Information about the Benevolent Account

I added the information on how to make donations to April and Chris on the upper right hand corner of the site. I was initially concerned about posting the account number but I have been assured that it is secure. Anyone can make a deposit but the only person who has any other access is the Admin on the account, Jenny DeCluette. You can make a deposit at any branch just be sure to reference that it is the Chris and April Rogers Benevolent Account # 3120996068. Thank you for setting this up Jenny!

Save the Date!

This event is being put on by Michael Donovan (Mikey D), Eric Millage, and Justin who are all friends of Chris and April.


WHEN: January 5th, 2008 at 7 P.M.

WHERE: Waldo’s in Kirkland.
12657 NE 85TH ST
KIRKLAND, WA 98033
(425) 827-9292

What: $20 COVER

BANDS :
Eamon
Franky Demus
Missing Players
The Mob Law
Subdwellers
P.C. Load Letter

WHY: To raise money for April and Chris!


DONATIONS:

Donations to April and Chris may be made at any WaMu Branch: Chris and April Rogers Benevolent Account. The account number is 3120996068.

We are working on adding the account information to this site so that you can donate through your Pay Pal account.

A word from April....

I am sitting in April's room right now and she wants me to let everyone know how grateful she is for your support. She is a bit tired and weak but she is in good spirits and feels so loved and supported by everyone that has shown their love for her. She mentioned how easy it would be for her to give up but that the outpouring from her friends and family is what is keeping her strong.

Thanks to everyone who has left comments....keep 'em coming!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I know that this isn't the easiest Thanksgiving for April and Chris's family but I hope that you are able to enjoy this day in some way. We are all praying for you!

Looking for more pictures and "stories"...

Hey All

I know that I've asked for this before but since I've FINALLY decided how to display the pictures I would love to get more. I would especially love to have some pictures of April when she was pregnant with Emma. If you have any pictures that you would like to add just send them to me at kattiejones@comcast.net. I hope that you are all liking the new comment box. I can see by the comments left that there are some more people than I even knew of that are reading this blog. If any of you would like to add the story of how you know April and what she means to you just email me and I will be happy to add it. Also if you would like to join the google group that sends out alerts of new blogs please email me as well or click on the link to join the group.

Take Care!

Kattie

A note from Johnnie

April - I know that you are reading this so I thought I would post this note that Johnnie asked me to pass along....

April,

I am so sorry you are going through all of this pain right now and wish I could do something to help. You have made several people wake up and realize what is really important in life. Hang in there and keep fighting. You are so full of life.

Please know how much you mean to all of us, and how you’ve effected all of our lives. We hope you get better soon and are able to come home to be with your family.

Love Johnnie

Saturday's Update....

I received this email from Alica yesterday and wanted to pass it on to you all....

I first want to thank everyone for all the love and support you have shown our family. It really, truly makes us feel like we have someone we can talk to. Thank you all so, so much. We love you all and know that everyone is dealing with this in there own way. Its hard, but we will get through it together.

The latest on April is that there finally decided to run another ct scan this morning. The results were not what we wanted to hear, but were dealing with it. First problem is that the tumor is growing very fast and it is now spreading to other major organs, like her kidneys. They have decided for the time being to stop the chemo, since it isn't doing anything anyways, and its also adding to the intestinal problems.

April really isn't wanting the next step, but if she wants some relief she will have to oblige. She has 10 feet of intestinal gas build up at the moment and we have to get it out. They are hoping to put the tube back down through her nose to help relieve some of the gas. After they have had the tube in for a few days they will proceed with a surgery to insert a tube into her bowel that will be left open to allow gas to pass freely.

Basically the doctors have said that there isn't much chance left and the concern is keeping her as comfortable as possible. They wont give us any more then a day to day update at this time. Basically this is going much faster then any of us had thought.

April has requested that once the tube is in absolutely NO visitors, that includes us as well. She wont be able to talk at all and it makes her uncomfortable to sit there and stare at everyone. Please let her rest and take all the personal space that she needs. Do to the discomfort of the tube it is also hard for her to text. If we could try to keep that to a minimum that would be great.

The Latest Update

April really has really appreciated all the family and friends that have visitors over in the last week but at this point she is feeling very week and has requested no visitors for the next couple of days. We are hoping that maybe she can get a little sleep during this time. Still no real news to give an update about, the doctors are still trying to figure out the best way to treat her, and she is still in some pain. Not getting enough rest is also adding to that. The plan at the moment is to continue with chemo and wait for it to shrink the tumor. As of now, the tumor appears to be continuing to grow, so time will tell if the drugs are working or not. The doctors aren't giving much information right now because they are observing her on a day-to-day basis to determine the best way to treat her.

On another note, April is reading this blog every day so if you could leave comments on each of the blogs I post I know that it would really make her happy.

