February 15, 2004
The Circus and the Dance Marathon (5th Cycle Update video link included)
This update is action-packed (and even includes video). The circus portion occurred during Joe's most recent admission, for his 5th cycle of chemotherapy, from 2/3 - 2/6/04. His stay went pretty well. His daily radiation began during this stay and will continue on an out-patient basis through the middle of March. So far, the radiation treatments are pleasantly no big deal. The treatment itself only lasts about 6-8 minutes and Joe reports he doesn't feel a thing.
During his hospital stay, our kind neighbor, Chuck, arranged for a visit from members of Cirque Eloize. Bart (from Canada by way of Poland), Yamoussa (from Guinea) and Eric (from Canada) made his day with juggling, arobatics, unicycle-riding and magic tricks! We are glad Joe felt well enough to enjoy their show the day after his discharge. We highly recommend it if they are coming to your neighborhood: http://www.cirque-eloize.com
The U of IA Dance Marathon took place 2/6-2/7. Hundreds of dancers went a straight 24-hours raising money to support families and programs at the U of IA Hospitals and Clinics with a special emphasis on hematology and oncology. We had known of the Marathon for years, but got more directly introduced to it through Elizabeth, who worked as a student in Jenny's office last summer. Elizabeth is the business manager for this amazing endeavor that this year raised a whopping $625,000! She chose Joe has the person she danced for and she is pictured with the boys in the collage below. (She also made the wonderful sign for him that hung on the ballroom wall.)
We had another connection to the Dance Marathon. The Pediatric Technology group at the hospital made a 4 minute video of Joe and his class to highlight their webcam project. They showed the video at the Dance Marathon. We like it very much. There are a variety of video file types and sizes to choose from at:
http://129.255.232.218/joebritton/
A big thanks to our friend Mike for making this link possible.
In other medical news, one of the plates on Joe's graft has become deformed (we are speculating it is from a running fall he took off his bed at home 3 days post-op). It can be repaired but not until after the radiation is finished, and possibly not until after the chemo is done.
We continue to be well taken care of...many friends and neighbors continue to feed us often and family and friends continue to come to town for that extra support we so much appreciate...
Love, Jenny, Tom, Joe, Seth and Happy the dog
February 02, 2004
Radiation: The Plan
Hello on a snowy Tuesday,
The plan goes forward, much as we thought it would, albeit a few days later. Joe will be admitted tomorrow, February 3, to start his 5th round of chemotherapy. His surgery scar has healed very well; the movement in his hand and all his fingers is good. Round 5 will be 3-days long and radiation will start on the 2nd day. Radiation will continue for 28 cycles (5 1/2 weeks) which will take us to mid-March (and through round 6 of chemo). The radiation will take place M-F, about 10 minutes of actual treatment per day. We are hopeful that the radiation will eliminate the microscopic amounts of cancer left in the soft tissue of Joe's arm.
Despite the setback of positive margins, we are feeling pretty good. Joe's cancer is still localized to his arm which is very important. Joe feels and looks great (his WBC has gone all the way back to normal), although he is less than thrilled about going into the hospital again.
This upcoming weekend is the University of Iowa's Dance Marathon. We are hoping Joe will feel well enough to go....it should be quite a sight, over 1,000 people dancing for 24 hours to raise money to support the children's oncology program. Check it out at http://www.uiowa.edu/~dancemar/ They will have a live webcast. The Pediatric Technology Group at UIHC made a video which shows Joe and the webcam to his class. They even interviewed Joe for it. It is set to be shown at the Dance Marathon at 12:10 on Saturday, February 7. I will try to have pictures from that at the next update.
In other family news, we are proud to share that on Tuesday, February 4, Seth, along with two of his classmates, will receive an "Outstanding Citizen" award from the Iowa City City Council. (http://www.icgov.org/meetingagenda/239.pdf)
Best wishes to everyone from all of us.
Jenny, Tom, Joe, Seth and Happy the dog