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A Little Divine Intervention! 1/8/2014

Posted by travisthewarrior on January 8, 2014 in Chemotherapy, Surgery

On Thursday, we had our appointment with the Neuro-Oncologist and had lab work done to check Travis’ counts.  The good news is that most of his counts are stabilizing after the chemo and we did not need to do a transfusion.  The White Blood Count is slowly rising but still has a ways to go to be considered in the “normal” range.  So, they want to continue to have his blood checked weekly and we will continue to take precautions against infections (like wearing a mask in public which Travis does not like).  The even better news is that our Doctor is very pleased with Travis’ overall response to the full treatment of Surgery, Proton Radiation and Chemotherapy.  In addition to the latest MRI looking very good, Dr. Crawford says that Travis is within the top 5 percent of all of his neuro-oncology patients and he is doing great.  He said that the main effects from the chemo should be wearing off in weeks and the smaller effects, like the neuropathy in his feet, could take 2-3 months.  At this point, we are in the Test and Monitor phase which is awesome news that hasn’t quite sunk in all the way.

On the surgical recovery from having Travis’ port removed, after spending several days tediously changing his wound dressing, we have learned that Gauze is not necessarily your friend, especially when it sticks to the wound.  We have discovered that Tefla Pads are much more cooperative since they are “NON STICK” which would have been nice to know at the beginning.  One day, Lynne spent 3 hours removing the gauze strand by strand and still did not get everything off.  The next day, Travis had to sit in the bathtub while she drizzled warm water over the area and simultaneously picked the remaining strands out.  Very traumatic!  Thank God Lynne has the Patience of Job and Travis is a Warrior!

Travis is not a complainer by any means and usually just goes about dealing with everything with such a positive attitude.  But like everyone, we have our good days and our not so good days and Sunday morning was one of the rougher days.  Maybe he was just tired from staying up late for our Saturday Movie Night or still traumatized from the wound dressing fiasco.  Who knows?  We had to wake him up so that we could go to church and he told us he was not going.  He was tired, he didn’t want to wear his mask, and everything was going wrong.  Fast forwarding over the drama and with a lot of coaxing, we finally made it to church.  As we walked in, Father Kelly asked how Travis was doing and Father Don said hi too.  We sat way in the back to help stay away from any germs.  One of the Eucharistic Ministers was sitting behind us and immediately asked how Travis was doing.  She said that her Wednesday Bible Study group prays for Travis every week and she was thrilled that she had some news to go back and report to the group.  A couple minutes later, another one of the Eucharistic Ministers, Angie, came right up to us and asked if she could pray over Travis.  So, we all laid hands on him and she said the most beautiful healing prayer that just flowed right off her lips as if it was coming directly from God.  Then she brought over some healing oil that had been blessed.  Wow!  By this point, Travis was back to his normal happy self and didn’t even care about wearing his mask.  After church, we stayed to have a donut out front and another couple came up to us and told us their MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group had been praying for Travis each week even though they didn’t really know his name.  They told us that so many people we don’t even know are praying for and supporting us.  Again, Wow!  As we left church, we reflected back on how all of these people would choose this particular time to do or say something to Travis.  How did they all know this had been such a challenging morning and their prayers, kind gestures and words of encouragement were just what we needed?  A Little Divine Intervention!

On Monday, we met with the Surgeon and he said that Travis’ port area is healing up great.  It must be all of that special wound care and prayers he has been receiving.  Since he had to do the extra stitching to help get the wound to stay closed, he said if the scarring is too bad when it heals, he would be glad to “touch it up” later on for Travis which was very cool.

Well, sorry for the length of this update…it has been a busy and blessed week!

