Happy Halloween

Mom's treat was watching the Chiefs WIN on Monday Night Football!  Bonus treat was talking to grandson Luke and learning he was AT the game tonight!

11 in 2011

The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series! It's hard to describe to a non sports fan what this means to a life long Cardinals fan such as Mom! It's sweet and also unbelievable. The 6 of us sat in the living room and watched the whole game. It was fun to get texts, emails, phone calls, Words with Friends messages and Facebook posts from supportive and excited friends during and after the game! What a fabulous Friday night.  So thankful for this Very Good Night!

****Before this diagnosis (August 31) the plan was that Mom would be in Ireland/Scotland right now. (She wouldn't have been able to watch the World Series over there.) 6 weeks ago Mom's Dr. allowed us some hope that she might be able to go back to her 60th high school reunion this weekend in Pinckneyville Illinois.  That also didn't happen BUT it was really COOL to see St. Louis, the ARCH and all the fans on the TV this week. YEAH for St. Louis!

Cards WIN game 6 in St. Louis-Unbeliveable!

Today Mom received gifts of a new Cards beanie and cup from Elizabeth! They brought the team good luck!

Unbelievable game! Mom's shoulders were up above her ears for most of the game! We had to remind her to BREATH!
What a childhood memory for Jack & Jonas to watch that game go back and forth with such a slim chance of a come back and then finally, in the 11th ending,  a WALK OFF HOME RUN by Freese!  The house exploded! The boys were screaming and jumping up and down and high fiveing Grandma! Mom was so busy texting and playing Words with Friends thru  the whole game that I am surprised her fingers weren't cramped!
A great lesson in "Never give up, there is ALWAYS HOPE!" Mom said "I can't remember a better game!".
Ahhhhhhhh so nice to ENJOY this win tonight!

Sunshine & football

Mom's first outing, to see Jack & Jonas play football.

Mom woke up today feeling a bit queasy but she was feeling better as we drove to her chemo appt. Chemo took an interesting twist when one of the nurses mentioned he is from Merced. He & Mom chatted for most of her 2 hour treatment.
She wanted lunch after her treatment, a great indicator of feeling better.
This afternoon Jack & Jonas' flag football team was playing close to home and Mom decided she would cheer them on! She was NOT disappointed as they won the game and the Strand brothers provided many "HEY that is MY Grandson" plays! After one particularly fabulous play, she practically JUMPED out of the chair to high five anyone near her!
She was concerned that we get home in time to see the start of Game 6 of the World Series. We even left the game without a photo of Gma and the boys on the field.....we rushed home to find out the game was cx'd due to rain!
We are thankful for a day with sunshine and sweet boys!

Mondays with Zeb!

Mom was promoted to the cane today on her walk around the block, with her fabulous P.T..

Another good day that turned into a not so great night with that Cards loss......COME ON Cards!

Happy Friday Night!

The Pink Lady is ready for Halloween!

We knew Mom was feeling well when, as always, she schooled Jane and me at hearts! I see your Chihuahua and raise you a Yo-Yo!

Just a typical Friday night, playing cards and having a few laughs! Life is good.

Happy Saturday night!

Uncle Grant went to game 1 of the Series and sent us all this cool Cards gear!

What a game! 16-7 Cards win! 

A good day for Mom.....turned into a Great night with the decisive St. Louis win in Texas!
Nuff said!

Care packages from HOME!

Ready for GAME 3 of World Series with the St. Louis Cards Beanie (or Toque in Canada)-Thank you Kevin!

Our family in Pinckneyville (Mom's home) sent her wonderful CARE packages of childhood treats including apple butter. The boys were excited when Mom received a Halloween bucket full of treats from Leslyn!

Today was a grey and foggy day which matched Mom's sleepy mood. She felt ok other than the fatigue. We are thankful for the good day and all of the gifts of love, support and treats! THANK YOU!

Tooth Fairy, Energizer Bunny & Baseball

After weeks of a dangling front tooth, Jonas finally had another gift for the tooth fairy last night. Today he came home from school with a tooth journal and cool books about the subject! He has a GREAT teacher;)

It is super fun when Gma reads with her boys each day!

