Happy Birthday To You!

Just a few more video clips of Shane, these from singing "Happy Birthday" to him on Saturday! This kid LOVES him some attention!! Is he his Daddy's boy or what!

(Both taken on "Aunt Tate's" cell phone - thanks Aunt Kate!)

Three Minutes With Shane

Welcome to OUR world!!!

Good News/Surprising News/Birthday News

So our trip to Sloan-Kettering yesterday was a success!

We left the house at 5am, by 7 we had parked the car at the hospital and had walked over to the imaging center on 55th St. Chris had his CT scan around 8:30, by 9 we were walking back to the hospital, he had his lab work done at 9:30 and by 10:45 we were sitting at a desk across from Dr. G!!!

Results from yesterday's scan look great! Lot's of big black holes in his liver where tumor used to reside! And Dr. G. kept using the word "Fantastic!" when looking at all his blood work results!

We also got some surprising news! The embolization for the left side of Chris's liver is scheduled for next Friday, May 1. We never expected it to happen so quickly - we thought it'd be another week or two after that before we'd be back there for round 2! But, Dr. G. had an opening in his schedule and his favorite room was available, so we jumped on it! Dr. G is pretty confident that this embolization will be much easier on Chris (and on him!). The left side of the liver is smaller than the right side anyway, which makes it a bit easier, but there's also far less tumor on the left side than what had been on the right side. Another good thing, is that Chris now has more healthy liver tissue, which should also make recovery easier. AND, because Chris's blood pressure issues seem to be under control (124/76 yesterday, yeah!!) we shouldn't have the complications like we had last time either!

LOTS of great news yesterday!!

The only "downside" to all of this (and in the grand scheme of things, it's really not so downside!!) is that Shane's 3rd birthday is next Sunday (the 3rd) and we were going to have his party then. Since we'll now be in the hospital next weekend, we decided to move his party up to tomorrow instead!!! Soooooo, stay tuned for lots of fun pictures on Monday! Until then, here's his adorable birthday invitation - thanks to Stacey at Park Thomas Design!!

Leukocytoclastic Vasculitis

Say that three times fast!!!

That's the diagnosis (after biopsy) on the rash Chris had on his legs and ankles that, eventually, caused the swelling in his feet (apparently, my husband can't just get a good old fashioned rash that is taken care of with a little cortisone cream!)

Basically, that big, long, clinical name translates to "rash caused by bacterial infection". In his case, it was likely caused from the toxins that the dying tumors (from the embolization) are giving off.

A few days on 10mg of prednisone, and he was just about as good as new!

He had a follow up with the dermatologist today and after a few more doses of the prednisone, he should be good to go!

Other than the rash, he's been doing GREAT lately! Eating well, sleeping a (TINY) bit better, pain is more manageable, he's playing with Shane and my boys have even claimed back their mornings together (even if it is just 2 mornings a week right now - we'll take it!!) and he's only crawling into bed at night now! I can't even begin to describe how great it is to see Chris looking so good. He's come a long way since March 9 (day before his embolization) and I know he'll be doing even better after the second embolization is done!

We're well on our way to claiming our life back!!!!!!!

We're back to Sloan-Kettering on Thursday for a follow up CT scan and to meet with Dr. G. regarding the embolization Chris had in March and on, hopefully, scheduling the one for the left side of his liver in another week or two.

Prayers are always welcome around here!!

Sesame Street

So we had ourselves a FANTASTIC 4-day family weekend (more on that tomorrow)!!!

We kicked things off on Friday morning with a trip to the Arena at Harbor Yards to watch us some Sesame Street Live!! Our little guy had the best time and is STILL pouring through his $12 program!!!

***Happy Birthday, Nana!!! I actually FORGOT to wish my own Mom a Happy Birthday on the phone this morning (can you believe that!! Pass over the daughter of the year award, for sure!!!), so I HAD to give her a shout out on the blog to make up for it! We love you!!

