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John'sUpdates

29 March, 2010

Hi all,

Over the years we have asked for special prayers for our classmates who have needed them. You may not have realized how important these prayers have been to our friends and their families. We have another special request. Debbie Michael Kidwell wrote to tell me they have just discovered that John has Multiple Myeloma and is very seriously ill. This week has been a whirlwind of doctors, tests and decisions on different protocols and treatments. She has promised that their daughter will be sending out weekly updates and will include us in her e-mails. As I receive them, I will send them along to Frank Cox who will have have a special section for John's updates on our website--69elks.com.

Debbie was thankful that we would be sharing this information with everyone. She has asked that we please keep John in our thoughts and prayers. If you'd like to drop a note or card to them, you can send it to:

Debbie & John Kidwell

3119 Montana Lane

Claremont, California 91711

We have a truly special class and I think one with some special powers. If anyone needs our help with prayers, please send us an e-mail and we'll spread the word.

~Susie

9 April, 2010

Hi,

I really don’t have much to report except that according to the ,prognostically-oriented, International Staging System John is in Stage I—so we have a good starting point!. Still waiting for results from cytogenetic testing –it indicates which drugs or combination of drugs will best arrest his disease. April 15th is our next appt. with the oncologist at USC. We’re hoping to schedule an appt. with City of Hope where he will, most likely, be getting his treatment—they have an excellent Multiple Myeloma Team and it’s less than half an hour from home. Most importantly, we feel confident that he will have state- of- the -art treatment there.

John looks pale to me and has some difficulty walking due to back pain but his attitude and spirit are pretty good. Marc has been wonderful!!! It’s a great comfort to John and me to have him on our team. And our class has been amazing—we’ve heard from so many people with such kind words for John and our family. Rick Beatty sent a note that was hilarious! I think that his friends are a great diversion for him—he enjoys the contact.

Julie’s coming tomorrow to start a website re: John’s treatment progress. I’ll let you know when that’s up.

I’ve gone into Social Worker mode –it’s helpful to have concrete tasks. Thank you for all your support. Debbie

15 June, 2010

Hi Susie and Kevin,

The news is a little brighter out here on the west coast. John’s mid treatment test results came back with some encouraging news. The drugs are doing what they are supposed to do killing myeloma cells. In fact, John's test results were near normal after six of twelve treatments. This is not to say he is in remission yet, but the signs are encouraging.

Additionally, the neurosurgeon has given him the green light to start exercise again as his spine appears stable enough to return to a more normal activity level. He now has 4-6 more weeks of chemo therapy at which time the dr. will reassess and likely recommend the stem cell transplant. We certainly are encouraged but not wanting to get ahead of ourselves. We should have better view of the remission status by late July. Hopefully, we’ve got only another 3-4 months of treatment before we can get our lives back to normal. I could probably talk some about the incredible scares we’ve had but since John’s treatment is being so effective—those scares don’t really matter.

We want to thank all for their concern, calls, notes and prayers. John and I are so appreciative of all of them. It is extraordinary to have so many classmates reach out with such genuine concern…and we enjoy hearing from all so don’t hesitate to call!

We love you all,

Deb

John'sUpdates
29 March, 2010	Hi all, Over the years we have asked for special prayers for our classmates who have needed them. You may not have realized how important these prayers have been to our friends and their families. We have another special request. Debbie Michael Kidwell wrote to tell me they have just discovered that John has Multiple Myeloma and is very seriously ill. This week has been a whirlwind of doctors, tests and decisions on different protocols and treatments. She has promised that their daughter will be sending out weekly updates and will include us in her e-mails. As I receive them, I will send them along to Frank Cox who will have have a special section for John's updates on our website--69elks.com. Debbie was thankful that we would be sharing this information with everyone. She has asked that we please keep John in our thoughts and prayers. If you'd like to drop a note or card to them, you can send it to: Debbie & John Kidwell 3119 Montana Lane Claremont, California 91711 We have a truly special class and I think one with some special powers. If anyone needs our help with prayers, please send us an e-mail and we'll spread the word. ~Susie
9 April, 2010	Hi, I really don’t have much to report except that according to the ,prognostically-oriented, International Staging System John is in Stage I—so we have a good starting point!. Still waiting for results from cytogenetic testing –it indicates which drugs or combination of drugs will best arrest his disease. April 15th is our next appt. with the oncologist at USC. We’re hoping to schedule an appt. with City of Hope where he will, most likely, be getting his treatment—they have an excellent Multiple Myeloma Team and it’s less than half an hour from home. Most importantly, we feel confident that he will have state- of- the -art treatment there. John looks pale to me and has some difficulty walking due to back pain but his attitude and spirit are pretty good. Marc has been wonderful!!! It’s a great comfort to John and me to have him on our team. And our class has been amazing—we’ve heard from so many people with such kind words for John and our family. Rick Beatty sent a note that was hilarious! I think that his friends are a great diversion for him—he enjoys the contact. Julie’s coming tomorrow to start a website re: John’s treatment progress. I’ll let you know when that’s up. I’ve gone into Social Worker mode –it’s helpful to have concrete tasks. Thank you for all your support. Debbie
15 June, 2010	Hi Susie and Kevin, The news is a little brighter out here on the west coast. John’s mid treatment test results came back with some encouraging news. The drugs are doing what they are supposed to do killing myeloma cells. In fact, John's test results were near normal after six of twelve treatments. This is not to say he is in remission yet, but the signs are encouraging. Additionally, the neurosurgeon has given him the green light to start exercise again as his spine appears stable enough to return to a more normal activity level. He now has 4-6 more weeks of chemo therapy at which time the dr. will reassess and likely recommend the stem cell transplant. We certainly are encouraged but not wanting to get ahead of ourselves. We should have better view of the remission status by late July. Hopefully, we’ve got only another 3-4 months of treatment before we can get our lives back to normal. I could probably talk some about the incredible scares we’ve had but since John’s treatment is being so effective—those scares don’t really matter. We want to thank all for their concern, calls, notes and prayers. John and I are so appreciative of all of them. It is extraordinary to have so many classmates reach out with such genuine concern…and we enjoy hearing from all so don’t hesitate to call! We love you all, Deb