Mom's Scan Results are in...

After 6 weeks of treatment and then three weeks of "recovery time" we finally got some answers about mom's follow-up catscan.  She had the scan done on tuesday and on friday we met with Dr. Igor about the results.  Dr. Igor told us that the tumor had shrunk, but was still in a too difficult location to discuss surgery.  So we are now on a one month break to enable mom to get her strength back, gain some weight, and with any luck feel MUCH more human than she has for the last few months.  We will be going back to Fox Chase at the end of June to discuss chemotherapy session #2 and what it will involve.  So, please keep those prayers coming, and we will keep you updated when we know more!

Mom on Good Morning America

A few weeks ago I video taped my mom "ringing the bell" at the conclusion of her radition treatments.  It was such a happy occasion, I wanted to "share" it with the world.  I e-mailed abc's Good Morning America with my video for their "3 words" segment.  Amazingly within 1 week, my mom was on national tv....

here is the link to watch the whole clip - she is in the middle ringing her bell!!
http://abcnews.go.com/Video/playerIndex?id=13603726

Enjoy!

Scan day is set...

Finally after all the weeks of treatments then a few of waiting, finally my mom has her catscan scheduled for tuesday, May 24th.   We are also happy to report that mom is feeling better and we hope this will continues to improve.  We do have an appointment down at Fox Chase on friday, and with "any luck" we might get some info from the recent scan.

So, please keep those prayers coming and we will update when we get more info!!

look mom... no training wheels - Angela

Yesterday (May 21st) I came home from teaching an early spin class to hear "mommy, I don't use training wheels anymore" from Angela.  She was BEYOND excited to show me her new skill.  She demonstrated her ability on the flat part of the road, then we did the "big loop" and she even swerved around vehicles and rode up and down hills.  She is doing great - our little girl is growing up soooo quickly!!

Pictures and videos to follow!

Congrats to our little athletes!!!

We participated in the Sesame Classic last week and had a GREAT time!!  Angela and Elyse were VERY excited to do their first official one mile run.  The day was quite rainy, but that didn't dampen anyone's spirits!  The girls got ready for the one mile to start.  They took off, Angela running with me, and Elyse running with Scott.  They both ran the entire race.  Angela crossed the finish line in 9 minutes and 17 seconds (66th place out of 296 females in the one mile race) and Elyse crossed at 10 minutes and 30 seconds.  They had soo much fun and now can't wait until their next race - the Dog Days of Summer Kids Triathlon this August. 

Scott and I then ran the 5k race.  Scott crossed the finish line in 22 minutes and came in 6th place in his age group.  I crossed the finish line in 24 minutes and 53 seconds, also came in 6th place in my age group, and was beyond happy because this was the fastest I have EVER run a 5k - woohoo!!

So, it was a great race for all... I will add some pictures when I get back to "my computer" as I have borrowed Scott's for the evening...

Happy 4th Birthday Miss Elyse



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Elyse Morgan Reedell 5.10.07



first family picture

Hard to believe our Miss Elyse is turning 4 years old!  I still remember seeing those chubby little cheeks and jet black hair right after she was born... and the sweet sound of that raspy little voice.  She was such a FANTASTIC baby - slept great, ate great, and then slept some more.  We are soo proud of all she has accomplished and we look forward to see what she will learn next!!  Happy Birthday to our Elysiebug!

Devilman

proud to have finished our first 50 mile race!

Happy to report we didn't see the New Jersey Devil while competing in the New Jersey Devilman Half-Lite Triathlon this past weekend - lol!  It was a GREAT weekend for a race. The water temp was around 65, the air temp was a high of 70 and it the sun was shining brightly.  Perfect race weather.  This race was our LONGEST race so far.  It was just under a mile swim, then a 40 mile bike ride (20 miles of it against the wind... that was tough!), then a 9 mile run.  This distance is half way between an olympic distance and half iron-man triahtlon - so we figured it was the next logical step.  We had both set "goals" for times we would like to finish in, and both did great!!  Scott finished in a  VERY respectible 4 hours and 9 minutes, and I finished in 4 hours and 48 minutes.  I was hoping to finish in 5 hours - so I was VERY happy.  And I found out that I placed 4th in my division - 3 minutes out of third place!  But it was a GREAT experience and we look forward to our next challenge - the Warrior Dash in a few weeks - stay tuned for fun pictures!!

Can't seem to stay away from Fox Chase....

Last thursday (the 5th of May) my mom got out of Fox Chase Hospital and seemed to feel a bit better.  She spent the remainder of the week with us, then went home for the weekend to her house.  The girls spent some time with them and aunt Erin and Mr. Mike over the weekend.  By sunday evening mom wasn't feeling too hot again.  In fact she was feeling downright awful.  By monday morning, we made a call to her doctors at Fox Chase, they sheduled an appointment for monday morning and we were on our way.   We went in for bloodwork, and after a quick evaluation, we were told "your room is ready".  So, she was admitted for dehydration, nausea, and vomiting.  They are stumped by her issues, and are going to do their best to make her feel much better.  We sure hope so!  As always, please keep her in your thoughts and prayers and we will update everyone as more details become available.

Ring that bell - we are outta here!

Ring, Bell, Ring
Loud and Clear!
My treatment is OVER
And I'm Outta Here!

The poem above is written on a plaque with a bell attatched to it symbol the end of treatment for radiation patients. Although the last "official" radiation treatment was friday - mom was not feeling well enough to "ring that bell" and enjoy the applause that comes with it. So, today while we were at Fox Chase, we walked down, rang that bell, and got a HUGE round of applause! Although it was tough, she made it through. Now the recovery period begins. She has about three weeks off, then we'll get another scan to check how the treatment worked on the cancer. We are crossing our fingers that there are good changes... but only time will tell!! Thank you for all of your prayers!

Batter up...

Angela, Elyse, and Boomer

The weather was perfect for a trip to the ballpark.  We headed to Trenton to watch the Thunder play ball.  We got club box seats (so we were VERY close to the field) and the girls had a blast.  And to make it even more fun, it was "pet day" at the park.  There were dogs of all shapes and sizes enjoying a day at the ball park.  Unfortunately the Thunder did lose in extra innings, but it was such a fun time, it didn't matter.  We look forward to seeing another game soon!!