FRIENDS? YES WE HAVE A FEW.....!

First the Headline:  Another Clear MRI for Patti as of 11/18/13!

Whew…. Eight months since brain surgery and the radiation, chemo and prayers are keeping the devil away.  Patti was so very positive for the six weeks or so since her last scan and I know for certain that a big reason for this good news is that fight of hers.  Thanks to all for the calls, cards and prayers.

So much fun has happened since last I sent out this blog.  Cathy Bailey did come down for a fantastic visit from New York in early October.  Cathy was followed rather quickly by the one and only Mary Lou Palladino from Staten Island who came for a good visit.  Both ladies were able to join us at Club 22 and Erymwold.  Susan and Parker Ransom joined us in Athens when Mary Lou was in town.  They had not seen each other in years, but it was Mary Lou who introduced Patti and me.  The Ransoms were some of our best runnin’ buddies in NYC as young married couples.  The darn Bulldogs aren’t giving us enough to smile about so we’ll have friends over to start the party.

Two Saturday's ago Thomas's girlfriend Ashley Murphy organized PT's Brainiac's to enter a 5K fundraiser for Brain Cancer Research.  Ashley's efforts led to a more than doubling of her goal and great attendance.  That same weekend Patti and three Connolly sisters spent a long night in Athens planning Thanksgiving for the state of Georgia.  More on that in a bit.

This past weekend we visited brother Joe and his wife Penny at their mountain home in Eastern Tennessee.  Very relaxing and casual.  Too short a visit but we get to see them again Thanksgiving week and again near Christmas.  Speaking of Thanksgiving, the Atlanta Hodgsons, Peter and Susan plus an army of friends from Augusta, Atlanta, Birmingham, Dahlonega and Athens will make our Thanksgiving table in Athens a thirty mouth affair.  We’re so lucky to be able to reciprocate Nanky and Jack Tribble and their extended family for hosting us the past few years.  Bring your own fork.

Again, I am so happy to share this report.  Thanks to all for the magnificent support.

Great Events for a Great Wife

When last we spoke I was updating everyone quickly regarding Patti’s most recent MRI and the ‘stable’ result.  This basically means that the tumor and none of his friends have shown back up.  Miracles happen, don’t ya know.

Two Saturday’s ago daughter Kiley and her friend Lindsey Richardson gathered a group to run (walk!) in a Brain Cancer Research Fund Raiser.  It was just fabulous.  Not only did dear friends of Kiley’s partake in this early morning event but fiancées and parents of her classmates also got up before dawn.  Of course the winners of this event are the fighters like Patti who receive such wonderful moral support as well as the research centers who will one day make this curse a memory.

 

Then last week Patti’s older brother Bob Thompson and wife Alison came down from Annapolis.  Bob and Alison met the same summer as Patti and me and got married the same month as us but in New Orleans.  We all had a wonderful visit to Erymwold and went to Bulldog tailgates though we watched the fabulous victory against LSU back in the country, where the wine is chilled and the restrooms ‘pleasant’.  But what a game!

 

Tomorrow Cathy Bailey an old UGA classmate of mine and resident of NYC since 1976 flies thru Atlanta on her way to a friend's child's wedding.  We'll get her for a night on the back end.  Cathy is a treasure and Kiley’s godmother.  There will be no idle moments with Cathy in town.

So there, the patient is feelin’ fine and the home and hearts are full.  The cards continue to arrive and our spirits rise with each one.  Thanks for the prayers.

More of the Same.... And Loving It!

 

 

Patti continues a very encouraging path.  She is as active as ever and enjoying her new found freedom since selling back her equity in the Savvy Snoot.  Many of you know the furniture and decorating business Patti invested in seven years ago.  Good economy or bad, this was obviously the time to stop worrying about payrolls and delivery issues.  So her partner Marty Mason and Patti had an amicable settlement of accounts and she no longer goes into work.  Hundreds of Atlanta homes are better thanks to the design effort and creative furniture pairings Patti created over the last seven years.  Now she gets to spend a lot more time at Erymwold….. dusting.

