Not A Baby Any Longer

My son's birthday is today. My youngest child of four. My baby is no longer a baby. He turned 20 today. A big turning point as far as age goes. No longer a teenager, but not a "real" adult yet. It wasn't too long ago we didn't know if he would see 20. Now four and a half years later the Hodgkins has been in remission for over three years, and the longer it remains there the less chance it has of rearing it's ugly head again.

I am proud and thankful for all my children, and I don't have a favorite child. Each one has a special place in my heart and with each one, our relationship is different. Adam has a special place, because he is the baby. Kind of like the last part of my own youth.  He ws born at a time in my life where I was moving from one chapter of my life to another. I divorced his mother when he was three and came out shortly thereafter. Now again, his turning twenty marks a turning point for both of us. Him from a teenager into adulthood, and me as a single gay man, living by myself for the first time in my life.  We both are going to experience things we've not experienced before and we both will have struggles as we make our path on our new journey. Regardless of what lies ahead for either of us, I know and he knows that we have each other. I'm Dad and I will be there for him whenever he needs me, and he is my baby and as always brings joy to my heart, and if I need him all I need to do is let him know and he will be here. But, regardless of what he says, he will ALWAYS be my baby.

Celebration!

A lot of great things are happening this next month, and the good news has already begun.  My son Adam had his last radiation treatment on Wednesday and from the preliminary tests it looks like good news!!  We will know more when he has all of his scans, blood work and such later in June but for now he is hospital and chemo/radiation free!!  God is great, and thank all of you for your prayers!

Also next Friday my son Jordan will graduate from High School.  I am so proud of his accomplishments.  He has had a rough time in school, due to his, Asperger's Syndrome but he has stayed in there and worked through it and now will be graduating and is even looking forward to starting college in the fall at Miami University!!  WAY TO GO JORDAN.  Dad is really proud of you 

So as May ends and June begins it looks as though this is going to be a great summer.  We have more graduations, birthdays, anniversaries and new babies coming this summer, so let the celebrations begin!!

Long Week...

It's been a very long week. Monday was a holiday, so that was a plus, thanks to Martin Luther King! But from that point on this week has seemed to have flown by. Tuesday we moved into our new office at work. It is very nice and accommodating, and has all the amenities one would need for a safe, pleasant and enjoyable work experience. At least it will have once all the kinks have been worked out. With a move of that magnitude there were some issues. Mostly electrical and to do with our IT Department. Overall they have done a tremendous job, it's just somewhat unsettling this week at work.

Thursday Adam had to be admitted back into the hospital for his third session of chemo, and that was an ALL day extravaganza. See his blog for his current status. Friday night I stayed all night at the hospital with him, and yesterday was a half work day, and then home. It really seems like home has not been a place where I have spent much time this past week.

We did receive some good new this week. Adam was selected for the Make-a-Wish foundation and he gets to make a wish, and it is granted. Well besides a car, he already asked and they don't give those as gifts. He is currently looking at a possible Hawaii vacation for himself, his mother, stepfather, myself, Dan and his brother J2. Once his treatments are completed he will make the decision and finalization will be made. We are looking to the future and this makes it a little brighter for all of us, especially Adam.

2009 Update

I know it has been a month since my last real post, however with Adam's diagnosis and hospital visits, the holidays and moving, time has just not allowed me to post as much as I would like. So for a quick update...

ADAM: He is doing very well. He has had two sessions of chemo already and is tolerating them extremely well. The tumors have already went down considerably. At least the ones we can see, the ones in the lung we are not sure of yet. A pet scan is going to be done on the 12th of January and once we get the results we will know if the chemo is doing what it is supposed to be doing. You can follow his journey with Hodgkins at his blog ADAM'S JOURNEY

HOLIDAYS: The same as last year only we are all another year older. Actually Christmas was very nice and it was good to have all the family together again. My daughter came down from Columbus on Christmas Eve, so all four of my kids were here as were my grand kids. It was very nice. DJ and i did not exchange gifts this year, however we did buy some new rings for one another. they are titanium carbide, and look very nice with one single diamond in the center. This is the first time in the almost 9 years we have been together that we have really nice rings.
New Years was uneventful, well not really, but i can not share right now. I will let you know in a few days what the "secret" is. We had a little get together New Years Eve with DJ's family, which is always nice. I enjoy his family and the bond they seem to have. It is good to bring in the new year with them.

MOVING: Yes, we have moved again. Just down the street into a two bedroom apartment. With Adam spending more and more time with us, I felt it was time to get him and J2 their own room to share when they are here. The place is very nice and has not only two bedrooms but two baths as well! That is almost a necessity with four "almost" men in the house.

The Last Month of '08

Here it is already December. The year will soon be coming to an end. A lot has transpired this year, and it seems as though the last week has been a year in itself.

Adam is doing well, and tests are still being done to give the doctors a baseline before starting his chemotherapy. We did receive the results back from his bone marrow tests, and they were negative, so this is good. If you want to read more you can read about his journey on his blog, Adam's Journey. A link can be found over on the right.

DJ will be leaving for Lima, Ohio for two weeks to open a new store. It is only two hours away, so if need be he can be home relatively quick. I was somewhat apprehensive at first about him leaving, but with all the time I have been staying at the hospital, it will be good for him to go and work to keep his mind off of the issues here at home with Adam. I will miss him, but AI am sure we will talk every night and two or three times during the day.

