Heavy hearted...

Many of you may have read other blog posts from me about my friend Eric who is suffering (and has been for 10 years) from Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Well, this afternoon I logged onto Facebook and saw an update from L.I.F.E with a link to a video titled "Eric's Confession Final".

I guess I should have followed my gut instinct and NOT watched it at work. And if you're going to click on that link, be sure you have a box of Kleenex. I couldn't even make it through the whole thing.

For those not willing to put yourself through that, the long and short of it is that Eric is terminal. So much so that they've begun hospice care for him at his parents' house. He's in agony and I can only hope that they can do anything to make his remaining time here as comfortable as they can.

You know, as if cancer isn't bad enough-eating away at your body and virtually sucking the life out of you-the treatments are just as bad. They ruin your appetite. You're unable to eat or keep anything down. You lose way more weight than is healthy. But then, when the cancer finally wins, it can't even let you go with any kind of mercy. It's almost always painful...and not just a little, either.

So we will shed our tears and mourn for someone who will be leaving this world far sooner than he should. But we need to soldier on for the cause. We need to keep fighting, even when Eric isn't physically here to lead the charge. He will be with us in spirit-cheering us on as we cheered him on during his long and courageous fight. We will keep fighting so that maybe, some day, someone won't have to suffer the same fate. Some day we will find a cure and in the meantime we keep finding ways to prolong the lives of people who are cursed with this terrible disease so that maybe they will live long enough to find a cure.

One of the items on Eric's Bucket List is for as many people as possible to sign up for the National Bone Marrow Registry. I've already done it, but I will continue to promote the cause, not just for Eric, but for the people who wouldn't live if it weren't for people like me, who aren't afraid to put themselves out there so that someone else can benefit.

Life is way too short. Never take it for granted. Tell your loved ones how much they mean to you everyday and live each moment like it could be your last because it very well could be.

Eric, you're an inspiration to a great many people. You're a true warrior who never accepted an answer you didn't want. When the doctors told you that you only had months to live you proved them all wrong. You became an exception rather than the rule. Those of us who will stay behind will share your story and you will truly never be forgotten. And hopefully your suffering will not have been for nothing. Someday everything you went through will pay off and we will find a cure for this awful disease.

We love you.

Be someone's hero-BeTheMatch @ www.marrow.org

I just got finished watching my friend Eric's latest blog entry. He is currently recovering from his THIRD stem cell transplant in order to finally be rid of his Leukemia. Long story short-he received his latest transplant from someone who registered through the bone marrow registry and at day +29, he's doing better than expected.

I think maybe this is what finally prompted me to do something I'd been considering for a while: become a registered donor. It's very simple! Go to http://www.marrow.org/ and join the site. You will answer a short health questionnaire and then they will send you a kit in the mail. Once you get that kit, all you do is swab the inside of your cheek with a q-tip, put it in a baggie, and send it back to them. They'll put your information into the system and-v'oila!-you become a potential donor! If  you're contacted as being a potential match, the procedure is no more difficult than donating blood. If you can donate blood, you can donate stem cells! You have the potential to save someone's life. Eric wouldn't have had a chance if it weren't for the generosity of his donor. I hope they get to meet someday.

I'm never able to donate blood because I'm either always anemic or pregnant when there's a blood drive. With the stem cell donation, you don't even lose any of your blood. They hook an IV to your arm. The blood flows out of your arm and into a machine that spins the stem cells out and then the blood is returned right back to you. It actually seems pretty neat. :)

So I'm encouraging all of you out there to consider becoming a donor. It's easy and you could save someone's life. Lots of people are out there that need a match and never get one. Be someone's match and sign up today!

What's on your mind?

