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JULY NEWS and EVENTS
August 4, 2008, 6pm - Happy Monday. Tomorrow we meet with Dr. Thomas, the radiation oncologist. We will, I think, set the schedule for radiation treatments of Bobbi's chest area. The chemo has shrunk, but not eliminated the tumors in her lymph nodes or the lesion in her breast, so let's get the radioactive cesium out of the bottle and put it to work! Today was an easy day for Bobbi. She doesn't have a lot of energy. She did a little paperwork and played with the beast a little, then spent the rest of the day trying to think of a "real" name for the beast. The beast's AKC papers need to be filled out. I suggested Beelzebub Amuzing Joke (30 character limit), but Bobbi was not amused. If you have ideas please let Bobbi know. How about Bobbi's Aussie Trick? Hey Mikey, I think she likes it!
August 3, 2008, 10am - Wow- yesterday was a busy day. Up at 6am, at the Trout Derby by 7am and cleaning trout by 8am for me. Between 8am and 12pm I cleaned 267 trout- my new record. Then it was home to try to wash the fish smell off of my hands (I have so far failed!) and then Bobbi and I went to Greenville to fix computers and the network at Stephens recording studio Malibu Mobile Productions. A whirlwind of OS patches, wireless network configuration, memory upgraded, software installation and WEP wireless security configuration and we left after 9pm and were home a little after midnight. Bobbi was awake for a lot of it though resting for most of it. Today I had the luxury of sleeping in..... till 6am. Thank you Rikki.
Bobbi is well. She has chemo sickness- the malaise that follows treatment. Today we will take it easy as I do the chores I promised her. I might even get a little garden time. The pumpkins have a blight of some kind.... dang the perils of organic farming ....which reminds me- my nephews (well, two of them) made a very funny short film of the same name. Watch it HERE. I regret the stole my name- Hughbris Productions.
August 1, 2008, 7pm - So, the coward who killed our friend Bob has killed himself. Sorry for what may appear to be a lack of sympathy. Bob Stevens was the first person known to die from the 2001 anthrax attacks. He was a nice guy who loved his family, fishing and soccer. Well, maybe the man was innocent, and maybe now we'll never be sure. Maureen is still missing a husband and his kids are missing their dad, and I have always known how tenuous this life can be. We miss you Bob.
This has been a very good week for us here. Bobbi had chemo on Wednesday, but it's only lately she's felt the effects. Wednesday and Thursday she was still pretty active. Now she's feeling it, but now as bad as months past. Tonight we're having "cook everything from the garden for supper" supper. I've made calico salad (diced tomatoes and cukes), gazpacho (cold cucumber and tomatoe soup), way fresh green beans, sliced cukes, cherry tomatoes.... I'd make Ratatouille if I had any zuccini (got plenty of eggplant!). Dave's here and we'll have a refreshing feed. We've even thawed some shrimp from Seabrook! Y'all come on over (but hurry!).
July 31, 5:00am - That darned dog. Second time since midnight.
July 30, 11:00pm - Bobbi had chemo today and it went very well. She also had a meeting with Dr. Pekal to discuss the CT Scan. It was all very good news. She has had consistent reductions in the size of her tumors. Tumors that had been nearly 3cm are now less then 1cm, and her abdomen, liver, spleen,, etc are all completely clear of tumors. There's nothing in her bones, either, and the ugly purple and red coloration, inflammation and swelling that are the reasons it is called Inflammatory Breast Cancer have all cleared up. Tuesday she has an appointment with her radiation oncologist Dt. Thomas. That's when we'll decide when to start chest wall radiation therapy. This is good news, folks, very good news. I am cautiously optimistic, but this is not a disease that you knock down and it goes away. That said, this is so much better than what I expected when we found out what she had in February. I already know that every day is precious, and now I'm grateful we're going to have a lot more days. Y'all go get a mammogram (yes- even the men).
July 29, 5:00pm - Okay! Now we gettin somewhere! Bobbi got some action at the EN&T folks. They drained liquid from in front of both eardrums Then they sent her for a sonogram of the ears- there is in the left ear. The right ear seems to be clearing up. They said the left eardrum looks perforated, but healable. They gave her steroid eardrops and set her up with another appointment in four weeks or sooner if she needs it.
