Thursday, January 7, 2016
A Wonderful Holiday
Greetings All! Happy New Year!
Sorry I haven't posted recently. I have been very busy researching GBM, arguing with my doctors, getting Radiation/Chemo treatments, walking, sleeping, and spending some great times with my family and friends.
I finished my 6 weeks of Rad/Chemo with the expected fatigue and more than expected residual hair. I switched my Neuro-oncology care from Abbott Northwestern (ANW) to Mayo because ANW was unwilling to entertain tests or treatments outside of the 'Standard of Care' for GBM (which I consider much too conservative for such an aggressive cancer). To my dismay, I found Mayo to have the same attitude, though the depth of the medical team is better and they have offered me an excellent Clinical Trial (CT). I am having blood drawn today to confirm my eligibility.
I have received such an outpouring of love and caring from family and friends this holiday season. All of my children, Mario, Matthew, and Maggie, visited at Thanksgiving and we did our traditional cutting of the Xmas tree. Pam & I made a short visit to Baltimore to see Maggie, Brian, and their new house; very nice. Maggie came to MN for Xmas and Pam and I flew to my Mom's in the SF Bay Area for New Years. Mom has a great house for entertaining and most of my siblings and their families came by as well as Mario and Matthew with his sweet girlfriend, Estrella!
I think it was a special holidays for all of us! There is nothing quite like a heightened awareness of our mortality to help us appreciate our times together!
I just recently tendered my resignation at Carleton College Mail Services. I had several 'incidents' recently where I had trouble communicating when I got overly tired or stressed. It became clear to me that I could no longer entertain the hope of returning to work. I will miss working with my students and all the wonderful faculty and staff that I have befriended during my four years there.
Thanks to all my family and friends for making this a memorable holiday season. Let's do it again next year!
Best,
Fred.
Sorry I haven't posted recently. I have been very busy researching GBM, arguing with my doctors, getting Radiation/Chemo treatments, walking, sleeping, and spending some great times with my family and friends.
I finished my 6 weeks of Rad/Chemo with the expected fatigue and more than expected residual hair. I switched my Neuro-oncology care from Abbott Northwestern (ANW) to Mayo because ANW was unwilling to entertain tests or treatments outside of the 'Standard of Care' for GBM (which I consider much too conservative for such an aggressive cancer). To my dismay, I found Mayo to have the same attitude, though the depth of the medical team is better and they have offered me an excellent Clinical Trial (CT). I am having blood drawn today to confirm my eligibility.
I have received such an outpouring of love and caring from family and friends this holiday season. All of my children, Mario, Matthew, and Maggie, visited at Thanksgiving and we did our traditional cutting of the Xmas tree. Pam & I made a short visit to Baltimore to see Maggie, Brian, and their new house; very nice. Maggie came to MN for Xmas and Pam and I flew to my Mom's in the SF Bay Area for New Years. Mom has a great house for entertaining and most of my siblings and their families came by as well as Mario and Matthew with his sweet girlfriend, Estrella!
I think it was a special holidays for all of us! There is nothing quite like a heightened awareness of our mortality to help us appreciate our times together!
I just recently tendered my resignation at Carleton College Mail Services. I had several 'incidents' recently where I had trouble communicating when I got overly tired or stressed. It became clear to me that I could no longer entertain the hope of returning to work. I will miss working with my students and all the wonderful faculty and staff that I have befriended during my four years there.
Thanks to all my family and friends for making this a memorable holiday season. Let's do it again next year!
Best,
Fred.
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