| Heide's Status |
Update 12-13-08 (by Cara Demarse)
I went down to Heide's house on December 10th to go with her to her chemo appointment at Stanford. A few days before I left she
asked if I could come earlier so we could go to the appointment about her latest brain scan. So there we sat at the office...waiting to
find out what exactly those tumors were doing. I think I am still in shock.
Dr. Gibbs showed us the MRI from three months ago compared to the MRI from last week, and Heide only has one tumor left that
they are watching.
The most incredible news!!! In July when she had the original brain scan, she had 12 tumors in her brain. She did the cyber knife
procedure which pinpointed the tumors, then did whole brain radiation to try to get some of the other ones that kept growing. The
radiation is working! The one tumor that she has left was a solid mass three months ago, and now it is hollowing out and only has a
ring around it.
So, as of now, Dr. Gibbs said her brain is stable; which means she has routine three month checkups and note what the tumors are
doing. If they do start to come back, she can still do cyber knife radiation. This is good news because we all understood that
radiation was no longer an option.
At the end of the month, she has another scan to see what her bones and lungs are doing. So please keep your positive thoughts
and energy going to Heide and her family. Speaking of, it was great to stay at Heide's house last week. Her parents are in town and
we were all hugging and celebrating the news. This is truly the first "good" news she has had since her diagnosis in June.
Love, Cara DeMarse
Update 12-08-08
I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving and are gearing up for the upcoming Christmas Holiday. Special thanks to Matt Ober
who gifted the proceeds of his Turkey Bowl Football Tournament to Heide. Matt has put on this event for the past 14 years in Los
Gatos and it's a Thanksgiving tradition. The Christmas tree went up last week and it was nice to see the menagerie of three legged
animal ornaments. As newer parents we didn't learn that animal ornaments within kids reach were in danger of being grabbed, then
dropped and rehung higher with missing limbs. "There's Rudolf the three legged one horned reindeer". It reminds me of the Family
Circle cartoon when the kids say - It wasn't me! We received the results of Heide's lung biopsy and it came up Negative for the Her2
gene. What this means is that drugs, like Herceptin, that tackles the Her2+ gene would not be effective on Heide's type of tumors.
Tomorrow Heide gets an infusion of chemo and we also meet with the radiation oncologist for news on last Friday's MRI exam.
Heide's parents arrived on Sunday and will be staying with us for a while and the girls were very excited to pick them up from the
airport. I also read, on the website, that Carla Anderson (long time ND friend of Heides) is going to be running her first marathon and
dedicating it to Heide. Heide can help with words of encouragement from her experience on her one and only marathon - SF
Marathon 2000. I was her Sherpa for the back 13 miles and was astonished to hear how she could chain expletives together while
running up and downhill.
We will let everyone know about tomorrow's results and ask that everyone continue to pray.
- Ric
Update 11-24-08
Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.
There was quite a lot of activity over the past few weeks that I've failed to communicate to the friends of Heide. To begin, I've reached
out to cancer survivor/advocate Eric Drew for assistance in distilling all of the treatment information that Heide was under going and
look for alternative treatments. It became very apparent to me that I lost control of what was going on when I went with Heide to an
impromptu visit to Stanford. Our entire household was in the midst of the cold/flu that was out there and Heide had caught it. It was a
scary week that was compounded by some delayed side effects from the past months brain radiation treatments. Mid-week we were
in the emergency room until 4am with spiking headaches and we had to reschedule the next days lung biopsy. The headaches are
now gone and she's beaten the flu with help from her sister Margie and cousin Becca over the past two weeks. Her active routine
has come back and the strength in her actions and voice has returned.
The lung biopsy was completed last Wednesday and tomorrow we have a meeting with our Stanford Dr. Stockdale for results. There
were no ill effects from the procedure and we were released, as expected, that afternoon. One of the reasons for a second biopsy is
to validate Heide's HER2/NEU results. If it comes back positive it can open up a highly successful hormone treatment using
Herceptin.
In reaching out to Eric Drew and his foundation www.drewfoundation.org we are validating the treatments we are currently
undergoing at Stanford and also evaluating other medical facilities. We are also consulting with an private practice oncologist to help
distill all the information we've received and will be considering.
