MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

The Luckiest Person Ever…

Normally, Melissa is in charge of the blog, but for once I decided to write to tell you about our Christmas week. Though my health may not be so good at the moment, in many ways I feel like the most fortunate person in the world. At the start of the week, Melissa and I had almost given up on getting our new house by Christmas. We went to visit my family in White Pigeon, Michigan for the week. But then on Tuesday we found out that we could close on the house on Thursday, Dec. 23^rd. Somehow we managed to set up closing for that morning and get movers for that afternoon. My family was so nice. Even though they had decorated their house for Christmas and prepared for us to stay for the week, they were willing to change their plans in the middle of the week, help us get settled at our new house, and celebrate with us. As we were at closing, Melissa’s sister Amy, her husband Dan, their friends Eric and Julie, and our friend Manu came over and decorated our house, inside and out, for Christmas. They (the “elves” as we called them) strung lights, put out reindeer and a train, and put up our Christmas tree, fully decorating it with new ornaments. We are so thankful that the elves infused Christmas spirit into our new home. Melissa’s parents set up our kitchen, fixed Bryce’s bed, and did everything we needed around the house. Our awesome real estate agent, Jim, along with our neighbors, both stopped by and gave us flowers. To top it off, Bryce had an amazing Christmas! He got to meet Santa Claus, opened more gifts than we could count, and will be very hard to separate from his new train set. I’m so amazed by how many people were willing to make this Christmas so special for us! I have the most wonderful wife, who did everything she could to make us all happy. Bryce is the most amazing child and I love him so much! And we have family and friends who are more generous and loving than I could ever imagine.

PS

We have many others to thank for generous Christmas decorations for keeps and on loan; Aunt Linda and Uncle Dan, Meagan and Tom, Brian and Caryn, Katy, Joanna, Christine, Levine family, Mom and Dad and of course Dan and AMY! Thank you all so much. Pictures to come of the decorated house. Enjoy the video of Bryce opening some presents.

Melissa Update

So I don't often update the blog with entries about Melissa. But this one will be an exception. A few months ago (July) I submitted a grant proposal to the NIH (National Institute of Health) on my research. They read all the grants and score the best ones. Mine was scored highly and will probably get funded. This means I have job security for the next three years and hopefully a little more money. Plus it's also a very prestigious honor, meaning it will probably boost my resume a little in the future. For 2011, I hope to publish again and see where this line of research takes me. If anyone is interested in what the actual project is, please let me know and I will post a little blurb. As a little teaser, it has to do with regeneration of the heart.

-Melissa

Scan time again

Alright, its been 2 months and 4 treatments so its time for a scan. Shaun will get a CT scan today but probably won't have the results until next Monday when he goes in for his next treatment session. Shaun hates these new drugs and for good reason. Poor guy hasn't had much appetite or ability to keep food in him (sorry, TMI). So lets hope for a different regimen of drugs that are more tolerable yet still effective.

Thanksgiving is this week and despite Shaun's diagnosis, we still have a lot to be thankful for. We are so very thankful for our friends and family for being so supportive and generous with their time, homes, food, and love. We love you!! And of course, we are unbelievably thankful for our beautiful little boy, Bryce. He is growing up to be such an amazing little person; inquisitive, loving, smart, and really funny. He doesn't say "m" very well so he still doesn't call me Mom. Instead, he's adopted "Bomb". I'll take it. I don't mind being the bomb.

Stay tuned for results from Shaun's scan and hopefully an update on a possible move before Christmas!

Picture is of Bryce after his most recent haircut (today, thanks Grandma!)

Happy Halloween!

We had a wonderful Halloween! Bryce dressed up as a gnome and did a great job trick-or-treating. As soon as we put his whole costume on he was really excited and kept the beard and hat on the whole time!! This was quite the feat considering every time we put it on prior, he took it off within 30 seconds. I think it helped that Eliot was dressed up too (as an astronaut!) and he wanted to be in on the fun. Most not quite 2 year olds would quit after a few houses, but not Bryce. He was eager for more candy and liked being able to pick his own from the bowls. He never hesitated when told he could take more than one piece. But he was always polite and said a lot of "thank yous".

Shaun update: today starts session 3 of chemo. He is doing really well and if the theory is correct and the worse the rash, the more effective the chemo; the drugs are really working! I'm impressed at how well he is doing and keeping a positive attitude and a sense of humor about his poor skin.

CONGRATULATIONS!

Introducing Shaun William Thistlethwaite, Esquire.

Shaun passed the IL Bar Exam.

Chemo Drug Cocktail

After discussing with Shaun's oncologist, we now have a new cocktail of chemo drugs to try out. I think there are some real advantages to switching up the drugs. For one, he won't be on the drug that causes the neuropathy. He will also be on a relatively new drug called cetuximab. Its a target specific drug against cells expressing EGFR (for all my sciency friends who read this). By blocking the growth signals to the tumors, we hope they will shrink. The major side effect (they all seem to cause varying degrees of awfulness) is an acne type rash. Studies show some correlation between the severity of the rash with the effectiveness of the drug. So hopefully the next time you see Shaun he will be hideously ugly with a nasty rash on his face. Ok, Shaun could never be ugly, but we can hope for effective treatment. They will evaluate in a couple of months and then maybe in January or so we will see if another surgery is an option or if we even want to go that route. Chemo starts Monday and will be every other week. Lets hope for effective drugs, minimal discomfort, and strength through this hard time.

Bryce and his canyon

Shaun, Bryce and I took an impromptu trip out west to see Zion and Bryce Canyons. I think it is fairly obvious why we chose to visit Bryce Canyon and if you don't know what it is, you should google it. Or look at our pictures to see how amazing a place it is. We flew in and out of Vegas and drove to Zion and then Bryce canyons. There are lots of stories from the trip, but I'll just tell you that we had a wonderful time and got lots of fresh air. The air was pretty thin in areas so maybe we starved those tumors for oxygen and the trip was therapeutic in more than just a psychological way. And for good measure Shaun ate a lot of plant life just in case they have anti-cancer benefits not discovered yet. Anything that helps.

One of the big features of our trip was to see the stars at Bryce Canyon. Its been said that you can see 10 times as many stars there than in any other open field. We can attest to this now. True, we didn't actually count the millions of stars, but we did lay out above Bryce Canyon after dark and was amazed by the sight. If you ever want to feel infinitely small, that is a good place to go.

Hiking was also a big part of the trip so its a good thing we had a hiking backpack for Bryce. Now Shaun and I are both in reasonably good shape (him better than I) so we expected to be able to do the easy to medium hikes without any problems. Well I guess when you add 35 pounds of dead weight (he slept in the pack a lot) on your back, it makes things a lot more challenging. Add the elevation changes and steep cliffs and we were in for a challenge. But we powered through and got some amazing views of the tops and bottoms of canyons. The trail down Bryce canyon was a bunch of switch backs down the face of the canyon (see picture) then we got to walk around the actual canyon floor which was covered in fir trees. Such contrast from the red rocks surrounding the beautiful green trees. But what goes up must come down or I guess in this case the reverse. We had to climb back out of the canyon. Luckily Shaun had Bryce for this stint because it was really hard! But we made it! And were totally exhausted the rest of the day.

Enjoy the pictures. I think the Natural Bridge was my favorite view, but they are all amazing. I will have more in snapfish if anyone is interested.