A Sunny Getaway

Ok...I admit....the last 6 months have been a little mentally draining on Kim and I. :) (quite possibly could be the understatement of the year)

Kim and I had the opportunity to get away last weekend to Key West for a couple days at a Bed and Breakfast along with some time in the Sun! What a wonderfully relaxing trip! We accomplished EVERY ONE of our critical missions...

1. Sit in Sun by Pool/Beach with Book. CHECK!
2. Swim in Pool/Gulf to cool off as needed. CHECK!
3. Wander the island and shop for goofy Jimmy Buffett stuff and related swag. CHECK!
4. Relax. Relax. Relax. CHECK!
5. Forget about everything in the real world and BE NORMAL for a little while and enjoy each other for a few days. CHECK!

To kick off the trip, Kim and I met with Dr. Crute (my amazing surgeon) on Wed afternoon before we left. She reviewed the latest MRI from May. She was incredibly happy with the results! We then spent the next hour celebrating, laughing, and talking about good things! Dr. Crute has an amazing talent in helping us put everything in perspective. We both look forward to our visits with her. They truly brighten our day!

With Every passing day, I appreciate more and more the time that I have. I am ALIVE and Kicking and LIVING every minute! I know I sound like a broken record, but it is amazing how my outlook changes and improves every day. I find myself being alot more sentimental, and smiling for no reason other than I am just truly happy! Anger is an emotion that rarely pops its head. I love looking back at good things, and I am also looking forward further and further ahead!

I promised at the start of this blog to share my thoughts and feelings during this journey. Believe it or not, the dominant feeling I have is happiness. Happy to be alive, happy to be working, happy to have the friends and family that I do, and Happy to have been able to have had this last weekend to spend with my wife. And most of all, happy to think of the good things yet to come!

PEACE OUT!

6 Months Later...

Next Friday, June 27th will mark 6 months since my diagnosis with a Brain Tumor. With a little help from the best surgeon in the world, along with the support of my family, and my awesome support group led by my friend Marky P, and my wife, Kim who helped prop it all up, I am still here! Alive and Kicking and feeling better than ever.

I don't believe in looking backward except to celebrate, so this little trip back over the last six months is my way of celebrating each of you who in your own way helped me become what I am today... A CANCER SURVIVOR...

When I think back, I still smile and get a little emotional thinking about...

1. Opening my eyes after 12 hours of surgery to my wife's smile.
2. Lyle bringing Jimmy Johns to the crowd waiting during my surgery...
3. the "Livestrong" bracelets that Kev & Deb left for me while I was sleeping
4. The books that were sent to me by my dear friends... Gene, Beth, and Jeff - that helped build the fight in me.
5. Lyle calling Swan...enough said.
6. The drives to Madison with Swan, Lyle, Mom, and the snowy ones with Kim....ie SNOW DAYS!
7. Using this Blog to say what I have wanted to say for years to my Dad and explain to him that what he has done for me means so much to me and how much I love him.
8. Becoming closer to my Mom than I have ever been, and the Laughter that we shared that has helped me heal. :)
9. Watching Jeff keep our business up and running during my downtime...
10. Seeing my friend create one of the most special nights I have ever had (See "a night to remember, and night I will never forget) Gene put it best...Mark P you are an angel sent from heaven to us all! I think of the vision of walking in the room at Cliffbreakers and seeing 50 people from throughout my life there to wish me well...every day!!!
11. The wonderful techs at UW Madison who managed my Radiation Schedule
12. Getting the opportunity to see how I have touched people throughout my professional life through their own words. I am still so moved by MJ Wilcox and his words that I review them often.
12. To my AMAZING Surgeon - Dr. Crute who saved my life and who I can't wait to see on Wed to show her the great results of my 2nd post radiation MRI!!!

There are many more things that I could celebrate...for more detail...read back in this documentary of my journey...I am doing all that I can to ensure I leave nothing unsaid.

Thank you once again to everyone...continue to SHARE HOPE! It works!

Peace Out!

New Source of Strength

Just a short post to let you know that I am feeling absolutely fabulous! I am exercising several times a week and I truly feel as good as ever!

Wanted to share something that has become another source of strength for me. I only found this source a few days ago, but it has had a huge impact on me!

David M. Bailey is a Brain Tumor Survivor of 12+ years now, a singer/songwriter, and someone who has been coined "The Hope Guy". I met him at the American Brain Tumor Assoc. conference, but didn't really look him up until earlier this week. His music and lyrics are inspiring.