With A Vengeance

Once Shane gathered all the eggs from his Easter egg "hunt" in the backyard, he went into Nana's living room and ripped open those eggs with a vengeance!! He couldn't possibly have eaten any more puffs or Cheerios in one day if he had wanted to!

If you haven't seen the videos of him collecting the eggs, watch those first!

Easter Joy

He lights up our entire world, in more ways than one, and it was SO great to watch him be a kid yesterday! He completely enjoyed his easter egg "hunt" that Aunt Kate set up in Nana's backyard! Here's the proof!

(Recorded on Aunt Kate's cell phone):

The Latest With Chris

Chris has had an awful rash on his legs for almost 2 weeks now. Big red spots, slightly raised, not itchy, that were finally starting to go away and then Thursday night we noticed some swelling in one of his achilles and the next morning there was a HUGE spot where the swelling had been. Both of his feet have been pretty swollen all weekend and walking is a bit difficult and painful. He did go to a Walk-in clinic on Saturday and they didn't have a clue as to what it could've been. Hopefully he'll get in to see Dressler today and get some relief.

Never a dull moment!

The irony here, is that he had a pretty great weekend otherwise! Liver pain and abdonimal pain were minimal, especially on Saturday, but he couldn't really enjoy it because of his feet! Poor guy!

We have our follow up with Sloan-Kettering next Thursday and we're still investigating what our next move will be. We'll either head back to Sloan for his 2nd embolization or head out to New Orleans to get another treatment plan reccomendation by the doctor's out there known as the "Dream Team" in the world of Carcinoid Cancer. We'll be sure to keep you all updated.

Keep us in your prayers!

Getting Out

Even though it's not exactly warm yet, we'll take any increase in temperature we can get to get ourselves out of the house - it's been a LONG winter!

A few weeks ago we busted out and played out in the yard one night after work. This swing set may have taken 4 adults (+ 2 more to watch Shane!) an entire weekend to put together, but it was worth the effort! Shane LOVES the thing!

Taking a break to find a plane:

Happy Easter, everyone!!!

A Call For Help

With our personal chef officially off duty for the first time in 6 months (see post below!) and with Chris being home on disability and needing to gain back some weight, not only for health reasons but to also increase his energy level, I'm in DESERATE need of dinner ideas and recipes!

Ideally, I'm looking for things that can quickly and easily be thrown together the night before and that Chris can toss into the oven an hour or two before Shane and I get home.

Good,wholesome meals that are easy on the digestive system. In other words, nothing too spicey, no raw veggies, and no super thick cream sauces. Protein is our top priority (that, and it has to be yummy enough for an almost 3 year old to eat)!

We'd welcome any ideas or recipes you have! Feel free to email them to me at koconnor1009@hotmail.com

We'll be forever in your debt!!

On The Road (Again?)

When the two of you pulled into our driveway that Friday night six months ago, each of you in a separate car packed to the gill with all of your favorite belongings, exhausted from a day of packing, lawyers and handing over your condo keys, none of us ever saw your planned two week stay with us turning into 6 months.

But as luck would have it, your condo sold at just the right moment, for 5 days later would find Chris in the ER and a week after that would find us with a cancer diagnosis. We hope you both know how much we appreciated (and needed) your support at that time. How great it was to come home from that fateful doctor appointment to hear you say you'd be staying with us for a while, to know that we weren't alone.

We're extremely grateful to both of you for all you've done for us these last 6 months. I think it's pretty safe to say that we wouldn't be where we are today without the support and the sacrifices you gave, and made, for us. There are no words to express our gratitude to you for giving up your own lives for 6 months to guarantee the safety and well being of ours.

While you are (finally!) making your way down to Florida today to re-start your life, know how much you're missed up here. And know we're okay. And that we'll continue to be okay.

With much love and appreciation . . . .

Earning His Keep

(Almost) 3 isn't too young to put him to work, is it??

Aunt "Sue-bus", I suppose this will be going into your "book"???!!! :-)

Helping Papa:
Getting pointers from Daddy:

Good job, Buddy!!!