Today, my Rotary club presented the local hospital a check for $1,000 to a fund in Bobbi's name to purchase a digital mammography machine. $1,000 down, $399,000 to go. Actually, between our friends and Rotary we've raised nearly $3,000 in Bobbi's name. Thank you all- you're beautiful.
July 29, 6:00am - Well, the beast demanded attention AND several early morning walks (all productive), so now I can update the page while she whines that I am not giving her enough attention. I'm talking about the puppy by the way ;-)
Bobbi continues to suffer from her ear infection. The EN&T people were kind enough to condescend to see her this morning. Yeah, I'm a little irritated- does it show? I'm just afraid of the secondaries. Secondary infections like this in her weakened condition.... ah well- nobody is offering me a free shot so all that's left is to fuss a little. At times she is in a lot of pain because of this ear thing. Maybe I'll give them a puppy ;-)
July 28, 6:00pm - You're so busted. LOL- stop calling people to find out who else is sick! Them that knows won't tell, and them that would tell don't know.Now- where was I? Oh yes-
Great day back at work. Put out fires with vigor (I was very vigorous!). I have more picture for y'all from our journey and one of me and baby Kira. Bobbi had a good day also! She's actually eating (big breakfasts two days in a row!). She has chemo this week, so we gotta feed her while we can. It's nice for now to have her active. I think she's pleased about it, too.
July 27, 6:00pm - We're back! What a great trip. The beast caused a little trouble the first couple of nights, but she then settled down and behaved very well! Friday we drove down to Edisto Island and checked it out. It's very much like a big version of Paulys Island or Isle of Palms, but more commercial (like coastal Florida), but with more beach access. I even got in some fishing. I caught a mixed but typical summer bag- sharks, rays and whiting (like a small croaker). Rain cancelled last nights fishing and we had a nice steak dinner. This morning Bobbi ate the largest breakfast I've seen her eat in months. She actually finished all of her eggs over easy, three pieces of bacon and a homemade biscuit (plus coffee and orange juice!).
The new van ran like a top. We got 20mpg at 75mph with extended rest stops. These stops usually included the engine and A/C running. Not bad.
The trip home was an easy drive (though traffic was very heavy). It was the first trip in the car where Rikki did not get carsick! That's cause to rejoice in itself. If that's not enough, when we got home we found Dave and Donna had weeded our garden! Thanks you two. We hoped to visit Steve and Susan on the way home, but it didn't work out.
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July 24, 12:00pm - Alright, I guess we'll hit the road! I finished up at work and I'm on my way to do title work. Then we'll load the new van and run to the island. I'm suddenly excited about going. Actually, until this morning I'd have rather stayed home. Bobbi has a sore throat (plus some other illness) and then there's "the beast" to deal with....not exactly my dream vacation. Then I thought I could take a rod or two and fish a little and suddenly I'm excited. We'll see. Anyway, I don't think I'll be able to update the page from Seabrook Island- no Internet. Y'all don't freak out, okay? If I can I will, and if I can't you can call and check on us.
July 24, 2:00am - I just walked the dog who did very well..... right up to the time I put her back in her kennel. What a racket. What was I thinking? How on earth can we go on a vacation with that thing howling all day and night? Oh yeah- so relaxing,,,, Where was I??? Oh- I'm not there yet. Well here it is- Bobbi's CT Scan was clean! There is no cancer in her left breast, and what is in the right breast and lympnodes are decreasing in size. How do you spell relief??? What a roller coaster. I suppose we'll be talking about surgery again sometime soon. Thank you all for your prayers and kind thoughts and words- they're working.
So, I think we'll ease on out of town today in Bobbi's new car. I got her a 2005 Caravan in like-new condition. It's plenty big for some luggage and a dog cage so let's hit the beach. Wait a minute- what was I thinking? How on earth can we go on a vacation with that thing howling all day and night? Oh yeah- so relaxing,,,, have you heard that before? Sorry- it's 2am and I'm cranky. Maybe we won't go all the way to the beach. Sheesh- we couldn't even go into a book store together with "the beast" in the car. Oh well, we'll think of something. I don't think boarding her at a kennel is the answer- she'll just get even more neurotic. Wish us luck! (Oh wait- y'all already done that!). Maybe we should just go park at "the kid's" house and play with the grand young'ns.