Thank you for all your calls, cards, donations and prayers.
Love Ric
10-26-08
Just when you think you've experienced the highest level of love and generosity, the ceiling is raised and that was this weekend.
Heide and our family attended the spaghetti dinner and silent auction fundraiser that was organized by the Mom's in Motion group out
of Folsom/El Dorado Hills, in Northern CA. I also understand that there are two other fundraisers around the corner with Big Spoon
Yogurt and the Waterfall Salon & Day Spa. Cara DeMarse is one of Heide's girlfriends from SJSU and she has two little girls that are
about the same age as our girls. Alexa and Addison and Genevieve and Ava play together wonderfully and are the best of friends
since they were puny. When Cara brought up Heide's story to the awesome women of Mom's in Motion, they embraced Heide as one
of their own. The women dedicated their season to Heide and they've spent the last 6 weeks tirelessly canvassing the community
and accumulated an impressive list of local sponsors for the event. It was very hard not to get teary eyed upon walking into the hall
and it was even harder when we met a lot of the MIM ladies and heard their stories and well wishes. One of the themes that I heard
over and over was "It could be one of us and we needed to take action and help". You could feel the warmth of their thoughts in the
room.
We met many of the MIM ladies and I tried to thank each one for them, but after a while it was difficult because they were running
around in a flurry of activity. We really loved seeing all of the families that came out to the event. A good indicator of how much fun it
was can be measured by the laughter and energy of the kids running around. If you can image the noise of 30 plus kids banging out
a drum roll as they announced the winners of each silent auction. It was deafening! There are pictures that are posted by Monica
Lunardi @ www.monicalunardi.com >>link projects >> link Heide Medina Fundraiser Event. The pictures are fantastic and thank you
Monica for your photographic skills.
There are so many people behind an event of this size and it would be impossible to list them all in this message. Heide and I would
like to reach out to Michelle Laing, Kimberly Bean, Cara Demarse & Ceka Vota to express our heart felt thanks and appreciation to
your fabulous team, the selfless sponsors and the many generous volunteers. You've touched our family in a way that has definitely
given us renewed strength and hope. God bless you all.
- Ric
10-5-08
Just a quick update. John and Mary Rutten left last week after staying with us for about 3 months and drove back to ND. They will
return around Christmas time to endure our harsh No Cal winter. Tracey Stenseth, a childhood friend from ND arrived and has been
great assistance with Heide and the girls. There is a ND state rule that there must be at least 4 people in the state, at any given time,
so she has to go back on Wednesday. As a surprise Heide's sister Margie flew out from Fargo this morning for a short 3 day visit.
Regarding treatment, we had some news that the first chemo treatment, for the lungs and bones, was not producing results so we
are starting a new chemo medicine on Monday the 6th. This news was very difficult to hear, but we are continuing the fight and
keeping a positive outlook. Heide also recently finished the full brain radiation treatment and we are seeing fatigue as one of the
side effects. We've had to cancel some outtings, but were able to make Jon and Adrienne's lovely wedding in the Santa Cruz
Mountains last weekend. Long gone are the days of being the last one standing and looking for the "final final" party. I was alsp sad
to see the tradition of having cameras on the table, for candid guest shots, had come to an end. Long live the "bat wing" and "fruit
salad".
Genevieve and Ava are doing great and have Heide's apptitude for school. Genevieve was kindergarten's student of the week and I
had to council her to space out the achievements so there is no fear of peaking. She is in a fierce battle for the most read stories in a
week with a class mate. Being the competitive Mom I've seen Heide help with a few targeted "go dog go" or "Fancy Nancys"
redundant readings. Ava still has on her mouse mask, but instead of blue its a shade of brown-blue. She's instructed me to help her
search for its replacement cause she's afraid it's wearing out. Halloween is just around the corner so I'm hoping it will be last of the
blue mouse mask and she'll love her new Sarah Palin mask and pant suit..
We are very blessed with the love and support from family, friends and strangers.
