Tuesday, September 27, 2011

No More Chemo!

I knew I hadn't updated in a while.... but I had no idea it was THIS long and I am SO incredibly sorry! Time seems to be moving so fast for me lately and I'm having a hard time grasping the fact that summer and September are basically over. It was a tough summer as Scott spent most of it in the hospital and when not in the hospital he spent it at home in bed recovering. Looking back at the last post, it was when Scotty was going in for his fourth and final treatment of chemo and got the awesome video message from Lance Armstrong. It was a tough round, he felt crappier earlier than in the rounds before and I think he just felt poisoned by that point. He took some time recovering, but a little over a week later we were able to head up to Mike & Sally's house in Maine for a night and then to Dave & Nancy's in Maine for a long Labor Day Weekend spent with the family. I know that Scotty enjoyed himself so much being able to be free with his friends and family... knowing that was it, he did it!

While we were away in Maine, we noticed weird red bumps all over Scott's legs. He also had gotten some cuts on one of his hands and it swelled up pretty big. He contacted the doctor with pictures letting him know what was going on and told Scott that once we got home a couple days later to get a tetanus shot. Instead, Dr. Pomerantz called Scott telling him he had an appointment with a Dr. Nora something at the Dana Farber offices a few days later at a set time. We got there to find out that she was Dr. Pomerantz's wife! Way cool! Anyway, she did a biopsy on two spots on his legs leaving two holes in his thighs and did a large series of blood tests. We got into our car to head home, sat in tons of traffic to get a call telling him to come back immediately... after more traffic trying to head back to the hospital, we found that Scott was going to need blood transfusions and that he was going to be admitted over night. That was surprising and upsetting news but what are you going to do? So I drove home leaving him in Boston with nothing but the clothes he went in wearing. They gave him 3 bags of blood and a bag of platelets and discharged him the next day, and told him that is why he had the red bumps all over his legs.

After that he felt GREAT! He thought he has felt fine before the transfusions but after what he calls his "Oil Change" he felt awesome! Scott, myself and the dogs headed back up to Maine while Dave and Nancy were away and got to enjoy a quiet little getaway at their place on the lake. For those of you know Tank and Jellybean... they are the happiest when they are swimming and boating so it made us all happy to be there together. And I guess you could also say, a business was born that weekend. (more below on this topic)

Since he has started to feel so much better, he has been chomping at the bit to get back to work. He had been getting picked up for half days one day a week when he was feeling up to it, but since he got his truck back on the road, he started going in a little bit everyday. Two weekends ago he had his first show (in four months) and he was so incredibly happy. I tagged along with him to make sure was OK and to help him if he needed it. He was definitely exhausted by the end of the day but he felt so good. This past weekend he had a 2 day festival in Philly that was supposed to be outdoors on 3 stages, but because of the weather, last minute, it was moved into an indoor arena with one stage. He worked hard and operated on barely any sleep and although I was concerned and constantly asking him if he was drinking enough water and making sure he was eating.... you could tell he was where he belonged. He seems to be doing really well and his body seems to be keeping up... I just hope that Scott will admit if it's ever too much because we all know how proud he is. It's really hard to know where he stands right now in this journey, but I do know based on the blood marker tests, he could/should be in remission.

A week from Friday (October 7th), we will be heading into Boston for a visit with Dr. Pomerantz. Scott will have his tumor scans done and from there the Dr. can come up with a game plan for moving forward. I want you all to envision, think positively about, and pray that all of the tumors have disappeared! We know that they turn to scar tissue and the Dr. needs to ensure that if he sees anything of size, that it is in fact a tumor and not scar tissue and that doesn't operate if it's not necessary. The Dr. will do a study and give his professional point of view and from there we will go. I promise to give you an update immediately following the news, but I want you all to make sure you're doing your part and surrounding Scotty in love, prayers, thoughts and vibes.

Something else I wanted to share with you all because I believe the opportunity has come out of the experiences that Scott and I have been through lately, is that an idea that had been planted in Scotty's head was able to be brought to life. Scotty and I have partnered up and started the company Figure It Out Communications, operating as FIO Comm. It is a 2-way radio rental business for tours and events. It's off to a great start already booking a music festival and three small tours. I have been working on the business side of things as well as designing our logo, collateral and learning how to design our website! Scott is obviously using his contacts and his his official title is Owner/Tour Accounts. Make sure you check out and 'like' our FIO Comm Facebook Page. Our website is www.fiocomm.com and will hopefully be up and running soon. We are very excited about this and hope that one day it will grow to be something
bigger, but we are enjoying the process as we go!

Again thank you all for everything you have done for us during this trying period of our lives. Hopefully now that things are settling down a bit, I can get those thank you cards out! In the meantime, enjoy the Super Scotty logo designed in collaboration by Michael Martel and myself. This represents our guy Scott and the amazingly fearless, strong, stubborn, and loving guy he is.
He is certainly my super hero!

Lastly, this Sunday 10/2 is LIVESTRONG Day and I beg that you all wear yellow to support Scotty, Lance Armstrong and everyone else in this world who has or is currently battling cancer. You can pledge that you'll do it by clicking here and just typing your name and your location and be added to the growing number of supporters!

Peace, Love, Happiness:
Jax (& Super Scotty)