July 23, 9:00am - I'm sorry there wasn't an update yesterday. A lot happened, but there's not much to report.....yet. Yesterday we left the house after 7am and went to the hospital so Bobbi could have her CT Scan. After a while she had it and everything seemed to go well. The told us someone would diagnose it that afternoon and sometime after that (like today maybe) our doctor would have the results. No results yet, but please stand by. After that we stopped in Bryson City to look at a car.
I'm ashamed on rare occations to be the stingies man in the world. Usually I'm proud of it, but when it means my wife lives in a trailor and drives a beat up car I get a little.... confused? Anyway, after twelve years and 160k miles I decided Bobbi needs something a little newer. In my own defense I will say she has argued against a new car for her for several years, but it's no excuse. Anyway, we looked at a nice Honda CRV..... with a manual transmission. OMG- what was I thinking? My bad- all I could think of was the 20% better gas milage. Let's just say I was mistaken (whjen we got back from the test drive I lept out and kissed the earth). However, on the way home we passed a carlot run by a guy I know and trust and he had two minivans- a Kia and a Dodge. The Kia was nice but beat up. However, the Dodge was practically new (for a three year old car) but had higher miles on it (79k). So now we're car shopping, and getting a decent car determines where and when we go on our mini vacation. Since I started looking I've found many good deals on Caravans, and Bobbi loves them and is comfortable driving them (a big plus!). Oddly, the two I've found in the best shape are former rental vehicles. One has records of all of it's mantenence via carfax.
Anyway, if we get a new vehicle we'll run away to Seabrooke Island. If we don't we'll still run away, but in the big truck, so we won't run far. We should hear about the CT Scan soon. I'll keep y'all posted.
July 21, 9:00am - Remember when I said the dog was behaving better? Forget I said it. Last night was the worst night yet. Yesterday we had a great visit at the "kids" house. Ethan had a fun party, and I caused a lot of trouble. It seems people grew impatient as I held baby Kira on my chest for nearly two hours. Phots will follow. We (Bobbi and I) were too tired to even get a jug of milk when we left at 8pm. We crashed at 10pm and the dog began her shenanigans. Sheesh. Bobbi held up okay yesterday, but crashed as soon as we went home. Only habits kept her out of bed till... I guess 9pm.
July 20, 11:00am - It's a nice, slow morning here. Bobbi is taking it easy. I got up early and made coffee, then went back to bed to be with Bobbi Lynn. Around 9am I went down and worked in the garden a couple of hours. I've really neglected it, but we are getting a harvest. Bobbi picked the first tomato and I picked 5 more today, along with beans and peppers and of course cukes. The tomatoes look good except for the Beefsteaks which are growing lobes with dark almost cracks between the lobes instead of big round fruit. What is that- over or under watering?
July 20, 8:00am - Wow- nice suprises... Steven, Susan and Ian dropped by and cooked us hamburgers and then Becky and Dick came by and we had us a grand ole time talkin trash and quoting Monty Python scenes. It was just a great time. We didn't get home till after 6pm and had already crashed, but that was a gathering well worth getting out of bed for.
By the way- we learned this week that Bobbi's medical oncologist Dr. Pekal got married last weekend. Congratulations Dr. "Dee"!!!
Today is the birthday of grandson Ethan (aka The E-Man). We'll go over and have a grand gathering with the whole grandchild line-up! Oh yes, while going through Bobbi's camera I found a photo someone took of us at the AISA banquet. I'm glad I lost 30 pound, but I need to loose another 30! Anyhow, in fairness- here's a photo I find not flattering so that Bobbi won't be the only one who feels that way. I have to pull teeth to get her to allow photos. Y'all call her and tell her she looks great, please. She does not believe it when it comes from me.
We're thinking about a quick getaway next week. She has next week off from chemo and she's mentioned going to the beach more than a few times. Maybe (probably) we'll run down to Seabrooke Island and stay at her parent's place for a few days. We were hoping to fly out west and see the family out there, but we can't go for that long just yet.... Seabrooke it is I reckon.
July 19, 8:00pm - What a great day! We had a nice breakfast with Ben, Lynn Harlan and Watson, then a nice visit with Uncle Roy. After that we had a relaxing drive to the Asheville Airport with our friend Ben. Then Brother Steve with wife Susan and nephew Ian cam over for supper. We're sad to see Ben go, but we know he's going home to the care of his family. Ben didn't get many pictures, but he talked often about how impressed he was with a place that had so many trees. Come on back Ben, we'll go fishing!
