Alan’s Army

I’m an idiot.  I knew if I started listing visitors that I would leave someone out eventually.  Well, during all the hubbub with mulch, groundhogs, etc. on Sunday I forgot to mention that Aunt Renee had visited Alan on Sunday and he was thrilled to see her.   Renee and Ritchie Sorenson were neighbors of Aunt Nancy and Uncle David when they lived in South Plainfield but have become the fourth Daughter and Son-in-law in our extended family.  They, and their sons Andrew and Roy, are an integral part of the family and are part of the 20+ family members that go on vacation in Maine together each year. 

Throughout his recovery we have been picking up food for Alan at the hospital cafeteria (its better than the standard patient fare.)  Typically they put a scoop of potato salad into the styrofoam bin along with the sandwich.  Alan has steadfastly refused to even try it saying “It’s not Renee’s” every time.  Smart kid - I ate it tonight and it was pretty awful.

Today we had a meeting with the case worker and all of Alan’s therapists.  Basically Alan surrounded by seven women.  (FYI -apparently the one “student” therapist has already solicited Alan’s email address to visit with him when he is home.)  They are all very pleased with Alan’s progress and he will be released to come home on Friday.  His sight is really his limiting factor at this point.  Tomorrow we have family sessions with the therapists to go over things like getting Alan in and out of a car, wheelchair, walker, stairs, shower, etc.

The case worker had already written a referral to Bancroft Neuro-Rehab in Plainsboro for out-patient visits but after today’s meeting she realized that Alan doesn’t need any cognitive work at all, so she is going to look into Princeton Medical Center which is very close to both the office and home and would allow me to easily take Alan during my lunch hour.

The case worker has also setup a meeting with the Commission for the Visually Impaired for Thursday.  They apparently have lots of advice and resources that should be helpful for Alan.

Today they also did another CT scan to see how things are doing in Alan’s noggin.

We went outside this evening and enjoyed the breeze and Joe Bakter, Kurt Kusenko, Pete Toth, and Joe Venanzi all visited from work.  Outside time was up shortly after they arrived so we all went upstairs and gathered around a table in the hall and Ginny and I got sandwiches from the cafe and ate with Alan while the crew did their standard commentary and comedy routine.  Longtime Disc Golf buddy Eric Eichhorst showed up to visit and had so much fun with the crew he told us to let him know if we were doing any  hiring in Marketing.  Eric brought with him a helium get well balloon with a picture of a Barbie-esgue blonde on it that was a gift to Alan from another disc golf friend, Mike Miller.  Apparently Mike had said it was the only way he could “sneak a blonde up to Alan’s room.”

Alan had a great time with the boys and is really looking forward to coming home on Friday.  He and I are both very upset that we won’t be going to Maine this weekend with the crew from Tyler and Sedgley to play in the DDGC and then the special match play challenge between the Bucks County team and the Mainiacs team that Bob and I dreamed up last year.  It’s breaking our hearts to miss the inaugural year and more importantly to miss seeing our dear friends the Enmans, Connells, Gordy and Victor, as well as the rest of the crew at Dragan and Scarborough.

Oh well, we need to be realistic.  Neither Alan nor I would have the energy for the long drive and we need to spend the weekend adjusting the house to make life as easy as possible on Alan and ourselves.  I have a bunch of handles that will need mounting at steps, the tub etc. 
Hopefully the radiation treatment schedule will allow for at least one of our weeks in Maine at the end of June.  If not, we will need to look towards when the radiation treatments end, perhaps in September.

We are still waiting to hear on the second pathology report about the tumor chromosomes.  Perhaps they will know when we return to Philly on the 10th.

In the mean time, thanks for your prayers and continued support - they are certainly felt and most appreciated.

Love,

Big Dog

BOB,

But of course!

I know the Alan’s Army updates are reaching hundreds, perhaps thousands at this point including many church prayer chains.  I am quite sure that Peggy will be lifted up in short order.  Please keep us posted.

Thanks and God Bless,

Big Dog

hey there Big Dog and friends,
hear’s one of the other people in my life with brain cancer that needs your prayers too.
This note is from my mom and I know you don’t know her but I hope you can include Peggy in your prayers.
Thanks and peace,
BOB
 Hi,
 Peggy is my daughter’s best friend. She is 32 yrs old and just graduated as a Medical Assistant in the state of Washington. Her picture is enclosed.  Peggy is a single mom with two sons, AJ who is 11 and Avery who is 9. Peggy home schooled the boys until two years ago when she went to work.  While studying for her Medical Assistant exams Peggy had migraines and the pain brought her to the emergency room one night in mid February. Peggy was told she had a glioblastoma multiforme tumor, which is stage 4 brain cancer.  The 1st crainiotomy was less than 24 hours later. Two weeks later Peggy began 6 weeks of chemo & radiation.   The follow up MRI on May 12th, showed that the tumor did not respond to treatment. In fact it grew much larger than it was originally and spread to an additional part of her brain.
 
 Peggy’s.2nd surgery was May 16th. She did sooo well, and was released Monday, the 19th of May, only to be brought back into the hospital on the 20th with hydroencephalitis (water on the brain). This was treated and she was released on Saturday May 24th….within a few hours of being home, she ran an extremely high fever and had to return to the ER……She now is battling Staff infection in her bone (they did a bone flap on Tues/Wed.) as well as a secondary infection.  
 Please join us in prayer for Peggy and for the small brave circle of friends (including my daughter Heather) who are nursing her through this terribly hard time.
 Peggy is a strong woman with an amazing sense of humor as she battles this disease but she needs Jesus help. Peggy’s friends have asked that we pray for a miracle and complete recovery.  I want to add that we also pray that Peggy will receive the gift of faith and with it the peace that surpasses human understanding.     
  
 Thanks, I will keep you posted.
 Pat