Ted Fights Cancer | 2/20-3/18 Updates
February 26, 2024
Reminder: We are closed all week this week for Ted’s chemo treatment in Ann Arbor.
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“Hanging in there…” that’s my standard answer lately when asked how we’re doing or how Ted is doing. And it’s true. It’s been tough, but we’re clinging to our faith and believing with everything in us for nothing less than complete healing! 
We had an appointment with Ted’s doctor this morning. They’re still waiting on the official radiology report from the latest CT scan, but it appears that there is still no metastasis. From her analysis, it appears that the overall volume of tumors has decreased slightly, but the tumor has shifted more to the left side (where most of his discomfort is) and less in the front. The lower tumors remain about the same size. There are more fluids built up this time, so they will drain the fluids before we leave this week; hopefully providing him a lot of relief. There isn’t as much progress as they or we had hoped for, but some progress is better than none and we remain hopeful. God is the ultimate healer above all. 
Ted started the other chemo regimen today (if you remember, their plan was to alternate between two different regimens and they did the first one twice). This is his first time with this one and we are hopeful it will bring more and better response, and we hope it will shrink the tumors RAPIDLY. The plan is to reevaluate to see how the response is with this round and go from there. If there is better response with this one, they may stick to just this one. All to be determined. We continue to tackle as much as we can at home naturally and through diet in addition to everything else.
They changed some meds around to hopefully better tackle eating, digestion, and nausea. He ate a waffle for breakfast this morning and didn’t get sick, so that was a highlight and a little win. 
A shot of us during chemo today.
February 28th, 2024
15 years married to my best friend. ❤️ 15 years of memories, of so many highs and lows, of many travels, of several homes, of raising four beautiful children, of chasing dreams, of overcoming some of the most difficult challenges, of building a life and a future, of defeating the odds, of growing closer with God together, and so much more. I have no words for where we are today and the battle we’re up against, except that God has brought us through so much already, and while this is our hardest challenge yet, I have faith that He will see us through again. I love you beyond measure, Ted Clark, and while we aren’t exactly where we hoped we’d be to celebrate 15 years, there’s no where I’d rather be than by your side. ❤️ Happy Anniversary, my love. You truly are the joy of my life. ❤️ Here’s to many many more to come!
March 1st, 2024
Teddy update: he’s officially completed his 3rd chemo treatment! He’s been very tired and has experienced some nausea the past couple of days. Overall, not too bad. But we’ve had some highlights this week!
Yesterday morning, they drained 8 liters of fluid off his abdomen! EIGHT LITERS!! They weighed him before he went in and after draining it and he lost over 16 lbs of fluids! Can you imagine walking around with four 2 liters attached to your abdomen?! The relief he felt after was amazing! Watching him watch his belly deflate and seeing the relief it brought him made me so happy! He’s much more comfortable and slept better last night. Even walking and moving around is easier. Between the new medication and the fluids being drained, he’s eating much better this week, PRAISE GOD!! Not back to normal, but at least somewhat more regularly. This is the best progress and most relief he’s felt since this all started! I pray it lasts a while, but they can drain it again if needed.
If you know us, you know we aren’t really city people. We enjoy our quiet setting up north, but one little positive to these trips is the variety of food options. Yum! This week I/we have enjoyed sushi, Jamaican food, Korean food, Lebanese food, Greek food, and tonight we had Indian food. We have enjoyed trying new foods and also enjoying some favorites that we don’t get very often. 
And it makes me so happy to see Ted enjoying food again.
We’re tired and so ready to be home. We miss our babies. We are so thankful to go home with some positive improvement. Thank you all for all the continued prayers.
March 6th, 2024
While I fully intended to be open Friday and Saturday this week, we are unfortunately battling a nasty virus that has hit our whole household, including Ted and myself, and we will be closed all week again this week. It has been a tough cold and flu season for us and that is obviously even more difficult now with Ted’s health being at such a high risk.