A local radio station does this every Friday: Tell us what's on your mind. So I will! I've been feeling very bloggy lately, anyway. :)

• I just finished watching Eric's new blog post from his website. This is Stem Cell Transplant #3, Day +14 and it sounds as if everything is going well! The post itself was from Wednesday. As of then, he still had no white cells, but his platelets were coming up, which means it looks like the new stem cells have grafted! With any luck his white cells will come up soon and he'll be able to FINALLY get out of the hospital and into his new house! Such amazing news!
• Another young lady whom I have been following, Miss Scarlett, just had her every-three-month MRI to check for regrowth of her brain tumor. The scan went well and she is still IN THE CLEAR! More amazing news! For those who don't know Scarlett's story, check out the blog roll on the right. You can read all about her and her amazing parents.
• For those who don't know, my husband is a published author. I, personally, can't read much of what he writes because I'm a big fraidy cat and he writes horror. His latest accomplishment? He got published in a book of short stories! A BOOK! It's even on Amazon! OMG, I am a proud wife! He also has a blog where he has his other published works listed. You should check them out sometime.
• Another note about my husband, he is a USMC veteran with a bum knee. It's why he's currently in nursing school and not still working with me. Well, said bum knee has been operated on God knows how many times and is still not any better. So, we're going for another round of surgery on the 14th. I'm nervous as hell, not for the surgery, but for the recovery process. This is not a small surgery. Not to mention we have a 13-month old at home to take care of and I'm rather pregnant and I still have to go to work during the day. While he's on crutches it's going to be hard for him to take care of her so she'll be spending a lot of time with the grandparents which makes me really sad. I don't like when she spends tons of time away from home. I miss her too much. But at least he'll be off the crutches and mostly recovered by the time our son comes (hopefully!!). With any luck, he'll finally be healthy enough for everyday life! It's been a long struggle and we're really hoping that this is it.
• I can't wait to start really getting down to organizing the kids' room. There's a lot of Clara's things that need to get packed away, like the bumpers from her crib and some of the toys she doesn't play with anymore. I know I can keep some of the toys out for the little guy, but there are others that can get packed away for now-especially with Christmas coming up! I need to get the shelving system and bins that I want so I can get organized. I feel an overwhelming urge to be really neat and organized lately. Maybe that's why I put a label maker on my Christmas list (I'm such a nerd)!
• Speaking of Christmas: I have got to get some Christmas shopping done! I have a couple things for people, but am nowhere near finished! AND we'll be celebrating Christmas with my parents and my brother and his wife NEXT WEEKEND! I think we're getting our tree either this weekend or next. I can't wait to get that up and decorated! And my mother and I are going to a Christmas concert tonight.

Anyway, that's about it for now. It's Friday and work is slow, but I've got other things I can do like read a book. :)

Updates

Just to let everyone know, I'm still alive! Mama G was out of town the last week or so therefore we haven't had any Toddle Along Tuesday posts. I'm hoping we can get back to that soon!

I'm in the process of putting together my final Citizen's Academy post but I need to find some time to get the pictures off the disc at home so I can put it all together. I'm hoping I'll have some time Saturday morning.

Other than that, things are going well. We're preparing for the snow! We got what we hope to be the last of the leaves raked out of the front yard and the Halloween decorations put away. We still need to clean out the gutters and put up the Christmas lights. It's been really cold the last couple days. Hopefully this weekend or next we'll be able to get out and do that.

I've also started Christmas shopping! I'm working very hard to compile my lists, both for people to buy for and for my own Christmas lists.

I'm looking forward to next week! I only have 3 days of work and then a 4-day weekend for Thanksgiving. We'll be making the annual trip to Appleton to celebrate with my family. It'll be the first Thanksgiving with Clara actually being able to eat with everyone...which prompted us to realize we need some sort of compact travel-type high chair. We'll be getting a clamp-on one. They're small, fold up easily, and can be used for quite a while. I've also got a handy dandy coupon for 20% an item at Babies R Us so that helps, too. We'll be picking it up on Friday when we go to Green Bay for our elective ultrasound and our big movie date to see Breaking Dawn Part 1!! I'm going to be buying our tickets later today! I can't wait!

