Birthday Celebrations!

Hey everyone!

It's been ten days since our last update and I have to say, even after
three rounds of hardcore chemotherapy, this was the best "recovery
time" yet. The chemo definitely takes a bigger toll on Scotty each
round and the side effects (especially nausea) have also gotten worse,
but it is amazing how strong Scotty is and how quickly he has been
recovering after his treatments. Although he experienced a lot of
nausea and vomiting for the first 4 days he was home, we were able to
spend the last week traveling and relaxing while celebrating both of
our birthdays and we had an awesome week! We have to thank Matthew
Shea and Atlas PyroVision Productions for hooking us up and making our
getaway at the Mountain View Grand incredible. With their generosity
we were able to stay two nights and enjoy a carriage ride, massages
and great food. Your generosity is so appreciated. We also want to
thank Grandma Joyce and Uncle Stevie for staying with the furkids so
we could enjoy our time away alone, we so needed it!

After our MVG getaway, we headed up north to Scotty's Dad and Nancy's
house in Maine and had an awesome long weekend visit with them. The
dogs had a blast swimming and it was a wonderfully relaxing weekend
with great company. Scotty handled the non-stop driving really well
and he got to wake up on his birthday there, which was really nice.
Yesterday Scotty turned 34 and something in my gut tells me that this
is going to be his best year yet. We had a great dinner last night at
one of our favorite restaurants and all and all he had a great
birthday. Scotty is feeling so good... and so ready to get back to
work, he went in for the day today to plan out his new office so it
will all be ready for when he's back at it. When that will be, we're
not totally sure yet... but if he could have it his way, it would be
tomorrow. :)

That leads to me to where he is with his treatment. On Friday, he will be
admitted back to Brigham & Women's/Dana Farber in Boston for his 4th
Round of chemo. It will start Saturday and run through Wednesday, and
if all goes well, he will be discharged Wednesday night. This should
be, God-willing, his last round of chemotherapy. His Dr. wants to
wait a little longer after this round (probably about 3 weeks) before
he gets his scans done to give it time to do it's thing as the next
step is a very important one. The scans will show the size of the
tumors and as they shrink, they turn to scar tissue. The Dr. needs to
determine if there are any tumors that will need to be removed, and
because the tumors reduce to scar tissue, they have to be very careful
and certain that what shows up on the scan is in fact a tumor and not
scar tissue so they're not operating for no reason. If you could pray
and think positive thoughts about this, we would so appreciate it. Of
course he's prepared to go through whatever life throws at him, but
the poor guy has been through enough already and he's got the scars to
prove it.

I have to say that I am completely in awe by the strength that one
person can have and I hope that Scotty is an inspiration to all of
you. He was in terrible condition when we found out about his badly
progressed cancer and I hate to say it, but might not have made it if
it weren't for the chemotherapy. No one ever wants to go through
something like this, flushing his body with poison, but sometimes in
life you don't have much of a choice in what you have to endure, but
you have the choice on your attitude and how you handle the crap
thrown at you. Never once did "why me?" come out of his mouth
although I'm sure it went through his mind numerous times. We all
wonder why bad things happen to good people and it doesn't make any
sense, but I do know that in retrospect this experience will be a gift
for Scotty in ways I can not explain, and some are on a personal level
that are only for him to understand. My life is completely changing
(for the better) and yeah, we've had to continue to go through
really hard stuff, but I know that when it's all said and done, our
lives are going to be even better. We all knew in our hearts that
Scotty will be able to beat this and I wasn't kidding when I came up
with the name Super Scotty. He has truly proven to be like a super
hero with how he has been battling and whipping cancer's butt! It goes to
show what the power of a positive attitude, love, and surrounding
yourself with amazing friends & family can do, don't ever forget it!

We owe so many of you thank-yous and shout-outs for all that you have
done for us already through this journey. There are many of you that
have reached out in emails and messages and I haven't been able to get
back to you yet and I'm so sorry. Every single message, email,
donation, favor, card, gift and visit has touched us in ways beyond
words, and as things hopefully get easier and less emotional, I
promise you will hear from me. This journey has not only affected
Scotty, but it has certainly changed my life pretty dramatically and
although exciting, I have a lot of soul searching to do myself.

I realize each time I intend to write a quick update, I end up with a
book, but I can't help myself. Reaching out to all of you and keeping
his close friends and family in step with him through all of this is
the least I can do for such a wonderful man! I hope you enjoy reading
it as much as I enjoy writing it. :)

Peace and happiness to you all. Xx

Jax

P.S. I forgot to mention that Scotty really doesn't want visitors at
the hospital because the chemo been making him feel so crappy and it's
tough for him to visit while feeling that way. Once he's home and
over the "hump" he'll be trying to get back to "normal" as much as he
can, especially if we get great news regarding his post-treatment
scans, so you can visit all you want at that point! :)