:: Sigh :: I misplaced the camera with today's pictures on it. Sorry...hopefully it'll return from its personal black hole soon!

Mom and I headed to Chapel Hill this afternoon, braving the traffic, 'cause Chase was starving and needed a Quizno's sub (please and thank you). When we got there we noticed he was in a surprisingly good mood. What happened? Well, I'm not one to notice much, but I think it might have had something to do with his visitor with the cute glasses. Maybe she'll show up again so I can snoo...um, collect more data. Or maybe he was just looking forward to eating that sub. At any rate, it was nice to see him so cheerful especially considering he'd perfected the sullen teenager act the last couple of days.

One day of chemo down; four more to go. He tried to convince the nurse to push it so he could get out faster. I think her description of how it affected one girl's digestive system properly deterred him. I won't ruin your breakfast (lunch, dinner) by recounting, but think really bad stomach flu...

I got coerced into playing Spades instead of my beloved Mexican Train. I lost.

Chemo's delayed one more day, dangit, and my keyboard's acting up, so this will be short (stop cheering!)

Delaying chemo didn't make Chase happy, but hitching a ride on the IV pole got a smile.

Those of you who live and drive around Greensboro, watch out! Jacob's on the loose!

Yup, he's now legal, which means more work for Judith's hair colorist...and mine.

As for Chase, tonight they start pumping in the fluids and the Cisplatin starts in the morning. I hope this round goes as smoothly as the first!

Woo-hooooooo!

Half way through Chase's chemo, and the tumor's down by 75%! And they couldn't find any nasty bits left on his spine! And his blood work is great! WOW!

Backing up a bit...he was scheduled for a head only MRI the morning of 12/7 when he was originally scheduled to be readmitted for his next round of chemo (#3 of 4). Since he had that small infection he went in on 12/5 and they found a slot this morning for the full 2 hour scan. So YEAH!

Chase asked Dr. Gold if that meant he still had to do radiation in January, and he said "Unfortunately, yes". Well, that first word actually was only four letters long, but this is a family blog...

I know, I know, it's heading into exam time, but if you need a break, come on up and visit Chase. He's still on the 5th floor of the Children's hospital. The pool table, air hockey, and basketball thingamajig are still there. Besides, I'm bringing cookies!

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For those of you who were confused by my last blog entry (like apparently my entire family less Chase), just think of what you hear when no one's talking:

:: crickets ::

Aww, if you have to explain...

Anyway - Woo-Hooooooooo!

I'm baaaack!

So y'all want to hear about my exciting weekend? And who I met on the plane?

:: crickets ::

Would you be more interested if I showed you this picture?



Well, y'all are no fun...

Yikes. Just as I was about to post this, I got a call from Judith stating that Chase is headed to the hospital tonight. Seems he has an infected spot on his face which, with his weakened immune system, means an overnight hospital stay with IV antibiotics. Phooey.

I should have more info later tonight, but this is a bit of a setback and may interfere with Thursday's scheduled start for his next round of chemo.

And that's no fun either.

Nope, no news, and there won't be any blogs this weekend unless Mitch gets industrious or Judith hacks the password. I'm trying to make an end run around this midwest storm and fly to Chicago a day early. Gotta go see some good friends and my favorite singer in the whole world sing Christmas songs to me!

I did finally manage to talk to Judith. Chase told her had a great time at the basketball game last night, and then, in an offhand manner, mentioned that Karena's roommate (I've been corrected - suitemate) has mono. And now Jacob has some sort of viral mouth problem. I think Chase needs to go stay at Camp Grandma's, at least she's healthy!

Snow, snow, go away...never thought I'd say that!

I got some help from Chase yesterday after his uneventful Vincristine shot. He, Judith, and Mom helped me move a 140lb monster of TV from my living room over to Mom's house. Piece of cake, he said. Riiiiight. Actually, he and I hauled the beast; Judith held doors and Mom just laughed at us. I wish she'd had a camera 'cause we had to try angling it about 16 different ways before we could clear the door jamb without removing any fingers. Chase perfected "deadpan" when I asked him to move around to the side of the TV. "I can't, it's on my toes". Mitch and Karen get to move that thing back out of Mom's house, and this time I'll hold the door (and the camera - hee!)

Chase's lab work wasn't so great (almost all the mysterious acronyms were highlighted "L"), but from Dr. Gold's attitude, not unexpected at this point. He did say don't hang around a stable (oops! How'd he know about last weekend?) Anyway, his ANC (infection fighting cells) was tagged "CL", which I suspect means critically low... I'm surprised the good doc said it was okay for him to go to the Carolina game on Wednesday. If you see him, feel free to remind him to wash his hands! And whatever you do, don't sneeze on him!

