This is going to be a very quick fast post & I apologies for that but we just found out yesterday that Tucker gets a 4 week break! He still gets chemo (in the form of pills) at home but as far as going up to the Oncology clinic we are on a BREAK! YIPPEE!!
We really just found this out on Monday- I’ve had no time to plan/prepare for anything fun. I feel like my whole family needs a big BREAK!
So, this is where you come in- we have Justin’s 3 kids for the next 2 weeks and Tucker being on his break and all- we want to go on a family camping trip!
What I need from all you people is this-
Does anybody at all have a cabin in northern Utah (far enough away to get out of here, and close enough that we can drive to) that we could use for a weekend?
My family needs to get OUT so bad and away from TV and away from Xbox and away from all the hospitals, doctors, nurses… blood tests… ect ect…, and just relax somewhere…. Somewhere with coconut oil and hula dancers with a pina colada in my hand………..OH wait, wrong fantasy… *sigh* one day maybe…
But as for now… a cabin? Anybody? Tucker would not hold up well in a tent and I know tons of people out there know a family who has a cabin who may not be using it this weekend or next weekend and would want to donate it for our use? Just for 2 days, because me and Justin still have to work.
Please please please… I know its short notice… but please email me:
amberlaughing@gmail.com
or email my sister
beautifultamy@gmail.com
Any info at all would be SOOOOOOOO much appreciated! I just want to do something NORMAL for once! Any help at all…. I just could not even tell you how much that would mean to me….. & Tucker’s blood counts on Monday were the highest immune system he has had since we have started!!!
Let us know… thank you all!
Love Amber, Justin, 3 kid-o’s (Jaired, Jaiden & Lily), and a camping (?) hopefully Tucker…
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
P A R T Y!
Tucker’s birthday was just- one of the craziest birthday’s I think we have ever had. We started out waking up bright & earlier and ran him down to radiation 8am that morning, I was a little sad we had to do that on his birthday but when they found out it was his big “11” day… as he was getting radiation done the teck’s & nurses ran around the place gathering up little “presents” from him. It was cute, it looked like they had raided somebody’s lunch for that day LOL, they gave him candy & activity books and a blanket. One thing is for sure about Hunstman they don’t keep kids stuff around…. I found a little pocket calculator in Tucker’s “birthday bag”… but it was the thought that counts.
We went from there to my sister Tamy’s house- where her and her family threw Tucker is first ever surprise birthday party! It was SO cute! She had all the kids sitting on the stairs and when we walked in they yelled HAPPY BIRTHDAY TUCKER! She had decorated the house, banners & cake & presents! It was a wonderful surprise! So we hung out there & Tamy ordered Tuckers favorite food (at that time- it changes by the hour I swear!) was Pizza Hut pepperoni pizza. After we were all done munching that down we started to do presents… when a surprise showed up at her door- she had hired a balloon artist guy… ya know, those balloon guys who can make “monkey’s on trees” or a “dog on a leash”… or big silly hats… he was there for an hour and the kids had a blast! I think this guy made everything that he could possibly think of, a few times over. I had with me that day Lily (my step-daughter) and then Tamy’s 4 kids (yes even her new baby Steelie sat and watched the balloon guy & was entertained!). So needless to say we all had every shape and size of balloons. Even Tamy & I ended up with silly balloon hats. What a FUN time, thank you Tamy for making that so special for Tucker. Tamy also had a creative idea that turned out awesome; she “made” a shirt for Tucker for him to wear and everybody to sign. I’m so proud of her crafty side, she doesn’t show it very often (haha) but when she does it is awesome! I think all of her kids have now had her make them a shirt. So cute. With Tamy’s party & Tucker’s party later that night there wasn’t a spot left on that shirt to sign!
After we left Tamy’s house we came home and Tucker went to sleep- he was TIRED & he knew that we had big plans for that night. Angie- my guardian angel- showed up with her car FULL TO THE BRIMS of decorations, food & chairs. Her & I worked on decorating the house from top to bottom for 3 hours straight we decorated…. It looked AWESOME. Angie- I don’t know what I ever would have done without you in my life. I owe you so much. Thank you thank you thank you.
At 7ish my coworker/good friend made Tucker a very VERY special birthday cake! She hand made a dragon Bakugan battle ball…. I can’t even properly describe it to you. Just look at the pictures it took her weeks to make and it looks like one of those cakes you would find on the cakes shows from The Food Network- it was THAT AMAZING! Donalene, it was perfect- it was wonderful- it was amazing- it was more than I had expected- you are truly gifted, thank you.
Then after that it was a poring people! People just started showing up! I am absolutely amazed by how many people wanted to celebrate Tucker’s birthday with us. It brings me to tears every time I think of it. Justin started grilling and stayed grilling for about 2 hours burgers & hot dogs & 1 steak for Tucker! Thank you honey!! Angie, Karyn, Donalene, Charity (my older sister), Lisa Call (a cancer mom from Provo & her boys showed up!!)& my mother-in-law Karleen, took over ever other task for me that needed to be done. The simple things like getting the lettuce ready, getting the tomatoes chopped ect… the tedious things that you don’t think about until the last minute. I cannot express enough thanks and love to these wonderful women in my life. I DON’T KNOW WHAT I WOULD HAVE DONE WITHOUT YOU!!!! I feel so- at a loss to really express my feelings for these wonderful women.
