Watson Update

Well, we saw the specialist today and unfortunately, the news isn’t any better. Hemangiosarcoma is just a really nasty kind of cancer. The most is known about the type that originates in the spleen but even when it originates under the skin like Watson’s it has a very similar prognosis. Usually without any treatment or removal of the original site of the cancer the dog will die within 4-6 weeks. If the only treatment is to remove the cancer average survival is 4 months. With the addition of chemo-therapy, survival increases to 6 – 9 months.

We don’t know if Watson has any tumors other than the one that was removed and the pathology report was unclear as to if the entire tumor in that location was removed. The cancer cells went very close to the border so it was difficult to tell if the borders were clear or not. We could have elected to have a full work up (blood work, chest x-ray and abdominal CT for $600 - $700) but the doctor said the only reason to do that is if we had decided to do chemo therapy. Even though the chemo therapy treatment for this particular cancer is not terribly expensive (total around $2000 plus the $600 - $700 of blood work/CT & X-ray every 2 – 3 months) we have decided that Watson doesn’t need to spend his last days with any possibility of being sick from chemo especially since it will not cure the cancer.

Watson may have no symptoms at all until he collapses from internal bleeding that is the primary cause of death of dogs with this type of cancer. So, as soon as he gets his stitches out we are going to throw the ball for him as much as possible, take him swimming and generally spoil him rotten for as long as he is with us.

We are very thankful for all of you that love him (almost) as much as we do. And a special thanks to Jessie & Keith for taking care of him this weekend so we don’t have to cancel our 10th Anniversary trip.

Randy Pausch

Randy Pausch, the Computer Science Professor from Carnegie Melon University that gave his now famous "last lecture" last fall, died today of pancreatic cancer. If you haven't had a chance to watch either the abridged or long version of his lecture, I highly recommend it. He also published a book in April based on the lecture.



You can watch the video here.

He started his lecture with the following quote "you can't change the cards you are dealt, just how you play the hand".

Our baby Watson

We just wanted to let you know about the bad news we got on our baby Watson today. You might be aware from our last post that he had what we had hoped was a fatty tumor removed from his sternum area on Friday. He has a 6 inch long incision site and has been a bit uncomfortable for the last few days but has done pretty well considering. We first noticed the lump a couple of months ago and had it checked by the vet – it was very small and felt like a fatty tumor on exam. However, it has grown significantly in the last month and two weekends ago he was very tired/depressed acting all weekend so I took him in to have the tumor checked last Monday. Because he is such a young dog (will be 5 in October) and because of the rapid growth the vet decided it should be removed.

Unfortunately, the lab results have come back and the tumor was cancerous. It is called Hemangiosarcoma and is a pretty bad form of cancer (not that any forms of cancer are good mind you!). It is slightly possible that this tumor was a “skin” tumor and if they got it all that it could be “cured”. Pathology did indicate clean borders but it was deeply embedded in the muscle. However, a surface level tumor of this type is usually a secondary site resulting from metastasis from the original location – usually in the heart or spleen. Usually, this type of cancer isn’t even discovered until the dog collapses since it is usually in internal organs. If the cancer has originated from another location, we likely only have a few more weeks with our buddy. Even with intensive treatment, life is usually only prolonged to 5 – 7 months and it can be thousands of dollars for a dog his size.

As you can imagine, this is pretty devastating news for us. We have a consult on Monday afternoon with an internist Veterinarian at Central Valley Animal Hospital (Dr. Cooke). She will do further exam – decide if further diagnostics are worthwhile and help us make an appropriate plan.

Here's a few pictures of our boy:


Baby Watson - December 2003:


Chasing Ezra (our old kitty who died two years ago):


Good Boy:


Caught sleeping on the couch:


With his good buddy Reuben and our old neighbor Isabella:


With Nicholas and Arianna (he is wonderful with kids and had an especially special relationship with Nicholas.)









Riding in the Truck:



And - his all time favorite activity...chasing a ball


Even better - catching it mid-air:

No more UGLY BRIGHT BLUE TRIM

The time has finally come to rid ourselves of the "ugly bright blue trim". Seriously, that is how we directed people to our house..."It's the 5th house on the right, light gray with ugly bright blue trim".