- Ric
--
Regards,
Ric Medina
update 9-17-08
Dear Friends and Family,
Thank you for all of your prayers and well-wishes. I say it every time
I write, but your support is so touching and means so much! I'm half
way through brain radiation with no serious side-effects (maybe some
fatigue). I've been fighting off a cold which turned into a sinus
infection. Thank goodness for my mom and her hot lemon tea...just what
the doctor ordered.
I came across a quote not too long ago. It reads, "How beautiful a day
can be when kindness touches it." Each day me or my family experiences
an act of kindness through love and prayers sent via email, greeting
cards, and phone calls from friends and even strangers. We have meals
coming to our home three times a week. Friends are driving me to
Stanford for my daily appointments. And the list goes on.
I wanted to thank a few groups who have done some fundraising for me
and my family's benefit. I wanted to make sure that your efforts have
not gone unnoticed.
The Devils Lake Steak Fry Benefit: To the organizers: Margie and Vince
Hannesson, Andrew and Sara Rutten, Charla and Chris Lizakowski, Jeff
and Tracey Stenseth, and Dick and Louise Prozinkski. The hours you
put into this benefit and the out come are so much appreciated! Thank
to the MANY people who donated items for the silent auction and raffle
items. Wow! So many wonderful things to choose from. Thank you to the
many volunteers who helped the night run smoothly. Thank you to those
of you who supported the benefit by attending, bidding on the silent
auction items, and/or purchasing raffle tickets.
5K Fun Run organized by Tammy Riggin, Lisa Ripplinger, and Cindy
Schmidt. What a great way of getting people together. Thank you!
The Mary Kay Fundraiser sponsored by my long-time friend from high
school Patty Ware. Thank you!
Lia Sophia Fundraiser sponsored by Rae Villebrun and Brenda Pollak and
the Lond Du Loe Ojibwe School staff. Rae, what a lovely surprise (we
knew each other in high school and have not seen each other in years)!
Nancy Jankins: Thank you for selling your jewelry for my fight!
Boden Classic Kids Trunk Show: A huge thank you to Regan Ryan Hunt and
Lynn Miano. Although we've never met in person, your kindness has
touched me. Thank you!
Folsom/El Dorado Hills Moms in Motion Team: Thank you dedicating your
fall '08 season to me. You girls rock!
We have also received personal donations from many. We have a few
"mystery donations." There have been a few bank to bank transfers that
don't show who sent the donation. If you have donated and you don't
see your name on the donation page of the website, please send me a
message so we can acknowledge your kindness.
God Bless,
Heide
9-7-08
After a little while of no activity we are back into action and can start anew with updates. To begin, Heide has been reading all the
comments that come in from the web site and this helps her mentally stay focused. Sadly the spam robots have also learned how to
fill out the message form. In order to turn this into a positive we are branching this endeavor to include discounts on cialis, viagra and
the latest ED medicine du jour. It's truly amazing and if we can only harness this spam energy for "good" and not "evil" we would have
world peace and a Cubs World Series win.
This week we are beginning the preparation for full brain radiation treatment that will last about 3 weeks. We were hopeful that the
Cyberknife treatment would manage the brain tumors, but there were more than expected so this radiation is the next phase. Last
week Heide went in for a CT Scan which will be used to compare against the first scan done back in July. We are looking for
improvements since that nagging cough which started this journey is no where to be heard. Chemo has also been suspended for a
short period to accommodate the radiation. In a very sad note, our Stanford neuro surgeon Dr. Borchers was fatally hurt in a solo
private airplane crash. He was a gentle person, we will miss him and pray for his family.
Genevieve is a new Farnham Falcon and has started kindergarten and she loves her new teacher Mrs. McCoy. Farnham Elementary
is a two blocks walk from our house and on her first day she had more papparazzi than a Lohan. The family walked her two blocks
with all cameras a blazin' documenting every hop and pig tail bounce. Heide enjoy's the 10 minute walk to school and picking her up
in the afternoon. Genevieve loves her first week and was so very eager to start her second week that I didn't have the heart to tell her
that she has 16 more years to go. She knows her days, weeks & months, but the concept of years is still higher math. Ava is at pre-
school and from what I hear is running the place wearing her blue mouse mask as cover.