On a sad note, I had hurt my back (probably just the stress) and was walking around in a daze for most of the night. I got to mingle with everybody (I sure hope I did)… Tucker- I can’t believe his strength… he sucked it up and walked around and around saying hello to everybody & making sure everybody signed his shirt… I was amazed; he told me nothing was holding him back tonight! After we sang to him and everybody was full- we moved to the front lawn and the fireworks show began! Everybody brought fireworks to “share” and we had TONS & TONS & TONS! And more than one family/person- bought the really expensive huge high blasting big sky fireworks! THANK YOU!!! It was AMAZING! Tucker said “IT WAS THE BEST BIRTHDAY I’VE EVER HAD!” and that is saying A LOT! Each year I do big party’s for him, I can’t help it- he’s my only son and has been battling cancer since he was 4, it just seems like every year we celebrate another birthday is like a huge accomplishment and something to make a big deal out of. I have NO idea how I’m going to top this next year. Thank you to everybody who showed up & came to give your love and support! A special thanks to my brother& sister in law, Anthony & Hailey- they showed up & just started cleaning! Also, Karyn, John & their kids just started cleaning and cleaning! By the time the fireworks were over & I went out back to survey the damage- it was sparkly clean! I was soooooooooooooooooo grateful. I think there is a special place in all of our hearts to the people who see a need and get to work filling that need.
Look at the pictures and see what fun we had.
Love to all, Amber & Justin & the now 11 year old…. Tucker-man.
sorry guys blogger did it again, flipped some of my pictures and I don't know why:( |
| The big Candy card the kids made for Tucker Aspen (yellow shirt), Autumn (green shirt) and Xavier |
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| His totally dorky but AWESOME shirt I made Tucker.... |
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| The totally awesome shirt Aunt Tamy made and I wrote "Aunt Tamy Rocks" on his shirt. |
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| The kids waiting to be impressed by balloons. Steelie (7 weeks), Aspen, Autumn, Xavier, Tucker and Lily |
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| Tamy and Amber even got one! |
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| Tucker with one of the MANY balloon creations |
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| The not so awesome store bought cake that Aunt Tamy got for Tucker. We added the Lego's on it to try and make it Cool. Oh that's right Tucker said nobody says "cool" anymore.....Tamy |
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| The "surprise" balloon guy entertaining the kids |
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| New Hat given to Tucker from Mom and Dad |
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| Tucker's birthday Doggy Kisses |
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| tucker @ radiation, that's his face mask that they use to hold him in place for his brain radiation.. yet, they decorated it for him |
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| Tucker and cousin Xavier |
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| Tucker's awesome cake by Donalene |
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| Tucker's awesome cake by Donalene |
Friday, July 22, 2011
Happy 11th Birthday Tucker!
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| Julyy 22, 2011 11 years old! Picture taken by Aunt Tamy |
Dear Tucker
Happy Birthday my love. Words cannot express my love for you- and each & every day my love for you grows stronger, and its not just my love for you that grows- I'm so proud of you, I'm so amazed by you, I'm so in awe of your ability to smile each day, I'm so amazed by your bright upbeat attitude your giving kind nature- your sweet spirit that wants to play and laugh and live your life to the fullest.
If you would have asked me when you were born- mom, would I ever have cancer? I would have said NO WAY! NO WAY WOULD MY ANGEL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THAT.
And Then we did.... I was overwhelmed by your accepting nature, your love for life- I seriously believe that no other child could have handled cancer the way you did the first time. You never questioned anything, you do anything and everything that was asked of you- and you did WONDERFUL- I am so proud of you, You went through so much at such a young age but you made it seem so easy.
If you would have asked me when you were in remission- Mom, would I ever have cancer again? I would have said... NO WAY! NO WAY WOULD MY ANGEL HAVE TO GO THROUGH THAT- AGAIN.
But here we are, battling it again- and I'm amazed AGAIN by your accepting nature, your love for life, your passion for living, your funny sense of humor (obviously gotten from me), your mellow attitude and again, accepting everything we have to put you through without hesitation. Sure you have more questions this time around- but who wouldn't, I have a MILLION questions and they all start with WHY... WHY... WHY... ? And even though I can't give you the answers you want to hear or the answer I want to hear..... you just take it, and move on. I'm amazed by you. I'm so grateful for you. Tucker, you are my one and only and never in a million years would i want it any other way. My life is perfect because I have you & Justin in it. What ever other trials life has in store for us, we will suck it up- and make our way through it- but rest assure we WILL make it through it, there are no other options. Happy birthday my darling.... you started out a big fat screaming baby and now your growing up to be such a young wonderful man. Please don't grow up to fast, please? I love you.
Mom.
Birthday/Yearly Pictures of Tucker!!!
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| July 22, 2000 Baby Tucker 10 pounds 6 ounces |
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| 1 year old Tucker 2001 |
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| 2002 2 year old Tucker (pre-glasses) |
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| 2003 Tucker 2-3 years old |
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| October 2004 4 years old |
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| August 2005 1st round of Cancer Tucker 5 years old |
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| August 2005 1st round of Cancer 5 years old |
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| February 2006 5 1/2 years old |
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| October 2006 6 years old with Amber |
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| July 22, 2006 6 year old birthday |
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| September 4, 2007 Make a Wish Trip to Disney World 7 years old |
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| February 2008 7 1/2 years old |
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| September 13, 2008 Amber & Justin's Wedding 8 years old |
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| June 2009 Tucker 9 years old |
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| July 22, 2009 9th Birthday with new puppy Raven |
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| July 22, 2010 Cowabunga Bay Party 10 years old |
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| October 2010 fall Picture right before relapse |
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
It Was a No-Make-Up Day!
Every woman can relate to a no-make-up day. You get up & out of bed, you get your kids up, you didn’t sleep good, you have a grumpy husband, the dryer didn’t dry all your cloths now they are damp & wrinkled- the shirt you wanted to wear was in that batch- your out of creamer for your coffee, the garbage didn’t get taken out, the dogs were out of food, your kid is extra grumpy and complaining that he didn’t get enough sleep, the dishes weren’t done, the floors not swept, there are fly’s in the house and I’m pretty sure I just threw a red shirt in with the white towels in the wash-DANG-.... I burnt the toast, and ran out of butter anyways…. No orange juice was left, yet the container was still in the fridge…..
TUCKER, take your pills…now I need to rush and….
Feed the dogs…
Feed the Tucker…
Take out the trash…
Kill some fly’s…
Comfort complaining kid…
Pet the whining dogs…
Check the time- DANG, were late!
Double check the oven, yes its off- rush out the door, get in the car… DANG, ran back inside, grab the kid… (as if I could forget him… but there are some days..), rush back out to the car- got the Tucker, get in car- DANG- need car keys… RUSH back inside the house- grab the keys- out the door… time to rush rush rush…get half way to SLC…. And DANG- I forgot to put on make up
*sigh*.
It was a no-make-up-day for sure.
I think it’s a telling sign when you see a mom at a hospital with no makeup on, to take some precautions around her. Handle her with care and be cautious….
1- Don’t point out she doesn’t have make up on- yes we know.
2- Don’t tell her she looks tired, please LIE and tell her she looks wonderful
3- Its probably best not to approach this women at ALL just to be on the safe side. And for those unfortunate people who do have to approach us- do so with caution…. And with some chocolate- and please don’t make any sudden movements….
4- Don’t point out the big bags under her eyes (LIE TO US-BETTER YET, DON’T MENTION IT- that’s the safest way)
5- Don’t ask us how our day is going- if we don’t have makeup on- then it didn’t start out great and it’s probably gotten worse- it may be a better day if you have chocolate- do you have some chocolate?
Radiation this month has caused a lot of no-make-up-days for me. Its been a hard month of daily trips to SLC is just hard on us & especially on Tucker. It’s caused a lot of jumbling work schedules and radiation schedules and chemo schedules….just to clarify, Tucker is getting radiation done at the Huntsman Cancer Institute that is directly behind Primary Children’s Hospital in SLC. The Huntsman is a beautiful hospital, but- they lack the basic ability to STAY ON SCHEDULE. We have a scheduled time daily for Tucker’s radiation at 4:30pm. For most days we show up at 3-3:30pm just so we are not late, and they are ALWAYS running behind schedule! There have been days when he didn’t get seen until 5:30 or 6pm! One of the most annoying things is waiting- when you were on time, you were prompt- you were extra cautious and showed up early- and then you have to wait HOURS! Ugh! That just tick’s me off. Tucker has the patients of a 10 year old- so that’s “little to none”. At this point we only have 6 days left- and I CAN’T WAIT for this to be over!
Justin & I have been trading off days on taking Tucker up, I went yesterday, Justin went today- and its been working great.. Karyn also had a day off of work last week and she took Tucker up- it was a huge help. Tori (Karyn & John’s daughter) has been going up with Tucker almost everyday- she is HEAVEN SENT! She helps entertain Tucker & just listing to him talk & talk & complain, or plays games with him, or just bugs him- but even that gives him something to do- bug her back! On one of our long waiting days when radiation was like 2 hours behind- she sat and played UNO with Tucker for what had to be the worlds LONGEST game of UNO I’ve ever seen- I told them if the just both stopped cheating then the game might actually END…
I decided to trade Tucker’s 4:30pm time slot for 8am, so I showed up at 8am yesterday (Monday) and they had us scheduled to start the 8am slot on Wednesday….. see what I mean? Its been like a scheduling nightmare with them every time I turn around! But the lady looked at me yesterday, probably noticed my lack of make-up, she offered me some chocolate, and promised to get Tucker right in.
She must understand the no-make-up-day.
On the bright side, this Friday is Tucker’s 11th birthday. He has been bouncing off the walls so excited. I can’t believe my baby is going to be 11! Time sure is flying fast. We are having a BBQ & fireworks party at our house on Friday and my guardian angel ANGIE SANDERSON has been planning the whole thing for me! –THANK YOU ANGIE! I COULD NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!!!!
I’ll take lots of pictures and let you know how it goes.
Love to all- Amber (yes, I have make-up on today), Justin (look out! He doesn’t have his makeup on today! LOL ) and Tucker- my almost 11 year old boy.
Tamy's Post*** It was a make up day for me and I still had a look that said *Approach With Caution*. Amber, Tucker and Tori came over around 9:30am and we decided to take a trip to the Living Planet Aquarium between Tuckers Radiation appointment and Chemo appointment. We loaded all the kids in the suburban, stopped by McDonald's to load up on carbs and caffeine and went to the aquarium. The kids had fun and it was pretty empty which was nice and the fish were being feed and were active which was fun to see. We had a little issue trying to get out without buying the kids toys from the gift shop. I was successful, Amber was not, lol. I believe Tucker left with a giant snake. Then it was back to my house where I turned into a Short Order Cook. I believe I made every kid including Amber something different to eat and boy did we eat. LOL. Tori and Amber ran to Target so Tori could get a Secret gift for girls camp and I helped her make it cute. Thanks for coming and hanging I really did have fun. Tamy, Aspen, Autumn, Xavier and Steelie
Xavier, Autumn, Tucker and Aspen in front of the penguins
Tamy & Amber we were trying to get a good picture
Amber and Tucker
Tucker, Aspen, Autumn, Xavier, Tori and Amber swimming in the boat
TUCKER, take your pills…now I need to rush and….
Feed the dogs…
Feed the Tucker…
Take out the trash…
Kill some fly’s…
Comfort complaining kid…
Pet the whining dogs…
Check the time- DANG, were late!
Double check the oven, yes its off- rush out the door, get in the car… DANG, ran back inside, grab the kid… (as if I could forget him… but there are some days..), rush back out to the car- got the Tucker, get in car- DANG- need car keys… RUSH back inside the house- grab the keys- out the door… time to rush rush rush…get half way to SLC…. And DANG- I forgot to put on make up
*sigh*.
It was a no-make-up-day for sure.
I think it’s a telling sign when you see a mom at a hospital with no makeup on, to take some precautions around her. Handle her with care and be cautious….
1- Don’t point out she doesn’t have make up on- yes we know.
2- Don’t tell her she looks tired, please LIE and tell her she looks wonderful
3- Its probably best not to approach this women at ALL just to be on the safe side. And for those unfortunate people who do have to approach us- do so with caution…. And with some chocolate- and please don’t make any sudden movements….
4- Don’t point out the big bags under her eyes (LIE TO US-BETTER YET, DON’T MENTION IT- that’s the safest way)
5- Don’t ask us how our day is going- if we don’t have makeup on- then it didn’t start out great and it’s probably gotten worse- it may be a better day if you have chocolate- do you have some chocolate?
Radiation this month has caused a lot of no-make-up-days for me. Its been a hard month of daily trips to SLC is just hard on us & especially on Tucker. It’s caused a lot of jumbling work schedules and radiation schedules and chemo schedules….just to clarify, Tucker is getting radiation done at the Huntsman Cancer Institute that is directly behind Primary Children’s Hospital in SLC. The Huntsman is a beautiful hospital, but- they lack the basic ability to STAY ON SCHEDULE. We have a scheduled time daily for Tucker’s radiation at 4:30pm. For most days we show up at 3-3:30pm just so we are not late, and they are ALWAYS running behind schedule! There have been days when he didn’t get seen until 5:30 or 6pm! One of the most annoying things is waiting- when you were on time, you were prompt- you were extra cautious and showed up early- and then you have to wait HOURS! Ugh! That just tick’s me off. Tucker has the patients of a 10 year old- so that’s “little to none”. At this point we only have 6 days left- and I CAN’T WAIT for this to be over!
Justin & I have been trading off days on taking Tucker up, I went yesterday, Justin went today- and its been working great.. Karyn also had a day off of work last week and she took Tucker up- it was a huge help. Tori (Karyn & John’s daughter) has been going up with Tucker almost everyday- she is HEAVEN SENT! She helps entertain Tucker & just listing to him talk & talk & complain, or plays games with him, or just bugs him- but even that gives him something to do- bug her back! On one of our long waiting days when radiation was like 2 hours behind- she sat and played UNO with Tucker for what had to be the worlds LONGEST game of UNO I’ve ever seen- I told them if the just both stopped cheating then the game might actually END…
I decided to trade Tucker’s 4:30pm time slot for 8am, so I showed up at 8am yesterday (Monday) and they had us scheduled to start the 8am slot on Wednesday….. see what I mean? Its been like a scheduling nightmare with them every time I turn around! But the lady looked at me yesterday, probably noticed my lack of make-up, she offered me some chocolate, and promised to get Tucker right in.
She must understand the no-make-up-day.
On the bright side, this Friday is Tucker’s 11th birthday. He has been bouncing off the walls so excited. I can’t believe my baby is going to be 11! Time sure is flying fast. We are having a BBQ & fireworks party at our house on Friday and my guardian angel ANGIE SANDERSON has been planning the whole thing for me! –THANK YOU ANGIE! I COULD NOT DO THIS WITHOUT YOU!!!!
I’ll take lots of pictures and let you know how it goes.
Love to all- Amber (yes, I have make-up on today), Justin (look out! He doesn’t have his makeup on today! LOL ) and Tucker- my almost 11 year old boy.
Tamy's Post*** It was a make up day for me and I still had a look that said *Approach With Caution*. Amber, Tucker and Tori came over around 9:30am and we decided to take a trip to the Living Planet Aquarium between Tuckers Radiation appointment and Chemo appointment. We loaded all the kids in the suburban, stopped by McDonald's to load up on carbs and caffeine and went to the aquarium. The kids had fun and it was pretty empty which was nice and the fish were being feed and were active which was fun to see. We had a little issue trying to get out without buying the kids toys from the gift shop. I was successful, Amber was not, lol. I believe Tucker left with a giant snake. Then it was back to my house where I turned into a Short Order Cook. I believe I made every kid including Amber something different to eat and boy did we eat. LOL. Tori and Amber ran to Target so Tori could get a Secret gift for girls camp and I helped her make it cute. Thanks for coming and hanging I really did have fun. Tamy, Aspen, Autumn, Xavier and Steelie
Tucker and Tori at Radiation
Xavier, Autumn, Tucker and Aspen in front of the penguins
Tamy & Amber we were trying to get a good picture
Amber and Tucker
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Chemotherapy & Radiation....It's like Strawberry Ice-Cream & Pickles
Aluminum foil… and microwaves…
Honesty… and politics…
Julia Roberts.. and Lyle Lovett
Dictionary’s…and teenagers…
Cats… and water… (They REALLY don’t go together, but when it does happen.. it’s very funny LOL)
Children… and cancer…
Green Eggs & Ham.. (LOL –it totally goes in this list!)
