On Tuesdays, we have our first appointment over at the main hospital at 7am which means we are on the road by 6am.  That makes for a very early wake up!  They check Travis’ vitals, access his port, draw blood for lab work, give him his weekly chemo push and then we meet with the Oncologist to go over how everything is going.  We are usually done by 9:30-10am and then we head back over to the Proton Center for our 1 hour radiation treatment.  The good news is that we are usually done by noon.  By that time, it usually feels like we have had a full day.  On our way back to the Proton Center, we had to part ways with Tony so that he could fly back home.  It is always hard to say goodbye but he will be back on Friday so hopefully Travis will feel up to doing something this weekend.  We are keeping our hopes up but will play things by ear!

After his treatment, Travis was feeling hungry and wanted to stop at Sonic for another chili-cheese dog so we can get some meat on his bones.  We made it back to the hotel and opened a package from Aunt Karen.  She sent Travis the Clarkesville Academy Cougar Café Spatula Award since he is “One Tough Cookie.”  Very cool!

We spent the rest of the afternoon working on homework and trying to get caught up.  We try to take advantage of the times when everything is going good.  I brought back a couple boxes of Sees Candy and shared them with the staff at the Proton Center and the staff at the Homewood Suites.  Everyone has gone out of their way to be so nice to us and they all loved the candy.

Thanks,

Lynne

Week 3!

We started our third week of treatment and Travis continues to power through even though he has some little discomforts and some fatigue.  Afterwards, we were scheduled for another full afternoon of testing but this time it was for Neuro-Ophthalmology.  Again, they want to establish a baseline so they can closely follow any effects from his treatment.  We were there for a total of 6 hours but most of the time was just waiting around.  The total Test and Exam time was probably only about an hour.  It reminds me of my military days a long time ago where our motto was “hurry up and wait.”  During the afternoon, we depleted every snack we had in our backpack and were down to chewing gum to make it until we could get something to eat for dinner.  Travis named off every type of food they have down in the cafeteria because he said that he was so hungry and could not wait until we left the hospital.  That is really good to hear that his appetite is still there and that he is thinking about food in such vivid ways.  So, we settled on pizza and he said that it was the best pizza he ever had.  Go figure!  I guess that is one way to get you to like hospital food (starve you into submission).  Just kidding!  The food in the cafeteria is actually pretty good and they do have quite a variety.

Since we left the hospital so late, we ended up going straight to the airport to pick up Lynne.  We did manage to squeeze in enough time to grab a McFlurry to enjoy for dessert on the way to pick her up.  Believe it or not, with all of Travis’ McFlurry fixes over the last couple of months, that was the first full one I had to enjoy on my own.  Normally all I was able to get was a bite here and there.  I have to say after having the full experience, man those things are good!  Thanks Travis for treating me.

Lynne arrived back in Houston after having a great weekend seeing Tyler, her mom, Cisco and everyone she could squeeze in with such a short amount of time.  She was happy to be back though and relieved to know that Travis and I were able to survive while she was gone.  It reminded me of our Indian Guide days where we would head off camping with the boys for the weekend and Lynne would have that look of relief when we all rolled back into the garage in one piece on Sunday.  I feel very honored that she trusted me to stand guard for a few days.  ;o)  It must be a mommy thing!

Thanks,

Tony

We had big plans to go to a soccer game on Saturday to watch semi-pro teams Houston Hurricanes (NPSL) and the Houston Dutch Lions (USL-PDL) play.  One of the staff at our hotel has a connection with the Hurricanes staff and arranged for us to sit with the team.  The owner, Brendan Keyes, is a really cool guy and is all about giving back to the community.  So, we were very excited to be able to go and hoping Travis would continue to feel good through the weekend.  As luck would have it, the weather came in like a hurricane and we had severe thunderstorms roll through all afternoon on Saturday.  There were spectacular lightning strikes, sometimes seeming to land right across the street with a loud bang.  The rain was coming down in sheets that would blow sideways from the south and then back the other way from the north.  Then there was hail mixed in to make things even more interesting.  The news said that there was between 6 and 8 inches of rain that fell in about a 5 hour period that left streets flooded, branches and trees down.  Just to compare, in the San Diego area, we may only see 6-8 inches of rain in a year.  We watched it all from the comfort of our hotel.

Somehow through the storm, the postal service managed to deliver a great care package from the Splavec family.  You know what they say: neither snow nor rain nor… Thanks you all (both the Splavec family and the Postal Service) for bringing a smile to Travis’ face!

Back in Carlsbad, Lynne, her mom and Tyler went to see a movie and then went out for pizza and ice cream.  Travis and I had our guy’s weekend eating sliders, chips, candy and chocolate milk.  Doctor’s orders…trust me!

