Seeing the Positive…

 

I wanted to post some positive news! Last night they got dad's pain levels down and he slept really well! Krystal is staying down with my mom this week, for some support {which we are SO grateful for!} and she texted me and said he even falls asleep in the middle of eating. That is AWESOME! They got him moved & settled up at Huntsman's and started hydrating him for his next round of chemo. His doctor was very positive and couldn't believe he is even enduring the pain this long- He is SO tough! My mantra today has been "WE CAN DO HARD THINGS!" I say this in my mind over and over again.

I loved this quote I saw on my friend Jen's blog who has been coping with trials of her own:

"Faith in God includes faith in His timing." Elder Neal A Maxwell

We are also working on getting a blog of sorts just for all of dad's updates, thank you to my Aunt Kathy for working on it, as soon as we get it going, we will share the link, we think it will be easier for you to pass comments on to my mom, dad & stay more regularly updated. :)

{original post on www.zachhollyd.blogspot.com}

Sunday Update…

 

I'm sure many are waiting for an update on dad. I am tempted to mince words, but then what good would an update be? It has been a rough couple of days. Full of pain for him, full of heartache for us watching him as he struggles with the pain. He cries out and we watch helplessly wishing we could trade places with him. They have him on the best pain meds & have also put a spinal block in so he can hopefully find some relief. It lessens the pain but doesn't seem to get rid of it completely. The plan is to try to get the pain under control and start hydrating him tonight so they can move him up to Huntsman's and start another round of Chemotherapy.  The more chemo he gets, the better the chances are of avoiding amputation. The more the swelling goes down & the more the tumor dies, the better the chances are of the doctor being able to reconstruct & do a hinge knee for my dad. We pray that dad can tolerate the pain, so he can get through these next rounds of chemo before surgery. Thank you for your kindness, your prayers & support.

Al ot of things are up in the air still, we will play it by ear and see what comes next.

We are still seeing the tender mercies of the Lord around every hurdle and block we must go through.

{Original post on www.zachhollyd.blogspot.com}

Plans Change & Prayers for Dad…

Well this was my original post and update on my sweet dad.

Grandpa’s hair started falling out because of the medicine he takes. It was itchy and he was tired of seeing it come out on his pillow and in the shower, so he had grandma shave it off. We took you over to watch so you wouldn’t be scared when you saw him with no hair. We colored pictures of Grandpa without his hair. :) We also explained to you that it is a good thing his hair is coming out. That means the medicine to help his leg is working! :) He is cute even without hair, just look at those dimples!  We love you Grandpa!

As I write this I try not to let my tears start flowing again. It has been a taxing and emotional day. My dad spent all week on his second round of chemo treatments. He was doing great. He got to come home on Thursday afternoon. We took him dinner and went over to see how he was doing, he was in good spirits and other than being a little cold & tired he looked awesome! I left filled with much hope.

Friday morning I called to check in with my mom to see how things were going. She said he was feeling great. He was even planning on going in to work for a couple of hours. Well as most of you know we had an early Christmas in Idaho and it had snowed all night long. We woke up to a winter wonderland.  On his way into his building he slipped and broke his leg, right in half above the knee. The cancer is in his left femur and has made the bone porous & weak, Dr. Jones his specialist warned us that would be the worst thing that could happen, his exact words were “whatever you do don’t break your leg.” before we left his last appointment in August. There are just so many complications. They rushed him to the hospital  then later this evening they flew him & my mom to Salt Lake to the University Hospital.

His doctor will do an MRI tomorrow morning.  We need the swelling to go down. What happens to his leg all depends on the amount of pain he can handle and where the swelling is. The soonest they feel like they can do surgery is Sunday night.

We are now waiting for his doctor to come in and tell us more of what to expect in the next couple of days, when the surgery will be etc.

I came across this talk by Susan Tanner-  If you are interested in reading it all go HERE.

Sister Tanner said this: “As we search, pray, and believe, we will recognize miracles in our lives and become miracle workers in the lives of others. “{That is

where you come in-

would you please pray

for my dad?}

We believe in the power of prayer, we expect miracles, we know the Lord is aware of my dad and each one of us. He loves us. We don’t know why this is happening, but have faith that just as in D&C 98:1 Verily I say unto you my friends, fear not, let your hearts be comforted; yea, ... all things wherewith you have been afflicted shall work together for your good

All Things Shall Work Together for Your Good

I love to read. But I can hardly stand it if a novel gets too intense—if the hero’s life is too dangerous or sad or complicated. So I have to read ahead to the end just to make sure that everything will turn out all right for the main character.

In a sense all of us are in the middle of our own novels, our own life stories. Sometimes our stories feel very intense, and we would like to read ahead to know our own end, to make sure that everything is going to turn out all right. While we don’t know the particular details of our life’s experiences, fortunately we do know something about our futures, if we live worthily.

