May 11th

This weekend brought a much needed break from the hospital appointments. We were distracted by the love that was showered upon us by family and friends. People came together in ways that impress upon us how much we are being cared for. We had people help us with cleaning, yard work, entertaining the boys, grocery shopping, and pampering my soul. We receive cards, letters, and gifts that are creative & supportive, and truly keep us encouraged.
Having family here gave us a chance to sit and be together. Having family and friends come to Bryce's baseball games and cheer him on - cheers me up as well. It is difficult when Robert can not come and I feel saddened that they are not playing together. It is different - Robert was the one who coached Bryce, taught him, and stood in the field with him. Now it is mommy on the sidelines and the cheerleaders who come to support him and encourage him to keep playing. Bryce is playing and we are all excited to see it.
We had neighbors pull together and come to our rescue. They did a complete landscaping overhaul and a garage makeover. We don't even recognize our yard and it is beautiful. The garage looks amazing and is extremely functional. The beauty lays not only in the yard/garage, but in the hearts of those that came to work so hard for us. There is no way to express the overwhelming emotion that comes from seeing so many people (adults and children) come together to help us. We feel surrounded by supported and our hearts are uplifted. The spirit that drove so many to work so hard for us gives us a sense of encouragement to keep moving forward in a positive light. Each and every time we go outside or in & out of the garage, we are reminded of the support that we are being given by friends who are selfless in their acts of kindness. Thank you.
I apologize for the change in tone that the next set of paragraphs will take. The above paragraphs were written on Mon and now it is Tue. Things change daily and our emotions are running along with the frequent reports and conversations that we have with the doctors. Here is what we know- Robert can not be give the typical treatment for lymphoma (intense chemotherapy) as it will interfere with the treatment of the brain. The goal is to keep the chest tumor stable. He will receive radiation and an IV medication once a week.
Treatment for the brain will have to be aggressive as the tumors ar widespread in the brain. We will most likely have radiation with chemo (temodar- what he took before) and avastin before-during-after radiation. Basically- radiation on the chest and brain simultaneously for 4-5 weeks, one IV medication every other week and two IV medication on the alternate weeks, and oral chemo pills. It is difficult to provide all of the details about possible treatment options. This is what is important-this is an aggressive and atypical form of treatment, but Robert is Brave and wants to Fight hard. This will be our toughest fight and we know that we are not alone in this fight. We are carried by friends and family that will be with us - to help us.
After yesterdays appointments and phone conversations with our oncologists and radiologist, I could not find the good news in the bad news. I was struggling to find the positive aspect. Late last night I did realize this - Our doctors have not given up hope and We have not given up hope.
We have love and no disease can take that away. Love is our diagnosis!