Denver Comic Con

Yesterday, we went to Denver Comic Con. A bucket list item of Scott's. I didn't get to go for the whole weekend, but I am glad I didn't. I had six kids in tow and it was a chore to watch them all and keep track of them. I did have help from friends, which I am grateful for. We got to see a lot of cool, geeky things and I got a few autographs. Overall, it was a fun experience. I think I want to try going without kids, though, next year. I'd love to sit in on some of the panels and slow down to enjoy the convention.

Indian Food & Treatment

Scott checked off another bucket list item today - eat Indian food. He couldn't eat much mainly because he's been getting sick since starting treatment. But he loved the food he did eat.

So, Scott started Avastin this week. He goes back in two weeks for another treatment. So far, he is has gotten sick twice, once on the way home from treatment and once this morning. He says he's willing to do another treatment but if we can't control the symptoms better he may consider stopping it. We also noticed that his left eye is dilated and he can’t control it as well. Likely because of pressure in the brain.

Otherwise, he still very tired and gets an occasional headache. He was very excited today since we went out to eat and he finally got to eat some Indian food.

 

 

Party date set, another “Scott”luck, and Jurassic Quest!

We have an official date for Scott’s birthday party! January 25th at Back East Bar & Grill in Monument, Colorado! We went to the venue to check it out and they treated us to dinner. Scott and I really liked how laid back it was and we are excited to have his party there.

On Friday, we went to see Scott's oncologist. After talking with her and the pharmacist earlier this week, Scott has decided to try one of the treatment options. He is going to start taking Avastin as of tomorrow. He will go in for about 60-90 minutes every two weeks. Avastin is classified as a chemotherapy drug but it works in a much different way than traditional chemo drugs. Instead of attacking rapidly growing cells, this drug focuses on the vascular system, specifically blood vessels. While there are possible side effects, the overall crumminess of traditional chemo won't be as prevalent with this drug. His oncologist is not sure if this treatment will work, as Scott's case is very unusual. But she says it is worth a shot and, if successful, it would provide Scott with more time. He decided to give it a try and if he experiences any bad side effects that he feels he cannot handle, he will cease treatment then.

Yesterday, our friend’s organized another ‘Scott’luck. We hung out, ate some yummy food, played some board games, and just hung out. Scott decided to take some mmj while he was there and started to pass out on their couch. My friends had to help me bring him home because he could barely stay awake and keep himself upright. Thank goodness they helped me get him in the car and get him in the house when we got home. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them. Speaking of amazing friends, I forgot to share this. At New Year’s Eve, we did our gift exchange. It is a Secret Santa gift exchange involving board games. However, when everything was all done, they all said they had a surprise for us. Our own Crokinole board – homemade, too! They all signed the back, too! Here, Melayna is trying it out.

Overall, Scott isn't doing too bad. He's definitely more sleepy than before and we've been managing his nausea and headaches, which haven't gone away and have gotten a little worse. Besides prescription drugs, Scott has been using mmj to help with his symptoms. We are still trying to figure out appropriate amounts, but so far the effects have been positive. The other symptom that I've noticed becoming more frequent is memory issues. He has been much more forgetful as of late. Hopefully, it doesn't get too much worse than it is.

Today we went to Jurassic Quest. Scott napped as soon as we got home. But we all enjoyed our time hanging out at the event center. I think it was a bit overpriced, but the kids had a fun time. Lots of big dinosaur models, activities, bouncy houses, and such. It was a good time and we got to spend it with our friends, too.

Keeping busy

Scott’s latest news has weighed heavily on my mind. We are still trying to do things, check things off his list. Just spend time as a family. Despite his symptoms progressing, more fatigue, more nausea. We got some options from his oncologist and most aren’t looking too good. He could do chemo. He technically only did one treatment back in October. Then he did radiation and when he was supposed to do chemo, his counts were too low for a few weeks. Then his symptoms progressed and he couldn’t do chemo. So much time has passed. There are two other options we will learn more about later.

But Scott doesn’t want to do it. He really doesn’t want to continue to get sick. He can’t have another operation – the tumors aren’t operable. Nothing can be done to eradicate the cancer. The doctors can’t make any promises that the treatments will even work. If they do, they aren’t even sure how much time he could gain from it.

Scott sets small goals for himself. Right now, he just wants to make it to his 35th birthday. That is all. Beyond that, maybe Valentine’s Day.

We went to see Mockingjay with the girls, went shopping at Kohl’s, and went to Painting with a Twist as a family. We spent time with some friends who are in town, playing Magic: The Gathering and Crokinole. We evening went out to eat with them.

 

I am now in the planning stages of a big birthday bash for Scott. I’m excited about putting on the biggest, baddest birthday party he’s ever had!

Christmas & Another Bucket List Item

Christmas was abundant and joyful. It was productive for me (I spent hours cleaning). The kids all had fun. Scott slept through most of Christmas day. In fact, he slept through all the kids making noise and through his 3:00pm medication alarm (I heard it going off while I was downstairs cleaning). We had yummy breakfast and enjoyed the day with my dad, Gloria, and Kate. Another weird thing happened on Christmas, too. Scott seemed to have forgotten who he got his Monopoly game from (Melayna picked it out and I even took a picture of the two of them together after he opened it). Then not too long after he asked me who gave him the game, he asked me again. I’m a little concerned over this, but I’ll check with his doctor next week.

     

 

This weekend we went to Build-A-Bear. Scott picked out a bear for each kid and recorded his voice saying “I love you” to each of the kids. Each of them walked away with a bear just for them with daddy’s voice. Something they’ll be able to keep long after he’s gone.

Today, Scott went to a Raiders & Broncos game with my dad. Jack, our friend who drove us in a limo to Transiberian Orchestra, drove Scott and my dad to the game. They had club level tickets and pre-game on field passes! While I wish I could have gone with him, I was excited he got to go with my dad. Scott had an amazing time despite getting sick this morning. He even got a football from one of the Raiders coaches. Too bad he couldn’t get autographs.

 

The only downside to this past weekend, was Scott’s fatigue continued and he was also getting sick and throwing up. I messaged his doctor with all the new symptoms and she opted to have him get an MRI done this week. I’m scared that things might be looking to go downhill. I have this weird feeling. We won’t know until later this week, though.

Disney Trip complete…

And now we’re home, with a week of birthdays and Christmas coming up. Oh my goodness!

I don’t want to post too many pictures here, but I can link my pictures to my Facebook account if you want to see all of them. All I have to say is wow! Disney World is amazing! Expensive, but amazing!

Day One: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152950409873000.1073741874.731167999&type=1&l=4bbcecd53d

Our first day there, we went to dinner at Hollywood Studios in Downtown Disney. We walked around a bit that evening and found ourselves back at the hotel turning in early to start the next day off right at the Magic Kingdom. I had a surprise waiting for them when we got back, too!

Day Two: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152950439268000&type=1&l=9a860184d9

We had a drizzly day in the Magic Kingdom and a family issue that came up, but otherwise, the best part was meeting this wonderful family from the UK. Julian and Kate were waiting in line behind us to see Anna and Elsa (which was two hours, by the way!). Scott, in his scooter, struck up a conversation with them. Of course, being his normal charismatic self, he managed to make quite the impression. Later that evening, we ran into them again (what are the odds??) at the castle lighting ceremony (breathtaking, by the way). It was then that we also met Sue, Irene, and Roy, Julian and Kate’s parents. They were all quite delightful. They happened to be in Florida for a long holiday, celebrating Sue’s birthday while they were there. We all agreed to meet up together in the Animal Kingdom the following evening.

Day Three: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152950494078000&type=1&l=4977c63f68

At the Animal Kingdom, I got pulled from the crowd to do an African dance, Melayna loved Expedition Everest (she dubbed it the Yeti ride), we met up with our new friends, and we attended Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party back at the Magic Kingdom. I also ordered Scott a cane that was being carved into. The gentleman was carving elephants in the large wooden staff and planned to carve “Hooper” in it as well. The downside of this evening was when Scott took a spill as he went off of a curb with his scooter. He bruised pretty badly on his bum, but otherwise, he was okay.

 

Day Four: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152950511448000&type=1&l=7636b9c20e

Wednesday was a day at Downtown Disney where the kids got to enjoy Disney Quest – a five story arcade! It was a more relaxed kind of day. We enjoyed lunch at the T-Rex café, where every 15 minutes the lights dimmed, the ceiling lit up, and the dinosaurs came to life!

 

Day Five: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152950529278000&type=1&l=ae9924aaf9

Thursday, by far, was my favorite day. I got to spend some quality time with my baby girl. We saw the Frozen sing-a-long show, the Little Mermaid show, the Beauty and the Beast show, meet wizard Mickey Mouse, and go to the Tower of Terror together (her idea, not mine). We finished our day at Fantasmic, a show of lights and water. Disney came through for Melayna, too. Her balloon, which we were using to keep track of her stroller, flew away. We were told to remove the balloon when entering Fantasmic. While doing so, we lost grip of the string and it floated to the sky. An employee saw what happened and later found us in the crowd while we waited for the show to start. He gave Melayna a gift certificate good for up to $25 on any one item at any Disney World shop. After the show, Melayna picked out a Frozen music box, instead of a another balloon (we would have to pop it in two days anyway).

 

Day Six: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152950549178000&type=1&l=59d0f90909

Our last day was spent at Epcot. The day of puke for me. And not even my own. We got on one of the rides and when I pulled the restraint down, there was someone else’s vomit! Disney replaced my sweater and gave us a bunch of fast passes! We split up and I got to spend the afternoon with Melayna and Tristan. Scott hung out with my dad and the girls hung out with Kate (Scott’s mother). We didn’t get the see the evening show as we had an early morning the next day. But we did get to do a mission with Perry the Platypus in the UK! Lots of fun!

I want to go back. I didn’t want the magic to end. Otherwise, lots of good memories. Lots of fun. Something I will remember for a long time.1