The friend network continues to amaze us and there are a couple of fundraisers coming up in the next few weeks. One of them is in
Devils Lake ND organized by Heide's long time friends. I recommend that if you are ever in Devil's Lake North Dakota to stop by
Proz's"End of the Line & Caboose". I remember my first December trip to DL where Heide and I walked to the "End of the Line" in
Zero degree weather to get a cold beer. You have to want it and it's not for amateurs.
Love Ric
8-19-08
Hi All,
I thought I'd let you know about today's appointment. We met with my
radiation oncologist, Dr. Gibbs. I was hoping to hear that all of my
tumors in my brain had magically disappeared. Well, we'll keep hoping.
They are still there and they found 3 to 4 more tiny tumors. This was
not a total surprise as my oncologist had previously told us she
thought there may be more they just hadn't seen. Instead of doing the
cyber knife treatment to zap those they see, we've decided to do whole
brain radiation to zap the known ones and cells not yet detected. We
are going to work around my next chemo treatment. I'm anticipating
beginning radiation in about 3 to 4 weeks. All of the scheduling
details still need to be worked out.
I've shed some tears and thankfully Ric was there to hug and love me.
I'm ready to conquer this "mountain" and am now ready to continue the
climb.
Your love and prayer are so much appreciated!!!
Love,
Heide
8-9-08
First of all I want to thank many people for the events of last week. It would not have been possible without the heartfelt donations
from many families. We are blessed with their love for Heide. I want to thank all the generous bidders. You can tell the bidder who
have been "trained" by ebay by their competitive nature and their "snipe" tools. Thank you to the people who donated fiesta material
and those who donated their time and skills during the event. Lastly, much love and appreciation to our Hosts for the "Fiesta for
Heide". Michael and Jennifer Hayes throw a great party. Check out the pictures.
Yesterday Heide went with Monica Sabo for her second chemo infusion session at Stanford. There was a possibility that it would be
delayed because of the low blood count, but they found a few hiding by her ankle and was able to proceed. As expected Heide's hair
has started to fall out and she has a new daytime look. In a short few days we are also going to see the scar that Margie gave Heide,
on the back of her head as kids. When looking at Heide and interacting with her you can't imagine that there's anything wrong. Even
that little pesky cough that started this all is gone and we're looking at this as a positive sign.
Genvieve and Ava are two of the happiest little girls and are loving the attention. They pretty much have play dates almost every day.
Last week they went to YSI Nature Camp thanks to a wonderful donation from the Chancy Memorial Foundation. They learned about
animals and bugs and every day there were a couple of new art projects in the house. It's wonderful to have them present their clothe
pin tissue paper butterfly with pipe cleaner antennae and explain some incorrect mysterious bug fact. One of them was: Slugs are
homeless Snails. I asked "What happened to the shell or their antennae? Could they be victims of predatory lending practices?" or
maybe they lost it to gambling debts and hocked them at a pawn shop. That's when I got their precious innocent blank stares.
Priceless.
Please keep up the praying, well wishes and your support for Heide. In the next few weeks we will begin to get results from the
treatments and we are always thinking positive.
- Ric
7-31-08
It's been a while since the last update and really there hasn't much to report. I'm back at work now so the updates will be weekly,
unless you wish to learn how I spend my day. Most of the recent activity has been with the support team and the different fundraising
events. We would like to thank Lisa Pazdel and Christina for organizing the Cabi clothing fundraiser. We understand it was a huge
success and is much appreciated by us.
Heide is feeling very well and is completing her first chemo round Friday Aug 1st. She gets through her day with a short 2 hour mid-
day nap and has a good appetite. A round's regiment is an infusion day and chemo pills for 2 weeks. There is a recovery week with
no medication then it starts over. As expected, Heide's hair has begun to fall out and we had a quick stop at Plush Salon in LG for an
quick trim. You might have noticed the new Pixie doo in the photos. Heide and her mom Mary went wig shopping and Heide has a
couple of new looks. The girls are very excited because one of the looks reminds them of Hannah Montana.
I apologize for the short and not so insightful update, but its Shark Week on the Discovery Channel and I am distracted. I think I found
out why it took me 8 years to get out of college.