Since I last reported in we’ve had a great visit from Patti’s sister Betty who lives in Westchester County, NY.  We’ve attended a fun wedding in Atlanta and Patti’s roommate Liz made a return visit just this past weekend from her summer home in Newport.  Photo of the friends is attached.  Liz and Patti can, and do, spend hours at a time solving world problems over coffee and other beverages.  When there is a break, they help me with my shortcomings.  What’s not to love.

University of Georgia football has started so we will spend many weekends in Athens attending to those sorts of activities.  We don’t go into the stadiums so much anymore, but the town is crazy and the friends seem to be everywhere.  This week as we beat South Carolina (whew!) we were joined by Nanky and Jack Tribble, Liz as I’ve mentioned and daughter Kiley with boyfriend Karl in tow.

Health wise, the blood count remains good and there is a third MRI scheduled for 9/16.  Our new hero is Valerie Harper who has a horrible brain cancer (not the same as Patti’s) and has pushed through to remission.  She’ll be on Dancing With the Stars this Fall.  Go Rhoda!!

A Week in the Mountains…. Perfect

Patti continues to do great.  More blood tests tomorrow and then a new prescription of Chemo.  But it’s been a great few weeks.  Patti’s younger sister Joan came from North Carolina in mid July and brought her beautiful daughter Sarah.  We had a great visit.  As you’ve heard, the last MRI was clear and we don’t have another test for almost a month.

Kanuga.  How does one explain Kanuga.  It’s an Episcopal retreat in Hendersonville, NC where Hodgson’s have been resting each summer for almost a hundred years.  It was originally a gambling resort that was sold to the church in 1929.  You do the math.  I can’t sell people on Kanuga, but after a few visits you just might get it.  No AC, TV, Cell Service, Pool or Room Service.  Just a simple Inn, great cottages and friends from last year and the years before that.  And a beautiful lake.  Family style meals and kid’s programs seal the deal for most moms.  I took my ‘Yankee Wife’ to Kanuga for the first time when we were newlyweds.  Cottage 26 has been our domain the last week of July for the past 21 years.  We just love it.  Many cousins and friends on this distribution have spent at least some time at Kanuga.  It clears your head.

Patti’s sister Betty shows up in a few weeks and a great visit is expected.  The kitchen at Erymwold is still in process.  Our contractor, we’ll call him Joe, was nominated for ‘Most Talkative’ and ‘Most Deliberate’ master craftsman in the Universe.  Congratulations, Joe.  Back to work.

All the News That's Fit to Blog About



 

I got an email from a friend last week reminding me that Patti’s friends and family need to hear news, even if it is not so dramatic.  This post may fall into that category.

Patti is doing really well.  She just finished her second maintenance regimen of Temodar, her chemo medicine.  Since it’s almost three times as powerful as the first dose she started in March, this stuff has the potency to really floor Patti, but she just does not complain.  We have another MRI on the 16th and I'll post news about that when we know it.  Prayers graciously solicited.  Speaking of chemo drugs…. Though I’m far from being an expert, I have learned the hard way about individual medical plans.  There’s good, there’s bad and then there is ours.  Anyone shopping for medical insurance please give me a call.  I have some advice.

I’m going to tell a brief antidote about our patient.  It’s been an unusual July for the family having nothing to do with Patti’s condition.  Erymwold got robbed while we were away and the monsoon Georgia is enjoying this month has gotten the basement wet for the first time in my memory.  Maybe ever.  Last Saturday after a dinner out while I was scrambling all over the house chasing towels and sump pump fuses, our patient just lay in the bed with a modest smile.  Nothing was going to faze Patti.  She had her priorities in order and knew extra stress might jeopardize the miracle we are building.  In the end, as she knew, all is well.