I will also be going back to work myself in a few days. I'm not looking forward to it, but I need to get back for my own sanity as well as for my company. They are very good to me and I want to make sure that I continue to put my best foot forward during this time as well to let them know how much I appreciate their generosity.

So as 2008 comes to a close, this last month holds a lot of unknowns. But as always I will get through them, just one day at a time.

Thanksgiving 08

Our family has a lot to be thankful for, however this year has brought that to an even more vivid reality. We all received a reality check on Tuesday, November 25, 2008. Only four days ago, yet it seems like weeks already. My youngest son, who I have referred to as AT on the blog was diagnosed with Stage IV Hodgkin's Disease. It all began the day before, on Monday when his mother took him to the pediatrician because of a swollen gland in his neck that seemed to get worse instead of better, After some blood work and X-rays, he called them at home and asked them to come back to the office as he needed to talk to them.

The x-ray showed another mass on his chest and the one in his neck was actually three. He recommended that Adam be taken to the Children's Medical center in downtown Cincinnati as soon as possible. So we were on our way.

Tests, CT-Scans, blood tests, more x-rays, more blood tests confirmed our fears. He was going to be in the hospital for quite some time, and more tests were scheduled, and more "spots" were found, this time on his right lung.

The hospital did allow Adam to go home for a few hours on Thanksgiving to enjoy the day with family, but he had to return on Friday for more tests to give the doctors a better idea on how to treat the disease.

Hodgkin's is a caner of the lymph nodes that can travel throughout the body through the lymphatic system. It can spread quickly and hit anywhere in the body. A bone marrow test was completed yesterday and we will receive the results from that on Monday, to determine if it has entered into the bone marrow and how to treat the disease.

Fortunately the disease has been contained in the upper torso area and no other major organs have been effected. The plan is to hit it fast and hard, and by late next week Adam should be undergoing his first session of chemotherapy. The doctors here are great, and the staff is wonderful. Adam seems to be handling the news better than what his mother and I have been. The doctors are saying there is an 80-85% success rate with this form of cancer, and great strides have been made in the treatment. His diagnosis was not what we wanted to hear, however the prognosis is good and we will stay strong and win this battle. You can read about his journey at his blog Adam's Journey.

Where Have You Been!?

Are you asking that? I know it's been way too long since I last posted, but to be honest I haven't had much to post about. I know just anything works, anything I say you will read and enjoy, right? I know better. So I try to post interesting happenings in my life. But when nothing interesting happens, well it's kind of boring. It's okay to think that my life is boring, I do all the time. So where have I been, you ask? (I know you really didn't, just go with me here, okay?)

Well, the end of the month of April, DJ and I travelled 2 hours north to Columbus and spent a couple nights with my daughter the princess and her little princesses. Quite an eye opening experience. I forgot how much it takes to take care of two little ones. Hats off to my daughter! How she does it is beyond me. Maybe it was all that training she had helping take care of her two little brothers. We had an enjoyable visit, and was able to bond a little with Alana. She is getting so big. Alyssa slept most of the time, but that is what two month olds normally do. We went to the Columbus Zoo while we were there. A very nice Zoo, I enjoyed the openness that it had. You felt you were right there with the animals.

Due to the soaring gas prices it will probably be a while before we make another trip to anywhere though! They hit $3.79 a gallon this week. Luckily I filled up the day before when it was still only $3.49 a gallon, which still cost me almost $50.00 to fill my tank! Incredible. I remember the 1970's during the gas wars, remember those??? We thought gas was high then. They are saying it will be over $4.00 a gallon by summer. I believe it!

Well that's all for now. I am not going to make any promises about blogging more, but I will try, but until then ...well just go back to what you were doing.

Gotta Love It!

This will brighten your day!

Fishy Smell

Another weekend update for those of you that care to read my blog. I had my boys J2 and AT again this weekend, and I think they had a good time. DJ took them fishing on Saturday while I worked. Now I don't care for fishing, so I thank God for DJ who likes to do things like that, because my boys enjoy it. So at least they have someone that they can go fishing with now. The fish are still sitting out on our patio in a cooler, rotting. But at least they had fun fishing. I have a picture of Jordan with his big catch of the day. I bet he about shit his pants when he pulled that damn thing out of the lake. DJ said he wished he would have gotten a picture of his face when he pulled it out. Of course I had to deal with the fishy smell the rest of the weekend.

I watched Family Stone last night with DJ, and we were both quite surprised. We were not expecting such a good movie, but it was really good. Diane Keaton as always gave a great performance. It is one I am sure we will watch over and over again. DJ had tears in his eyes as the credits were rolling. Well I had tears too but that is normal for me, I cry at Bambi and stupid movies like Lord of the Rings. DJ hardly ever gets emotional while watching pictures. Good thing Silver wasn't watching it with us, we would have to mop up the floor afterwards. But seriously it was a great movie.

Sunday morning DJ got up and made his great breakfast. I am a lucky man, he can cook!! It was wonderful, then we spent the day cleaning and doing laundry. Now it is back to the mental ward tomorrow, I just pray that this week will be as calm as last week.

That is it for the weekend update, see you alter in the week.

My Baby

My baby turns 12 today. The youngest of my four children is now in total puberty and heading into his teen years. Birthdays are something that I used to enjoy, but now as my kids are all almost grown I try not to think about them.

AT has always been the strong one. Even as a toddler he had a strong disposition and personality. Now that he is older, he still has those qualities. He doesn't follow the crowd, and has his very own strong opinions. I wonder where he gets that from?

I love ya, AT.
You make Dad very proud.
Happy Birthday!