Hero in the Classroom!

Last night I got a call from the principal at the school where Chris teaches.  She let me know that Chris was nominated for the Symetra Heroes in the Classroom/Seahawk Teacher of the Week award by some of his colleagues.  Here are some details about this program from the Symetra website:

Program Details

Symetra Heroes in the Classroom is a community program that recognizes 16 Seattle-area teachers for outstanding leadership and instructional skills during the Seattle Seahawks season.

What Are the Criteria for Selecting Heroes?

• A teacher who makes a real difference in students' lives.
• A teacher who goes above and beyond in his/her day-to-day responsibilities.
• A teacher who helps students build life skills.

What Will the Heroes Receive?

• $1,000 donation to their school
• Two tickets to a Seahawks regular season game
• In-game HawkVision (JumboTron) "spotlight"
• Pre-Game VIP sideline experience
• "Heroes" award certificate
• School visit by sponsors to recognize their achievement
• Personalized #12 Seahawk jersey

Chris's principal had asked him to come to the staff meeting after school to hear an 'important announcement'. The one complication was that he had chemo today!  His principal originally thought he had treatment tomorrow.  There were limited opportunities to have the sponsors come to give out the award so she called me to see if we could get Chris there today. I let our wonderful scheduler at Swedish know what was happening and she helped us get right in to Chris's appointments today so we could get out in time for me to take him over to his school for the award presentation.  He didn't know anything about it, we successfully kept it all a surprise.  A friend picked up Taigen and brought her so she could see the award presentation as well.  We got there in plenty of time and Chris went in and joined the staff meeting, still without knowing what was going on until his principal described the award and announced that he was the recipient! 

The Symetra and Seahawk sponsors said they had never had a person nominated by so many people.  They had all of Chris's colleagues that nominated him stand.  Chris was very encouraged and touched.  It was so wonderful and thoughtful of everyone to take the time to nominate him and say such positive things.  It was fun to be a part of it, to have it be a surprise for Chris and have Taigen there as well.  I'll post some pictures from today soon.

For an update on Chris's health...chemo went well today.  White and red blood cell counts were good and cancer markers in his blood were down a bit more, which was great!

Beautiful Weekend!

We just spent a wonderful weekend on Orcas Island, thanks to sister Juli and brother-in-law Bill.  They set us up for a weekend at a timeshare for Chris's birthday.  We couldn't have picked a better weekend at this time of year...the weather was gorgeous, sunny and blue skies and crisp fall air.  We had a nice unit with a deck and hot tub that overlooked Deer Harbor and spent the weekend out in the hot tub, inside playing games and in town exploring. 

Chris had chemo again last week, as well as another blood transfusion, and wasn't feeling good Friday after work.  He decided he still wanted to go as all he had to do when he got home was get in the car and he could sleep for a few hours.  Once we got there and checked in, he woke up and felt much better, enough to stay up until about 1 in the morning playing games.  He did pretty well on Saturday, going at his own pace and taking a nap after we returned from town, which helped a lot.  That was the day that is usually the hardest on him after chemo but he did great.

Now that we've been there for the first time, we wonder why we haven't taken more trips to the San Juan Islands.  It is only a couple of hours to drive to the ferry and then an hour ferry ride.  It was fun to just decompress and follow our own schedule, having a wonderful family-focused weekend in a beautiful place.  We were also able to pray, reflect and stay unplugged for most of the weekend.

Here are some pictures:

In town Sat at the bookstore

One of the timeshare units



Our deck and hot tub

View from our drive

View through the blinds from our bedroom window

View of one of the marinas

Good Lab Results Today!

Since starting the new chemo, the cancer markers in Chris's blood have gone down 40%! He was so encouraged to hear that today. He's been feeling pretty good considering how much chemo his body has gone through. This helped confirm the chemo is doing something good.

On the flip side, this chemo is causing his hair to fall out. I guess we can't complain, he's been spared so many side effects so far. It is the Abraxane that is causing the hair loss.  We're not sure if he'll be able to keep his facial hair long enough to complete Movember but we'll see. I think he's beautiful no matter what!

Thanks to all of the prayer warriors out there!  Please keep it up!

Thankfulness

I am so full of love and gratitude for all of the encouragement Chris has been receiving, especially on his birthday.  Friends and family have shared so many meaningful, sincere words that will stay with us always. They have given of their time and talents to serve us and others so we celebrated Chris's birthday in style! They have hosted us throughout the weekend as we transitioned from birthday to Halloween to nights out to Seahawk game day What a busy few days it has been and Chris is doing great, though tired. Are we the only ones feeling it is later than it actually is due to the time change? Probably not, especially with how busy many have been with the holiday, etc. :-)

It is typical for some people to share every day in November something they are thankful for. I am thankful for how much people have loved us, served us and celebrated Chris this past week.

With gratitude,
Wendy

Happy Birthday to My Love!

Today is Chris's 45th birthday! It has also been one year today since his diagnosis. What a year it has been!  Cancer, chemo, teaching, working, loving, socializing, school, Aikido, Girl Scouts, gymnastics, church, family, friends, MLK Day volunteering, Seahawks, Super Bowl XLVIII, New York, Marriage Retreat, Singles Retreat, Baltic Cruise,  Seaside, honoring our firemen and police for 9-11, pumpkin patch and corn maze, Leavenworth, ER, surgery, Sounders, hope, faith, prayer, celebrating Chris...his strength of character is amazing and I admire and love him so much.

Cancer doesn't define us, it just is. No regrets.

Some Good News

We are at Chris's second chemo appointment since starting the new regimen.  We just saw the oncologist and had a great conversation so I wanted to share. First, Chris had not had a fever again since getting the second course of antibiotics after the ER visit last weekend. Second, Chris has gained back two of the five pounds he lost since he got the infection that put him in the hospital a couple of weeks ago. Third, he ate solid food for dinner on Monday night, which hasn't happened for a while. Fourth, he didn't need a nap on Monday and was pretty energized in the evening, even having just had chemo a few days before. Fifth, he has reduced his pain medicine during the day. The oncologist says these are all good signs the chemo is having a positive effect. Keep praying!

The other thing we are doing today that is new for Chris is getting a blood transfusion. His red blood counts are low, making him anemic, which for a cancer patient means they need to get some new red blood cells through transfusion. Chemo kills all fast growing cells and Chris's red blood cells have fallen a bit behind in growing new ones to replace what is affected by the chemo. The good news is that this should also give him more energy. We may have time to get two units today but if only time for one today then he'll get a second tomorrow. He'll be back tomorrow anyway to get his white blood cell booster...that comes in the form of a shot, rather than a transfusion.  That is what allows his immune system to fight off colds etc (and to be around kindergarteners all day!).

Second chemo treatment starting in T-30 minutes...

Looks Like We're Going Home

All of the tests they ran tonight have come back negative so it looks like we're going home soon! I think we're ready...

Chris will be on another 7 days of antibiotic to further treat the infection in his gall bladder. We will talk to his oncologist on Monday to make sure nothing else should be done at this time.  But overall, Chris is looking a lot better and his temp is lower since he had the additional antibiotic tonight.