Thanks,

Tony and Lynne

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Happy New Year! 1/2/2014

Posted by travisthewarrior on January 2, 2014 in Chemotherapy, Events, Surgery

IMG_20140101_110819_955Happy New Year everyone!!!  It is hard to believe it is 2014 already but we are glad that we are putting 2013 in our rear view mirror.  It has been a challenging yet amazing year in so many ways.  We have faced so many obstacles, especially Travis, but we tried to take them one at a time and just find a way to keep going while also looking for the Silver Linings.

IMG_20131230_090235_940Travis had surgery on Monday to have his porta-cath removed.  Yeah!  He had it installed on 3/22, which turned out to mark the beginning of his cancer treatment after surgery.  So, to have it removed on 12/30 to mark the end of his treatment was a great way to finish out the year.  Unbelievable!  With the inflammation that had formed around his port area over the last several months (almost like a big blister), we were lucky that it lasted through the final chemo treatment.  In fact, his final chemo boost a couple of weeks ago was done through an IV since they didn’t want to risk going through his port.  With the skin around that area very fragile, it is a bit sore as he recovers from the surgery.  But again, we take it one step at a time and battle on, like a Warrior.  Hopefully we will be through this part of his recovery soon.

We have an appointment today with our neuro-oncologist to go over the latest test results and discuss the testing plan for the future with MRIs, lumbar puncture, etc.  Then on Monday, we meet with our vascular surgeon so he can examine the port area wound to make sure it is healing properly.  With the skin so fragile there, if the wound doesn’t stay closed, it may require a skin graft but we are praying things heal on their own.

Here is to a Healthy, Happy, Prosperous and Love-Filled 2014…Happy New Year!

Love,

Tony, Lynne, Tyler and Travis

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Merry Christmas! 12/25/2013

Posted by travisthewarrior on December 25, 2013 in Chemotherapy, Events

We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas!  As we sit here enjoying all that Christmas means and brings, we received another bit of good news on Christmas Eve that we are thankful for.

On Monday, we went down to Rady’s to have Travis’ blood work checked and his quarterly MRI.  It turned out to be quite an ordeal since this was a holiday week and most of the normal staff was off.  Travis needed to have an IV started so that the MRI could be done with and without contrast.  At the same time, they were to draw his blood so they could check the lab work.  We started the process at Radiology instead of the Oncology Clinic which you would have thought this was the first time they had ever done an IV and collected blood.  We will save you the “bloody” details but that was a big mistake that we won’t make again!  Once they started the MRI, Travis picked the movie Elf to watch which helps distract from what he calls his torture (i.e. the MRI).

By time the 2 hour MRI was done, we received the lab results which indicated that Travis’ ANC (white blood cell first responders to infection) was coming back up which is good but his Hemoglobin was low which meant a transfusion was needed.  So we headed back over to the Oncology Clinic to get started.  Since the blood was drawn over at Radiology, they did not know to “Type” his blood as part of the lab work so we had to do that too which usually takes an hour before they can start the transfusion.  Since the transfusion usually takes 3-4 hours, we knew the rest of the day would be spent at the hospital.  But that is how it goes and we know to make the best of it.  So, we left the house at 7:30am and didn’t make it home until after 6:30pm.  Hopefully that is the last time we have to do the transfusion since chemo is now over.  What a day!

Anyway, back to some good news.  We received a call from the doctor’s office on Christmas Eve and they wanted us to know that Travis’ MRI results look great.  They wanted us to know before Christmas and not have to think about it over the holidays.  Thank God!  Needless to say, we really appreciated the call.

Again, we have so much to be thankful for this Christmas!

Love,

Tony, Lynne, Tyler and Travis

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Counts are Down so We are Hanging Around! 12/22/2013

Posted by travisthewarrior on December 22, 2013 in Chemotherapy, Events

On Friday, we were back down at Rady’s to have blood work done and Travis’ counts have dropped from Tuesday.  So, we have to keep a low profile this weekend and try to get through this final dip without getting sick.  We were planning to go to the San Diego Sockers game (professional arena soccer) on Saturday with some of our soccer team but we have to miss out this time.  Bummer!  We were also invited to go to the Rady’s Oncology Holiday Party at the Bahia Hotel on Mission Bay on Sunday but have to miss that too.  Double Bummer!  But, that’s OK and we will be back on Monday to have his counts checked again to hopefully be free and clear for Christmas.  On Monday, we also have our quarterly MRI so we are hoping for good results for that too to start out the new year.

