On vacation

We arrived on Saturday around 7p. It took us about 10 hours. We had to stop a lot for bathroom breaks. I was looking at it like this: we have no where to go, we are on vacation - so it took us as long as it was going to take us. The kids on the other hand, lost patience at about hour 7. But we did arrive and found the condo.

We were pleasantly surprised by the condo. The overall hotel/resort is in need of updates, but our condo was privately owned and very well kept. That was a relief. We are in a perfect location - right on the beach, 1 block from local stores and restaurants and a 10 min drive to anything else we need.

Sunday we went to the beach and the water park. Then went to lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe (for scotty). Then back to the beach for a while.

Monday we went to Ripley's Aquarium at Broadway on the Beach, rode some rides and then saw Star Wars: Clone Wars.

Tuesday we went to the Hard Rock Theme Park. The park was EMPTY so it was great. We went on the rides many many times, saw all the shows and then saw a pretty good fireworks show. We were pleasantly surprised by this park actually which is saying a lot knowing Scott's Disney fetish.

Wednesday we went to the beach and water park, then went to Dick's for lunch, then went to Alligator retreat. Then we went to the pool some more, then out for pizza. This was a very long day.

We are not sure what is on tap for tomorrow but I am sure we will find something to do...

Update:

Thursday we let the kids go to Broadway on the Beach and pick out something. Nate went to a store called Ridez and built himself a mustang car. He could pick out the car, the rims etc. He loves it.

Hannah decided she wanted to go get a make over at Libby Lui complete with make-up and hairstyling and lots of glitter! She looked beautiful.

We then went back to the hotel to rest a bit then decided to go to Medieval Times where they do a jousting show while you eat dinner with your hands. The food wasn't the greatest but the kids loved the show.

Friday we played Put Put golf a place called Atlanticus. Funny thing happened - we ran into Kyle one of Hannah's daycare friends. We knew they were in town but had no idea where and wouldn't you know it, they showed up same place and time by coincidence. We had just randomly picked this put put place. We then started to get packed up upon our return to the hotel. I took the kids to the pool for a while, and then we got cleaned up and started our trip back to Northern VA.

We arrived home around 1230p (7 hr drive time) and we all appreciated sleeping in our own beds.

Off on a much needed vacation..

We are headed to Myrtle Beach, SC tomorrow morning and will be staying at a condo in the Dunes resort. See you when we get back!

8.20 Follow-up appointment

Scotty just met with Dr. Otchy for a follow-up. He said everything is looking great and we are cleared for vacation. The Dr. said that the ocean water is actually really good for his wound but don't go swimming in the heavy current. Scott no longer has to pack his open wound, just bandage it up. He is driving again too. The Dr also said that he can return to work at the beginning of September.

He still can not do any heavy lifting or straining for another 3 weeks. He can now proceed to eat whatever he wants. Including VEGETABLES and FRUITS.

The genetic testing that we had done came back and Scott does NOT have any of the 3 identified gene markers for colon cancer. So why he got colon cancer is anyone's guess. The kids do not need to go through any gene analysis/therapy, but he did say that they should get colonoscopies in their 20's because of Scott's experience.

The artistic kids....

Below are some drawings the kids made while Scott was in the hospital. I hung them up in his room so it would cheer him up. Enjoy.


Whenever we take Hannah anywhere, we always have something for her to draw with. Hannah is an artist to the core. She even falls asleep with a pen and paper in her hands most nights. It's instinct for her to draw. So when I took her to see Scotty at the hospital, naturally she wanted to draw. Here are 2 of her drawings from that day.

Fairly straight-forward drawing of Daddy in his hospital gown and bed. Not sure about the ears, but we will go with it for the sake of creative integrity. She then created another rendition, this time taking a few liberties.......





Does this one need more explanation? I think not...



Nate is a very abstract artist and most of the people he draws look eerily like Jack Skellington. This is a picture of Scully, the dog (upper right), Hannah in orange (black thing on her head is her hair), Me in brown, and Nate in black. We had been talking about how some people have hair on their arms and legs and he took that to heart -apparently- by drawing it on himself all in the name of art.

Cancer

Cancer. It is really everywhere. The weekend we found out Scotty had cancer, Tony Snow died of colon cancer. Today, I read about a journalist for NPR that chronicled his colon cancer fight - where cancer won the battle. Some quote on Leroy Siever's page (http://www.npr.org/blogs/mycancer/) really stood out to me:

After that day, your life is never the same. "That day" is the day the doctor tells you, "You have cancer." Every one of us knows someone who's had to face that news. It's scary, it's sad. But it's still life, and it's a life worth living. "

I think its me being selfish sometimes, but hearing all these people with colon cancer dying is so scary to me - and I don't even have it. It's Scotty who has to deal with those emotions and the reality that his body has (had) cancer.

