Friday Night Saga

Harold & I had Friday Night plans...Finally! I say Finally, because Harold was finally able to do something with me and he wasn't feeling bad. Our plans were to meet up with Wendy and go to Georgia Brown's to listen to Joyner, Young and Marie play. Marie, one of the singers, works with Wendy and she has an awesome voice. I love to listen to their band. Wendy's daughter, Amber, was babysitting the boys for us. So, around 6pm, I ran up to Domino's to pick up pizza for everyone before we headed out for the evening. On my way back home, Harold calls my cell and says "you just missed all the excitement". I thought what excitement? Harold said the fire dept just left our house because Holden swallowed a metal ball. Come to find out, he had two metal balls in his mouth. He coughed one out and the other was stuck. Yup, stuck in his throat! Needless to say, my stomach was in mine by this point. The fire dept canceled the ambulance because Holden was breathing, swallowing, and acting normal. He said he could feel the ball in his throat. I had Harold call Holden's pediatrician to see what to do. Of course, they said, go straight to ER to be sure it's not stuck in his throat.

So, off to the Children's ER. I think we arrived about 6:30pm. They immediately took us back and ordered the X-rays. Thank goodness, the ball was not in his troat. However, it is in his tummy. Doctor said that it would eventually make it's way out. So, we are poop watching for the next week. Oh joy! Believe it or not, we were actually pulling out of the parking garage at 7:25pm. We have never gone to the ER and been discharged in less than an hour. But it does happen!!

Here is a picture of the metal ball. The ball is from the game Mouse Trap. It's much larger than a regular marble and very heavy. When we showed the doctor this ball, she gave us a look like I cannot believe he swallowed that! We scolded Holden, the nurse scolded Holden and the doctor scolded Holden for putting stuff in his mouth. You'd think he would've outgrown this by now.

So, we head back home so that I can take a quick shower and we can try this "date night" again. We arrived at the restaurant about 8:30pm. And we had a BLAST!! Marie and her band sing everything from the Beatles and Alicia Keyes to everything in between. They even have their own music out on CD. Check them out. http://www.joyneryoung.com/

The best part was just after midnight. Marie was tired and didn't want to sing anymore. But Wendy begged her to sing "Steamroller Blues" by James Taylor. AND SHE ROCKED!! She sat at our table and serenaded us! Harold had a great time too. We are looking forward to another night out to listen to the band. You have got to hear them!

Well, it’s official...

...I’m losing my mind. I’m sure that’s no surprise for some of you. But I’m also losing my patience with doctor’s offices.

First, I am trying to get Harold’s appt with the Neuro-Opthalmologist at Duke moved up from March 31st. Harold’s vision in his right eye is going blurry again and is making him nauseous…as it would anyone. But we really want the eye doctor to look at it as soon as possible. And right now, the only way we will get an earlier appt is if his neuro doctor emails the eye doctor to see if he can work us in. At this point, we would take an appt for tomorrow or even this afternoon, if he can just be seen. Dr. Desjardins emailed the doctor last night…so we are just waiting to see what happens. Until then, Harold is back to being my Pirate and wearing the patch at night when he’s watching tv. It doesn’t cause him trouble all the time, it comes and goes. But Monday, he was looking at the thermostat on the wall and it was moving ALL around. He couldn’t focus on it. It’s been fine and now all of a sudden, it’s acting up again.

Second, I called Holden’s ENT doctor to see about changing his appt next week. And guess what? They didn’t have any record of us having an appt!! You know that only happens to me. I made that follow-up appt when we were there a couple weeks ago for Holden’s hearing test. The audiologist said that he still had fluid in one ear and the hole from the tube removal hasn’t closed up. Of course, we’re going to make an appt before leaving the office. And I did! I put the appt date/time in my Blackberry…and my Blackberry doesn’t lie! My life is in that darn phone.

I might have started my 3rd load of laundry last Saturday before I realized that I forgot to put soap in all 3 of them!! But I know I had an appt before I left Dr. P’s office. And I don’t normally keep those appointment cards, but I will now. I would have been MAD if I showed up with Holden at that appt. Holden now has an appt on Feb 11th…another 2 weeks. I confirmed.

Don’t ask about the laundry thing…I don’t know what happened with that. There’s a first for everything. And Harold’s not letting me forget that one! I had to spend the rest of my Saturday morning re-washing the clothes. As if I don’t have enough to do!

I had my GI consult yesterday and I am having an endoscopy next Tuesday so that we can figure out what’s going on with my stomach. If he doesn’t see anything, he’s just going to give me a prescription for a “large” bottle of GI Cocktail. It’s becoming one of my favorite drinks. Just kidding!

That’s all for now. If anything exciting happens, I’ll be sure to video it for your entertainment. You know we’re all about entertainment in our house.

Holden being Holden!