Our bounty of good will continues unabated.  Thanks so much to everyone.  And next week we will have another visit from brother Tim who now lives in Palm Springs.  Also coming to Atlanta next week are two of Patti’s college pals from DC.  There will be noise.

 



I don't iron.  But it's a nice view
for whoever does....



 

 

Just a Quick Catch-Up

Father’s Day, 2013:  Things are pretty darn normal for the Hodgson’s this month.  Patti had a double dose of oral Chemo drugs that only lasted a week and was not nearly as fatigue inducing as we had been warned.  She’ll have 23 days of no drugs or anything then five more days of Chemo.  The dosage will be growing soon so we’ll see how she holds up.

We went to a cookout last night in Athens with friends new and old.  I swear Patti was the best looking woman there.  That last sentence is a potential landmine since some of the recipients of this post were in attendance.  I think they will understand.  And agree.

Spending lots of time in Athens talking about what we will do with the house.  Pulling the trigger gets a little harder.  But it’s still a wonderful project.

Let’s all count our blessings and think about Dad.

Normalcy Setting In….. A Well Deserved Vacation….MRI Scheduled

Patti is doing great.  She sleeps like a puppy but has the energy now to run errands and can drive her car for several hours if necessary with no fear.  We expect this period to last a long, long time with improvements to Patti’s spirits and vigor.

 

Back on May 18^th our family went to Santa Rosa Beach, FL for a long planned break.  This in itself is unremarkable, but the whole story is bigger.  This was year 28 of the same four families getting together for a trip to the beach.  The families of Doc Eldridge (Athens, GA), Woody Cole (Carrollton, GA, Johnny Power (Savannah, GA) and we merry Hodgsons gather with our children, spouses, significant others and now grandchildren every late spring or summer.  The guys started as fraternity brothers at UGA and the wives and children have grown very, very close.  I know for the Hodgsons it’s a time with friends we hope to never miss.  We could be a group of 27 even without girlfriends and boyfriends if we had full attendance at our “Cabinet Meeting”.  This year we had 21 with us at some point.  We’ve gotten together for as long as two weeks or as short as four days.  The time doesn’t really matter.  The great friendship is what matters.

 

Patti enjoyed this trip immensely.  The car ride was almost six hours but the time flew by and she handled it well.

The week coming up is important.  An MRI is scheduled for Wednesday to evaluate the success of the radiation and chemotherapy.  And to see that no other ‘spots’ have shown up.  A special prayer for Patti Wednesday would be appreciated.  Speaking of prayers, we received word recently that the many ‘petitions’ to Mother Mary at Lourdes had been received.  Thanks to all who helped with this.  Keep those cards coming…. And thanks for the wonderful wishes.

Radiation is Over.... Chemo Too For Now...

Patti’s last radiation treatment was this morning and her chemo pills are gone.  Thanks so much to everyone who has made the last six or seven weeks so bearable.  We are in such a new and scary place.  Patti has kept up on dietary ideas and if sleep were a prescription medicine, she might have overdosed the past week.  People who meet Patti and talk to her on the phone are blown away by her attitude and her optimism.  Her doctors are so complimentary of Patti's fighting spirit.  And her vitals and blood work are better than mine.  She will make the Big C her hostage and squish it like a bug!!!

On Sunday (Mother’s Day) Mary Catherine came home from Ole Miss after the Spring Semester.  She’ll be with us all summer and the added fun will be great.  She’s likely to take a summer job and keep the house busy with high school and college friends.  Those of you who are parents know how much fun that is.  And how much fun it is to complain about it.

Saturday we leave for Santa Rosa, FL and our annual Cabinet Meeting.  Don’t ask about the name, nobody knows the answer.  But for 28 years, four families (fathered by four fraternity brothers from UGA) have gotten together at a beach in the South and watched our kids and guts grow like weeds.  This Meeting will feature the first two members of the third generation.  If everyone shows up their will be 27 including spouses, children, children's children and significant others.  A photo of most of the group from last year’s trip to Saint Simon’s Island is attached.

