February 17 to 26

February 26, 2007 - Monday

Alex had her first game in Orlando today and Lycoming beat Catholic University! Final score was 13-8.

February 25, 2007 - Sunday

Too many long island ice teas for me! The phone rang at 7:30. It was Mike's Sunday School teacher, letting us know that class was cancelled because of the potential threat of snow.

Well it finally did snow and we got about 5" of the white stuff. I spent the day working on the website for the boys lacrosse club. www.spireslacrosse.com Chances are good there will be no school tomorrow. Here in MD all you have to do is say snow and they close schools!!

February 24, 2007 - Saturday

Well we got up early and all of us (Alex too) went to Tyler and Michael's indoor lacrosse game. Afte that we came home, packed up the car, and Charlie too Alex to BWI airport for her trip to Orlando with her lacrosse team from college.

Tonight was Chris's annual company party. Not a holiday party because of when it is but similar. It was held at the Ceresville Mansion in Frederick. We had a great time. There were a lot of people there. The food and atmosphere was just perfect. They had a casino night and gave everyone 25,000 fake dollars to begin with. After you gambled you traded your money in for chances to win various door prizes. I was able to roll my 25K into almost 400K!!! Never fails with phony money!!!

February 23, 2007 - Friday

Alex came home! Well just for tonight. She flies to Orlando on Saturday for her spring break with her lacrosse team. They are playing 2 games in Orlando (Catholic U. and SUNY Oneata) for their 1'st 2 matches of the season. They are all very excited. 80 degrees and sunny should help them get visions of 10 degrees and snowy that they have stuck in their head. She called at 2pm to say she was leaving. Good thing too because I had totally forgotten she was coming home! We had pizza and wings from Ledo's Pizza to honor the occasion.

February 22, 2007 - Thursday

Ski club for the boys tonight. Very quiet day today finally. Chris stayed late at work today and I went to play basketball at the local rec club in the Men's over 35 drop-in league. I'm now 10 years over the limit so no more ID checking!!!

Came home with all my limbs. Chris got home later as she did some shopping after leaving work. Picked up the boys around 10:30 from school. They were beat!

February 21, 2007 - Wednesday

Schools, 2-hour delay. This is absolutely incredible! They are driving me nuts. I had a board meeting for the boys lacrosse team.

February 20, 2007 - Tuesday

Schools, 2-hour delay for crying out loud!!!!! How long does it take to clear a sidewalk for pete's sake?

February 19, 2007 - Monday

Today was my birthday so we went out to dinner. Of course it was presidents day and no school AGAIN. The boys had an indoor lacrosse double header tonight. That is winding down and outdoor starts soon. Where they will practice is to be determined with all the snow and ice still sitting on the ground.

February 18, 2007 - Sunday

Today we go up and drove over to get Alex and went....... to the mall!!!! ugh. She needed shoes and stuff so of course waited for the bank to show up! After that we went for lunch and then took her back to campus.

Drove home and got home around 6pm. Long couple of days.

February 17, 2007 - Saturday

Got up early this morning and drove to Lycoming to see Alex play lacrosse! Pictures coming to the picture page under reconstruction. We saw her team have a non-conference game (scrimmage) agains Lockhaven. They are ranked 6'th in the country for DIII Women's lax. All in all they played well and lost by about 5. Alex played a good amount. Almost 1/2 the game. The field is a turf field and was a little green oasis in the sea of white mounds that was plowed off it the day before!

Went out to a Japanese restaurant (Michael's favorite) tonight. The one where they cook it all before you with flames and knives flying! It was the 5 of us and Alex's boyfriend too (hmph). :)

February 9 to 16

February 16, 2007 - Friday

No School. Bunch of wimps here in MD. Went to my meeting. It went very well. Then I drove over to Blacksburg, VA (Virginia Tech) and picked up the dog. I visited with Chirs's brother John and his wife Kelly (vet) for a while at her clinic. Got the dog ready to go and decided she could ride on the floor in the front. 15 mins later no deal. Had to sit on the seat next to me. Ok... 5 mins later lots of panting and drooling and then she starts to throw up!!! I knock her off the leather seats onto the floor and she finishes up. 2 mins later off ramp and she's in the back in her crate.

Got home around 5:45.

6:00 I turn around and head out for round 2 of our pool tournament in Baltimore. Got there around 6:50. I played 1'st agains someone who was 2 skill levels above me. I lost but was only 1 game away. Then we had 2 others lose as well and were sent packing! Oh well we all had a great time and it was an experience.

