Our little baby girl turned two this past Friday. We had a small party at the house to celebrate. Here are few pictures to enjoy.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Good News
Angela's tumor is stable once again. Her doctor is going to keep her on the same chemo cocktail. As I described how Angela took the news to a friend yesterday, I used words like bitter-sweet and happy-sad. Since our last visit to Duke when we had received bad news, it has been a struggle to get Angela engaged back into "living". Prior to the last visit she was going to physical therapy twice a week. In the last 2 months she has only went once. Please pray this good news will recharge her batteries and motivate her to continue the fight.
Yesterday our visit ran over 4 hours late and we missed our flight. I booked a mid afternoon flight today; and Angela and I took this opportunity to sleep late.
We did have a great time at SeaWorld. Unfortunately Angela just could not muster the energy to go to the park with kids. We would like to express our gratitude and give a REALLY BIG THANKS to my sister (Diane), my niece (Karlie) and John Michael for going with us! Ah the comical stories I could tell about the trip ... right John Michael .... but maybe another time.
Thanks again for all your prayers, support and post.
Yesterday our visit ran over 4 hours late and we missed our flight. I booked a mid afternoon flight today; and Angela and I took this opportunity to sleep late.
We did have a great time at SeaWorld. Unfortunately Angela just could not muster the energy to go to the park with kids. We would like to express our gratitude and give a REALLY BIG THANKS to my sister (Diane), my niece (Karlie) and John Michael for going with us! Ah the comical stories I could tell about the trip ... right John Michael .... but maybe another time.
Thanks again for all your prayers, support and post.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
A FLIGHT TO ORLANDO & A DAY IN SEAWORLD
As I write this, we're coming to the end of a very long day. Yesterday, eight of us-- David, Angela, Alex, Christian, Katherine, (David's sister and niece) Diane and Karlie and I-- took to the friendly skies and headed from New Orleans to Orlando. For Christian and Katherine, it was their first airplane flight and it was Alex's second flight following a trip he took with his parents to San Diego when he was a year old. The flight was great. The eight of us sat in the front two rows of the plane and that was perfect since that as close as you can get to the plane's bathroom.
On Saturday, Diane, Karlie and I took the kids to Seaworld and the weather was flawless-- a high around 80 and not a cloud in the sky. The boys were really excited about seeing killer whales and sharks and Shamu was one of our first stops.
Talk about good seats. Even though the arena was almost completely full by the time we arrived, we were able to get these really great seats up front. Our seats were just about eye-level with the top of the tank, thus allowing us a great view of the whales when they were both under water and when they were flying through the air.
The kids were really loving the show and about 20 minutes into it I began to marvel at just how lucky we had been. Even though our seats were marked "SOAK ZONE", the whales hadn't splashed the first drop of water on us.
It had been so long since my last trip to Seaworld that I didn't even realize that we hadn't already seen Shamu until they announced him and this huge whale appeared. The kids were all mesmerized by this giant mammal zipping across the tank and the next thing we see is a whale out of water followed by a solid wall of water headed right at us.
We got DRENCHED! Two more waves of water soon followed and I couldn't stop laughing. With the kids, it wasn't a laughing matter. The waves of water scared them and all three were crying at once.
Soaked, shivering and tasting salty, I suggested to Diane that we retreat to higher ground. We left the arena with the show still in progress and tried to calm down three very wet children.
From there we caught a few more shows and went to the shark exhibit and the penguin exhibit. While David and Angela rested at the hotel room and watched the LSU-Alabama game, the kids were getting up close and personal with marine life.
After we returned to the hotel, David and Angela went to a nearby Mexican restaurant and the rest of us went swimming at our hotel.
In the morning, David and Angela are taking one plane to Raleigh, Diane and Karlie are taking the kids back to Louisiana on another flight and I'm going to stick around here for a little longer.
On Saturday, Diane, Karlie and I took the kids to Seaworld and the weather was flawless-- a high around 80 and not a cloud in the sky. The boys were really excited about seeing killer whales and sharks and Shamu was one of our first stops.
