zen.org Communal Weblog

While at work today, I got a very welcome text:

“Brain scan negative.”

This is excellent news. No, it doesn’t mean that my mother doesn’t have a brain (far from it, homie), it means that there is no evidence of cancer in her brain, so the lung cancer hasn’t spread up there.

Big exhale.

We’re still waiting on tests from the genetics folks, to find out which exact strain of cancer she has. Once that info is back, a full treatment plan is going to be created.  We’re hoping that she has one specific one, that is managed by just a single tablet each day. But truly, I’ll take any that can be squashed into oblivion.

The boys and I returned last week from a lovely vacation to Hawaii, spending Christmas and New Year’s with my father and stepmother. P and Eoin had a great time, which included going to see the erupting volcano with Kuku (it’s what they call my Dad…Tutu is a Hawaiian phrase for grandmother, and we went with Kuku for grandfather. I called my grandfather that) and P learning to surf on Waikiki.

Unfortunately, on our way back from Hawaii there was some not-so-happy news. My mother had a cough for about a month, trying to beat it with over the counter remedies and antibiotics. She went to a doc to get pneumonia ruled out.  They didn’t see pneumonia on the x-ray, but there was a mass on her lung. A CAT scan indicated that it was not a good type of mass, and they went on to have a PET scan done. This told the docs that it was a form of cancer, and the docs decided to operate and remove my mother’s right lung (along with one of her ribs. I’ve been trying for 2 days to come up with an Adam and Eve joke and just can’t. Where’s B when you need him?). The cancer has spread some to her right lymph nodes, but the docs are feeling confident that chemo or even a daily pill will be able to take care of that, once she’s recovered enough to get the next step of treatment.

They are looking around at cancer centers in the US, and other types of drugs that are out there. Technically, she’s been classified as Stage 3A.

Everyone is asking how she, and I, are doing. From what I can tell, she’s having good days and bad days, just as everyone does. No, I haven’t talked to her on the phone; I did talk to my stepfather, who sounded like he was holding up okay. I remember the amount of phone calls and email and texts the first few days, and how overwhelming it was. So I’m doing what I know I can to help…posting on the blog. 🙂  To lighten the load, just as we did with B.

Updates will be coming as we get them. Thank you for all the well-wishes. I know she’ll be happy to know there are people all over the world pulling for her.

Speech is such a funny word.  I like tribute better.

Brendan’s brother Derry (Diarmuid) was up first, followed by Christian and then Diarmaid (please follow along in your booklets).

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A friend did a skydive at the end of May in an effort to raise funds for our kids’ primary school. In terms of ways to help children, the bar has been raised pretty high: a few thousand feet, in fact.
It was a really great success.

Robins have been around for a few weeks. Last weekend I saw some bees flying around, but got sad when I found a dead carpenter bee in my garden. Hopefully he just stayed out a little to long in the cold. Last night I clinched Springs arrival, Linus and I where walking back form a evening walk along the canal and we saw bats. No sight of the white groundhog though.

Last night, 2008-02-27, Linus Gustave Heinicke was extracted from my wife’s belly. Though a cæsarean section was scheduled for leap day, when 余艾蕾 went in for a preop the Doctors choose to make the fetus a baby then. He was just under 7 pounds. Height seemed to be will within error tolerance. The finger and toe count added up to twenty.

Sure, Samhain doesn’t start for a week, but having a three year old means it is on! Zoë just watched this little bit, like, ten times in a row. This is Hallowe’en music:

Squirrel Nut Zippers already has a great Christmas album, they should make a Hallowe’en one too. Or is that every album but the Christmas one?

According to Wikipedia, the attack on Perl Harbor killed 2,388 people, the September 11, 2001 attacks killed 2,993. The 9/11 sum includes the terrorists, I don’t think the Perl Harbor deaths include any invaders, but all but 55 of them where military. The 9/11 deaths were predominantly civilians.

The Japanese invasion united the country, al Qaeda united the country. As I watch Ken Burns and Lynn Novick’s The War I am amazed at the lessons forgotten. I would of bought a war bonds, I would of (I did) limit my gas usage, I wanted to sacrifice. When George W. Bush was first running for President I remember hoping John McCain would win, and there is only one Republican I have ever voted for, but Mr. Bush won, so I wanted him to succeed. I’m a patriot, what the masses thought was more impartant then what I thought. One of these posts I’ll figure out what I think now.

Sometimes they both sleep through the night, and then the smaller follows it with long naps during the day. And blink they’re bigger.

Patrick would walk around carrying his brother forever if he was given the chance.

Taking the Ecological Footprint Quiz, I would need 1.6 Earths if everybody lived like me. The problem is I went back and tried to change things that I though would make it better, but I only got more Earths. Maybe it just pops out a random number.