Another week begins...back to the grind of the work week.

Sat 8.16

This weekend has been a bit tough. A friend of mine very generously gave us some sweet seats to see the Washington Nationals baseball team on Friday night. The seats were on the 3rd baseline, 11 rows up. She even threw in some rock star parking in the garage right in the stadium. None of us have seen the Nats play and for the kids, it would be their first game. So, even though the Nats aren't good, the seats and experience promised to be!

My mom actually was in town Friday for a class she was teaching. She wanted to stop by for a quick dinner before we all headed out to the game. We got through dinner ok, but towards the end of it, Scotty didn't feel well. He made the very hard decision to not go to the game. The kids were excited to go and had been talking about it all week. I decided to go without Scott and drive into the city.

For those that know me well, know this is a HUGE accomplishment for me, since I have an unreasonable fear of driving in DC. I have the trusty nav, so I felt ok about it. And although I did get lost a few times and it took a while for the nav to catch up, I made it just fine and just a few minutes late.

We all got settled, got some cotton candy, drinks etc and then I started to explain the game to the kids a bit. Hannah and Nate both brought their mitts to the game in hopes of catching a ball. Well wouldn't you know it, the boy in front of (who brought a mitt as well) caught a ball. Directly in front of us! The girl in the row behind us caught a t-shirt as well. We went home empty handed with regards to a ball. Oh well. We did get caught in a rainstorm and the 3 of us decided to weather the storm - Hannah said we aren't going to melt! We ended up leaving the game at the bottom of the 7th inning with some dippity dot ice cream for the kids in tow. They both fell asleep within 5 mins of us leaving the parking garage. The Nats lost for those that care.



Scott has been having some off days lately. His stomach doesn't seem quite right and he is weak. He has been able to run an errand or get out of the hosue for a bit, but anything more than an hour or so away, he needs to go home. I think the issue is when he starts to feel better, he wants to go out understandably. But that is exactly when he should rest more. Double edged sword of sorts.

Saturday was a mixed bag. Scott wasn't feeling well again. We decided to run a quick errand and then spend the rest of the day at home. Hannah went over her friend Reagan's house for the day. They have a pool so she came home super exhausted. Nate did the quick errand with us, then my neighbor Tom came by and asked if he could take Nate down the street to play with the other kids there. The kids down the street have a big moon bounce water slide and Tom thought it would be a great help to occupy Nate for a bit. He thought right. I was able to start to organize and de-clutter my garage a bit, do some laundry, and clean the kitchen. Thanks to both Heidi M and neighbor Tom for helping me accomplish some things today by watching the kids. It is appreciated. I then grilled some turkey burgers for Nate, Scott and then went and picked up HBea. I'm pretty tired as you can imagine.

I hope Scotty is feeling better tomorrow. It's tough seeing him like this.

Thurs 8.14

Not much to report this week - which is good! Makes for a boring blog, but what can you do?

Scotty is still recovering slowly. He left the house a few times this week with his buds. He still can't drive so they have dropped by to get him and take him out.

All of our friends are checking in-which is great. Thanks to Amy J for bringing us dinner this week. Also, those let's dish meals from Scott's team have been great. The kids have loved every one we have tried so far.

For those that have seen Scotty recently - he is growing a beard while he is home. It seems to have gotten mixed reviews from those that have seen it. Me, personally, I think its nice to try something different once in a while.

Mon 8.11

Lots of people are calling to see if we need anything. Thank you all so much. I am not sure I need anything right now but I will be sure to let you know if I do. These posts won't be as exciting or chock full of info anymore. We are just recovering. We do have an appointment with Dr Felice, Sept 3 to talk about chemo and any other follow up treatment he needs.

If you do want to come and visit with Scott, please give him a ring. He is the boss when it comes to his time at home alone.

Scott got a bit stir crazy today so he asked that i come get him before I got the kids, so he could get out of the house. He is still weak and it takes him a while to get going. I think he may have pushed himself a bit because his incision was leaking a bit when we got home (TMI - but its my blog!).

How is he going to home-bound for the rest of August??? This is the guy who hates to sit at home and relax. This is going to be tougher than we thought.

One thing I find interesting to mention. We are daily getting invoices from the many many services we have used. It's mind boggling how to keep it all straight. One day we get a notice saying we are not authorized or we are denied and the next day in mail, the letter says you are. Just have to keep a level head when looking at all these bills I guess.