July 18, 4:00pm - Well, our honored elder Ben is out of the hospital and resting at the house with Bobbi and the mutt. Maybe we can all recover enough to go to the Festival Of Native Peoples at our tribal ceremonial grounds before we take Ben to the airport tomorrow. We'll see. It means missing a family reunion AND a semi-godchild's birthday. Ole Fusswagon slept till 6am! That's a first for the little dog, and very much appreciated. Sunday is grandson Ethan's birthday and we're excited about that. Bobbi has a Neupogen shot today..... more news later.
July 17, 6:00am - I'm back!!!! Well, I hoped I could update the page while at the seminar, but I was wrong. I'll try to make up for it with some pictures! Meanwhile, Bobbi is well. Her chemo treatment yesterday caused another reaction to the 'carboplatin" drug she is getting, so they will extend the treatment time to try to prevent this in the future. We are both glad I am home. I fell asleep at 3pm and slept through till morning (not counting doggie excursions). Bobbi has been a trooper. She's feeling the effects of the chemo, but she still drove herself to the banquet on the last night of the seminar. Nut job... who am I kidding- I was glad to see her.
July 11, 9:00pm - Greetings from WCU. I'm at the school for our annual American Indian Scouting Association Seminar. Yesterday Bobbi went to the Ear, Nose and Throat folks, it was a long wait but they did her some good. They stuck a tube in and drained a lot of fluid from behind her eardrum. She got her Neupogen shot, then we drove to the airport in Asheville and picked up an elder who flew in from Phoenix. Today I took him fishing, then we came to the college to start getting ready for the seminar. Bobbi is not going to be able to come, but she will be able to spend some good time with her mom and sister Jill.
July 9, 5:00pm - Sarah and the kids came to visit Bobbi today! What a treat for her. Today was chemo- I'll let you know how it went.
July 8, 5:00pm - It's raining! Thank goodness. Bobbi is over at the young'uns house getting her baby fix. The AISA seminar is looming!
Bobbi is doing pretty well. She didn't have a shot yesterday and I don't think she had one today. Tomorrow is chemo. I hope her white cell count is up....
July 6, 10:00pm - It was an early night for Bobbi and myself. We walked around with Steve and fam, then cut and cleaned gourds for a class I'm teaching at the AISA seminar. That pretty much wore Bobbi out, and she spent the rest of the day resting. So shall I now. Good night all.
July 6, 4:00am - It's a rainy morning here in Cherokee. "Piddles" and I are up for a walk and I thought I'd put up a picture from last night while we wait for her "second wind". Steve, Susan and Ian came over for supper and we had a lovely time together. Bobbi says she can feel the effects of the Neupogen pretty strongly, mostly loss of appetite and drowsiness. Today I think we'll be cleaning some of the rooms in the house and getting ready for the AISA seminar at WCU this Friday. I'll keep you posted.
July 5, 4:00pm - Here's some new pictures of Kira. We had a great visit with the kids, and Kim is just the best mom. Ethan is turning into a pretty good big brother too. I hardly even ever say him make a ninja move at her ;-)
July 5, 3:00pm - We just got back from the hospital. Not to worry- Bobbi needed her Neupogen shot and, since it's Saturday, the doctor arranges for it to be give at the hospital on an out-patient basis. Dave and Donna stopped by on their way out of town. They are on their way to Orlando to stay a week in Lloyd's condo. After they left we went and registered at the hospital so we can get shots at the hospital without a lot of paperwork. The Neupogen is very hard on Bobbi..... she actually apologizes for feeling the side effects. What do you say to that? After that we donated some old appliances to a local charity store and then went to see the babies (Kim, Ethan and Kira). The new baby really cheered Bobbi up. It's hard watching her sometimes. She's so brave and she puts on a good front, but sometimes it slips and I see the sorrow she fights to hold inside. At times like that I am pole axed by the impotence of my situation- my dearest one is sick and I'm powerless to make her well. Worse than that, I'm dependant on other people to manage her treatment. At times her needs consume me. The prophet says we should seek to learn detachment from the things of this world. I'm afraid I'm not doing very well at that. I'm supposed to be getting ready for a big Scouting seminar starting in six days, but all I can think about is Bobbi and how to make her better, or at least be more comfortable. In spite of my inadequacies, I do feel pride at my own capacity to care for someone else so much. I am a rich man.
