|
| Life in 2009Okay, so I still am not good at this whole updating regularly thing. This is probably largely due the the fact that life has been very busy and active these past few months. Springing from the last post, I did handle the lower dosage of temodar much better. Some times I barely even remembered I was on chemotherapy, I was just taking some extra pills and I never got too sick from them. Overall life has been great. Jennifer came to Minnesota with us for thanksgiving, as though she didn't get enough time with me staying with me through the hospital and recovery experience. Fall semester finished up fairly well, it was busy and hectic as always, but I managed to get all my classes done, exams graded, grades posted, etc.
In November, Matt got a chance to take us up on a checkride that he had from Lafayette in the King Air. He did well, and it was very cool to see him at work and go for up for a little ride. Somehow it's not quite the same as going up for a ride in the cub. The holiday season went well: I tried to make Christmas a little more special this year than I had in years past and upped the ante a bit on what I gave. It absolutely felt good. I would highly recommend doing that again. I've been working the same way with my giving to the Church: go above and beyond what you normally would feel comfortable with, and you end up realizing that you can make it without it. He provides for you in amazing ways, if you give him the opportunity. New years we spent down in Noblesville and shortly thereafter got to be present for the birth of Jennifer's first niece, who was prophetically dubbed my "almost baby niece."
This January was bitterly cold, and amidst some of the coldest nights, we had a visitor at our back door. A gray-striped cat had been dumped in our neighborhood and needed a place to stay. So of course, he adopted us. We had been talking about getting a gray kitty, but I had always said the the right one would show up. Poor Grayson was already front declawed, had very course fur, a very bony body, and a kinked tail. Since blessing us with his presence he has hidden his ribs with some extra weight and worked himself into all of our hearts. He's half outside and gets the garage and workout room for inside space, so he rounds out our cat coverage very well here. Hopefully he'll catch mice!
In March, Jennifer and I got to use our passports and flew to Toronto where we met up with Mom, Matt, and Corrie for a good friend's wedding. Unfortunately, one weekend is not enough to take in all the sights of Toronto and attend a wedding, especially when trying to coordinate between five people. Still, I think a good time was had by all, and we did get a chance to see Niagra Falls. The spirit of love was in the air. When we got back to Indianapolis, I proposed to Jennifer when an opportunity presented itself. I had been waiting in Toronto, but never really had a good chance because we were too busy running around like crazy people. Oh, sorry to delay the surprise - she said YES! So I am now officially engaged and we're looking at perhaps next summer sometime.
Over spring break I had two things to do. First was to work on my research project, which I was getting pretty well wrapped up. Second, I had some time to do some glider flying (that I had signed up for almost a year ago). I was able to go up for a few flights, and with Charlie Holleman's approval, I went for my first solo in a glider! I was so excited, it was amazing. That day there were some things that I had never had happen to me while flying before. It was the strangest thing when I was flying along and I could heard the rumbling and whistles of a train and sirens of emergency vehicles. Of course it makes sense that you can hear it because you're within a mile and there are no objects in between to block the sound, but it was just bizare for what a pilot is used to. I was also surprised at how much lift I was able to find in the afternoon - it was certainly more than I ever picked up in Monticello, but then again, I had more time here. Being lighter probably also helps (alot).
In April we participated in another relay for life, the celebration of where Jennifer and I met. I thought this year went well, too. Mom was most excited about getting to ride in the Boilermaker Special. I think all this things were working together to make the "Purdue Experience" finally complete for us. Speaking of wrapping up the Purdue experience, this April I successfully defended my Master's Directed Project, which put me one step closer to getting that fancy piece of paper. All I had left to go was make sure I pass my own classes and I would be in the clear. It was tough, and distractions came along, but I managed to pull it all together and finish my own classes and the classes I taught, finishing with a 4.0 in Grad School. Sure it sounds impressive, but I'm pretty sure there is some grade inflation in grad classes, since the students are accustomed to being successful and doing what it takes to get the job done. Nevertheless, that's where I stand.