Life Resumes..

You know it is true what they say...that life goes on.. Our life is continuing on. Scott is recovering and we are adapting to all that entails. Today is the first day we are home alone and we got through it ok. I took the kids to my friend Ellen's lake house and Scott had the day to himself. Thanks to Ellen and Bill for being great hosts.

Hannah had a small mishap and hurt her foot a bit but seems to be on the mend there.

I return to work tomorrow morning after boot camp. It will be an interesting morning - getting the kids ready and then getting them all off to camp.

Our life journey has a small detour, but we are adjusting. I will be calling the oncologist tomorrow to schedule our follow up appointment.

Saturday

We don't really have anything exciting to report today. We drove Connie to the airport and then returned home to rest.

As I said, Scotty is still pretty weak so anything more than a quick jaunt out is a lot for him to handle. I set up the portable pool to keep the kids busy.

His incision seems to be still leaking a bit, so we may call the Dr on Monday to see if that is normal.

Nothing exciting

Scott is still recovering. His incision is open which still takes some time to get used to. He saved me the uneasiness by changing and cleaning it by himself.

He is still fairly weak and tires easily but was able to go to Hannah's High School Musical camp show around lunchtime.

He is starting to eat fruits and vegetables but softer fruits (peaches, grapes) and well cooked veges.

My sister Connie has been a lot of help this week - helping get Scotty what he needs, doing his 15 loads of laundry (no exaggeration), and the biggest job of all - watching after the kids. She leaves tomorrow and then life will have to get back to normal with the exception of Scott not ready to return to work. I am headed back to work on Monday which I am excited about.

Thank you so much to Kerstin for bringing by a suprise dinner last nite. You are so sweet!! And just thanks to everyone for all your support and love.

Dr Otchy took the catheter out this morning. Scott was so happy.

He also opened up the incision a bit to drain it. Scott has a wound infection like we thought. Very common occurrence he said. He opened it up and drained it. He has left it open and showed me how to clean and care for it. So, Scott has about 1 inch of his incision open. It was not the most pleasant thing to see but part of the journey I guess.

We will see Dr Otchy in about 2 weeks, right before our Myrtle Beach vacation. He also said that if Scott feels up to it and is off his percocet, that he can drive in about a week.

Then he said that Scott is doing great overall and gave us the information to take to the oncologist in September. We are going to see Dr Felice in Reston. Many people have recommended that we see him.

Weds Night

Scott has a wound infection. We called the doctor at 1030 because his incision was leaking. The Dr said to put warm compresses on it and come in first thing in the morning. It was a kinda scary thing but the Dr didn't seem phased by it.

It's not hot to the touch and he is not running a fever -- and he's on antibiotics. They will need to drain it this morning and hopefully we can have them take the catheter out.

recovering update....

Scott has been taking the cipro and the infection doesn't seem to be getting worse. He is complaining that his arm hurts but if you look at it, it has a bunch of bruises from all the shots he received in the hospital - so I am sure that is it.

He is not running a fever and nothing is hot to the touch so we will just wait to see the Dr tomorrow at 11a. We are hoping that the catheter will be removed tomorrow as well.

Thanks to everyone who has been helping with the kids. My neighbor brought over some dinner last nite which was appreciated. Hannah is going to a High School Musical camp this week from 9-12 and Ellen, Netty and Liz have helped pick her up and entertain her.

Everyone wonders how the kids are. Well Hannah is just being extra sweet and gentle with her Dad. Nate is off kilter a bit. I think it's because we are off schedule and there is an air of change at home. Every night at dinner time he seems to be throwing this enormous freak out crying fit for some random, insignificant reason. It makes for a pleasant dinner - I tell you.

Day 1 at home.

Scotty wishes we had a craftmatic adjustable bed at home. Its tough getting in and out of our bed but he's making it work. He's still in a bit of pain and the percocet just isn't cutting it.

I did make a late night run for jello and pudding for Scott since he can not eat anything healthy (fruits or veges) for a bit of time due to the fiber in them. He doesn't seem to be that upset about it actually.

Hannah and Nate have been so good. Nate was so happy to see Daddy this morning. Hannah helped Aunt Connie make dinner - she makes a killer salad and has just been so helpful. She has been the first one to jump up and offer to get something for you. It's very heartwarming to see Hannah be so helpful and sweet.