February 15, 2007 - Thursday

No School. This afternoon I drove to Martinsville, VA for a meeting that I am having on Friday. It was a 5 hour drive but I took my time and enjoyed the quiet tranquility of riding along down I-81. The boys were home for a few hours alone but that's not a problem. I think Chris took them out to dinner when she came home.

February 14, 2007 - Wednesday

SNOW STORM!!! Ice too. Schools closed. About 3 inches of ice on the ground. Working from home parent's worst nightmare. Chris stayed home and it was very nice and pretty outside at least. The boys were outside all day sledding and snow boarding in the back yard. So was the whole neighborhood.

Febrary 12, 2007 - Monday

Today dinner was provided to us by Sally from COMSTAR. A wonderful pot roast!!! Just what I needed for the ole diet! We gobbled it up that's for sure. Diet update 2 weeks = 13 lbs loss. I'm sure I'll find them somewhere. We're getting ready for a "big" winter storm coming in this week. We'll see! Nothing like what my sister is facing in upstate NY though. I know now why I left the great white north.

Sad day for the dog today. I took her to Chris's brother and he was driving her down to Dr. Kelly in Blacksburg to get fixed. Not that she was broken. Sort of like taking the car in for a 20,000 mile overhaul. Spay, shots, bath, haircut, etc. I'm going down that way on Friday for a meeting and will pick her up. We miss her .

February 10, 2007 - Friday

I play in a pool league on Monday nights and last fall we won the chance to go to Baltimore for a very large MD tournament. Hundreds of teams. Well we went tonight and WON our match!! This of course gives us the chance to come back to beautiful Dundalk, MD on Friday night to play round 2. If you win 4 or 5 rounds you get to go to Las Vegas!!! Keep your fingers crossed.

February 9, 2007 - Friday

Chris was feeling pretty well all day today. She did have a reaction to the chemo again though. Nothing major but the last 2 times she has turned a pink color. Sort of like she is flushed. She took some benadryl when she got home and that helped out some but made her sleepy.

The boys wanted to go skiiing (again). Chris decided that she felt good enough so we went up to ski liberty and dropped them off around 7pm. She and I drove around for a little while then went to a very nice restaurant in Emmitsburg, MD call The Carriage House. We had Alex's graduation dinner there last year. The food is wonderful and its a very nice atmosphere. I strayed a little off the diet but not too bad. I really recommend this place to anyone looking for something new. About 30 mins from Frederick.

After dinner we went back and walked around the ski resort for awhile until the boys showed up a little before 10. Drove them home and right to bed for Chris and the boys. I was up till the wee hours....

TREATMENT DAY-A DAY IN THE LIFE.

I thought I would keep a more detailed journal of our trip to John's Hopkins. They do a great job there and the facilities are wonderful. It's just a long day. After reading this you'll know why I'm a little jumpy some days. I've also included some cell phone pictures as well.