Your words of encouragement and prayers continue to bring Heide comfort.
- Love Ric
7-22-08
Today Heide and I celebrated our 7th anniversary with a quiet dinner in LG where it all started. We had hoped to get to CB Hannigans
where it all really started, but it was getting late and Heide was feeling a little tired. We talked about the past 7+ years and the people
we we've met along the way that have touched our lives. During the day we had both our Michael Hayes and Rod Teague filmed
wedding videos playing on the TV and Genvieve and Ava wanted to know why they were not present. What a fun event and a great
reminder that our friends can't dance. Heide is doing great after Friday's chemo treatment and the only change to her day is a short
nap in the afternoon. The nausea medication is working well and there is no discomfort. Genevieve woke up one morning and
asked if today was when Mommy's hair was going to fall out. She immediately offered the use of her Ariel the Mermaid red hair wig.
She is a true problem solver.
We need to give heartfelt thanks to John and Adrienne (Cox) Bandain for giving up many days of their life to coordinate the MEGA
Garage sale. The success of the event goes to them and to the cast of characters over the weekend. This was no ordinary garage
sale with Strawberry shortcake on Sat (Jim & Jane Nelson) and Snowcones on Sunday (Dean & Natalie Ceglia). I hear there was a
competition in the housewares department, located at the end of the long driveway, between Coby Bennette and Juergen Schwiezer.
Both relied on their previous retail experience, but I think Juergen's strict German commitment to order and process earned him the
blue sales ribbon for Housewares. It could also have been that Coby was very unfamiliar with many of the common household
kitchen doodads. There are too many names to name and it was indeed a group effort with two strong captains. I believe photos will
be posted to give people the the scale of the event. Thanks to everyone for the donations, thanks to everyone for taking time out to
man the event, thanks to everyone for purchasing the goods.
There was a great sense of community this weekend and the hope is that it never goes away and only gets bigger to encompass
everyone. No one is alone.
- Ric
7-16-08
We met with Dr. Frank Stockdale and team this afternoon and we are scheduled to begin Chemo treatment this upcoming Friday.
There are some insurance issues that need to be ironed out, but we are confident that we can keep this date. Dr. Stockdale reviewed
all of Heide's scans from the initial breast cancer and has put together a plan to aggressively target the tumors (bones & lungs).
There were some interesting conversations regarding Heide's new diet and we will be tweaking the 100% vegan to include some
meat protein. The juicer is still blending at 100 mph and anything green finds it way into the grinder.
We feel that we are in the best care available and are making all the right moves with both western and eastern care. Rest assured
we receive all cards, emails and we READ and love them all. Not all comments are posted on the site because there are so many
and it's not an automated system. Heide's automated system is telling me to "do this, do that", which I do. It's become my new
nickname and the record is 15 seconds from the time I wake up and a request is made. Heide is reading all the messages from her
friends and truth be told so is her sister Margie.
We are hoping that Heide will be will be able to stop by this weekend's garage sale, at the University Ave. Los Gatos address of
Adrienne and John Cox. I'm sure many of John's bachelor items will be on the side walk to make room for their upcoming wedding
gift bonanza. Gone is the black leather couch, the dogs playing poker velvet painting and the Nagel lithographs. There are many
people involved in this event and we are very grateful to have them as friends.
- Ric
7-14-08
Monday has rolled in and we are off to Stanford again for the second CyberKnife procedure. After only about an hour Heide emerged
like a summer runway model in her pink capri pants and white knit top. The next step is our visit with the Oncologist on Wednesday,
for the other half of the challenge. We have everyone reading books and taking notes and I'm not sure that we mentioned, but there is
a new sheriff in town and his name is "non-alcohol Vegan". That is right, no more Vino. I will get into this later, but to paint the picture
- Heide is 100% green and we now have Kale in the house.
Tomorrow Tuesday we do not have any appointments, but the team will continue to construct our cancer battle plan. We are looking
into all resources submitted and appreciate your responses. Information is king.
