Miscellaneous

Hey there….Hi there….Ho there!

I stole that greeting from a buddy of mine…..yep, should’ve just let that stay his own material.

Anyway, how are ya? How’s life? I hope your summer has been awesome. What’s more fun than stepping out into a 3,000 degree swamp each day?

I’ve been a little bit “M.I.A” lately, but I’ve certainly had my wheels spinning thinking about this blog. The best part about writing this blog is that in 7 years we’ll be able to sit on the couch with Judd and let him read about this experience. There are so many little things here and there that I make a mental note to remember. Literally, something will happen and I’ll say to myself “I want to remember to write about this” or “man, I hope to remember to mention this on the blog”. There’s so much I know Abs wants to forget….Tonight’s post is about some small things I want us to remember. Just like pretty much all of my posts, below are a set of “Miscellaneous” stories or thoughts that I want to remember when we read this blog in the future. I hope you’ll enjoy my musings……

Friend Saves Idiot Dad: So it’s Tuesday morning, one day after Abby’s 2^nd chemo treatment. Abs had a hard time with the 2^nd treatment, so she was in bed. I handled Judd before going to work. I packed his lunch. I got him dressed (I think he matched). We arrived to school and there was the sign that stopped me in my tracks.

“WATER DAY IS TODAY”

Crap! EVERY kid at school is supposed to wear a bathing suit so they can play in the water. My kid is in cargo shorts and a polo. I was sad for Judd, but in the end I just didn’t have time. I went to work. As I’m arriving to Gainesville, our friend whose kids also go to the same school texts me, “Did you remember water day?” Of course, I played the idiotic Dad role to perfection…. “No, but it’s ok, he’s a big boy”.

It was a defensive reply. I actually felt terrible about the whole thing. But guess what…remember my stories about “DESIGN”? Here’s another one….our friend's iphone was acting up, so she never got my reply. Since she never heard from me, she went ahead and took Judd an extra swimsuit. Boom! Judd got to enjoy Water Day with his friends.

(Sigh of Relief)…thanks for the save!

Idiot Man Offers Pregnant Woman a Beer: Abs and I hadn’t seen some friends of ours in several weeks, so it was time to catch up. Oh yes…..Friday, July 11, 2014…….Ribs and Beers, baby! Abs was feeling great that night. I awoke at 4:30 AM to bake the ribs ahead of our feast. And sure enough, just like I always do, our guests arrived right on schedule. We greeted. Shook hands. Exchanged hugs. Judd showed them his tent. Ya know, the usual stuff. Then like any good host, I asked our guests if I could get them a beer. To which she replied……

“No thanks, I can’t have a beer until January 31^st……(insert long pause)…..because I’m pregnant!!!”

Damn…..that was a great night…..and one hell of a pig roast.

There is nothing in the world like parenthood.

Physical Fitness: I’m really making great nutrition choices right now. I’m eating right, and physical fitness is a regular part of my day. In fact, I’m in the best shape of my life.

Ok - that last story wasn't true.

Best Weekend Ever: So I’m driving to work on Monday. Literally just 2 days ago. It hits me…….last weekend was the “Best Weekend Ever!” Picture this chain of awesomeness……

Free lunch on Friday at work à Eaton’s Beach on Lake Weir Friday night (without our kid) à Splash Pad Saturday morning with the kids à Lunch at Ivy House on Saturday à Nap à Enjoy a great afternoon with Abs and Judd à Leave Saturday afternoon for a golf trip with my brother à Eat dinner in the TPC Clubhouse à Eat breakfast on Sunday in the TPC Clubhouse à Break 90 and make par on the famed TPC Sawgrass Island Green à Make it home to enjoy dinner with Abs and Judd on Sunday night.

That my friends is the greatest weekend of all time. Many thanks to the greatest wife of all time for allowing me to go. Many thanks to “Uncle DeeGee” for the complimentary golf weekend.

Happy 3-0 Bobbo! Next thirty are the best thirty!

The More the Merrier: Abs has all of her treatments on a Monday. She has to go for a follow-up on Tuesday and get a shot. So, I get home from work on one of the Tuesday nights….

Me: Did you get your shot?

Abs: Yep

Me: Who was able to take you?

Abs: Amanda……she came and picked me up. She had ALL of the kids in the car. They just waited in the car while I went in.

Not exactly sure why….but for some reason when I picture that in my head….I find it hilarious. 

Many thanks for the ride along!

Big Boy Bed: Abs had the brilliant idea of moving Juddy to a “Big Boy Bed” over the last few weeks. So long to the baby days and the baby crib! Ok, so every night from 8:00-8:45 is pretty much a screaming match to get him to lay down. Regardless…….Worth it!

