Thank You!

Brain cancer is...

...returning the love with thank you cards.

Team D, today is our 251st post, which means it's the 251st day since Darrell's diagnosis.  It's been 250 days, and still you keep it coming.  A week never goes by when we don't receive at least one card in the mail.  From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.  And not a day goes by when we don't receive multiple texts and emails from you.  Through all means, thank you for sharing your strength, prayers, points of light, funny stories, flu shot photos, shared moments of sorrow, all of it, with us.  

We do not know how you keep the stamina to continue providing such a high level of support--particularly facing your own busy, up-and-down lives--but please know that we are strong because of you.

So we made you the above thank you card.  Actually, I made the card.  You can guess who chose how to hold the card.  

And here's a thank you card for Block 23:

Non-Block 23 Team D members may recall that Block 23 (some of my students from summer session) gave us Amtrak tickets.  The photos, above, are on the southbound Surfliner this morning, heading to Carlsbad for a few days of seaside beauty.  Thank you, Block 23! Finish strong!

We know you are very busy this Monday, doing important things.  We can take one concern off your minds.  Please count on us, loved ones, to make certain that the Pacific Ocean stays put.  We are on duty.

Thank you.

Skelly Sightings are Spreading!

Brain cancer is...

...not afraid of those spreading skeletons!

Curt and Barb have had sightings of a single hand, which is somehow perhaps creepier than the whole skeleton.

And Brady, Linda, and boys made the mistake of heading to Ralph's as well. 

At least the skelly that followed them home has some class!

In other news:

• Packers are ahead.
• The flu persists for Andi.
• Darrell continues to feel great.

We hope you had a good Sunday!

Think about Your Flu Shot!

Brain cancer is...

...flu free...thus far.

Today we were forced to cancel our Saturday fun with Gordon and LuAnn because Andi has the flu.  Darrell was a great companion, and so far he has not contracted the bug. 

This prompts us to ask you:  Have you thought about your flu shot this season? I had not.  Some people love flu shots, some people hate 'em, but it's good to make an informed choice either way. 

My friends have been giving good advice:

• Get a flu shot as soon as I recover.
• Get it between Halloween and Thanksgiving for maximal longevity.
• Get it at the local pharmacy (CVS or Walgreens) because they don't charge a doctor's office visit co-pay.

Monday we will check if Darrell is allowed to have a flu shot.  Opinion among doctors of patients with GBM is divided on this matter.  Originally Dr. Park said no flu shot. 

What will you do, Team D?

 Alternate Video Link

Beowulf has also been a trustworthy companion today.  Such a good listener!

Seven Scary Skeleton Sightings

Brain cancer is...

 

 Alternate Video Link 

...scared of skeleton sightings!

This plastic skeleton followed us home from Ralphs, and now he* keeps photo bombing typical moments in our day.  Because we take turns placing him, no one is ever sure where he'll turn up next.  Scary, Scary Halloweeeeen!

Emeritus Status Update

Darrell's certificate came today, so now we know his emeritus status is real:

Kathie, you'll be glad to know that the parking pass came too.  If you ever want to hang out with Darrell at the place he used to work, just let him know (but don't expect him to say yes; he has no plans to go back.  Ha!).

Go Professor Emeritus, Darrell!

*We know the skeleton is male because we have two med students in the house.  Enough said, probably.

Whimisical English!

Brain cancer is...

...taking time to ponder quirky comparisons.

You know it's a good day when the most important thing to contemplate is the English language.

On our way to the park this morning, Darrell said we "slept like babies" last night.  As we pondered our own babies, we concluded that they were always awesome people, but we wouldn't consider them the gold standard for sleepers. In fact, we decided, we know no parents who say that their babies slept better than they did.  Maybe some long-ago parents were just so grateful that their babies slept at all that they invented that saying.




At the park, we enjoyed watching the coots.  That got us thinking about the saying "crazy as a coot."  We assure you that these images are representative of the typical coot behavior we have observed.