This is what I've been listening to since someone (not naming any names) woke me up at 7:30am.

I think I mentioned before about how Holden loves this birthday card we gave him that plays music. "Who let the dogs out" He has been opening/closing this card so much that the battery has to be running out soon. Atleast, I hope so! He keeps saying "press it" because he thought I was taking his picture with the camera and he was waiting for the flash!!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

What a WEEK!!

Harold did well with the rest of his chemo treatment. He took his last dose Saturday night and seemed to tolerate it better if he waited longer after taking his anti-nausea medicine. He's been in a good mood this week...that always helps! He has lab work next weekend and the weekend after that will be sent up to Duke for their review. Then they will order his next round of chemo. I'm thinking we'll start the second week of February...Valentine's week, of course! We need to make sure we time that well!

Harold's hair is SLOWLY growing back. We've been keeping a close eye on it...it's like watching a pot of water boil. Here's a picture of the back of his head. It's a backwards "L" for his Love for me.

On Sunday, we were taking the boys to the FireAntz hockey game. But I ended up dropping them off at the Crown and I headed to Urgent Care. My stomach has been hurting so bad...I think it's an ulcer. This happens about 2-3 times every year. The only thing that makes it feel better is a GI Cocktail (recipe is Maalox and Lidocaine). Trust me when I say it does not taste good! But it works! The nurse said...you must be feeling bad if you're asking for this! And I was.

I made it back to the game during the last period. Then we headed over to Beef O'Bradys where they were having a Meet and Greet with the hockey players. Hunter has been to many of them, but Holden couldn't grasp the concept of letting hockey players write on his clothes with a sharpie! But, they had a great time.

Then comes the SNOW DAY! I must admit I haven't seen snow that pretty in many, many years. It was like powder and so pretty... we usually get that snow/ice mix. The boys went in and out 3-4 times. They would go out for about an hour, come in to thaw out by the fire, then back out again.

Even Molly, our dog, loved the snow. She had snowballs stuck in between her toes and was trying to eat them out. When I picked her up, she had them ALL OVER her belly. I had to put her in the tub to thaw her out.

She loved the snow...she looked like she was in a horserace in the backyard running around so fast.

As for me...I guess I jinxed myself about not going to the doctors. I ended up back at urgent care again on Wednesday for my stomach. I haven't been able to eat much all week because it hurts worse when I do eat. But I have an appt with my GI doctor on Tuesday. I think he'll schedule an endocscopy to see what's going on.

T G I F !!!

Wow..it has been a long, crazy week. It must've been that full moon! And today, I've been a walking static frenzy. Everything I touch, I shock. I even tried to kiss Holden earlier. When our noses touched, it shocked him. It's been driving me crazy all day.

Anyhow, Harold is on Day 4 of chemo tonight. Tonight should have been Day 5 (the last night), but it didn't work out exactly as planned. Those pills came right back up, not even 5 mins after he took it Wednesday night. So, I called the doctor on call at Duke to let them to know and to find out what to do. She asked lots of questions and she determined that he needs to take him anti-nausea medicine and wait an hour, rather than 30 mins before taking his chemo. She also thinks that because Harold took the pills with Sprite, the carbonation was too much and caused the uproar! He took it with water on Monday and Tuesday and was fine.

She said that he would have the night off and she would ship us a 1-day supply of pills via UPS so that we didn't have to pay another copay for 1-day. That was really nice of her. [we're still waiting on that shipment though. I hope UPS delivers on Saturdays.]

Harold hasn't been sleeping good. I'm sure it's a combination of anxiety and being afraid of getting sick again. He slept in the bonus room that night he was sick. Then I didn't sleep! I can't sleep without Harold with me. He was afraid he was going to bother me, but I didn't know he was awake until he started gathering his pillows and stuff. Anyhow, he's doing much better with it. Last night, he waited an hour before taking his chemo and was fine. I was afraid to keep asking him if he was doing okay. Sometimes nausea can play mind games with ya. But I wanted to be sure he was okay before I went to bed.

Tonight, Harold & Hunter are at the hockey game. Holden is at home driving me nuts. He's just so busy all the time. Maybe I should invest in a hamster wheel for him??

We have a pretty quiet weekend ahead of us. Harold's last day of chemo will be tomorrow. Hopefully we'll continue to have a quiet weekend. I'll keep you posted...

Happy 40th Birthday Cheryl!!

We had a little birthday celebration at work today. They say "40 is the new 30"! That means I'm 20 again! wahoo!! Jackie dressed up Cheryl for her party.

If you find a Sublett, you'll find Adventure!

I'm so behind in updating the blog again. I was going to do it last night, but my wrist has been hurting again and it's hard to type in a wrist splint. I have to be able to type fast to keep up with my thoughts! So here's the update...

Last Friday, Holden has his 4 yr checkup with his pediatrician. Checkup was good...he's in 75% range for his height and 95% for his weight. Holden watched as the doctor listened to his heart, looked in his ears, hit his knees with a "dinosaur hammer" and then came the.......SHOTS. Not one or two...he was due for FOUR! Mommy left Daddy with the nurse to handle the dirty stuff. I don't do shots or needles. Let me just say...."he was NOT happy". But, atleast he doesn't need any more before Kindergarten. Man, did Holden cry! We haven't seen him cry that bad in a long time. My poor baby! I gave him a handful of chocolate to make up for it...chocolate always makes me feel better.

On Saturday, Harold & I "tried" to have a date night. I say "tried" because it didn't quite happen as planned. After dropping the boys off with the sitter, we headed to Red Lobster, a place we haven't eaten in years. We arrive in the parking lot and it was packed. Harold goes in to see how long the wait was while I was parking the car in Egypt. As soon as I got out of my car, I heard all kinds of commotion....a lady on a motorcycle was in an accident right in front of the restaurant Her motorcycle slid down the road and she jumped up off the road ready to kick some booty! She was fussing at the driver of a SUV about slowing down or moving or something. It was chaos. I called Harold on his cell and he said the wait time was 1.5 hours! No way! So, we watched the "scene" for about 15 mins...we couldn't get out of the parking lot anyways. The police arrived, then the firetruck and then the ambulance. By then, the biker chick was laying on the ground as if she couldn't move. Amazing how that happens! I still don't know what caused her to wreck her bike, but she was "not happy" as Holden said about his shots!

Anyhow, we motivated over to 316 Oyster Bar...one of our other favorite restaurants. They had a couple seats open at the Oyster Bar, so we took them. We ordered our food, got our hushpuppies, ate my salad and then requested our food...to go. Harold wasn't feeling well. "Kinda nauseated all day" he tells me. He tells me at 6PM that he's been sick ALL DAY! What is wrong with this picture? We do men do that? So, we go back to the sitters to get the boys and back to the homestead as usual.

Speaking of sitters, does anyone know of a babysitter that we can use? We really need someone that drives. Our sitter moved across town and doesn't drive. Please let us know if you have someone.

Sunday was low-key for all of us. And on Monday, I was looking forward to get back to work! I'm glad that I have a job that I enjoy. And it's a place where I can run away from my thoughts temporarily. Besides, my kids drive us nuts! They are so busy all the time. I honestly don't know where they get it. *smirk!*

Last night, we headed into Hope Mills for HMYA elections. My term ended this month and didn't really think of running again unless it was a one year term. Harold & I talked it over several times...it's a lot of work. HMYA stands for the Hope Mills Youth Association... the association that handles the recreation sports in Hope Mills. People may think it's all fun and games, but it's not. We are there to make things better for the kids. So, Harold, the boys and I are in the big room while other position elections are going on. I'm in the back with Holden trying to keep him quiet when I hear someone nominate me for an At-Large position. Then the position closes....4 names on the board. The people vote and guess what? I'm elected for another two years....I was tricked I tell ya! At some point during the elections, when the President was asking for any other nominations, HOLDEN raises his hand. And everyone laughed. Holden would probably do a darn good job at something! Just after the elections, I found out that the Dixie Youth Baseball District Tournament will be held in Hope Mills this year. Do you have any idea how much work that will entail??? I'll tell you this...the board will not be able to do it alone...we will definitely need as many volunteers as possible. This is huge for Hope Mills and for the sports program. It's exciting too! Last year, it was held at Arnette Park.

Harold started his first day of chemo last night. He has 4 more nights to go. And for someone who doesn't like to take any medicine, guess how many chemo pills he has to take at one time? SIX!! I knew when I was talking to the pharmacist picking up his prescription that he was going to flip. And he did! I explained to him that this medicine has to be adjustable with his lab work. One month it may increase or it might decrease. This round, he has to take a total of 360mg...(3) 100mg pills and (3) 20mg pills. He didn't sleep well last night...I think it was the anticipation of what it might do. He tossed and turned and therefore, I didn't sleep either. But he had a good day today. Dr. Martin, the Pastor at Village Baptist Church, came by to see him today. I'm sure that visit was very uplifting for Harold.

I will tell you, I'm TIRED of scheduling doctor appointments! I'm trying to get 3 different appts set for the same day in March at Duke and I just can't seem to make it happen. I have two scheduled, but the 3rd is always booked when I need him. arrgh!! I do not want to go to Duke twice in one week. Later this week, I have to schedule Harold's lab work...Day 21 and Day 28 following chemo. I cannot wait until Harold is able to drive again...I know he can't wait. It seems like every time I turn around, I'm driving one of the boys or Harold to the doctor. I've even postponed my own doctor appts indefinitely.

This week is Hunter's yearly checkup and Holden is having a hearing test done with audiologist.

