Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas! 

I hope that every one of our hearts are preparing room for Jesus.  I am so grateful and happy that the God of the universe sent Himself to us - Jesus is Emmanuel, God With Us.  We are not left alone!  O come, let us adore Him!  And Jesus came to us in lowliness, in humility, in poverty and weakness.  He calls us to Himself, and not one of us is not able to come.  The more in love with Jesus that I grow, the more beautiful and precious Christmas is to me.  Merry Christmas!

This past week's highlight is the marriage of Jodi Flowers to Brian Lewis, officiated by DJ Bigelow and attended by the 5 Bigelows, the 6 Flowers'/Lewis'/Tobins, and by a handful of strangers who happened to be in proximity and invited themselves to the ceremony.  It was beautiful and tender and crazy and funny and sweet and precious and comical and fast!

It was beautiful and tender because Reese Lewis was remembered and honored and present in spirit.  It was crazy and funny because that's how this family rolls!  It was sweet and precious because I love the ways that Brian and Jodi love each other and the way that they love each other's children.  It was comical and fast because the cruise director was blaring over the loudspeaker in the middle of Jodi's reading her vows that we should all gather in the muster station for the safety presentation, and because those four children altogether plus Brian Lewis are rowdy and energetic!  It was WONDERFUL!!  I feel so honored to have been a part.

 I love the looks on DJ's face and on Jodi's face in the photo above;

and that Brian's pocket is mussy.  :-)

Yahoo!  Brooke Natalie Lewis looks very excited and happy!

 I love this family, and I am so glad that they all love each other!

This coming week's highlights include a trip for the Bigelow family to Colorado.  Even as I type, we are re-organizing and packing suitcases for a 12:28 pm flight out of San Jose.  The primary reason for the trip is that we may attend and that DJ Bigelow may officiate the wedding of his cousin Shannon's daughter Kaitlyn.  We will gather with us five, and DJ's parents Dan and Penny, and DJ's aunt Patty and cousins Shannon and Tammy and Shannon's daughter Kaitlyn and her soon-to-be husband Adam and his family.  


In chemotherapy and health news, the new drug Stivarga has finally arrived to us in the mail; although it will spend the next week sitting in a box on our kitchen counter.  DJ has decided to wait until after the week of travel is past, when we will be far away from his doctor, to begin the drug.  I think that is a wise choice.  In the meantime, his pain is present but seems to be bearable.  


Thank you for loving us!  We love you back!  I appreciate you very much - your prayers and your expressions of love and support.  We are sustained by God's grace, especially because of the ways that you administer God's grace to us.  Thank you, thank you, thank you, and Merry Christmas!


"The Word became flesh, and made His dwelling among us.  We have seen His glory, the glory of the only Son who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.  From His fullness we have all received grace upon grace."

December Already?

Dear Reader,

Happy Thanksgiving!  Happy December!  The days are flying by so quickly, and I realize that I haven't posted here for almost a month.  So sorry!  Alexandra Bigelow's drama class and Paso High Theatre Company are in the middle of showing "A Christmas Carol", and Caedmon Van Bigelow is beginning a season of community-recreational basketball, and holiday activities are aplenty, and I am blessed with a rich and full and stimulating and exciting life! 

Above: Caedmon turned into an elf.
 
Below: The play in which Alexandra is participating is "A Christmas Carol", set in London, England in a time period which calls for the girls to have very curly hair.  Here is a photo of Alex as I dropped her off last Friday for her call - hair in rollers.  :-) 

But here I am now to give you a report:

DJ Bigelow underwent a PET scan on Wednesday, November 26, as a baseline diagnostic for our local oncologist Dr. Spillane.  The good news is that  "No worrisome hypermetabolism is present" in his head, neck, abdomen and pelvis, musculoskeletal areas, extremities, or his skin.  In other words, nothing in any of these areas indicated cancer.  Hooray!  Thank You, LORD!

The other news is what we expected: in DJ's chest, there are several tumors.  There are "multiple" tumors in DJ's (only) left lung, but the largest measures only 7 mm (teeny-tiny).  There is a growth in DJ's mediastinum near to his esophagus, although the report doesn't give measurement.  And there are some growths at DJ's 8th and 10th ribs in the right, lung-less side of DJ's chest wall (you may recall that DJ had portions of his 6th and 7th ribs removed, along with a large tumor, on July 18 of this year).  The mass at DJ's 8th posterior rib measures 3 cm (slightly larger than 1 inch), and it is described as "erosive". This makes sense to me, because I can see with my eyeballs that DJ's pain is increasing; and I guess that an erosive mass on one's rib and near to one's nerves could be painful.  