 

Next for Patti is another MRI in about two weeks.  This will tell us if the tumor has taken a hike as expected.  More chemo will be scheduled sometime during the summer and another MRI every couple of months is the normal schedule.

This blog will take a short break for vacation and because there are no doctor visits or similar for a while.  Please, please continue the cards and calls.  We are all part of Patti’s family now.

The Benefits of Faith

Most of us reading this have a measure of faith.  You’ll hear no preaching here, but please know that Patti is a good Catholic and proud of it.  She is a regular church attendee at The Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta and has brought our children up Catholic, too.  Patti was educated in parochial schools and by my recollection she has never spent an hour in a classroom, from grammar school through college, when a nun was not in the building.

Patti has enjoyed accepting the power of her Lord during this trial.  She reads prayers and devotionals daily and it helps us all.  To Catholics, an important place of worship is the village of Lourdes, France.  There, the Virgin Mary appeared to a young woman, Bernadette Soubirous, in the mid-nineteenth century.  For generations, Catholics have been making pilgrimages to the Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes to ask the Blessings of Mary.  I hope you will look this remarkable place up if you are not familiar.

Anyway, our good friends Diane and Ed Festa of Atlanta take an annual pilgrimage to Lourdes this time of year for personal benefit and to take petitions to Mother Mary for others who may be sick.  This week is special as members of the Knights of Malta, an ancient and appreciated Catholic service organization send thousands of petitions by hand to the Blessed Mother’s Shrine.  Thanks to Diane and Ed, personal letters and petitions to Mary from friends and family members have reached the Shrine in Lourdes.  The Festa’s could not go this year, so their friends the Wessels have taken the letters in the blue ribbon (pictured) on our behalf.  Friends supporting friends.

http://www.orderofmalta-federal.org/Lourdes-2013

In other news, it seems the doctors know what they are talking about when it comes to partial hair loss and great fatigue.  Patti has stayed close to home but her spirit is undiminished.  Great cards and calls come in every day.  A special handmade card (also pictured) from 4^th and 5^th grade students of Jane Connolly Leonard of Augusta arrived yesterday.  It is impressive the effort some friends will make for a gesture to Patti.  Our Mary Catherine turns 21 next Saturday and she will be home for the summer.  I, me, Tom will be looking for refuge from the estrogen.  Any offers?

 

We Can See the Radiation Finish Line

We Can See the Radiation Finish Line

 

 

About two more weeks of these daily trips to the Radiation Oncology Center.  The effort is still a breeze and we’re getting to know our 11AM peers, but the combination of schedule and fatigue and hair loss is becoming tiresome.  Not that Patti’s complaining, but it’s impossible not to notice.

Dear friend Jill McNamara provided a first rate monogrammed ball cap for Patti to wear in public.  She’s a bit self conscious but of course has no reason to be.  Her eyes are as bright as ever and that spirit makes her ‘patient of the year’ in every office we visit.  I’m very proud of her.

Supposedly, there can occasionally be bursts of irritability.  Hmmmm….. haven’t seen it yet.  But I have noticed how interested Patti has become at pointing out my many (many) shortcomings.  Gee, I hope this new hobby passes with the treatment.

Last weekend was another fun visit to Erymwold.  A smallish picnic on Saturday turned into a buffet lunch for twelve.  Visiting were great friends the Powers from Savannah plus some of their family and Doc and Sheri Eldridge from Athens plus two more of theirs.  Kiley and Karl drove over from Atlanta later and stayed the night.  These sort of things wear on Patti, but when she knows they have an end, it allows her to rally for awhile.  Every day more cards arrive from friends old and new.  It’s impressive how comforting people can be with just a few words.

Please understand that if these posts become less frequent, it’s more likely good news than not.  Treatment will be over soon.  Then we will enjoy remission for years to come!

Starting to Become Routine....

The Good News is:  This is getting routine 

The Bad News is:  This is getting routine

The last week has been just fine.  Nothing dramatic to report and of course that is good.  Chemo via pill every day soon after the anti-nausea medicine (boy is that a help!) then off the 11AM radiation treatment.  The way these radiation clinics are organized you end up seeing a lot of the same folks daily.  Their appointment is the same time as yours but they may be a bit ahead or behind on the calendar.  There’s a nice couple about our age from north of town.  His tumors are more scattered than Patti’s.  There’s also a middle aged lady in a motorized buggy that comes alone via MARTA bus from the south side of town.  It’s hard not to feel sorry for her since she has such a complicated travel ordeal.  Patti and Kiley ask names and start conversations.  It sorta humanizes the experience.

As we were told to expect, there is now hair loss on the temples and fatigue sets in early.  Patti rallies for a chance to decorate Erymwold and is busy planning rugs and drapes and tile.  As I’ve said before, this project in Athens is a wonderful escape and we just love spending our weekends in the country.

Last Sunday our friends the Tribbles drove over from Atlanta for lunch.  Their group included two beautiful daughters and Nanky and Jack.  All visitors are encouraged to bring leaf rakes and swing blades.  The Tribbles will do better next visit (insert winking smiley face here).  Also visiting briefly last weekend were nephew Alan Hodgson from Winston-Salem and his wife Lindsey plus young daughter Margaret.  Alan brought gray brain cancer wrist bands for our whole family.  Anyone seeing an opportunity to support the cause by sporting one of these bands is encouraged to do so….

Thanks to everyone for your continued interest.  Patti has received so much love from so many friends and family.  It really is humbling.  This fight will be won.  Patti will make it so.

Great Weekend in Athens

 

 

 

 

Master’s Weekend, 100 Miles from Augusta

Friend Liz left Wednesday back to her winter home in Scottsdale.  Patti appreciated the visits from Liz and brother Bob so much, but the next few days were worthy of rest.  Many friends and daughter Kiley make their way to Augusta each April.  Patti and I have been before but this weekend was about getting back to Athens and Erymwold.  As the sun comes out on all that green, you can hear stuff growing, not all of it what you were hoping for.

Patti and I arrived Friday mid afternoon and set about mowing the back lawn and straightening up inside.  If your property has over 100 trees and most are huge, stuff tends to fall from above and litter the ground.  I’m not talking just leaves, this time of year limbs large and small make their way down.  No hill for a climber….

Patti and I went to Sears on Friday late and found the perfect refrigerator.  Surprisingly great service and it will be delivered on Tuesday.  A nice dinner at a casual Italian place in Athens then home to bed.  Patti was feeling almost normal.

Let me go no further without saying that Patti is receiving at least a half dozen cards daily.  She loves them all and keeps them close.  Thanks everyone for your kind words.

Saturday, Doc Eldridge came out to ‘willingly’ help with yard work following a fun lunch at our friend Chris Lloyd’s new restaurant in Five Points in Athens.  Good naps and then dinner with Doc and Sheri at George’s Low Country in town.  The day had been warm and sunny.  Perfect.  Near midnight, we went out to the pasture with a big spotlight, spooking the deer resting in the lower pasture.  Six to eight sets of  bright eyes staring back from the blackness.

I guess by now, you can figure that Patti is not a feeble sick soul.  She looks great and naps when required.  Radiation treatment continues to be routine and the chemo is only a burden due to its scheduling. 

Sunday, today, was more yard work and a great visit from my nephew Mac Hodgson and wife Kathleen.  They traveled from Atlanta to pick up a large mirror from the estate and to bring us a fabulous bloody mary brunch.  Everything but the plates was in their kit.  What a treat.  More naps and back to Atlanta to watch the golf tournament ending.  It was Master’s weekend after all.  PT checked out early.... the last three days were wonderful, but she knows not to overdo it.  This fight is long, but it will be won.

The Joy a Friend Can Bring

 

 

THE JOY A FRIEND CAN BRING

OK, so now it’s Wednesday morning and our friend Liz Gett from Boston has just left.  It’s been a wonderful few days, though Patti is looking forward to some rest after two dear guests (Bob and Liz).  Liz is a former college roommate (Marymount in Arlington, VA) and just brings a world of joy with her.  Without exaggeration, Patti has not laughed so much in months.  What a tonic!

Radiation is becoming routine.  In and out in thirty minutes or less.  Today we had our first visit with Dr. Jonas the Oncologist.  He prescribes the chemo and will manage a lot of the treatment going forward.  Dr. Jonas has a great personality and makes everyone feel comfortable.  We will be seeing him weekly for a long, long time. 

Both doctors are encouraging moderate exercise and PT is looking forward to that to begin.  Maybe today, certainly this week.  She's feeling that good.  She is spending time reading morning devotionals suggested by friends and has even promised a very fit young acquaintance that she will consider meditation.  HHHhhhmmmmmm......

If you’re interested, I’m busy too.  Spent Sunday and Sunday night at Erymwold planning some landscaping, picking up sticks and attending a Tree Commission meeting to talk about a dear white oak at Erymwold that must come down.  We don’t need their permission, but I wanted them to know.  Yes, Patti gladly let me spend some time away.  She’s in great hands with the kids and friends and dear Nanky Tribble who stops by almost daily with a camellia and a joke and a story.  Friends make smiles and smiles make the cure.   Prayers help too.

 

A Nice Spring Day Can Do Wonders

 

 

A NICE SPRING DAY CAN DO WONDERS

OK, one week of radiation treatment is behind us, and I must say the clinic can really show some speed when they are at their best.  Our last three visits averaged 30 minutes or less from parking to exit.  Piedmont Hospital has a special radiation oncology center on Howell Mill Rd.  They give patients a personal magcard for easy access to reserved parking just feet from the special door to the clinic.  Treatment takes just minutes and we’re on our way home.  This is so much easier than having to park at the big hospital or to drive to Emory.  Of course, it’s the treatment that matters.  We think we have the best.

Thursday, Patti’s older brother Bob Thompson arrived in Atlanta for the Final 4.  He’s staying in a guest suite downstairs from Club 22.  Bob lives in Annapolis and has a million stories of his career, primarily as a sports marketing entrepreneur.  Great guy.   Bob met his wife Alison, and I met my wife Patti, at the same beach house in Southampton, summer of 1980.  Both couples were married the next year, one month apart.  Patti and I took Bob to Athens on Friday to tour Erymwold, the farm and the Classic City.  How much fun is it to show off Athens to a first time visitor?  Patti did great.  She got a bit tired, but not exhausted.  That could have been the delicious BBQ lunch.  She slept a straight thru 12 hours last night and is feeling good today.

Bob and Patti took a walk in the sun on this glorious day and the Vitamin D is good for all.  We’ll have a normal Sunday tomorrow then treatment starts again Monday morning.  Wait, that's not true.  Patti's college roommate Liz from Boston shows up tomorrow afternoon for a visit.  This will provide plenty of grins, guaranteed.

Patti wanted everyone to know they should not be afraid to call her directly now.  Maybe a text first would be smart.  She naps frequently, but otherwise she’s as good as ever.

Lastly, this blog has now received over 3100 page views which is incredibly gratifying to our family.  We all send big hugs.

Day One of Radiation

If Today’s Experience Was Given a Grade:  D-

 

 

First day jitters or bad luck or whatever, we had a rough morning.  After being told that ‘not everyone gets nausea on this chemo pill’ we proved that a lot of folks still do.  Patti was game but she just could not be confined into the claustrophobic mask while feeling like she did.  The staff at the radiation oncologist was as helpful as possible, but it finally took three hours and an injection to decide the treatment would not start today.  Kiley was with us and we think we know how to schedule these powerful drugs better.  

Since last we wrote, things have been quite good.  Patti has had several visitors including the Owings’, her cousin Betsy and a host of Connolly sisters from Augusta who bring such mirth they should bottle it.  Good wine has been enjoyed; free food and flowers galore are still showing up.  If you are interested, it’s the cards that make Patti really smile.

2795 Peachtree Rd., #2205, Atlanta, GA 30305

The photos here show Patti in her eventual radiation position.  The big grey machine in the background does the work.  Also we have a picture from last Friday night providing photographic evidence that friends can make anyone forget their troubles for awhile!

Anybody Else Thinking Baseball?

 

ANYBODY ELSE THINKING BASEBALL?

We’re pleased to report that things are returning to normal at home.  The scar (36 stitches) is shown for the first and last time here.  Less than two weeks ago, Patti’s noggin’ was opened by Dr. Chandler.  She doesn’t really wear the hat much, but it’s a pain to wash and dry her hair so it’s available.  Doesn’t she look great!

Over the weekend we had several visitors and all left with the same opinion.  She looks and behaves exactly like they remember and the trauma of surgery and the beginning of treatment has not diminished her one bit.  There are flowers galore and food and cards.  But the patient looks like the healthiest of us all so let’s get used to that.

Today we’ll be taking a van from the Savvy Snoot south to Griffin, GA where our beloved Aunt Nell Watt has a fabulous antebellum weekend home.  She’s downsizing (age 87) and wants us to have an old sofa that came from my great-grandparents home on Prince Ave. in Athens.  It will work great at Erymwold.  Patti won’t be lifting, but I suspect some direction will be provided…..

END OF WEEK ONE

Patti is sleeping well and eating plenty.  She still takes an occasional pain med, but most of her pills are routine stuff except the anti-seizure medicine.  Yesterday, Kiley took her to get her ‘mask’ fitted for radiation treatment.  This will be used to direct the lasers or whatever for our daily visits which now start 4/1/13.  April Fool’s Day.  Hmmmm…..

If anyone reading this is hungry, please stop by.  So many generous people have provided so much beautiful food.  Lenten promises are put on hold until this good stuff is gone.  If someone knows who sent the 55 gallon drum of chicken noodle soup, please let me know.  It arrived anonymously and will be enjoyed starting at lunch today.

Yesterday was another landmark day for our family.  Thanks to some creativity and a lot of generosity from my siblings I was able to purchase Erymwold, the country home my grandparents built in 1939.  We’ll run the house and 20 acres while brother Peter takes over the lake property, the woods and the horse barn and pasture.  Some of the other pastures will be sold.  Patti and I are now the third generation to call the place home.  I lived there starting in 1968 after my grandparents had gone to heaven.  Patti and I have already repainted her inside and out, redone the floors and started moving in furniture.  If spring ever arrives, we’ll be spending weekends there for a long, long time.  No plans to move from Atlanta, but as we’ve already seen…. Things change.

The Treatment (3/20/2013)

This morning everyone but MC went to meet the Radiation Oncologist, Dr. Fred Schwaibold who has a clinic at the new Piedmont Health Center on Howell Mill Road.  The Dr. is a tall, thin prematurely gray fella with a direct manor.  Tomorrow, Patti goes back to be fitted for a ‘mask’ which will be used to direct the lasers and radiation.  We will go every day for the next 30 weekdays at the same time of day to receive the radiation treatment.  This all begins next Tuesday the 26th.  These treatments will only last 30 minutes including all set up and paperwork.

Eventually, Patti will start taking Temodar as chemotherapy.  This will be a simple daily pill which may cause some nausea, but we’ll get a prescription to mitigate that, too.  We will have another MRI at the end of the 30 days and then more every 2-3 months.  We have not discussed treatment further down the road.

The radiation is likely to cause fatigue and we need to be alert to blood clots.  But for the most part this seems rather painless.   There may be some hair loss near where the radiation is targeted, which is front left.

Patti is feeling pretty well though she doesn’t talk about the illness directly very much.  It’s just a big ole elephant taking up all the oxygen and all the room in the house.  Everyone is still getting used to it.  We all talk to Mary Catherine daily and Thomas is around almost every day.  Kiley is doing lots of work scheduling and gathering prescriptions, etc.  She likes that stuff.

Of course Patti wants to see and hear from everyone who loves her.  My suggestion is that you text her or email her to see if she wants to talk.  This will help her filter some of the calls that may not be necessary at this time.  Pth52@bellsouth.net.  Please understand that she may not respond to every message, but she will see them all.

How we got here (3/18/2013)

Starting about March 6th, 2013, Patti started having headaches.  Not the killer headaches that might send you to bed, but the nuisance type that you soldier through.  On the morning of the 8th, Patti tried to do a bank transaction over the phone (Mary Catherine was headed to Spring Break and needed some…).  She could not get the words or the numbers to come out.  We were in the bedroom and it was sorta scary.

We called Dr. Teresa Clarke, Patti’s primary care doctor and she sent us to Piedmont Emergency.  We were in ER for about eight hours as tests and CT Scans and MRI’s were run.  There was a neurologist on call who identified a ‘mass’ on the brain.  The nature of the shadow would not be known without surgery.  Piedmont had recently brought in Dr. Howard Chandler to open a Brain Tumor Center and we would wait at Piedmont until Monday awaiting his return from out-of-town and observing for seizures, etc.  We really did not need to be there.

On Monday PM, Dr. Chandler came to see us, relayed the diagnosis (but not the nature of the tumor) and we scheduled surgery for Thursday the 14th.  We went home and enjoyed a visit from Patti’s brother Tim who drove up from Tampa.

Surgery Thursday was successful in removing the tumor, but the nature of the beast was still not known.  Patti recovered overnight in the Intensive Care Unit and was sent to a regular room Friday afternoon.  The surgeon and oncologist came on Saturday late morning.

Patti has an aggressive Glioblastoma Multiform or GBM Tumor.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glioblastoma_multiforme

The normal course of treatment is radiology and chemotherapy with regular MRI’s to follow the comings and goings of the cancer.  Miracles happen and we will need a big one.

Starting about March 6th, 2013, Patti started having headaches. Not the killer headaches that might send you to bed, but the nuisance type that you soldier through. On the morning of the 8th, Patti tried to do a bank transaction over the phone (Mary Catherine was headed to Spring Break and needed some…). She could not get the words or the numbers to come out. We were in the bedroom and it was sorta scary.

We called Dr. Teresa Clarke, Patti’s primary care doctor and she sent us to Piedmont Emergency. We were in ER for about eight hours as tests and CT Scans and MRI’s were run. There was a neurologist on call who identified a ‘mass’ on the brain. The nature of the shadow would not be known without surgery. Piedmont had recently brought in Dr. Howard Chandler to open a Brain Tumor Center and we would wait at Piedmont until Monday awaiting his return from out-of-town and observing for seizures, etc. We really did not need to be there.

On Monday PM, Dr. Chandler came to see us, relayed the diagnosis (but not the nature of the tumor) and we scheduled surgery for Thursday the 14th. We went home and enjoyed a visit from Patti’s brother Tim who drove up from Tampa.

Surgery Thursday was successful in removing the tumor, but the nature of the beast was still not known. Patti recovered overnight in the Intensive Care Unit and was sent to a regular room Friday afternoon. The surgeon and oncologist came on Saturday late morning.
Patti has an aggressive Glioblastoma Multiform or GBM Tumor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glioblastoma_multiforme

The normal course of treatment is radiology and chemotherapy with regular MRI’s to follow the comings and goings of the cancer. Miracles happen and we will need a big one.