Our last Entry for Dad

Dad's Funeral will be Monday @ 11:00 at the LDS church in Genola, UT. It is located on the corner of Center and Main. There will be a viewing at Walker Mortuary in Payson (587 S. 100 W.) Sunday night from 6-8 pm. and a viewing at the church Monday morning from 9:30-10:30.

Tribute Video

Here is a beautiful video made by friends at Hart High.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fccbq1RqzwI

Dad's at peace

We just wanted to let everyone know, that Dad is now at peace. He passed away just after 8pm with his family around him. We feel at peace knowing he is not in pain and he was able to complete the things he wanted to accomplish. We love him and are very grateful for the time and memories he have with him.
We plan to have the funeral on Monday the 18th. We will give more info when we have it.
We want to thank everyone for all your love and concern.

The Time is Near

We called hospice yesterday and they informed us that we had 3-4 days. They said he would be bed ridden and most likely go into a coma. Kirk and I just walked him to his bed for the last time. Dad wanted to look out the windows first. His breathing is getting very labored and we feel the end is near. Once again we thank you for your love and prayers. We appreciate your support and concern. As we struggle at this time we are clinging together as family and trying to stay strong. We were able to go out for a nice dinner as adults on Saturday and have some good quality time to last us through time. Thank you once again we will keep you posted.

Quick update

Last night I had a little voice telling me I needed to update this. As a family we have had a lot of fun and excitement, and then there has been some questioning and wondering as well. To start with the fun, Las Vegas was great. We had some fun in the pool, on the strip, and Dad had fun taking a small plane ride over Las Vegas. After coming home on Wednesday the 6th, Gary and Celeste had their new baby boy, and named him Mac. He is a cutie. Yesterday (Friday) Dad had to go in and get whole blood. He's been thinking he was getting pleurisy on his other lung, but while at the doctors, they did some blood tests and said it looks as though he has an infections. They said if there is things we need to do, then get them done quick. As you can imagine we understand things could move very fast. We are all trying to process this, and figure out what to expect. I'm not sure what else to say, so please keep in touch and I will update as to what we think may happen.

RSVP for retirement party

My dad was asked today to have a guest list sent to the base for his retirement party. They said it would be easier and quicker to do it this way. We are just asking you to call or e-mail us if you are planning on coming. You can e-mail to tnl@digis.net please title it "retirement" so if I don't recognize you I will still open it.
Thanks for all your help.

Dad's Retirement day change

We just wanted to let everyone know that my dad's retirement party has been changed to Saturday the 18th of April at 2:30pm. It will be held at his gaurd base just East of the airport. For those of you who would like a little direction, you take I-215 and then exit on 7th North. (that is just north of the SLC airport) Turn West, go to the T, and turn right. The entrance will be on the left. You will need to have a form of ID and tell them you are there for the retirement of Mark MacNaughtan.
We are planning on eating after. There is no pressure, but we send out an open invitaion to everyone. It will be something simple and inexpensive. We trying to decide were we can go and have room, but not have to have a pre-reservation with a number amount.
If I have not given enough information or you have any other questions, please give us a call.
home* 801.754.3064
Tina* 801.754.1810

New update

A couple weeks ago, dad and mom went with some friends to Cherry Creek (the west desert) for a picnic and 4-wheeling. It wore dad out, but he said it was worth every minute. A few days later he and his fishing buddies, Rick and Ron, went for a car ride. They went to their old stomping grounds of Weber Univ., along with driving up Weber Canyon and down Ogden Canyon. By doing this, they were able to visiting some friends on the way.
Last weekend he was feeling a lot of pain in his left rib cage, so on Sunday we took him to the ER. By doing this, we found out he has pleurisy, which is inflammation of the lung tissue and as he breaths or moves it rubs against his rib cage and scratches his lungs, which causes intense pain. It is in the process of healing, but could last up to a week and a half. As we were in the hospital dad made the comment that he was not staying there long, because on Saturday he has a few friends from high school and one from college coming to have a BBQ. He was not going to miss this, it would be considered a goal on his "Bucket List." In the mean time it is "kicking his butt" as said by my mom. While in the ER we found out his platelets were dropping and so on Monday morning he was in to get a platelet transfusion. He then went back in on Tuesday and they seemed to be holding OK, so he doesn't need to go back until tomorrow (Friday) to check all his levels again. Although dad's bucket list is quite small and simple, he will most likely have to keep getting transfusions 2-3 times a week to be able to finish his list.
Dad and mom's door has become a revolving door and the phone never stops rings. Everyone thought this would get old, but it never has. It just reminds us of the love dad has shown to so many people. We truly do appreciate your support.
Sorry it has taken so long to get this update to you. My goal is to do better.

Staying strong

Dad has been doing very well. He has had a lot of visitors and phone calls. He (and the rest of us) are very grateful for all your concern and love. He still seems to be in pretty good shape and wanting to go and do as much as possible. He has been outside with the family, and taking grandkids for rides on his 4-wheeler. I asked Dad if there was anything he wanted said, and the only thing he said was that he has been extremely humbled by the kindness and love everyone has shown him. Thank you to all. We'll update more later.

Tribute To Dad

Thank you for your love and concern. My Dad went to the Dr. yesterday and was told he had two choices. Chemo again, then radiation, then a bone marrow transplant leaving him with a 25% chance of survival OR He has 1-2 Months. And due to his current health he doesn't feel like his body could handle all that medical treatment and more again. So we will be saying Farewell to a Great Man in a short time. I think that we as a family feel like it is the right thing. That it is the best thing. Our tears are just as much for ourselves as for our Amazing Father and Friend. We hope to make the best of his final time here on this earth and hope he takes our love with him and shares it with our Family on the other side. Dad has lived a full life and has shown his love for others in so many ways. We will miss him from the depths of our souls. But KNOW he is going to a better place, free from grief and pain.

WE LOVE YOU DAD & PAPA

Room Change

There has been just a few things change, so I thought it would be good to pass along. Dad is now in room 797, in the corner for those of you who visit. Phone number would be 801-357-5797.

A few things I failed to mention in the previous post was that dad also has a infection in his blood system and to top everything else pneumonia. The good part is in the night they took him off his oxygen, which was pretty high, so chances are the pneumonia is getting better. . . . I just got off the phone with dad, and he's back on the oxygen with 2 liters (originally it was 4 liters). His lungs still sounded rattled, but doing better. His numbers are still low which is something their watching. They don't know if it's from the antibiotic he is taking or possibly the 20 (that's a guess) chemo pills he took a week and a half ago. The doctor is looking into the idea of lighten the chemo dosage in his maintenance plan for the future to keep his immune system higher. There still is questions if dad will be released for a few days or stay in until his surgery on the aneurysm so we'll keep you posted on that.
As far as dad goes, his spirits seems to be rising. He sounded much better today. Once again thank you for all your thoughts and prayers.
Yesterday was a big day of visitors, and we just want to day thank you. He really enjoyed seeing everyone. It definitely make his day.

Not the best week

Dad has not been feeling to well lately, and it all came to a head yesterday. To give a quick recap, he has lost over 15 lbs. in the last week and a half, and been to over 7 doctor appointments in the last week. He was not feeling great before this, but last week was worse. He was in ER on Friday night, and then again yesterday (Mon. March 9th). This time he stayed in the hospital. Through all of this, they have found out he has a sinus infection, a gut/stomach infection, and as of yesterday they found an aneurysm on his brain. Both the oncology and neurology have visited with my parents and their hopes are high.
First with the oncology doc., he says with all the infections dad is dealing with, he is not ready for surgery. They need to get his body built back up. His platelets are slowly decreasing, which would not be good for surgery. However, the doc said that because of all the meds he is on right now could be the reason why they are low. He has talked about doing another bone biopsy to be sure the leukemia has not come back. Then work on getting him more stable for surgery.
Now to the neurology doc., he said the aneurysm is in a place were it wouldn't be to bad to get to, however it is fairly wide at the base which is a little more tricky. He is hoping to wait about 2 weeks for dad to get a little healthier, then first go in through his groin area with a scope or something of that sort to look more closely at the situation so he can be better prepared for surgery.
I hope this all makes sense. As I'm sure you can understand when I say my head is spinning a little. Once again with great humility we would ask any of you to pray on behalf of our dad and strength for my mom. We recognize the the strength in the Lord and your prayers. Thank you. If anyone is interested his in currently in room 795 at Utah Valley hospital and the phone number directly to his room is 801-357-5795
Once again thank you all.

The long awaited update

To start this off we need to apologize to everyone. We've thought about doing an updated blog for along time, but never had any action on it. As you can see in this picture Dad hasn't quite any of his fun. It could be sledding with the grandkids to fishing or four wheeling.
He had a bone marrow biopsy done before Thanksgiving. On Dec. 3rd they went in to see the doctor and get the results. The doctor was very pleased to say REMISSION!! He is in complete remission 2 (I think that's what they called it) Now he has started his two year maintenance plan which consist of a pill a day, shoot a week, and a big syringe of chemo once a month. We are extremely excited, as you all could imagine. We are also grateful to all of you who have continued to pray and hope with us. We pray that you may be blessed for your love and friendship. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Quick catch up

Dad is home and still fighting his head cold. He has seen the doctor a few times and still working on getting his numbers back up. He's had platelets, blood, and then platelets again. They are thinking at this point he should be on the rise and hope that when he sees the doc next Wed. they will be able to pull out his pick line for good. (Everyone cross your fingers) He seems to be doing a lot better the last couple of days. He is excited to be done with chemo!!! We continue to pray that he will be at O cancer cells when they do the next bone marrow biopsy. We will continue to keep everyone posted on that, and his continued recovery. Thank you to everyone who has keep him in your thoughts and prays.

