Orange For Abby – it’s a new year, time for an update

Well it has been quite a while since we have sent out an update about Abby. I wish there was more time in a day, week, and month. We have been traveling in and out of the city between the doctor’s offices, scans, tests, and hospital. We moved into our new apartment a little over a 5 weeks ago, and have really only lived in it for about 2 weeks in total. Abby had a stent put in 2 weeks ago to help bring her Bilirubin number down as it was too high, and that means that Chemotherapy had to be put on hold. It is just too dangerous for the liver to have treatment going through it if there are blockages not allowing bile to pass. It made her feel very sick, and it was also very painful for her. Taking good care of her was tough as controlling pain is not an easy task. We spent 4 days in the hospital where they were helping her, and then a week at the Engel house in Baldwin, followed by just a week at the Jacknowitz house. Things have become a lot more positive, and a bit less painful in the last few days.

Last week I saw an article on a friends Facebook page about Guanabana/ Soursop and how it has been seen as a natural healing source for cancer. Guanabana/Soursop is a fruit that comes from Central America as well as Caribbean Islands such as Jamaica. It has a direct link to helping cure liver and colon cancers. I became determined to find this special fruit and give it to Abby as soon as possible. We worked together to call every fruit store around NYC to find this international fruit, and finally found it at a place in Brooklyn on Nostrand Ave called Labay Market. I called Max Verrelli (one of our closest friends) and told him about it, and within a few hours he was in that very store buying out all the Soursop that was available. The next day he drove out to Great Neck with the fruits and we started feeding it to Abby. Abby is a texture-phobe and typically will not eat a fruit that is “slimy” or “squishy”. And somehow this one has both elements and she likes it. It tastes like a mix of a blueberry and a kiwi..and kinda looks like that on the inside. Abby refers to the outside of the fruit as a dinosaur egg. We are still using the alkaline water with pH levels above 7.5, and are always open to new things that you may know of to help! You can always email me at orange4abby@gmail.com with ideas of how to get rid of nausea, pain, and mostly cancer! We are always looking for the latest and greatest information.

Max had also brought up a family chiropractor/acupuncturist that has been working on his family for a good amount of years. We went to meet with them on Thursday and Abby went through her first treatment of kinesiology and acupuncture. It was incredibly helpful, and took a lot of pain away that day. It also replaced the pain with a new energy that Abby had been missing for a few weeks. She felt good, and I felt so happy for her. We went back the next day and again on Monday. We will continue to see Dr. Spina and Dr. Levine in Glen Cove for these alternative treatments. This husband/wife team of doctors is incredible. They have such compassion and love for Abby after only meeting her three times. They have called to check up on her, and they make sure that she is feeling well after each treatment.

Friday we went back to Dr. Haglof in the city and Abby was able to begin a low dose of chemotherapy. When we went back to retest Abby’s blood today, we found out that the stent is starting to work and the bilirubin is starting to come down. This was great news, and we look forward to seeing good results.

Abby has been nothing but a trooper. She has seen some of the most painful days in the last few weeks, and has still kept a strong and positive attitude in wanting to get better as soon as possible. She listens to relaxing music on pandora one, reads from her kindle fire, watches plenty of episodes of “Girls”, “Law and Order SVU”, “Family Feud”, “Ellen DeGeneres Show”, “Undercover Boss”, and “Jeopardy”. We are always looking for something new and exciting to see, so if you have something upbeat and fun to share please let us know!

Abby doesn’t always get to respond to everyone, and neither do I …. but thank you to all of those people who continue to send sweet words, cards, presents, pictures of orange, thoughts of love and energy, donations, and so on.

If Abby is feeling up to it, we will be at the Comedy Show on Friday night in East Farmingdale. Proceeds and donations from the event will go directly to OrangeForAbby to help us with her medical bills as well as alternative treatments. Some of the donations from that event will also go to a charity called Laughter Saves Lives. You can still purchase tickets for the event on laughtersaveslives.org. Tickets are $25 on the website, and $30 at the door. We really hope to see a lot of you there, and finally feel the love in person.

Abby’s 30th birthday is coming up on on March 1st. The Allegria Hotel has been incredibly gracious to offer their space for us to host an event/benefit in Abby’s honor on March 3rd, 2013. Please keep the date open and we will announce when tickets go on sale. We will be having a Yoga, Health, Wellness, & Beauty event. Love Integration will be leading a beginner level yoga class that will combine a lot of meditation and healing prayers as well as an easy yoga flow. After the Yoga is over there will be fresh juices, shakes, and healthy hors d’oeuvres. We will have tables set up for mini-massages, mini-facials, chiropractics, hair, make-up, arts-n-crafts, and so on. We will also have tables set up with goods from local artists and stores. If you would like to be involved, please let me know directly by emailing orange4abby@gmail.com. We appreciate any gift certificates, baskets, and so on that can be donated for raffle. This will not only be a day of healing, love, and energy for Abby and everyone that joins….but it will be a celebration of her 30th birthday, and her first time back at The Allegria since Hurricane Sandy hit. The Allegria is so important to us both as it is the place where we were married only 8 months ago.

Thank you again for following Abby’s blog. We appreciate all of the love and support and hope you continue to send your love and prayers and good energy to Abby during her journey to better health.

With love, light, and Orange For Abby always….

Rachel and Abby

5 thoughts on “Orange For Abby – it’s a new year, time for an update

  1. Thank you for the updates Rach, stay strong and please reach out if you would like another care package from your Western friend. xoxo

  2. Been thinking of you and keeping track of your progress through Michelle. Keep that positive energy going…. Hope each day becomes one day closer to you feeling better:)

  3. Hello, Abby & Rachel,
    Just wanted to send you both positive thoughts. I hope Abby is hanging in there and staying strong. Take one day, hour or minute at a time :)
    I just purchased a t-shirt and looking forward to wearing it in support of Abby.
    Hope to see more updates on your journey soon! xo

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