He has about a week to get those numbers up before his next chemo session, tentatively scheduled for 12/7. He's also scheduled to have an MRI early that morning to check how the chemo's working on the tumor.

I don't know whether to get excited or just break out into a cold sweat.

Having recovered from my food induced coma...I have some more pics to offer. No news, but isn't that supposed to be good news?

Here's the whole crowd for Thanksgiving, minus Buddy, who was behind the camera. I was going to identify everyone here, but I figure if you don't know who they are, you probably don't care!



Hey, I could do it like this - from left to right, Chase's Uncle, Chase's Grandmother, Chase's Cousin, Chase's Uncle, Chase's Aunt, Chase's Aunt, Chase's Grandmother, and Chase! And smack in the middle of things (nothing new there) is Chase's Mom. Well, and Chase's Mom's Dog, but you figured that out all by yourself, didn't you.

Did Jacob not know we were all coming for Thanksgiving dinner?
Sorry sweetie, you missed out! But I'm sure you had fun with Joey.

Torturing the dog - do dogs really need coats? In NC?
It was shorts weather today!

Buddy and Chase watching football on the big screen.
I swear they're looking more alike every day...

So now can I start with the Christmas decorating? Please? I have a bunch of new Christmas music to listen to!

Tomorrow's Thanksgiving, and boy do we have a lot to be thankful for! Chase is doing very well, and tomorrow we'll all be snoozing in front of football on the big screen TV at the Jones' house after eating too much good food, I'm sure. Well, most of us will, but Chase will escape shortly after dinner to spend the rest of the weekend with his friend Griffin. Oh, and Jacob's already left for a weekend with a friend too. Hmmmm.... could be a very quiet weekend then. YES! :: fist pump ::

Ahem.

Of course we'd rather they were here with us, but we make the neccesary sacrifices so the kids will be happy.

Speaking of happy - Chase finally got someone to shave the fuzzies off his head. Looks good!

So far he's hanging on to his eyebrows and lashes, which is nice. Hope it lasts!

Here are a couple of old pics Judith just sent me, both taken as he was being released from the NICU back in early October. Can you tell we'd just gotten the good news that this was a beatable tumor?

His two favorite NICU nurses.

Judith's favorite picture.

Monday he gets a Vincristine shot, and then he'll have some bloodwork around the 5th of December to see when he can start on his next 5 day inpatient chemo session.

Until then, Happy Thanksgiving, Y'all!

:: drags self back to the kitchen to peel more potatoes ::

Heh. I finally turned the tables on Judith and woke her up with a phone call! I have to gloat 'cause that just never happens!

One anecdote to add from yesterday. Unbeknownst to Chase, a very nice nurse passed two tickets for the basketball game on to Judith and Buddy. They slipped into their seats, caught sight of Chase closer to the floor, and called his cell phone.

"Look up and to your right, Chase".

"No Way!"

:: waves ::

Poor kid can't ever get away from his parents...

I'm still waiting for the promised phone call from Judith, so all I know about today is that he flew through chemo, got released Sunday morning, watched Carolina blow by some insignificant basketball team*, and then got stuck in that awful I-40 construction traffic on their way to Raleigh for dinner with Buddy's family. Well, that and they reclaimed their dog from Mom and headed for Greensboro for a couple days.

I'm sure Mom misses JD's company, but not the paw prints on the bed!

Chase gets another shot of Vincristine either late this week or early next, depending on the hospital's holiday schedule, then he's not due back until December 5th at the earliest.

Is this whole chemo thing slow or what?

*Apologies to any Garner-Webb fans, but 103 to 50???

Late blog tonight, but I learned something today - if you want to get treated quickly at the ER, show up in an ambulance! That still doesn't mean you'll get out quickly, but thankfully Chase's uncle John is fine (and I have a few more gray hairs). Any more hospital tours and we'll be forced to start writing reviews to keep them all straight!

Although I didn't win one stinkin' game of Mexican Train today, Chase had a decent, if boring, day. This round of chemo is much quicker and less nausea inducing than the last one, so he should be out by the time Carolina plays basketball tomorrow at 1PM. Speaking of basketball:



That's Eric Montross towering over Chase! And Chase is, what, about 5'9"? So that makes Eric...really, really tall. He played for UNC in the 90's, went on to play in the NBA and is now UNC's basketball commentator. He has a Father's Day basketball camp that has donated thousands to the North Carolina's Children's hospital, so he was there on the radiothon day to help out. Thanks, Eric!