7:00am Chris awakens and goes down with the dog and makes lunches for the boys.
7:15am Charlie and the boys get up.
7:40am Charlie packs up the car with snowboarding equipment for the boys and neighbors as tonight is also Ski Club night. Everything is packed the night before using a check list on the fridge.
8:00am Charlie and the boys leave for middle school.
8:20am Arrive middle school, open back of the car and hear Michael say "hay where's my boots?" Immediately followed by Charlie's response "I don't know, they're not MY boots"
8:22am After looking through everything in the car we take everything in the school to the storage area. Tell Michael good luck with the snowboarding as I have no intention of coming back to the schoold as we need to leave by 9:30 to get Chris to Hopkins for treatment.
8:30am Stop at Starbucks for coffee and calm nerves.
8:35am Call Chris - No answer (in shower)
8:40am Drop off package at post office.
8:45am Call Chris - Tell her the dilema. Tell her my feelings about it. She feels otherwise.
9:00am Arrive home. See Boots sitting in the middle of the garage stairs!!!!!! Packup for hospital.
9:15am Leave for School (again)!!!!
9:30am Arrive at school, wait for Chris to take boots in. Secretary calls Michael out of class. He's relieved it's not me and that it's mom holding the boots!
9:40am Leave for Hopkins
9:45am Stop at Starbucks (again).
9:55am Back on the highway to Hopkins.
10:45am Drop Chris off at the main entrance to Hopkins. I go and park the car in the bowels of the parking garage.
11:00am Come up to the waiting room and find 2 seats together. Chris is in a room getting her port accessed and having blood drawn for analysis.
12:00pm Nurse tells us she's looking for the lab results.
12:40pm Nurse tells us labs are good, waiting for final results whatever that means. Translation = "gotta eat lunch first before you come back"
1:29pm "Come on down, you're the next contestent...." We're in and they order the chemo.
1:30pm Go to the treatment area and select a comfy location in a daybed by the window. Chris sleeps for a whileafter the Demerol and Benadryl kicks in. I look attentive!
1:40pm Pre-meds start flowing.
1:55pm Chris dozes off, Charlie starts working on today's journal.
2:10pm Chemo arrives.
2:11pm Nurse realizes the IV tubing is clear and not the required orange color for chemo. Replaces all the tubing!
2:20pm Chemo (taxol) starts to flow. 3 hours to go for this one.
2:30pm Chris dozes off
2:32pm Charlie trys to sneak out for awhile. Kicks bed wakes up Chris! Doh!!! Sits back down.
2:35pm Chris eats her bagged lunch she brought. Charlie watches hungrely!
2:39pm Chris reads her book and snacks on an apple.
2:40pm Charlie leaves in search of food that satisfies his Adkins Diet! Been doing really well so far but really miss things like, bread, pasta, sugar. My primary food groups!!!! Maybe there's a butcher on the corner and I can get some raw MEAT!
3:00pm Love that Chicken at Popeyes!!!!! Only 3 to 5 carbs per piece! There is a Popeyes around the corner from the hospital. I went for a brief walk and saw it and ran over. I picked off the yummy coating and only ate the chicken..... NOT!
3:15pm Called my Mom in Indiana,she was happy to hear from me.
3:30pm Found an internet terminal in the hospital and checked my email accounts. All is well there.
3:45pm Called our neighbor Ray to ask if he would let Chloe out for awhile. He was just getting out of the car and walked right over. I could hear the dog jumping and peeing all over the place!!! She loves Ray. Ray said he would pick up the boys from ski club tonight too. Can't begin to tell everyone how much the little things help us out the most! Thanks Ray.
4:00pm Came back to find Chrissy sleeping soundly. Sat for awhile and read my magazines. Checked the Taxol bag. Still looks about 1/3 full. When that is done there is another bag of chemo (different stuff called carboplatin) that gets put in as well. It's going to be a long day.
4:15pm Went out to the lobby for a walk Chris still snoozing.
5:00pm Came back in to see Chris awake and reading her book. Taxol has about 30 mins left... Then comes the carboplatin.
5:15pm One of the many visits by the oncology nurse. Double checks to make sure that Chris has all of her drugs needed for the coming few days. Let's see... anti-nausea pills, anzamet (1 per day for 3 days), decadron (steroid with each anzamet pill), and a lovely shot of delivered to the house by the UPS guy!!! It's a syringe that needs to be kept cold. The insurance company sends it to us and that way we don't have to go back to Baltimore the next day for it. I then get to give it to her! Scary thought I know. 1 small little vial is about $3,000. And here I am trying to read the directions on how to get the stupid cap off it!!!
5:30pm Finally started the carboplatin! About 45 mins left. Chris is reading, I'm reading or typing or watching the drips fall...
6:05pm Finally the carboplatin stops dripping. I pack up and go down to the bowels again to get the car and pick up Chris out front.
6:15pm On the road again....
6:45pm Traffic jam getting out of Baltimore City! Take right turn and start driving north around the problem. Thank goodness for the navigation system.
7:30pm Finally arrive home and immediately take the dog out.
7:45pm Make dinner.
8:15pm Eat dinner
8:30pm Finally sit and watch the news and relax for awhile.
9:00pm Chris does some laundry and I go downstairs to catch up on some emails.
10:00pm Back upstairs and Chris is nodding off in the chair.
10:30pm Convince Chris to go upstairs to be.
10:45pm Boys arrive home.
11:00pm Boys go to bed and Charlie sits back down to watch the news.
11:30pm Back downstairs to work on some things and this daily log.
12:15am Back on the couch to watch some TV.
12:45am (Guess) Charlie dozes off on the couch.
2:30am Finally get up and go to bed....

Well it's the Monday after Superbowl Sunday. We attended a gathering at some friends that live a little south of Annapolis for the game. It was nice to see everyone as the weather is now getting bitterly cold and it seems like we get cooped up inside way to much.

The boys had a 7:00 AM indoor lacrosse game on Sunday too. We left early and Chris was still sleeping. We took Michael to Sunday School after the game and then Ty and I came home. Chris was still relaxing. In fact she relaxed until about 11:00! It was great seeing her just reading and taking it easy. Sometimes we all need it, but she certainly deserves the time anytime she wants!