While the counts are down, we are hanging around!

Thanks,

Tony and Lynne

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Thank You So Much El Camino Creek! 12/20/2013

Posted by travisthewarrior on December 20, 2013 in Chemotherapy, Events

Hi Everyone,

Once again, we are at a complete loss of words because they just don’t seem to be enough to express how thankful we are to be surrounded by such a great community.

Now that we have completed Travis’ last round of chemotherapy, we know we still have some of this journey left to travel with physical therapy and follow up testing.  When we look at how far we have come and head towards gaining his strength back and a full recovery, we are full of joy and optimism knowing you all have been there for us in so many ways.  We have been truly blessed!

Thanks to Mrs. Mills and our whole 5th Grade Class for always thinking of and including Travis in everything that you do.  We continue to be amazed at how thoughtful you are in your words of encouragement and special gifts that are handpicked to match all of his specific interests.  All of the recent books are perfect and Travis loves them all.  Wow!

Thanks to the entire 5th Grade for your very outward show of support during the ECC Holiday Performance by sporting your “Travis the Warrior” Lime Green (his favorite color) t-shirts and thanks to Mrs. Brown for your kind words of support for Travis.  We were completely in awe and uplifted to see such an awesome display and wanted to give you all a hug.  Maybe when his counts are back up…

AKW_3384

Thanks to Deanna Archer for having a BOX of t-shirts made and providing each of the 5th Grade Teachers with one too.   She also provided ALL of the 5th graders with blank shirts that they could decorate themselves.  It’s funny, we were talking with Deanna about how Travis’ Aunt Karen and brother Tyler had designed the t-shirts and were having them made in Tennessee and shipped to Carlsbad.  We thought that it might be easier with the logistics to find a local source and Deanna said that she would look into it.  Wow, did she ever look into it?  Thank you so much!

Many people have come to call him “Travis the Warrior” and he is truly surrounded by an incredible Army of support.  From the bottom of our hearts, THANK YOU!

We wish you all Happy Holidays and a very Happy New Year!

With Love,

The Selinka Family

www.travisthewarrior.com

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A Big Christmas Wish Comes True! 12/18/2013

Posted by travisthewarrior on December 18, 2013 in Chemotherapy

We went down on Tuesday morning and the check-in process went smoothly.  Since Travis has been having some slight irritation issues with the incision area of his port, we had to get approval to go ahead and access to be able to do the infusion.  There was some hesitation and double checking but the final decision was that the nurses felt they could access him carefully (thanks Ellie) and the vascular surgeon felt that there would be no problem accessing him since there does not seem to be an underlying infection (thanks Dr. Saenz).  So, it was access away and we were very happy about that.  It just seemed inconceivable that we could come all this way, battling counts up and down, only to be turned away by the port but luckily and thankfully, our mission was a go!

Once we were all checked into our room, there was a parade of police officers who went down Children’s Way in front of the hospital.  Then they spread out throughout the floors of the hospital to deliver a little holiday cheer to the kids.  Two officers came to our room and brought some stuffed animals for Travis and Tyler.  Wow!

Since we always try to make things feel a little more like home, we then proceeded to decorate the room with our normal decorations (soccer jerseys, etc) and then spruced things up with some Christmas decorations and lights.  Lynne and Travis say to Go Big or Go Home so we usually Go Big since Going Home isn’t quite an option yet.  By the way, Rady Children’s Hospital really goes all out with their decorations too.  Travis’ soccer team had all decorated ornaments with words of inspiration and gave him what they called a “Tree of Hope” which was prominently displayed in our room.  All of the nurses and staff who came by loved the decorations and especially the tree.  We are so blessed to be surrounded by such great people.  Thanks to the Diaz family for organizing and the whole team for thinking of Travis in such a special way!