So today is the first day of our, what I like to call “wrong paring”. I honestly think that doing either chemo or radiation is enough for anybody out there, and that its just wrong to do both at the same time. Medically is it wrong? Of course not, we wouldn’t be doing it if it was wrong or it wasn’t safe…. I’m just throwing a fit right now because I’m scared. It just seems like SO much in one day. I mean a day long treatment of chemo is enough for anybody … and then to ask them to squeeze in radiation? Just seems wrong, but its right- its just a lot for the mind to absorb, correction….its a lot for MY mind to absorb… we all know my mind works WAY different than most, this blog is an excellent example of that.
I’m having a hard time putting the 2 situations in my head together, chemotherapy & radiation- but I have a lot of problems putting things together in my head that I think should not go together, yet DO go together (yes, my personal opinions follows… please skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to read my mental derailment),
*I don’t like meshing colored play dough with other different colored play dough they should never go together….
*I don’t think BBQ potato chips should be eaten with PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY SANDWICHES (*JUSTIN, I’m looking at you*),
*me & directions (got lost a few times last week with the so-called “directions”… whatever MAP QUEST! That was hard to find! Your “map” showed a straight LINE… LIAR! LOL)
*I don’t think Elmer’s glue and 2year old kids go together………
The point of my crazy ramblings is that even though I don’t think they go together, eventually they do- Justin eats PB&J with BBQ chips (nope, not kidding), I’ve seen plenty of 2 year olds glue in their mouth, hair, fingers & clothes… and I’m the only person on this earth that thinks colored play dough should not touch each other, which makes me feel like I’M wrong on that count… but things come together eventually (quicker if you have a 2year old with glue.. HA-HA)… I don’t think me and DIRECTIONS will ever mesh… but honestly every once and a while I get it right- except for last week, I finally broke down and admitted to Justin via cell phone, that I was hopelessly lost (I turned left instead of right & ended up in a different town- doesn’t everybody make that mistake?) and then finally Chemotherapy and Radiation… a very un-fun paring - kinda like- Freddy vs Jason ( ya know, Freddy Krueger & Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th scary paring!!!!) …. But the point being (yes yes, I’m making it) it’s a pairing non-the-less in our life, no not the Freddy Krueger thing *shutter*… the chemo & radiation thing…
Tucker did great- day 1 of 16, under our belts. His blood counts were great! He took the chemo great! I kept him on a steady dose of anti-anxiety meds today so he was extra loopy. I know you all want to hear about how the first radiation went… ya I can see how all my ‘blah,blah,blah’ about chemo could get boring.. LOL-
Radiation- nope I still don’t quite understand how it works or what it does, but we did it. They strapped on Tucker’s mask and lock him to the table… they (about 3 techs/nurses) get out their sharpie markers and mark all over his body… I think in August, when this is all over, at that time is when I’ll try to clean off all the black sharpie marks on him… until then, heck I don’t care.. Tucker here’s your own Sharpie… write your radiation techs a big message right on your stomach telling them what you think of it…. And lets surprise them tomorrow when they lay you out on the table and lift up your shirt…….. LOL, can’t you just imagine it? You’re lying on the table and a tech lifts up your shirt and he see’s this big message I HATE RADIATION, THIS IS NOT FUN- PLEASE BRIBE ME WITH CANDY- IT WILL GO SMOOTHER FOR BOTH OF US
Ok, I’m going to have to give that a try…. That was a brilliant idea! Man, I amaze myself. We ran into a couple snags today, but we got it done. It was quick also! Took about 15 minutes, I was surprised. His tummy hurts and he has a headache. Justin is taking him up tomorrow (Wednesday) for round 2. We have Tori, Karyn & John’s daughter staying with us now helping me watch Tucker, I’m very grateful.
And I gotta wrap this up…. Poor Tucker has just started puking….
Love to all Amber, Justin and our strong kid….Tucker
Tucker at Chemo
Chemo
Tucker Getting Ready for Radiation
Tucker ready for radiation, but trying to forget about the big machine looming over his head...
This is the sharpie art work from the radiation techs today...
Honesty… and politics…
Julia Roberts.. and Lyle Lovett
Dictionary’s…and teenagers…
Cats… and water… (They REALLY don’t go together, but when it does happen.. it’s very funny LOL)
Children… and cancer…
Green Eggs & Ham.. (LOL –it totally goes in this list!)
So today is the first day of our, what I like to call “wrong paring”. I honestly think that doing either chemo or radiation is enough for anybody out there, and that its just wrong to do both at the same time. Medically is it wrong? Of course not, we wouldn’t be doing it if it was wrong or it wasn’t safe…. I’m just throwing a fit right now because I’m scared. It just seems like SO much in one day. I mean a day long treatment of chemo is enough for anybody … and then to ask them to squeeze in radiation? Just seems wrong, but its right- its just a lot for the mind to absorb, correction….its a lot for MY mind to absorb… we all know my mind works WAY different than most, this blog is an excellent example of that.
I’m having a hard time putting the 2 situations in my head together, chemotherapy & radiation- but I have a lot of problems putting things together in my head that I think should not go together, yet DO go together (yes, my personal opinions follows… please skip to the next paragraph if you don’t want to read my mental derailment),
*I don’t like meshing colored play dough with other different colored play dough they should never go together….