So what were some of those distractions? Well a lot of medical stuff again. It started off fairly easy with an aggressive game of tag and hide-and-seek with Jennifer's cousins resulting in Tim spraining his ankle in a most dramatic fashion. I had never sprained anything before, so this was a good learning experience for me. This mostly just slowed me down, as I hobbled around from place to place. The big kicker came on april 21st, my 5 year anniversary of having the seizure in the Beechjet. It was the day for my routine 3-month MRI checkup. The same growth that we saw from August to October was about the same size from January to April. Remember, this was while I was still on Temodar, which goes to support the pathology from the October sugery that said the tumor type had changed to a glioblastoma. The Temodar seems to have done a good job with all the rest of the bad cells, but it has changed. So again, with the large and rapidly growning mass of tumor in my head, the best first step is to cut it out.
I was scheduled for May 5th, which was the Tuesday of Finals week. That weekend I had to kick my butt to get all my class stuff done so that I could leave on Monday for the pre-check and MRI on Monday. This caused me to miss out on a final presentation for a pseudo-group project. Ooops! Sorry Danielle - hopefully that worked out alright. With that in mind I went the extra mile and did the other random project that was dropped on us with a week to go. Remember, more work does not equal better quality work, but it got done. The short nights probably didn't help, but by Monday morning I was starting do develop a little bit of a scratchy throat, to which we all groan (oh no, not again...see July 28, 2004). As before, I can never seem to get a surgery done on the originally scheduled date. This one was delayed until May 15. So this resulted in more waiting and a crazy caper to try to get me all better by the 15th, but it worked out. Surgery went fairly well, the MRI's look pretty good, I don't seem to have lost any memory or vision. I did get one strange quirk, however. The right side of my cheek, lower lip, and tongue all have a tingly feeling like I bit my tongue/cheek/lip. We think perhaps one of the nerves got interacted with in cutting on that side. I was able to shower and leave yesterday, both of which were true blessings. I am now happy to be home recovering without all the IV's, blood draws, and checking of my vitals.
For those of you keeping track at home, Purdue Commecement was Sunday the 17th, so once again I had my own version of a cap and gown. I am officially done with school for now (and I'm not too antsy to work on that doctorate) and looking forward to moving on with life. The next main step for me is the new type of chemotherapy. Of course the current tumor cells are not reacting to the Temodar, so after getting some time for my head to heal, I will be starting on some of the more hardcore IV-drip chemotherapies. Here's a quick link; no guarantees on the quality.
So what are my plans for the next few months? That's a good question! First, I'm going to try to recover and see how well I handle the new chemothearpies. Second, since Jennifer is smart enough to be able to find out how to get a job, I am going to try take the lion's share of wedding planning. My Master's Committee Chair and I also are pursuing a unique opportunity that we might be able to get started up here in Delphi or Lafayette. I'm really excited about it as it blends my love of light-sport aviation with good will and elements of Jennifer's profession of adapting disadvantaged people to normal life. I guess they contacted his wife, and we're going to try to pursue it. Read about it at http://www.ableflight.org/ and pray that everything works out. I think it would be a lot of fun, a good use of my skills and background, and be a good opportunity and maybe starting point for me to do some business with light sport/tailwheel instruction.
I think that's all I have on my mind right now: remember there is less of it so a couple of little paragraphs is probably all the oomph I have left. Feel free to contact me individually with comments, questions, and such. I love hearing back from everyone. I hope eveyone has been having at least as good of a year as I have.