Evening Update: Scott started getting what looks to be an infection in his lower region. We called Dr Otchy who prescribed Cipro. Scott said he was getting the chills so he is taking it easy. He did manage to eat a good dinner and has resumed his Sweet Tea regime. We have a follow up appointment on Thursday to see how things are going and if we can get the catheter removed.

He is still in a lot of pain but seems to be handling it well. I think being home in general helps people heal faster.

Yeah! Scotty is Home

The Dr discharged Scotty around 1p today. They sent him home with some percaset and a catheter. We will see the dr again on Thurs to get that out.

He has to take it easy for at least 2 weeks and no heavy lifting or stairs.

We are so happy to have him home!

Sunday

Scotty had his catheter removed this morning and the dr said he can try to eat some liquid food. I spoke to the dr who told me that the mass was classified as a t3N0M0 which is a stage 2 tumor - and the studies are mixed whether a course of chemo is going to be helpful. We will meet with Dr Feliz in September to discuss options and risk factors. Dr Otchy did say that for as large as the mass was this was the best news we could hope for and that Scott is very lucky.


Stage II: T3 N0 M0; T4 N0 M0
Cancer has spread to other organs near the colon or rectum. It has not reached lymph nodes.
T3: Tumor invades through the muscularis propria into the subserosa, or into the pericolic or perirectal tissues.
N0: No regional lymph node metastasis.
M0: No distant metastasis.


Scott had penne pasta and meatballs for dinner tonite and seemed to be ok. He did have one set back. His bladder doesn't seem to be emptying so they had to do another cathether. Talk about being unhappy about it!

He is getting up and walking on his own now and just generally feeling much better. Thanks to Pat, Digi, D3 and Hannah Bea for keeping him company. And a big call out to Chris F for helping me with my lawn. Scott did quite a few laps around the 4th floor today and is little speedy gonzalez. Hannah told Scott "Daddy if this was a race for the slowest person, you would win". We all laughed a lot on that one.

The Dr said he may be able to come home Monday night or Tuesday morning. It's been rough on both of us so we are anxious to get him home.

Saturday - the rest

I went back around 4p and Scott was getting back in bed after sitting up all afternoon. He is having a lot of gas pains but that's a good sign that his digestive system is getting back on track. He walked a second time today but his legs are so shaky and he's so weak - we did a half a lap.

He did have 2 sips of tea! and some ice chips.

Ryan came by to watch a movie and Paul Biernacki stopped by. No idea when he will eat yet, but he still really doesn't have much of an appetite.

Seeing some results

Scott walked this morning! I pushed him a bit to walk and we did a lap around the 4th floor. It was painful and took a while but it was great!

The Dr stopped by and told him he needed to get up and walk at least 4-5 times today. He can have a sip of water or tea and they took the drainage tubes out. He is having a lot of gas pains today and I think those are worse than the incisions.

The pathology came back. Looks like they grabbed 12 lymph nodes and none of them showed any signs of cancer. The mass did hit the colon wall so they said it is Stage 2. The cells are the kind that tend to be faster moving/aggressive but the dr thinks they got it all. He said once Scott gets home and settled, we will meet with an oncologist to decide whether we should proceed with chemo. It's going to be a tough call.

Ryan is hanging with him for a few hours today and I am taking the kids out. I will head back later today to spend the evening with him. My mom leaves tomorrow and my sister, Connie, will be arriving around 430ish to be here for the week.

Friday

Scott looked so much better today although he still is in pain. He did rate the pain a 6 which is a marked improvement. He got up from his bed and sat in a chair 2x today although the nurse told him if he felt dizzy to not walk - so he didn't.

He has been having some bloating and gas pains and the only way to get rid of them is to walk it out. So tomorrow we will be walking.

He had some very funny visitors today - Jen Towns, Julie Ann, Digi, Ellen B - thanks for lunch, Annette, Judy- who brought Star Wars balloons, Vanessa and neighbor Bob. Thanks Lauren for the cake!

His spirits are up although he has asked if there is an alternative to the drugs they have him on. They make him cloudy. Right now the dr and anesthesia say that's what he gets.

He still has very little stomach sounds, so still no food although he doesn't have much of an appetite. He is very weak. They can't even begin to tell us a release date until he eats - which I think until he walks - he won't have.

He has been sleeping on and off but it's hard to sleep in a hospital. Things are constantly beeping, or someone is coming in to take vitals, or some random noise. It's not very relaxing environment.

If you would like to come to see Scotty this weekend, please call my cell 703.203.3660 so we can figure out a good time to fill the gaps of when I can't be there this weekend.

Thanks again for all the support and prayers.