*I don’t think BBQ potato chips should be eaten with PEANUT BUTTER & JELLY SANDWICHES (*JUSTIN, I’m looking at you*),
*me & directions (got lost a few times last week with the so-called “directions”… whatever MAP QUEST! That was hard to find! Your “map” showed a straight LINE… LIAR! LOL)
*I don’t think Elmer’s glue and 2year old kids go together………
The point of my crazy ramblings is that even though I don’t think they go together, eventually they do- Justin eats PB&J with BBQ chips (nope, not kidding), I’ve seen plenty of 2 year olds glue in their mouth, hair, fingers & clothes… and I’m the only person on this earth that thinks colored play dough should not touch each other, which makes me feel like I’M wrong on that count… but things come together eventually (quicker if you have a 2year old with glue.. HA-HA)… I don’t think me and DIRECTIONS will ever mesh… but honestly every once and a while I get it right- except for last week, I finally broke down and admitted to Justin via cell phone, that I was hopelessly lost (I turned left instead of right & ended up in a different town- doesn’t everybody make that mistake?) and then finally Chemotherapy and Radiation… a very un-fun paring - kinda like- Freddy vs Jason ( ya know, Freddy Krueger & Jason Voorhees from Friday the 13th scary paring!!!!) …. But the point being (yes yes, I’m making it) it’s a pairing non-the-less in our life, no not the Freddy Krueger thing *shutter*… the chemo & radiation thing…
Tucker did great- day 1 of 16, under our belts. His blood counts were great! He took the chemo great! I kept him on a steady dose of anti-anxiety meds today so he was extra loopy. I know you all want to hear about how the first radiation went… ya I can see how all my ‘blah,blah,blah’ about chemo could get boring.. LOL-
Radiation- nope I still don’t quite understand how it works or what it does, but we did it. They strapped on Tucker’s mask and lock him to the table… they (about 3 techs/nurses) get out their sharpie markers and mark all over his body… I think in August, when this is all over, at that time is when I’ll try to clean off all the black sharpie marks on him… until then, heck I don’t care.. Tucker here’s your own Sharpie… write your radiation techs a big message right on your stomach telling them what you think of it…. And lets surprise them tomorrow when they lay you out on the table and lift up your shirt…….. LOL, can’t you just imagine it? You’re lying on the table and a tech lifts up your shirt and he see’s this big message I HATE RADIATION, THIS IS NOT FUN- PLEASE BRIBE ME WITH CANDY- IT WILL GO SMOOTHER FOR BOTH OF US
Ok, I’m going to have to give that a try…. That was a brilliant idea! Man, I amaze myself. We ran into a couple snags today, but we got it done. It was quick also! Took about 15 minutes, I was surprised. His tummy hurts and he has a headache. Justin is taking him up tomorrow (Wednesday) for round 2. We have Tori, Karyn & John’s daughter staying with us now helping me watch Tucker, I’m very grateful.
And I gotta wrap this up…. Poor Tucker has just started puking….
Love to all Amber, Justin and our strong kid….Tucker
Tucker at Chemo
Friday, July 1, 2011
A HUGE thank you to 97.5 The Blaze
Today Justin was on 97.5 The Blaze to promote the benefit concert. Thank you so much to The Blaze for the generous gift of air time. For more information about The Blaze, go to their website at http://www.975theblaze.com/home or their facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/TheBlaze975.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Radiation, Sadly it won't turn you into the HULK
Today was our big start to the radiation day and it was what I thought it would be the consult….. the pep talk before the big game, the calm before the storm, the breakdown of the puzzle before it all comes together, the chef getting all the ingredients ready first, the many Lego's parts & pieces all spread out in preparations of building a Lego-thingy (I don’t know Lego terms… I just stepped on a Lego piece so it was fresh on my mind). It was very interesting. As always in these big meetings I always understand about 90% of what is said (they do break it down in the “dummy” version pretty good) and I retain about 50% of all the info in my head. I had caught myself asking the same question more than once, and I would just apologies because- sometimes when you ask a question, you get an answer but you don’t really plug in that answer until presented with the situation that the answer falls in; Ya, that’s how my brain works.
Dr. Poppy is Tucker’s main Radiologist, he’s a great guy. The meeting was very, well, it was a roller coaster of emotions, to be honest. Dr. Poppy explained that Tucker is going to get 16 days of radiation, 10 days on both his brain & spine, and 6 days extra on his brain. We will officially start our day 1 on this coming Tuesday after the holiday. First off the Dr talked about the exact places Tucker will be receiving radiation, and the only concerning part to this (aside from the obvious BRAIN radiation) is when you radiate the spinal column you also get radiation on everything in the “path” of the spinal column…. So Tucker esophagus, lungs, stomach… ect. Look at your body and think of all your organs that run right down of the center of you... and that’s what will most likely get some radiation. Now don’t you all panic at once or anything, Dr. Poppy reassured us over and over that the level of radiation is so small it really should not do any damage at all to any other parts of Tucker’s body. This particular type of cancer cells react very quickly and are easily affected by radiation, because of this they don’t have to use high doses. That’s a relief. When Dr. Poppy was done explain this part of the process he asked if we had any questions…. And this was the start….
Justin said- “Yes, I have a very serious question… when exactly will Tucker turn green and get his super strength powers?”
Dr Poppy, looking stunned for only a second, replied quickly with – “Oh no, THE HULK dose is a much higher setting than what Tucker will be getting, Sorry Tucker you won’t turn green or get super strength powers.” And we all burst out laughing.
Justin- “so when will he glow in the dark?”
Tucker- “I’ll get to glow in the dark? How will I sleep?”
Dr. Poppy- “sorry, no glowing this time, that’s up there with the HULK setting.”
That’s one of the things I love about Justin so much, he can break the tension with such off handed remarks that you can’t help but laugh.