Lynne, Tyler and Cathy were able to go to church, out for brunch with friends and catch up with as many people as possible during Lynne’s short stay at home.  Travis and I hung out on Sunday so that he could rest up for week 3.  We ended up watching a full day of TV (Soccer, Discovery, History, A&E, Cartoons, etc.).  We thought about going over to the stadium to watch the Houston Dynamos play the Colorado Rapids but Travis didn’t quite have the energy so we watched the game on TV.  It was a good game with a lot of action!  With the 1-1 tie, the Dynamos continue their record of 30 consecutive undefeated home games.  Travis is becoming quite a fan of our new home-away-from-home team.

Week 3, here we come!

Thanks,

Tony and Lynne

We started out the day with Lynne flying home to Carlsbad for a long weekend.  She was very reluctant to leave but we reassured her that we would be OK and that we are in excellent hands both at MD Anderson and at the hotel.  We also have some of our new friends here in Houston who are looking out for us and willing to help if we need it.  Lynne was looking forward to seeing Tyler, her mom and our dog, Cisco.  She was also looking forward to seeing friends after being gone for 3 weeks now.

After seeing Lynne off to the airport, Travis and I were able to get ready, have breakfast downstairs and make it to the Proton Center 30 minutes before our appointment.  We couldn’t run the risk of being late for our first outing on our guy’s weekend.  No pressure!  Even though Lynne has anything and everything organized (you all know what I mean, right), Travis still helps me to make sure I am on top of things since he knows the routine. ;o)

We met with the doctor and she was very pleased with the progress Travis has made since last Friday.  Last week was a rough one on our little fighter but he has really battled back to where he is feeling much better.  Then, he went right in and did his final treatment of the week without hesitation.  Warrior!

Once Lynne arrived home, she stopped by to see everyone at Bethlehem Preschool and thank them for all of their support.  She will most likely go again on Monday morning so that she can see the kids.  She really misses being there with her Bethlehem family!

We spent the afternoon, yes the entire afternoon, with Travis doing some neuropsychological testing.  This was to establish a baseline so that they can try to determine if there are any long term effects on him from the proton therapy.  He will do follow up testing in a year which will then be compared against the baseline.  He said the testing was easy at first in each topic but got harder as they went.  He had fun with it and liked some of the challenging problems he had to solve.

On the way home, Travis felt like having some Chili’s Sliders, so how could I say no.  We shared them and man those things are good!  Thanks to the Lampe family for a great dinner and somehow they managed to time a care package to arrive in Houston at the same time.  How did you do that?

Week 2 is through!

Thanks,

Tony

After our treatment today, Travis worked to finish up a lot of his homework packet so that we can drop everything off to Mrs. Roberts over this weekend when I am home.  He did a great job and really worked hard on all of his subjects.  He loves school and loves staying connected to Mrs. Roberts and the rest of the class!

Later in the afternoon, we went and met Christyn (Cara’s sister), Mason and Madison at their house.  It was nice to talk while Travis and Mason played on the Wii.  Christyn has been so supportive of us here from words of encouragement to offering her help in any way she can.  Wow…what a nice person and family!  Christyn and her family are also involved with the St. Baldrick’s Foundation here in Houston.  St. Baldrick’s Foundation works to raise money to help fight childhood cancers.  All the boys in their family recently took part in a fundraising event at their school where they all shaved their heads.  The whole family is full of special people!

We received two beautiful shawls handmade by the “Women of Prayer Shawl” Organization at Bethlehem Church.  Thank you so much and we can tell these are works of love.  Travis loves to cuddle with his when he is laying on the couch.

Tony arrived this evening and we prepared for a changing of the guard as I head home tomorrow and he will take care of Travis.  Now that I am in my full treatment mode, it is hard to let go and even think about leaving.  But, I know the boys will do a good job and it will be nice to be at home for a few days.  I am looking forward to seeing Tyler, my mom, Cisco and friends.

Time to pack!

Thanks,

Lynne

Each day this week has been better than the one before and we are keeping our fingers crossed that it continues to the end of week 2.  After our Proton Therapy today, we had an Audiology appointment which took up most of the afternoon.  This is part of a series of baseline tests that they do either prior to or in the beginning of treatment so they can compare against later on post treatment.  We did manage to squeeze in a McFlurry on the way home.

Thanks again to Cheyanne and Quinn for your extra effort over weekend to continue the “Treats for Travis” bake sale.  As if Thursday and Friday were not enough at preschool, you guys set up a stand in front of your house on Saturday and then walked 2 miles going door to door on Sunday to continue the fundraiser.  And then to top it off, you took the remaining goodies over to Bread for Life to help feed people in need.  Wow!  That means so much to us that you would do all of that for Travis and we have a special affection for Bread for Life as that is one of the places we have helped prepare and serve meals.  You are amazing people!

As if we didn’t have enough to deal with, we were notified of a fraud alert on one of our credit cards yesterday.  Apparently someone was trying to make some purchases in Connecticut which was out the ordinary.  The purchases were denied before we were even notified and a new card was issued.  What a hassle at this time but thanks to AMEX for looking out for us and having our backs!

