May 26, 2009

I am very happy to report my hair is starting to come in a little bit more! I still do not feel the greatest. My allergies have been in over drive & I don't think my sinuses can take much more. My Great Uncle Noonie, Andrew Jones, passed away last Friday. Unfortunately I do not feel well enough to make it to the viewing tonight & the funeral is tomorrow. Lima is such a long drive even when I am at 100% but it seems especially long when I am not at my best. I sent flowers and our condolences I hope the family will understand.

Marc was not feeling to good most of the weekend either & by this morning he was so sick he could not go to work. It just kept getting worse, he ended up at Urgent Care by midday. They put him on a Z-pack & a few other things. He had Brandon drive them home, Brandon is already out of school for the summer. Katie still has one more exam to turn in.

The Tooth Fairy made her second visit to Zack last weekend. He came to our bedroom & told me his tooth was loose & next thing I new 1 little wiggle & he was handing me the tooth.

While fighting the allergies Marc decided to go ahead & open the pool this weekend. it was getting to the point that it was pond more than pool. Brandon said he pulled a frog out of it. After some motivation from my cousin Amber, Marc decided it was warm enough out to go ahead & start up the pool. The water on the other had was not so warm though according to the kids.

Brandon had a good time at Tiffany's on Monday he was there from 10:30am & got home about 8pm. He has grown up so fast, I told Marc he is almost all grown up. I took him to get his driving permit last week. The week before he passed the written test but his Birth Certificate had the wrong last name on it so we had to go get it fixed only to find out that his social security card cut off the last 4 letters of his 2nd middle name. It seemed like the odds were against him to get his permit but we did finally get it.



Zack was excited all week waiting to go to the Park for a few hours with Misty & he was wired for sound when she brought him back home. The weather was hot & they went out to eat twice & the Dollar store so he was in heaven. The weather was great even though we did not feel the best we took advantage of it & got out for a ride. Unfortunately the weather did not stay on our side on the way home...Maybe this explains why Marc is so sick?

May 21, 2009

2 weekends ago Marc had a little too much fun at the Benefit we went to, he wiped out on his bike... he was hot roding It in the grass (trying to recapture his youth I think LOL). These past few days been a little rough. Marc thinks I have allergies, sinus pressure, congestion, cough, runny nose can't breathe for the past 3 days but no temperature. I have been feeling awful but without a temp above 101 I get to stay outta the hospital. I have been in training at the Ohio Emergency Management Agency (OEMA) the past 3 days taking a course on Emergency Planning for Special Needs Populations so the days have been rather long. Along other things it has reminded me just how much I hate Columbus rush hour traffic. Here are a couple pictures from Paige's & her friends before the 8th Grade Dance last Friday Night. We have really been enjoying the weather. Zack loves to play outside here lately he has been very fascinated with baseball. He can hit & through pretty good. This is a cute picture of Paige & Zack Brandon & Tiffany are still going strong, she was over the other night & I believe Brandon is going to her place on Monday for a Holiday Picnic with her family. Katie has had a total image change she colored her hair blond awhile back & I really had a hard time with it, it just did not look good on her so she colored her hair a dark auburn & it actually looks pretty good on her especially with her pale skin tone. This one was in progress & this one is after, she loves it As you can see Spike may still be a pup but he is not so little anymore. I will be at the Base this Friday & Next Friday making up my June Drill weekend. I am still tolerating my work load fairly well so as a whole I can say my transition back into the workforce is going better than anticipated. My next major medical event is my 6th Bone Marrow biopsy which is scheduled tentatively for June 8th.

I am in the process of adding another video of Zack & the Kids playing Rock Band, Zack really gets into singing, I am sorry my camera does not record volume as well but for reference the song is "The memory remains" by Metallica. Once I get it uploaded in you tube I will post it on my Blog.

May 14, 2009

I know I have kept many of you in limbo waiting on the prom pictures so here they are posted below. I also finally got my Easter pictures off Marc's camera & they are below as well.

This week I have been doing good at work & have been very busy even though the situation seems to be deescalating to a certain extent. I will say that by the time I get home every night I am still really tired. I am going in tomorrow to have my labs checked I think my counts are off a bit.

I go back to the James cancer Hospital for my 6th Bone Marrow Biopsy on the 8th of June or sometime during that week. After next week I will be back to work 4 days a week so I may have to schedule it differently.

I found out that my Uncle lost his job last week due to the economy. He had been working there for several years & it was very unexpected. The job market is slim everywhere right now especially in isolated areas, such as theirs. So prayer warriors please add my Uncle to your list!