DJ and Dr. Spillane decided when we visited last week that DJ will begin Stivarga, a chemotherapy administered in pill form which is specific to metastatic colorectal cancer.  The cycle is 3 weeks on and 1 week off.  Dr. Spillane told us that the primary symptom he sees with Stivarga is fatigue (although when I research the drug online, I find a laundry list of potential side affects).  I hope and pray that fatigue (and not nausea, vomitting, and/or diarrhea) will be the only symptom, and that DJ's cancer will be scared of Stivarga and run away. 

We are yet awaiting the arrival of Stivarga, which is available through a very limited number of pharmacies (I think only four in all of California).  There has been a slight delay -  the pharmacy requires pre-authorization from the doctor and from the insurance company, and there have occurred some other administrative snafus.  We are waiting.  In the meantime, DJ has continued to work light-duty for the City of Paso Robles' police department, and we are moving and grooving with the precious moments of life in the Bigelow household.  We are blessed beyond measure!

Here is a passage of Scripture that I can't get out of my head this week; and I love it!  It makes me very happy!  

"But our citizenship is in heaven.  And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power which enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body" (Philippians 3:20-21).

Yahooo!  Such hope we have!  Such good things await us!  I am so grateful for my heavenly citizenship, and I am eagerly awaiting our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ - and I am so happy that He will transform my lowly body so that it will be like His glorious body!  This makes me happy and excited!

What makes you happy and excited?  Dear Reader, please reply!  (E-mail your answer to me, if you don't want to make it public: hollybigelow@charter.net).

xoxoxo from HollyB

The Path Just Ahead

Hello, dear friends!

Thank you for loving us!

DJ and Alexandra have returned to Paso Robles from their amazing, over-the-top, surreal adventures in New York City.  What a trip!  Oh, my goodness gracious!  I am astounded and so grateful for the generosity and the kindness of everyone who contributes to us in one way or another - and this means YOU!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  It brings to mind a quote I heard years ago when I attended church at Agoura Bible Fellowship: "We are never more like God than when we are giving."  I agree one-hundred per cent!  "For God so loved the world that He GAVE...".  Thank you for giving to the Bigelow family!  Thank you for giving us your love and affection, your financial contributions, your prayers, your friendship, your words of encouragement, your positive thoughts and good intentions.  Thank you!


We are happy to have shared some time with the Benyo family this week, in celebration of Joe Benyo's birthday!  How many years do you guess that he has been upon this earth?  (Hint: the same number of years as the last two digits of his birth year. :-)

And now I will present to you an update on the decisions being made towards DJ's health and well-being:

At the recommendation of our local oncologist Dr. Spillane, DJ visited 2 weeks ago with Dr. Lee Rosen of the UCLA to discuss clinical trials and other out-of-the-box (so to speak), anti-cancer treatments.  I remained at home to care for the household and to attend my job (which I love very much!).  DJ told me that he liked Dr. Rosen's manner, and that the doc presented several different options to DJ, as follows: 

Option #1 - since the tumors did not grow between August 28 and October 15, DJ could just carry on and wait for awhile.  Part of this waiting includes the hopes of FDA-approval and market availability of the up-and-coming drug Tai Ho.  Option #2 - if DJ is feeling particularly urgent to do SOMETHING, Dr. Rosen has several different clinical trials in which DJ could take part; including a Phase 2 immunotherapy vaccine, specific (I believe) to metastatic colorectal cancer.  Option #3 - if DJ is feeling particularly urgent to do SOMETHING but doesn't want to travel often to Los Angeles to take part in a trial, he could take a chemotherapy drug here at home.  

DJ and I checked back in last week with Dr. Spillane and communicated to him what Dr. Rosen had recommended.  DJ and Dr. Spillane discussed an oral chemotherapy drug specific to metastatic colorectal cancer named Stivarga that DJ could consider.  Dr. Ko at the UCSF told us earlier this year that Stivarga is very harsh on the body with no proof of shrinking tumors, but Dr. Spillane suggested that it could be given at a lower dosage with the hopes of keeping the cancer contained.  As my L.C.S.W. says, we are living with cancer (wink-wink, Tina Smith! :-)

So DJ decided to sit on that information for a few days before making a decision.  I continue to pray that the LORD will guide us to what is best.