Dr Poppy went on to talk to us about side effects, every parents nightmare, the dreaded side effects….. but the doc had us reassured in no time… the most likely side effect would be nausea, mostly due to the radiation his stomach will inadvertently get, oh and headaches. You see they 99% of the time use steroids with the radiation when you do brain radiation and that keeps the headaches down. Well we can’t use steroids because of Tucker’s AVN so he is probably going to get some headaches… and we will deal with those as/if they come. There, of course, is some slight possibilities of some brain damage…(I know you were all wondering) but he thinks this is such a light dose of radiation that his IQ may only be affected, if even at all, by a few points. Dr. Poppy went on and on about “slight possibility” this and “mostly likely won’t happen” that, that I stopped him- I said… “Dr. Poppy do you realize that every time in Oncology when a doctor has said “slight possibility” or “probably won’t happen” or “very low chance”…. That it has ACTUALLY happened to Tucker on multiple occasions?????”
At which point Justin burst out laughing saying – “SHE’S GOT A POINT IT ALL SEEMS TO HAPPEN WITH TUCKER!”
Dr. Poppy again reassured us that radiation is much easier then chemo and very different, so hopefully this time the “very low/non-existence/slight-most-likely-not” phrases will actually apply.
Man, I hope so.
So onto the rest of the day, they wanted to get Tucker all set up with his “alignment” on the machine so we would be ready for radiation on Tuesday. I never realized how much pre-work goes into radiation. He had to get a full head “cast” thing- it was cool. They took this mesh got it all wet and put it on Tucker’s whole head/face and then molded it to his head. This mask will be marked with the very specific points of where the radiation machine will…. be? (I’m still not good with the radiation lingo… so please just have patients..) anyways, each time the machine has to be lined up at the exact same spots on Tuckers body so he gets the exact same radiation in the same place each time. So we had to sit through the “mask” making, Tucker did great. Then he had to get a full body CT scan, and that was pretty cool. Justin and I sat in the back and got to watch Tucker’s inside appear on the CT scan computer screen, and we saw that he had a lot of gas bubbles ready to come out… and that he probably had to pee soon…. LOL But the CT scan was to get his spin in “line” for the radiation points. We now had the mask for his head with the important points, but they need to TATTOOOOOO on the “points” for the radiation on his body for the spinal column set. They had 2 tech’s with black permanent markers drawing all over Tucker…. At first it was funny -Tucker said it tickled….. BUT then they said they had finished the 5 marks for Tucker, time to tattoo in the mark.
Me: I’m sorry, did you just say you’re going to tattoo my 10 year old son?
Them: Yes, we have to tattoo in the points so the machine lines up at the exact same place each time. He must get radiation in the same place each time. If we tattoo it on then there is no room for error.
Justin: Could you make the tattoo in the shape of a princess something-or-other or even Barbie?
Tucker: Nooooooooo!! No princess stuff no BARBIE!
Me: Yes, k, I get that he needs it…. It just took my breath away that I’m consenting to my 10 year old GETTING INKED. Could this be the start of a lifetime addiction of tattoos for him?
Them: Most likely not, kids don’t seem to like the whole needle thing that you have to use to tattoo with.
At this point Tucker really didn’t have an opinion of tattoos and really didn’t have a clue how one got a tattoo…. Until the teck dude said this key phrase to Tucker: “Tucker this is your tattoo ink, and this is the tattoo needle I’m going to use”…..
Tucker: “Wait, what? Needle? What are you going to do with that needle?”
Tech: “I’m going to gently push the ink into your skin with this needle……… ect….”
Well, I don’t really need to tell you what Tucker’s response was at this point, he didn’t want a tattoo now, it has to do with needles? No thank you, but then Tucker takes a deep breath and says right after saying he doesn’t want to do this… he says “if this is what I got to do to get better then just do it.” 5 tattoos later, along with a little screaming and a bunch of tears….. we were done.
This Friday we go in for a “dry run” on the radiation machine. They take Tucker in and lay him down with his mask on and have the radiation machine programmed in aligned with his “points” and they “run” his course, but without the radiation. In doing this Dr. Poppy at that time can make any slight adjustments to Tucker’s plan or reline him if needed. This will also help Tucker see what he is going to be going through for the next 16 days without the side effects of actually getting the radiation.
Here are some pictures of our “fun” time up there.
Love to all
Amber Justin & the soon to be-THE HULK…I mean, Tucker
*I tried to get the pictures in order but blogger was being stupid, sorry* Tamy
Dr. Poppy is Tucker’s main Radiologist, he’s a great guy. The meeting was very, well, it was a roller coaster of emotions, to be honest. Dr. Poppy explained that Tucker is going to get 16 days of radiation, 10 days on both his brain & spine, and 6 days extra on his brain. We will officially start our day 1 on this coming Tuesday after the holiday. First off the Dr talked about the exact places Tucker will be receiving radiation, and the only concerning part to this (aside from the obvious BRAIN radiation) is when you radiate the spinal column you also get radiation on everything in the “path” of the spinal column…. So Tucker esophagus, lungs, stomach… ect. Look at your body and think of all your organs that run right down of the center of you... and that’s what will most likely get some radiation. Now don’t you all panic at once or anything, Dr. Poppy reassured us over and over that the level of radiation is so small it really should not do any damage at all to any other parts of Tucker’s body. This particular type of cancer cells react very quickly and are easily affected by radiation, because of this they don’t have to use high doses. That’s a relief. When Dr. Poppy was done explain this part of the process he asked if we had any questions…. And this was the start….
Justin said- “Yes, I have a very serious question… when exactly will Tucker turn green and get his super strength powers?”
