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Parallels and Contrasts

Mom — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 03:32:40 +0000

It is all too easy to feed off of birthdays, anniversaries, and other meaningful demarcations of time. How long since, how long until? In the x days since returning home, we have done y activities and Colin has achieved z milestones, giving us something to plot and chart in three dimensions.

In Memphis, I had imagined [...]

Homecoming

Mom — Sun, 30 May 2010 03:34:39 +0000

On Wednesday, May 25, Colin boarded a plane in Memphis and finally made his way home. As I announced the impending plans around the hospital, I was greeted with well earned superstition from every quarter. Notably, on Tuesday, Dr. Gajjar asked what time his flight was the next day. “Three-fifteen,” I responded.

“Over 24 hours,” he [...]

Survivor: Target House

Mom — Sun, 23 May 2010 13:10:43 +0000

There is no immunity challenge, and Jeff Probst doesn’t sit us around a campfire to discuss who is next to go, but living here is beginning to feel like a warped version of the Survivor reality show. So many families that were planning to leave after us are by now long gone.

The Simkins, who have [...]

Winding Down*

Mom — Tue, 04 May 2010 06:53:06 +0000

Our family’s time at St. Jude is drawing to a close. On Friday, April 16, Colin had his last MRI before he goes home. The suspected tumor, as we hoped/anticipated, remains stable, and the spinal scans are still clear. Furthermore, the blood clot has resolved significantly, with some pieces remaining and very good blood flow [...]

Twelve Hours

Mom — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 08:11:45 +0000

Colin has set a new record for readmission, though fortunately not because of a sudden deterioration of his condition. On Wednesday afternoon, I drove Dad and Aidan to the airport for a quick trip home to see family and friends. After returning to the hospital, I packed up Colin and brought him back to Target [...]

Boomerang Boy

Mom — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:08:48 +0000

After days of struggling with the aftermath of chemo, Colin started to perk up a bit, so he emerged from the hospital after 25 days. Of course, he has very happily been out of the hospital during that time, yet not technically an outpatient.

The whole process was a little confusing, as Dr. DeWire told us she [...]

GTA: Memphis

Mom — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 07:21:55 +0000

The big news is that Colin is set to discharge on Tuesday morning. We all (doctors included) feel this is important for the whole family because, once Colin goes back inpatient for chemo on Friday night, he will likely stay for at least 10 days if not more.

The better Colin feels, the more obvious it [...]

TPN at 10 P.M.

Mom — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 06:01:58 +0000

Friday was an eventful day for the whole family. For one thing, it marked the arrival of Kiyoshi and Perry from Connecticut! Aidan got to play hookie and greet them at the airport with Dad, which was a much needed boost for everybody.

Back at the hospital, Colin had a very busy day, kicking things off [...]

More Family Fun

Mom — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 01:47:54 +0000

Today, Colin enjoyed another family get-together. The highlight was probably a quad ride with Uncle Steve (it was the slowest and most careful that he has ever driven in his life!)… though the cake ranked pretty high.

He has to keep his distance from the kids especially and spent much of the day observing the activity [...]

Bound for the Big Apple

Mom — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 04:31:10 +0000

Today, we made a big decision regarding Colin’s treatment: we will be taking him to New York City for surgery on Wednesday by Dr. Jeffrey Wisoff of NYU. This may be an abrupt change in plans for many who have been following Colin’s care.

We had anticipated receiving a second opinion from Dana Farber/Boston Children’s Hospital’s [...]