Update from the weekend...

I am so sorry that I didn't post this update sooner!

April was moved up to the cancer ward at Virginia Mason and is now receiving inpatient chemo treatment. She has decided to switch Oncologists and her new Doctor has decided to treat this tumor very aggressively so that it will shrink as soon as possible. He feels that the bowel obstruction is caused by the tumor so he wants to get that taken care of right away. This is definitely an answer to prayer as we were hoping that April's case would be taken more seriously by her doctors. April also had a pic line put in because her veins had begun collapsing because of all the treatments she is receiving. The other good news is that the doctors have now got her pain prescriptions figured out so she is in less pain.

April's Mom, Chris, spent the whole weekend in the hospital with her so April's spirits are very high and she now has renewed strength to fight this cancer. April's new motivation is their Mexico trip and as we all know, nothing is going to come between April and her sun bathing....I don't think this tumor is going to know what hit it!

An update from Alicia

Some of us received this email from April's sister, Alicia, last night and I wanted to pass it on to you. I have highlighted an area that is very important.

As most of you know by now, April is once again in the hospital. She was admitted on Monday and had a suction tube inserted through her nose into her stomach. She was not happy about that at all! Good news is that tonight they decided to remove the tube and watch and wait again. They are taking this very slow so we still don't know when she will be coming home.

The doctors are still not exactly sure what the obstruction is, but they are thinking it is either scar tissue or the tumor moving around a bit. Our hopes are that if we load her with her chemo drugs it may help "shrink" the problem. Surgery is there VERY last step if all of this doesn't work. The complications of this surgery would do much greater harm than good.

The best thing we could all do to help April would be to let her rest while she's in the hospital and to keep praying that she will feel better. She gets overwhelmed by all the visitors, phone calls, and text messages. It really can get overwhelming when there are SO many people trying to contact her. We know that it is hard to wait but the best way to get updates would be to wait for them to be sent out. It may take a while, but if we don't know anything, then there is no new news. I know watching and waiting is frustrating but that's all they can do for her at this point. We don't know what the future holds and can only wait and see.

Thank you all for your support and understanding during all of this. April feels so blessed to have so many people care about her. I promise to keep you updated as soon as new information comes along. We do check this website daily and April is aware of all the messages left. Lets keep praying that she continues to improve.

Another thing that was brought to my attention yesterday is how hard this has been on the extended family especially the little ones. While this is hard for all of us adults that kind of understand what is going on it is extreemly hard the little ones that just don't understand why Auntie April isn't better. Please pray for their little hearts!

A letter from Lynne's Friend

For those of you that don't know Lynne McClintock, she is Alicia's best friend. I received this letter from Lynne's friend last night and thought I would share it with all of you. I found it to be very insightful.


Hi Kattie,

Lynne McClintock and I have been best friends since we were 4 and she has kept me in the loop in regards to April while I live in Atlanta. What amazing friends you all are and how lucky she is to be surrounded by all of your love. No one can understand what it feels like emotionally or physically but April, but for her to know she has a great support network is the best thing you can do for her and her family.

I took care of my auntie for 4 years that was like my big sister and it is a tremendous honor to be with someone throughout this journey and try to put some perspective on our own lives when someone is potentially suffering. April seems to be an amazing friend, mother, wife, daughter, sister and to all of you this is so hard to understand. Her outlook seems to be so amazing and her will at this point is in the hands of God and what he chooses to guide her to do with however long she has left on this earth. A miracle would be absolutely the best answer to our prayers, but realistically, honoring her wishes, demands, supporting her anger and grief is all you can do. I hope that she find peace in the fact she was blessed to have given her husband and family a beautiful child and knowing it is such a great gift AND to have lived what little life she has.

The most challenging part of all of this is how your faith is challenged and what everyone else can do with that, it was my personal learning lesson. I was blessed to have the time I did with my aunt, to make sure she knew I would not rather be anywhere else, and know that I would do anything to make her comfortable till the end. I had asked one of the hospice nurses how they can do this day in and day out, and she said what an honor it was to be with someone till their end of life on earth and assist them where they were going next. Just the same as the nurses were there when we born to help us into this world. I was fortunately given the gift to be there till the end and experience that one last breath.

Please make sure April knows there are prayers for her peace all over and from people she has never met. That we all celebrate her life and what time she has left is so precious as she very well knows better than any of us. And make sure to take her for a couple girly martinis for me and send me the bill!

Best to you,

Angela

11/6 Update

April's doctors have decided that they will put a long tube through her nose to try and remove the blockage. If that doesn't work then they will have to do surgery and they are concerned about doing that because it obviously carries a lot more risk. Let's just pray that the tube is able to remove the blockage so that April is able to be comfortable again. Also she and Alicia had a long day in the hospital yesterday and didn't feel that they received the attention that they deserved. Let's also hope and pray that the doctors and nurses don't see April as just another patient but as the person we all love and care about. Another thing you could add to your prayers/well wishes is Alicia...I'm sure yesterday wasn't easy for her either.