The only crappy thing is that I've somehow caught a cold. I'm hoping I caught it soon enough...I took some extra Vitamin C this morning and will be keeping up with the Tylenol Cold in order to not feel so run down and hopefully make a quick recovery. No one wants to have a stuffy nose for Thanksgiving!

Stay tuned for more updates later this week and hopefully my gigantic Citizen's Academy finale post!

P.S.
I want to give a shout out to my friend Eric and wish him a speedy recovery from his 3rd stem cell transplant, which he'll be finishing up today at Froedert Hospital. Here's a link to his latest article in the news. There's also a link to his blog located on the side of my page.

LIFE Blood Drive

For those of you who live around here or are friends with me on Facebook, you may have already seen this, however for those who aren't aware, here's the information.

A wonderful, brave young man by the name of Eric, at the ripe old age of 27, has recently relapsed with Acute Myelogenous Leukemia for the 5th time. He received the news a day or so after returning from his honeymoon with his beautiful (and super strong) wife, Cari. I encourage everyone to check out his homepage to read more about his incredible story and the wonderful support group this young couple has. A link to his page can be found to the right.

Anyway, to the point of my post. A blood drive is being held for LIFE in Two Rivers on the morning of August 20. I know many of you do not live around here, but for those who may be within an hour or so driving distance, I encourage you to sign up and donate!

Because Eric is facing the possibility of his 3rd stem cell transplant (and because you can help a lot of other people, too) you should also consider becoming a potential marrow donor. To learn more go to http://www.marrow.org/.

Good luck Eric! Everyone is fighting for you, even when you don't have the strength. We're all pulling for you and for Cari. She's the best!! Please let us know if you need anything (and where I can get a sticker for my car!!).

Oh so busy!

So I thought I'd take a moment and post an update. Not a whole lot is new, but there have been a few recent developments. I also wanted to post some new pictures of Clara.

These are her 11-week pictures. She's growing so fast! She's also socially smiling and laughing. Her favorite place to be silly is on her changing pad or on her playmat. She abhorrs tummy time so she ends up spending her "entertainment" time on her back on her playmat. She likes to bat the hanging toys around so they make noise. She has also become a big fan of standing on stuff: our laps, the floor, etc. At this rate she'll be walking before she crawls! She went to the doctor on January 3 for her 2 month appointment. It went really well. She weighed 13lbs 2 oz and was 24.5" long. She also got shots, but after the initial poke, she didn't seem too upset. She was done crying by the time we left the clinic. Her next visit is in March.

Adam has now started school. He almost has a full week in! So far so good, I guess. It's school afterall. I also start school next week. Looking at the calendars it's probably going to be a fairly easy semester, but that's ok since I have enough on my plate.

I went back to work as of the last time I posted. Now I'm working with my shift again. It's ok, but 12 hours is a long time to not be doing much. That won't change until I get totally signed off and certified. So then I'll be spending 12 hours doing a little bit more, but not a whole lot. At least it'll give me time to work on homework.

In the category of "not-so-good-news" we just recently found out that our friend Eric has relapsed with Leukemia for the 4th time. Luckily they caught it early and they've already started his treatment. For more information, see the website at the right: L.I.F.E. We wish him and his fiance Cari the best of luck and offer our support during this difficult time.

Speaking of websites on the right-hand side of the page, I've been following the blog of a couple of parents who found out their 2-month-old daughter had a brain tumor. They're beautiful Scarlett has since had 2 brain surgeries and is doing really well considering. Please, check out their blog, but be warned-it requires a lot of Kleenex! It's really touching and makes me really appreciative of every second I have with my healthy daughter (especially since they're so close in age).

That's about it for now. We've got 2 more workdays to get through and then we're going to Appleton to see Eli for the last time before he becomes a Daddy again. :) I'm so excited for them both! I can't wait to see pictures!!