I am including two You Tube links of 2 different songs that represent me the most. Can you figure out which one represents me the most? :)

The Links are safe and tested. Please enjoy and let me know what you think. You may or may not like the music, but listen to the words. It truly has me inspired me....NOT TO SING...YOU DON'T WANT THAT, but Hope Does Run ETERNAL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiV0SsKVUbk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhtHtURCIFs

Check out his site http://www.davidmbailey.com/ for his bio and more about his music.

Please do tell me what you think. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

MRI Results...

Radiologist Impression of TALBOTT MRI as of 5/27/08:

1. Stable postoperative changes without evidence of recurrent or residual tumor surrounding the right temporal resection cavity.

ENGLISH TRANSLATION....MY MRI IS CLEAN AS A WHISTLE!!! No Tumor reoccurrence!

Another major landmark passes! Next major landmarks, 1 year, 2 year, and 5 year!

So for those of you watching at home that puts the score at...

The Greatest Surgeon in the World, a few more of Dem Smart Docs, and all the thoughts and prayers from the Talbott Support Group - 2
Stupid Brain Cancer Cells - 0

We are still in the first period, but we are KICKING ITS ASS! :)

(we just have to keep our head up cause we know the big C (cancer) doesn't play fair and will throw a cheap shot to anyone getting too cocky)

==========================================

Ok, so if you were having trouble and can't figure out my language above, Kim and I went to Madison bright and early this morning for a 6:45am MRI followed by my normal blood test and a meeting with Dr. Ian.

The results were outstanding! No recurrence of the tumor, and stability with the "secondary" area of focus! That is the exact thing we wanted to hear! Dr. Ian explained that we passed another major landmark with this MRI. The stats are really good for people who do this well at this point. The next major landmark is 1 year, then 2 years, then 5 years.

I am still doing the Oral Chemo (Temodar) 5 days out of every 28 days. We will continue that for probably another 9 cycles. I am responding well and we want to keep it up!! I will keep getting MRIs every 2 months throughout this first year. The goal is to keep up at the same pace! NO RECURRENCE, STABILITY with the other Secondary Focus. I would be ok if we said that every 2 months for the next 50 years---cause the more they keep saying it, the more I get to keep chugging!

So, if I sound "HIGH ON LIFE", it's because I am...ALIVE and loving every minute!

Thank you all again for you thoughts and prayers. I am living proof that they are working!

PEACE OUT!

Sharing Hope

This weekend Kim and I attended an American Brain Tumor Association Patient event in Chicago. The event was called Sharing Hope..for 35 Years. It was held all day Saturday, so Kim went in Friday night to keep from having to get up at the crack of dawn.

The first breakout session at this conference was a meet and greet in which they broke the participants in 2 groups...those in treatment and those after treatment.

Kim and I obviously went to the in treatment session. The room had about 40-50 people, patients and caregiver/support person.

Each person was given the mike to introduce themselves and tell a little bit about themselves and their story. The purpose was for people to be able to connect later throughout the day with people of similar interests. Needless to say, it was a pretty amazing and emotional hour.

The first person to speak was probably in his mid 40's, and he has had a Glioblastoma (what I have) for 21 years!! He has tried alot of the medications and treatments over the years and is currently doing Temodar, which is what I am doing. He has had 8 reoccurrences and surgeries over the years, and his advice to everyone was to keep humor in your life! WOW!

We continued around the room some people celebrating one year, 2 years or more, having dealt with reoccurences and multiple rounds of treatment.

One 23 year old kid told his story of having a GBM removed and going through treatment. Treatment seems to be going well, and he is looking forward to living out one of his dreams of doing a triathalon this summer.

The one thing other than Brain Tumors that each and every person in that room had in common was HOPE. It was pretty neat to see that many people in the same room in the same situation.

We went from that session right into the general session which combined both groups and equaled around 150-200 people. The general session was comprised of a series of speakers on topics from treatments, after treatment care, "The New Normal", to Diet, and a Q&A session. It was very informative and I especially appreciated the session on "The New Normal". It was aptly named and reinforced alot for me.

It doesn't take long to cheer yourself up at an event like this. Everyone around is so full of life and hope.

