Hannah's Greatest Gift

This one wins the prize for "Shock and Awe."

Hannah’s dream is to play lacrosse at Northwestern. She may even have more NU-wear than some of the players. I can’t tell you why she picked Northwestern, but she locked on to it a couple of years ago and has never wavered. Maybe it’s the three straight national championships, or the combination of a high powered offense with a stifling defense—a dream team for a Defense Wing, her favorite position by far. Maybe the reputations of coaches Kelly Amonte Hiller and Acacia Walker have something to do with it. She also likes the fact that the pool and lacrosse field both sit side by side on the shore of lake Michigan, since she plans to swim and play lacrosse (and sail in her free time). She says that the great writing program is one of the reasons, and she wants to be an author, but maybe it’s just the fact that Evanston, IL overlooks the greatest city in the world—Chicago. They all seem like great reasons to me.

Whatever her reasons, this gift rendered her speechless. I don’t think she would be embarrassed if I told you that it moved her to tears. She opened a present that was simply labeled “Hannah.” A great friend of the family delivered this to us on Christmas Eve and said, “I think Hannah will like this.” When she opened it, she found a stick bag, a NU lacrosse tshirt, and the sacred purple turf shoes. These shoes are custom made for the team and cannot be bought. Players are expressly forbidden from giving them away.

There was a card that said, "To Hannah," signed “From the Northwestern Lacrosse Team.”

After she gathered herself, her grandfather took this picture.

Don't you love the purple against the carpet?

A Snake Named Slick

Yes, that's right...Haley actually got a snake for Christmas. She has been asking for one for years, and did the research herself to pick this species. People who know Haley are not a bit surprised by this. Slick is a jeuvenile ball python (about 1 yr old). See how he is "balled" up in her hand? He (?) is about 18" long, and seems docile and friendly. Oddly enough, he even appears to be kind to mice. The mouse that Haley fed him is alive and thriving in another cage. She had to remove him after they started cuddling together. Go figure.

Never Fear?

Just a quick disclaimer about the posting titled "Never Fear" (Oct. 18, 2007). It seems that a few people failed to appreciate the humor in that and misunderstood it to mean that we had actually been mugged. Not true! I simply wanted to show off my maroon tux and puffy shirt.

http://staystrongsandy.blogspot.com/2007/10/never-fear.html

Christmas 2007

The last week has added complexity to an already complex situation, and just in time for the holidays. On Wednesday afternoon, Sandy’s oncologist called—the results of the MRI she had gotten the day before were in, and they weren’t good. The pain in her back was not from a pinched nerve, as Sandy had tried to assure herself. The pain resulted from the spread of the cancer to her spine. One vertebra in the thoracic region (T2) appears overwhelmed with the cancer and is assaulting her spinal cord. The interpretation was that this is an unstable situation and serious enough to warrant immediate hospitalization. The expectation was that they would administer IV steroids to reduce swelling and likely perform surgery on the vertebra that night.

We waited for the girls to come home from school so that we could spend some time with them and explain what was going on. Both girls handled it bravely and remained their steadfastly supportive selves. After some time, both girls got themselves ready for their practices (Hannah for swimming and Haley for gymnastics), and packed an overnight bag to take with them to different friends’ houses. Naturally, I talked with them a few times later during the night to keep them informed. I continue to be impressed by their strength and positive natures.

A few things seemed to work in Sandy’s favor, once admitted that Wednesday evening. First and foremost, the rest of the spine was clear. No evidence of cancer in any other vertebrae, except for the one noted above. Fortunately, the situation proved to be more stable than the images suggested. Next, the steroids were successful in reducing the inflammation around the spinal cord, which in turn marginalized the pain. The pain meds helped a little more, making the discomfort manageable. The surgeons agreed that things were stable enough for her to go home and we could consider postponing the surgery until after Christmas. It took all night and most of the morning to get to this point, but that is indeed what we decided to do. Sandy came home on Thursday afternoon, functioning no differently than she was before the doctors called, but with a little less pain.