July 4, 10:00pm - Happy 4th Y'all. We had a good day. Bobbi is back to normal chemo mode- trying to recover and mostly being very tired. Today we cleaned out some equipment left over from my computer store (need any 8-year old computer parts? Check the dumpster!), worked in the garden (dang those beetles!) and repaired the front deck. Then David, Donna and Uncle Roy came over for a cook-out. We took a lot of naps because we are both loosing sleep, but having naps I feel better. Tomorrow Bobbi goes to the hospital for a Neupragen shot. Remember me complaining about Neupragen being the only drug I ever saw on Google with only twelve hits? That's because the trade name is Neupogen. You can read about that stuff by clicking HERE. That's what she's getting four times a week now. Two side effects you're supposed to warn the provider about that Bobbi is having are drowsiness and loss of appetite.... we let them know but they seems okay with it....
July 3, 7:00am - Yesterday's chemo went well. Bobbi is starting a more aggressive Neupragen round (4 shots a week instead of 3) even though she had asked for less. Since 3 a week wasn't keeping her white count up, the doctor decided 4 a week was better. Bobbi was pretty wiped out last night, and I expect she will be again all week. Something funny happened. We were fighting (yeah, I know) about that damned dog. The fusswagon pees every 2 hours so I haven't really slept for weeks. Still, I'm trying to keep the little thing well adjusted and everything, and when she cried to go out at night I have been taking her. It's debatable which one of us is more cranky these days, but Bobbi insists it's me. Anyway, she was fussing (yeah, I know, but she actually does fuss from time to time) about me not getting enough sleep and how she, Bobbi, should be the one getting up to walk the dog. Anyway, I said I'm not going to lay in bed while my sick wife gets up in the middle of the night to walk the dog. Bobbi said "I'm not sick, I just have cancer." What do you say to that?
July 2, 5:00pm - Sorry, I've just been slammed at work and in my volunteer life. Today was chemo- I do not know how it went because Bobbi is not answering any phone I call. Yesterday was a pretty good day- 2 weeks since chemo. Bobbi actually had an appetite and ate well (for her). Her ears continue to improve and I am very relieved. The dog is a huge pain- she has learned to barn... desperately... incessantly.... a lot... When I hear about home I'll post it.
June 29, 5:00pm - Sorry about no update yesterday. Yesterday was a good day. Bobbi's brother Greg and wife Susan came over for brunch and we had a lovely meal and time together. Greg even got some quality time with the dog. The rest of the day was very relaxing, but we were sad cousin Becky could not come over (earache). Bobbi did pretty well, but then it's been two weeks since her last chemo. Her ear seems to be better, but my way of telling is counting the grimaces she makes (not many yesterday).
Today it's back to work for me. Kim took Kira for a checkup- we're waiting to ear the results for that. That's about all for now.
June 28, 2:00pm - Happy Saturday y'all. It's like actually having a day off! I did everything I wanted to do today (mostly nothing)- sleep late, have steak and eggs, piddle in the garden.... Bobbi and I had a lovely late breakfast cooked in our new kitchen and enjoyed in our newly cleaned back deck. I then spent a few hours catching up in the garden. Thank goodness David and Donna weeded it for me earlier in the week. It's looking great... just a few "bugs". Something is clipping the lower leaves off of my pepper plants, and something is eating holes on my eggplant and okra leaves. Everything else is nominal. We'll have tomatoes next week and it's already time to replant the lettuce.
The spinach is about done for the summer.
Bobbi is feeling relatively well. She actually ate a large (for her) lunch yesterday- two trips to the buffet at a local Chinese restaurant. Today she's been up most of the day so far. I think the the reason is the cancelled chemo treatment this week. Even though she did have her shot to build up her white blood cells (which usually wipes her out) and in spite of her ear infection, she's not been bedridden as in weeks past. Today we go see the new baby, the "the boys" will got see the new movie WALLE while the girls watch the newborn. Hey- we offered to let the girls go see the movie and the boys stay home, but alas- none of us can give milk.
July is almost here- that means a new news page for July. The "navigation header" is getting pretty big. I guess I'll start arranging by seasons! Since several people have asked for them, I'll also make separate pages for the new baby and the garden. Keep your eyes peeled!
Page updated July 24, 2008. For more information or to send us photos please contact the webmaster