I am so happy that I went to this event. It gave me even more reason to continue on my path and continue to LIVE AND LAUGH!! HOPE is a pretty beautiful word!

For some pretty amazing stories about people with Brain Tumors who chose LIFE... Check out this page from the American Brain Tumor Assoc. Site... http://hope.abta.org/sharinghopestories

I would advise Kleenex or Puffs. :) But Tears are Cleansing Right? :)

PEACE OUT!

Mother's Day

With Mother's Day's happening yesterday, I thought I would spend a little time on this subject as it relates to my mother and her impact on me.

My mother has endured a pretty amazing emotional roller coaster ride in the last several months...From the depths of despair & shock, as I call her from the ER and say "Oh by the way, I am at the Hospital...they say I have a Tumor, to the Fear of my surgery and eventual diagnosis, to our current reality....Lots of Laughter! So, I think it is only fair to spend a little time on this special person in my life.

When I said our current reality....Lots of Laughter, I figure I better explain. One of the positive outcomes of my whole recovery process is that my Mom and I talk about every other day. Inevitably we start talking about something that just gets us laughing! My mom and I laughing can be a pretty infectious environment and it always brightens my day.

The latest topic is a computer that I attempted to build for her. After a series of issues, my mom has the partially built PC. Now is where the Keystone cops routine comes in. Several weeks later and several hundred $ later, my mom has a pile PC parts and the local Computers for Schools group has the rest. I think my mom and I could have created a movie short called "The Keystone PC Hacks try to build a computer"

Laughter aside, my mom and I have always had a special relationship. When I think back over the years, it is always the fun things that I remember. Like my mom coming to Iowa State Univ and my Fraternity when I was a Freshman for Mom's weekend. The laughter was really out of control after she got hammered on 2 glasses of wine and started telling stories about me to my Pledge Dad and his Mother. It took me a year to live that one down. :) The second best part of that weekend was she took me grocery shopping!!! For a freshman at college, that was huge...and she used her "hidden cash" to buy it, so Dad wouldn't find out. (OOPS Sorry for outing you Mom...Dad should forgive....it was 20 years ago.)

Its little things like that I think of when i think of my Mom. Memories like these and other little things like the fact that if I have ever been hurt or anywhere near a hospital, she has been there! And no matter what the situation, the two of us can find something to laugh about. I guess that's where I learned to grasp at the "Good Stuff" all the time.

So this is my tribute to my mom on Mother's Day. (A day late and a dollar short as usual)
Mom - Happy Mother's Day, I love you, and thanks for always keeping me laughing!

Hanging onto the "good stuff" continued

To follow up on my last post, I have compiled some "good stuff" to share.

First, I want to thank all of you that donated to Kim and I on our MS Walk 2008. We had a great time, Kim was able to see some of the resources available to her. Kim's Mom, sister, nieces, and nephew joined us on the walk. We had a great day hanging out and walking at the Arboretum in Rockford. It was a gorgeous day! Here is a pic of Kim and her walking team. I am there, just behind the camera. :)

So I think this event will definitely become an annual event for us. Next year, we will build a team and build it up. Thanks Steph, Brytt, Lori, Greta, and Jesse for coming out and joining us and thank you again to all of you who donated. We really appreciated it.

So, while I was enjoying the "good stuff" yesterday, I started thinking about some other good stuff, one of my friends that was at my party sent me some of the pics he took. So in honor of celebrating the good stuff in life, I wanted to share these pics from the party...

Now this is true Laughter...laughter that only comes from the heart! Mark and I sharing some "good stuff"

Another form of happiness. Tears of Joy, Mark and I reminicing, and my wife showing tears of happiness for all the love and support she is seeing for me. She is showing exactly what I was feeling at that moment. I get choked up now just seeing this picture. My rock for the three months of surgery and treatment and the head of my support team let some of their happiness tears show. It makes my heart happy to know how happy they are right there. Tears are cleansing right? (Kim-I know you don't like this picture, but I love you and wanted everyone to see another reason why.)

Kim and I, and darling Miss Ava...Who is not really sure what to make of all the good stuff she is seeing, nor having Uncle Teeb take her away from Mommy.

A bunch of wanna be poker playas enjoying the good stuff!

Thank you all that came to this event. It brings tears of joy to my eyes just remembering! I promise to post more pictures as I get them.

Don't forget to focus on the GOOD STUFF!! Life is alot more fun that way.

PEACE OUT!!