It was very important to Sandy to be able to be home during Christmas. The idea of the surgery does not seem to intimidate her, nor does the prospect of rehabilitation from the procedure. However, the idea of spending Christmas in a hospital room instead of at home with her daughters was unacceptable to her. This made the decision to postpone the surgery an easy one. We have scheduled it for December 31st, to keep it under this year’s insurance coverage. As many of you know, insurance plans “reset” on January 1st, requiring new co-pays, deductibles, and so on. There is no sense throwing away money if we don’t have to, right?

The surgeons will remove all or most of the diseased vertebra on the 31st, fuse a number of remaining joints, and then reconstruct the part of the spine that has been compromised. I would think that we could get away with calling her the bionic woman now, given the use of titanium rods to reinforce the spine. That is a tough procedure for any of us to tolerate, and I am saddened that she will have to endure this one. It just doesn’t seem to get any easier. Fortunately, it should make her much more comfortable right away.

On a much more positive note, the houseful of people we expected for Christmas materialized as planned. Sandy’s parents arrived first, followed by her brother, Bob, and his wife, Amy, on Christmas Eve. We all made it to an early evening Christmas Eve service, followed by one great party with the Young’s (mmm…pome-tinis!). I was glad that I did not have to assemble any complex toys that night. The greatest surprise came on the afternoon of Christmas Day when Sandy’s sister, Beth, and her entire family, including Chris, Ryan, Lauren, and Lindsay, arrived. Of course, everyone knew they were coming except Sandy. The girls were thrilled to have their cousins here and Sandy was overwhelmed to have her sister with her for Christmas. Amazingly, this was the first Christmas they have spent together as adults (let’s just call it family pressures).

There is plenty more to write, but I'll quit now to get this posted. You'll have to check back to learn about Hannah's new, purple turf shoes from Northwestern's lacrosse team or Haley's new pet snake, a jeuvenile ball python named Slick.

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you all!

So, What Does That Mean?

I apologize for the cryptic message I posted a few weeks ago. It seems like it has only been a few days since it was posted. I wrote what I felt would be appropriate at the time, recognizing the fact that we needed to talk with the girls and other family members first. Nevertheless, I thought it would be appropriate to give you a little more detail when I had a few moments to share, and this seems to be as good a time as any.

The facts are this: the cancer has returned in Sandy’s abdomen and there are indications that it has also spread to her lungs. Of course, this is very disappointing news. Sandy was nearing the end of chemotherapy treatment when we found out. With this news and given the fact that she only had a week left of chemo, and following the recommendation of her doctors, Sandy stopped treatment. We are exploring some options that might be available and I will keep you posted as that progresses.

On a more positive note, now that she is off chemo (poison), she should start to feel better soon. “They” often say that treatment is worse than the disease, and our experience seems to support it! I am sure that we’ll manage to create some fun for the family as she feels better.

Aside from this, we have enjoyed a few weeks filled with excitement and fun…and no shortage of holiday cheer. Hannah wrapped up fall ball over Thanksgiving weekend (that is fall lacrosse season, for anyone not living in the Mid-Atlantic or Northeastern US). Haley played in goal for Hannah’s team, which found itself with no goalie for that tournament. My parents were here during the week of Thanksgiving, giving them the opportunity to enjoy thanksgiving dinner and see the girls in gymnastics and lacrosse. Hannah had a 3 day swim meet at the Naval Academy that ended yesterday, while Haley had a gymnastics meet in Virginia this weekend. This put Sandy and me in different states at different events with different kids, though we still managed to make it to various holiday parties each evening! The last few weekends have been jam packed with your standard holiday events, and Mondays now provide a nice break form the action. Some people have sent me pics from these parties that I will (screen and) post soon ;-)

I hope that you and yours are enjoying the holiday mayhem, as well.