Blessed Christmas!

Gracie in the tree, about a foot from the top of it. Oh boy!

I had my 7th out of 8 Chemo treatments yesterday. My white counts were higher than they have ever been. So we are doing something right. Yeah! Other than that nothing new to report on that front except that I ONLY HAVE ONE MORE CHEMO LEFT! Hooooooray!

The best thing about this Christmas is that we got to sleep in our house last night. No we are not totally moved in and it is not totally done, but it sure was comfortable and great to wake up in this Christmas morning. We even brought Gracie over for the event.

Christmas kind of snuck up on us this year, so we actually wrapped most of our presents Christmas morning. This is the mess we made just wrapping.

Then we promtly opened ours. Matt's making the dog face of the wall mounted bottle opener that he got.

I got some great smelling soap. Thanks Lani.

Kealii opening his tool box.

Some awesome plants in a box that Matt got me. He He.

Then we spent the rest of the day, hanging out in the house doing little projects in between friends stopping by. It was great.

Merry Christmas! I hope your day was filled with joy and family.
Peace,MEA

Mele Kalikimaka!

Cat vs. Bird - an epic tail

(This is not Gracie. My friend Theresa sent me these photos. Thanks T. They have provided me with hours of entertainment. It just seemed like there was a story to be told. So here it goes...)

Cat: Ah HA! We meet again, Bird.

Bird: Oh, Hello...Cat.

Cat: Don't try to ignore me, Bird. [poke. poke] I am here to settle this. Once and for all!

Bird: Fine, let me just finish this call.

Cat: No you don't! There will be no phone calls to your Big Bird friends. This is between You and ME. Mano y Mano, or Claw to Paw if you like.

Cat: First you see me with my left, then...

Cat: Wait! What? How did you get there? What do you think you are doing to me?
Bird: Why do you think they call the ancient martial art discipline "the crane"? (Aside) They really should have called it "the Parakeet" - I taught that stupid crane everything he knew.

Bird: Now I shall deliver my final blow - the parakeet death beak!

Bird: Ahhh, another cat who was no match for my unflappable powers.

Bird: I must secure this cat, but first - where did I drop my dang keys?

Bird: [With a mouth full of fur, dragging cat] Just...a....few...more...claws....almost there...

[Later] Cat: You may have beat me this time Bird, but I will not rest until I die. If it is the last thing I do...blah, blah, blah...

Bird: For all you cats out there. Let this be a lesson to you. Never pick a fight with a parakeet, and just say no to catnip.

(No animals were harmed in the making of this photo story.)

Peace, MEA

# 6 down (finally) - 2 more to go.

Going to work with the Hair Hat - usually can't make it a full day before I rip it off. ;)

It seems like I have been saying I have only 3 treatments left for 10 months ( yes, a bit of an exaggeration). Not any more. I am offically 3/4 of the way done with Chemo. Two more treatments left. One the day before Christmas and then Jan. 8. My little brother said it perfectly. He said "the honeymoon is over". I really think he is right (just this once, and don't tell him if you see him, I don't think he really reads this regularly anyway. :)) At first it was an adventure. Had to figure out what the plan was and then how it all really worked an played out in my life. Then there were all the blessings I was given daily - it was amazing. Now I know the plan, how it works and I am trying to plod through the remander of it. Nothing seems really exciting and new - no new tests (except I got my pulmanary function back this week and it was better than my last one. Which was good, but my second one was worse than my first. Is this a logical thinking problem? Sorry.)


My doctor has made it standard operating procedure to give me the shot after every treatment now to help increase my white blood counts. I'm ok with it. It works, keeps me on schedule, and my side effects are very tolerable. So why not.


This weekend is the Honolulu Marathon. Katie and Jesse get in today, along with a bunch of people I used to work with at The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. It is going to be a fabulous weekend. As long as the storm clears by Sunday at the very least.


Also this weekend, we are sanding the floors at the Palolo house. Yay! I can't wait to put the dark stain on them and see how it all turns out. I have to figure out how to stain two different kinds of wood (the upstair vs the downstairs) and try to get them as close as possible to the same color. Should be interesting. I tried to do a walking tour of the house, but the video was too large. Hopefully this weekend I will be able to do it again, but with multiple videos, or less words. I bet I know what you would like?


Hope this finds you well.


Please keep praying for us - peace, harmony, and health. This is a stressful time for us with my cancer stuff, wanting to be in the house before Christmas, and changes to my job.


