Baby Jack

Today our great-nephew, Jack, spent the day with us. He played Super Jack with his cousin Drew and loved flying around with Drew's help. Don slept a good part of the morning but when he woke up after Noon, Jack was there to greet him. Jack wanted to wear his Uncle Donnie's sunglasses so we found him a pair of his own and they wore them together. After lunch Jack and Uncle D watched TV together...well, sort of. We certainly enjoyed our day with Baby Jack.

Photos at Last

Well, as promised and with a little reminding, Josh sent his pictures, the first with some friends during the Red Dress Run (he's in the middle) and the second during his St. Patrick's Day March through the French Quarter. It's good to know we have a supporter that knows how to have fun!!!

Mission Accomplished

We got the camper to Houston and our mission was accomplished with no problems. We are glad to be able to check that off of our Things to Do list! We saw this billboard while we were stuck in traffic and I had to take a picture - seems like lawyers with cheesy advertising are everywhere! I love the phone number 1-800- I Am Hurt!!!

Film Next Week

I e-mailed my former boss, Josh, at his new office this week and sent him the blog address. His reply was "How come I'm not down as a supporter?" I apologetically explained that it was an oversight, I had listed people as they came over shortly before or after I had started this blog, especially if I had a picture of them or had taken a recent one myself. I told him I did not have his picture and he promised to send me one as soon as it is taken by his new firm. Personally, and for viewers enjoyment I would request that he forward a photo taken during the Red Dress Run or when he ventured out dressed as Elvis - much more interesting stuff than a professional photo. This is just a friendly reminder to Josh to send his photo. Once he forwards whichever photo he chooses, I'll edit this post to include it - film next week - stay tuned!



On a more serious note, Josh jumped right in when I called and said we needed to get legal documents drawn up for Don. I think he had them all done before we hung up the telephone. He even brought them out to our house for Don to sign (and you know the City people don't cross the parish line for just anyone). He has also supported my decision to stay home during this time without giving me too much grief. Don and I both appreciate his help - he certainly has been a supporter!

Headin' West

Today with Drew's help, we will bring our camper to Houston and leave it with a consignment broker to sell. It was certainly wonderful to have while we needed it after Katrina. Hopefully all will go well and we will have no problems with the trip. I must say I am more than a little worried about riding with Drew pulling a camper...I'll let you know how things go. We will be spending the night in Houston with Paul & Debbie Godwin so that will be something to look forward to. I'll certainly give an update on this adventure.

Update

Well, we went to the doctor this morning and had a very good report. Don is not having any horrible side effects from the chemo other than fatigue which can be pretty bad at times but bearable. His blood pressure was higher than the last visit so the doctor increased the dosage of his medication but did not seem terribly concerned about the numbers (153/80). He is having some pressure in his ears but that was attributed to sinus problems and hopefully we will get that under control soon. The doctor told Don he looked great and to continue to do what he is doing and he will see us in three weeks! He looks and feels good today! Thank you all for your continued prayers - you know we appreciate them all.

Beautiful Redheads!

Ashley spent the night last night and today we had a surprise visit from the newly married, Brandi Hock Aucoin all the way from Watson, LA. It was certainly wonderful to have the redheads together again, which the whole family enjoyed.

The girls went to lunch and we ran an errand then met back at the house just in time to see them experimenting in the kitchen making frozen tea. I am not sure that was a success but they had a good time.

Tomorrow Don sees the doctor and I'll report then.

Happy, Happy Birthday

Today is Linda's birthday and she, Lisa, Savannah (Lisa's granddaughter) and Linda's friend Maria came over for cake and ice cream. We had a nice visit while eating the scrumptous Chantilly cake and ice cream! Linda, Lisa, Maria and I went to Sunday services at the First Baptist Church of Kenner this morning while Don stayed home to rest. We had a another crazy, sleepless night last night...we should be getting used to them by now!

Wishin' for Fish

Don was able to get a few hours of fishing in today with Bob and Ashley. We are so fortunate to have Bob as a neighbor and friend - Don told me he would be unable to fish if it were not for all of the help from Bob. They don't stay out long because Don gets tired easily these days and the heat doesn't help but, it's long enough to bring home dinner. As the story goes, Bob caught the most fish and Ashley caught the biggest, a 22 inch speckled trout!

