Pictures from the Services

I realized after the viewing that many of you do, come to read this blog. I am so glad that this was a help to so many, it melted my heart. As a final post I decided to put some pictures up of the services because we realized so many were not able to come because of being out of town, etc.
So here are some pictures of the viewing and funeral. Thank you all for your love and support. It was such a humbling experience the last couple of weeks to feel the love of so many. It was a wonderful tribute to Dad. Thanks again.

Dad's Hat and quilt that the 28th ward made for him

Pictures of mom and dad together
Patriarch and Grandpa Flowers
Pictures of Dad's Posterity
American Legion Greeting the Car
Dad's Grandsons carry the casket
Mom receiving the flag
A beautiful rose with the casket
God be with you till we meet again....

Funeral Arrangements

As I'm sure most of you know, this week have been really busy, so I apologize for the lateness but her are the arrangements, Thank you so much for all your love, prayers, meals and support.
Dad's viewing will be Friday evening from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Lindquist’s Funeral Home at 1867 North Fairfield Road in Layton, Utah 84041. The funeral services will be at 11:00 a.m. at the Layton Hills Stake Center at 2300 North University Park Boulevard in Layton. Hope to see you there!

At Last

At 10:00 on May 30, Dad passed from this life to the next into the loving arms of friends and family waiting for him. His passing was peaceful and we are grateful of the sweet time we had with Dad and that he was in very little pain. All the family wishes to thank all of you for your love and support. Funeral arrangements will follow.

A time to rest...

Dad decided today that it is time, the medicines have stopped working and his blood is not bouncing back anymore. So he will now enter into hospice care. Dad and the family would ask that this time be for close friends and family, and when you do visit try to call first and please be aware that Dad's head hurts horribly bad and loud noises or voices really bother him, so please be sensitive to that. He is at peace with his decision as is Mom (as much as they can be) and this will be a difficult time but also a very sweet and tender time for them both. We are so grateful for all the prayers and love and support that have been offered up in his name. We have been truly blessed by all of you!

Update

Well things have not progressed well, Dad now has what is believed to be a staph infection in his left eye. We really ask for prayers and support for Dad, Mom and the family, as you can imagine this is a very hard time for all. We are so grateful for those who have been so wonderful during this time and continue to be great friends, family and associates. Thank you so much.

Not feeling well

Dad's sinus infection has moved into his lungs and is now pneumonia. He is still not feeling well but has started the second round of Vidaza. They are hoping it will knock some of the leukemia cells down to a more manageable level. Dad has now requested no school age or younger children be brought into his home, there is just too much of a risk right now. He is not trying to be mean or cruel, he is just trying so hard to fight all of this and his immunity is zero. Having kids make cards, pictures or a video. If you can put them in an email you can send them to him at scbankhead@hotmail.com. Some have said that Dad and even Mom right now can get a little testy, well let us try to understand, they both know very soon they will have to say goodbye to each other after almost 60 years of marriage, I think we can all be very sympathetic to that, and I know myself would not be half as nice and kind as they are right now. Please continue to keep Mom and Dad and the family in your prayers.

Family and Friends, a special fast

Just wanted to let you all know, our family is having a special fast for John's Dad tomorrow, he has had a miserable week and is very weak and in a lot of pain. Please keep him in you prayers as you fast this Sunday. Thank you again for all your love and support.

Update

Last week Dad was fitted with a port cath in his chest and has been feeling pretty well, just very tired. He has calculated that a bag of platelets last him about 2 1/2 days, before he needs more. His platelets stay around 10,000-20,000 normal being about 150,000. But he is in good spirits, going crazy sitting still and his normal self for the most part.

Another Update

Well Dad has finished his first round of Vidaza and is now just receiving platelets, his platelets are not holding up as well, as we have seen them before but Dad is in good spirits although very tired, a common occurrence with leukemia. We continue to pray and hope and appreciate all of you who have done so much!

The Results

On Wednesday the family met with Dr. Ford and Ladee from LDS Hospital. Dad was given 4 options. None of them were good options but these are what we have been given. Dad has chosen to go with a medication called Vidaza, it is a shot that is given seven days in a row every 4 weeks, with the hope that he will be able to be at home and these shots are given on an out patient basis, he may also be able to recieve the shots at McKay Dee, so not as far to travel. The hope and prayer with the medication is that it will either slow down or stablize the leukemia, giving Dad more time.
It was a very sad day for the family, but there were as always many sweet moments. It was very touching to see many nurses, orderelys, and doctors pass by and see Dad and just have to make sure that they stopped to see him and tell them how much they love him. He was a "model" patient for them, because he was never sick with the chemo, so they always wanted to be assigned to his room. Besides the fact that he is always very interested in their lives and what they are doing. We stood and waited about twenty minutes for his groupies to finish with them so we could go. It was very touching to see how much these wonderful people love Dad.
Dad joking as always was teasing about getting a refund since the cancer returned. Those of you who know Dad, know that is very typical of him. We all laughed through our tears.
We are entering a new time with Dad, it is very bitter sweet we are now realizing how extremely lucky we have been to have this time, so many wonderful things have happened. We are very much looking forward to the family reunion in July and hope Dad will be in good health to attend which he has promised he will be.
We would once again ask you to be very careful when visiting Dad, please make sure you are not sick, as his immunity to disease will be greatly decreased, I know that the masks, gloves and sanitizer will be at the house, the gloves are extremely important because as you know Dad will always shake your hand, we are just trying to hold on to him as long as we can. We are so grateful for the love and prayers that have been offered in Dad's and the families behalf, please remember to include Mom in those prayers, as her health is not very good either and this as you can imagine has been very difficult for her also. We thank everyone so much. All our love,
The Bankheads