Mom was the energizer bunny today from the steroids she had yesterday with the chemotherapy. She didn't sleep last night and has been UP all day. This was the same pattern as last month after this same treatment. We hope that since she is armed with her new medicines the nausea won't be as bad as last month.

Baseball game----tough ending, GO CARDS!

Thank You for the WIN St. Louis Cards!

Lucky St. Louis Cardinals cupcakes!

We had a good appointment with Mom's Dr. today before her chemo treatment this morning. She is doing well but has had a problem with nausea and lack of appetite. We discussed many options to help with these issues and did get a few new prescriptions today. When she is nauseous her body secretes a hormone which decreases her sodium level which is why she was hospitalized last month.

Jane made a trip to the local pie shop and when she couldn't decide on ONE, she picked MANY.

  

Mom was excited to watch the Cardinals WIN in the 1st game of the World Series!  In celebration she had plenty of treats to choose from...which was great since it seems the new meds may have increased her appetite (or was it the Cardinals win--a medicine that the Dr. can't prescribe)!

Scotland & Santa Barbara

Our dear friend Susan (a true Scots woman) sent this tea towel to Mom!

Today Mom & her Bestie, Dorothy, would have left to go on a FABULOUS trip to Scotland & Ireland!

Today marks what would have been the start of Mom & Dorothy's trip to the British Isles. Instead, Mom is hunkered down in Santa Barbara where she gets daily doses of little boy love & kisses. She hears about the sports events as soon as we get home from them, dirt still fresh on the boys. She watches sports on TV with the boys. We are grateful for those things and countless others....
Tomorrow (Wednesday) we see the Dr. and have her 'big' chemo of the month, this was the one that made her feel really LOUSY last month. She will be in the chemo treatment from 10:30-12:30 in case you want to email her or text her any funny or sweet notes:) It is wonderful to have Jane (&Yo-Yo) here this week.

St. Louis Cards go to the World Series! Yeah!

My Favorite quote of the day, "Home runs are better than morphine for the pain!"

Yesterday Jane & Yo-Yo arrived from Vancouver! We are so happy to have them here for a week!

Jane & Yo-yo went on a walk with  Mom!

Tonight the Cards won and are World Series bound! Yeah! 

After

On Wednesday night, Mom decided to get her head shaved when she discovered she "was shedding like a collie". Our fabulous hair guru, Adrianne, ushered us thru a lovely ceremony, taking another step forward in this journey.  Mom had no issues with taking the hair off. In classic Zeb fashion ("you just do it") she said the hair loss is the least of her concerns!

We were surrounded by 3 girlfriends, love & laughter.  When asked if her new wig has a name/persona she answered "Demi" and said perhaps she would consider dating younger men (I couldn't make that up)! Lisa reminded her that she is not allowed to have sex while on chemo (again could NOT make that up)!

Mom has always wanted to wear hats but never felt they looked good on her head. She was happy with this look! Thanks again to our dear friend MJ for all of the fun head wear!

 

 

 

Today Mom said she had 'low energy', she didn't sleep well last night and added "probably b/c the Cardinals lost last night"---so no pressure St. Louis Cardinals but we need you to keep winning! As I type, Mom is cheering on the Cards in this Friday night game!
The love & support we have had from so many people has truly touched our hearts and we feel so honored to be a part of this village from the west coast to the mid west and even Paris! Thank you!

Before

Last night!

Lions, Tigers & Cards OH MY!

The Visiting Nurse came to check on Mom during the Tigers baseball game this afternoon, I was surprised that Mom allowed the nurse to stay and chat with her for as long as she did (if it had been the Cardinals Game I doubt Mom would have been that generous:). This is her week OFF of chemo which is nice. Her hair is finally falling out and she seems totally fine with it. It certainly bothers me much more than it bothers her. She already has her wig.  Thanks to my sweet sweet friend, MJ, Mom also has a bag full of cute hats, head wraps and scarves. Tonight was a big night in the house as Pete's life long football team (the Lions for those of you that are new:) are in the Monday Night Football game for the first time in 10 years.  At the same time the St. Louis Cards were also playing so in btwn football plays Mom would check on the Cards and happily report the score with the Cards in the lead. During the games Mom was telling the boys how she would have LOVED to have been a sports reporter and or a sports announcer but 'back in those days' women were not in those jobs.
Lions & Cardinals WIN---what a night!