Summer Fun

My niece, Leah, e-mailed Don and I the other night and attached these two pictures. The first is of her one year old son, Jack sporting a floppy, blue hat looking like an angel and, the second is her oldest son, Sam, who will be 4 in October in a float relaxing while wearing floaties and his goggles. His "Honey" is also in the picture holding on. These two boys have brought us many laughs during the last month - how sweet of Leah and Doug to share their precious boys - after all, laughter is the best medicine!!

Don continues to do well on the Nexavar and is not suffering with too many side effects. He is tired but fortunately is able to rest a lot. He has an appointment on July 29th with Dr. Regenstein so we will see what he has to say about the fatigue. Fortunately, Drew has only been working on weekends so he has been home to help Don widdle away at his "to do" list.

Big City Girl

Stephanie Bode called from New York last week and said she was coming to town. We made plans to have lunch and today we met at Houston's, had a leisurely lunch and learned that our precious boys, Drew and Paul, were not so precious after all. Lots of good stories about high school days...proving the adadge that boys will be boys...

We really enjoyed getting out of the house and having a nice visit with Stephanie. Don was pretty tired after our outing - not exhausted, just tired and rested most of the afternoon. Ashley was here when we got home and will be spending the night with us. Things will be lively in the morning!

I Have Been Replaced!

Last night was a particularly restless night for Don. We slept fitfully from 1:00 am to 5:00 am and were awake much of that time. I got up, had breakfast and returned to our room to find out I had been replaced...

Family and Friends

Here are just a few pictures of family and friends who have supported us through Don's illness. There are many more and I will add them as we go. We love you all. I am just learning about blogging so please forgive my novice errors!

Ashley and Adam

Don, Drew and Douglas

Lynette, Larry, Lisa & Linda

Lisa and Nina

Jenna, Douglas and Whitney

Douglas, Lynette, Don, Ashley & Adam

Paul, Amber & Debbie

Deanna, Chris, Kim, Douglas, Erin, Stacy, Tracy, Angie & Chris

Angie & Chris

Larry, Mom and Doug

Don and Sam

Leah & Jack

Glenn & Susan

Edward, Mary, Debby & Donnie

Mary, Don & Debbie

Don, Joyce and Tommy Joe

Hannah

Christopher & Matthew

Edward, Don, Chris (holding Matthew) and Bob

Daily Blessings!

We are so lucky to have our beautiful children, a large extended family and many, many friends who visit and check in on us all of the time. If you are reading this then you are probably one of our family members or friends and we want to thank everyone for the prayers, visits and phone calls. Just knowing you all are out there supporting us is so important. We have had visits from Don's sisters and brother, Edward, Mary and Debby, nieces Stacy and Angie, Kim and husband, Chris, great nieces and nephews, Hannah, Christopher & Matthew. Don's cousins Tommy Joe and Joyce visited from Kansas City, Missouri - Tommy Joe spiced up the visit with some stories from his youth and kept us laughing!



Our niece, Leah stops by regularly with great nephews, Sam and Jack and the laughs continue. My family, my mother, Nina who lives with us since the storm, sisters Linda and Lisa and brother Larry and his wife Kathy check in on us and offer so much moral support. As you can see we are truly blessed!



Our friends Susan and Glenn have been great friends and supporters and our friends Dee and Milton and their triplets check on us almost daily. Many of our neighbors have stopped to offer their prayers. Co-workers of Don's continue to call and drop by and he enjoys seeing them. He also gets calls and cards from former customers - he has really touched a lot of lives. My co-workes e-mail and call all of the time to check on him. Our friend, Ann, who checks in via phone and e-mail stopped by this weekend and we loved seeing her - the laughing surely helps.

Friends of our children who have spent many hours here with us and are considered family have taken time to be with us. Jenny and Chelsea always have something to say or do to make us smile. Paul and Tori flew in from Pennsylvania to spend some time with us and play some heated games of Cranium with my sister and I while Don tried to sleep! We did get loud, but the boys (Drew and Paul) were cheating!

I'll attach some pictures of our family and friends in following posts. Thanks for visiting!

Getting started

We have started this blog in order to keep family and friends updated on Don's condition. As most of you know, Don was diagnosed with cancer of the liver on June 28, 2008. At the time of the diagnosis we were told that the cancer was in the advanced stages and surgery was not an option. He was prescribed Nexavar which we were told could extend his life but was not a cure. This diagnosis came as a horrible shock to our family but after an initial period of disbelief, we are now doing what we can to fight back. We cherish our time together and will do what it takes to get through - together!