- Ric
7-13-08
I need to do some catch up on Heide's status and I also need to apologize to those friends that hit refresh a couple times a day
waiting for the update. On an administrative note: Heide is reading all comments/messages submitted through the site. The
challenge is posting all of them on the site which is a time consuming process. That job falls to one man and a hamster named
Stella, who is no real help and loves running on a noisy exercise wheel. We have a nightly routine of reading the messages and the
wonderful words of encouragement.
Heide proceeded to Stanford on Thursday for the first 2 hour Cyberknife treatment. It didn't feel like very long when she came out
smiling and was ready to go back home. Dr. Borchers was able accomplished a little more in that session and Monday's procedure
would be shorter. Monday's protocol is to be the same.
We were happy to be able to celebrates Heide's 38th Birthday on Sat with a small picnic at Hogue Park. It was a perfect CA day and a
relief from the 100+ temperatures of the previous few days. There were so many kids that Genevieve and Ava thought the party was
for them and their friends. You can see in the new photos that we had the standard picnic games like Blue and Pink Rody races.
What? Those are the over inflated horse/dog looking things that look out of place at a picnic and that all adults wished came in big
kid sizes.
- Ric
7-8 through 7-9-08
Our visit to Stanford on Monday went off without a hitch, well sort of. We got there early, checked in and went in for the first CT Scan.
Right after the scan the machine went kaput and the scan was to fuzzy to be useful. They have three CT machines and two went down
that day so we had to come back on Tuesday. The MRI went fine so we were half way there. The interesting thing about Stanford is
that you see people from all over the country and the world, which validates that we are in the right place. Sounds funny saying that
after observing a 66.33% CT Scan machine failure rate. Heide's doing very well and she joked about being a "pin cushion". (Her
words)
Genevieve and Ava were enrolled in a week long summer camp at Vasona Park called "Water's Wonderful". They are learning how
wonderful water is and other such things. Heide enjoyed an appointment free day and relished dropping and picking up the girls from
camp. Swimming followed afterwards to reinforce how wonderful water is and that little girls can do cannonballs. We got a call today
that the Cyberknife procedure will take place on Thursday afternoon and next Monday. Heide and her mom will take the morning and
do a little mani peti therapy. I was told that you never want to go to a Cyberknife appointment with chipped color.
Your well wishes and prayers are very much appreciated by Heide. We read them every night.
- Ric
7-4-08/7-6-08
This evening Sunday we are preparing for our 6:30 am trip out to Stanford Hospital. The last several days have been wonderful and
you could almost forget that there’s a cloud hovering. There is so much love, support, friendship and caring that you are relaxed into
a “Pleasantville” state of mind. We spent the Fourth with the Holmes’ (Craig, Cynthia, Jaden & Evan) in San Jose where Genevieve
and Ava participated in a parade around the neighborhood. They rolled around on their star spangled banner decorated bike and
scooter. It was full-on Americana except for the guy that drove up in his Triumph T3. We proceeded to surround him and made him
surrender re-enacting the War of Independence. Tar and feathering was also proposed and rejected due to the high cost of
petroleum products. Margie flew back to ND on Sat and that evening we prepared for the arrival of Heide’s remaining posse. John,
Mary and Andrew rolled into San Jose around 9 pm, after two days on the trail. The horses were tired and the prairie schooner was
dusty and covered with bugs from 4 different states. Sunday morning, after a late start and donuts for breakfast we headed to
Testarossa Winery in Los Gatos. We listened to Rodrigo and François play flamenco guitar in the 90 degree heat. Rod (Rodrigo)
Teague is the mastermind behind the “forheide” website and we are thankful for his efforts and the love you can see in every page.
It’s a lot of work and we are grateful for his skills. There are so many people behind the Heide effort that it’s impossible to mention
them all. The names on the site are just a fraction of the friends, strangers, co-workers, cancer survivors, & family that have
expressed their love and support to Heide. The Medina family thanks you for your kindness, support, love and well wishes.
The plan tomorrow is to prepare Heide for the Cyberknife treatment. They will be taking a very detailed CT scan and MRI (1mm
increments) to map out the areas that will be treated. There is a mask fitting involved to help prevent movement during the process
as well. We are hoping that the treatment can be completed this week so we can begin Chemo thereafter.
