Richard is scheduled for surgery, so we are going to Disneyland!

We have continued on our roller coaster and it has led us to a new surgeon and facility. The surgery is scheduled for bright and early on the 22nd, and a this time it does appear to be a total removal of the stomach. Given that the recovery will be quite hard with the addition of radiation on top of chemo, we opted to go to So Cal for one last family adventure to Legoland and Disneyland (we decided this Monday night and are leaving Thursday morning!)
Richard has been feel really good and has continued to gain weight. We know that it is still an uphill battle with this, but we are up for the challenge.

We were able to continue our Easter tradition of a large Easter Egg Hunt/ Potluck. There were 12 dozen confetti eggs that were the highlight of the party.
Thank you for the continued prayers, encouragement and support.

the waiting game

So we are back in a holding pattern (boo). While waiting for more answers, we have come to some conclusions:
1- Oncologists are very optimistic and Surgeons are very pessimistic
2- Drs obviously have no idea what a conference call is or they wouldn't torture the patients so much
3- Richard's mom is pretty good at Wii Bowling
4- Richard seems to be the exception to most of the side effects of chemo. He has been able to go to work on a regular basis and even do a little work outside.
5- It is possible to meet the Family Maximum Deductible in 50 days

The PeT scan is scheduled for this Wed and we follow up with the Doc on the 30th to find out the results and to see what is the next step.

The pictures are just some random shots I wanted to share because I can!
This is Anna with the "Zonkey" at the Petting Farm

finally Bear and Isis are getting along

Yes, I've been slackin on the Blog updates

Sorry to those who are wondering what is going on, I'll try to be better :)
Last weekend, Richard was ok to stay home with Paul while I was with Anna at her dance competition (she got 2 gold medals!) I will admit was worried about how this last week was going to be since it is when the immune system is most suppressed, but we did ok. Just some fatigue and discomfort from the surgical sites, but no real issues with nausea. Yesterday we enjoyed a "family adventure" at the AZ Museum of Natural History looking at Dinosaurs. We were there for 2 hrs, and the kids really enjoyed being out with Dad.
Th next round of Chemo starts on the 8th and then the PeT scan will be scheduled.

A whole new look

before
One of Anna's biggest concern when we explained what was going on was that Richard would look "weird" if he lost his hair and we were hopeful that we wouldn't have to deal with that issue. Unfortunately, last week it started falling out. However, Richard came up with a great idea.... let Anna "help" him shave his head! It was a great idea since it allowed her to take part in the "change" and not be surprised by the new look. Paul even was watching and commented he wanted a haircut, but not at home, so yesterday I took him for his cut. We just happened to take a pic of Richard and Paul last week (pre-new-dos) so I snapped another tonight showing the difference.
after

a great week

sorry I haven't posted in a while, but things have been going great for Richard!
He has been going to work for a few hours each day, and today he got to do something that we honestly never thought would happen again, he donned his referee uniform and served as a 4th official! He is having no issues with eating real food (if you can call the Intel Cafeteria that) and has actually gained weight. I am in awe of how good he is doing. He even took the kids for the afternoon so I could get some rest (I am fighting a sinus infection). I have to believe that this is all due to the prayers and well wishes we have been blessed with!
The next round of chemo starts on Monday, and we are hopeful that he will continue to improve.

So far so good

Richard was discharged on Saturday and has been enjoying his freedom :) The chemo appears to have worked some because he is not using the feeding tube. We have to watch his weight closely and figure out what he can eat, but it is better than being hooked up. Yesterday we went to the Dr to schedule his chemo appointments as well as got better instructions on the does and don'ts. No major restrictions this week (Dr kept saying "just use common sense"), which is nice :)

finally some good news

it has been a crazy couple days! Richard's surgeon seems to have gone MIA and we couldn't seem to get any answers regarding when he could be discharged, so we finally had to become "those kind" of people and start bugging the staff for answers.... but it worked :) As of 5pm today, he is cleared to come home tomorrow as long as we get the home health care set up! We also got to surprise Anna with a short visit in the waiting area. It has 16 days since she has seen him so I took her after her performance tonight and both of them were all smiles.
Tomorrow will be more straightening up of the house (it is just amazing how quickly this place can explode!)