Billy's Christmas Tree

I know many of you are curious to know what kinds of things we have decorating Billy's tree, so I thought I'd share some photos.

From the LaBlues

Blackhawk Helicopter (Ft. Rucker) (From Wes & Adrienne)

Boston Red Sox Snowman (From the Stanvicks)

A Soldier Named Billy (From the Stanvicks)

"Mr. McCotter Head" (From Kelsey)

A Grill (From Kelsey)

Holiday Wishes (From the LaBlues)

Snowflake (From Michael and Karen)

From Bonnie and Steve

Freedom Star (From the LaBlues)

Texas HUGS (From Alice)

Anasazi Ladder (From the Clarks)

USA Nutcracker (From Aunt Linda)

Flying High (From Uncle Paul)

Weimaraner Puppy (From Mike and Kristie)

Patriotic Christmas Garland (From the Stanvicks)

Weimaraner Puppy for Christmas! (From Mike and Kristie)

A Hippopotamus Ballerina (From Aunt Robin)

Flying High & Fighting Hard (From Our Family)

Ask Me About BILLY (From Our Family)

The Christmas Tree

Thank you to everyone who has sent ornaments!  Billy has enjoyed opening them, and they've brought many stories and smiles.  Thanks for helping us to celebrate Christmas!

How is Billy?
He has been in a lot more pain recently, and the oncologists haven't been able to figure out why.  Billy had an ultrasound and a CT scan this past week, and neither have showed any reason for the increased pain.  His small bowel seems to be about the same.  The blockage is the same.  He doesn't have a lot of new swelling.  So they're thinking that Billy is probably becoming resistant to dilaudid (the pain medication he has been on since September).  They've increased the dilaudid for now to try to address the increased pain, and they're thinking about trying other pain medications in the future.

At this point, Billy sleeps a lot.  He seems to be sleeping more since they increased the dilaudid a couple of days ago.  Even with his increased drowsiness, he still gets up for almost-daily walks, and he still likes to watch movies with us in the evenings--though he falls asleep a few times before we get to the end.

It's movie time now...so I'm going to go.  But before I do, here are a few things you can pray for...

How to Pray

• For Billy's Liver and Small Bowel.  His bilirubin has been increasing.  The blockage in Billy's small bowel is taking its toll on his liver.  Pray for his liver to hold up, for the bilirubin to go back down, and for the blockage in his small bowel to release.
• Pain Management.  Pray that the doctors would be able to figure out a pain management regimen that works really well for Billy--one that addresses his pain effectively but also allows him to stay awake and interact with family and friends.
• Family Time.  Pray that we'd have good time together as a family as Christmas approaches.  When we heard about Billy's diagnosis, I told God I wanted one more Christmas with Billy.  Just one.  And that's all I want this year.  

Thank you for praying.