Well here it is, the eve of a new year and what a year this has been! I thought it was time to give an update as it has been a while since my last communication and I wanted to bring everyone up to speed on the treatment process, the future and to let you all know how we are doing.
During the past several weeks, I have undergone three rounds of stereotactic surgery (three weeks back to back) to treat the brain lesions. The treatments were not that bad (great team headed by Dr. Woo and staff: Cheryl, Patrick, Nancy and Joyce - can’t compliment them enough – GOOD PEOPLE!) It was the set up and time that it took to do the treatments that were the hardest part. Set up included bolting a halo to my skull and after the first round, Nicola decided to take pictures! Gareth has since renamed me “Lord Vader” as I looked like Vader before they put the helmet on him. Several weeks following the first treatment, I started to feel some of the side effects: the sleepiness, shakiness, etc., but not too much nausea or anything else, so all in all it wasn’t that bad.
Right before the holidays started, I also had a pet scan, which unfortunately revealed that we had some disease progression in the body. This was quite a shock to both Nicola and I and we took the news very hard. Nicola wasn’t in any condition to drive us back home so our close friend, Scott Schneider, was working downtown and caught a cab over to Anderson and drove us home. It was really comforting for both of us to have Scott with us, as we were able to recoup on the drive home. We walked into a house that smelt absolutely wonderful as Margie (Scott’s wife and our dear friend) had made a pot roast that was delicious. Margie is a queen at making a meal last forever, as it was reincarnated into many more dishes that week which were just as good.
It was equally as shocking to our doctor who reviewed the MRI’s from Sept. 17th when there was no disease present whatsoever. So this proves to be one more small challenge that I am currently being treated for with monthly intravenous chemotherapy, which I also started the first round the week before Christmas. The chemo was tolerable, made me a little sleepy, but we had the right medications on board, so it seems like it is going to be manageable. Thank you so much to John Baxendale for taking me for the last treatment. He offered to get up at 4:30am and drove me down there. It was nice having him there although I slept through most of the therapy, but it gave Nicola a much needed break.
The good side to all this (since we are always trying to find a bright spot) is that with this disease progression, it may make me eligible for a new drug being studied. We have been in contact with a very nice doctor in Florida and are currently working out details to make a trip down to meet with him. But all in all, I’m still in relatively good health, even though the treatments that I have undergone have left me very tired during the day, so I do battle that. It seems as though the evenings are good so far.
Next week I go back to work and am looking forward to interacting with my colleagues and customers and getting back out into the real world. Albeit, I’m still being chauffeured by Nicola, so she has to go back out into the real world with me! I’m currently working on a top 10 list of why it stinks being driven around by my wife that I will post later. The good news is, I have already spoken with the doctors, and on March 9th, I will be back behind the wheel. FREEDOM!
Now I will give you a family update. We had a great Christmas! It really has been, with all that has gone on, a great holiday season for us. We have received lots of cards and phone calls from friends, family, coworkers, that has meant a lot to us. Right before Christmas, Nicola’s parents, Gareth and Pam, Maggie and Randy, Nanna and us took all the kids to see a Pantomime. I guess the best way to describe a Pantomime is that it’s a play they do in England around Christmas every year. It’s usually based on a fairy tale. This one was Cinderella. It is interactive between actors and audience. You boo and hiss the villain, and you cheer for the good guys. The kids absolutely loved it, as did the adults. They screamed and hollered, and it was a lot of fun. The following day, Emma performed with her Rangerettes drill team at the Reliant Center during the NCAA LSU vs. A&M basketball half time show. Nicola went up with the girls, I wasn’t able to make it, but they were supposed to televise it. They ended up showing the game before it instead, so I wasn’t able to see it, but Nicola said the performance was spectacular! We also took the kids ice skating in the Woodlands. Ethan and I went with Gareth and Jake to see a Monster Truck show in Conroe (I think the same people that were at my birthday party were at this show!) Nicola and I have had a chance to go out and see a movie – Four Christmases, which was really good. We totally enjoyed it – a real date!
Christmas Eve I made a batch of traditional Christmas Eve chili. Emma made cornbread and Jess made rice. We went to 6pm mass at Church, which was a very nice service. We came home with Jan, Tony and Beryl (Nicola’s grandmother – 92 and going strong!). We had chili and cocktails – except for me! Ethan kept an eye out for Rudolph. It was a really nice evening as we were able to eat outside in the outdoor kitchen. I received an early Christmas present from Nicola of a new outdoor heater (bought, put together and delivered, by our great neighbors, Jimmy and Valarie Durham) which came in very handy. We do chili every year, as it is our Texas tradition as Christmas day is always done English style. Everyone left around 9pm and Nicola, the kids and I went outside with Egg Nog and to read “T’was The Night Before Christmas”, which we do every year. It was nice this year, because with the outdoor kitchen finished, we could sit by the fireplace.
