Happy Easter

We had a wonderful day with Family and Friends.  Joe did really well through church, dinner and the Easter egg hunt.  The perfect day (even with his usual bowel attacks).

His last Dr. appointment was really good as well.  Dr. S. told us his cancer count is stable, which is one indication that it is not spreading.  He can't be sure what is going on, but it is a good indication things are not getting worse.  It seems the prayers and the Avastin continue to work.  Dr. S. said we all need to continue doing what we are doing - that means we need the prayers to continue and Joe to continue with the Avastin treatment.  They plan on doing more detail tests towards the end of April.  That will give us a better idea of everything that is happening.  In the meantime, we thank God for this wonderful news.

On the not as good news, Joe's bowels are worse than ever.  His "attacks" are occurring more frequently and he has also been getting nauseous with them.  He never sleeps through the night and we have to cancel plans continuously due to these bowel attacks.  We are learning to adjust though and just so grateful for any good periods of time we have.  The Dr.'s are trying different things to try and get Joe some relief.  He'll be going in for additional IV fluids each week to make sure he stays hydrated and to try and give his bowels a rest.

Our good friend Joe Bates is fighting his cancer with everything he has.  We ask that you continue to keep him in your prayers.  Joe and Joe talk continuously and it's so great that they have each other.  The picture below is from the picnic they had for Joe Bates.  It was so moving and we are so thankful to have the Bate's family in our lives.

We hope you and your families had a wonderful Easter season.  He Has Risen!

Love,
The Kahlers

March Fun

Our fun event for March was a gathering of High School, College and other friends and family.  We weren't sure how this was going to go given the diversity and number of folks popping in and out all week.  They came from Pennsylvania, St. Louis, all over California and Arizona.  We were absolutely overwhelmed with the response.  I have not seen Joe this happy in a long time.  Even when he wasn't feeling good, he would just sit in his chair and smile and laugh.  The stories never stopped, the activities were plenty and the food and drink were amazing.  Everyone pitched in to help organize, contribute, clean up and make everyone else feel welcome.  We had our usual, fabulous chef Darrell at the helm - not to mention the wonderful side dishes and fabulous desserts made by so many others.  We had four competitions -Putting (won by Bob who carried his teammate Bowker to victory :); Ping-pong (won by Joe and Mires);  Horseshoes (won by Joe and Greg); and Bean Bag toss competition (won by Joe and Lusk).  It was hysterical because Joe's teams won 3 out of the 4 competitions.  Believe me, we did NOT let him use the cancer card to win.  The group doesn't care what your situation is, competition is competition.  The teams won bragging rights only.  We had no gifts for Joe except the gift of friendship.  And that was the best gift of all!

So to all who travelled to be with us and all who took the time to make our March fun the best month yet, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.  It was a weekend that we will forever treasure. 

Next up is chemo on Tuesday.  Keep the prayers coming for good results and minimal side effects.  We ask that you please continue to keep our friend Joe Bates, in your prayers as well. 

We love you all!  Sherrie and Joe

See No Evil (Don), Speak No Evil (Jeff), Hear No Evil (Gordon)



Some of the Group





Horseshoe Tourney - Greg concentrating, Gerty Begging



Mr. Feeney and Topanga! 

Quinny and Auntie

The Fight Continues

Things in the Kahler home are status quo.  Joe's bowels are terrible,  but we are learning to work our schedule around his "attacks".  We decided to plan one fun event each month, so for the month of February, Joe and I went to Vegas.  We just went for a couple days and when Joe felt good, we got out and enjoyed.  We he didn't feel good, he stayed in the room.  Overall, we had a great time just getting away.  For the month of March, we have lots and lots of company coming to visit.  We're hoping Joe will be available to attend a spring training game and if not, we'll just hang out at home.  We're looking forward to seeing several people we have not seen in a long time.

Joe continues to receive Avastin (chemo) every 3 weeks.  His next treatment is Tuesday.  He handles it better than the other chemo he previously had, but unfortunately, each treatment seems to have worse side effects.  We're not sure if it's because of the residual build up or his body is just tired.  Regardless, we don't make any plans around his treatments.

In keeping with our theme "No One Fights Alone", we would like to ask one more favor.  A good friend of ours (Joe Bates) has just been diagnosed with Lung Cancer.  The 2 Joe's (Kahler and Bates) used to coach their daughters softball team together.  The Bate's Family (Joe, Lisa, Erica and Makenzie) are such a close and wonderful family and are fighting hard.  Please, please add them to your prayer list.

As always, we thank you for your continued support. 

XOXO
Sherrie