Thanks to the Fritts family for a great dinner for Tony, Tyler and Grandma!  They said that everything was delicious and very much appreciated.

Tony arrives on Thursday and then Lynne will be heading to Carlsbad on Friday for a long weekend.

Thanks,

Lynne and Tony

Travis was doing OK today!  Tuesdays are our harder days with appointments scheduled as early as 7am in addition to the daily Proton Therapy.  He had his second round of chemo so that means only 4 more to go during his radiation treatment.  This chemo, Vincristine, is used to supplement his radiation treatment.  He will still have to have the full chemotherapy when he returns home but we won’t worry about that now since there are so many other steps between now and then.  We had our weekly appointment with the Neuro-Oncologist and he said that the symptoms Travis is having (sore jaw, sore back, fatigue and occasional stomach pain) can be attributed to the chemo and radiation treatment.  During our weekly appointments, they also do lab work and all looks to be normal which is a good sign during treatment.  The doctor discussed the latest rounds of MRIs that were done to a higher resolution just prior to treatment.  They are using this data and imaging to help formulate the overall treatment plan.  Even though they are treating the entire cranial/spinal areas for 4 weeks, they will go back and “boost” certain areas for the last 2 weeks.  The areas they will focus on then will be the tumor bed (area where the tumor was removed) and a slight anomaly on the spine to be sure nothing grows back.  Although the MRI does not show any tumors on the spine and the lumbar puncture (spinal tap) came back negative for cancer cells, there is an area on the spine between the S1 and S2 vertebrae showing a slight anomaly during imaging so they want to be cautious in their treatment.  We have to keep reminding ourselves that we have a very good starting point in that things were caught early and the surgery went really well.  There are many patients being treated with the same type of therapy who were inoperable and they are trying to reduce or halt the actual tumor growth with radiation/chemotherapy alone and without surgery.  Little silver linings!

On the way back home Travis wanted to stop for a Sonic Chili-Cheese Dog.  Whatever sounds good to him at this point is what we are going for.  He thought it was the best thing ever and almost the whole thing.  He worked on his school work in the afternoon so we should have a pretty good size packet to return to school by Friday.  The General Manager of the hotel stopped by in the afternoon to check on Travis and see if there is anything that we need.  All of the staff knows him and will say “Hi Travis.”  They always ask how he is doing or what he is up to and try to make us feel at home.  It really helps having all of their support here.  For dinner they had BBQ brisket downstairs and Travis couldn’t wait to get down there.  That is a good sign and we are thankful for that!

Thanks,

Lynne and Tony

Travis woke up this morning still feeling the effects of having some aches and pains from last week’s treatment.  But he got up, had breakfast and battled right back for the start of week 2.  What a Warrior!  After his treatment, we had to drive to the airport so I could head back home.  It was nice to have the time together but hard to say goodbye.  At least it will only be until Thursday this week.  Then Lynne will be coming home this weekend from Friday to Monday to see Tyler, Grandma and Cisco.  Lynne has been doing an incredible job taking care of everything.  She is a Warrior too and now we know where Travis gets it from!

On the way back to the hotel Travis wanted a Blizzard from Dairy Queen.  I guess you need a change from McFlurries every once in a while.  When they got back, there were a couple of boxes waiting for them and some cards.  Thanks so much Bethlehem Preschool for the great care packages and support for our family.  You all have been so important in keeping us going.  Thanks also to Cheyanne and Quinn for your tireless efforts for Travis (and us)!  You are amazing people with hearts of gold!

I made it back to the Coaster station where Tyler and Grandma picked me up just in time for a great dinner provided by the Perryman family.  Thanks you all!

Thanks,

Tony and Lynne

We took things easy so that Travis could recharge over the weekend and try to bounce back by Monday to start Week 2 of treatment.  He was tired and wanted to sleep in which we did.  His jaw was still hurting this weekend due to the radiation affecting his salivary gland.  We tried to have him exercise it by eating and drinking whatever he wanted.   Doctor’s orders!

Travis worked on some school work when he was feeling good.  He is such a conscientious student even when he is not feeling 100%.  We ended up moving rooms to the newly remodeled area of the hotel.  The rooms have been painted, new carpet, furniture, etc. so it is like we have a new apartment.  We ordered dinner from Chili’s To Go and came back home to eat.  Travis really wanted the sliders even though they were hard to eat but said they were the best ever.  He washed it all down with a chocolate milkshake. We will keep Chili’s in our rotation!

Tyler, Grandma and Cisco are holding down the home front.  They went to see a movie and out to dinner.  They went to church and out for a Sunday ice cream at Yogurt Shack. 

We went and got Travis’ hair cut with a new summer almost buzz cut and then attended the contemporary Mass at church with a jazzy, gospel type band.  Travis is a good looking dude with long or short hair!

We will keep taking things one step at a time and even if we get knocked down 7 times, we will get up 8.

Thanks,

Lynne and Tony