Life with Helen

First things first - Kathy pointed out that I left out an integral part of the "busted chemo bag" story - the part that makes us not look so stupid!  We had been painting, and Matt asked if the white stuff on the bag was paint! It did look like it could be paint, SO THAT IS WHY WE WERE TOUCHING AND SMELLING IT!  It was all such a blur that she had to remind me we weren't THAT stupid! ANYWHO.  That leads me to what I wanted to talk about!  Why were we painting, you ask?  Well, that's because we are bunking with the in-laws for awhile!  We (and by "we" I mean Kathy, Jon, Matt's Aunt Laura, Matt's brothers, and Matt's cousins - Katie, Sam, and Jacob) spent an entire weekend removing wallpaper and painting our new bedroom.  Meanwhile, I spent the entire week and weekend at our townhouse with my parents packing boxes and moving things into our storage unit (generously provided by Noffsinger Mini-Storage) with all of my brother-in-laws, including Char

Well.  We had our first chemo experience, and I won't lie to you - it did not go quite as smoothly as we had hoped! Matt received his first dose at the cancer center on Tuesday morning, which was pretty uneventful.  We played on our phones and chatted with the nurses and other patients for about 5 hours while he received the first 2 medications.  After that, he was hooked up to a pump so he could go home and receive the 3rd medication for the next 48 hours.  This is when the fun began.  I couldn't convince him to rock the fanny pack the way it is meant to be rocked, but he did pose for a picture with it! Small victories ;) He insisted that I go to work, so I did, but by the time he got home the pump alarm was already beeping.  He called the 1-800 number they gave us for such occasions, and they drove to the house with a new pump.  Everything seemed to be going okay until after dinner when he picked up the bag and said "uh, what's this white stuff?"  I

Our New York trip was definitely short, but totally sweet! Aside from the rain and 6 hour layover on the way home, it was a fantastic trip! We did a lot of the normal NYC tourist things since this was Matt's first time to the city, and he absolutely loved it! Now, the reason for our trip - Matt's appointment.  It went well, and we are thrilled with our Oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  He answered all of our questions, and we feel - I don't want to say more comfortable because it's SO NOT COMFORTABLE - so I guess I'll say we are more at ease.  They aren't wasting anytime getting started on treatments, and will implant his port Saturday morning. He will receive his first dose of chemotherapy next week, and will continue to receive treatments for the next 6 months.  Please keep praying. Pray that Matt has minimal side effects, the cancer responds to the chemo, and that all of this is behind us in 6 months! With Love and Thanks, Th