The cousins are HERE!

We have been excitedly awaiting Lucia's cousins from Wisconsin, and they've finally arrived!!!  Minzie and Minah definitely loved meeting Lucia, who stayed awake for their arrival.  It was fun to watch them all.  Much more fun ahead this weekend!

Give me a "GAH", Give me a "GOO"

I feel like a cheerleader for Team Lucia!   Our pediatricians office has an online developmental questionnaire to fill out prior to each check-up.  So, last week I filled out the survey for her two month check-up, and I realized she hasn't said "coo" or "gah."  She certainly makes noises and demands food with a distinct loud cry, but these specific sounds have yet to be uttered.  So, this week, I've been modeling those sounds for her.  "Say coo, coo.  Say gah, gah."  She smiles and looks at me as if I'm daffy.  At least she's entertained if nothing else.

Round 2, part 2

Today's infusion was easy breezy.  After being premedicated with solumedrol and benadryl, the rituxan went in just fine over 4 hours.  My next blood count is scheduled next week, and then round 3 the following week, if the numbers remain good.


The new buzz cut:

Round 2, Part 1

Today, I started my first dosage of rituxan, and also had the other 4 agents.  After about 30 minutes of starting rituxan, I started feeling a type of pressure that's difficult to describe from my epigastric area up through my chest and into my face.  So, we stopped the infusion, and I was given solumedrol.  I felt somewhat better but then started to have chills, and couldn't stop shaking.  I got some demerol to counter that and after an hour was feeling good.  The other 2 infusions went fine, and then the rituxan was restarted.  After a few minutes, I felt really warm and threw off all my blankets, and then at about 30 minutes, I noticed a scratchy throat, then a few minutes after that, my neck was itchy.  I thought it was related to my hair that's been falling out, and noticed there was a lot of hair there.  Then, my stomach was itchy, and when I looked, I noticed hives.  So, stopped the infusion, took benadryl and another solumedrol and eventually the hives disappeared.  Amazing how things make sense in hindsight...

Tomorrow morning I return for the rest of my rituxan bag.  I will be premedicated with more, and hopefuly will tolerate it well.

As I mentioned earlier, my hair has started falling out the past few days, which was expected but still is distressing.  So, tonight we decided to buzz my hair.  The cute bob haircut has been replaced with the buzz.  Pictures will be coming in a separate post.

Miss Giraffe

In the past few days, since Lucia has started to look around at things more, we lie her on the play mat with various figures hanging from it.  She starts from her right and stares at each object (especially the giraffe, who knows why?!) for awhile before moving onto the next; then when she's done with the left-most object, she'll start over.  Not only does she look like Daddy, she's exhibiting his systematic approach to life, too!  

Congrats to our Half Marathoners!!

Great work, Ken, Steve, John and Julie!!

Classic Traps

Last night was my first school-related allnighter since my freshman year at Akron, when I vowed it would never happen again for the sake of homework. The night before last, I was up until two in the morning getting ready for a test. And the night before that...

Somehow I've managed to fall into more than one classic academic trap which are well known to any serious sophomore. The first was the "oh, it won't take me long to write up a crib sheet" trap. The second was the "oh, I know how to do these problems, so I don't need to bother watching the lecture - or finish the homework until the night before" trap. And the third was the "I think I'll do this on scrap paper and then copy it over to engineering paper later" trap. Somehow twenty pages of hand calculations take longer than you think - especially when you realize most of the problems are only half done.

In an odd way, it was kind of fun. But at the same time, I do have weekend motivation to get a head start on next week!

...And an appreciation for Youngin's parents, who've been taking care of Lucia and letting us sleep whenever we get the chance!

Are you rich?

Apparently, that's a debate stirred up by a professor in Chicago when he posted a lament about how he and his wife are barely making it on $250,000.  Hmmm...see excerpt below.

Todd Henderson feels like he's barely making ends meet. He's a law professor at the University of Chicago. His wife's a doctor at the school's hospital. Their combined income exceeds $250,000. They have a nice house, a nanny, kids in private school, a retirement account and a lawn guy.
 

The Charming Lower Lip

Somewhere, somehow, Lucia has started crying with a quivering lower lip stuck out.  It's so cute and amusing!  It's not nice for parents to laugh at their kids, right?!

