At Duke, There is HOPE!

Great video clip of Dr. Henry Friedman at Duke...encouraging vaccines and HOPE!


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Is it almost September already?

I'm still here. Just a little late. Harold did quite well with this last round of chemo. He was sick a couple days and he just slept it off. We are definitely on the down slide, only 4 more months of this sickening routine. He still has days where he's either a little nauseous or really tired. And luckily, with his job, he can come home and nap for a couple hours if he needs to. Everyone knows that he gives his job 150% on the good days.

I've been so swamped at work. We have a lot of new projects, upgrades, and other techie stuff going on. To be honest, I don't feel like getting on the computer when I get home. I'm behind on the blog and behind on emails. I haven't forgotten you. I'm hoping to get caught up this weekend.

Here are some pictures of Hunter's cabbage. We decided it was time to pull it and submit it to http://www.bonnieplants.com/. His cabbage weighed 8.6 lbs and our neighbors ate it! :) He was so proud of that cabbage.

Last Saturday, Harold & I had a Saturday (and night) without the boys! We went to the Race to the Red concert at Festival Park. The Embers, The Breakfast Club and Edwin McCain were scheduled to play. However, we had to dodge thunderstorms shortly after the Embers played their 2nd act. A good friend got us in the VIP tent...aka Free Food and Drinks Tent. It was awesome. We left after watching the Breakfast Club a little while. More bad storms were coming and we left at the right time.

And Holden has officially started his Pre-K program at his daycare. Last Monday was his first day and I had to take a picture of him, just like I do for Hunter's first day. It's hard to believe he's almost 5 years old. I definitely don't have a baby anymore.

Round 8 is underway...

Well, Harold has begun Round 8 of chemo last Friday. But it wasn't an easy task getting there. Harold had labs drawn last Tuesday...his normal Day 28 bloodwork. We had his chemo delivered the same day, so we were ready. Just waiting for the "okay" to start that evening. Received an email from nurse at Duke that said his labs were still "inching downward". He was not able to start as scheduled. He had labs drawn again on Friday. Martha never did give me the "numbers" so I can't tell you how much they were off. And to be honest, she's really frustrating me. On Friday, Martha had faxed over a new order to request the results read STAT. Harold was in the office at 7:15am (as usual) so that they would be ready by lunchtime. I called and emailed Martha several times during the day asking if she had the results. But no answer.

At 6pm, she called to tell me she didn't have them and indicated that the lab techs were not sending the results as they should. Little does she know, I've been touch with the lab manager and she is making sure the results are faxed as soon as possible and documenting who/what/when, etc. So, I'm not sure what Martha's deal is. She also told me she was calling them for the results. I even called around 7:30pm and Martha's voicemail said she was out of the office until the 24th! I just about flipped! It wasn't until 8pm Friday that she finally called to tell us the labs were good. By that time, I had already sent an email to Dr. Desjardins letting her know that this happens every month and it's very frustrating for us. Especially since I'm working with the lab manager to ensure everything runs smoothly. Ugh! It's bad enough having to put your life on hold once a month for this stuff, but the added stress from her un-organization skills is enough to drive one nuts!

On that note, Harold did get to start chemo Friday night. He was a little nauseous when he woke up Saturday morning. So, he slept most of the day. He did well last night and today. I know he was just as stressed as I was on Friday. Do we start or do we wait?


Anyhow, it worked out and he's had a good weekend so far. Day 3 is coming up in just a couple hours.

As for the other important stuff...Hunter has started baseball practice. Opening day is set for Sept 12th. Holden had his first soccer game yesterday. He scored 2 goals.

Tomorrow, I'm heading to Raleigh for my follow-up to my ear surgery. I cannot wait to talk with the doctor. I haven't seen or talked to him since my surgery in May. I want to know what the found, what he did and what the prognosis is for my hearing loss. I've talked with his nurse, but I want to talk with him directly. For my peace of mind. I promise to update this week with the results.

Hope everyone has a great week.