This morning at 5 a.m. we had to leave to head to the hospital in Rockford (Swedish American Hospital http://www.swedishamerican.org/).
To update:
September 4th Bob (my husband) had a doctor's visit - at the visit the doctor found 5 masses in his neck.
Since then he has had:
A CT Scan of the neck and chest (which showed that his neck and chest are full of masses 'too numerous to count'.
A CT Scan of the abdomon and pelvis (came back clear)
MRI of the brain (We knew there was nothing there to begin with :)
A biopsy of one of the masses in his neck (which resulted in an overnight stay in the hospital because they had to put in a drainage tube)
a PET Scan of the body
A Bone Marrow Biopsy (results will be in on October 6)
Today he is having a Port put in so that they can use that for his Chemo. http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.atlasofpelvicsurgery.com%2F10MalignantDisease%2F2SubclavianPort-A-Cath%2Fcha10sec2.html&h=5efca20fc2c5946f61ebe46f1ef47641
He has been seen numerous times now by the Oncologist, ENT's, and Surgeon's as well as our Primary Doctor.
Results thus far
Hodgkin's lymphoma http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/types/hodgkin has been diagnosed. As long as the bone marrow biopsy comes back clear then it's going to be a stage 2 B - which is good (if anything about any cancer is good) - the prognosis is pretty good.
He will start chemo next week and then we are looking at 6 months of chemo (ABVD http://www.lymphomainfo.net/therapy/chemotherapy/abvd.html ).
So, that's the latest. Obviously stressful around here. He is off work - possibly for the entire 6 months. Waiting to find out about disability and such - as with him not working things just got ugly.
No cycling to speak of, although I really could use a nice warm fall afternoon on the bike to just ride and forget for a couple of hours.
Happy Riding to my friends still out there - hope to see you on the roads soon!
A blog about my exploits on my bike, my adventures with my camera, my life of rock and roll concerts, my 4 kids, and just about any other topic I think worth talking about.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Friday, September 4, 2009
Baby Shower
Today is the baby shower for Cassy. I have done virtually nothing...honestly, if it weren't for Geri, who is my co-worker and friend, but who has also always taken me under her wing there would be nothing done for this shower. All I have done is talked about the games we are playing, ordered the cake and asked my mom to bring the punch. Everything else Geri did. I love that woman!
I'm going to try to get to Taxco this weekend to pick her up a gift card since she and her husband eat there a lot.
Okay, I'm off...have to go drink some coffee then hit the road!
...speaking of hitting the road - the bike riding has been great lately, even if it's only for my commutes...which are about 6 - 8 miles each way depending on if I take short cuts or not. The weather has been B-E-A-utiful! (stolen from Bruce Almighty).
Saturday my sis and I are going to head out on the bikes for a nice long ride. I'm very excited. Plus we will stop in the bike shop and talk to Tobie.
...and I almost forgot to mention - we had 2 of our bikes stolen. One was taken from the yard in the middle of the day while the kids were home...it was a Schwinn BMX racing bike that was pretty expensive. The other stolen bike was a bright orange Haro that is used for vert ramps....that sucker cost me over three hundred bucks. My son was at the park with it and someone walked right up and took it! Unbelievable! The cops were here last night and took a report...my husband said the cop was really great and while his faith in our local police department has never been good; he says that if anyone will find these two bikes it would be this officer.
All right ... off to start the day!
JAVA JAVA JAVA....
Safe and Happy Riding.
I'm going to try to get to Taxco this weekend to pick her up a gift card since she and her husband eat there a lot.
Okay, I'm off...have to go drink some coffee then hit the road!
...speaking of hitting the road - the bike riding has been great lately, even if it's only for my commutes...which are about 6 - 8 miles each way depending on if I take short cuts or not. The weather has been B-E-A-utiful! (stolen from Bruce Almighty).
Saturday my sis and I are going to head out on the bikes for a nice long ride. I'm very excited. Plus we will stop in the bike shop and talk to Tobie.
...and I almost forgot to mention - we had 2 of our bikes stolen. One was taken from the yard in the middle of the day while the kids were home...it was a Schwinn BMX racing bike that was pretty expensive. The other stolen bike was a bright orange Haro that is used for vert ramps....that sucker cost me over three hundred bucks. My son was at the park with it and someone walked right up and took it! Unbelievable! The cops were here last night and took a report...my husband said the cop was really great and while his faith in our local police department has never been good; he says that if anyone will find these two bikes it would be this officer.
All right ... off to start the day!
JAVA JAVA JAVA....
Safe and Happy Riding.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Busy weekend...
It was a busy weekend here on the home front.