A Picture Can Tell an Entire Story:

Looking for an update on Abs? See the last picture. She is good. Her family is good. Life is good.

Talk to you soon.

-Rossco

Halfway Done!

Ok, so I’ll go ahead and apologize for being MIA on here. Truth be told, I don’t enjoy writing but I do like to keep you guys informed.  So, if anyone has any questions that I don’t address, please feel free to ask!

I’m half way through chemo, and it feels pretty darn good! They always say “3^rd time’s a charm” and in my case, that was true! The last chemo was sooo much easier than the previous. I was never really sick. My doctor finally gave me Emend in my IV during chemo…. IT IS AMAZING! Emend is an anti-nausea medicine that works up to 72 hours after administered chemotherapy drugs. I also took Dexamethasone, which is another anti-nausea medicine, for 3 days after chemo and it worked wonders too! I have had a good appetite the whole time. Like my sister said, AMEN for EMEND!

Secondly, I STILL HAVE MY HAIR! I know that may sound vain, but who cares! I’m so thankful that (so far) the cold caps have been working! Of course, my hair does shed like crazy. I feel hair that has fallen on my arms all day and a good bit comes out when I wash it twice a week. Yes, I can only wash my hair twice a week. I have to be very careful. Here's the proof!

 

"Gross" -Ross

My hair is important to me. It’s strange because I never appreciated my hair until I was told that I was going to lose it.  I think if I had to look in the mirror everyday and see that I was bald, I would feel sick. It’s mental. I can go out in public and not have people feel sorry for me and I can just blend in with the crowd. For me, that helps.  I currently still have my eyebrows and eyelashes but I can live without those.  I’m sure those will shed soon. Thankfully, I never had nice eyelashes so that won’t be a big loss.  I still have some…. lets just phrase it as, "all the other hair that you have to shave". However; it grows very, very slowly and I can go a long time before I have to shave them. That’s ONE (and the only) benefit of having cancer.

I have had several follow up appointments at Moffitt since I last wrote. I saw the amazingly talented urologist, Dr. Wade Sexton, who performed my nephrectomy (removed my kidney) a few weeks back. He said I healed nicely and that I have no restrictions with daily activities. He does not need to see me anymore unless I want him to read any future scans of my kidney, so he can assess that my right kidney is performing well. Typically he would order periodic scans but since I have a unique (crappy) situation  (I have so many different cancers), my oncologist will order scans from here on out. I also saw my breast surgeon and oncologist at Moffitt last week. They each just wanted to check in when I was midway through chemo. My main questions for Dr. Lee, the breast surgeon, was if she thought I was still going to need radiation and when can I do reconstruction? If you remember a while back, my lymph nodes were negative for cancer. I’ve been told when you get a bi-lateral mastectomy and your lymph nodes are negative for cancer, than you typically don’t need radiation. Well, Dr. Lee said, in my case, even though my lymph nodes were clear, the amount of possible cancerous or pre-cancerous lesions seen in my mammogram show that they are really close to the surface of my skin (on my right breast). They will need to “scape” the skin really well and do further pathology after my surgery. We won’t know until after the mastectomies if I’ll have to have radiation. Oh and my next surgery will be at the end of September…about a month after I finish chemotherapy.  I PRAY I DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE RADIATION! If I do NOT have to go through radiation, I will most likely be able to do reconstruction about 3 months after surgery. That would make for a fabulous Christmas present! However, if I DO have to have radiation….which is typically 5-6 weeks long, plastic surgeons like to wait 6-9 months after to allow the skin to heal. So again, I DO NOT WANT RADIATION! I want BOOBS! J In all seriousness…well wanting boobs was being serious, but the MOST important thing is getting RID OF MY CANCER once and for all, and if that means going a year without small mountains on my chest and stuffing my bra, that’s what it means.

So, that’s what’s up! I want to give a special shout out to my Junior League of Ocala ladies for sending me special letters the last several weeks, AND for their generous donation. I’m so proud to be a part of such an amazing group of supportive ladies! Love you girls and I can’t wait to get back!

This is them wearing pink for me at the last meeting.

Yes, I promise I’m wrapping this up now but I have one more thing to say…..my family has had a tough last few weeks grieving the loss of a great man, my step dad, Jimmie. He battled heart disease for a very long time and beat the odds, repeatedly, by living FAR past what doctors expected. He was a strong man and truly lived life! I’m thankful he came into our lives years ago. He was a true representation that miracles happen. I AM GOING TO BE PROOF THAT MIRACLES happen too! Just watch! We love and miss you Jimmie!

Much love and thanks to GOD and you all!

Abby