Yes, I have a new post!

This update is L-O-N-G overdue, I know it. I’m not sure if the word busy would describe our family.

First of all, I created a new tab at the top right of the blog called “Harold – Living with IT”. This is a timeline of Harold’s journey from 2008 to date. I will continue to update this page. It’s nice to have everything together. But, at the same time, putting it all together really made me gasp. We have been really busy this year and a half with just doctor appointments and procedures. Harold is due for his 13th MRI at the end of June and we follow-up at Duke in July. He continues to receive good reports from Duke. In fact, our last appt in March was a tear-jerker. Dr. Desjardins told us that it’s not often that she gets to give good reports. She’s been so good to us.

Harold continues to struggle with his memory and energy some days, but he’s learning to adapt. He knows his limits. (We know his limits too). He’s getting stronger each day. He’s not quite back to where he was pre-surgery, but he’s getting there. I can’t tell you that a day doesn’t go by that it’s not on our minds. If Harold doesn’t answer the phone when I call, my initial thought is “what’s happened?” I doubt that feeling will ever go away. And we continue to pray hard the night before a scheduled MRI. Neither of us sleep well those nights.

Oh yeah…we found out accidently that he has titanium screws in his head! Guess Duke forgot to mention that to us after surgery. Long story…

Otherwise, he’s been doing great. He is head coach of Hunter’s baseball team this year and their team is in 1st place. That means Harold will be coaching the All-Star team this summer.

Hunter has been playing awesome baseball this year. He’s even hitting grand slams with bases loaded!! At school, he is on track to make all A’s this 4th nine weeks. He was also accepted into the Duke University TIPS (Talent Identification Program), which his AIG teacher nominated him. He’ll be studying to take an 8th grade test next year.

Holden graduated from Pre-K tonight. I’m excited, but it really tugs at my heart. He’s not my little baby anymore. He’s soooo excited about going to Kindergarten at his brother’s school. He’s beyond ready. I think he’s looking forward to riding the daycare bus after school, more than anything else. Holden has been playing T-ball this Spring too. Harold/Hunter go to one ball field and Holden/myself head to another...on the same nights, of course!

Graduate school is really taking a lot out of me. There’s so much work involved, meeting in groups with people that may not live around Fayetteville and preparing for presentations. I’m learning a lot though. I’m learning a lot about people too. There’s drama in graduate school…can you believe that? Some people just thrive off of it. I don’t. My life is too busy with the important things. I only have one more year. For the 1st two terms, I received 2 A’s, 1 B+ and 1 B. I couldn’t have done it without Harold’s help. He was so understanding with my weekly study groups on campus. Those study groups helped me tremendously!

I’ve got plenty of pictures…I’ll post soon, promise!

Holden's Birthday Video

Here is Holden's birthday video to show how much he has grown over the past 5 years.

Click below...

FANTASTIC NEWS!!

Harold had an appt at Duke today. He was scheduled for a PET scan at 7am and a MRI at 10am. We drove up yesterday and Hunter went with us. He wanted to see Duke Hospital and see what we go through during our visits.

We didn't have a good nights' sleep...the heater in the room only had two speeds (WIDE OPEN or OFF). So, we either roasted or froze. Not a good way to start off a long day at Duke.

During Harold's PET scan, Hunter & I went to the food court to grab a bite to eat. When we returned to the waiting room, the nurse came and called Hunter's name. Hunter & I both looked at each other like "what's going on?". Harold had asked the nurse to bring Hunter back to see the PET machine. That was really cool of them to do that.

The MRI was pretty much routine that we're used to. Then we had an hour to spare before we met with Dr. Desjardins. So, we walked through the Streets of Southpoint Mall. That's a nice mall, by the way.

We headed over for our appt with Dr. Desjardins at 12:30pm. She walked in and commented on how Harold has been steady gaining weight. He's up to 152 lbs now! Wahoo! She asked Hunter if he wanted to help her to the neurological assessment. You can tell by the smile on Hunter's face that it was so much fun. She told Hunter what to do and made Harold do it. Hunter had him doing things like testing his reflexes in his arms and legs. The he had him stare at one spot, but follow Hunter's finger with his own finger.

Then she said those words we've been longing to hear...your scans look GREAT! She pulled up today's MRI and the PET scan side by side on the computer. She showed us where the tumor was and it's all scar tissue on the PET scan. If there are any cancer cells in your brain, they would show up black on the PET scan. She didn't see any cancer cells anywhere in his brain!! Hallelujah!! The hugs and tears were flowing!

Duke has taken really good care of us too. It's been one heck of a year, but to hear those words make it all worth while in the end. We are so blessed and our lives are forever changed because of this. Harold will continue to get MRIs every 2 months for the remainder of this year. Hopefully, we can only make trips back to Duke every 4 months. We'll find out at our next scheduled appt in March.

We cannot thank Dr. Desjardins enough for all she has does for us! So many late phone calls, emails back/forth while waiting in another doctor's office and the time she spends with us when we are there to see her.

Here's to a great start of the year 2010!!!! I LOVE YOU HAROLD!!!

Hunter's Birthday Video

I finally finished Hunter's Birthday video. It took me a long time because I had to scan majority of his younger pictures. We were living in the stone age and didn't have a digital camera back then! Haha!

Click below: