The Bushgang Blog

Kevin Jumps Ship!  After almost 5 years of working at Main Street America , I have decided to leave and pursue other employment in Jacksonville. My last day of employment was on March 10th, 2017. I am now looking for an opportunity to lead, as an Executive in Technology, a team through cultural change like implementing a new technology, creating an outsourcing arrangement or a significant reorganization. I enjoy communicating with business partners to establish strong working relationships, implement change and leveraging technology for process improvement along the way. Please consider helping me in my search. You can refer me to a company you know has an opening, introduce me to someone you know that would be great for networking, and pray! Updates to come more frequently!

Next week will be Levi's first full week of Kindergarten at his new school! He is very excited!! The school had a staggered start this past week and it gave the students a chance to get to know their teacher a little ore intimately before the full-class hussle and bustle begins on Monday. We will be monitoring his progress very closely. He is expected to learn to read in Kindergarten. He is doing pretty well recognizing letters and sounds and we just haven't spent much time over the summer working with him unfortunately. Levi also started tackle football a couple weeks ago. He is really enjoying that! Their first game is September 8th. Let's see what happens! :-)

I know it has been quite a while since my last update. In fact, there has been more covered since my last post that I could even begin to address in a single post. Hopefully, most of the readers are now on Facebook and have seen all the updates. In the event you have not seen it, I would like to say, you are missing out on some good stuff! Namely, I got married on January 21st of this year to Jessica Givens . All you really need to know is that God placed her in my life with perfect timing that only He is capable of. I can't explain everything that points to that conclusion, but I know with everything in me, that is exactly what has happened! If you are wondering how Levi is adjusting, I can say without hesitation, don't worry about him. He has fallen in love with Jessica just like I have. And, she has fallen in love with the "Bush boys" as well. We have become one happy family unit. :-) Levi starts Kindergarten this fall. His school is right next to our house. ...

One year ago today, several things came to an end: Stephanie's fight with cancer, her ability to raise Levi day by day, and our marriage of more than 19 years. BUT, several things came to pass as well: Stephanie now experiences the love of our Heavenly Father in ways we can only dream about and hope for, I have a new, more experienced way in which I view and process life, and we all are better off for having known and reflected on the person that Stephanie was here on Earth and in our lives. I share with you today a poem (if you can call it that) I wrote in early 2011, about a month after Stephanie's death. As I look back on the last year and reread this poem, there is much to see. The piece that stands out to me now is the analogy I used about a forest fire. The hope they lay just beneath the surface then is now in full bloom. Levi and I have been blessed with a new beginning that promises to grow into a thriving, green forest, rich with love and experience for as long as Go...

It has been almost 7 months since I last posted an update. WOW! I can't believe it has been that long...which translates into quite a lengthy update. I will consolidate by giving the main highlights. If you want more details (and many of you just may), you know where to find me! :-) LOCATION We officially moved to Jacksonville, FL on March 26th, 2011. By we, I mean Levi, my mother and father, and me. We stayed in a furnished, corporate apartment for 3 months while I built a new home for us all to move into. We then moved into the new house on July 1st, 2011. LEVI Levi started pre-school and soccer last week. He is enjoying school but still looking for some new friends. We don't have any neighbors around our house, so he has only had a short amount of time to get to know anyone his age. I'll keep everyone posted but the only name he knows from school besides his teacher is a little girl named, Katy. Go figure! That kid is already going to be a ladies man... KEVIN Fo...

This year I have decided to walk 60 miles on behalf of my wife, Stephanie. She had a passion for this event and all it represented to survivors and their families. It will be an emotional journey for me and the rest of my team, The Hopefuls. Our team captain, Stephanie, is now watching down from above as we fight the good fight and take every step in remembrance of her, in the hope of Jesus Christ, and in making progress towards a cure for breast cancer! When I came to this site to write this information, Stephanie's note was already prepared. I chose to leave her words below. Please read it when you have a moment. Thank you for your time and donation! - Kevin ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ This year, I'll be participating in a very special event called the Breast Cancer 3-Day. I'll walk 60 miles over the course of three days with thousands of other women and men. The net proceeds will support breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment through Susan G. Komen for...