Haircut Day III

Styles we considered for Youngin

(minus the hair coloring)

What were we thinking?! We should have had a vote!

Well, it may not have mattered. She ultimately decided on the lowest maintenance possible.

The Numbers Game

Today's appointment with the oncologist involved labwork to see what nadir the white cells hit.  Both the white cell count and red blood cell counts were good, so I should be able to have round 2 next Monday.  It will be an outpatient infusion.  Thankfully I am feeling energetic, exercising several times a week and enjoying our baby girl! 

Before the appointment, I stopped into my office for a flu shot.  It was nice to see everyone again.  They had a card and chocolate birthday cake waiting for me.  Sweet!!

Birthday Bliss

This year's birthday is extra-special, celebrating with our new baby.  It was fun to have my parents here, as well as Mara whose birthday was just a few days ago.  We started the day at Caribou Coffee (free drink for the birthday girl!) and enjoyed a late brunch at a local breakfast house (free breakfast for the birthday girl!) with Steve and Charlene.  One much-appreciated gift is from my sisters-in-law who worked in our yard, planted some beautiful flowers and spruced up our place.  Thanks to everyone for birthday wishes, calls, cards, gifts, etc!!

As a side note, I learned that the OB who delivered me (a little past noon a few decades ago) was quite popular and owned a huge, multi-story hospital in Seoul.  Apparently she was excellent at her job and had a wonderful reputation.  Later, it was discovered that she did not actually have a license and ended up in jail.

Haircut Day II

Haircut day

Thanks to Charlene and Mara for helping me with this adventure.  Charlene researched the hair donation modalities and salons, and eventually made an appointment for this afternoon.  After donating seven ponytails to Locks of Love, not much more than chin-length hair remained.  The hair stylist spent another hour and half creating a swanky bob cut for me.  Her sincere efforts of making my first ever hair cut painless are much appreciated.  Mara undertook the task of photographing this monumentous occasion.  Photos will follow in a separate post.

Starbucks, really?!

We ran errands this afternoon, stopping at a few stores.  A couple hours into the escapade, little girl woke up and started squalling for food.  I happened to look up and see a Starbucks,  and quickly decided that would be a great place to stop to feed and change her.  Wouldn't you know.... this one did not have a changing table??!!  Now I'm scratching my head to try to remember if other ones have them or not.  Hmmmm.

Little pleasures

Lucia and I enjoyed a stroll this morning through the neighborhood.  The crisp air and bright sun made our journey very sweet.  The anticipation of autumn is exciting.

She is starting to smile more too, making good eye contact and tracking objects easily.  We are fortunate to have a good-natured baby.

Tonight we invested in a bottle warmer, after trying to juggle a baby in one arm and heating bottles under faucets with the other.  We'll see if it works out, but the trial run seemed to be good.

The New Boat

I'm definitely not used to being on the receiving end of care and help.  I'm extremely thankful for all those who have brought meals, sent flowers, called, emailed, texted, and also showered Lucia with gifts and love.  It's not the most comfortable position for me, but am learning to appreciate others who want to help.   So, here's a heartful thanks to everyone!

Today, we visited a local wig/hat shop in anticipation of hair loss.  The proprietor is a positive, helpful lady who spends her days assisting women feel better about their bare heads.  She showed me some interesting hats and pretty scarves, and almost convinced me into a wig, which I have been saying I do not want.  We walked away with a couple of soft cotton caps, a sleep cap, and two hats.  She is going to order a semi-wig with bangs and a little hair around the back.  It was actually a fun experience!

My plan is to donate my hair on Friday, get a swanky short hair cut for the first time in my life and enjoy it for a week.  Hopefully not much will come out, but if hair starts falling out in clumps, I'm definitely going to have it buzzed.

Better living through chemicals

Well, I got to finally experience a benzodiazepine for the first time in my life over the weekend.  I can see why there are people who come around seeking that stuff, contriving stories and figuring out how to scam the system to obtain that controlled substance... since it promptly made me relaxed, drowsy and allowed me sleep. 

So far, I've tolerated Round 1 of this war with labwork today showing good numbers, and my energy level staying up.  We'll have to see what happens of the course of the week.

I've gone from a super-healthy, food-conscious, gym-mongering individual to becoming a pill-bottle-collector.  Go figure!  As I have been saying, though, things could be much worse.....