| | |
| This past Thursday I started chemotherapy again. I'm on the same drug as I was before - Temodar - but we're going about it differently this time. Last time I was doing monthly cycles of 5 days in a row with 380 mg (If I remember correctly) each, then waiting the rest of the month for my blood counts to come back up. This time we're doing a lower dosage, 140 mg for 21 days with weekly blood draws intertwined in the cycle. I get to rest for 7 days before going back to it. Even here on day three I'm already starting to notice a few of the effects of it. Fortunately, it's not making me nauseous yet. I hope the lighter dosage keeps that down for a much longer time. I'll be in serious trouble if I start to get sick on days 4 or 5 of a 21 day cycle. One of the other side effects I'm noticing is that I've been a bit grumpier the past few days. The other question that I don't have the answer for is "how long will I be on it?" I can only guess it will be 24 months, like last time. Oh joy. The side benefit is with me getting up early in the mornings to take the pills and let my stomach settle is that I make time to get work done where I wasn't earlier in the semester. | | |
| I'm back!Hey everyone, thank you so much for your thoughts and prayers over the past week - I know they were heard and answered, please keep them coming. I was released on Saturday, so I am home now, but getting back into the swing of things is going to take some time. My head is still very sore (imagine that). It was worse than the second surgery which was worse than the first. Each time we re-open through the scar tissue it hurts more. Not only is there that, but they took some skin/fat from my side and used it inside to help seal up the hole, so I got a bit of a tummy tuck as mom calls it. That, too, is sore. My committee chair professor commented that I look like a softball with the 34 staples in the same backwards question mark shape. I feel like one; it feels like my head got wacked with a baseball bat enough times to be a softball. Of course my arms are sore, too, from all the IV's blood draws, and various other needles and each of those pokes in the veins being pushed on repeatedly by a boatload of blood pressure readings. The surgery itself went well, the doctors said the post-op MRI was clean, and we were a bit worried about some fields of vision being lost but it seems like they have all come back alright. In a few weeks (just before halloween, darn) the staples and stitches will come out, and then once the surgeon says it's alright, the neuro-oncologist has cleared me to go back on Temodar, my favorite chemotherapy. So I'll be back on that while trying to finish classes, research, and hopefully sneak some teaching in there. With that in mind I will need much more of God's help, so please keep the prayers coming.
| | |
| Coming Full CircleAs I said in the previous post, no news is good news. Well, here I am posting again. Last Tuesday I went back to Chicago for another 3-month checkup. We had gotten so much into the routine that it really came as a shock when this MRI showed a new spot of growth and some changes to what's inside the cavity itself. I'll cut right to the chase: the short of it is that we're going to go back and do another surgery. It is scheduled for this Wednesday (10/15/08), so please keep me in your thoughts and prayers. After that I'll probably end up back on the chemotherapy. They will not give radiation again to the same area. Overall it's just a sharp reminder of why you need to do check-ups on this sort of thing, and that this is still a part of my life, as much as I wanted to forget about it and get over it. It really puts the pressures of school back into perspective. Sure, I was worried about my class load, my teaching, and getting my research project started (so that I can finish and graduate by next May), but those will all have to take a back seat to the issues as hand. "Don't brag about tomorrow, for you don't know what the day will bring."
-Prov. 27:1 "So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today."
-Mathew 6:34 Overall I'm feeling pretty much like I've been beat over the head, so I'm going to rest up. Thank you all for your support through round one of this thing: I will greatly appreciate your support in fighting round two of this battle. Hopefully this time we get the T.K.O. and it stays down. Every time I get close to graduation this thing rears its head. Maybe I shouldn't persue a doctorate... Peace to all, I hope you are having success facing your own trials. | | |
| Happy Anniversary!For those of you keeping score, it has been four years since my world got shaken up. Those words are strikingly familiar this week I experienced my first earthquake last friday. In Indiana? Who would have guessed. My last entry was two weeks into the school year, so I guess it's fitting that there are only two weeks left. Grad school is a definate change, but I'm getting used to it. By this time next year I should be getting my Master's after a total of 8 years of college. I don't think I'll be ready to face the fact that almost a third of my life will have been spent at Purdue. Teaching is going well, I've got engine overhaul this semester. There are two that have yet to run, but we're getting there. The airplane situation has changed since the last update. We sold the 180 and bought a Cub Crafters Sport Cub, so I can once again fly by myself. When it hasn't been down for "A-model" problems, it has been a real treat to fly. I shared a wonderful spring break with friends, tourning Tennessee from the Eastern mountains to the Mississippi in Memphis. I'm looking forward to sharing the enjoyment of my last summer with friends and family. Life has been good, we're off to Chicago this Thursday for another check-up. The three month cycle has almost become routine. I know no changes is boring, but it is good news for MRIs. | | |
|
|