In other news, I would like to share the abbreviated version of the story of David and Lori Lee, and ask for you to pray for their family.  David Lee's adventure with cancer began a year before DJ's.  He was diagnosed in 2009 with stage 3 colon cancer (the same as DJ), which metastasized to his liver (unlike DJ - whose cancer has left his liver alone) and to his lungs (as has DJ's). David Lee has undergone surgery and chemotherapy, he is also a patient of our local oncologist Dr. Thomas Spillane, and he has recently taken part in a clinical trial with UCLA Dr. Lee Rosen.  David Lee has a wife who loves him (as does DJ) and two children (one of whom is named Alex - like DJ!)  In some ways, David Lee's and DJ's stories dovetail, in other ways they are different.  But I humbly ask if you will please pray for the Lee family as they are living with cancer - for grace and mercy, for faith and hope, for an intense sense of the Presence of the Living God and of His Unfailing Love, and whatever else you might think to pray.  Thank you very much.  I know that it is a sacrifice of time and energy to pray, and I am grateful for what you give to us in this way.

I shall close with the transcription of yesterday's Jesus Calling, because it is so perfect and beautiful!  

"As you look at the day before you, you see a twisted, complicated path, with branches going off in all directions.  You wonder how you can possibly find your way through that maze.  Then you remember the One who is with you always, holding you by your right hand (Psalm 73:23).  You recall My promise to guide you with My counsel (Psalm 73:24), and you begin to relax.  As you look again at the path ahead, you notice that a peaceful fog has settled over it, obscuring your view.  You can see only a few steps in front of you, so you turn your attention more fully to Me and begin to enjoy My Presence.

The fog is a protection for you, calling you back into the present moment.  Although I inhabit all of space and time, you can communicate with Me only here and now.  Someday the fog will no longer be necessary, for you will have learned to keep your focus on Me and on the path just ahead of you."

 One day at a time.  One moment at a time.  The LORD will never leave us or forsake us.  The moments are precious.  I am grateful and cheerful and peaceful and hopeful!

And here are some random photos, since "A picture's worth a thousand words".

Brooke Bigelow represents for the Seattle Seahawks, 

here in 49'er territory (above).

My niece Haven Rae is four months of age (below).

A selfie of Yours Truly with the Murphy family.

The end, for now.  Xoxoxoxo

New York City, Day #5

Sunday, November 9 was DJ and Alexandra's last day in New York.  They watched an off-Broadway performance of "Stomp", a show that has interested DJ since its debut 20 years ago.  When I spoke with DJ that day and asked how he liked it, he told me that it was the best show he'd seen of the 5 - "Because there was no talking and no singing". :-)  (Musical theater isn't exactly DJ's first love).

The performer to Alex's left looks sweaty!  He must have stomped a lot!

Alex says that the set was very interesting.

 

I notice a Seattle Seahawks shirt underneath DJ's outerwear.  

Representing in New York!  On the day that Seattle beat the Giants, even!  :-)

Finally I have a name and a face to go with the Nice Police Officer who showed Alex and DJ such a good time!  Mr. John Flynn, thank you so very much for your kindness to us!  Here he is, to the left of DJ in the photograph.

And here is one last photo of the city that Alexandra took before they came home.  She and DJ left their hotel by 4:00 am Eastern Standard Time Monday morning to catch a return flight to Los Angeles.

En route from LA to Paso Robles, DJ and Alex paid a visit to our precious friend Anacleto Michael Rapping.  We attended church with the Rapping family from 1997-2003, and we love them.  Anacleto was diagnosed with colon cancer earlier this year, and he took a surgery (as DJ did in 2010) and now is taking FOLFOX chemotherapy (as DJ did in 2010).  I pray for grace and healing and hope and joy and that God's Presence will be increasingly known and experienced by the Rapping family.

 

Wowsers!  The trip of a lifetime is what DJ and Alexandra experienced!  Thank you so very much for your love for us!

Now, it's back to reality.  :-)    "Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet My Unfailing Love for you will not be shaken, nor My covenant of peace be removed, says the LORD, who has compassion on you" (Isaiah 54:10).