The day I feared the most in my life has come. My soul mate, my lover, my life partner, my flesh, my best friend, my better half and my blessing took her last breathe of air at 3am yesterday morning. I was lying beside her and she was at peace. No more pain, no more worry and no more sadness. It is a strange feeling to be so happy for her victory yet feel the pain of loss that has torn me from my mind, through my heart and into the depth of my soul. Stephanie, I love you so much. I know I told you that all the time but I wanted to tell you once more in public. You are the most amazing lady I have ever seen and your thoughts and actions were the same in front of friends, strangers, and at home in our private moments. You were my inspiration and will continue to be for as long as we are apart. I can't wait to see you again my love. Father God and Lord of my life, I cannot begin to express the thankfulness I have towards you for giving me such a wonderful gift. It is sometimes har...

Let me first say that the people that are surrounding us with thoughts and prayers are a huge blessing! My request right now is simple but will require a little extra on each person's part. I am struggling with knowing that Levi may grow up without really knowing who is mother is or was to everyone. Instead of flowers, cards or messages, I would greatly appreciate hand written notes that express what Stephanie has meant to you. I would like to read them to Stephanie and collect them in a book for Levi. You can mail them to: 4116 Amhurst Dr. Highland Village, TX 75077 Thank you all in advance! Kevin

UPDATE: Stephanie is home, laying next to me in bed this evening. She has no immune system left. Her white blood cell count this morning was 0.3 and the doctor said she would no longer benefit from chemo. His words, "I don't believe she will be with us much longer." Seeing her deteriorate from Thursday through today, I guess it was expected news so I took it well, all things considered. We now have hospice care at home 24 hours a day with the goal of making her comfortable. My heart is broken and I am on my knees. My love of 20+ years has put up an amazing fight. Honestly more than I ever thought humanly possible. Please pray for her comfort and for the strength for her family to carry on. I'm not sure what else to say. Thanks to everyone showering us with love. It does help!

Ever heard the phrase, "Here we go again"? Well, that's our story too. We got word last Thursday that Stephanie's cancer has returned yet again. This makes for the third recurrence. The results showed that the lymph nodes in her abdomen are enlarged again, the spleen is enlarged and there is another lesion on the liver. The good news in all this is that we are in a good place, leaning on God and knowing that things are going to work out. The chemo Steph had last time around worked very well and she will be getting the same drug this time with an additional little mix of something (Taxotere like before and Carboplatin for the detailed folks reading). First appointment for chemo is tomorrow, December 7th at 9:30am. Prayers and text messages are always welcome. Please let her know you are praying or that you are just thinking about her. I'll keep everyone posted through Facebook and through this blog. Keeping your finger on the pulse of the situation is best do...

I came out to the blog to update those non-Facebook folks following Stephanie's fight with breast cancer and realized that it has been a long time since my last update. Not only that, but the last post was a pretty rough time for Stephanie and me. Well, the good news is back. Since the last post, Stephanie has started chemo and we have seen some miraculous changes. The story is long and I will shorten it here. We went to review here latest PET scan with her doctor today. He read through the medical verbiage that was quite lengthy and incomprehensible, paused, looked up at Steph and said, "Looks like you are officially in remission." The only way to explain what has happened, between my last post in May until today, is that God chose to heal Stephanie for her faithfulness. Jesus said in Mark 5:34, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering." There is a lot to be said for believing in your heart and praying expectantly. We se...

This was day number four for Stephanie to spend in the hospital. Pain management is the key objective that needs to be achieved before they are going to release her. The doctors today did some scans and determined that it appears there is an enlarged lymph node that is quite possibly pushing on a bundle of nerves near her spinal column. The good news is that there is a fairly easy procedure that can be done to check to see if that is the problem. If it is, they can then inject some alcohol into that site and permanently control the pain. It is a little after 10:00 as I sit in the hospital room and type this message. The test will be preformed in the morning so I will update tomorrow as answers come in. Please continue to pray as this pain and sleeplessness has really taken it's toll on Stephanie. She needs the sleep and pain relief to help her body begin to fought off the cancer. The best news so far is that the stint they put in on Monday has been very successful in getting rid of...

Wow, I know all of you are going to find this hard to believe but I'm having a sleepless night and I know so many of you are begging for an update on me.  Yes, it's Steph finally writing this time!  Let me first start by saying how incredibly blessed we are to have so many friends, family and followers that are praying for us and care so much about us.  God has truly placed so many incredible people in our lives. I won't lie and say this hasn't been a trying few weeks.  Since the result of my PETscan, we have been on our knees as always begging God for His wisdom and discernment and most of all, believing Him for a total healing.  We're not just praying for one but BELIEVING in His mighty healing power.  He is still in the miracle business!  The weeks have been full, and I mean every day of appointments and or treatments.  We decided to take on a holistic approach since chemo and radiation certainly haven't been the answer in the past.  W...