Not to mention still going bald - but for that pray for humor, because I would rather have people laugh than cry or pity me. I am still healthy looking all but for my hair. And as Kathy says, I am better now than what I was, even without the hair. The tumors are shrinking and I am healing, not getting sicker. Plus I have a chance for my hair to come back thicker and curlier, and please please without gray. So it is crappy to go through, but as with most things God takes us through, there is something better once we get over ourselves, give it up to Him and get out of the way. I can't wait to see how God is going to rock this!
Peace, MEA

Helloooooo...

The amazing turkey and its cook, Amy. Ta da!

Has it really been almost 2 weeks since I have written. I will make the recap short and sweet.

Chemo:

Had my 5th treatment on November 26th after some deliberation. My white counts were still low, even after putting it off a week. But they decided to go ahead anyway. I have been fine since. No new reactions.

Other good news is that after my 4th treatment I had a CAT scan to see how the "masses" were reacting. One has shrunk 50%, and the other 80%. I think that is great.

Jim & Kathy's visit:
So awesome to have them here, as usual. We packed tons of stuff into the 9 days they were here, and of course they worked like crazy on the house.
-Kathy's Birthday we went to Bolt in 3D. I absolutely loved it - the hamster stole the show.

Kathy and Matt with Kathy's Bday gift.

(Why is it that as a Neal no matter what the gift is, you have to put it on your head? Even when it is a pillow cover.)

-Christmas Shopping in Waikiki

-Thanksgiving was at the Palolo house. Traditionally in Hawaii, since so many people are here and their family is not, you invite who ever you talk to that doesn't have a place to go. We ended up with 18 people stopping by during the course of the evening. Looking back it was crazy, but really great. I didn't get a shot of everyone, but here's various moments during the day.

Peace,MEA

No Chemo

Headed for the end of treatment, slow and not so steady...

I was originally scheduled for chemo on November 20. White counts were too low. I don't feel any more tired or sick when my counts are low. Actually I was really surprised when the doc told me. So now I am rescheduled for November 26. All my chemo dates have changed again. (I have updated the dates on the side bar.)

I am trying not to be upset or annoyed, since last time this happened it totally worked out for the better. I think the annoyance part comes more from the change in "the plan" than being upset about the white counts. I mean really, I have to change all the dates in my palm and on my calendar, I have let work know about the date changes, etc, etc. What a pain! Again, I am trying to remember it will all work out for the better.

Matt's folks are here to help with the house and hang out for Thanksgiving. The way things happen when they're around, we may just be in the house by next weekend.

Have a very happy Thanksgiving.

Peace, MEA

Sealed Your Fate

Back by popular demand...
The People have spoken - more people like the Gracie videos than not.
Yea!!!!!
I must keep the masses happy!

Peace, MEA

Judy's Wild Adventures in Paradise

Mom's visit was great.

After a crazy flight here (she went back and forth between Seattle and Portland a number of times before finally setting out over the Pacific for Hawaii), I finally got to pick her up around 9pm.

It was just her and I for 10 days straight. She unfortunately missed Matt entirely, yet she baked cookies for him everyday, so if he did happen to make it home that he would have warm cookies.

Luckily she liked Gracie, and Gracie loved her. They were practically inseperable while she was her. Go figure - I feed her every day, yet she wants to sleep and snuggle with my mom.

Mom also got to meet my oncology nurse, Patty, when I had to go get my white blood cells checked after the shot. Patty said she thought mom was great even though mom is a republican nurse.

We went to the beach, where we laughed and laughed at the weightlessness and pull of the water.

I got her to dress up as a hippy with me for Halloween - she even flashed a peace sign. After having a few friends over, we walked out to the main strip in Waikiki and watched all the people dressed up. We agreed that our favorite moment, even though it was a bit startling, was when the two guys who were dressed as gorillas started freaking out and ran straight passed us to a guy dressed as a 7 ft banana.

Mom agrees that we should not cut the crooked tree in front of our house. After praying through the house she could not help but make an archway out of a few stray branches. I thought it framed her quite well in this picture.

I am trying to get Matt to blog about his trip, so be sure to bug him about it when you talk to him.

Hope this finds you well.

Peace, MEA

Half Way!!! Hooray!!!

Lori, Alicia, Tanoa, Linda, Me, Shannon*

Today was my 4th chemo treatment. That means I am half way!
Still set to be done with chemo the last week of December, then on to a few weeks of radiation.
My white blood cell count was good. No shot to increase them this week. Cool!
Still reacting good to the treatment. No lunches lost yet!
Matt should be home tonight (my friend Linda took me today) at like 4 am.
So I think the best way to celebrate is to play some volleyball with the girls then go to dinner.
Hope this finds you well.
Peace, MEA
*Tini - do you recognize the ball you guys gave me?