We are given this insight in Doctrine and Covenants 90:24 [D&C 90:24]: “Search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good, if ye walk uprightly.” This stunning promise from the Lord that all things shall work together for our good is repeated many times in the scriptures, particularly to people or prophets who are suffering through the trials of their own life stories.

I sense that this promise comes from a tender, caring Father who desires to bless us and give us reason to hope through our earthly journey. Knowing that eventually all things will work together for our good will help us endure affliction like the faithful people from the scriptures who knew of His promises and trusted in them, “having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them” (Heb. 11:13). We too can embrace this promise.

We are smack in the middle of our book, we would surely appreciate all the prayers you can utter.We will be holding a special fast for him on Sunday, you are welcome to join us.  We feel your prayers, they buoy us up. We know things will work out, it will just be pretty rough for a minute. Thank you for your continued support & kindness- I wish I could reach through the computer and hug each one of you, tell you how much we love you, and how we couldn’t do it without you.

I’ll try to give you updates as I can.

{original post at www.zachhollyd.blogspot.com}

Cancer…

It’s such an ugly word isn’t it? You never really think about it until it touches someone you love. Well it did just that. This month has been filled with more than a few ups and downs. My dad has cancer. (I can finally type that without shedding a tear or two) First let me say THANK YOU to all of you who have sent us messages, texts, e-mails, phone calls, dropping by, so much service has been rendered on our behalf. We have been reminded over and over again how incredibly kind & good people are. My dad is really an amazing man (amazing is an understatement), and so many people love him. As a family we can’t keep up with updating everyone with what is going on- so we thought  this might be a good place to try.

My cute dad has been limping for a few months now and had some pain in his left knee. He had a family doctor check it out and they assumed it was probably tendonitis. He did acupuncture, he did cortisone shots, he tried a bunch of remedies but nothing was helping. So they went in to a specialist who thankfully saw what it really was.

Without going in to too much detail, he has high grade Osteosarcoma of the left distal femur. It is a type of bone cancer that is normally found in teenagers.  He had a biopsy 2 weeks ago,  that confirmed it. It has not spread- a huge blessing. He will start chemo this Sunday night. We are so lucky that he can do his Chemo treatments close to home, just up the road, in Rexburg. They have excellent doctors there that have been trained by the Huntsman clinic in Salt Lake City. He will do 3 day cycles of Chemo, so he will be in the hospital until Wednesday morning. He will most likely do two rounds of chemo then go in for surgery in Salt Lake to remove the tumor in his knee. Then a few months later he will start another chemo regiment when the Dr. feels that he is ready.

We have been praying for miracles, and we believe we will get them.

We have already seen SO many “tender mercies” from our Father in Heaven.  Two scriptures that have been of great comfort

Mosiah 23:27-28

Mosiah 24:14-16

Another sweet reminder that our Heavenly Father is walking along side of us. {Especially the 2nd & 3rd verse}

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith in His excellent word!
What more can He say than to you He hath said—
To you who for refuge to Jesus have fled?

In every condition, In Sickness, in Health
In poverties veil, or abounding in wealth;
At home or abroad, on the Land or the Sea
As thy days may demand, So thy succor shall be

“Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed,
For I am thy God, and will still give thee aid;
I’ll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand,
Upheld by My gracious, omnipotent hand.”

“When through the deep waters I call thee to go,
The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;
For I will be with thee thy trouble to bless,
And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.”

“When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie,
My grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply;
The flame shall not harm thee; I only design
Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine.”

“E’en down to old age, All my people shall prove
My sovereign, Eternal, Unchangeable Love;
And when hoary hairs, shall their temples adorn,
Like lambs they shall still in my bosom be bourne.”

“The soul that on Jesus doth lean for repose,
I will not, I can not, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I’ll never, no never, no never forsake!”

Even in trials the Lord is with us. We can do hard things. We love you dad!

{I decided to just copy this post from my sister Holly’s blog as she is really good with words and at explaining exactly how we all feel!}

If you’d like to keep updated on my dad, Holly will be keeping her blog updated : www.zachhollyd.blogspot.com

 

Surprise!!

This last weekend I was able to go home and surprise my family! It was so fun! Neal’s brother Nephi picked me up and drove me to my parents house. I rang the doorbell and they were so surprised! It was the best!

It was a short trip but I crammed a lot in. I got to see my new nephew Kolbin, visited Jayden’s grave, was there when my dad got set-apart as a bishop, got to see my sister’s new house which is being built (so fun, they’ll move in the end of October), got to visit my in-laws at their new house in Driggs (which is beautiful), and brought home our new dog--he's a maltipoo! We still don’t have a name for him so we welcome any suggestions! A big thanks to my cousin Stephanie for giving us the dog and to my grandparents for taking care of him until we could bring him home!

