Where to Visit Joe

Sorry, I didn't even think to tell you where Joe's at now so that you can visit if you want. He's at Roselawn Memorial Cemetery, 3801 Roselawn Dr, Denton TX 76207, in the "Garden of Oaks," plot 107. That's the cemetery right next to Hills and Hollows if you are familiar with that. It's back in the back of the cemetery, but it's really nice with an oak tree near the grave.

Thanks!

Thank you to everyone who helped all of us during this hard time. The funeral was beautiful and so well attended, it's clear that Joe was well loved. Thanks for all the prayers, visits, food, etc, they all meant a lot to us. Joe loved attention, so I think we all did him proud. :)

Come see Joe

The viewing will be held at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints chapel at 4501 Teasley Lane in Denton, on Thursday, Oct 9 from 11-1:30, with the funeral service to take place at 2 in the same location.

In lieu of flowers or cards, please make a donation to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. See http://www.leukemia-lymphoma.org/all_page?item_id=8477 for more info.

The Beginning

Our Heavenly Father finally called Joe home to him this morning around 3:30 am. He fought right up to the end, but he's no longer in pain. We know that Joe was loved by everyone whose life he touched, so we will post the viewing and funeral information as soon as we get it. Thank you for your prayers and visits, they really made a difference to Joe.

Almost over

Joe's fight is almost over.

As I write this, Joe's renal system is in the process of shutting down. That's a fancy way of saying that his body isn't flushing the toxins that build up as we eat and drink. The Doctors have said that this is the end, and it won't be long. We all love Joe and we are going to miss him terribly.
But...
There is an end to pain. And we believe that Death is not the end - that Joe will niether forget us nor will we forget him until we meet again.

We love you, Joe.

what to do?

I haven't written in a few days because I didn't know what to say without sounding all doom and gloom. Joe's entire torso is full of "nodules," which I assume is a nice way of saying tiny tumors. They think some of these nodules might be interfering with his internal organs for several reasons. First, his bladder wasn't working properly and now Joe has a catheter. When they first put it in, they got out 10,000 cc, and that's just not cool! He's retaining water so badly that he's gained back 50 pounds. His feet, legs, and stomach look so swollen the skin is stretched and shiny. The oncologist honestly doesn't know what to do next. It's been pretty rough in room 4210 lately, so if everyone could pray harder, we'd appreciate it. :)

Big foot strikes again!

I haven't been able to spend much time with Joe this week because I have been sick with a cold. My source of info when I'm not around is mom, and she's been sick, too. :( But here's what I do know: Joe's nutrapenic and his feet are even more swollen than usual. And Joe's feet being even bigger than usual is a sight to behold! That's about it. Sorry!

Hard Saturday

It was a hard Saturday yesterday. It wasn't hard for Joe so much as it was hard for all the rest of us. When the morning nurse came in Saturday morning, Joe had had a major personality change and had lost much of his body functions. All he did was sit there and smile, or even chuckle quietly to himself. He wouldn't eat, take his pills, or answer questions. He did answer some questions, but for the most part if you asked him a question he would just smile and put his head on his hand. He didn't remember when or where he was born, but he did remember all our names and he remembered that dad had surgery yesterday. The doctors thought that the cancer was in his brain or that possibly he had a stroke, so they did a bunch of tests and did an MRI, but it turned out that it was just one of the drugs he was on. Sometimes the drug for his nueropathy can have this effect on people, and also his electrolytes where out of whack. So they took him off the nurotin and put him on a magnesium drip, and around early evening, Joe started slowly returning to us. By night, he was perfectly fine! What a relief! So now we know what Joe's like when he's super dooper stoned. I prefer regular Joe!

these summer days

Joe's doing another round of chemo, and so far so good. I haven't posted because there's really nothing new to report. Joe's still in the hospital, still getting chemo, still lonely. That is all. :)

fever

Well, we had the meeting and they basically wanted to know if Joe felt safe being treated from home or would rather stay in the hospital. After some discussion, he and his oncologist agreed that they needed to get even more aggressive with the chemo, and so it would probably be better to stay right where he is. As always, he still would love for every one to write to him or call or come by. He is running a fever this morning but they are medicating for it. Joe's spirits are high and he feels good. Thanks for all the support. Looking forward to see everyone soon. Joe's mom

update

Thank you to everyone who really came through at the last minute on the Pampered Chef fundraiser! We got above the party mark, and I don't know what the exact numbers are, but I'll be sure and tell you as soon as I can.

Joe's doing well. He's rebounding well from the last chemo, but we don't know yet when the next round will start. The oncologist and a social worker want to meet with the family in Joe's room Tuesday morning, which kind of wigs me out, but I'm trying to not worry too much. Keep praying for us, especially Joe!

Pampered Chef

Just a reminder-there's just a few more days to order! We're actually $36 short of making a party order, which really complicates things, so please tell anyone you know that said they might order to do it now! Here's the instructions again:

-------------------------------------------------------------
It is simple to order.

