Friday, July 21, 2006

A SMALL DELAY

We are back from the clinic! I can't believe it -- very but relieved. Johnny's counts actually went up a little from Wednesday -- another surprise -- and they went up without any cause for alarm. Sometimes counts go up before they plummet, due to infection.

When I called the clinic at 12:30, they told me I could give him some tylenol, so I did. When we left at 5:30, still no temp. Tonight, no temp. Usually Johnny spikes temps in the evening and early morning. They did a blood culture (standard procedure), and asked us to stay in town until Sunday to make sure that nothing comes up. No problem! Again, we were able to go home because Johnny wanted his port taken out ASAFP, the nurses hate it because it means they actually have to stick him (he could care less), but we LOVE it because of moments like this. Kids with ports or central lines always get admitted for fever.

Johnny slept on the way home and most of the evening. I checked his temp hourly, -- he was sweating, but cool to the touch so I think he broke his fever!

So here's the schedule: Mike, Joey and Anne leave for SoCal early Sunday morning, Johnny, Sophie and I leave on SWA (thanks Kathleen!) at 7:15am Monday. Wayne is taking us to the airport, and Marci is staying with the doodles while we are gone. Mail has been stopped. I think that's about it -- now all I have to do is make sure I pack toothbrushes and enough underwear for everyone. Ahaaa what the heck, it's California, we can all go commando if we have to. Let's face it, kids never brush their teeth no matter how much you nag, so I guess I'm packed! WOO HOO!

I will try and update while we are gone!

NO SoCal YET...

Tomorrow we are scheduled to fly out to see PoPo in CA. We have tickets for Disneyland, the XGames, and the US Open of Surfing.

It's all on hold -- for now. I took Johnny for chemo on Wednesday, and this morning he has a fever. 101.5. bummer, no one is more bummed than Johnny. He feels bad that he is holding us all back (Joey is SO bummed), but most of all he won't be in SoCal tomorrow this time. He's steaming mad.

We are off to the clinic now, I will update more later.:(

Wednesday, July 12, 2006

CLINIC DAY

FISHING WITH POPS



YES, HE ACTUALLY CAUGHT A FISH! I NEVER CAUGHT A FISH BEFORE! After Sophie and Johnny played with it, poked and prodded it, I finally convinced him to throw it back.


He actually did well -- his counts stayed the same as they were last week, which for him is pretty incredible. Today was also the day we find out what will happen while we are on vacation in SoCal. I called and talked to the nurses yesterday to see what I should expect, since we were going to be gone for two weeks -- Robin told me to check with Dr. Dryer during our visit. We both agreed that Dr. Dryer is very liberal, and will put treatment off so a kid can be a kid -- it was looking good. YES!

Johnny would be scheduled for a spinal tap and vincristine on 7/26, right at the beginning of our trip, what I didn't want to happen was for Johnny to get treatment the week before we go (next Wednesday). It just takes him so long to recover. Last night at the dinner table we were all commenting on his bruises and scrapes, when he said "Looks like the old Johnny is back!". I just hoped it would last through our vacation.

Dr. Muscal (one of our favorites) took a look at the protocol, but wasn't sure what Dr. Dryer would say, we would have to wait for her final answer. When Dr. Dryer came in and I gave her the dates we would be gone, she was unaware that it was for TWO weeks, and the look of concern on her face kind of worried me -- she never worries. She said "he absolutely cannot miss chemo, and can't go two weeks without it..." Crap!!! Once I saw her face, I was not about to beg to defer treatment, we even talked about getting treatment in CA. WOW. I was not expecting this.

We finally agreed that we would come back next week for vincristine, and then the Monday we get back for the LP (spinal tap). She seemed pretty adamant that he get the VCR before the trip, and I was okay with it. I wish we could wait, but hopefully the excitement of the vacation will help Johnny with his recovery time. The chemo "effect" usually doesn't hit him until the 3rd day, he lays low for a few days, then slowly gets his wheels back. Dr. Dryer and I talked about what to do if he spikes a fever, and all the things that go along with hospital stays. I know everything will be okay though.

Anyway, that is the scoop. All is well, everyone commented on Johnny's tan, blonde hair and the fact he has hair. They all love his "I'm huge in Japan" shirt. It totally fits him too.

Monday, July 10, 2006

SAYING GOOD-BYE TO AN OLD FRIEND

No matter how hard we tried to have just one shot without Daisy, she always worked her way in...

Watching over the kids

Liz, Sophie and CoCo -- Daisy making sure everyone is safe

Daisy under Mike and Sophie, enjoying a lazy Saturday afternoon at the beach

It's hard to believe that the doodles were smaller than Daisy at one time!