**Note: Despite how dead our grass was (okay, is), we would never have our little guy doing any kind of manual labor out in the yard - not yet anyway! He pulled the seed spreader out of the shed himself (swear!!). I think he thought it was one of his push toys! Regardless, he had TONS of fun pushing that thing around the yard!!

A (New) Old Favorite

Stacey Thomas, a very talented designer over at Park-Thomas Design has been helping me design Shane's 3rd birthday invite (I'll be sure to share the design once they've been received by family). With Stacey's help, we decided to use this cropped version of one of my all-time favorites! Thanks, Stacey!

A Boy & His Dogs

Our son SO thinks that he is a canine! Most days, I'm surprised he's not walking around on all four like Kylee and Zoe do!

In the interest of full disclosure, when I was pregnant with Shane, Chris and I were a bit concerned about how the dogs, especially Zoe, would react to having a baby in the house. I mean, our girls had been our babies all along, right until we were blessed with a little blue bundle of our own.

Both Kylee and Zoe are rescue dogs, and both have their "issues". Not knowing what their full backgrounds are made it difficult to envision how they'd handle having a little one around. Kylee has to be the center of attention at all times, so naturally, we were concerned about how she would handle playing second fiddle for a while! And Zoe, poor Zoe. She was abused by her previous owner and has always been skittish around strangers - mainly men and children.

But, from the moment we brought our little guy home, our girls took to him like glue! Sure they have their moments when they've had enough of him and I'm sure they're wishing he'd just disappear for a while (don't all siblings?!), but ultimately, they love him - immensely. They've taken him in like he's one of their own and Chris and I couldn't be happier!

I mean seriously, could they be having any more fun together!! Just take a look at his face!!

Yeah, I'm talking about you Buddy!!

More tomorrow!

A Day At The Park

There's an elementary school, literally down the street from us, with a playground that Shane loves!

Often, on the weekends, we'll take a stroll up to the school and let Shane run around in the ball fields behind the school or play on the playground equipment for a while. It's a good way to get us all out of the house for a bit.

These snapshots were taken about a week and a half after Chris's embolization. Standing completely upright was still a bit tough for him and he was still in some considerable pain, but still - he knew getting out of the house would be good for him - and he was right! We all had a fantastic time playing at the school, as usual!

"Come on, Daddy! Over here!"

Curiosity still gets the best of him!!

Sick

Chris and I went to yet another doctor appointment yesterday, but this time it was the pediatrician! Our little guy has yet another ear infection!

He started with a runny nose on Tuesday morning and after a bad night of sleep Tuesday night, we knew something was up - so we made the call to schedule an appointment for an ear check. Sure enough, left ear was infected!

After a few rounds of antibiotics yesterday, and an earful of the "numbing drops" that the pedi gave us, our little guy had a much better afternoon and night and was doing better already when he woke up this morning. Apparently, dull moments aren't allowed in our house!!

I've got tons of photos at home waiting to be edited, but thought I'd share these 2 quick snaps from Aunt Kate's birthday on Sunday. Our kid is such a ham!!

This kid L-O-V-E-S attention!! (Have I mentioned just how much he is his father's son??!!) Anytime anyone sings the "Happy Birthday" song, Shane is convinced it's for him - even if he's in another room. See how much he eats this stuff up!!!
More tomorrow, promise!

Aunt Trae, it was great to have you here for a few days - we're SO glad you made the trip, despite being sick - what a trooper!!! Shane had a fantastic time and there's no doubt that he's going to miss you - we all will! Hope you have a safe flight home and we're already looking forward to your next visit!!

Better Already

Both my blogging and Chris!

And here's some proof (taken on St. Patrick's Day)! Looking good just one week after the embolization! Now we just need to get some weight back on him!
We had a house full of company yesterday, otherwise my new "blog promise" would've gotten under way a day sooner!

Here's a few more snapshots from St. Patrick's Day. $5 to anyone who can successfully explain to Shane that his electronic ride-on is an outdoor toy only . . .

Can't you just see the devil in his eyes! This kid is SO plotting his next "attack"!!