1. Go to www.pamperedchef.biz/fonda
2. Click on Order Products (the picture of the Trifle Bowl)
3. Enter Joe Quinton as the host, click

You are then ready to shop.
-------------------------------------------------
OR you can paste this link into your browser.
http://www.pamperedchef.biz/fonda?page=host-search-results&showId=1703218

Thanks!

improvements

I forgot to mention something exciting in the last post! Joe's been improving physically, and he's made so much progress that he's been able to lose the eye patch and go back to binocular vision! YAY! It seems the chemo might not being killing his hair follicles anymore, cause he's covered with fuzz on top and he's getting quite a beard. The nursing staff has taken to calling him Grizzly Adams.

He's complained of being very lonely in the day, so if you're available during the day please try to drop by. Also, don't forget to place your Pampered Chef order soon! You only have about a week left!

keep on keeping on

Joe's doing pretty well, all things considered. He's been running a slight fever, but his counts haven't really dropped at all since his last round. The doctor found out a new way to do the chemo that's extremely effective on resistant cancers, so Joe's starting that this week. We all feel really hopeful that this is the key! The tumor on his chest is big and yucky looking. Get him to flash you if you want. You might want to take some mardi gras beads as incentive!

Don't forget to order some Pampered Chef! Scroll down to the next entry for details. :)

Happy monthaversary!

Tomorrow will mark 7 months in the hospital for our beloved Joe-dawg. So in celebration, I'm announcing-*too doo doooooo* ANOTHER FUNDRAISER!! YAY!!!! Due to popular demand, we're having Pampered Chef part duex. A lot of people have been asking if they can order more stuff, so here is the answer: YES! Order lots! Order often! Tell all your family and friends to order! Tell that guuy you know who always grilling in his garage! Tell your aunt that buys lots of cooking stuff but never cooks! Tell that person you know who always buys all their Christmas presents 6 months early! Tell everyone! Run don't walk! :)

-------------------------------------------------------------
It is simple to order.
1. Go to www.pamperedchef.biz/fonda
2. Click on Order Products (the picture of the Trifle Bowl)
3. Enter Joe Quinton as the host, click
You are then ready to shop.
-------------------------------------------------

OR you can paste this link into your browser.
http://www.pamperedchef.biz/fonda?page=host-search-results&showId=1703218

This one is all online, with no parties, and you have all of August to place your orders. Cut and paste this blog into your email browser and send it to everyone! Thanks for your help!

chemo ends, again

Well, the guns are loaded and the real battle begins. Joe is finishing his chemo today and now we will wait, again. He says that he is really lonely. I have not been able to spend whole days with him and he misses the companionship. Joe is a very social guy. So, if you can come to see him, that would be great. The days are long and usually the loneliest. He is growing hair now on his face and head, so he looks different. It seems that his beard is dark and his hair is blonde. His diet is not restricted any more so treats are okay. Not too much sugar or chocolate but he looks other stuff. Maybe a call to see what he is interested in at that time. Keep up the good work, guys, Joe needs your prayers and calls as much or more than ever. He gets depressed when he is alone a lot. See you there! Joe's mom

Battle Three Begins

The war is not over and we began Battle Three yesterday. They started chemo and will continue with four different ones for four days. He has had three of them before but one a VP-16 is new. One will run for 24 hours and the others are 2 hours over four days. He is feeling a little more allert today since they cut back on his pain meds yesterday. He really enjoyed the visits. We are taking the blog comments to him today. Even though he has internet now, it won't let him see the comments due to the hospital firewall. I don't know if he can email or not. So if you want to come before he hits the lows, now is a good time. He is more awake and feels pretty good. Next week on or about Tuesday he may start going down but we will let you know how it goes. Thanks for the prayers and comments. from Joe's mom

more of the same

Joe is feeling about the same today. Yesterday was particularly hard. Pixel died and we had to let Joe know. He seemed to take it pretty well since he had known that she was ill and not doing well. There is really not much to say. Please post your comments to Joe so he will know that you are out there. Thanks, his mom.

hard days

Yesterday was a really hard day for Joe. His platelet count went down to 2 and his white count went down to .4. His port went bad and he has a staph infection again. He ran a fever of 102 during the night and they used ice to get it down. It went up and down all day. He received 2 bags of platelets and a bag of blood through an IV that they started in his hand. His pain meds were given in a shot as they couldn't hook up the blood and the pain pump at the same time. In between each bag of blood they gave him a bag of antibiotic. Three doctors were in to see him. Dr. Cichon (oncology) told us that he has another mass as revealed by the Cscan they did. It is 6cm and between his lung and ribs. This was quite a blow as we were hoping that they had gotten rid of everything with the last cheme. Dr. Spivey gets back on Wed. and hopefully Joe's counts will be up and they can do something. His infectious diseases doctor was in and said that the low white count allowed the staph to get hold and the staph caused the low platelet. He seemed confident that we could see some good results from the antibiotic by Tues or so. Today Joe is still feeling kinda low and tired. It will take some time to get back up on top but I know he will do it. Thanks for your support. Joe's Mom

lower and lower

Joey's counts are getting lower and lower. His platelets are 7 and his white count is .4. They gave him blood last night and are giving him more today, as well as platelets. He sounded a little stronger when I talked to him so that was the transfusion. I know he misses me and his dad coming up there every day so we appreciate those who take the time to go by and see him. His dad is getting better and hopefully by the end of the week he will be able to get up to the hospital to see Joe. Thanks for the prayers and visits. Please pray extra hard this week. It is the most dangerous time for Joe.