Another Update

April is back in the hospital for the same symptoms she expirienced last week. Please continue to pray for her comfort and that the doctors will figure out a way to elminate this pain. Thanks!

Update

I'm sorry I didn't post this earlier...I just wanted everyone to know that April is feeling much better and will likely get sent home tomorrow. Thanks for prayin'!

Looking for pictures...

If you have any pictures of April that you would like to see posted please email them to me at kattiejones@comcast.net. I am not sure if I will post them on this site or create a new photo blog site and link it to this group. Either way I think it would be great to get some pictures together. Thanks!

April Update

My computer is down so I just got this message from April's sister, Alicia.

My Mom has asked me to send out and email with the latest update.

We took April to the ER last night because she was is excruciating pain in her abdomen. After the CT scan the radiologist found a bowel obstruction. We are still waiting for her oncologist to decide how he wants to treat it. We also don't know what is causing the obstruction at this time. We have to wait and see on both. As of right now April will probably be in the hospital for about 3-4 days. They are having a hard time keeping her comfortable due to the blockage as the medicine isn't quite were it needs to.

I will be sending updates out as they come, but just letting you know it may be a while before anything is decided on. Keep up hope and lets continue to pray.

Please leave some encouraging words...

April is not feeling well today and hasn't been for the last few days. As you can imagine being in pain is quite disheartening for her, not to mention painful. If you are reading this blog please leave a comment and let her know that you are thinking about her. Thank you!

A little prayer

April had chemo yesterday and is feeling especially run down. Please say a quick prayer that the discomfort will subside and that she will feel better soon. Thanks!

Looking for a venue...

We are looking for a venue to hold a fundraiser for April and her family. Things are in the VERY beginning stages but I was thinking about doing a Sunday get together to watch a game. We would have food etc and charge a cover to raise money for the costs incurred by April's fight against cancer. Eventually I would be looking for all sorts of help but at this point I would just be trying to find a venue. If you have a big enough home (and a big screen TV) that would be great or if you work at a restaurant that would be willing to donate the space that would be great too.

Thanks for the help!
Kattie

The Last Lecture

Dr. Randy Pausch delivers his farewell lecture at Carnegie Mellon University. Probably the last public speech he will give. The 46-year-old professor and father of three preschoolers has incurable pancreatic cancer. Yet, Randy did not focus on impending death. Instead, he celebrated the chance he had been given to live the life he always had dreamed of. An inspiring talk that should be shared.

Those of us that are in the Google Group received this email from April yesterday and I know that she would want everyone to see it.

I cannot say enough how encouraging all of your words have been. Thank you Kattie for putting this together. I think it is great for those of us involved, to stay in touch. I am heartbroken to realize how many people feel so strongly towards me. You never know how people feel until they tell you. Most dont until it is too late, in my case I am lucky in a sense to be able to say what I want and hear what people need to say to me before I go. I want you all to know, I am not scared. Of course, the unknown is scary but I feel so confident I will see you all again that it makes it so much easier. I have no doubt in that. No matter your religion, etc I know God wants all of us to be together and I firmlybelieve that will happen. I will do my best to update you all on anything that comes up. I go to chemo tomorrow. Dad is my partner in crime on those days. He keeps my head up and we laugh. We had the Docttor laughing becausey my dad finally got a cameral phone and we took pictures of her while she worked. She loved it...not!!! Hey at least we had fun! The nurses are also fun and I look forward to chemo, in a weird way. I get to see my Sister and my Mom for daycare and my Dad and I get to spend some much needed quality time together...I don't get to see him my Step Mom, Vet nearly enough. I am trying
to do as much as possible with my whole crazy extended family and friends for as long as possible. I love you all and appreciate all of your support.

Please continue to pray. I believe it is my only chance now.

Love you all,

April

If you would like to join the Google Group please email me or click on the link to the right and request to join.

Chemo Today

Please make sure to say a prayer for April and her family today as she has a chemo treatment today. Pray that it doesn't make her to sick or weak and that the nurses and doctors continue to treat her with kindness.

Today

I just got this from April:

The side effects from the chemo are kicking in...I'm getting really tired and am now thinking hair will probably thin if I don’t lose. It's a pretty good chance that I will loose it but I'll just have to wait and see.

Lets all just pray that she feels more energized and is able to get through her day without too much pain.

The First Round

April had her first round of Chemo on Tuesday and felt that it went pretty good. So far there have been no side effects and the doctors and April think that she may not even lose her hair this time.