Friday night I had to close at the restaurant. Then when I got home we had company so I didn't get to bed until about 1:30 a.m.
Saturday morning I was back up at about 5:30 a.m. to get myself ready for Orientation for Ministry Formation in Rockford. I began walking to the church when some crazy lady pulled up and asked me if I wanted a ride and why I was out walking so early in the morning...(the crazy lady was my Sis in law :) Rode to Rockford with Debbie and Andrea. Orientation was a 6 hour event, that was very informative and a lot of fun. It also made me realize how unprepared I am for this class...and how anxious I am about having to talk in large groups and in front of people I don't know well. I do think it will be a great learning experience and I'm very excited. They had some people from the previous group talk to us as well, and some of them said that on their day of orientation they felt the same way I was feeling - so maybe I can do this!
Got home yesterday evening and had a bonfire with the kids and some friends and neighbors came over. I finally got to bed late and slept in a little bit.
Today the kids and I went to the store and bought some of their school clothes - 2 pairs of jeans for each and three new t-shirts, new boxers and new socks. We also picked up groceries and had house keys made for the kids- then left and went to payless for shoes, but they weren't open yet so we came home...I don't work tomorrow night so we will go then. After arriving home we realized that the stupid keys didn't work :(
This afternoon Jennifer and I went together to get the rest of the school supplies that we needed...that was a pain the rear - all the college kids were there! UGH!
This evening after dinner my mother in law showed up with the Lia Sophia jewelery that I had ordered for Cassy. She was headed to wal-mart so we decided to ride with - had them remake the keys (when we got home we found that they had again screwed them up --- I think this is because they aren't using the right keys...they aren't long enough! UGH! I also picked up a binder for Ministry Formation and a few skiens of baby yarn that Cassy chose for Caiden's baby blanket, which I will start on once I finish this post.
Tomorrow the kids start school - only a half day. After work we will go get shoes and I am making spaghetti for dinner.
Hopefully I'll get a good amount of sleep tonight and will feel well rested in the morning (hahaha).
Safe and Happy Riding.
Friday night I had to close at the restaurant. Then when I got home we had company so I didn't get to bed until about 1:30 a.m.
Saturday morning I was back up at about 5:30 a.m. to get myself ready for Orientation for Ministry Formation in Rockford. I began walking to the church when some crazy lady pulled up and asked me if I wanted a ride and why I was out walking so early in the morning...(the crazy lady was my Sis in law :) Rode to Rockford with Debbie and Andrea. Orientation was a 6 hour event, that was very informative and a lot of fun. It also made me realize how unprepared I am for this class...and how anxious I am about having to talk in large groups and in front of people I don't know well. I do think it will be a great learning experience and I'm very excited. They had some people from the previous group talk to us as well, and some of them said that on their day of orientation they felt the same way I was feeling - so maybe I can do this!
Got home yesterday evening and had a bonfire with the kids and some friends and neighbors came over. I finally got to bed late and slept in a little bit.
Today the kids and I went to the store and bought some of their school clothes - 2 pairs of jeans for each and three new t-shirts, new boxers and new socks. We also picked up groceries and had house keys made for the kids- then left and went to payless for shoes, but they weren't open yet so we came home...I don't work tomorrow night so we will go then. After arriving home we realized that the stupid keys didn't work :(
This afternoon Jennifer and I went together to get the rest of the school supplies that we needed...that was a pain the rear - all the college kids were there! UGH!
This evening after dinner my mother in law showed up with the Lia Sophia jewelery that I had ordered for Cassy. She was headed to wal-mart so we decided to ride with - had them remake the keys (when we got home we found that they had again screwed them up --- I think this is because they aren't using the right keys...they aren't long enough! UGH! I also picked up a binder for Ministry Formation and a few skiens of baby yarn that Cassy chose for Caiden's baby blanket, which I will start on once I finish this post.
Tomorrow the kids start school - only a half day. After work we will go get shoes and I am making spaghetti for dinner.
Hopefully I'll get a good amount of sleep tonight and will feel well rested in the morning (hahaha).
Safe and Happy Riding.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Boy Oh Boy!!!!
Doctor appointment today for Cassy...The exam went well - the doctor said the baby looks good! :) This makes me happy and relieved.
During the ultrasound the doctor said "Well, there's the turtle." The turtle he was talking about was the testicles and penis...so she is having a boy.
She says at this point that his name is going to be Caiden Croom (no middle name has been picked yet...I'm waiting).
I will post ultrasound pictures as soon as I can get them scanned on here.
During the ultrasound the doctor said "Well, there's the turtle." The turtle he was talking about was the testicles and penis...so she is having a boy.