First Treatment

We arrived this morning at 10am. Due to typical hospital timetables, treatment did not start until after five this afternoon. Youngin did really well, with minimal immediate reaction. One of the medications (anti-nausea) made Youngin very drowsy, so she's had a great rest! (Sleeping three to six hours a night for the last month may have contributed to her weariness as well.) Anyway, she's being given fluids until the morning. We should be able to leave then.

We had a little surprise when we bumped into Jim and Madelaine here. Unfortunately they were here to visit a patient in the ICU. Things were looking a little more positive when I spoke to them around 6pm, though.

Thanks to grandpa and grandma for taking care of Lucia while we're gone!

Oh, and we got to watch OSU beat Miami - a nice distraction!

Of im-port-ance

So thus we begun a new chapter.  Today's appointment book filled up quickly!  This morning involved a 2D echo to check my heart as a baseline before starting treatments, with subsequent echos to ensure its continued good function. 

Then this afternoon, a skilled team of nurses and surgeon placed an arm port into my left arm.  Fortunately these ports can be done outpatient with only local anesthetic, instead of a chest port which usually is done under sedation.  This procedure took longer than expected but I certainly appreciate their careful attention to keeping everything sterile.  The arm port placement was confirmed by fluoroscopic imaging.  My arm is slightly sore now and a little bruised but I am grateful to not have been under anesthesia and for the port to have been inserted without much trouble.

The day continued with a family photo shoot at a local studio.  One of the most original baby shower gifts I received was a two-year plan at this photo studio which includes unlimited sessions for two years, sitting fees all included.  The two ladies certainly worked hard to entertain Lucia for her to look at the camera.   We hope the photos capture our baby's beauty!

Our day concluded with a walk to the local Dairy Queen, Korean owned and operated, of course.  The humidity and temperatures are low enough for us to enjoy the outdoors.

Tomorrow, the chemo begins.

John W and Lucia

Uncle Johnny at Denton

5 week old baby, 5 YEAR old diaper bag

Some of you have commented on my Tumi diaper bag.  There's a fun story behind it, of course.  I bought it about 5 years ago while still part of the traveling ministry. (When one can only have a bag or two, finding the perfect carrying case is an endless search, except I actually did find the perfect bag in PINK, no less)  One day while digging through TJ Maxx or Marshalls, I came across this Tumi bag priced at $20 and it seemed just the right size to fit toiletries, shoes, a Bible case, etc.  That's how it was used for a couple of years, despite the teasing from others about my PINK bag.  It has traveled all around Illinois, Indiana, New Mexico and states in between.  The funny part is that I had no idea it was a diaper bag until a couple days after its purchase when I discovered a plastic foldout mat in the back pocket.  No wonder it has nice elasticized side pockets (obviously for bottles!)  I've looked online and Tumi only made these bags for a year or two and now is unavailable.

Later, when I started working again, it was a perfect briefcase, and again many commented on my PINK bag.  Now that I actually need a diaper bag, it's functioning just perfectly for that job too!  In a few years, I could probably turn it into a gym bag.  I will use this awesome bag forever!!!!

Ahhhh, convention!

We really enjoyed our meetings at Denton.  Amazing and refreshing how it works that we receive exactly what we need.  Grateful!

Photos courtesy of the artist formerly known as Klaus Fiedler

weed-fest

The yard of the slothful is full of weeds.  I have been feeling so bad about the state of our yard this summer.  While I am not a horticulturist by any means, I have pulled weeds out to keep the yard presentable..... but not this year.  With so much going on,that task has taken the back seat. Many apologies to our neighbors 

Finding treasures

Well, when your child is the miniature version of her dad, you start looking for ANY hint of mom.  So far I've found two:  her palmar creases are the mirror images of mine and when she feeds, her big toe curls like mine does when I'm concentrating.  And, some people say her ears look like mine... not so sure yet...

A horse named Cowboy

Yesterday morning, another graduate student's wife and I walked around graduate housing.  It was fairly cool and her 3 year old daughter was with us, too.  At the end of our walk, we saw a campus policeman riding a beautiful, well-groomed horse naned cowboy.  We stopped and talked with the policeman some and found out that the school actually has 3 horses, though unfortunately at this time only one rider.  They are in the process of training other officers.  What an incredible sight in the middle of an urban campus!  Should have taken a picture....