Chicago visit for Great Grandma Delores's 89th birthday

On Friday, August 2nd, I flew to Chicago with Connor and Paige. Since Andrea had just done chemo on Tuesday, she wasn't able to come with us and stayed at the house with Abby. Grandma Delores turned 89 on Friday and everyone went over to Uncle Roger's house in the afternoon and evening to celebrate. We walked around in their big backyard garden, played checkers and piano, went on a walk with the dogs, played games, ate dinner, and then enjoyed a birthday cake that Aunt Wendy baked for Grandma.

On Saturday morning we went back over to Rog and Wendy's house for some Belgian waffles and played with some more of their toys. Connor fell in love with the marble race track and we built all kinds of race courses and would see which marbles were fastest (red always won). Paige played piano a lot at Rog's house and had a neat app on her phone that gave her some piano instruction and it actually would have songs that she could play along with and it would listen to her performance and would grade her and keep track as she progressed.

In the afternoon we went over to Aunt Sharon's house and enjoyed the relatively cool weather. The kids played outside quite a bit when we arrived until Connor got a blister playing basketball in his sandals. Paige played with the Cozy Coupe car and with Erin's kids Caleb and Emmy.

The favorite part of my day was going on a nice long walk with Max. He rode a scooter and we went all the way down to the end of the road in the neighborhood and then back. We found a big beetle bug, some birds, a sweet honeysuckle flower and a big metal bolt. It was quite the adventure and I enjoyed chatting with him. He had so much to say and is at such a fun age.

As it got dark, we played a super competitive game of four square until the mosquitoes got a little too bad, someone broke a glass, and it got dark.

The kids practiced some drums with Uncle Lee and put on a little performance for Alex, Laura, and myself.

Then, it was time to say goodnight and goodbye to everyone!

On Sunday morning we went back over to Rog and Wendy's after breakfast and hung out for about an hour before our flight. We made one more marble track and then we packed up and said goodbye to everyone. 

We had a nice visit in Chicago, it was short and quite a bit of effort for such a short weekend trip, but I was happy we were able to see Grandma Delores on her birthday and were able to see all the family that was around as well. The kids were so fun to travel with, they are so easy going and wonderful.

Abby in town following Chemo

This weekend I'm going to Chicago for Grandma Delores's birthday and taking the kids with me. Abby flew in on Wednesday July 31 and will be staying with Andrea following her chemo, through Sunday when I return. The kids have enjoyed seeing their Aunt while she's here and it's awesome that she is able to come down and help us out this weekend since Andrea can't travel with us.

Chemotherapy 1 of 4 - TNBC/IDC/BRCA2

On Tuesday, July 30th 2019, Andrea had her first chemotherapy treatment of Taxotere and Cytoxan. We arrived in the morning at 9am to meet with Dr. Advani and reviewed the treatment plan. Unfortunately our insurance hadn't approved the Neulasta shot to boost the white blood cell count following treatment. Dr. Advani didn't feel comfortable putting in the official order for the chemo drugs without the authorization for the Neulasta shot. The insurance company had been working on the authorization for a while and we were pretty disappointed it wasn't approved on schedule for the treatment. They'd told us they would review within 15 days and as of Tuesday it had been 18. The hospital called the insurance company and so did we. We sat on the phone with them for quite some time and they eventually told us they were working on it and would call us back. We refused to get off the line until the issue was resolved and after over an hour we finally got their approval.

At one point one of the nurses told us it probably wasn't going to happen that day due to other appointments that may conflict, but thankfully after the approval was confirmed we were able to start  an hour and half later than scheduled. When we got in the room we fitted the Paxman on Andrea and the machine started while Andrea got her pre-chemo meds. The Paxman keeps her scalp cool to restrict blood flow and possibly help with hair loss. When the chemo started, we put on the frozen mittens and slippers, switched on the heated seat, and put some heated blankets on Andrea. It was not comfortable for her and her feet probably hurt the worst. The mittens and slippers are supposed to help with nerve damage which can cause permanent neuropathy in the hands and feet.

We switched on the TV, watched some Animal Planet and Shark Week programming, and just tried to relax. Once the Taxotere was done Andrea took a bathroom break and then we got some fresh blankets, fresh frozen mittens and slippers, and started with the Cytoxan. When the Cytoxan was finished Andrea was able to take off the slippers and gloves and was finally able to be on her phone. The Paxman had to stay put for another 90 minutes to keep her head cool, and once that finished we packed up and left. Total time for treatment from pre-drugs (30 minutes) to drugs (2 hours) to cooldown (90 minutes) was 4 hours.

Overall, the rooms were very nice at Mayo. It was great that they were private, quiet, and comfortable. We learned quite a bit about how everything works and how to stay comfortable during the treatment. The cooler with the cold stuff worked well and the gloves and slippers stayed super cold until they were needed. We forgot to have Andrea chew on ice chips during the treatment, which could have helped with mouth sores and taste buds. Hopefully not too much damage done with the first treatment, we'll have to remember that for next time.

Andrea's been home for a couple of days and is doing great. Other than not being able to wash her hair, she is happy and feels normal. Hopefully she continues to do well during her treatment.

Flowers for Chemo

Andrea was scheduled for her first round of chemotherapy this week on Tuesday and I thought maybe some flowers would brighten her days. On Monday the flowers were delivered and Andrea wanted a quick pic with them.

Last camp week of summer

The kids are enjoying their last week of camps for the summer. This week Connor is doing the lifeguard camp and Paige is doing the beach camp.

Connor's buddies Robert and Quinn are both in the lifeguard camp with him this week. They've been enjoying all the swimming and soccer in the sand.

Paige has been doing beach camp, so they've had more time for arts and crafts and different kinds of camp activities. Paige really loved making slime this week.

Andrea took a pic of Paige with two of her favorite counselors Sara and Kayla.

Zoe's Pool/Soccer Party

On Saturday July 27th, we went to our friends' house to celebrate Zoe's birthday party. The plan was originally to have the party on the beach, however it poured rain briefly so it got moved to their house instead. The weather actually stayed good for the rest of the day and the storms past by without dropping anything on us after all. The kids enjoyed swimming in the pool and playing soccer in the yard with the other kids.