 

Nothing remarkable, right?  Certainly the coots were no crazier than the ducks that came running toward us, blatantly disregarding the sign in the background that warns us not to feed them.

In fact, the park bird behavior that most closely hits the description of "crazy" came from these "crazy aggressive" Canadian geese in August.  This photo is after they left us alone; we were frightened!

We decided the most likely origin for "crazy as a coot" is the coots' "crazy cool" feet:

Source:  https://www.pinterest.com/pin/189432728052760346/

By the time we turned away from the lake, we were sweating.  "Sweating like a dog!" Wrong again.  Despite the fact that Beowulf is 7 pounds and takes about 5 steps to our one, he evidenced no visible signs of sweat.  Whose dog sweats? 

Despite all these mysteries, Darrell and I are "as happy as clams" today.  Whaaat? It seems like a low standard for happiness, given the lack of any noticeable happiness in the clams we've observed, but it's good to have a baseline, yes? Okay, we are "at least as happy as clams" today, and probably far happier.

We hope you're exceeding the clam happiness baseline today too, Team D!

Emeritus Status Granted

Brain cancer is...

10/03/16 letter from CSULA President granting Darrell emeritus status

 ...located in a highly distinguished head.

Congratulations to Big D.  He just received emeritus status at CSULA.  With this status, he is able to keep his CSULA email address and receive a university lifetime parking pass, among other things.

Darrell found two other milestone letters as he was putting the above letter away.

9/22/98 letter from the Engineering Dean, offering Darrell a tenure track position at CSULA

10/22/91 letter admitting Darrell to UCI's PhD program

We enjoyed this romp through time and Darrell's distinguished career. 
The day had other bright spots too:

• A 94% Optune compliance rating this month
• A great early morning walk with Kim and Christine
• Pumpkin pancakes at Polly's

After walking four miles, why not?

My Husband, My Hero

Brain cancer is...

 

...hero status:  Solidified!

Today Darrell went back to St. Jude Wellness and Rehab Center.  I know you remember speech therapy there, with Maureen, in May.  But things change.  When one series of sessions ran out, just before our trip to Catalina, we didn't renew.

This time Darrell joined the center as a member of the cancer recovery program called STAR.

It was a difficult morning.  Joining this program meant intake evaluations by Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy in addition to a new evaluation for Speech Therapy.

For the past several months, we've spent our lives learning to use work-arounds, to be positive, and to focus on what is possible today.

In fact, while we were sitting, waiting early this morning, Darrell loved reading this wall art:

The hard lesson today is that the philosophy of "living in the present moment wisely and earnestly" must be reconciled with the goals of therapy.  For us, therapy seems centered in yesterday ("What happened?") and tomorrow ("What can we do?"). 

Each therapist probed around until he or she found areas of weakness that could benefit from therapy.  Examples include eye-hand keyboard coordination and hip and hamstring weakness, in addition to the most important speech diagnosis:  Dysarthria.  

No doubt you can imagine what it felt like for Darrell to, first, revisit the February hospital visit, which included Kristin (the original "name the animals, or just say 'Dragon'" woman), and, second, to be in a facility that is focused on tomorrow.  We heard from a young person going through physical rehab because a mosquito bite pulled her into the world of West Nile Virus, and we struggled beside an older man navigating the new world of Parkinson's disease. 

Probably the most difficult part of today that these rehab/wellness patients of all ages (10 months to 100 years) were future-directed.  We have not been. We have lived in the present.  What, then, are we doing at therapy?

If we zoom out in the wall art by the Buddha that Darrell so appreciated early on, we see the larger message:  "Journey."  

How is focusing on today part of the journey?  We don't know.  This stuff is hard.

Darrell has agreed to return for many speech sessions to address his dysarthria and a couple sessions of OT to pin down the letters on the keyboard (they keep moving!).  But we struggle with the notion of fighting for a better tomorrow while we are so focused on appreciating today.

For this reason, Darrell is my hero.  

And also for this reason, all the people at the rehab center today are our collective heroes.

Best to you as you decipher your most important goals and how your goals work together:  Today's and tomorrow's.