T.P. Love!

Sunday in October means hours of great TV distraction for Mom--NFL! Mom went on 2 walks today with the boys! The first walk in morning had the added surprise of pretty white decorations on our cars, trees and yard----we could feel the love! Get em next time Cards!

Beautiful day for a walk!

Mom & Jack went for a short walk today! Another good day for which we are THANKFUL!
Mom and the boys are watching the Tigers game as I type--COME ON TIGERS!

"One happy MOTHER!"

Today was a good day! For the first time in weeks, Mom took a walk outside. She was in good company with her FABULOUS P.T. & her cute little red headed helper. This evening after 3 tense hours of baseball the house exploded in high fives and cheers for those 'wild card' St. Louis Cardinals! Cards WIN! As she went to bed Mom said to me "You have ONE HAPPY MOTHER!"   

Merced boy wins with the Tigers!

Today was a sleepy day for Mom but she did get excited during the Tigers game tonight! The Tigers pitcher, Doug Fister, is from Merced which makes it all the more nerve wracking! During the 4th inning she told me she had to take an Ativan to keep watching Fister pitch! These 4 cute boys crawled into bed with her to watch this intense game! Big cheers and high fives when the Tigers WON!

Covered in LOVE! A family tradition!

 Mom, Aunt Erma with Baby Jonas & the quilt Aunt Erma made for Jonas! Fall 2004

 Mom, Jack, Aunt Erma (with the quilt she made for Baby Jeremy), Jonas & Jeremy!(also notice the Cards clothes she also gifted the boys:) Summer 2007

 Aunt Erma and Jack at Jeana's wedding in Merced in 2007!

 My mom's older sister, my dear sweet & lovely Aunt Erma made this quilt for my mom. Aunt Erma planned to give this quilt to Mom on her trip home to Illinois 2 weeks ago but of course those plans changed so Aunt Erma mailed it out here to my house! I am not sure that there has ever been a more priceless gift.  The skills that Aunt Erma (86 years young) used to embroider this quilt with this gorgeous cross stitch is mind boggling to me. The work that went into this quilt is simply exquisite. It is a family tradition. My whole life I have always had beds covered by homemade quilts with the unique prairie point edging that is also a family tradition. My grandma Rose made gorgeous quilts. Aunt Erma has made gorgeous quilts for many family members (including my sons & Baby Alexandra) and my mom has also made quilts for (almost all of) her grand kids (shh don't read this to Jeremy:). Mom even helped Jack make a quilt this last spring in his classroom.
This is a blast out to my siblings and my cousins.....Who is going to carry on this family tradition?
Good news=today was another good day for Mom and THANK YOU St. Louis Cardinals for another WIN!

don't stop believing .........

Today was chemo #3 of the first cycle and so far so good (knock wood). We asked the nursed about the fact that her hair is still here...... the literature says it is usually out in week 1 on this type of 'agent'. The answer was  'that it is of no concern, it does NOT mean that the meds are not working on the BAD cells'. She is moving around more & with less pain and overall feeling and looking better (even despite the lousy outcome of the Cards & Tigers baseball games today:(.
Here she is in this photo on her iPad, playing words with friends & checking emails during chemo.

Getting our ducks in a row!

Mom has improved each day over the last 3 days. Today was a good & busy day. A fabulous P.T. came to the house to evaluate her. They have a plan to help with her back issues and increase her energy and strength.  An RN came today to draw blood for tomorrow/Tuesday's chemo treatment. We also met with a woman about home care for mom when needed. She also went for a wash & style b/c her hair is STILL firmly in place!
Boy what a difference a week makes......we are in a significantly better place now than our  first night in the hospital last week. The picture here was taken during the Tiger game tonight---what a game! Go Tigers!
Tomorrow/Tuesday morning is her #3 chemo treatment so feel free to send those emails after 10:30am, she will have her iPad with her in the treatment room!

Baseball pain killers.......

I notice a correlation between how the St. Louis Cards are playing and how much pain meds Mom needs.....just sayin'............hee hee