It was a great weekend and I am so glad I was able to go. I want to give a shout out to Nephi and Megan for driving me back with the dog! Thank you so much.

Wish I would’ve taken more pictures but here’s a few!

My dad was the stake clerk for 10 years before he received the call as Bishop. We truly know Heavenly Father called him to this position for a reason and are so proud he is a worthy priesthood holder. Dad, you are a wonderful example to your family and we love you so much!

This was when I rang the doorbell and my mom answered the door!


Our dog with his new toy...this is the most active we've ever seen him! :)

A Crazy Day…

My sister Krystal had her baby September 1, 2009 at 11:50 PM

He was 7 lbs 5 oz. and 20 1/2 inches long

Here is the precious little guy…wish I was there to give him a squeeze!

Kolbin J. Keck

My sweet sister and her husband named him after Jayden, it means so much to us and makes me tear up just thinking about it! Love you guys!

Here are the proud parents…Jordan and Krystal

Yesterday I found out that my dad had a blockage in his ♥, and had to have a stent put in, luckily he only needed one stent. My dad has been pretty healthy his whole life so it was weird to hear he was the one in the hospital. It made me realize how much love and gratitude I have for my wonderful dad , he is one of my hero’s and I love him so much!

It times like these that I wish I was home with my family! I hate being stuck here just doing phone calls/Skype trying to stay updated!

Enjoying Friends and Family

So while we were in Idaho we got to meet up with some of our good friends.

I got to see a lot of my friends from high school at my good friend Alli's bridal shower, who is now married! Congrats Alli! It was so fun to see everyone and see what they've all been up to.

I went to brunch at IHOP with Chris Van Dam, a good friend of mine from college. It was great to catch up and get updated on each other's lives. (One little fun side note is she ALWAYS, without fail, everyday wears some form of pink, whether it be an undershirt or what not.)

Neal and I also got to go to dinner at Johnny Carino's and the movie 7 Pounds with our very good friends Jessica and Eric Strebel. We sure love those two! We have some great memories with them. I hope that we will be able to stay in touch as the years go by. Eric got accepted into chiropractic school in Missouri so they will be moving there in April. Hopefully we'll get to visit them there :)

The Bodily's also got treated to dinner at Garcia's, a Mexican Restaurant, by Mom and Dad. Thank you for the tasty food and free dinner!

Krystal being silly , Heather and Jacey

Dad, Holly and Braxton

I just had to post the adorable video of my niece Brooklyn and nephew Braxton with Grandpa Bodily. They sure love him and those laughs are way too cute! This one's for you Holl!

Robert Bodily Family Reunion

This weekend we had the first annual Robert Bodily Family Reunion. On Friday we went to the Zoo and were able to see almost all the animals; the lions, tigers, penguins, otters, monkeys, and even the red panda (which I’ve never seen since it’s been there)--it’s adorable.

Watching the otters with Brooklyn who called them "sharks"

Neal and I at the Zoo

Of course, we love to have fun and be dorks!

After the Zoo we went back to my mom and dad’s and roasted hot dogs and had a lot of good food that we all probably ate too much of and paid for it later. We watched Definitely Maybe on a big screen with a projector outside and even “camped out” in the back yard with tents. All of us had a great time this weekend and we love our family! Thank you Mom and Dad for the fun reunion, we had such a wonderful time!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day Tribute to 3 great men!
I know this is a little late, but I still wanted to thank my dad, father-in-law, and husband for the wonderful example they are to their family!

DAD BODILY:
He is such a great guy. He pretty much can do anything he wants, he builds things, fixes cars, does odds and ends around the house, and I could go on and on! He has a hard time sitting still! He would always help us with our projects in school. He always made sure we turned off the lights when we left the room to save money! He even made signs that said "Remember to turn off the lights" and put them by the light switches! What I love most though is his selflessness. He will do anything for us! He has such a big heart and loves us so much. My dad is my hero and I am grateful he was such a spiritual leader in our home while I grew up....and he still is! We love you Dad Bodily! Thanks for everything you do for us!
DAD GUYMON:
I also want to thank my wonderful father-in-law. He is such a great dad and grandpa now (thanks to Anna)! He was the D.A.R.E officer for many years and is now famous in our parts! He can't go anywhere without someone knowing him. Everyone loves him because he's so easy to be around and he's funny! He is a Mr. Fix-it as well and can figure out anything! He is so giving and loves his family! We love you Dad Guymon! Thanks for all you do for us!
NEAL:
One last dad...my husband. Although we don't have any children yet, I still want to say that Neal is going to be the best dad! All his nieces and nephew's love him! He is so patient, kind, and funny! He already has so many traits that will make him a great dad. I love you Neal, thanks for all you do!

Here's a picture of all the great Dad's!