Driving out to CA, summer of 2004

On a good day, -- the early years


Mike and I were hoping that nature would take it's course with Daisy, but eventually, we had to step in and take matters into our own hands. Neither of us have had to put a dog down (we made our parents do the dirty work), and the thought of actually making the drive to do it was overwhelming. But our girl was in BAD shape.

We found Daisy while we were in Phoenix, AZ -- she was at the city pound, it was her first day on "display" and I immediately fell in love with her. I told Mike "LOOK! She has an auroa!", he tried to dismiss it by telling me it was her weird outter coat and just shrugged his shoulders like "If you really want too...". When I was finally able to bring her home, in the car I looked over at her and noticed blood GUSHING from her neck. Turns out, she must have been in a fight at some point, recieved a big bite on her neck that eventually abcessed and when I put a collar on her to take her home, it rubbed and bled like crazy.

I called Mike to discuss whether we fix her (250$+) or return her to the pound at which point they would promptly put her down. We opted to fix her, and of course she was the BEST dog ever, and we became her "parents". Everyone says that pound puppies are the best and we can vouch for that. She was obviously trained, she never jumped on beds or furniture, never barked at the doorbell, never begged at the table, but we fixed all of that real quick. We never really fed her table scraps (except the last year or so), but she quickly came to rule the beds and couches.

I remember when I was pregnant with Joey, Mike and I worried that we couldn't possibly love anything more than we loved Daisy. Of course we found a balance between all of the kids. Although the first 6 months of Joey's life we called him Daisy... With each addition, Daisy fell alittle lower on the food chain -- but she was still our first baby. She treated the kids like they were hers too. Daisy helped Joey crawl by taking her toys just out of his reach. His favorite toy of hers was the "Daily Growl". Once he started crawling and actually getting the toys (and promtly put them in HIS mouth) we put a stop to her toys. If a baby was crying she would run back and forth between us and the baby until we figured it out ("What girl?!?! Timmy is stuck in the well?!?!), she was like their "Nana" from Peter Pan. One time she attacked Wayne when he was playing with the boys. She had no idea what was happening, but she didn't like it one bit. It caught everyone off gaurd -- most of all Wayne -- she bit him on the top of his head and drew blood!

When Mike's dad lost his dog Missy Lou, we talked about giving him Daisy -- she was trained, well behaved and low-key. We took her everywhere with us, even out to CA on our annual summer vacations. On this particular trip we thought it could be the time to give her to Mike's dad. Joey told PoPo: "PoPo you can have any dog in the world -- except mine...". Joey truly loved her. We all did.

The past few years she aged pretty quickly. For a long time when people asked her age it seemed like we said "10-13 years, we're not exactly sure", then a vet told me "13-15 years... is closer". I think we knew she was getting older, and that's why I wanted to get the doodles. They actually seemed to make her younger for awhile, then she really aged quickly. Her mind started going, her bones didn't work like they should, and she was in alot of pain. But still, Mike and I were hoping for nature to take it's course. Last week she was very sick, couldn't hold food down and even though her mind wasn't there anymore, seemed miserable. It was time.

I know it seems morbid, but before you get an animal you list the pros and cons, and inevitably in the 'cons' collum is having to put them down. I didn't think I could do it. As Mike and I made the drive to the vet (the kids stayed with some friends across the street -- the Kumpas'), we tried to take our mind off of what was about to happen and talked randomly about whatever came to mind. I thought to myself, "I can do this...". Then we got to the vets office, walked in, and when they asked if they can help me, I lost it. At that point, they knew who I was, didn't ask any questions and put us in a room. We talked with the vet who was extremely compassionate towards us, and took Daisy's vitals. She was dehydrated, temp was normal, but she dropped 4 pounds since her last visit in December. She was 19 pounds -- the exact same weight she was when I picked her up from the pound 13 years ago. She normally shakes like a leaf at the vet or groomers, today -- calm as a cucumber. The whole process took about 45 minutes, from the time the vet checked her vitals until we left. Once the vet put the IV in her and gave her the overdose of anestheic, it took less than 30 seconds.

I held her the entire time. It seemed as though when she took her final breath, she was relived of all of her pain -- it wasn't dramatic, but very peacful. I could stroke her back without making her flinch, or hurting her and making her muscles quiver and jump. I was able to see her lay down like a normal dog, I had forgotten what that looked like with Daisy. Someone once told me that when you are with someone when they pass, sometimes you are lucky enough to see their spirit leave. As I enjoyed being able to pet Daisy one last time, I saw her spirit leave, as I inhaled, I felt her spirit fill my lungs, and as I exhaled I felt her leave me with a sigh of relief. We were all quiet, the doctor checked her heartbeat and it was gone. She was out of pain.