Dr Poppy, looking stunned for only a second, replied quickly with – “Oh no, THE HULK dose is a much higher setting than what Tucker will be getting, Sorry Tucker you won’t turn green or get super strength powers.” And we all burst out laughing.
Justin- “so when will he glow in the dark?”
Tucker- “I’ll get to glow in the dark? How will I sleep?”
Dr. Poppy- “sorry, no glowing this time, that’s up there with the HULK setting.”
That’s one of the things I love about Justin so much, he can break the tension with such off handed remarks that you can’t help but laugh.
Dr Poppy went on to talk to us about side effects, every parents nightmare, the dreaded side effects….. but the doc had us reassured in no time… the most likely side effect would be nausea, mostly due to the radiation his stomach will inadvertently get, oh and headaches. You see they 99% of the time use steroids with the radiation when you do brain radiation and that keeps the headaches down. Well we can’t use steroids because of Tucker’s AVN so he is probably going to get some headaches… and we will deal with those as/if they come. There, of course, is some slight possibilities of some brain damage…(I know you were all wondering) but he thinks this is such a light dose of radiation that his IQ may only be affected, if even at all, by a few points. Dr. Poppy went on and on about “slight possibility” this and “mostly likely won’t happen” that, that I stopped him- I said… “Dr. Poppy do you realize that every time in Oncology when a doctor has said “slight possibility” or “probably won’t happen” or “very low chance”…. That it has ACTUALLY happened to Tucker on multiple occasions?????”
At which point Justin burst out laughing saying – “SHE’S GOT A POINT IT ALL SEEMS TO HAPPEN WITH TUCKER!”
Dr. Poppy again reassured us that radiation is much easier then chemo and very different, so hopefully this time the “very low/non-existence/slight-most-likely-not” phrases will actually apply.
Man, I hope so.
So onto the rest of the day, they wanted to get Tucker all set up with his “alignment” on the machine so we would be ready for radiation on Tuesday. I never realized how much pre-work goes into radiation. He had to get a full head “cast” thing- it was cool. They took this mesh got it all wet and put it on Tucker’s whole head/face and then molded it to his head. This mask will be marked with the very specific points of where the radiation machine will…. be? (I’m still not good with the radiation lingo… so please just have patients..) anyways, each time the machine has to be lined up at the exact same spots on Tuckers body so he gets the exact same radiation in the same place each time. So we had to sit through the “mask” making, Tucker did great. Then he had to get a full body CT scan, and that was pretty cool. Justin and I sat in the back and got to watch Tucker’s inside appear on the CT scan computer screen, and we saw that he had a lot of gas bubbles ready to come out… and that he probably had to pee soon…. LOL But the CT scan was to get his spin in “line” for the radiation points. We now had the mask for his head with the important points, but they need to TATTOOOOOO on the “points” for the radiation on his body for the spinal column set. They had 2 tech’s with black permanent markers drawing all over Tucker…. At first it was funny -Tucker said it tickled….. BUT then they said they had finished the 5 marks for Tucker, time to tattoo in the mark.
Me: I’m sorry, did you just say you’re going to tattoo my 10 year old son?
Them: Yes, we have to tattoo in the points so the machine lines up at the exact same place each time. He must get radiation in the same place each time. If we tattoo it on then there is no room for error.
Justin: Could you make the tattoo in the shape of a princess something-or-other or even Barbie?
Tucker: Nooooooooo!! No princess stuff no BARBIE!
Me: Yes, k, I get that he needs it…. It just took my breath away that I’m consenting to my 10 year old GETTING INKED. Could this be the start of a lifetime addiction of tattoos for him?
Them: Most likely not, kids don’t seem to like the whole needle thing that you have to use to tattoo with.
At this point Tucker really didn’t have an opinion of tattoos and really didn’t have a clue how one got a tattoo…. Until the teck dude said this key phrase to Tucker: “Tucker this is your tattoo ink, and this is the tattoo needle I’m going to use”…..
Tucker: “Wait, what? Needle? What are you going to do with that needle?”
Tech: “I’m going to gently push the ink into your skin with this needle……… ect….”
Well, I don’t really need to tell you what Tucker’s response was at this point, he didn’t want a tattoo now, it has to do with needles? No thank you, but then Tucker takes a deep breath and says right after saying he doesn’t want to do this… he says “if this is what I got to do to get better then just do it.” 5 tattoos later, along with a little screaming and a bunch of tears….. we were done.
This Friday we go in for a “dry run” on the radiation machine. They take Tucker in and lay him down with his mask on and have the radiation machine programmed in aligned with his “points” and they “run” his course, but without the radiation. In doing this Dr. Poppy at that time can make any slight adjustments to Tucker’s plan or reline him if needed. This will also help Tucker see what he is going to be going through for the next 16 days without the side effects of actually getting the radiation.
Here are some pictures of our “fun” time up there.
Love to all
Amber Justin & the soon to be-THE HULK…I mean, Tucker
*I tried to get the pictures in order but blogger was being stupid, sorry* Tamy
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| Dad & Tucker waiting for the radiation consult to start |
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| Mom and Tucker still waiting..... |
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| Tucker & Dr. Poppy in front of the CT room |
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| Mom & Dad hanging with Tucker |
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| Dad doing what dad's do best.....messing around |
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| Tucker's face mold |
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| Tucker couldn't talk very much...lol |
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| These are Tucker's tattoos...in the black circle you see the tiny black dot? The black dot is the tattoo...and he is set! |
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| Tucker waiting to get his full body CT...and dad entertaining him. Sorry about the picture blogger flipped it |
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| The techs putting the mesh on his face to get his face mold |
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