And with that, I'm off to bed. May tomorrow be completely uneventful. And may Carolina win.

Finally! He got a room!

So this round is "just" three days (instead of the previous cycle's five), and the drugs he's getting this time (Vincristine and Cyclophospamide) are supposed to be a little easier on him than the last. We'll see.

It was a late start and both Chase and Judith are tired, so not much to report besides a few zzzzzs.

Goodnight Chase!
Goodnight Judith!

Meet you in the Teen Center tomorrow afternoon!

Chase got to meet Kellie Pickler this morning! I missed out 'cause I need my beauty sleep. Apparently she doesn't. Chase says she's even prettier in person.

Today was the NC Children's Hospital radiothon, and there was MUCH activity in the Hospital lobby. Fourteen radio stations were set up to do live broadcasts, the local cable TV news channel was there all day, and they had a lot of country music folks there to entertain, including, of course, Kellie Pickler. Chase and Judith got front row seats for her mini concert, and Chase got to chat with her. Unfortunately, busy girl that she is, she couldn't stay for dinner with Chase. Bold kid there...he asked!

Many of the radio stations wanted to spice up their live broadcasts by talking to current and former patients, so Chase got interviewed by several in the morning. I hear he was quite articulate, but again, I was working on that beauty sleep so I missed hearing him. I almost got to record his final interview this evening, but I couldn't tune in the station! :: glares at the radio ::

At least Judith got some pictures:

Okay, that was fun, but he's really ready to start that darn chemo. His numbers were up enough (yeah!), but even thought they hung out all day, no beds became available (boo!) A "few" kids are due to be discharged tomorrow, so they'll hit the road again in the morning and hope he can be admitted to get that stuff going!

In other news, things are looking good for proton radiation at MD Anderson in Houston! It's not Jacksonville, but at least it's not Boston!

Waiting is no fun!

Chase is due at UNC tomorrow at 8AM (yes, 8AM in the morning!) for another blood draw. If his numbers are good enough, he will be admitted for chemo, if not, there will be another day of ennui, peevishness, and stridency* - and that's from the adults!

Tomorrow's also the UNC Children's Hospital Radiothon, so it could be interesting. Dr. Gold's trying to arrange for Chase to meet Kellie Pickler ('cause she's a hottie), but Judith really wants to meet Darryl Worley (note to Buddy - not because she thinks he's cute or anything).

Maybe we'll get pictures!

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* The dictionary links are not intended for Judith's use. I'm sure she would have no need whatsoever to look these words up in the dictionary. **

** She made me add that.

Now entering a "no spin" zone.



Today...was not a good day. Chase went to Chapel Hill this morning with every expectation of being admitted for his second round of chemo. Unfortunately, no. His blood tests were too low. Although I think white is what they're most concerned about, both his white and red counts were low.

So that means waiting. Oh goodie. He'll get more blood tests on Thursday. Keep your fingers crossed. I suspect this will throw off his whole chemo schedule, but we really don't know. It's all new to us.

I thought Chase would like to contribute a blog entry (stop laughing!) I did get one quote, however. "Cancer sucks". He's probably doing a better job than I would at not spiraling down into depression, but he ain't having a good time. Playing Hand and Foot with your Mom, Aunt, and Grandma can only entertain for so long. He humors me by playing Mexican Train, which stretches it out a little more. Of course what he really wants to do is go back to school, or at least visit his school friends, who are all busy with classes and whatnot. Then there's that whole infection worry too.

Sigh.

So his hair's falling out and his head itches. He wants to go do stuff, but he's tired. He's hungry and yet has no appetite. It's quite the change from 6 weeks ago when he was "free" at school. Now has to listen to Mom tell him what he can't do (and Grandma too).

We'll get through it, but yeah, cancer sucks.

CHASE'S SONG is being worked on with a good friend and co-writer of mine named Donna Galbraith. We will let you know when it is all wrapped up and ready. If you would like to check out some other songs we have written. You can visit my MySpace Music Page
"Uncle" Mitch Townley
Knoxville, TN

Awwww...Judith posted this in a blog comment, and I figured someone might actually want to read it! (Please disregard my blushing...)

Blog comments don't allow for formatting, so if it's chopped up too much, that's my mistake. You really can't have too many paragraphs, can you?

