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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...

Easter weekend - mile 2!

A second week of chemo/radiation treatment was followed by a weekend of new faces and holiday fun!

First, a changing-of-the-guard of sorts went on in Meeker last Thursday: 

While I have been keeping Jason entertained (tap dancing and stand-up routine, mainly) at the hospital, the boys have been in the ever-loving and wonderful care of their grandparents. 

For the first two weeks after surgery, Mojo was single-grandparenting the boys with such ease and competence, there's not even a picture to prove it! There are however plenty of pictures of the dog...

Then last week, Dado popped in to provide back-up... and a little silliness!

So last Thursday, Mojo & Dado escaped unwillingly departed and headed west for a birthday visit with the Etheridges... and Yaya & cousin Susan (aka Thelma & Louise!) pulled in to take over!

It was a seamless transition and they jumped right into the fray helping the boys color eggs, sitting in the cold rain to watch Hamp win his baseball game, and helping Sam inventory all his stuffed animals!

So, when Aunt LaDonna & Uncle Jim came to visit for the weekend we officially had a party!

We all trekked down to the hospital and used our recent road trip capabilities to finally take Jason out to dinner to get some more Red Robin Onion rings - for real this time!

The Easter Bunny found us in Grand Junction - he hid all 65 (!) of the plastic eggs and filled the boys' baskets with fun toys and treats. We took advantage of the beautiful weather to have a picnic lunch at the park and watch the boys (big and small!) play at the playground. 

serious conversations!

Meanwhile, Jason continues to work hard at rehabilitating his body, making small victories every day. Chemo and radiation treatments are still unremarkable. Most importantly, there has not been a single day that a friend has not stopped by to say hello and visit with us. Greeting cards plaster the walls of our hospital room and constantly remind us of how many people we love and cherish. There are so many thoughtful words of encouragement and inspiration and friendship written in every card, but I have to share one phrase that has meant so much to me recently:

Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage.

Road trip!

So, I realize my "road trip" metaphor may be getting a little tired... but it just remains so applicable it's hard to resist!

The irony is that we were able to take an actual road trip this week - no metaphor necessary!

The physical therapists have helped teach me safe & proper techniques for getting Jason from one place to another (he's a fall risk, you know!) and once we figured out how to get into the car it was a whole new ball game...

... specifically Hamp's Little League ball game!

There was so much much to be grateful for: 

• Hamp & Sam got to love on their dad!

• Jason got to see his son play ball!

• Hamp caught a sweet pop fly at second!

• Friends brought hotdogs and snacks to the game so we could all (ball players included!) stay nourished! (although Jason said the "beer man" at the Rifle public ball fields does not do a good job!)

• And for a few hours last Wednesday night, Jason was able to get out of the hospital and get back to "normal" doing one of his very favorite things with some of his very favorite people!

passengers

We are not on this journey alone.

First, take 3 minutes to get to know Kid President:

(I highly encourage you to spend another 3 minutes watching this Kid President video!)

Second, check out this special Kid President video:



Wanna know how that happened?

There are just really cool people in this world, that's how.

Thanks, Ohana!

The first mile!

It seems that we have chalked up our first real mile of this road trip...

We have made it through the first 3 days of radiation/chemotherapy, and have been continuing to see daily improvement in Jason's motor skills and vision as he perseveres with physical therapy.

But more importantly, we have had a week of fun! 

(I know, radiation and fun don't normally belong in the same sentence.)

Jason's enduring enthusiasm and mantra of "choosing to have a good day" permeate the hospital walls and effect everyone who comes in contact with him. Consequently, he made a lot of new friends this week! 

The EMT's who transfer Jason from the hospital to oncology were so enamored with him they brought him a box of Red Robin Onion Rings for a snack on the ambulance ride back to the hospital! 

The Radiation nurses love the fact that he refers to the treatment as "the Pink Floyd laser light show".

And the nurses and therapists in rehab enjoy Jason's new term for them when they discretely assist him with his bowel movements: "poop ninjas"!

Seriously, we have laughed and laughed more this week than we have in a long time - and I am convinced that it will ultimately have as great a healing effect as all the lasers they shoot at his head!

First day of radiation aka Pink Floyd laser light show
The mask keeps Jason's head in the same place every time, and treatment takes approximately 5 minutes!

Jason enjoyed his special snack after his first radiation treatment! A big thanks to the GJFD and EMTs that day (names withheld to protect the devious!)

Let me back up a minute.

The week definitely was not all about new friends and experiences...

At the beginning of the week was the NCAA championship game - a nationally televised sporting event that no one should watch alone! So... a bunch of Jason's buddies came to his rescue and showed up for the game with a case of Coors and 40 hot wings! Though the beer was unauthorized and the wings were deliciously messy, (and the game was not one that any of us had any buy-in to) it was the company of good friends that made it an excellent evening.

Then there was the awesome gift given by another good friend - an in-room mani/pedi complete with purple toenail polish (Go Furman!) and a good, long foot rub!

By the end of our week we had had plenty of good friends stop in for a visit, plenty of new friends to laugh with, and plenty of funny new inside jokes and experiences.

(although, one thing Jason is now missing at the end of the week are about 2 dozen staples in his head!)

And since all's well that ends well... what better way to go into the weekend than with your brother!!!

the Hightower boys ♥