tom's blog

nice day today

We had a very nice day today. Everyone (Anna's parents, TJ, Anna and me) spent the day out at our house. TJ was his normal self and kept everyone entertained. I did a bunch of running around in the morning (flu shot, hair cut, dry cleaning, dropped shoes off at the shoe repair/polish guy, stopped by the bank, etc). Anna's parents, TJ and I did a little furniture shopping today and he was crazy in some of the stores. As I was trying to talk with the sales people, I could hear him bouncing off the walls from the other side of the store. He wanted to try out a bunch of the couches and then things got fun when he wanted to play with the expensive lamps. Anna spent a lot of time out of bed. Her time was split a between bed, the kitchen table, the couch and a few other places. She actually helped her mom a little bit with folding laundry and helping in the kitchen. It wasn't too much, but I think it felt good for her to be a little active. I could tell by this evening though that she was tired and ready to get some rest.

This is a little bit of the calm before the storm... she's had a few days now without any chemo. But, chemo starts again on Monday. She actually will need to do outpatient stuff Monday thru Thursday this coming week, so we're prepping a bit for this logistically, emotionally and physically. While we are felling great about the cancer being in remission and being out of the hospital, we have to remain grounded and realize there is still a long road ahead. The upcoming week shouldn't be anything like that first week of chemo, but at the same point it is no walk in the park.

Thanks everyone for all of the comments and for continuing to check in. Your love, support, thoughts and prayers really are appreciated.

friday night!

Anna, her parents and TJ are all staying out at our house tonight. They came out this evening and it was Anna's first time back here. She felt great to be back in our house again.

She had a nice day today over at her parents house. Her parent's are really taking great care of her, along with some help from their friend Mercedes. She slept pretty good, but was up a few times. That seems to be the regular pattern these days. During the day, she took a couple naps but was feeling pretty good for most of the day. Also, since she is over there, she got to spend some really nice time with TJ. As long as you aren't chasing after him, he can be a lot of fun. It is really nice to see them together. The other day, when TJ saw her for the first time, he was a little unsure. I think it's the combination of the hair and just not seeing her for a while. But after she started talking and being around him, it was like they were never apart.

I spoke with the Doctor this evening and he confirmed that the cancer is currently in remission. I know I said it yesterday, but it sounds so good, I decided to say it again! Her outpatient plan starts on Monday, and she'll need to be over there Monday thru Thursday. My mom will be down Sunday night to help out with the transportation and/or watch TJ. Not sure of the exact logistics, but we'll figure that out tomorrow.

Kathleen - good luck tomorrow with the run on Sunday
Everyone - thank you for all the support, comments and the many donations made through www.reddy2run.com

good news x2 (plus pics!)

We busted out of the hospital around 12:30pm. The discharge process took a little longer than expected, as everything seems to do in the hospital. It's kind of like the end of a cruise where you know its time to leave, but they wont let you off the boat. It felt absolutely wonderful to get her out of there today. Anna really met some great people and I'm sure she will stay in touch with many of the nurses. I know some of them read this blog (especially Kristen), so thank you all! The nurses are all fantastic and really made Anna's stay very comfortable. I'm sure sometime soon, we'll be back over there with TJ to say hi to all the girls.

In addition to getting to leave, we also received good news regarding her bone marrow biopsy. As of now, the cancer is officially in remission. This is wonderful, wonderful news. With these results, we now move into the next phase of treatment which includes pretty frequent chemo treatments over the next 2 months, then less frequent treatments over the two year period.

Once we left the hospital, we went to her parent's place and she was able to see TJ for the first time in several weeks. He's a great kid. He was really good with her today. Nice and gentle, which is the biggest concern.

We took a picture leaving the hospital and then another one with TJ. Check them out.

Very emotional day as you can imagine. I'm exhausted, so that's it for now. I'll post more details this weekend.

Go Rays!