This week is treatment week. Thursday will be her last day for this round. Let's all keep our fingers crossed.

Saturday I was working in the basement on a project (cabinets) and the boys were out doing their thing in the neighborhood, so Chris took the afternoon and went shopping. I think that she really enjoys the unhurried time she gets when going by herself. She was able to find some nice things for her upcoming annual company party which is in a couple of weeks.

January 1 to 30 POSTS

January 30, 2007 - Tuesday

Nice slow week for once!!! The boys went skiing again last Thursday and Chris and I took advantage to go out to a really nice restuarant not far from our house called Mealey's. It's in the town that we moved up to about 15 years ago. Check it out here. The weather was really cold outside and the fireplace was on making it very cozy.

We spent Sunday taking the boys to various places in Baltimore looking for some new lacrosse equipment. The season starts in a few weeks and we didn't want to wait too long.

Alex is doing well at school and has called often to keep us updated. Practice is going well, although it is a tad bit chilly out there!!!

Dinner was provided to us yesterday by Michelle who works for Chris. And last week Vicki who also works with Chris made us a wonderful meal as well.

We are enjoying this week as next week is treatment week. Long day on Thursday but I tell you we now have the routine worked out and to be honest it doesn't really bother us. We know that we must do whatever it takes, and that includes not only Dr's, tests, medicine and treatments, but also waiting and driving. It's nice because we are spending time together.

January 23, 2007 - Tuesday

Well the boys had today and yesterday off from school. Tyler went skiing to day with some friends and Chrissy's dad came over and took Michael out this afternoon. They like hanging out together!

I took Tyler and a friend skiing on Sunday. Chris stayed home with Michael who was nursing a badly bruised leg from Saturday's indoor lacrosse game. We all went to the game and then went out for burgers and fries at 5-Guys! The boys love it.

This Thursday is Ski Club Night again. Last Thursday was the 1'st week. Tyler and Michael both went and had a good time. It's finally cold enough for the resort to make snow. www.skiliberty.com is where they go. They have some cool webcams too.

Dr. Emens office called yesterday and made some changes to the coming months visits. Next week Chris will have treatment on Thursday. Then we wait another couple of weeks and then she has a CT scan, bloodwork, and a bone scan on March 7. We meet with the Dr.around 1pm to discuss the results and to see where we head next. There is a good chance Chris can make the clinical trial and the bone scan has something to do with that. She had one awhile back when she was first diagnosed so I'm sure the results need to be updated.

Thanks to Rachael lasweek for making dinner for us. Thai Basil Chicken, very yummy and the boys loved it! Tonight Chris is bringing home dinner from Vicki at COMSTAR.

Things are going well. veryone is sort of in a routine and that makes a huge difference. Wish us luck in our upcoming treatment and tests, we are really looking forward to some more good results.

I am sorry for not updating the website as often as I would like. It has been busy around here and I'm now very involved in the boys lacrosse club. I'm actually maintaining their website too and that's taking up some time www.spireslacrosse.com.

I'll do my best to keep you all posted. Thanks to all of you for your prayers.

January 19, 2007 - Friday

Everything is pretty normal around here. Chris is feeling pretty well. The boys went skiing last night with the middle school ski club, so we were without kids last night! Our good friends Ray and Cheryl who live across the street from us also had the night off as their kids were on the trip as well. We all went out to dinner to our favorite restaurant in Frederick, LaPaz. Some of you know it well, others do not. There's a link somewhere in this about it.

As you can see I've made a little change to the website. I hope it's easier to get around. I welcome any and all comments. You can email me or just Sign the Guestbook! We really enjoy seeing entries in there.

January 17, 2007 - Wednesday

Today was the day we met with Dr. Emens. It was a late morning visit so we were not rushed to get there. In fact we go to Baltimore about 45 minutes early and went to Fells Point and found a nice little coffee shop to have some breakfast. The weather has finally turned to winter here and it was cold that morning but the coffee shop was just right!

We arrived and waited a little while and then saw the Dr. We first talked about her exciting trip to the top of the mountain on her trip to Ecuador. She made it to the top and said the trip was very successful. Here's the link again to see new pictures of the team.

Dr. Emens went over lots of things and asked Chrissy how she was feeling. All-in-all things are going pretty well. Chris looks really good and is feeling pretty well. She has a CT scan scheduled for Feb 7'th and a chemo treatment the day after that. The CT will show how much the liver tumors have reduced in size. Reduction is a good thing. We are all very optimistic about the upcoming scan. The last one in November showed promising results.

January 12, 2007 - Friday

Well yesterday was another very long day. It seems that no matter what time we go to John's Hopkins for treatment it ends up taking all day. We left home at 6:45 yesterday morning and got back at 5. Arrived at 7:50 waited 30 minutes for blood to be drawn from Chris's port. This is much easier with a port than having to get an IV each time! Then it took about 1.5 hours for the labs to come back. The labs showed that all her blood counts were good for treatment. Her Red counts however were trending lower. We have drugs left from the summer that the nurse said to use this time. After the counts came back they ordered the chemo. That takes about 1 hour for the drugs to come. The can't do it before in case her counts are too low. The chemo is mixed just for her.

So we went in around 11 or so. She was able to get one of the daybeds that are right next to the windows. Small little cubby with a curtain. They started the line and gave her something that makes her very sleepy. She was out almost immediately. I left and went down to a coffee shop in Fells Point that had internet access. I was able to check in on things and relax. I got back around 2pm and she was still out!!!

We left around 4 pm. When we got home Chris's parents were at the house with the boys. They had started dinner already. It was nice to have them there when we got home. They stayed for awhile and chatted some. Chris finally went to bed around 11.

She got up this morning and went right to work. She's feeling a little tired, mainly from the low RBCs. That should hopefully bounce back after her injection! I get to play Dr. and give her 2 shots this weekend!

Stay tuned!!!!

January 10, 2007 - Wednesday

Chris has treatment tomorrow so to get prepared for it she helped Michael with getting in project completed that is due tomorrow!!!! It was a timeline of his life with pictures and all that. Anyway it's done and we're waiting for the next one!

Gita from COMSTAR made us dinner tonight. It was Indian flair. At first the boys gave the typical response, but then they tried it and gobbled it up like they were on Survivor!!! Thanks Gita for helping out. Perfect timing the night before treatment too!

January 8, 2007 - Monday

This past weekend was nice. Quiet and somewhat back to normal. Alex left to go back to Lycoming on Sunday morning. She was riding back with a friend from there so we did not have to take her back. When she got there she went right to the bookstore to get her books for this semester. Classes started today for her!

Tyler and Michael had an indoor lacrosse game on Sunday and aside from that we kept a low profile all weekend. Chris and I had coffee Saturday morning at our favorite place in downtown Frederick.

The weather her has been crazy!!! 73 degrees one day! The cherry tree in the back yard is in bloom already and other flowers are budding. Chris worked in the back yard Saturday cutting down some things from her flower beds. She really enjoys that and it was a beautiful day.

Chris has treatment early this Thursday. She's been feeling great and looking great! Her hair is trying to make a start at coming back in! It's tough, because she still has treatments going on so that tends to know it back down.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH to everyone who has signed up to make meals for us! They come in very helpful to us especially during the weeks that Chris has treatment. Lisa at COMSTAR has done a wonderful job at scheduling these for us. If you want to signup click the link at the left and she will give you some dates to choose from.

*** Oh yeah, if you haven't noticed yet I added a guest book to the website. Nothing fancy, just a place where you can post a message to Chris that can be viewed by everyone. There's a link on the top left of this page and one on the main page. Click here to try it out!!!

January 3, 2007 - Wednesday

Well things are finally back to "normal" around here. The boys are back in school, Chris is at work, Alex is working and it's just me and Chloe working from home!!!

We had a very nice holiday and spent time with many friends and family. We went out near Annapolis to spend New Years Eve with our good friends that live out there. We didn't get home until late and it took a day or 2 to catch up on our sleep.

Alex had her boyfriend from college come over for a few days too. He got introduced to everyone and had a good time.

The Christmas decorations are down and next week will be another treatment week for Chris. She is doing well and very optimistic about the new year. She spoke with the nurse that oversees Dr. Emens clinical trial last week. After Chris finishes up with treatment in February she may be eligible for the clinical trial that is being done there. It's very exciting work and Chris is anxious to give it a try. You can read about the trial and about Dr. Emens by clicking here.

We also found out on the same day about a group of people that are climbing a mountaing in Ecuador and raising money for Dr. Emens research!!! It is a group called Climb for Hope! Read about them here or click the logo.

They were featured on the local news too: Channel 13 Baltimore

Chris later found out that Dr. Emens herself was going on the trip to climb! We a meeting set up with her on the 17'th so we should hear all about it then.