Santa came as scheduled and delivered pillow cases full of toys and stuff at the end of the kids beds. No reports of any sightings, so obviously Santa was very stealth this year. And, surprisingly, the kids didn’t wake up until 7am, so we got to sleep in. We all went upstairs to the game room and the kids opened all their Santa gifts. After opening the gifts, they played and Nicola and I went down to open our Santa gifts (yes, Santa delivers to us too J). We had ham and eggs for breakfast – also a tradition, and Nicola started drinking Mimosa’s – apparently another tradition, and then around 11am, Jan, Tony, Nanna (aka Beryl), Gareth, Pam, Jake, Rhiannon, Maggie and Randy (who have now been officially declared family by the head honcho – Tony), arrived and a plethora of adult beverages, snippets and snacks were served while the kids opened all the “under the tree” presents (gifts from each other, not Santa). As typical, it took about an hour to open everything and two hours to clean up. Everyone was completely thrilled and content with all their pressies, even though, Jan didn’t stick to the rules of only buying for the kids. Apparently, we are still classified as “children”! We were scheduled to have lunch at 2pm, and almost made it. My Aunt Wanda, who moved here from New Orleans, joined us for lunch, and I must say the food was fantastic: Roast turkey, sausages, stuffing, chestnut dressing, roast potatoes, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, brussell sprouts, corn, carrots, bread sauce and gravy. Really nice lunch. We all ate too much. Before starting the meal, we always pull crackers. If you don’t know what these are…they are another English tradition. They look like decorative toilet paper rolls and everyone links hands with a cracker between the two of them and then you pull. They pop and if you are the lucky one to get the big end when they break, inside you will find a gift and joke and a paper hat that you must wear through lunch. This year, however, some of the crackers proved to be a little tougher than others and it became a true survival of the fittest to see who could actually pull the thing apart. It was very funny. For dessert, we had mince pies, Christmas pudding, which is like a fruit cake served with warm brandy sauce, and delivered to the table set on fire. For those that eat the pudding, you might find money at the bottom of your bowl (I think this is how the English bribed the kids to eat it, as most of them think it is nasty – but I like it!). We also had Nanna’s triffle – yum. Gareth made his traditional Christmas Yule chocolate log, to which someone made a comment that they were in awe of Gareth’s log – we won’t mention who, but we all had a good laugh about it. And as if this wasn’t enough, we followed up with an assortment of cheeses, which Nicola in her fashion, had printed out country of origin flags and staked each one – go figure! We had some very nice port to go with it. It was at this time, that I pulled out the cancer card and went to take a two hour nap – yeah, no dishes for me (cancer or not, I always disappear and sleep while everyone else cleans up).
Christmas night… all the leftovers are pulled out of the fridge (from an hour ago J), turkey sandwiches are made – usually Nanna’s job, but we let her out of it this year. New round of adult libations were served, and the board games are pulled out. Typically, we would have friends and neighbors over, but this year we decided to scale back just a little bit, and just kept it family (which as noted above, Maggie and Randy are now part of – initiation to follow). We played a new game, called “Articulate”, which is similar to “Password”. We always divide the teams into the smart group vs. the women. The men dominated the first round, and got completely thrashed on the last two. Rematch tonight!
Yesterday, my sister Dori, my mom, niece – Taylor, and nephew Benton, came down from Waco. We got to spend the day together and opened more Christmas presents. Benton and Ethan and I went to our neighbors who are out of town and tried to poach catfish out of their pond with no luck, and all the girls went to the mall and paid a visit to Aunt Wanda who gave them some very beautiful jewelry. Nicola is still mad at me, because she didn’t get to go due to the fact she had to get her car re-inspected (that she just had done a month ago), because I scraped off the inspection sticker by mistake when replacing the registration sticker. So now I guess I have to get Nicola some jewelry too. Taylor, my niece, who also shares my birthday, is staying with us through the New Year and we are very excited to have her.
So, as you may be able to see, we had a very normal, enjoyable and blessed holiday. We appreciate the continued prayers and support. It has helped us get through these last four months. Our faith is still strong and we believe there is hope on the horizon. There are many new options becoming available and we are going to keep fighting this thing.
Oh, one more funny thing to tell….again, this comes from my mother –in – law, Jan, so no surprise to those that know her. We were talking about my medical treatment the other night at their house. She informed everyone that I was on this wonderful new drug called Formaldahide! We all had a great laugh at this. So before any rumors start spreading, they aren’t trying to “pre-pickle” me just yet, and I am not on Formaldihide!
I have learned a lot since September. I have learned about fear, and faith, and just when you think that you are in the most horrible spot you could be in, you see or meet somebody that has it just as bad and that we are not alone in this. Talking to people and reaching out to try to help others that are down, I have found helps me deal with my own issues. It’s never not going to be scary, but with the support that I have been given by my family, and by all of you, I have been able to cope. I have never been one that is good at asking for help but I have learned to appreciate, more than anyone knows, the help that we have been given because there is no way that we would have made it this far without the help and support from everyone. I am looking forward to 2009 and wish all of you a very blessed, safe and happy New Year.
All our love, keep praying, have faith and we will beat this thing together,
David
