just an update..

Not much going on.... Kev has been on his own this week and fending for himself quite well. He is maneuvering enough to be O.K. on his own, which is really good.

Tomorrow he is going to see dr. pyles for a second opinion on certain matters, so hopefully it makes for a good weekend.

keep at'm...

There have been some minor complications with physical therapy and the results. Today Kev went to see a neurologist to discuss his lack of progress in the walking category. The neurologist, who was voted doctor of the year in '07, has Parkinson's... the irony is too much to comment on. He came up with a few scenarios that he would like to test before jumping to conclusions. This means more MRI's and even a little shock therapy stuff. Sounds rough, but could be good in the end.

Regardless of the outcome we will still be taking the wheelchair to Disney... straight to the front of the line!!

keep at'm...

out and about...

Things have been slowly getting back to normal around these parts... mostly from a social stand point. We have ventured out quite a bit lately. Last week was a little slow, not many medical visitors or regular visitors for that matter. The weekend picked up though. Friday we hit the local italian joint (The Maria Assunta< the very same place that donated it'e facilities for Kev's benefit dinner) albeit it was italian, everyone ordered fish and meat. We learned to NEVER order a steak from an italian joint.

Saturday Kev had some friends come for bit on their way through, which was nice. Then we hit dinner again, Bandits (good place to order a steak) Later some light shopping. Monday we hit the Mall (Our mall is like a big store with a lot of doors) for some Florida/ Disney shopping. It was really nice for Kev to be out and about.

Today we had lunch with some of Kev's old pals from the Bank days... really good girls and a really good time.

I once heard a man answer a 'How are you' question with, "Good, sleeping well and laughing a lot." and it made me realize things must be good to answer that question in such a manner and I now truely appreciate a good night sleep and a hearty laugh. Kev still hesitates unsatisfactorily about his sleep, but it is GREAT to see him laugh.

laying low

It was a low key weekend for the most part. We went out friday night to a fish fry at a church. The lines were long and the food was O.K., but at least Kev was able to join us.

We live in a really small town so when Kev rolled up into the place - he was like a celebrity. Every time he turned around there was someone wanting to talk to him, hug him, or sneak smooch. He handled it well, Kev is used to working a room.

Saturday was ma's birthday so her and dad took a well deserved night out. The basic shopping, dinner, and some gambling at the local casino. Anyone who needs a loan call ma, she won .12 cents.

We have a big week of doctor appointments to get some details worked out.

out and about...

We ventured out today, to the YMCA.

Kev had the physical therapist stop by and she and/or he were not to pleased with his improvement here to fore. It has been a good six weeks since Kev has started hard core rehab and he is not at all pleased with the results. There have been strides and noticeable improvement, but it has concerned the PT enough to want to re-evaluate Kev's scans. We shall see.

On a brighter note, we went to the YMCA with Analiesa to decorate her Valentine's Day box. Kev had to cut out hearts and I was the glue guy. She is 5 years old so it was a lot of pink, hearts, and even some ballerina shoes involved. In the end it was a success, if there was a competition she might have gotten 5th place. Next year we game plan with blue prints... that should get us in the top 3!

another day

Kev had physical therapy and a homecare nurse visit today. The nurse re-entered the site of her previously viscious attack from Yogi (the bird who is like having an alarm clock follow you around all day) She entered calm, cool, and casual with a hood of armour. All went well though... Yogi was doing some hard time for being annoying.

Otherwise all is well. Kev was back to his old habits booking hotels and flights for our trip to see Mickey and Minnie. Since we're on the topic, we need a bird sitter for the week, please post a resume and cover letter with at least three professional references.

just another day...

Just a smooth day with no real activity. No visitors, no therapists, nothing at all. We have made a pretty drastic move from 'the food channel' to TLC, which is cool. Some of our favorites are: MythBusters, Take Home Chef, Flip this House, 10 years younger, and While you Were Out... to name a few. Just a random update about our day.

The only out of the ordinary part of the day was when Ma came home from the dentist and tried to take some headache pills with a sip of pepsi! (picture it and realize she drank from a straw the rest of the night.)

Super Sunday

It was a pretty productive weekend ... and fun too. Kev and Mom ventured the ICE, SNOW, WIND, and RAIN on friday for a successful post-op visit at the GMC. Things went per normal, even though Kev is fighting pain and comfort issues, they all say the same thing... "it looks good." Kev has been questioning this particular doctor from the get go and found out she just got certified as a surgeon in '06. This, accompanied with the fact she left Kev waiting well over 4 hours two days in a row and had him signing release papers moments before the anesthesia, has him a bit uneasy. We'll have to wait and see what he decides.

On a different note, it was a good weekend. We had some really good people up for food and alcohol on Saturday Night and was terrific. Kev even enjoyed a glass of champagne!! Sunday we had some more visitors and ENJOYED watching the GIANTS win a very entertaining Super Bowl (Sorry Sharon... it was a good run)

All is well and on track for now... should be a good week. We're booking a trip to Floria (Disney and friends) from April 20 - 27 if anyone is around and would like to do lunch.

steady..

Another day of progress... Physical Therapy came and really worked Kev pretty hard. She seems to be really good at her job. She kept Kev busy for the better part of the morning and then Lisa came. Lisa has been through a cancerous ordeal and it was nice for Kev to chat with someone who finally understands what he is going through. Other than the visit, it was business as usual.

Tomorrow the ice is coming again and there are Geisinger appointments so keep'm crossed the weather holds off for another productive day.

still on track

another day full of therapists and nurses, but it was productive. albeit we had some ice this morning and there was some postponements, everyone eventually showed up. the nurse got there early enough to be borderline attacked by yogi, the pain in the ass, loud and annoying bird. she handled it well. the physical therapist had perfect timing, she showed up moments after Kev finished his exercises. she wasn't too rough on him though... she just made him do the exercises again, but with 5 lbs weights. he handled it well.