The Home Stretch

Well Dad is in the hospital for his final treatment. The doctor was a little hesitant to admit dad, but he will be on call this weekend so he could be aware of how things are going. They had to do a recovery bag first, so they won't be starting the chemo until tonight. Dad and mom have been a little concerned about dad's energy level, but the doctor said otherwise. He said if dad has the strenght and energy to fish and do a few other things, then he is doing very well. There is some patients who can't do much of anything. Over all the doctor is very happy with his progress. He also said that if dad's bone marrow biopsy hadn't been 0 cancer cells after round 5, than there wouldn't be a chance of 0 cancer cells after round 8. To hear this, made us very happy. Dad continues to enjoy all your calls and visits. Thank you for your continued love, support and prayers. As a family we feel it very much. Thank you.

Room 777
Phone 357-5777

Between treatment cycles

It has been rough between cycles. He hasn't had to have any blood or platelets. However this cycle can cause neuropathy, and he has really felt it. He was excited, and looked forward to attending a "Reel Recovery" which is a fly fishing retreat for cancer patients in Altimont, UT. He was excited to go, but he did not have the energy to walk, hike stairs, and fish for three days. Therefore he came home a day early.

Reel Recovery Group

You can tell dad has some great people who care about him. On Saturday the 4th of October, there were 5 men from dad's guard CE unit that came down on their drill weekend to help build a garden shed. This could be done, because it was authorized as training. It was a cold rainy miserable day. Mom did a great job on keeping them as warm as possible by making good meals, and hot chocolate.

Kenny, Shane, Merrill

Brian, Joe

Dad

As we type this posting there are 2 men out helping dad with the shed. One being Merrill Brown, who was here with the guard, and Ron Walker, one of dad's fishing buddies and long time friend.


On Sunday, between conference session we took a drive up Payson Canyon and saw some beautiful colors. The kids had a ball running and exploring, while the adults watched. Here is Dad, Mom and 6 of 9 grandchildren.

Dad is scheduled to go in on Friday the 17th to start his next and LAST cycle. He does however have a head cold right now, so we don't know if that will change. We are all excited to have this over, and continue to pray that when they do the next bone marrow biopsy that it will once again say 0 cancer cells.

Treatment #7

Dad is back in the hospital for treatment #7.
Room 789
Phone 801-357-5789

In his past break Dad's platelets went down to a 6, which is as low as they have ever been. That didn't slow him down though (does that surprise anyone). He went to 3 BYU games with a great friend and enjoyed every minute. He also had friends Brian and Kay ,from Iowa, come and visit. Dad and Mom really had a great time. On top of all this they managed to get a quick trip in the Cedar City and Las Vegas. to visit kids and friends.

Being back in the hospital has made Dad a little discouraged. He is starting to get sick of this routine, and ready for life without chemo. On the other hand, he's is excited to know that there is only one more treatment after this.

For all those who would like to visit or call, he will be in the hospital until Friday morning. Thanks for all your love and support.

Home Again

Dad came home today. He is feeling a little shaky and tired. Here is a picture of he and Trevor napping on the chair.

He has started to get a little hair back. It looks like it is going to be a silver color.

Treatment #6

Sorry it has been so long since we last updated everyone. Since last we wrote Dad and Mom went to Salt Lake for a visit with a specialist on bone marrow. She said that he really isn't a candidate, and that the radiation they would do beforehand could possibly kill him. He is doing really good with the path he's on, so she would recommend that he stay on that path and do a 2 year maintenance. That would include: a pill a day, a shot a week, and a small chemo bag every month for the whole two years.
Dad didn't get any help this last round to get his numbers up faster because they wanted his body to do the work on its own. It took until Monday the 25th to start his next cycle of chemo. This is cycle number 6, which is the harder set of drugs. We're hoping his body can adjust accordingly.
He is in room 797
Phone 801-357-5797
We would once again like to thank everyone for your support and ask that you continue. If any on you have a little extra time in your busy lives we know he would love to see or hear from you.

Dad is home

Dad did come home on Friday and is feeling pretty well. He is hitting his bottom so does not have a lot of energy. But all in all we are all feeling so excited about his biopsy that the future looks bright. Dad says it helps with the treatments and the continued treatments. Thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers.