a little bit of Sam

While this spring has been occupied with hospital stays & grandparent visits, Little League games and end-of-school activities, house fires and relocations...

...Sam has maintained a sunny disposition through it all - and has stayed busy with either scheduled activities or enterprises of his own creation.

He fell in love with his great-aunt when she was here... and subsequently fell in love with her daughter, Jason's cousin, during her visit! They both helped him create puzzles and marble runs, and encouraged his creativity with coloring and games. 

He also spent June practicing baseball ~ culminating in a double header under windy weather conditions. He played catcher and outfielder and hit the ball a few times. Just the right amount of game time!

And of course, there has been gymnastics. We watched his class last week and applauded when he received his medal of completion. Above all, we were pleased with how hard he worked and how focused he stayed through each demonstration.

When life gives you lemons... Sam will help you make lemonade!

what do you do when the science experiment is over?
Have a sip!

Life is a highway

Every good road trip has an equally excellent accompanying soundtrack. Our recent journey is no exception! Over the two months spent at the hospital and driving back and forth to Grand Junction there were 3 new pop songs that garnered mainstream popularity... and my attention as significant anthems of our experience. 

1) "Can't complain about much these days. I believe we'll be ok."

- Be OK by Oh Honey

Well, Jason did have his first post-treatment MRI this week and while we had the expectation (and hope!) that it would provide a clear and clean picture of Jason's brain... the doctors assured us that it is too early to make any real determinations about the success of the treatment. We realized this week that we are in a process of healing, and focusing on increasing Jason's mental and physical strength is as much a priority as the chemotherapy he will continue to take. So while we weren't really given good news, neither did we really receive bad news. Which leaves me to simply believe that we will be ok. 

Can't complain - even the wild roses are blooming at the house!

2) "And if you were to ask me, after all that we've been through: 'still believe in magic?' Oh yes I do, of course I do."

- Magic by Coldplay

We are working on our new normal as a family - including a new temporary home to move into and continued therapy for Jason. But the one constant is the love we all share and dedication we have to one another - we are quick with a hug, a kiss, always a laugh... and it reassures us that no matter what a brain tumor or house fire take away from us, there is magic between us as a family that is invulnerable. 

3) "We are love. We are one. We are how we treat each other when the day is done. We are peace. We are war. We are how we treat each other and nothing more."

- Nothing More by the Alternate Routes

Friday the 13th

So.... just as we were settling into some semblance of a summer situation, we up and go burn down the house!

Seriously, the propane tank on our grill exploded Friday late afternoon and the resulting fire left our home in ruins. 

It all happened so fast that it is honestly a miracle that we are all unharmed and ok!

I do feel kind of indebted to Jason's cousin who is visiting - for it was her sage advice to "get off the deck!" which ensured our safety before the deck blew up!

(and just moments before we turned on the grill she had made a comment regarding what a quiet town Meeker was... )

We are overwhelmed and grateful (once again!) to our community and our friends for opening up their homes, feeding us and sometimes even giving us almost literally the shirt off their back!

Oh, and just to keep our humor in check we have absolutely taken every opportunity to laugh about setting our house on fire and even went so far as to consider entries for the accompanying playlist, such as:

- Fire by Bruce Springsteen

- Burning Down the House by The Talking Heads

- We didn't Start the Fire by Billy Joel

- Light My Fire by the Doors

(feel free to offer up any ideas of your own!)

Anyway, in case you were wondering how bad it really is....

Our friends went and boarded up the blown out windows and back door to keep out any weather, stray animals (?) or people... and now we wait for insurance to set us up with a plan!

Fortunately, as of Saturday night we have a new place to call home, all the necessities of domesticity, plenty of good food to eat and the relief of being together with family and friends. 

So despite realizing the superstition of it being Friday the 13th (and a full moon?!) I truly am feeling extremely lucky!

Beaver Baseball

Hamp's Little League baseball season came to a close this weekend ~ and I can honestly say I am so impressed with how he and his team played! This season was particularly special because both sets of grandparents (plus some other awesome family & friends who came to visit!) were able to watch Hamp play. Mojo & Dado cheered him on and even served hot dogs to the team at one of the away games! Yaya & Papa braved both freezing rain and burning hot sun while rooting for the Beavers. The team was excellent, the coaching was wonderful, and the cheering section for the Beavers was second-to-none! ☺

Hamp had a particularly good couple of months - no doubt thanks to the great coaching and practice he experienced. But then Hamp always rises to the occasion... and when he's part of a team with such athletic and encouraging kids he's bound to find his groove:

The season ended with a League Tournament = Thurs/Fri/Sat games out of town.
(Meanwhile, Sam was travelling for gymnastics and everyone was trying to wrap up the school year!) Whew...

But by Saturday afternoon, the sun was beating down and the Beavers had won all three games leading up to the Championship! The final game was a nail-biter despite the Beavers maintaining a scoring lead the whole time... and when our catcher grabbed the ball and threw it to our pitcher who tagged the runner out at home for the final out - the boys knew instantly that they had done it!

the perfect view - GO #6!!!!

CHAMPIONS!!!

I can't tell if Hamp realizes how hard he worked to become a better baseball player this year... or if he realizes how well these 10 kids played together as a team... I think he just truly loves the camaraderie and athleticism of the sport.

And now that I have watched him teaching his little brother how to pitch a baseball in the backyard I know that whether he realizes it or not, baseball is teaching him more than he knows! ♥

Home

This photo sums up what I love most about our family...

(and it answers so many people's question of: "where does the dog sleep?")

But I digress... 

The point is that as of this Tuesday (May 20th) Jason will complete his 6-week regimen of chemotherapy and radiation treatments for brain cancer.

So basically, we are home!

While I recognize that our "road trip" is not over, I can't help but think that making it through both surgery and treatment is a kind of end of at least a major part of this journey. I feel that we can now re-calibrate our lives for just a moment to better prepare ourselves for wherever the next turn takes us!

And presumably, there will be a few more "left turns";

~ Most noticeably, Jason continues to rehabilitate his left side - Physical and Occupational Therapy (along side some good canine therapy and baseball therapy!) are parts of the complex puzzle of rebuilding neurological connections. There is belief that he should make a 100% muscular recovery, but not without a lot of hard work and patience.

~ Then there is the fact that radiation has left Jason exhausted. I mean, what little energy he has is totally used up just having a conversation or sitting through a meal! I understand that this is a temporary side effect, but am also anxious to see him build stamina and be more alert.

~ And finally, we are all naturally anxious to take another gander at that noggin of his and see what's left in there! Unfortunately, we will have to wait 2-3 more weeks until the inflammation from radiation treatment subsides so that an MRI can show a clear picture.

* sigh *

But that is all just information ~ what has really been going on the past couple of weeks has been beautiful.

EATING

Jason and I had been staying in Grand Junction during the week for treatments (thus the joy of being home!) and savored our time together and enjoyed being entertained by good friends! While being away from home provided plenty of time to rest, we did manage to get out and support Grand Junction's local restaurant economy. We loved our daily outings either to celebrate or visit with friends, discover a new, fun place to eat, or even just satisfy a craving!

Our dear friend Heidi's birthday celebration dinner at The Ale House:

Dinner on the back deck at the new Edgewater Brewery:

Satisfying a craving for a spicy tuna roll at No Coast:

Celebrating Lena's graduation from GJHS:

BASEBALL

And then there is Beaver Baseball!

We have caught the weekend games for sure ~ and the first weekend home was so cold: while it snowed in Meeker we were out of town and bundled up pretty tightly to see them almost pull off a win in the cold rain.

oh this picture! I laugh every time I look at it because Jason looks like a crazy homeless man!
(it was just cold and he was cheering... I swear)

Then the next weekend was absolutely gorgeous!

We watched them eke out a win in extra innings while the warm sun beat down on Meeker and sunburned anything we forgot to cover!

PARTY!

We made it home one Friday afternoon just in time to get the boys to the Elementary School PTO-sponsored annual Spring Fling! The kids were all excited to celebrate the school year...

the fearsome first-graders:

and the fearless fourth-graders:

... then last weekend it was the adults' turn to dress up and celebrate with the annual
Pioneers Healthcare Foundation Spring Gala.

We were lucky enough to have friends come party with us for the weekend:

the Furman University contingency

Jason and his bevy of beauties!

All in all, the past couple of weeks have been fun.
It has been like that late hour of the road trip when you know you're close to home and you start to recognize familiar landscapes... and you sit back, relax and enjoy the journey knowing that you will be in your own bed at the end of the day.

Mile 4: baseball, burritos and the Hair Club For Men

Before leaving the hospital for good, Jason and I got to escape again for a night and go watch Hamp play baseball! It was an awesome night - the Beavers played well, Hamp pitched the last 2 innings and did great (first time seeing him pitch... a little nerve-wracking, but SO exciting!) and they won the game. Of course, my favorite part was seeing Hamp love on his dad in between innings...

I managed to catch Hamp pitch the last out of the game:

Later that same evening I was able to redeem myself... see, the story goes:

The last time we were in Rifle to watch Hamp's ball game, I denied Jason a stop at one of our favorite joints (turns out I was a little nervous about getting back to the hospital... 

also turns out that a couple more weeks can mellow out an in-patent therapy hostess!)

So this time he got the Green Chile Smothered Burrito (and the Dirty Hippie) that he'd been craving for weeks!

Our homecoming back to Meeker could NOT have been any more memorable!

It just happened to be the day of an all-school assembly - so Jason was able to see everyone and tell them thank you for all their support. Jason was also able to high-five all the kids and got a fair share of germy, elementary school hugs!

The evening was even better - Jason finally got the Holliday's prime rib (and Dirty Hippie) he'd been craving for weeks! But best of all, Jason was able to high-five all his adult friends and got his fair share of germy, bald-headed hugs!

all in the name of solidarity!

So... the next mile includes staying in Grand Junction Mon-Fri for radiation treatments, and coming home again on the weekend.

Is it Friday yet?!!?!

Mile 3: the wind in your hair

We have hit the half-way milemarker on the chemo/radiation road trip!

Last week was another exciting week on the rehab floor - still working to get full use of his left side back, Jason works hard with his therapists, jokes easily with his nurses, and laughs well with everyone he talks to.

He continues to have a steady stream of visitors, either passers-by or dedicated drop-ins.

One of the big events last week (the beginning of week 3 of radiation) was that his hair started to fall out!

The doctor told us early on that radiation would create some bald patches... and so to avoid looking mangy the doc suggested just shaving it all off (or at least really short)!

So that is exactly what he did:

Jason's "new do" means you can actually see his scar!

Some folks have already contributed to the cause by bringing various distinguished head coverings so that Jason won't feel quite so conspicuous:

And while I stole away to Meeker for the weekend to check on the house, be with the boys, collect the mail, walk the dog, visit with friends, and watch Hamp's baseball game (Go Beavers!)...
Jason got to spend the weekend with his mom & dad.
I think it was exactly what everyone needed.

I took a moment to ponder just how far he'd come since the early days (4 weeks ago) of physical therapy...
and realized that when you piece together snippets of all the training we've managed to capture on video it becomes wonderfully evident of just how much progress has been made:

Speaking of progress... I almost forgot to mention that we are being discharged from the hospital this Friday and are spending the weekend AT HOME!!!!

Looks like mile 4 will be a good one...