Photos and a Progress Report

We hope you enjoy these photos from the last couple of weeks!

Ethan checking out the pumpkins at the pumpkin patch.

Ethan found a pumpkin just the right size for him to carry.

Ethan loves Pumpkins!

Ethan is more interested in crushing the mums than the carved pumpkins.

Ethan dressed up for halloween in his cowboy costume.

Our 100 pounds of pumpkins carved and lit up for Halloween.

Our view of the MMB from our seats in the Pressbox this past Saturday.

We had an ubelievable view of the field and thought we would share some photos with you.

We hope you enjoyed some of our photos. We have had a lot of fun with Ethan this fall, because he really does love pumpkins. The photo of him in his costume was taken at the Toledo Zoo for Little Boo at the Zoo. He didn't quite understand the concept of Trick-or-Treating, but he looked cute in his costume.

We had a great opportunity this past Saturday to sit in the Pressbox at Michigan Stadium. Thank you to some good friends (you know who you are) for pulling some strings to give us this experience. The view from the box is incredible. You can really see the whole game much clearer. Unfortunately, what we clearly saw was Michigan letting another game slip away, but we still had a lot of fun. Two interesting aspects of sitting in the pressbox is that you cannot cheer, and the concession stand is free. Most of the people there are press, and they are working, so you are not allowed to cheer. It was difficult to do at times, and was a little strange. They also had a full concession stand, and it was all free. I think I may have made Megan a little sick with all of the popcorn and hotdogs I ate, but it was fun. It was a great experience that we will long remember.

Thankfully Saturday I was feeling pretty well and was able to enjoy the game and the pressbox. Most of the days since my last post have been up and down. I have been quite fatigued since returning home last week, but that is to be expected after going under general anesthesia and having two minor surgeries. What has been harder to deal with is that I have had to watch my temperature, as I have had many fevers since I have been home. They have come every evening and have varied from very mild to 101 degrees. They last a few hours and then I feel fine until the next night. The doctor feels it could be a result of the procedures that I went through last week, or it could be caused by the cancer. Either way it seems less severe each day.

I also still have a cough and an elevated heart rate. Thankfully I am not coughing up any more blood. My heart rate appears to be a result of the tumor marker HCG. When I was first diagnosed they found that my heart rate was high and it was due to hyperthyroidism caused by the elevated HCG. It appears that it is happening again, so I am going back on some meds I took last fall and am seeing an endocrinologist on Thursday. The cancer seems to be taking a bigger toll on me these days, but I am starting to feel a little less fatigued and better the last few days. Whatever the cancer throws at me I just need to keep punching back.