Well, I thought it was about time that I made a comment. I can't say enough about the blog and what my sister does. She sure can write and say things in such a humorous way, even if it isn't so funny. But I have to say that I could not have made it through this past month without her. Thanks Beth for all your wisdom, warmth, words and humor during this time of, well, stress and worry.

To my sister Karen in Tenn., I know that you are doing all that you can from there and wish you could be here more often. Don't worry, your prayers are felt and I know you are here in spirit. That song of Mitch's is awesome and we are looking forward to that being put to music!

To Mom, you are always my steadfast strength. Thanks for hanging in there with me for no one knows the pain like this more than you do and so you and I can really appreciate each other's company now. I love you Mom.

Also, to all the other prayer warriors out there. Thanks to you too. Keep those prayers coming. Those are felt and have kept me sane through this time.

To those who have provided meals, my family thanks you tremendously and so do I. It is a great relief to not have to worry about what is for dinner, not to mention that we are enjoying the variety of foods as we are not picky about what we eat. Chase seems to be eating everything. His appetite has certainly not been hurt and for that I am glad. The only thing we have found he cannot tolerate well is Mexican food which is too bad because he really loves it. :-(

I need to thank many people too, who donated leave time to me so that I may stay home with Chase. This time with him has become very precious to me. There have not been many days yet in which he has been very sick, those may come. But the stays in the hospital and days to come in January and February away from home will be hard and would not be possible if it were not for the many giving people in the schools and other people who work for the State. Thanks SO MUCH for donating leave time for me! Thank you for allowing me to put this on the blog.

Please know that we appreciate all of you who pray, call, come by or just think about us from time to time. We will get through this major bump in the road!

Thanks to all of you.
Judith

When bad stuff happens, you sure find out how many friends you have, and boy, do y'all have friends!

I just got the call - the most anticipated side effect of chemo has started... He's losing his hair. He was briefly fascinated with pulling out hanks of hair on his legs and arms. The stuff on his head is still too short to grip, but it looks like soon he'll be bald from his toes to his dome.

So that's the bad news, but the good news is we know he actually got the "good stuff" and not just a bunch of saline or something. He'd had so few side effects I was beginning to worry (hey, it's something I do well, so I stick with it!)

Mom and I went to Greensboro to see how the family was doing, check out that HDTV (wow...), fix a porch light, get our toenails painted, pick out all the chocolate in the Halloween leftovers, and just in general annoy Chase and Jacob like it was our job. All in all a fun day (at least for me - heh).

Chase takes after his father with that competitive edge. He certainly didn't get it from our side of the family! We played a round of Scrabble in the afternoon. I specialized in 2 and 3 letter words, while Mom existed solely to block any and all of Chase's big plans. I don't know who won that game, but I doubt it was me.

We girls went to get our toenails painted, and Mom got her fingernails buffed and polished while Judith and I browsed Costco. Then we tried to convince the guys at Brewster's that it was raining and we should get that free second scoop of ice cream. Didn't work :-(. But it was good stuff anyway, and Judith got 4 punches on her card because we made a "new best friend" of another customer. Mom can talk to anyone, and Judith ain't half bad either.

Back at the house, I knew carting tools around for Dad years ago would come in handy! I managed to fix their front porch light so all the wonderful folks bringing dinners would not trip up the stairs and splatter the meatloaf on the storm door. I don't know if y'all realize how much the family appreciates those dinners, but they do! And it's yummy stuff too! (needs more chocolate though)

I have a new favorite game to play - Mexican Train! Their next door neighbor (and stress reliever extraordinaire) Lori brought over Courtney, Katie and a double 12 dominos set to teach us all the game of Mexican Train. Chase (first time player) challenged Courtney (experienced player), and only those two kept score. Things didn't go well for Chase this time, but since that game's now on my Christmas list, we'll get more experience and you can beat her next time, right Chase?

Just a few more days and back in to UNC hospital he goes. I think I'd better stock up on DVDs...

Halloween pictures!

I think they took a long time because somebody decided to crop herself out. Humpf!

But how did she manage to crop the bike out too?

Chase seems to be holding up well, although he tainted his Carolina blue soul by going the State game this weekend (they lost, of course).

As for chemo side effects, the only complaints I've heard are a bit of tinnitus and, oddly enough, sensitive teeth. I hope that stuff's doing its job on the tumor! We have to wait until week 10 or so (around the end of the year) for a 2 hour long MRI to assess his progress. Can't wait! (I think).