Trace’s hair finally started falling out from the radiation therapy. It started on Thursday when we noticed that it looked a bit thinner. I figured that it would just gradually thin out and we’d eventually see some baldness… wow was I wrong. By Sunday half of his head was as bald as mine (I started losing my hair at 17 and have shaved the rest since I’ve been 20). He didn’t seem to notice or pay much attention to the fact that it was falling out, but on Saturday we asked if he would want to cut his hair. Trace’s two cousins offered to cut their hair with him so that he didn’t feel different or be afraid of the clippers. They planned on coming over Tuesday night. On Monday Trace saw himself in the mirror and noticed that he could see his scalp. He told us, “I look like a weirdo,” so the timing for the haircuts couldn’t have been better.
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You can’t be online and not be aware of “viral videos” anymore. From Bed Intruder to Cats Playing Keyboards (over 22,000,000 views), it seems that there really isn’t a bar low enough to explain what will entertain an online audience. I have the unique perspective of someone who’s job it is to be online (or creating content, sites, systems or plans for things online) for a living. I see a lot of online content and as far as videos go, I think that my bar is a bit higher… not a whole lot though. I’ve come to appreciate the quality and skill it takes to create and market online content, so I’d like to share a few of the videos (in no particular order) that make me giggle:
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The Last 40 Days.
Lent started this year on the 22nd of February, Ash Wednesday. The next day Trace was in the hospital getting his first CT scan.
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Positivity… I’ll have nothing else.
In high school there was a friend of mine that I played soccer with, Adam. Adam would sometimes seem to be “out of it” or focused on something not really relevant to the conversation or situation before a game. If asked what he was thinking about, the typical response was, “good vibes.” Now, he wasn’t some kind of burn out or something, he was just one of the guys. But upon reflection as an adult on some of these conversations… I’m starting to think that Adam was just ahead of his time.
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Irony at it’s Finest…
Just over five years ago Nikki and I made multiple trips down 77s to doctor’s appointments in Akron. As with our oldest, we had some help from the Northeastern Ohio Fertility Center in Akron when “we” were “trying to get pregnant” with Trace (saying we got, or are getting, pregnant has always made me feel weird… like taking credit for a project that everyone knows I really let someone else do all the work on). Tomorrow we start making the drives again. Only this time instead of praying for creation, we pray for destruction of the cells that the doctors will be targeting to protect the miracle we were given just a few years ago.
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We are no longer waiting for results, we’re acting on them
A week ago today the oncologist called us while we were on vacation to let us know that the pathology for Trace’s tumor was confirmed. ATRT was indeed ruled out, so that left GBM and Ependymoma… it was both.
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Trace Update:
Since we’ve been home from the hospital we have had a singular focus… Disney.
Being able to go to Disney was a catalyst for our family. It meant that everything was, is, and will be alright. Certainly a kid who is allowed to travel can’t be that sick. Being allowed to fly has to mean that the brain surgery is healing and not a risk. Trace asking about Disney, making plans for rides and remembering promises made once we get to Florida has to mean that his memory and cognitive abilities were unaffected by the surgery… right? Maybe I’m kidding myself, but it sure feels that way.
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Today Trace got to come home.
After evaluating the CT scan taken yesterday, the neurosurgeon was confident that the external drainage tube could be removed from Trace’s ventricle and he would probably not need to have the additional surgery to put in a permanent shunt. This freed him from the bag and pole that had limited his movement since Monday’s surgery. Every time his head moved up or down, any time the elevation changed, a nurse had to be called to re-adjust the bag that the drain was connected to. With his new found freedom all the little guy wanted to do was to sit on someone’s lap.
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“In a little while” or “Pretty soon” or “Sometime later today” or “A couple of days” — All of these answers are extremely vague, and annoying. We know that they are the only answers that are available and the staff at the hospital has been terrific, but we’re starting to want to hear something more concrete. Will Trace need a shunt or won’t he, was the tumor a carcinoma or wasn’t it, will he need chemo/radiation or won’t he. These are the big questions still hanging out there, but the reality is that there just aren’t answers… yet.
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“Parents of Trace Pooch…
Parents of Trace Pooch please come to the surgery desk”
Having waited a little less than the three hours that Trace’s surgery was supposed to take we weren’t expecting to hear anything so soon. Unexpected announcements are really not the best thing for a parent in a situation like we are in. Nikki and I pop up from the waiting room table and start across the room to the desk when we see Trace’s neurosurgeon walking towards us. He’s in his coat (not scrubs) so the stress level drops immediately.
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I remember in the sixth grade, my teacher gave us daily tests to help us learn multiplication tables. 12 problems in one minute. It sounded impossible at the time, but once you started with the test you understood just how long a minute is. Wherever you’re reading this take a look at the nearest clock, on your watch, phone, screen whatever, and just wait for the next minute to come up…
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Today we found out that our son has a tumor in his brain.
I sit here in a quiet hospital room trying to make sense of the last week, the last 24 hours. Fear, stress and caffeine.
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Do you or someone you know support Ron Paul for president? I know he’s on the Republican ticket, but he shares some more, dare I say, “liberal” ideas. For instance, he’s for Marijuana, or at least your right to decide if you want to use Marijuana. He’s for ending wars (all of them), and cutting foreign aid. Juxtaposed with the other GOP candidates Ron Paul could be viewed as extremely Left.
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In the spirit of full disclosure, I am not a Browns fan. Never have been. I have however hoped, like so many others in Cleveland, that they could bumble their way to victory. 14 games out of the season I’d honestly rather see them win than lose. I think that a successful Browns team means good things for Cleveland. Read the rest of this entry »
The one tried and true explanation that every parent has used, at lease once, even despite their best efforts, “Because I said so.” I HATED this when I was a kid (probably as much as my mom hated the prerequisite “why?” that forced the response in the first place). But, now that I have kids of my own I understand. I understand that sometimes explaining a request or opinion can take longer than is worth the effort.
A.
“Put that down.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re 3, and people that are 3 typically don’t have the dexterity, coordination, or strength to safely carry a broom over their head while running through the house past fish tanks and televisions without accidentally damaging said fish tanks or televisions, either causing significant water damage to the floor or leaving me without a television causing me to miss an important program like So You Think You Can Dance or the new iCarly.”
B.
“Put that down.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
—
See? See how nice that is? While there is a perfectly reasonable explanation and justification for the request, if my kids could just accept that the reason exists and that it’s founded in the greater good, we could save a lot of time and aggrivation.
Imagine
Imagine then if I could expand on this theory and have more people just trust that there is a perfectly sound reason and adequate research/knowledge behind my requests and opinions. . . We could all save a tremendous amount of time.
For example, a while back I posted about Herman Cain being quite the d-bag. My intent was to follow up with a, quite lengthily, post about the questionable morals and lack of qualifications to even be considered for the Presidency. There were a couple of smarmy jabs about stealing an economic plan from a video game (SIMs), or about a guy who couldn’t even make a decent pizza being in charge of domestic policy. But, as fast as I could write, more came out about this dummy until he finally just gave up.
Now, I could write a huge post asking what this means. Read the rest of this entry »
