another week already?

I will apologize in advance for the lack of updates lately and fact that this won't be a terribly long post.

In short, feeling ok. A little fatigue, a little short of breath but generally in good spirits. Every day I learn how to better adapt to my symptoms and how to get back to being a useful human in our society. I read an interesting article in my Heal Magazine. It helped me justify some of my feelings and let me know that others share my concerns, here is an excerpt.

Treatment successes are pushing more patients into the uncertain territory known as chronic cancer

David Lorber calls each day a gift. Diagnosed in 2004 with a slow-growing form of lung cancer, bronchoalveolar carcinoma, the chemotherapy pills that he takes each morning are a daily reminder that his time is likely to be limited.

When John Elliott was diagnosed with the aggressive brain cancer glioblastoma multiforme in 2004, he was told he had six to eight weeks to live. Now, almost four years later and after a lengthy regimen of medication, Elliott is defying the odds.

Lorber, Elliott and others are learning to grapple with an increasingly common reality, that the cancer experience doesn’t have to be an either/or situation — that either a person is “cured” or the illness is clearly terminal. Rather, the reality of cancer can be an ongoing circumstance — and one often marked for individuals by a weighty uncertainty about how long they can survive with the disease. ...

In short - this gets back to just accepting the things around as they are. Living your life rather than being in a perpetual state of fighting for it and treating rather than curing.

Moving on.

Here is a list of notes from the weekend.

• I finally finished Maris' dresser. So far my only complaint is the moth ball scent. We ordered some drawer liners that we hope will lessen the scent.
• I built a new jungle gym for the kiddos in the yard using our Quadro toys.
• I finally got the stereo installed in Edith. She is appropriately bumping and all is right with the world. The installers did a great job at a fair price. I am delighted.
• I set up an old LCD projector in our backyard and Eli, Kristin and I watched Cars under the moonlight. With drive-ins disappearing - this was a great way to enjoy the outdoors and a movie. Admittedly - Eli cared less about the movie and more about the 'potcorn'.
• My mom and dad are back from Paris for Michael's wedding. I have only seen preliminary pictures, but it looked like an amazing event and I couldn't be happier for Michael and Irene.

I better get moving - lunch is almost over.

Dresser: UPDATE

I think I mentioned that Kris and I found a cool, old Mid-Century modern bedroom set last week. Well, I spent most of last night updating it to Millenium-Modern and you can check it out...right...here...right...now!



If you're curious what it looked like before, you can see the unfinished taller version in the background of the picture. I stripped the old veneer off, veneered the drawer fronts with maple and painted the entire cabinet with a zero VOC organic paint (nothing too good for my daughter).There is still some work to do, but I'm really happy with the way it has turned out.

Coming soon: a pair of big girl beds.

I sure take a lot for granted.

Check out this guy...

So so.

Just got back from outpatient radiology at Methodist for a chest x-ray.

Been feeling ok, but still some shortness of breath so the nurse practioner wanted to take a closer look and make sure the Gleevec wasn't causing me to retain water in my lung and heart cavity. I'm guessing I won't hear anything for a day or two, but will keep you all posted.

I'll wear my Clarian ID bracelet around the office for the rest of the day so I can extend the sympathy a little longer.

We got my mom and dad off to Paris yesterday. I think they were to arrive around 2am Indy time and Mike was going to pick them up at the airport. He called yesterday a little nervous that the three people and all the suitcases wouldn't fit in his A3.

Since my parents are gone - we are in charge of their most prize possession...Macy. She is a great house guest and seldom leaves her bed aside from chow time and the occasional pee break. It's obvious she misses my mom and dad, but we try to include her in family time so she doesn't get too lonely.

On the home front, Kris and I found a cool mid-century dresser set for Maris' room. It had pretty good bones, but needed some updating. Yesterday, I stripped all the old sealer off and veneered the drawer fronts with maple. It still needs paint and some poly, but we hope to have it in her room later this week.



Onward and upward.

i hope somebody else saw this...

eh.

Feeling pretty mediocre lately. Not horrible, just eh.

I'm just going to assume its my medicine mixed with anxiety and move forward.

The good news is...we were finally able to take a family trip in Edith. I don't have the pictures with me, but will get some posted later today. Kris and I loaded the kiddos into the new car seats and we hit the road for about a half hour on Saturday night. The car seats took some searching since booster seats for kids Eli's size rely heavily on the shoulder belt...something that doesn't exist in most cars pre-1980. We finally found a nice seat that Maris can use after Eli out grows it (he's got another 20 lbs to go). Eli and Maris were donning their pajamas and sunglasses for the event and it was a nice way to wrap up Kristin's birthday.