She says at this point that his name is going to be Caiden Croom (no middle name has been picked yet...I'm waiting).
I will post ultrasound pictures as soon as I can get them scanned on here.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Crafting...
I was on vacation all week. After getting my house in order I started in on some craft projects. Finished two sets of curtain tie-backs and started working on two sets of curtains that I need to make for a friend. I set them on a lime green shirt in order to take the pics because the tablecloth wasn't really a good look against them...
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Baby, baby, baby....
Sunday as I sat at Mass my daughter leaned over and informed me that she was pregnant. I assure you I wasn't thinking anything Holy at that moment...except perhaps Holy Shit!
Monday I took the day off and took her to the doctor. They were not able to tell us the sex, but they did inform us that she is 27 weeks pregnant and that everything looked good. She did a wonderful job hiding it. Although 2 months ago she was wearing a tank top and I asked her if she was pregnant and she gave me a very convincing no. Since then she has been wearing hoodies...those things should be banned! Considering the extremely cold temps this summer I didn't think much of it since I've had hoodies on too.
She will see the OB/GYN on the 18th to have another ultrasound. At the moment her due date is right about November 2nd. Hopefully she will have the baby on November 1st since that was my Avo's birthday.
Apparently Cassy never received my memo that I could not be made a grandmother until I was 42.
Monday I took the day off and took her to the doctor. They were not able to tell us the sex, but they did inform us that she is 27 weeks pregnant and that everything looked good. She did a wonderful job hiding it. Although 2 months ago she was wearing a tank top and I asked her if she was pregnant and she gave me a very convincing no. Since then she has been wearing hoodies...those things should be banned! Considering the extremely cold temps this summer I didn't think much of it since I've had hoodies on too.
She will see the OB/GYN on the 18th to have another ultrasound. At the moment her due date is right about November 2nd. Hopefully she will have the baby on November 1st since that was my Avo's birthday.
Apparently Cassy never received my memo that I could not be made a grandmother until I was 42.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Biking...what's that...?
Well, things are about the same. I'm exhausted from working the 2 jobs and trying to run around doing all the other things that are needed. However, I'm thankful for the extra money! Unfortunately I have not been on the bike for anything more than commuting.
We had appointments yesterday in Rockford. Gaven had his front tooth repaired. It took a couple of hours for all his dental work to be done - he had a bad cavity in the back of his mouth as well as the tooth that was cracked in half.
The front tooth repair looks great - you can't really tell that it is even fake...although he will never be able to eat an apple without cutting it up again!
After that we went and ate at Tom and Jerry's in Rockford, I had worked there for years and one of the cooks I worked with there is now the owner so it was nice to see him and visit for a little bit.
Then we were off to see the electrophysiologist for Brendon. They will be doing a test at Christ Hospital which will require them to sedate Brendon and then they will determine if he has extra cells that have grown in his heart (this is a very non-technical and simplified explanation). I am not sure of the date for this yet because they will contact us next week with open appointments. He was seen at his normal cardiologists office in Rockford and the electrophysiologist, Dr. Zimmerman is from Chicago.
If it is not that then it could be that he has developed a sensitivity to adrenalin which causes the fast heart beat and the palpatations. If this is the case (keeping my fingers crossed) then notes will be sent to the school so that they will be more comfortable when he does have symptoms.
So, that's where we are now. I'm still unpacked and doing what needs to be done - in between shifts.
Well, Happy Riding for you folks who manage to get some riding time in!
We had appointments yesterday in Rockford. Gaven had his front tooth repaired. It took a couple of hours for all his dental work to be done - he had a bad cavity in the back of his mouth as well as the tooth that was cracked in half.
The front tooth repair looks great - you can't really tell that it is even fake...although he will never be able to eat an apple without cutting it up again!
After that we went and ate at Tom and Jerry's in Rockford, I had worked there for years and one of the cooks I worked with there is now the owner so it was nice to see him and visit for a little bit.
Then we were off to see the electrophysiologist for Brendon. They will be doing a test at Christ Hospital which will require them to sedate Brendon and then they will determine if he has extra cells that have grown in his heart (this is a very non-technical and simplified explanation). I am not sure of the date for this yet because they will contact us next week with open appointments. He was seen at his normal cardiologists office in Rockford and the electrophysiologist, Dr. Zimmerman is from Chicago.
If it is not that then it could be that he has developed a sensitivity to adrenalin which causes the fast heart beat and the palpatations. If this is the case (keeping my fingers crossed) then notes will be sent to the school so that they will be more comfortable when he does have symptoms.
So, that's where we are now. I'm still unpacked and doing what needs to be done - in between shifts.
Well, Happy Riding for you folks who manage to get some riding time in!
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