Welcome Home Mom

Hey everybody! This is Adelyn and Gretchen speaking. We are sooo happy our mom is finally home. Mom and Dad got home at midnight on June 5 while I (Adelyn) was just getting home from my eighth grade trip to St. Louis, MO. Even the pets were happy to see mom return. My mom came home to a freshly painted bedroom, new curtains, bedspread, newly planted flowers, a garden, and a clean barn:) Thanks dad, for all your hard work and for getting everything ready for mom's homecoming.

My Mom is really happy to be home, and is enjoying the peace and quiet that is nothing like the bustling California. She's been resting a lot because she has been really tired. Yesterday she met with her new local medical oncologist, who she will be following up with monthly.

Now we're all just adjusting to having our mom tell us what to do again and getting everything back into order. We are all just so thankful she's home and now we are off to soccer and band practices. Talk to you soon!

It is accomplished!

Yesterday, Bridget received the large, hand- crafted, and very inspirational sign from Sherri (her elementary school teacher friend) that you see here. It definitely gave her added strength to get to that last appointment today! Thank you Sherri and helpers! Your giving really made a difference! We laid it right outside the door for her to see on the way to the last radiation treatment this morning.

Let me restate that important point...Bridget finished her last radiation treatment today at 9am! She is done with that chapter!!! Whew Yeah!!!!! Way to go Bridget!!! She even received a medal from her radiation team after this last treatment. Dr. Radany commented on what a fighter she is and everyone was happy and sad at the same time to be leaving each others' company...lots of hugs and tears. Bridget also took her last dose of chemo for a while (she gets a month off before having to take that again, but its oral tablets and generally well tolerated)!

We are packed up and, after a few quick errands, are ready to go to the airport. Bridget will be home tonight!!!

After arriving this past Sunday to be with Bridget for her last week of treatments out here, I have to admit that it was a rough week for her at times. However, as always she managed to tough it out, get through the low points of each day, and somehow manage to get herself going to go out for dinner or just get out and about for a time. Bridget gives all the credit to Divine intervention and your constant prayers and I do too. At the same time I am also amazed at the determination and grace of my beautiful, strong, and inspiring wife. Helping to get through the week, was a visit from Bridget's cousin Peter McCormick who was out on business. We took in dinner at Mastro's where a talented musician friend of ours, Rob Gonzalez, plays a few nights a week. It was a wonderful time with great music and Peter has a natural ability to make everyone smile and laugh. Local resident and my cousin, Quinn Hanchette, had dinner with us on our last official night in California. It was so great to have him so close during all this time out here.

We have been keenly aware that Bridget's time out here corresponded with block of time in the church calendar from Holy Week to Pentecost. The walk of Christ and inspiration of the the Holy Spirit has really been a gift to experience in a new way during this time for Bridget and our family. The masses with our wonderful priest, Fr. Mark, at home with copies of sermons forwarded on to Bridget...the wonderful masses themselves truly celebrated with gusto by our fantastic congregation have contributed greatly to keeping us going as a family.

I couldn't help myself and had to post a few more pictures of just some of the additional amazing blossoms that popped since my last stay here at City of Hope. I didn't have the chance to to ask someone what they are, but the purple flowering trees are in full bloom all over out here right now. As the blooms fall, they shower the ground in a carpet of purple. Everything blooms with flowers out here, even trees that look like maples get those pink little star fish shaped blossoms you see in the picture below. Remember to slow down...smell and see the flowers in life, when you do you'll appreciate that this is life as it meant to be lived, not the hyper-paced life many of us have created for ourselves for some crazy reason. Slow down, breath in life. Pace yourself, don't race...instead enjoy the journey and gift of life. You can't force a flower to bloom when you want it to. Take time to observe it as it unfolds.

We have been told that the drain on energy Bridget has been experiencing will last for a few weeks, so please understand if we don't pick up the phone or are hermits for a while as we settle in with Bridget at home. Note that Bridget has been living and breathing medical care for weeks on end. She has shared with me that when she gets home she wants to talk about "normal things"...not cancer, not medical treatments in particular. She is ready to just get back to living her "normal life" again. Your help with this will be most appreciated.

Thank you so very much to each and every one of you for your cards, prayers, time devoted to Bridget, advice, medical care, Denise cleaning the cottage, meals, giving rides to our kids, letting them stay at your houses, offers of help, taking pictures of our kids to send to Bridget, being there during surgeries, encouraging words, hugs, pats on the back, sharing pet cats for pet therapy (Thurman rocks!), handling the extra responsibilities at work, attention to our kids at school, and so much more. Words cannot describe our deep sense of love and appreciation.

Please continue to keep Bridget in your prayers each and every day.

Love, Tom and Bridget.

Malibu to the Rescue!

As I count down the days before I will be departing City of Hope I was lucky enough to be visited by my neice (and Goddaughter) Jacque Schaefer. Jacque just finished her first year at UW-Madison and plans to pursue something medically related for her career. I think her visit here helped her see what a few options in healthcare could be and possibly helped her narrow her choices. It is so important for all of us to discuss with the younger generation what their passions and dreams are - for this will effect the future of our world!

I wish I could explain the surreal world in which I have been living! The California weather is great and there are beautiful blossoms everywhere, yet there are times when I've never felt more sad. I've become so acutely aware of each person I come in contact with - what they may be struggling with, or how they are feeling. I guess it's just a compassion that you develop when you've been knocked around a bit! I always thought I had it - the ability to connect and have compassion for others - but it has been intensified dramatically. Each human is doing the best THEY can do. So, don't get frustrated with slow drivers, slow talkers, or teenagers that don't know what direction they're going. Instead, ask them how you can help them. It's truly refreshing! YOU have the ability to make a difference in this world!

Jacque and I found ourselves at a very authentic Greek restaurant one day while visiting Malibu Beach area for some fresh ocean air. We sat out on a patio and enjoyed the atmosphere. It's so nice when friends and family have arrived here and distracted me from all of this. As you can probably see from this photo, I'm feeling pretty tired in these last few weeks of radiation. Of course, this is to be expected. I have continued to get great lab results and through your prayers and support I have found the strength to get myself to walk over to the clinic daily for these treatments. I am completely dependant on God's intercession and truly could not do this without all of you! Thank you to each and everyone of you for the prayers, cards and for those of you who have helped support our kids while I've been gone. All of this has made my time away tolerable.

Gratefully yours,

Bridget