- Love Ric
God Bless Heide, God Bless friends, family & strangers, and God Bless America.
Happy 4th!
7-2-08
Today was a very a long, busy and productive day. This morning we started with a trip to O'Conner for an X-ray after the lung Biopsy
and all is well. We zipped to Stanford for our meeting with Dr. Borchers (Neural Surgeon) and Dr. Gibbs (Radiation Oncologist) for a
consultation regarding the brain tumors. Heide is a good candidate for a newer treatment technology called Cyberknife (Accuray). It's
targeted radiation at the tumors and does not radiate good cells. We are scheduling the treatment for next week and are looking to
enjoy the 4th of July weekend. Heide postponed the first Chemo because of an issue with the port which will be corrected tomorrow.
Our girls love the visit from Margie and they've been super busy with arts and crafts and a visit to the beach. There has only been a
couple of the "I thought you were Heide? conversations. It's a game that they've been playing since they were kids in the 701.
Tomorrow Heide has the procedure to correct the port and rest.
- Ric
7-1-08
When we last left our heroine she was on her way to O'Conner Hospital for the long awaited biopsy. Before that, we stopped by the
SJ Airport and dropped off Charla Lizakowski for her trip back to Fargo ND.
At O'conner we re-met everyone (old friends from last Friday) and they were great getting everything set up again. The procedure
lasted about an hour and Heide was held for observation. In the process of poking the lungs there is a chance of creating a hole, so
there was extra care to make sure all is OK. After the procedure an x-ray was taken and there was a small hole that needed to be
monitored. After many hours in observation Heide was released and we need to return tomorrow AM for another progress X-ray.
Tomorrow Wednesday is our visit to Stanford where we will get the details on the radiation. People have asked if they can call or
email Heide and the answer is Yes. We are surrounded by a tremendous amount of love and support and it helps her focus on the
good. I personally could not imagine if we had to do this alone.
- Love, Ric
6-30-08
Monday we had a meeting at Southbay Oncology with Dr. Martha Man, our oncologist. She discussed the treatment plan which will be
a combination of Radiation (brain) and Chemo (bones and lungs). We have a consultation at Stanford on Wednesday morning to
schedule the radiation treatment. The treatment will target the brain spots in one session and this will allow us to start chemo this
Thursday. The chemo treatment will be a series of 2 weeks on and 1 week off and we will learn which drugs will be administered
based upon biopsy results. The biopsy was rescheduled for Tuesday at O'Conner Hospital with Dr. Ciprianno. When we walked out
of the office into the beautiful day Heide laughed and said, " That wasn't so bad! We didn't get any more bad news."
We've received so many well wishes that it's wonderful trying to keep up and read them all. See you tomorrow.
-Ric
6-28/29-08
On Saturday we picked up Heide's sister Margie at the SJ Airport. There was a surprise in that Charla Lizakowski, one of Heide's high
school friends, had made the trip from Fargo, ND as well. There was a tear filled reunion which lead into the next few hours of "oh
jeez" and "ubetchas". Those girls can talk for hours and at very high rate of speed. In the evening we had a family photo session with
Rod Teague behind the lens snapping a gazillion snap shots, so you'll be seeing some new updated poses on the site. Ava's 3 year
old smile consists of gritting her teeth and squinting her eyes so we are hoping we get one good family shot.
Sunday included a reunion of sorts, in Capitola at the Nelsen's beach house, under the sunny, but cold sky. We had 5 North
Dakotans girls in the same California back yard (Heide, Margie, Ellen, Charla and Tomi) and two of them where high school
homecoming queens from Devils Lake HS. For those that don't remember their history, Heide was first runner up to Queen Ellen
Faliade and I have the silkscreened beer mug with the photo of the homecoming court to prove it. You are all probably saying, "A beer
mug high school homecoming dance souvenier? - you have got to be kidding me!!" - Nope I'm not. It's fun observing the interaction of
old friends, the story telling, the re-telling with corrections, the synchronized group laugh with head tilt, and the low whisper with
added previously unknown details.