The chemo infusions on Day 1, 2 and 3 all went smoothly again like last round and Travis seemed to tolerate them well.  He was able to eat something at every meal and did not experience the nausea like in rounds 1 and 2.  Thank God!  When things go well, being in the hospital is not all that bad because they actually have a lot of things for the kids to do.  In addition to working on his school work, we were able to enjoy the Play Room, the Classroom, and the Garden/Playground.  They all help the time go by faster and we get a little exercise by having to drag along his IV pole everywhere we go.  On our last day, many of the nurses and staff came in and sang an “End of Chemo” song for Travis.  They presented him with a poster that they all signed and then he was able to ring the bell.  Done! Yeah!

We made it home on Friday afternoon and Cisco was glad to see all of us.  In addition to their visit down at the hospital, we had a great dinner provided by the Garman family which was perfect timing and very delicious.  Thank you and Cheyanne also for the great Lego set.  You guys are awesome friends!

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We had kind of a quiet weekend of rest and recuperation.  It was nice to sleep in our own beds without anyone waking us up every couple of hours to go to the bathroom or take vitals.  We did manage to make it out Saturday night driving around for an hour or so to see all of the Christmas lights.  It is such a magical time of year!

On Monday, we worked on some more school work and Travis’ teacher, Mrs. Mills, stopped by in the evening to catch us up on many things.  She also delivered presents for Travis from the kids in the class.  All of the books are so tailored to Travis’ interests and will keep him busy for some time.  Wow!  What a special group of people we have in our lives!

On Tuesday, we had our appointment down at Rady Children’s Hospital for lab work and the final chemo boost.  Travis’ counts are OK for now but expecting to drop at any time before coming back up so we will have them checked again on Friday.  At this point, 6 rounds of chemo treatments are officially done!   Wow…it is so hard to believe and hasn’t quite sunk in yet.  We are sure it will hit us at some point when we get our heads out of the clouds and have some time to reflect.

Travis’ Christmas Wish has come true and his Chemotherapy is DONE before Christmas.  Yeah!  We have been so very blessed!

Thanks,

Tony and Lynne

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It’s Game On! 12/9/2013

Posted by travisthewarrior on December 9, 2013 in Chemotherapy, Events

After Round 5, Travis was scheduled to start his 6th and Final round of chemo tomorrow but when we had his counts checked on Friday, they were low and we rescheduled to try and start on Friday, 12/13 (yes, that is Friday the 13th but we do what we have to do).  So, we set out to play things safe over the weekend and try to avoid any further delays by getting sick.  The thing is, we actually had a pretty busy weekend planned, which combined with the crazy weather, made for somewhat of a challenge.

On Saturday, we were invited by the Sailors of VF-57 and Make-A-Wish Foundation to come down to North Island Naval Air Station for an event.  They had us come for a Briefing where all of the Make-A-Wish kids were made honorary inductees in the Navy.  Then we were treated to demonstrations and displays in the hangar and out on the flight line.  They had an F18 Hornet, a Seahawk helicopter, a C2 cargo plane, a 737 plane, a Navy K-9 team, a Navy Dive team in a dive tank, an EOD team with their remote controlled robots, a Coast Guard J-Hawk helicopter, and a Customs and Boarder Protection helicopter.  They even had Santa come in on a fire engine with presents for the kids.  Wow, what a very special day and we were so thankful that everyone went through all of that effort for the kids and that we could be a part of it all!

On Sunday, Tyler’s team had their robotics competition at Legoland which lasted the whole day.  First thing in the morning, the boys had their judging competition for their research project, core values and robot programming.  Then they were able to get some practice runs in before the robot competition started.  During the robot competition, they had 3 runs to record their best score and were consistent in all three runs.  Although they did not win this time, they did a great job in all aspects of the competition.  They posted the 9th best robot mission score out of the 56 teams participating which is quite an accomplishment when going up against the best of the Southern California teams.  Great job Team Curiosity…you guys are out of this world!