Mike and I told the vet about all of Daisy's attributes, and all of her stories. The vet listened with a heavy heart and tears in her eyes. At the end of each story there would be a long pause and the vet would try to make her exit, but then we would start with another story, with the first five or six stories she was very patient with us. Then it was like a Saturday Night Live skit, just as she was about to make a graceful exit, we would start again, she would try to hold back her sigh and force herself from rolling her eyes and politly listen to us go on and on. We finally let her go.

To many people Daisy was just a dog, but to those who knew her, knew she was our first baby. Rest in peace girl.

Thursday, July 06, 2006

BUSY BUT FUN!

We spent the 4th of July on the beach!

4th of July

Clinic visit + chemo...

4th of July

The 4th of July with our friends the Kumpas'


I haven't been ignoring the blog -- I've just been having "user" issues with it...

Time has flown by!

Johnny went to the clinic last week and his ANC dropped significantly down from 2900 to 1800 in one week. His platelets stayed the same as did his HGB. Of course we always worry about infection, but for his counts to be at 1800 is still amazing for him. I think we are doing clinic visits every two weeks now! We haven't done that since January -- WOO HOO!

Anne had to go home last Friday -- she went with her stepmom to Hawaii (bummer, huh?). We had a great time with her here and invited her to SoCal with us in a few weeks. She has some stuff scheduled already, but I told her if anything falls through she is always welcome to come along with us. Sophie and I are flying, Mike and the boys are driving (sucka's!), even if Anne decides to go with us at the last minute, there is always room for one more. The boys are driving the Green Machine and Mike will try and fill up in Houston to see if he can make it all the way to CA without filling up again. Believe it or not, once you get past El Paso, you are HALF WAY to the O.C..

Last weekend was busy for us. Mike's dad came in town for Nana's 92 birthday. We were in Houston from Friday until Monday, each day the kids woke up they asked "Are we going back home today?". Although we were busy the entire time doing family stuff, ANY time we spent at the house, the kids were bored out of their minds. I have to admit, when we walked back in the house (our first time in a while) it really looked NICE. I would buy it again. But of course it is in North Houston, the middle of suburbia, no land to speak of and DEFINITELY not walking distance to the beach.

My cousin Kate from MI was also in for a quick trip. It was great to see her again, she is so beautiful (I wish I could say she takes after ME), she lights up a room. Kate will be a junior in college this fall -- hard to believe. It seems like she was just graduating from H.S.... The weekend was very busy for us -- busy but fun. We finally came back to G-town Monday night -- just in time for my mom's birthday. We celebrated at my parents beach house down the street from ours. It is so cool to live that close to folks, the kids all rode their scooters and I walked.

I woke up Tuesday morning and took the doodles for a walk on the beach. I thought "How cool is this?! It's 8am, and I am walking on the beach on a Tuesday!" This place, no matter how small the closets are, is totally worth the move! We also have been going to "Tuesday Night Pot-Lucks" with our friends from Ohana. It's so cool. Needless to say we are all enjoying our time here and have no problems adjusting to "Island Time".

On a much sadder note, we got news that my grandma Batten (my dad's mom in MI), has passed away. She was the typical Italian grandmother -- everyone loved her because she was so sweet (and she could cook a mean pot of spaghetti!). Always had a smile on her face and NEVER raised her voice (at her grandkids at least...). I will miss her very much.

My parents have been down here the whole week, I thought once they got the news they would head home. But they didn't and I'm glad -- they will, however, go to MI for services on Monday with heavy hearts. At least they can "semi-enjoy" their time at the beach before their trek to the Great Lake state in a few days. The kids and I stopped by tonight and we decided to go fishing together first thing tomorrow morning. The kids are SO excited! I will let you know if we catch anything.

Johnny's article was in the Houston Chronicle last week and this week in the "Neighborhood Section". You can look it up at: chron.com for the article, but it won't have any photos. I found it puzzling though when you are quoted it really isn't 'exactly' what you said (unless I just don't remember it). Regardless, it's a good article. If you want me to send you a copy, just let me know!

I know we have done a lot more than this, but everything has been a blur -- pretty soon it will be school time again! BOOOO! Johnny's next clinnic visit is Wednesday -- I am going to BEG that we can hold his big treatment (vincristine and spinal tap) until AFTER our SoCal trip. It will be about a week off schedule, but it if we can wait, it will make his trip (and possibly ours) so much better. It has been his history that soon after treatment he ends up in the hospital for 4-5 days. Normally I would be all about keeping on the chemo schedule, but just this once....

I'll keep you posted.