Some Hard News

On Friday, Dad received the news that his AML has returned. Right now he is getting platelets and we will know more on Wednesday of this week, when the family has a meeting with the Doctors. Keep those prayers coming I know Dad really appreciates them we would also like to ask for prayers for Michelle Dad's Niece (Dee's Daughter) who is battling her own health issues right now and we want her to know, our thoughts and prayers are with her and her family. I will update more when we know more. Thanks again

A Cruise, a trip to lakeview, and a Happy Birthday

Well Mom and Dad enjoyed a fabulous cruise to the Mexican Riviera a couple of weeks ago. However, on Sunday Dad had a pain in his leg and after some internet searching by Karen and some coaxing and threatening, Dad was taken to Lakeview Hospital and it was determined he has a blood clot in his leg that runs the length of his leg, Right now he is on Heperin (sp?) and Cumadin. He will be in the hospital for a least a couple of days. I will update more when we hear! Thanks Karen for being so stubborn!! Oh and Happy Birthday to Dad who turns 76 today!! Shame its happening in a hospital! Love you Dad!!

Update on Dad

Well I know there hasn't been much to see on this blog lately but like I said no news is good news at this point. I have wonderful news. The Dr. told Dad he is in remission!! That's right his levels have stayed up long enough and he is fighting back so well. He told Dad to live his life the way he wants. So him and Mom are going on a cruise shortly to the Mexican Rivera. They are both really excited. So yeah!! I will keep this blog open for news and updates, but the posts might be few and far between. If you have google reader I would put this blog on there that way you can be updated if there is a post. Hope you all have a wonderful new year.

Our Thoughts and Prayers...

I just wanted to post about two things that are important to Dad. First of all .Trent Duvalthe little boy that has inspired Dad so much passed away last week, our thoughts and prayers are with his family. If you haven't read this little boy's blog and some of his entries are truly inspiring.
Second of all Dad's niece Michelle has recently been diagnosed with a tumor and she has a blog for any of those who would like to visit and send their well wishes. Our thoughts and prayers are with Michelle, John, Dee and Anita and their entire family.
To update Dad is doing well he is still getting his platelets checked regularly and as of late they were about 90,000 which is pretty good. Sorry about so long between posts but right now no news is good news! At this time of year we are very grateful that Dad is with us and we are enjoying every minute.

A request from Clair

Hello Everyone, I wanted to put a link to this blog Trent Duval is a little boy who has AML Leukemia also and is from the Sandy/Draper area and has been through every treatment possible to no avail and now has been sent home. His grace and spirit are amazing and Dad was really touched by his story. I would ask you to go to his blog and read this little boys sweet story. Jessica called and told me about and I have been crying now since I read it. They do have a trust fund set up for him, but most importantly just reading about this little boys strength is life changing! Dad continues to feel well and I will update more as soon as we have news.
Thank you all for your support.

Update

Dad went to the hospital yesterday and he found out that his platelets are continuing to go down, but he is still feeling good. They are working on how to get them back up. The good news is there is a definite fuzz to Dad's head right now and it is coming back the same color! YEAH!!

Slide Show

This is a slide show of pictures from a recent family party. Gina and Mel got together and decided we should have a family party while Dad is feeling good right now. Well, it was a wonderful evening full of memories, laughs, tears and lots of love. So here is some memories for anyone who would like to share. And I know all of the family would like to send their prayers and love to Michelle and John in St. Louis, we are praying for you and we hope you are comforted at this time.
As far as an update Dad continues to feel well, we will post anything as soon as we hear. So for right now No news is good news.

Make a Smilebox photobook

Attention anyone who wants to be on the donor list for free!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that right now September 7-22 NASCAR is sponsoring a bone marrow registry drive. You can get on the registry for free and you can do it from home!! Just go to this link http://www.marrow.org/HELP/Events/NASCAR/index.html and you can sign up and do a short medical history and NASCAR will cover the cost of the kit $52. If you were interested in getting on the registry but like everyone else money is a little tight, this would be a great option. Take Care ALL!!
I'm sure Gina and Mel would like me to remind all the family about the birthday party/family picture/potluck day next Saturday at Mom and Dad's church.
Love to you all!

A little post...

So Dad went to the hospital just recently and they told him...See you in thirty days!! Isn't that awesome!!

An Update and an apology...

I wanted to update you all on Dad's condition, things are going really well his platelets have risen to 60,000!!! on their OWN!! He went to go to the hospital about a week and a half ago and they sent him home and told him see you in two weeks! Very good news! We are so grateful for all the thoughts and prayers that have been offered on behalf of Dad. They are obviously working. I apologize for not updating sooner. I have been getting ready to start teaching at the kids school and have been very busy getting everything I need. I will update as soon as I have more info. Thanks again. Bankhead Family.