We weren’t sure how much Travis would be able to do but he hung in there the whole weekend and insisted we do more and more.  He did a great job wearing his mask to keep any exposure down which can be a bit awkward and uncomfortable at times but he powered through.

Everyone was exhausted this morning but we had to drag Travis over to the lab so he could have his blood work checked.  The doctor’s office called this afternoon and wouldn’t you know, his counts are back up and we can start his 6th and Final round of chemo on schedule tomorrow.  It is a good thing we keep our Go-Bags ready!

So, It’s Game On!  We are very excited about the possibility of getting things done before Christmas.  We are saying our prayers and keeping our fingers crossed.  We’ll keep you posted!

Thanks,

Tony and Lynne

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Happy Birthday Travis! 11/30/2013

Posted by travisthewarrior on November 30, 2013 in Chemotherapy, Events

All together now:

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday to You!

Happy Birthday Dear Travis!

Happy Birthday to You!

Travis wanted to thank everyone for all of your Birthday wishes in the Guestbook and he wanted to give a big shout out to our extended family at Clarkesville Academy in Tennessee.  He has really enjoyed reading all of your comments and you all bring a big smile to his face.  Thank you all for thinking of Travis in such a special way!

Love,

Lynne and Tony

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Happy Thanksgiving! 11/28/2013

Posted by travisthewarrior on November 28, 2013 in Chemotherapy, Events

On this Thanksgiving Day, when we reflect back on the year, we have been blessed in so many ways and we have so much to be thankful for.  Even with Travis’ counts climbing back up, we decided that we should play things safe and lay low for the holiday since we are close to Round 6 starting and don’t want to risk a setback.  So we will spend our turkey day together at home.

We want to wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving and wanted you to know that we are very thankful to have you in our lives!

Love,

Tony, Lynne, Tyler and Travis

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There’s NO Place Like Home! 11/16/2013

Posted by travisthewarrior on November 16, 2013 in Chemotherapy
Travis’ Room!
Welcome!
Just Hangin’ Around!
Who Loves You…We Do!

We checked in to the hospital on Tuesday morning and after meeting with the Doctor, they decided to reduce the Vincristine dose from 1.5 down to 1 since Travis is experiencing some nerve numbness in his feet.  We are told that this is temporary and should come back after the chemo is complete.  Once we got to our room, we decorated for the fall season and worked on some homework throughout the day.  After the pre-hydration, they started the chemo in the late afternoon.  Tony came down at lunch time and then again for dinner.  Travis did not seem to be bothered by the chemo other than having to go to the bathroom every hour or two due to the hydration.

On Wednesday, we worked on some more school work and ended up in the play room for a couple of hours.  It is nice that they have different things to help pass the time.  Tony came again at lunch and then after work so he could spend the night.  They gave the second dose of chemo in the evening and the boys stayed up late watching some TV.

On Thursday morning, we did a switch again so that Tony could go to work.  We worked on school work and went down to the inpatient classroom for a while.  Tony came back down at lunch and Travis had his last dose of chemo for this round in the evening.  Tony and Tyler came down for a couple hours in the evening.  Travis did the last of the hydration overnight.  So, Friday was an easy morning wrapping things up and waiting for the Doctor to release us.  We made it home in the afternoon and rested for a while.  It is amazing how tired you can feel after waking up every couple of hours through the night.  But we made it through and just in time for the weekend.  Yeah!

Round 5 is in the books and we have one more to go in December.  If Travis’ counts cooperate and we can stay on schedule, we are hoping to do Round 6 before Christmas.  That way we can be at home for the holidays since there is NO place like home!

Thanks,

Lynne and Tony

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