An Anniversary...

It's been an entire year since we received the official diagnosis for Dad. Mom & Dad visited us in Maine over the 2006 President's Day holiday weekend and upon arrival that evening shared with us their dreadful news. We knew so little about what lay ahead for him and for our family. We're grateful for the pioneering work of Dr. Druker at OHSU and his development of Gleevec, the first tyrosine kinase inhibitor to be approved by the FDA for the treatment of CML. Druker and others have built on this work since Gleevec's approval in 2000 and have been integral in the development of the second generation inhibitors Sprycel and Nilotinib. Sprycel is already FDA approved and Nilotinib is nearing the end of phase III trials. In the 1960's, CML was the first cancer discovered to be linked to a particular genetic event. Since that discovery 30 years ago, it's been on the forefront of drug investigation and discovery. We're lucky that Dad has so many wonderful options available for treatment. Dad has always dealt with this remarkably, his eternal optimism and faith haven't wavered through all that he's endured. Mom has quietly supported him through doctor's visits, the tests that keep coming and coming, my countless lines of questioning, and the waiting through it all. I'm grateful our family is bound so closely together and hope that the coming year and the next battery of tests will reveal an ever-deepening remission for Dad. Others in our family and extended family continue battles of their own and we send our thoughts and prayers to you. In particular Paul & Hiroko, we wish your parents hope and peace in each new day.

Our visit with Mom & Dad was quite nice and gave us a chance to charge our batteries a bit while the boys were in Grandma & Grandpa's hands. Temple Norbis saw several iterations and Mom and Henning built a gravity defying house and pool for McQueen. Sig crawled for the first time over the weekend and tries to climb anything in sight. Our hikes in the snow, sledding at the golf course, and a lunch out at Geddy's marked a relaxing weekend together.

Next step, March 9th, FISH negative, PCR undetectable...right Dad?

One can always hope.

February in Maine

Can you tell we've been feeling a bit house-bound? About 12F outside, stiff 20mph wind and we (presumably of able mind) think it's a good idea to tramp about on a frozen lake. We're lucky the batteries in the camera held out for the few photos we managed to take to actually prove we were that misguided. Once we pulled Sig out of the sled and wrapped him up like a wookie he just growled. Mom just had this look of disbelief on her face, I think it was frozen there. We happily recovered with some hot chocolate at home. We were pleased to share the weekend with Mom-G, she endured more of our cooking including traditional Maine shrimp...we're well aware why it sells for less than a dollar a pound. Henning capitalized Grandma's time with requests for stories and a cuddle or two. Next visit will be warmer, we promise.

Parenting...it's easier than it looks.

When left to their own devices, kids do a fine job of taking care of themselves...until they discover that the plastic bucket containing the legos is actually more interesting than the legos themselves. Grandmothers, be warned, this video could make you want to drive the 500+/- miles to Maine and pilot the ship for a while. Grandfather's, we think you'll appreciate the humor in all of this so watch it alone and chuckle out loud.

Perhaps if posting home movies were as easy 30 years ago, we would've seen proof that plastic buckets, although fun, don't make great helmets.
On a postive note...Sig is doing well, as the photo of him in his new hoodie can attest. Henning quickly recovered from the event after a fruit bar and some chocolate.