Paige has the 8th grade dance Friday night. After serious discussion Marcus & I agreed to let her go. She is really excited so those pictures will be posted hopefully next week sometime, you guys know how I have been very delayed in my postings since I went back to work.

Zack has been on white every day still & is looking forward to the field day (all day fun activities at school). we had to make a color wheel at the house because all his pent up orneriness would come out when he would get home & the only thing that really works is threatening to change his color.

Katie is in her own world these days preparing to go to her fathers for a couple of months this summer. She has been a bit more moody than normal with everyone in the house. I am also a little worried about her school, she still has 5 courses (credits open) this means her exam grades are not back & she still has a few exams to turn in. She only enrolled in 7 credits this year Brandon has completed 9 & has 3 more that are open. He had to take more credits to play sports at the High School that & he is trying to graduate a year early.

The weather is getting much warmer finally but with the warm weather come the spring rains. I will ride my bike when its wet but I don't particularly like to. Marc is getting used to his ape hangers but I see him dropping his hands from time to time to get some blood back in them. I tease him about it but he says it looks cool.

I hope you enjoy the pictures!

May 10, 2009

May 9, 2009

Just a quick update Brandon & Tiffany went to prom last night we should be able to post the pictures tomorrow. Tiffany looked beautiful her dress was unbelievable she looked like a princess & Brandon was quite handsome. Today is Tim Glick's Benefit go to the Missing Link website for the details he could really use all the help he can get.

Also Kimm Sandusky ran the Flying Pig marathon at Cinci last weekend in my honor. She has been outstanding raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma society, getting people to donate blood 7 has gotten over 100 people to sign up as Bone Marrow Donor's through the DOD Marrow Donor Program. I am so thankful for everything she has done, she says I am her hero but really she is mine.

I will update more tomorrow & post pictures.

May 4, 2009

I finally got a picture of Marc's bike with the Ape Hangers on them.

Here are my Lab Updates:
Day----WBC----ANC--------Hgb--------PLT---- Transfusions
6 Apr----214-----2.0----1100---------11.1----------29------------N/A
9 Apr----217-----1.1-----900---------11.6----------23------------N/A
4 May---242-----2.4----1100---------11.6---------149------------N/A

I went to the James Cancer Hospital this morning to start my third cycle of the maintenance chemotherapy. I figured I would go in early and get it over with and then go into work afterwards. BIG MISTAKE if it could go wrong this morning it did.

Traffic was terribly backed up by campus. My weight was ugh… I don't even want to say. The lab put my IV line in at my wrist even though I asked them not to because I would have to type & I would be moving it a lot. Once she got the line in it was extremely sluggish with the blood return so they kept moving the catheter around & digging it in, it was rather painful.

I had to wait 2 hours to get a room so they could administer the Dictebine only to find out they were debating on giving it to me. You see my ANC Counts have not been cooperating. Finally Dr. walker said I could get it but they are only going to administer it 4 days instead of 5. That does not break my heart any especially with Brandon having prom this Friday night.

I ended up getting to work at 12. Which I suppose is not to bad but I wanted to get in earlier. I stayed until 4:30. It has been a long day & I am tired. Needless to say I will be scheduling all other treatments in the late afternoon & take of work early it will be easier to work around.

I did find out today that I may have another infection but it is not serous. I have been having quite a bit of abdominal pain & trouble going to the restroom so we will have to see the results show if anything, they should be back in a day or two. It’s a wonder I haven't had an infection sooner with all the medications I am on.

We found out this past weekend that I am photosensitive. My face looked like a lobster Saturday night & although I did get out on my bike a little bit Saturday afternoon (& it felt great by the way) I was not out in the sun hardly at all. The redness does not last too terribly long but it is painful. This morning my face looks flush & the skin on my arms is flaky dry go figure.

To all my fellow motor cycle riders there is a big benefit this weekend for one of my Missing Link brother's Tim Glick (Shooter) if you don't have any plans it is going to be a great time http://www.missinglinkmc.net/National.html

Marc put the first coats of red on Zack's wall on Sunday; he got a little spooked because on the wall it said "Get Out" through the paint. I think one of the girls did it in hair spray it has an aerosol look to it. He said if it comes through the paint on the second coat were moving, LOL he is a mess.

The rest is all from my last post but some good resources:
It is a good practice no matter what is going on in the world (all hazards) flood, ice storms, tornados, pan flu etc. to have an emergency kit at your home. Go to http://www.ready.gov/america/makeaplan/index.html for information on making a Family Emergency Plan.

Go to http://cdc.gov/h1n1flu/index.htm for current H1N1 Flu information

Go to http://www.ohiopandemicflu.gov/ for additional information.