More news to follow...

Hope everyone has a great week!

Home from Duke FINALLY!

We certainly didn't expect to be at the Duke Clinic until 5pm, but we were! We got home around 7:15pm.

We met with the Neuropsychologist first as I mentioned in my previous blog. She was so helpful in answering some of our questions. We thought he'd be able to have a driving evaluation today, but she wants to wait until we go back in March. That will be one month prior to him driving again in April.

Then we headed back upstairs for our 12:30pm appt. And, as each hour went by, my sweet, calm hubby started tapping his feet, his fingers, and grunting. I love the idea that they spend the time with the patients, but it cancels out when you have to wait over 3 hours just to be seen. They over-book themselves so much it's hard to ever catch up. It is ridiculous.

Once we were called back to see the doctor, we had WONDERFUL news. She showed us his previous MRI on one computer screen and had the recent MRI on another. She walked us through phase by phase and showed us how much the "hole" had closed up. The hole where they took the tumor out is more than 1/2 way closed back up. And the other good thing about that means that cancer cells are not present to prevent the brain from healing and closing up. ---I hope that makes sense--- Anyhow, it's good news! There's no way to know if the cancer cells are still present without a biopsy. So, they are being precautious by putting him through the chemotherapy...just to be safe. We can live with that.

So, here's the game plan: He will start the chemo pill tomorrow and take it for 5 days each month along with an anti-nausea pill. Then he will have lab work drawn on Day 21 and Day 28. And Harold will have MRIs done every 2 months. We'll have to go back up to Duke to review the results, just like today. Oh joy!! Harold will stay on the Keppra (seizure medicine) for atleast the next year, while he is taking chemotherapy. The chemo pill will be much stronger now that he's no longer on radiation. We're praying that he does well with it and the anti-nausea medicine.

Sorry, no pics today...but I'll make up for it! You know me!!

On the Way to Duke_UPDATE

We are heading up to Duke this morning to review Harold's post-treatment MRI results with the team. And Harold has a "driving evaluation" at 11:30am. Should be interesting! :)

Will update this afternoon...

UPDATE at 1:30pm: No driving eval. Neuropsychologist said it was too soon.

Right now, we are still waiting for our 12:30pm appt. This place is always so busy and running behind. And Harold has ZERO patience. I'm trying to ignore his sighs and tapping of his foot as I type this. But this was normal, even before surgery. He hates going to the doctor, period!

Oh, and I forgot to mention...we actually got to Durham an hour and a half early. There wasn't any traffic like we expected. So we decided to drive over to the Childrens Hospital in Chapel Hill to see little Avery Miranda. We couldn't stay very long. It took us 15 mins just to get visitors passes to go up to her floor. The passes even had our picture on them. Wow! Avery was sleeping so good. She's a precious baby. And Mom, Sarah, seems to be doing good! It was nice to finally meet her! Sorry we missed u, Bryan!

Its now 2:15 and we're still sitting and waiting! Next time we are going to get an 8am appt and just get a hotel the night before. This is crazy!

No More Birthdays for a while!

Well, Harold turned 38 on New Year's Day! Before long, we'll be having a big 4-0 birthday bash! We took the boys out for the FireAntz hockey game the night before on New Year's Eve. That's always an adventure. The kids don't sit still for more than 10 seconds. And Harold fusses about missing a couple goals because of making popcorn, drink and potty runs! Welcome to Mommy World! It was fun and exhausting...the boys were back home in the bed by 10:30pm. And I didn't make it 'til the ball dropped...the last time I looked at the clock it was 11:45pm.

And Happy Birthday Holden! My other baby turned 4 today! And he's still going through the terrible 2's...or just acting like Daddy! :)

Let me start out by saying if you want to hide a gift from your kids, don't hide them under the bed. I was doing my normal weekend ritual...cleaning, laundry, etc. when I hear Holden in the bedroom, saying "Thank you Mommy....just what I always wanted!!" I'm thinking to myself.."What did I give him?". Then he comes barrelling in the room with the CARS Lightning McQueen car that I hid from him. Well, as it turns out, one of Holden's balls rolled under the bed and he was looking for it. Lucky for him, he found something better! So, he got one of his presents a little early! I had him call Daddy at the hockey game and tell him "thank you" too. I explained to Harold what happened and he got a good laugh out of that!

We had Holden's birthday party at LaFayette Lanes on Saturday. I think the kids had a good time. Here are a couple pictures...

I found the "Birthday Boy" pin that Hunter wore for his 4th birthday and I gave it to Holden when he woke up this morning. He thought he was something special. He wore it to school so everybody knew it was his birthday.

Then we gave him his big present before dinner.

And Daddy had to try it out too!

Well, no more birthday for us for a while...we have been capped out. I really should have done better planning! :) But, it's all worth it!