Also this weekend, Eli and I set up camp in the basement for two fun filled nights of sleeping in the tent and roughing it. I managed to find a nature CD online so that we could fall asleep to the sounds of the forest. Admittedly - the owls were a little creepy, but it helped it feel more authentic than sleeping in our backyard where the only nature you hear is some vagrant pissing on my fence.

My mom & dad are officially transitioning to Indy tomorrow. Their house is now empty and the POD will be picked up this afternoon some time. I believe their closing is Tuesday around 11 and they will hit the road to Indy shortly thereafter. Our entire family is really looking forward to having them here not just in the near term but for years to come.

Better get off to work.

Sweet Edith.

Recent addition - Heater core, $260.

Here's another item of interest. Edith gets about 8 miles per gallon in the city. Even though the gas gauge now moves, it really doesn't indicate how much fuel is in the tank. I was filling her up tonight and was getting a little worried that I was filling up the trunk and back seat with gas as the pump turned past 12 gallons.

Sadly, I'm sure she'll have more repairs in the coming months...lets just hope they're small ones.

Mortality and Perception.

It doesn't take much to remind me how lucky I am. Great family, great wife/kids, great coworkers/job and frankly - a pretty great diagnosis if you have to get cancer.

I follow a couple cancer blogs and some are more positive than others. One of the more sad ones, is about a young woman and her fight with Lymphoma. Its an essay she wrote for Glamour Magazine that I invite you all to read here.

Its wonderfully written and can really open your eyes to how to stay positive in light of so many bad things in our lives. I promise, you will at least crack a smile when you read it.

This just in...

Whities - 3,900
ANC - 2,000
Platelets - 150,000
Hematacrit - 42.7
Hgb - 15
RBC - 4.8 (million)

In short, this is great news. These counts are low for normal folk, but up a bit for my new normal. I won't go back for another CBC (complete blood count) until June and a couple weeks after that I'll get my PCR-ABL protein test where they do a blood smear and try to quantify how many Leukemic cells are in my system. A couple weeks ago I checked in with Dr. Dugan and he had a pretty awesome quote about cancer. What he said was:

"In cancer care, we know we can beat the cancer - we just have to wait until science catches up"

I thought it was a pretty decent way to describe it. Needless to say, I am fortunate in that much of science has already caught up with my form of Leukemia.

Back in the real world, Kristin's brother Tom just left after a weekend visit. It was a pleasant trip and nice because Tom is just about as nerdy as I am. We were able to play video games, talk shop and just enjoy the city. The weather was solid so we were able to take a couple cruises in Edith too.

Speaking of poor Edith - looks like she's going to need a little more love this week. I was able to get the exhaust installed last week but now I'm seeing a leak in what I think is the heater core. I'm going to get that repaired this week and probably have the water pump done at the same time since the radiator will be empty for the core repair.

Kris and I voted today and I'm hopeful that Obama will get a win in Indiana. In reality, I'm expecting a 8 point loss based on the state's demographic and a lot of Clinton pandering to rural voters. We will see.

Kris and I will have an primary party tonight after the kids are in bed with some wings, nachos and beverages.

GObama 08.

The Money Pit.

Not really, but why didn't someone tell me that owning a classic car is similar to burning $20 bills. Since purchasing the car, I have:

1. Had the entire suspension rebuilt - $1,600
2. New exhaust - $350
3. New floor pans - $400
4. Audio system - $500 (installed)
5. Random parts - $400
6. Parts yet to be purchased $500 (carpet, panels, etc)
7. Body work yet to be completed - $2,000 (my estimate for work and new paint)
8. RustCheck protectant $200.

It's a pretty exhaustive list, but at the end of the day - the car sure does make me happy. I hope to order a car seat for Eli this week so the entire family can cruise.

I got the exhaust done at Ralph's Muffler on W. 16th St. The work was done pretty well and for a decent price, but I would have paid more just because of their signage. Lookie here:



If you're wondering, his name is Mr. Bendo.

I am going to try and get some quality time with Edith this weekend to get the glove box put back in and wrap up a few loose ends on the interior. Admittedly, after purchasing one classic car - you kinda get an itch to have another. Maybe a 1940s pickup this time...