 

NYC, Day #4

Yesterday was more of the same for Alexandra and DJ Bigelow - more fun times, and another Broadway show.

In the morning, the Nice Police Officer (whose photo I have yet to receive and whose name I do not know) took Alex and DJ to the NYPD Police Academy family day. ("ATTENTION - No deliveries beyond this point without supervision".)

Kellie Reynolds and Amanda Burgh, PRHS grads and current students at Stony Brook University in New York, met up with DJ and Alex; and the four of them were treated to a NYPD boat ride. 

Who let Kellie drive?!!??  :-)  

The Brooklyn Bridge and a city-scape.

Amanda, Alexandra, DJ, and Kellie very near to the Statue of Liberty.

I love, love, LOVE this photo of DJ and Alexandra!  

Thank you, Amanda and Kellie!

DJ is so attractive!  Riding on the subway.

And then one more Broadway show - "The Lion King" at the Minskoff Theatre.

What an exciting adventure they are having together!  

Thank you so very much for loving us!

New York, Day #3

Well, the party keeps on rolling...

Yesterday (Friday, November 7), the Nice Police Officer took Alex and DJ to a taping of the show "Blue Bloods".  Does anyone watch this show?  I have never done so, but I will try to catch an episode now, for context.

 I guess that part of "Blue Bloods" takes place in an office setting?

I don't think that DJ is allowed to touch the props. No touch, Bigelow!

It seems that an actor named Donnie Wahlberg plays a part on the show.

And Mr. Wahlberg's wife, Jenny McCarthy, was hanging around the set, as well.

Next up - a stroll through Central Park.
 

And the show that Alex was especially desirous to see, "Once" (at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre, according to the playbill).

After the show, Alex and DJ "stagedoored" it - Alex told me it was cold waiting outside in hopes to see the actors, but their patience paid off!  Here she is pictured with the main character "Guy", and others.
 

Alex and DJ telephone me every night when they return to their hotel after the Broadway-show-of-the-night, usually at 9:00 pm Pacific Standard Time (which is midnight on the East Coast - yikes).  It's fun to hear their tired but happy voices telling me about the day.  What a trip!  What unforgettable, amazing memories they are making!  Wowsers!

The Big Apple, Day # 2

 
I do not know who made the contact, nor do I know the name of the contact - but a very nice police officer in New York City is showing DJ and Alexandra a grand time!

 
Yesterday (Thursday, November 6), the Nice Police Officer took them to lunch, then to the 9/11 Memorial Museum.

 
Then the Nice Police Officer took DJ and Alex to meet his friend David Blaine.  Have you heard of this magician?  I suggest that you look him up on the internet.  David Blaine practiced one of his new tricks on Alex.  It has something to do with a deck of cards.  

I didn't hear about this, but it seems from the photos Alex is posting to FaceBook that she and DJ also visited the Hard Rock Cafe.

Someone somewhere found out that Alexandra is a fan of Idina Menzell, and the Nice Police Officer obtained tenth-row tickets for DJ and Alex at the Richard Rogers' Theatre for a showing of "If/Then".  Alex and DJ told me that the set was "Crazy" and "Simple but intricate".

 

The Richard Rogers Theatre looks pretty!

 

Wow.  Wow, wow, wow.  Wow.

I am happy to see that DJ is eschewing the cookies and making healthy, anti-cancer dietary choices.  "An apple a day keeps the doctor away."  

The end, for now.  Thank you for loving us!  :-)

More Photos of New York City, Day #1

A scrapbook of Alexandra's adventures (yesterday) seeing a production of "Wicked" -

I'm not sure who George M. Cohan is, but someone reading this probably knows.  Please advise me.  Here is Alexandra standing in front of his statue. 

I know nothing about the various theaters on Broadway, but according to the playbill, it seems that Alex and DJ saw "Wicked" at the Gershwin Theatre.  
 

Elfaba, Alexandra, What's-Her-Name, and DJ.  

(I think that DJ is particularly handsome! )

Here is Alexandra No-Middle-Name Bigelow standing upon the stage (above).  

And this seems to be the view from onstage, looking out at the audience (below). 

I guess that the photo below is of the dressing room backstage of "Wicked" - very significant and delightful to Alex! :-)

Wow.  What an experience!  Alex is a lucky duck!