Kev rewarded his hard work with some extra cheese tuzzi's pizza. we got a half sheet because Anthony was there. he said he was stuffed and already eaten. although he was salivating from the mere scent of the extra cheese, he left without having even a bite... Anthony didn't handle it well!

back on track

so you've heard it from the man himself... complete remission. kev is right on track for a full recovery. he has to deal with all types of therapists coming to the house at god awful hours of the morning to ask 4 questions then leave. they are worse than those kids in the white shirts and black ties that knock on your door.. at least you can ask them to leave!

otherwise the future holds more tests, the very same tests that kev dreaded for two weeks. once remission is confirmed there is talk of a bone marrow transplant. this would be very beneficial for kev and his longevity. we are all very pleased with the work geisinger has done, from a cancer aspect and know that kev is going to live a long life because of them, but he still has a lot of hard work in his future.

keep encouraging kev to stay strong and positive that he will soon be walking so fast we won't be able to keep up!

Rumors are true...

In case you haven't heard as of January 22nd I received a clean bill of health.....cancer free. I can not thank everyone enough for all their support, gifts, thoughts and prayers over the past four months. I still have a long road ahead of me, but the biggest hurdle has been jumped.

Cheers,

Kev

big day...

Today we went down to the GMC for a normal appointment and possibly getting a different anti-biotic. Instead Kev found himself on an operating table. Dr. Foltzer took one look at Kev's abscess and decided it was in fact the root of all Kev's problems and decided it needed to be handled pronto (with or without the blood thinner) This at first sounded good.

Dr. Foltzer sent us to the 7th floor and we were hurried to a Grey's Anatomy type operating room. We filled the surgeon in with the details and he decided to take a look to see if what he could do. After some questions he realized we were in the wrong room for this procedure, so we switched. This new room didn't have the utensils needed, so they scrambled around to what they needed. Then we come to find out our surgeon has someone sedated "downstairs" waiting for him to operate on them. Needless to say he was in a hurry.

In the end the procedure did happen, but it is yet to be determined whether it was worth all the trouble. Albeit steps were taken today to get things cleaned up, we still have to go back tomorrow @$#!&. The good news is no fever today since things were handled. We'll have to wait and see if tomorrow brings better results and hopefully some comfort... as always, keep'm crossed.

getting closer

Another day getting closer to the verdict... we now have a good feeling of how O.J. must have felt. Hopefully we have the same outcome. We had a lot of phone calls to make and questions to be answered. First with the Warfarin (blood thinner) Kev was told to stop taking this for surgery purpose, but that means we are back to taking the Lovenox shot. Not bad, but swallowing a pill is less painful.

Kev also had to call Kelly at the Knapper Clinic (Dr. Kahns administrator) to get something set up for abscess removal/ drain. She called back later with an appointment for Wednesday. Whether this is a surgical visit or a pre-game is yet to be determined... stand by.

Kev is back on anti-biotics, the same ones we thought were making him nauseous. but we now know it is the infection that is making him feel bad. All these negative effects (nausea, abscess pain) have not deterred Kev from doing his physical therapy. She came today at noon and even though he could barely sit up straight he still did all his exercises... his determination to get back to normal is unmatched!

keep'm crossed for great results.

the irony...

I have not blogged the last week or so because nothing has happened, but after some demand I write an entry and wouldn't you know it... something happened (the irony).

Kev spiked a 102.3 temperature and we were forced to call the Hospital. We know the source of the fever so the urgency wasn't there, but the pain was. Kev developed an abscess that became infected and the pain is unbearable when he maneuvers. We were told to go to the emergency room for a surgical analysis. They suggested it be operated on a.s.a.p., BUT kev is on a blood thinner and this makes surgery dangerous. After spending all day in the ER getting pumped full of anti-biotics we came home. Kev know has a handful of anti-biotics and pain pills to hold him over until the blood thickens I guess. We quite the Warfarin and have to call Dr. Kahn for an appointment tomorrow. Otherwise, all is well.

and we're back....

It's been sometime and I've come to find out the absence has left some of us wondering and I apologize for that. For quite some time there was very little to chat about. Once christmas was over and the final departure from the hospital occurred phase one was complete. Kev had many days of doing... well... nothing. We watched the food channel and got involved with TLC also. There have been periodic visits from Homecare Nurses, Physical Therapists, and Occupational Therapists.

Kev has been hopped up on a few Anti-Biotics that have caused him to be nauseous for parts of the day, but that has also since ceased. He is down to taking 8 different kinds of meds. From all the laying around, he has been having some lower back pains that have hindered a full out effort in the physical therapy. Next week we start some exercises at the YMCA pool. He is showing signs of improvment, but the severe atrophy in his legs and calves have him looking like a flamingo and a lot of work is required to get him back to normal.

If you have not heard from Kev in a bit, it is most likely due to the MRI's he had scheduled on Monday and Tuesday of this week. He has been dreading them since they set the dates. He had some pretty intense scans done and needed to be in the tube for almost 2 hours. These weren't like being in an empty toy box while your older sibling sat on the lid... it looked like Frankenstein type stuff. Of Course little brother had him pretty well doped up, hopefully it took a bit of the edge off.

It is now a waiting game... the images will be passed from expert to expert until a definitive diagnoses can be passed on. We have to wait until the 22nd before we get the information on the results. PLEASE just keep'm crossed and stay positive.

P.S. I am back full-time and remember there is a benefit dinner on the 22nd as well.