Zoë goes college hunting

This was taken by her friend Olivia at Pismo Beach. She checked out Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo. "Meh" on the college, but a great trip to Morro Bay, Cambria, Pismo Beach and the Hearst Castle. Next up: UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley with family friends.

We've cleared out the week Zoë's off school next week and Spring Break. There's no way for Peg to travel for awhile. She gets poohed just going to the doctor.

Peg was scheduled to restart chemo today, but rescheduled for next Thursday to give herself another week to get her strength back. I think it's a good call. Her appetite is already better than it was two days ago.

The scientific curiosity known as "The Appliance"

Also one of the rejected nicknames from "Jersey Shore," although "The Situation" is certainly applicable. It's a plastic bag with a recloseable end, and a wide rubber adhesive-backed disc that fits over the stoma--that's the off-ramp from Peg's colon freeway that says, "Hello, world."

The home health nurses came out today to show us the cool tips n' tricks on how to swap out the bag, which has to be done every 3 to 5 days. Interesting little science project, because the gizmo needs to be trimmed very closely to the stoma. You have to make a template to trim the appliance. Not hugely different than when I was making model rockets in seventh grade.

Peg is getting stronger every day. Still not eating enough to play catch-up with all the weight she lost, but our motto here is "tomorrow will be better." And it is.

She's home!

Peg was discharged this afternoon and is snuggled into her favorite spot, the couch in our living room. It was sunny and 68 degrees when they wheeled her out to the car--the perfect antidote for being stuck for six days in a hospital.

She's pretty woofed, which is to be expected four days after major surgery. Last night she didn't get solid sleep after they checked her vitals at midnight. Probably best to hold off on visits and phone calls at least until tomorrow. I'll let you know when she tells me she's up for it. Right now it's sleep, sleep, sleep.

Peggy's condition

First blog entry in a year. Lot of catching up to do with this blog. I had every intention of restarting it last year, but once again, a false start; my heart just wasn't in it.

A lot has happened just in the last week. Peg wasn't feeling well--constipated, no appetite for almost a week. Then she couldn't keep food down. We got in to see Dr. Bobolis Monday and she admitted Peg to Sutter Roseville right away. Peg had a CT scan at 12:30am, and Tuesday Dr. B. consulted with Dr. DeMar (surgeon). They determined Peg had a blockage in her small intestine.

Peg had an NG tube all day Tuesday (a tube into her stomach inserted nasally that gradually removes the contents of the stomach), which had no effect on the blockage. At 10pm that night, Dr. DeMar met with Peg, Zoë and I to recommend surgery.

At 7:30 yesterday morning, Peg underwent a colostomy, which went very well. The surgery took about 40 minutes. I spoke with DeMar just afterward and he said Peg had about half the girth from the night before, and that once the anesthesia was out of her system she'd see immediate relief.

She's resting comfortably now, sitting up some and taking brief walks. There's some discomfort from the surgery and getting her system moving again, but she has as much pain medication as she needs. Her room is right across from the nursing station and the staff here is wonderful. It's a single room with a convertible sofa; someone could spend the night with her but she feels well-cared for and okay by herself.

No visitors yet, and no phone calls. She just needs rest.

About two months ago, Peg's left kidney was showing signs of a tumor near the ureter that was preventing it from draining, so she had an outpatient procedure to put in a nephrostomy tube (a tube that enters the kidney from above and empties into a bag she wears on her waist). It was disappointing to learn she'd now have to have a colostomy bag as well. The upside is that she'll be able to enjoy eating again without discomfort and be able to put on the weight she's lost.

Of course, with our sick senses of humor, we had to name the bags. The urine collection bag is "Bilbo," after Bilbo Baggins from Lord of the Rings. And the feces collection bag was a no-brainer: "Newt" (Gingrich): annoying and frequently full of shit.

Peg also has a double hernia from the original surgery in 2009, which causes her a bit of discomfort, but she still walks about a half hour every day.

Her chemo regimen is working-- three weeks on, one week off. Her CA125 (cancer marker) numbers went from almost a thousand to 400 in just two months. She'll be off chemo for the next few weeks to allow her body to heal from the surgery.

I'm posting this from her room. When I get home and have access to photos, I'll start filling you in on what else is going on. Zoë drives my giant truck to school every day and loves it. She's taking all A.P. classes and aces them because she's got Peg's genes. Just started high school swim season, which will continue through the start of rec swim in May.

I'll sign off now. More to come.

Blog restart is official

For those of you just joining the blog, welcome. For those returning, welcome back!

Zoë got her learner's permit last week. Here she is at the wheel of her dad's giant truck (and no, she's learning in the Prius!) I've had that thing for almost 9 years and it took me 3 years just to get used to just how enormous it is. She's doing a great job, and gets better each time she gets behind the wheel.

Here's the result of Peggy's artistry, which was in progress the last post. The LED lighting strip above gives us a choice of 44 colors and five levels of brightness. Hot magenta at full brightness is surreal.

We intentionally didn't load all the books back into the shelves after we painted them. Really taking a look at the unconscious collection of stuff we all fall into. We had boxes of seashells, board games, VHS tapes and Christmas CDs jammed into every square inch. Much better now.

Peg and I are taking a yoga class downtown once a week. We both love it, even if we're sore for two days afterward!

We did a bit of cooking as a family over the holidays, which we hope to expand on this year. Zoë has shown an interest in exploring recipes in Peg's "Cancer-Fighting Kitchen" cookbook. I enjoy the energy of the three of us in the kitchen.

Official blog restart about two weeks away

Peg's "cancer numbers" are continually heading down, now at 226. She has periods of absolute exhaustion, but rallies...currently she's transforming our fireplace we've hated/put up with for 21 years with metallic paints.

Here's some weird news... I think we'll actually put out our "New Years Letter" around the new year. First time it's gone out this early in maybe ten years (it usually ships in Mid-April to early June).

Thanks for thinking of us. We'll ping everyone when the blog is really up to speed and I've committed the time to keeping it current.

Restarting the blog

First, apologies all around to those of you who have followed this blog and have seen it run out of gas. When Peg was in remission it seemed less important. When the cancer came back my heart just wasn't in it.

But there's some good news...after she restarted chemotherapy, her numbers went from almost 500 to 279 after just two sessions. We were waiting for the other shoe to drop, and are very thankful it went this direction.

This photo was taken yesterday (Thanksgiving Day) by our wonderful friend and gifted photographer Bruce Patt. We were blessed to share Turkey Day with their family, Peg's sister Jeanette's family and other friends at Greg and Jeanette's house.

Truly a day of thanksgiving.

I'm about to re-invite everyone to the blog and once again make it a living, breathing chronicle of Peg's and our family's journey. It's a flower I won't forget to water. Stay tuned.