It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve given you a good list post. So, here we go!
1. Trey and Rachel are in Philly for another round of the mega radiation therapy.
2. He will have surgery to place a catheter today (Thursday) and need to be mildly sedated (hopefully) throughout the duration of his stay.
3. Tomorrow (Friday) he will get a mega dose of radiation all at once. The rest of the time is simply waiting for his radiation levels to come down with the target being Monday.
4. I’ll probably get into some trouble over this but the hardest/most inconvenient part for Rachel is due to his radiation levels she cannot use his restroom and has to use the PUBLIC one…down the hall, for all of her restroom needs (including brushing of teeth, washing up, etc.). Guys, you can imagine this to be not ideal. You are wrong, it’s much worse. Women, you’ve already shuddered at the thought of what that restroom looks like by the end of the day and the fact that there are no shelves or hooks to put anything. Yeah, it’s like that.
5. He handled the first round of this treatment exceedingly well. He is much much healthier this time (which is why we are presuming the need for mild sedative throughout) and hopefully can whether it in even greater fashion.
6. Joe and Bella are at “Camp Cathy” for the duration. This was the “cake” that I referred to Bella weeks ago when the last trip to Philly was postponed for Rachel and Trey.
7. Our main concern was how Trey would handle them going with Cathy while he went to the hospital. He never batted an eye and was too excited to even care (they spent the night all together at a hotel in Philly). Praise God! No, it makes no sense.
8. I can’t say this enough. He is super duper healthy and fine…except that he has tumors that are active and can and (according to every Doctor) will grow, eventually taking his life. People who see him don’t see a cancer riddled boy as he does not present that in his appearance, behavior, or demeanor.
9. One of my greatest challenges (other than emotionally balancing that last one) is the effect his “fine…ness” has on Joe and Bella. Does it set them up for an even greater fall if and when that happens?
10. Trey took a Kindergarten entry test last week and scored 123 out of 124, they are considering having him go straight to 1st grade.
12. He wants to start school NOW.
13. Joe and Bella want to test out and be done NOW.
14. We bought season passes to Kennywood and have gone 5x so far this summer. At $60/person for weekday season passes it’s a great deal. You don’t have to go ALL DAY if you don’t want to, you can pick and choose days with few to no community/corporate picnics, go at non- peak hours and/or on non ideal days to basically ensure maximum ride time and minimal line time.
15. I really shouldn’t say this (too many people may catch on) but “reverse Kennywood” is so the way to go. After you enter the park turn left and go up the hill toward the bumper cars and proceed around the park in clock wise fashion. Most people head straight and go counter clockwise. This way the lines in rides you ride first are very small compared to later in the day when most people are finishing their day there.
16. I don’t feel nearly as helpless as I did the last time they went to Philly. I thought it would be worse as I’m now not even taking care of Joe and Bella but I am being incredibly productive.
17. That being said, I just texted Rachel and asked her if we had more paintbrushes anywhere. She is such a sweetie she actually told me where any we had would be (granted, I knew that) but finished with, “what could you possibly be painting?” I told her that I just wanted to take her mind off of her stomach (she is waiting for Trey to go into surgery for the catheter before eating) if but for just a moment and reassured her that I wasn’t serious. I’m a good husband.
18. Trey has been screaming a lot lately. Not in anger, certainly not in pain, just as a volume increase. It’s so unbelievably cute and heart warming each time we approach Kennywood to hear him scream out, “I see it!!! I see it!!! There it is!!!” It is less endearing in the van, at the dining room table, in his bed room, directly into your ear, etc.
19. Church stuff has been going great. To have these days to plan and transfer thoughts and ideas to paper is invaluable.
20. Knowing the basics of anything is essential to being able to do anything in that realm. It is the basics that are the answer to most of the difficulties that one faces. Grind out problems/roadblocks/bomb shells with those basics and you will be much better off.
21. That last one has helped me immensely as of late in regards to loving people, helping hurting people, church planning, loving my family, coaching, and even stuff around the house (yard work, cooking, cleaning). Grind them out, rely on them. Don’t try to hit the most incredible low percentage shot. Crush the simple over and over again.
22. I met someone over the past couple of weeks that if you asked me, “Have they ever killed someone?” I would probably pause for 10 seconds and reply, “I…..don’t think so.” I really don’t think that people think the same of me. I don’t present myself to be quite that dangerous.