I know we’ll get through this, but extra prayers would be much appreciated as Ted’s WBC is low and he is at a higher risk of infection right now.
As of now, I plan to be open Friday and Saturday next week, but I will update as we get closer. Thank you for your prayers and support and thank you all for understanding during this incredibly challenging time.
March 7th, 2024
Small update: Ted’s fever spiked yesterday and he was struggling to keep fluids down, so I took him to the ER last night. They drew labs, swabbed him, did x-rays, did a CT scan, put him on IV fluids, etc. The swab came back positive for influenza A. They started him on Tamiflu and antibiotics, because he’s at high risk for infection. They decided to admit him last night and monitor him while keeping him on fluids and meds. I haven’t been able to be there much with him as I’m not feeling great myself, but I took him some things this evening and he is doing okay. His symptoms are well managed and he even ate a tiny bit for dinner. He’s getting some rest and should be able to come home tomorrow. Thank you for continued prayers. I’m praying we’re all feeling better soon and we can put all our energy into getting Ted healed.
March 11th, 2024
New update posted on the GoFundMe:
Ted has now completed three chemo treatments. The CT scan after his second treatment showed no growth but not much shrinking. The doctor had hoped for better results, but it’s still early. The third treatment was the other type of chemo that they’re alternating with, so we are waiting to see if that type brings better results.
During the week of the third treatment, they drained 8 liters of fluids off of his abdomen (over 16 lbs.), which brought him so much relief and comfort. It allowed him to eat, sleep, and move more easily. Although he was weak from chemo, we were excited to return home with him able to eat and get around more easily.
Unfortunately, upon returning home from the third chemo treatment, the flu hit our whole household, including Ted and myself. As a result, we ended up having to close our store for yet another week. Ted ended up spending four days in the hospital fighting off the flu. He is on the mend now and we are praying for smoother days ahead.
Overall, Ted has lost about 50 lbs since mid-January. He’s lost a lot of strength. It has been incredibly heartbreaking to witness and experience as I often felt I’ve been watching him starve when nothing we tried would work. Between the tumors causing so much difficulty and the chemo side effects, many days have felt completely impossible. With the draining of the fluids and another adjustment in medication, I think we are making progress at this time and I pray it continues to improve. While we celebrate each and every little win as a blessing from God, there is a long road ahead.
Looking forward: As from the beginning, the goal is to shrink the tumors significantly so that they can do surgery to remove them. After a successful surgery, he would likely be looking at radiation and then several more rounds of chemo. Desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) is a very aggressive cancer and has a high chance of reoccurring, which is why more chemo would be necessary at this point to kill any remaining cancer cells. The cancer has not metastasized, so we are praying that this will decrease the chances for reoccurance.
God is our ultimate healer, and we pray every minute of every day for Ted’s complete healing! We continue to believe he will be healed and will live a long healthy life, completely free of cancer!
Thank you for your prayers, support, and donations.
-The Clark Family
March 16th, 2024
We will be closed all week next week as we will be in Ann Arbor for 5 full days of chemo again. I will update hours for the following week when we get back. We’ve started putting out some springy items and will have more arriving in the next couple of weeks, so a lot to look forward to in the store! 
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Ted had a pretty good week this week. He was able to eat pretty normally and was up and about most of the week. Some of you even got to see him as he was out and about in town and at the store some this week. We are praising God for this progress with eating and being able to get around better , as it’s the best progress in his day to day activity since this all started. I don’t have any updates on the progress of shrinking the tumors at this time, but we will hopefully learn more this week.
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We are forever thankful for the continued prayers, support of all kinds, encouraging messages, for continuing to shop at our store, for donations, and so much more. We understand how inconvenient our hours are right now, but we are so thankful for your understanding and kindness during this challenging time. This will hopefully improve in the coming weeks and months, and we will continue to keep you updated each week. Thank you all for all the love and support!
