I Am Strong - The Grascals w/Dolly Parton

I'm sorry i have not posted in a good while but since my last post they decided to try a new chemo which would be up to six days of chemo going in five hours a day and a 24 hour bladder protection drug i was worried about doing it because of the side effects which was hair loss and could cause bleeding in the bladder and confusion my main concern was the bleeding and confusion but my family and I prayed and felt led to go ahead and do it. On Jan. 3 i went in and did the treatment everything was going according to plan the only side effect i was having was getting bigger with the fluids haha which was no problem. I got out on the following Sun. night around 11 o' clock and was feeling great and excited to go home the next day (Monday) i got up and was wanting to take a bath. i got out was out of breath and was passing out so i yelled for mom i wasn't able to go anywhere and could barely breath i was going in and out of conscience, seeing green and rocking back and forth so mom called 911 and my dad. My dad got there before the ambulance of course but they were right behind him they were able to get me on the stretcher and i started feeling better they took me to stonewall hospital and they ran blood tests and gave me a ct scan to make sure there were no blood clots. Everything came back clear except my blood levels were starting to get low which was the cause of the episode i had. About two hours passed and they released me so i went home. The next few days i felt terrible and didn't feel like moving, Thurs i had a doctors appointment for a checkup turned out when i went i had a high fever and was admitted in the UVA hospital they ran more tests to check for infection, when they checked my blood it was very low so they had to give me blood i was in the hospital for several days getting blood and waiting for my blood levels to come up by the time they came up i was given eleven units of blood and platelets. a few weeks went by and i went back for another appointment the doctor wanted to do either one more treatment of the old chemo and be done or just be done he gave us a week to decide, we prayed and felt led to go ahead and do the last treatment and then be done i was so excited to be at the end i was almost there so on Feb 14th i went in for my final chemo treatment. I was in for three days and everything went great got out on the following Fri. and was very very excited to be done. I went back the next week to check on my blood levels and ended up getting another unit of blood and again the next week i had a total of thirteen units of blood throughout my treatments, I went back to the doctor and everything is looking good we scheduled to get my port out on the 12th of April and i go back on May 16th for my leg doctor to be full weight bare which i am stoked about. They did find a 9mm spot on my thyroid but the doctor is not concerned about it but did set me up with a thyroid doctor to get it checked further i am not worried about it because i know God is in control. Well that is about it, I just want thank you all so much for all the prayers and support shown through all of this but most of all i want to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for helping me through this and healing me.

Jesus: My Savior, My Friend, My Healer, My Comforter

I haven't had much time to blog so to catch you up from my last blog; on October 26 I had my surgery with Dr. Domson, he was able to successfully remove my tumor and perform my leg graft (which basically removed half of my tibia bone and replace it with a donors'.) I had to have 39 staples and have a scar about 14 inches long. My Dr. also took a picture of my tumor and bone so I could see, it was pretty neat.I had to wait about a week to get the report back on my tumor and the pathologist confirmed that the chemo. killed greater than 99.9% of the cancer. I just want to give all the praise and glory to Jesus; My Savior, My Friend, My Healer, My Comforter.
It has been a long healing process with my leg and will continue to be, I still cannot put any weight on it and have to keep it straight for the next few more weeks and than I'll have physical therapy which we will work on moving it, bending it, and working up to walking with no assistance. :)
Since my surgery I have had 2 more treatments of chemo., and will continue to have treatment up till April 2012. I have to say God has really blessed me through this, besides losing my hair and being sick only a few times, I haven't had many terrible side affects like most chemo. patients. I am currently in the hospital now doing more chemo. I've been in since Thursday and hopefully will get released tomorrow. Having my ps3 has really helped pass the time.
I pray that God will continue to take care of me and help me fight this and that he uses me to bring other people to know him.
Thank you all for the continuous prayers, support, & visits I have received. May God bless you all.

-BJ
John 10:29

Chemo...it won't get the best of me!

UPDATE:
It has been a while since my last post. I am currently finishing up my 3rd treatment of chemotherapy! My first chemo experience was a bit intimidating. I had my 2nd surgery where I received a port (a small device inserted in my chest for the chemicals to go throughout my body and kill the cells) Everything went well and I started receiving my first round of chemo shortly after. Each treatment I have to stay for at least 4 days. It is hard being hooked up to ivs all the time but I am very thankful for God giving me the strength to get through this! I had my 2nd round of chemo last week. Things weren't that great, my sugar levels was near 500 and had to be given insulin. The type of chemo was the "rough stuff" it affects all of your levels and gives you a higher risk for kidney failure. My kidney levels were up so I ended up staying the whole week in the hospital. Let's just say I was very impatient about getting out of there, then I had a visitor on the day I was supposed to leave, the Pastor & his wife from my Aunt Sharon's church. It was unexpected but very encouraging how someone I've never met before would take the time and come all this way to visit me. It's crazy to think how if I would have been released that day and missed that special visit. I got 3 days off and before I knew it, it was time for my 3rd dose of chemo. So far everything is going good and I am scheduled to get released tomorrow. There hasn't been any signs of kidney failure, which my doctor seemed to be concerned with this time. It turns out the medicine I would need if that was to happen would cost $50,000 which most insurances don't cover! I am so blessed that I haven't been experiencing the most common side affects, which has been a shock to all of my doctors and nurses. For nothing can touch me unless it passes through God's hands! A few of my nurses have been encouraging me and come to find out one is even a pastor's wife with 6 kids. But some of the nurses & pcas don't seem to like when I put up Bible verses on my white board.lol. I have had a lot of vistors this week, Joe & Jenny Nieman, Dexter, Mike, Brandy, Zoey & Sophia Shover, Sebby, Stacy, & Brooke Volpe, Bryan Volpe, Jerry Knick and of course my WONDERFUL family, Ashley, Jason & Levi Smith, Britt, Carrie, & DeAnna. I would like to thank everyone who has came to visit me, sent cards and prayers! It really means alot!!! Most of all I want to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ for bringing me through this, I know I still have a long road of recovery but I want to give all the praise & glory to Him for getting me through this far. Seeing some of the other patients here has made me realize how truly blessed I am and what a great savior we have!!!

Trouble Walking

It has been almost a month since I first found out I had bone cancer. I guess I should tell you how I found out this life changing news. It was back in April of this year, I noticed pain in my right leg which caused me to have somewhate trouble walking. Before I knew it the pain had gotten worse and I had difficulty walking. Of course my parents were concerend so I went to my family doctor who suggested I take Aleve for inflamation. The pain would be severe just by touching it! Another month went by and I still continued to have the pain so my Mom took me to a different doctor who just gave me Aleve only in the form of cream. I tried this but got no relief at all! So I went to see a bone doctor at AMC. He suggested we do a MRI and XRAYs. I had to wait a week to get the MRI done. That following week I got the MRI done and the doctor was able to give us the results right away. As my mom and I waited in the room the Dr finally came back and sat down and said "It doesnt look good" So I thought to myself 'Great! Its a torn muscle'. So I said "what is it??" Hes respond was the words I never expected to hear in my life "Its a tumor located on your bone" After hearing that it was like I took a blow to the stomach. He then continued to say "It looked cancerous" I asked him how big it was and he told me the size of an egg! The doctor then left the room to call Drs who specialized in tumors. He tried to get me an appointment to be seen right away at Duke in NC or Richmond. They are the closest hospitals with the up to date technology for treatment of tumors. He was able to get me an appointment that following Monday, July 25 at Richmond. After all this my mom bursted into tears, I'm sure something like this happening to a mother's child has to be their worst nightmare! As tears filled my eyes and this all began to sink in that I may have cancer I began to pray for comfort and strength and immediately I felt a "calmness" overcome me that everything was going to be okay.
After coming home that evening, my mom & dad discussed it and decided to go ahead and take me to Richmond that Friday morning to try and work me in. After getting to the drs.office that morning we talked to one of Dr. Damson's nurses who was very nice, and she was able to get us worked in that morning. Dr. Damson looked over my MRI with us and told us in order to find out what kind of tumor I had he needed to do a biopsy. He told us that since he comes to UVA on Wednesdays he could save us a trip and instead of doing it on Tuesday he would do it on Wednesday. So we set up the appt. for then. That weekend flew by and before I knew it, it was Wednesday and My dad, mom, and two of my sisters Carrie and DeAnna were headed to UVA. I arrived at the hospital and was prep for my first surgery. My pastors Bryan & Sebby Volpe and some of their family was nice enough to come up there for support. They prayed with me and after saying a few last words to my family the nurses took me back and gave anesthesia. The next thing I knew I was awake in my recovery room and my Doctor came in and gave my family and I the bad news. He said it was Ostosarcoma (bone cancer) He then made me an appt. to the cancer center and I then met with Dr. Douvas and started my chemo August 8.
I fully believe that God can heal me and He will use this for His glory!

"Ah Lord God! Behold, thou hast made the beaven and the earth by they great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee" - Jeremiah 32:17

A little about me...

If you don't already know, my name is Robert Bane JR. But everyone calls me BJ. I have two loving Christian parents, Dana & Bobby. I have 4 sisters, Ashley, Brittany, Carrie & DeAnna. Yes, I am the only boy!! I also have a bro-n-law Jason and a nephew Levi. We are a pretty close family who would do anything and everything for each other! Most importantly we love the Lord and try to do our best to serve him. I accepted the Lord as my personal savior when I was younger; best decision I have ever made!