Tomorrow Monday is the oncologist's meeting to review the results from last weeks tests. We will learn about the treatment plan in
store for Heide and the rest of us. We are also armed with the results that will enable us to seek further advice and expand our quest
for the best possible care for Heide. Many of you have shared resources and we are going to leverage them to their fullest potential. I
wish I could share all the notes, emails, cards, phone calls with everyone to express the magnitude of the force behind this
movement. It is HUGE.
- Ric
6-27-08
We got a call from the oncologist Friday afternoon (she's reviewed the PET CT & MRI) and we now know the extent of the challenge.
There were spots detected on Heide's brain, in her ribs, lungs, pelvis and spine. The first course of action will be radiation to confront
the brain spots. We have a meeting with Dr. Man (oncologist) on Monday to discuss all options. We are very appreciative of the
resources that people have sent in and we encourage more. All options are being explored right now. We will be posting them on the
resources page as they come in.
Heide is in very good spirits and recognizes that there is a tremendous amount of love and support from her friends and even some
strangers. We've been getting well wishes from friends of friends and the ring of support is growing. We are currently covered by 6 of
the major religions and have a couple of atheist bending a knee. Heide's twin sister Margie is coming tomorrow Saturday and we are
looking forward to the reunion.
Again, we are astounded by the generosity of our friends and I keep hearing about new ideas to help. Truly amazing and we are very
blessed.
Ric
6-26-08
Today Thursday was a testing day for Heide with the full body PET CT scan. We learned that it's a half hour scan with some prep for a
total of 2 hours for this procedure. Cara took the girls to the Jungle and to the Campbell Library for story time. The kids were good
and still practiced their high pitched screaming contest. Heide caught up on emails and phone calls in the afternoon and is enjoying
hearing from everyone. Tomorrow is another early start with a 7 am biopsy at O'Conner Hospital. The biopsy is a short procedure,
but they need to make sure there aren't any after-effects with the lungs. In the afternoon we proceed to the brain MRI and back to
Good Sam.
Thanks for your love and support in this life challenge. Your kindness and generosity is overwhelming.
- Ric
6-25-08
Today Wednesday, Heide went to Good Samariton for surgery to install/implant a "port'. This will faciliate the delivery of medicine,
extraction of blood without the typical "search for the vein" method. It turns out Heide has thin veins so this will improve her
experience with treatments. She woke up at 5:45 am to "start the process", make up, hair, etc. for the 7 am check in at Good Sam.
Check in went very smoothly and surgery prep click off with out hitch. We had a very nice nurse that assisted with the reams of
paperwork and interjected some hospital beuracracy sarcasam. I waited in the waiting room, appropriately named cause that was
what I did, waited. I also sat and read so to be fair it should be called the sit, read and wait room. Dr. Bertleson came out after about 2
hours and said the surgery was a success and Heide was doing fine. After about another 45 minutes of having the anathesia wear
off, she was wheeled out looking like a GNO (girls night out for those non hannah montana listeners).
On the way home we stopped by and picked up the pain meds and a couple of cheap smut novels for easy reading. Heide rested
and Cara DeMarse took the girls to Target after a couple of hours at Houge Park. Cara's two girls Addi and Alexa have been keeping
Genevieve and Ava busy with games, projects, jumping on the bed and the ocassional screaming contest. That one is all our
favorites. Heide explained to the girls what she had done at the hospital. Ava walked away explaining that "mommy has a goose
bump".
Michelle Mitchener came by to take Heide to the biopsy consultation meeting and when they got home, that is when Tomi Nelson
called. I was able to talk with Heide's parents, who are driving out from the Dakotas and will start the trip around the 4th of July.
The web site was published today and there has been a tremendous amount of support and messages from Heide's friends around
the states. We are very appreciate of the love and support messages and Heide's eyes sparkle when she's reading them.
Tomorrow is the full body PET CT Scan with another 7am start and a 3 hour scan. Imagine if she was 6'2" and not 5'5"...Phew.
-Ric
6-24-08
Tomi in town to help Heide. A day of exploring options.
6-23-08
Visit with Oncologist. Biopsy set for this week to determine type of cancer. Plans for MRI are in process. Chemotherapy may start as
early as next week
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| For Heide |
Collective Healing For Heide Medina
2008