Rosie's Woods

Wednesday before Thanksgiving we all went to the Shawe and Pope John all school mass, and afterward, Phil Kahn (President of Prince of Peace Schools) and the preschool teachers surprised mom by dedicating the woods to her.  They presented her with a beautiful sign that you can see below in the picture.  It was wonderful and quite emotional, punctuated with comic relief by the two littlest.  Not sure about everyone else, but my tears started flowing when I noticed that the last verse of the closing song was, "Thank you God for Ms. Rosie."  Ay yay yay!

Thanksgiving has been wonderful.  Mom got to join her York family at her sister Jane's.  There were 52 out of a possible 62 people there.  It was great.  I was enjoying myself too much to take very many pictures.  :)  She's had a good holiday, I think.  She was a little tired yesterday but seemed fully recovered today.  Tomorrow the Virginia sisters and their families return home, so we will be sad to see them go.

Warm wishes to all,
jk

A Few Pictures

 Playing Top Trumps with Sonny and watching the little girls, all while visiting with nephew, Ben.

 Mom and her nephew, Ben Green.

 The happy couple, off to vote!

Mimi/Grandma with granddaughters, Lola Rose and Esphyr Dorothea.  Two in one rocking chair!  Ha, I just noticed that.

Chemo Went Well

Mom is back from her chemo treatments today and last I heard she was resting up ("hibernating," as Dad put it).  Unfortunately, Esphyr has a little bit of a cold and a cough, so we decided to play it safe and keep our germs at home.  But everything went well.  Hopefully, the recovery won't be too bad.  She has 21 days until the next treatment.

Best,
jk

Chemo Part 2, Day 1

I spoke to Mom this evening.  She sounded relaxed and happy.  The treatment took a little longer than expected, but not because anything went wrong, just because she had to have blood work done, then wait for results.  So all went well.  She will be staying in Cincinnati (but with friends, not in the hospital) because the treatments begin at 8am.  It's hard to be in Madison, but I know she has a troop of good supporters (Dad, Nat, Allie, and last but certainly not least, Lola!).  We are holding down the fort here.

Here's hoping Day 2 goes as smoothly,
jk

MRI Completed

The MRI was successfully accomplished Saturday.  My dad went into the room with her for the first time and said he couldn't believe how noisy it was: "like a jackhammer three inches from her head."  He was impressed with her ability to lie still despite the racket.

They haven't read the results yet, so they'll probably hear more about it Monday.  Mom, Dad, et al leave today (Sunday) around four for Cincinnati.

Thankful,
jk

Rixe Recap

Mom and her entourage visited Dr. Rixe (the oncologist) yesterday just to get all the chemo plans worked out.  Basically, he plans to try a different combination of drugs.  One of the main differences is that, instead of cysplatin, he will use a "cousin" to it, one that doesn't require the advance hydration or constant monitoring.  Hopefully this will help prevent the sodium imbalances that happened last time around.  Also, it means she will be able to get the chemo doses as an outpatient, which we think will be less stressful all around. 

So she will get an MRI on Saturday and begin her first dose on Monday.  One more on Tuesday, then again on Wednesday.  Take it from there.

Enjoy!
jk

Working Puzzles with the Little Girls

Mom had a nice moment with both granddaughters the other day, so I thought I would share it.  This one does have sound.  :)  The other didn't.

Staples Out, Chemo a Go

Mom got her staples out Monday when she went to visit Dr. Theo, her neurosurgeon.  They had a good follow up.  He was glad to hear that she is going to go for a second round of chemo. 

The little girls have been very alert to the removal of the hardware.  When I went up Tuesday morning to check out mom's new do, Lola greeted me with: "MIMI GOT HER STAPLES OUT!  MIMI GOT HER STAPLES OUT!"  And when Esphyr examined the incision up close, she asked, "You took your necklace off, Grandma?"

It's healing so well and new hair is coming back in with gusto.  I know she's going to lose it all again very soon, but it's still nice to see it sprouting so well.

Next up is meeting with Dr. Rixe next Wednesday to go over the exact chemo regimen.  We expect her to start the treatment next weekend or thereabouts.

Much love,
jk