I know it's been awhile....

I know that it has been far too long since my last update, for that I apologize. There is a bunch of stuff that has happened since my last update, all of it good. I will start with what everybody has been patiently waiting for...A update on Mikey.

Yesterday we had our follow up appointment with Mikey's team of doctors. We meet with his surgeon, neurologist, and oncologist, and things could not have gone better. Mike had an MRI on 10/23 and the results of that showed that the tumor was completely removed! All 3 doctors commented on how well he is doing. When you look back at what we were facing in early summer, and how it came out, there could be no better outcome.

We were given a 10 year treatment plan for Mike, consisting of serial MRI's for the next 10 years. That means for the next 2 years he will have an MRI and exam every three months, then every six months till year 5, and finally, just one per year until year 10.

Mikey did get a bit of sad news during our appointment yesterday. It was confirmed yesterday by his surgeon that unfortunately Mike's football career is officially over before it began. Tackle football is a definite No-No with his neck. I am a bit disappointed, but it is completely understandable and a very small price to have paid. Mom on the other hand was ecstatic! She was never a fan of him playing.

The other disappointment for Mike is that he will not be able to play basketball as soon as we had hoped. He is on a local team with his friends and has been practicing with them, but he has been unable to scrimmage or play in games yet. (Although I did cave last game and let him play for 2 minutes...please don't tell his mother.) Mike has been looking forward to the minute he could resume playing in games, and the first thing he asked when the doctor walked into the room was "Can I play basketball now?" Regrettably, he will have to wait a bit longer. The doctor wants to avoid any head and neck contact to give him more time to heal, and he is still experiencing left side weakness. It is more pronounced in his arm and hand, but it is also affecting his leg and foot, causing the ocassional stumble. Although he was not happy about the basketball news, he was cleared to resume PE in school, and he can now play homerun derby with his friends at our house.

In other news...

I participated in the Livestrong Challange in Austin 2 weeks ago. The weather was beautiful, dry and mid 70's. Perfect for this kind of event. My very dear friends Marc and Chris Applebaum came from Michigan to participate in the event. They have been highly active with LAF for several years, and have done the Austin ride a few times. It was great to visit and ride with them again. The ride was a tremendous challange for me, but I did complete it! I should have know that this would be a difficult route, after all, this is the area that Lance Armstrong honed his skill and helped to make him the rider he is today. The hills were relentless. I now truley understand why they call this part of Texas "Hill Country". Foolishly, I thought I could get ready for a ride like this with only a few weeks training, although I think I had a pretty valid reason for delaying the start of my training this summer. I am already developing my training plan for next year, and at a minimum, I will start training several months before the ride, as opposed to several weeks. I think it might make a difference. I wanted to send out a huge THANK YOU to all the people that supported me in this ride. Due to their generosity I was able to raise over $4,000 to go towards the battle against cancer!

I also want to send out an update on the happenings of our other two kids. They have both been extremely helpful and understanding during the past several months, and for that both Wendy and I are eternally grateful.

Shelby is in the midst of her diving season on the high school team. She enjoys the diving and her teammates, but she is not too crazy about the practice time. We drop her off in the school parking lot every morning at 6:10, so the bus can take her to the pool where they practice. She gets ready for school after practice, and rides the bus back to school to start her classes. Shelby got her driving permit this summer and has been bugging us to drive everywhere. What fun it is to drive with your daughter. A few nights ago she was driving and a skunk crossed her path. She was not to happy with the fact that she almost hit it. Being a big animal lover, the thought of almost killing a animal did not sit well with her.

Alex is working with the theater department and their lighting system. They have already put on one play, and are working on two other plays that will start in a few weeks. He is starting to look at colleges and we will be doing visits to schools in the near future. Alex is enjoying the freedom that comes with having his drivers license. He is always asking if he can take the car to go here and there. It is also a big help to Mom and Dad to have another driver around to lend out a hand when one is out of town and the other can't be in two places at once.

I think this is a long enough update for now...I will try to post a bit more frequently. Thanks to everyone who has kept us in your thoughts and prayers! It has been a true blessing that we have come through this recent challenge in as good shape as we did.