Stephanie (Mark's sister) is in Austin for two days. She lives and works in Yokosuka, Japan. A big excitement for Steph and Mom was seeing Sandra Bullock and her husband Jesse James and their son Jessie Jr. in the airport waiting for luggage. The next excitement was heading for Artz Rib House for baby back ribs and music. Art visited with us. He guessed that Sandra Bullock was in Austin for new Quentin Tarrantino film opening. Breakfast at Dan's Hamburgers on Lamar and a look at the tile wall being created by Jean Graham and the people of two Austin neighborhoods were the next adventures. Steph is squeezing in a lot of Austin things to do in a short time before heading to Chicago to present at an educator's conference.
Steph and Mark put a special homemade dry rub on a beef brisket and slow smoked it. Steph values this time with Mark, not knowing if he will survive cancer for two more days, two years, or twenty.
Steph's childhood friend, Kathy Lacey, from high school came up from the Woodlands in Houston and brought her mom, Norma, from Jacksonville, Illinois to eat brisket with us.Betty, Kathy, Stephanie, Mark, and Norma
Dave,Dorie, and Mark: friends who came for bar-b-que and a visit (Dave's birthday is April 17 and Mark's is April 20 )
March 23, 2007
Tell (Mark's Mom) Betty Lou
Tell (Mark's Mom) Betty Lou
HAPPY BIRTHDAY tomorrow or anytime in the next two weeks. She celebrates for a long time!!! And pass the address for this blog on to everyone you know; Mom loves to see the number counter and flag board change...!
(Stephanie, logged in as Mom)
Mom got a birthday cake surprise after a meeting of the staff from all shifts at the drug study clinic (CCRI) where she works part time. Even the subjects got cake (except for those in one study where the diet is tightly regulated). Bright and early on the 24th, 5 year old neighbor Jack was at the door with a great birthday card he had made. The birthday afternoon was spent at the Bob Bullock Museum volunteering to help children make a cartouche i.e. write their names in Egyptian hierglyphics, within an oval, using stamp pads with caracters for the letters.
Mark is resting for his trip to Thailand and he will be there for his birthday April 20th (3rd birthday since he was given 3 months to live. His arm where chemo medicine apparently leaked out into the tissues is much better. Pray that Mark is able to get to Thailand and back safely one more time. Mark got a hair cut after James threatened to mow it with a lawn mower and warned Mark that birds were going to nest in it any day.
Friend Frank reports he is recovering from surgery for similar esophogeal gastric tumor as Mark's - after chemo, radiation, then surgery removing part of his stomach and esophagus and some lymph nodes with anastamosis of the stomach and eophagus. This is a common approach to treating esophageal gastric tumors in major cancer treatment centers today. Frank says it takes a surprisingly long time to regain strength from the surgery, but that he is doing very well now. Mark had the chemo and radiation but not the surgery. Had Mark had insurance, he probably would have gotten surgery too.
Durrel (husband of Pam who taught with Stephanie in Japan) died of cancer at his home in Cloudcroft just days after leaving Houston where the medical centers could do no more for him. While teaching in Japan, Pam had gotten a dream assignment in Italy and she and her husband had moved there. Then Durrel was diagnosed with cancer in January of this year, returned to the states, was in Houston about a month, to Cloudcroft for days, then gone to a final resting place. Durrel will be missed; we were fortunate to have known him.
Keep praying for a cancer vaccine, preventative, and cure.
(Stephanie, logged in as Mom)
Mom got a birthday cake surprise after a meeting of the staff from all shifts at the drug study clinic (CCRI) where she works part time. Even the subjects got cake (except for those in one study where the diet is tightly regulated). Bright and early on the 24th, 5 year old neighbor Jack was at the door with a great birthday card he had made. The birthday afternoon was spent at the Bob Bullock Museum volunteering to help children make a cartouche i.e. write their names in Egyptian hierglyphics, within an oval, using stamp pads with caracters for the letters.
Mark is resting for his trip to Thailand and he will be there for his birthday April 20th (3rd birthday since he was given 3 months to live. His arm where chemo medicine apparently leaked out into the tissues is much better. Pray that Mark is able to get to Thailand and back safely one more time. Mark got a hair cut after James threatened to mow it with a lawn mower and warned Mark that birds were going to nest in it any day.
Friend Frank reports he is recovering from surgery for similar esophogeal gastric tumor as Mark's - after chemo, radiation, then surgery removing part of his stomach and esophagus and some lymph nodes with anastamosis of the stomach and eophagus. This is a common approach to treating esophageal gastric tumors in major cancer treatment centers today. Frank says it takes a surprisingly long time to regain strength from the surgery, but that he is doing very well now. Mark had the chemo and radiation but not the surgery. Had Mark had insurance, he probably would have gotten surgery too.
Durrel (husband of Pam who taught with Stephanie in Japan) died of cancer at his home in Cloudcroft just days after leaving Houston where the medical centers could do no more for him. While teaching in Japan, Pam had gotten a dream assignment in Italy and she and her husband had moved there. Then Durrel was diagnosed with cancer in January of this year, returned to the states, was in Houston about a month, to Cloudcroft for days, then gone to a final resting place. Durrel will be missed; we were fortunate to have known him.
Keep praying for a cancer vaccine, preventative, and cure.
1 comment:
Well, Miss Betty Lou, Happy Birthday! Nice to hear that someone lese likes to celebrate their birthday the way I do also. I love to make it for a whole month too. And ever since that horribly hot day in Terry Maldonado's back yard to celebrate Stephanie's and my birthday, I love to celebrate it with Mojito's every chance I get. But preferably inside where the air conditioner is running fullblast in September!!
Yes, Here's to Mark being able to spend his in Thailand!! And Yes, the surgery is extrememly exhaustogenerative. I just don't know what it is, but snytime you start cutting around the stomach, it instantly makes for major fatigue. We even saw that with the rats. ANd you can hardlykill a rat with surgery. But it would wipe their little hiney's out. THey would get so tired we would have to force them to drink water.
So what else have you got planned for this extended birthday? Let me know what a Free bird monster burrito is in Austin. I had a friend drive back from a teachers conference in Abilene and he drove thru Austin just to get one. Sounds like something that would guarantee a stomach ache to me.
All is well downhere. Dad passed his swallowing test for solids but flunked for liquids. So he can eat foods again but not wash them down. He's gained weight on the PEG-system when we can figure out the evel-spirits possessed pump. I think it's maybe part of the Parkinson's that Ithink he may have. We'll see. But he's sure enjoying that food, even if it's me that's cooking it.
Mark, let us know how the Petey guy is doing and how you're doing when you get to Thailand. Everybody take care. Love Ann. PS. My cousin's son is doing fabulously. He goes through real valleys of depression but then gets out of it somehow. He starts physical therapy this week, as they have finally closed his legs up and now he'll be able to do the testosterone thing with the guys who have already started and who can help him and give his crap. Soon he'll be doing the same. Poor kid, it will be harder than going through boot camp again.
Love to all.
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