Some live action of the girls playing, while I caught my breath between games. I would turn off the volume, bc I am very loud (go figure) and am not really saying anything important (again not a stretch for me), but just yelling the girls names.

Stupid Pet Tricks

The honeymoon is over. A 1000 square feet of living space is not enough room to escape the smell of a litter box. Gracie is well fed, over her surgery and becoming more spivy by the day. Her full name has shown itself: Gracie T.B. Poopsalots (call me if you want to know what the "T.B." stands for, not really appropriate for the blog).
Here are some videos to get to know her better.
Peace, MEA

Bed Jumping #1

Bed Jumping #2

Box Herding

Checking In...

Heading to Panama July 2008

Things are still good here. I got the shot to increase my white blood cells on Friday. I haven't had any real muscle aches since then, which was supposed to be a side effect. They told me exercise would help to control them. So I played volleyball last Friday, worked out on Sunday and played volleyball on Monday again. Granted I am not playing my best volleyball or working out very hard or very long, but I think it is so awesome I can even do any of it. Yay!

Gracie continues to get more comfortable and gain more personality. She doesn't quite understand that when I blink my eyes that it is NOT a game and that she should not try to paw at them. Luckily for me she has very soft paws and never puts her claws out.

My mom comes today to stay with us. Be on the look out for posts of Judy's Paradise Adventures.

Matt should be back soon. He was supposed to get back today, but I guess there is a storm off the island (Curie Atoll - the most northern island in the Hawaiian Chain is where he is). He has to wait until the storm dies down enough to where his transport ship - a coast guard vessel - can get close enough to pick him up. I sure hope it is less crazy than it sounds. But I expect some good stories of this trip from him - like how they ended up doing the water catchment and what size the solar refrigerator was and if it really worked and how crazy the 60 year old lady is that lives by herself on the island for months at a time cataloging birds .

Anyway, just a small update from me.

Have a great week!

Peace, MEA

There is a furry lolo soon to be in Palolo.

Kim, Me, Kellie & Tara (clockwise)

At the risk of you never voting on another one of my polls, I think I am going to call the kitten Gracie. Here's why: I once heard a pastor speaking on forgiveness. One of the things he said that stuck with me was this... Justice is when you get what you deserve, Mercy is when you don't get what you deserve, and Grace is when you get more than you deserve. That is really how I feel right now. That I am being blessed beyond my "deservedness" - and although the kitten is my current blessing, many of you know that I have had many more since being diagnosed. By calling her Gracie, it will be a constant reminder of the grace that I am living in.

I also promise not to post more than 100 pictures/videos of her. I know it sounds like a lot, but I have yet to capture the essence of her in a post. And because if I don't set a limit, I may lose control and this could be a blog completely dedicated to a kitten, funny for few, but not many. Here's a "random kitten video" to get us started

My step sisters flew in from Washington State Wednesday to be here to with me while Matt was gone. No, they didn't have to. And yes, it is a mini vacation for them (the first time just the three of them have traveled together since the mid 80's). I mean geez-o-pete, I live in Hawaii, why not come?

Kellie, Tara and Kim




Oh, this is my oncology doctor, Dr. Ken Sumida.

Thursday they got to spend some time of their mini-vacation seeing me get chemo. Whew! Exciting times I provide in Hawaii. We had fun though. They taught me a game called "13". I actually even won the last hand of it.
Then I drug them to the grocery store to get supplies for the bbq.

Then to the pound to pick up Gracie.

Then to my house to pack up 7 bags and a cooler to take to the bbq.

Then bbq'ed til 10:30. They were way tired by then (really 1:30 their time).

They were total troopers though. It was great to have them here.

So the gang continued our Thursday night tradition. But this week we finally talked Laramy into letting us cook for him and eating with us. Part of it is because I bribed him with the kitten, not the food - he is a cat whisperer. Plus we were able to invite a few more people bc we bbq'ed at the beach park near my house. It was another fun night had by all, and a great end to a Chemo day.

The Gang


Kim with Paul after she realized he was "The Paul Wright" Christian musician extraordinaire.

I felt great all through the day - no side effects for today.

I have to go back tomorrow and get a shot to help increase my white blood cell counts. They are lower than they would like them and this shot is supposed to help them increase rapidly. The only anticipated side effect is joint pain. But it is not supposed to onset for a couple days - which is great bc I have a volleyball game scheduled for Friday at 4:30. We'll see how this plays out. I better win some games.

Anyway, thanks for the thoughts and prayers.

Have a great week!

Peace, MEA