Talk about good seats. Even though the arena was almost completely full by the time we arrived, we were able to get these really great seats up front. Our seats were just about eye-level with the top of the tank, thus allowing us a great view of the whales when they were both under water and when they were flying through the air.
The kids were really loving the show and about 20 minutes into it I began to marvel at just how lucky we had been. Even though our seats were marked "SOAK ZONE", the whales hadn't splashed the first drop of water on us.
It had been so long since my last trip to Seaworld that I didn't even realize that we hadn't already seen Shamu until they announced him and this huge whale appeared. The kids were all mesmerized by this giant mammal zipping across the tank and the next thing we see is a whale out of water followed by a solid wall of water headed right at us.
We got DRENCHED! Two more waves of water soon followed and I couldn't stop laughing. With the kids, it wasn't a laughing matter. The waves of water scared them and all three were crying at once.
Soaked, shivering and tasting salty, I suggested to Diane that we retreat to higher ground. We left the arena with the show still in progress and tried to calm down three very wet children.
From there we caught a few more shows and went to the shark exhibit and the penguin exhibit. While David and Angela rested at the hotel room and watched the LSU-Alabama game, the kids were getting up close and personal with marine life.
After we returned to the hotel, David and Angela went to a nearby Mexican restaurant and the rest of us went swimming at our hotel.
In the morning, David and Angela are taking one plane to Raleigh, Diane and Karlie are taking the kids back to Louisiana on another flight and I'm going to stick around here for a little longer.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Another Tough Week
The new cocktail with the carboplatin is really taking its toll. She had severe nausea for most of yesterday. Mentally the depression seems to be getting the upper hand. Please continue to pray for us as this is a very difficult time.
Monday, October 13, 2008
Keebo - The Family Pet
This weekend was especially sad for our family. We had to put our dog of nearly 15 years, Keebo, down this past Saturday. Keebo was Angela's first "child". She gave him birthday parties and he rode with her nearly everywhere she went (pre-kids of course). She is taking his loss pretty hard.
In general, things have been very rough since our return from Duke. She has not been tolerating the new chemo cocktail very well. Mentally she has been in a "funk" for lack of a better term. It has been a challenge to get her motivated enough to get out of the house or go to physical therapy.
In general, things have been very rough since our return from Duke. She has not been tolerating the new chemo cocktail very well. Mentally she has been in a "funk" for lack of a better term. It has been a challenge to get her motivated enough to get out of the house or go to physical therapy.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
TREATMENT DAY
Today Angela was "introduced" to her new drugs. She is now receiving a new chemo drug (added to the two she is already taking) and a new nausea pill. Time will tell if the new chemo drug is working but I can tell you that the new nausea medication IS working. She called me today after her treatment and she was having trouble deciding between a cheeseburger from Wendy's or homemade lasagna that we brought her last night. Does that sound like someone not feeling well??? When we last spoke it sounded like the lasagna won...............but I am sure she'll change her mind a few times before she gets home.
She will continue with her treatments every other Wednesday (new chemo once per month). The next MRI is scheduled one month from now with the next visit to Duke in two months. David will post more details at a later date regarding her treatment plan.
Angela seems to be doing well. I am sure that you all can understand that she has been a little down lately BUT she still remains positive and focused on a full recovery.
Please pray for Angela to continue to have the strength to fight the battle.
Thanks for the prayers,
tammy
PS - Angela just called to say that the lasagna was great.......guess she didn't change her mind!
She will continue with her treatments every other Wednesday (new chemo once per month). The next MRI is scheduled one month from now with the next visit to Duke in two months. David will post more details at a later date regarding her treatment plan.
Angela seems to be doing well. I am sure that you all can understand that she has been a little down lately BUT she still remains positive and focused on a full recovery.
Please pray for Angela to continue to have the strength to fight the battle.
Thanks for the prayers,
tammy
PS - Angela just called to say that the lasagna was great.......guess she didn't change her mind!
Monday, September 8, 2008
Setback
I wish I had better news, but the tumor appears to be growing again. Dr. Reardon, her doctor at Duke, is adding another chemo drug to the "cocktail", Carboplatin. We're waiting to board the plane. It will be a long ride home.
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