saints, almost universally DISOBEYED; and yet, I wonder whether our resistance to His invitation could be any more grievous to the Lord's merciful heart.
In that same spirit, I am convinced that NONE of us can appreciate how deeply it wounds the loving heart of the Savior of the world when He finds that His people DO NOT feel confident in His care, secure in His hands or Trust in His commandments."
                                                              -Elder Jeffery R. Holland

This inspired quote seems to put into words our feelings regarding choosing to strive for peace over fear in the current circumstances of all of our lives and I love the perspective that was quickly recovered for me when I thought on it (especially as I reflect upon all the peace, tender mercies, sustaining , friendship and miracles the Lord as so extraordinarily shown us....  The Lord has absolutely more than proven His unconditional love and unlimited power in our lives, and deserves nothing less than our full confidence in Him-His will, plan and power. I sincerely desire to obey this powerfully compassionate commandment regardless of circumstances!

My Sister, My Mentor, My Angel, My Friend.... NEVER To Be Forgotten!

"Michelle is my sister but probably more accurately described as an administering angel for countless individuals and families!! Throughout her lifetime she has been a person that would drop just about anything to come to the aid and comfort of those around her. Multiple family members have been blessed by her ability to help, support, succor and love us through extraordinary and somewhat overwhelming challenges!! I am sure we have no way of counting up all those that have been touched by her gifts of compassion, long suffering and selflessness!! Michelle, I know that no matter how hard we could try to be able to express and show you of our gratitude for your selfless life we would still fall short of what you deserve in return! We  love you deeply, unconditionally and eternally!!"

That was the post that I wrote last year on my dear sisters birthday... little did I know, at the time, that just a year later on that same day I would be with her as she took her last mortal breath to continue her angelic calling on the other side of the veil with our Rylan and multiple other loved ones that no doubt were anxiously and joyfully awaited their reunion with her. 

Michelle's life was packed to the very last moment with a lifetime of service and character that I have no problem labeling as a "Type of Christ" as we find so beautifully throughout the scriptures. I could go on to detail how true that is, but for those that know her there is no need for explanation whatsoever! I feel nothing less than 

pure

honor and deep gratitude for somehow being counted worthy to be her sister throughout our mortal journey on throughout the eternities. Michelle is within the fibers of my best character, mothering, teaching, loving, decision making, service and eternal goals. We have found some great comfort and even joy during this time knowing Rylan's bright smile and twinkle has exponentially increased with his beloved Aunt Michelle back in his phere and presence!

Oh we love you, we love you...so deeply Michelle! Please Stay Close! 


**Those who would like to read about Michelle's unexpected adventure and journey through her last year please refer to her blog www.somuchlightandlove.blogspot.com

Cole Christopher Cottman 1/12/2016

On January 12, 2016 we met our very first grandchild Cole Christopher Cottman. He was born 9 lbs 1 oz and came into this world bright eyed. He continues to be that way ever since. He has grown so quickly and wants to be grown up so bad. To read his birth story or get updates on him check out his blog.

http://cottmancrib1.blogspot.com/2016/01/january-12-2016.html?zx=24239bc6bb4d6db7