Let me start by saying that all of your thoughts and prayers are very helpful and have meant the world to us. Please continue to pray as we brace for the challenges in front of us. Stephanie and I received the news/results yesterday (earlier than expected) from her PET scan this week. The news was not what we expected to hear...not even close. The cancer has spread to the right side of her chest, lymph node activity is double normal, indicating a good chance that the cancer is there as well and there is a small spot on her liver. We are still pursuing options and this news changes nothing except giving us a greater sense of urgency to make decisions wisely and quickly. Stephanie recently started a maintenance program through a holistic doctor to keep the cancer from returning. This program will more than likely change as we move to eradicate the cancer instead of keeping her cancer-free. Those who are skeptical about holistic medicine, please hold your judgment until you have finis...

I hope this blog comes to all readers at a time of peace and realized blessings! It has been several months since I have posted anything out here and I did briefly think of my New Year's promise to post more frequently. I'll work on it! I wanted to give an update on Steph. If you haven't been in touch with us or followed us on Facebook, you may be a little out of the loop. So, here goes the crash course! Stephanie finished up the first reconstruction surgery by getting the last of the drains removed. the healing process has been slow and there was one spot on her abdomen that stubbornly has not healed. She recently went in and had the doctor stitch it back up. that was about two weeks ago and she is still having some bleeding from that area. the good news came this morning in that Dr. Lemon wanted to wait another couple weeks before deciding to open her up to explore what might be going on. Steph really doesn't want to have another surgery if it can be avoided! Th...

Stephanie's mom, Genevieve Ross, has been hospitalized. I have set up a separate blog for those of you interested in following her status. She has been struggling lately with her M.S. and has run into some complications that required her to be admitted. She really is not in good shape. I am asking everyone who is reading this to please stop what you are doing right now and say a prayer of healing for Stephanie's mom, my mother-in-law, and Levi's "Lollie". Thank you in advance for the blessings!

Stephanie saw the doctor yesterday and he removed the last two drains she had in. That is great news. If you have never seen them or heard someone talk about the drains, you can't imagine. Good riddance! The doctor doesn't want to see Steph for another three (3) weeks so things are going as he had hoped. I will update as things progress. For those of you not on Facebook , this is the new and preferred method of communication for many! If you were not aware, I update this much more frequently and Stephanie updates only on Facebook . Please consider signing up by clicking here . I would be glad to give anyone a training session of quick run-through on how to use this wonderful website! Not only do I provide updates but I post pictures of Levi all the time!

Sorry for not updating in a while! Stephanie had her first follow up appointment with her doctor this morning. He said everything was looking good. She needs to leave her two drains in for one more week and then she will at least be free from foreign things being attached to her body and only one thing foreign in her body, the port. Stephanie has been doing extremely well, walking every day and even getting out of the house a little to attend church and of course, you guess it, shopping! We felt strongly about adopting a child for Christmas and weren't sure if we could make it happen with everything going on. While at church on Sunday, they had some children and families left on the adoption list so we went ahead and got the list for a 5 year old girl. Stephanie is thinking the shopping is fun but I am struggling with the chore of finding the gifts. Anyhow, things are going well. Levi is in Houston with Stephanie's aunt this week and our wonderful neighbor Connie has meals ...

The doctor has called in Stephanie's release from the hospital as of this morning. While the paperwork is being processed, Stephanie is taking a shower and getting meds filled. She is not having a great morning. She is soar and fighting a little nausea again. Please continue to pray for her healing and for a good day today! Thanks!!

I just spoke with Stephanie and she is not feeling too great this morning. She didn't sleep well and is uncomfortable today. They gave her a unit of blood yesterday because her "counts" were low and it was assumed the infusion would help improve the way she felt. This has not occurred yet but we are hopeful that will change! The doctor also started her on iron supplements to help speed up the development of new blood. We will have to see what the doctor says today but we are not sure if Stephanie will be getting out of the hospital today or not. Please pray for continued healing and a quick release from the hospital! Thank you all!