Hello Everyone!
John Here. July in Ojai and it is hot. We have sent William off on his own via a plane to Colorado. He is attending the Shambhala Summer Sun Camp for the second year in a row. He loves it. All kids all week hi up in the Rockies. Google the camp name for more info. We will be meeting him with uncle Bill Fellows (where he now lives), who met him at the plane in Denver.
Grace is off to Horse and swim camp every day for the last couple of weeks. She plays with her friends, works on an Art project and rides a horse or bicylcle. She comes back with glowing accounts each day. Lacy has been having summer playdates with friends from Oak Grove School (google it in Ojai for a view of what the place is about). We are there primarily because my colleague whom Lacy has known since the night of his birth is the director of the Early Childhood program there. Lacy and Grace are also having a graet time playing you-name-it in our yard. Today they built "Rolly Polly City, a place in our sand box a world at the scale of sow bugs. Lacy has also been enjoying afternoons with Meredith, a tween-age babysitter who was his big buddy at Oak Grove this year. She is devoted to him and undivided attention is what he needs.
Martha is doing awesome work in Real Estate at Prudential. She and her partner have put together a sharp, professional look and an impressive set of listing, the lastest is a castle overlooking our beautiful valley for a cool 1.5+ million. Know a buyer? Martha has been enjoying her down time in the practice of medetation and the study of the Dharma (teachings of Buddha), evening Art classes and has taken up the flute again after a year's haitus. I continue to stay home and be as loving and supportive as I can manage with the ins and outs of my therapy.. I am currently taking Gemcitabine by IV. I take an infusion two weeks in a row and then take the third week off to bounce back. Ican feel quite sick with days in bed or sometimes I can be quite functional. Daily I take Tarceva. This is a fairly new thing to be applied to GI Cancers. It is called an Epidural Growth Factor inhibitor. It is no a cyto toxic agent as is the Gemcitibine which just kills cells its only guide being to go for fast growing cells. Tarceva goes after the leading edge of growth in cells throughout he body. One side affect is terrible acne. My face was so crusted over that I could not smile with it cracking the crust ( oh!cracking a smile- just thought of it!). I have been doing this plan for about two months now. The news is good. It is holding my numbers steady. Doc Keven Chang says this is a good place to be after this log on chemo. The combo is light enough to keep me intherapy and gentle enough to give my body some "rest". Rest is quite an interesting description from my Vantage point. I continue to manage the transdermal pain patches which make me loopy and give me difficult mood swings. I feel that my pain level can be managed at a lower dose. So in consult with a pain specialist I am titrating down as quicly as I can so that I can feel more grounded.
The end of July means a family reunion for the family of Katie StClair Fellows (Martha's mom) at the cabin in Mack's Inn, Idaho. The cabin has been a tradition since it came into the family around the turn of the century, last. Located 20 miles south of Yellowstone Park on Hiway 20(?) in the Island Park area it is a natural wonderland. The kids cant wait to go and add to memories of past summers and trips during the snow.
More news another day...
Love to you all
John Shiffflette