Thank goodness for our wonderful neighbors Keith and Jessie who loaned us their sprayer....WOW - that really is the only way to go if speed is at all a concern. We still have some painting to do at the back of the house and some touch ups here and there but it is really coming along - I LOVE PAINT!!! It's not very expensive and it makes a world of difference.

So, here are a few shots of the "BEFORE":

This first photo is from the listing when we bought the house - you can see how few plants there were in the yard then.



This one is probably two years ago:



And this is just a few weeks ago:



Drum roll please.....here are the "AFTER" photos:





As you can see, we also got rid of the unsightly wrought iron railing on the porch. Sometime in the next few months we will be doing a porch make-over with new railings and a new Darin built front door. I can't wait...but we have a few things in the back yard to finish first so I'll just have to!

And, just to add a little excitement to our lives - Watson had a walnut size tumor removed from his sternum on Friday - they had to pick it free of the muscle. The incision is 6" long and we are supposed to keep him "quiet" for 2 weeks....GOOD LUCK. He had been home less than 24 hours when he started begging for a ball throwing session. The vet suggested putting a t-shirt on him to keep him from scratching or otherwise irritating the wound so here he is sporting the XO logo! Please note, that his collar actually matches.




And - here is THE MAN and his dog (Darin really is THE MAN - he did 99% of the painting and got it done amazingly fast).



Just in case you needed proof - here is the painter MAN and his assitant (Tyson the Taper) hard at work last Saturday.

Parties, Weekend Adventures, 4th of July etc

So, I was looking at all of the photos on my camera and realized there were several events and adventures that I haven't recorded on the blog. I've been a little pre-occupied with the home improvement projects. So...here are some of the non-house related things we have been doing:

First - In April we had the pleasure of attending a "Meet Maddy" party at Auntie Suzette's to welcome Mike & Julie's newest addition. Maddy is from China and is JUST adorable. She also has a wonderful big sister Katrienne to look up to.

Here is Maddy with her Mom & Dad



In April we also attended a WONDERFUL Pipe organ recital at Seattle's Benaroya hall. No photos of that but we highly recommend it if you get the opportunity to watch such a performance.

In May we attended the season finale performance of the Bremerton Symphony - suffice to say, we can't believe we haven't been making a point to attend all along. They do a FABULOUS job. Our friend Melanie plays violin with the symphony and gave us her comp ticket for the performance - it was GREAT! We definitely plan to attend more often.


In June we attended the Seattle Mountaineers Forest Theater production of Beauty and the Beast. Darin attended Forest Theater performances as a child. We missed last year but saw Anne of Green Gables there two years ago. It is a beautiful outdoor amphitheater in the woods near Seabeck. We also visited the Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island - Darin got the photo below of one of the swans preening. These are two MUST SEE locations if you ever have the chance.



Also in June, I helped Nancy M. throw a baby shower for Jessi R. Here are a few photos of that fun event. They are expecting baby girl #3 in just a few short weeks.

Cake:



Jessi & her youngest daughter Elena (big sister Ryann was also there along with Jessi's mom Peggy and mother-in-law Sandra and several good friends).



The last weekend in June Tyson was down again to help with house projects, Logan came down Saturday evening for the night and then Leah arrived on Sunday and stayed until Wednesday. We had a wonderful time with all three of them.

Fourth of July Weekend found us headed southeast to Boise and Twin Falls, ID. We spent Thursday night with Kimberli & her husband Tony in Kennewick. Sadie Subaru lost her air conditioning on Thursday right before we left town (of course NO ONE could get us in to fix it). BLESS THEIR HEARTS - Kimberli and Tony insisted we take their new mini-van the rest of the way. They saved my sanity for SURE! We traded vehicles back on our way home.

Kimberli & Tony:



Friday we headed south to Brad & Patty K's to spend the night. We spent 4th of July evening with Sam & Shanna V - really enjoyed getting to know them and their cute kids. Unfortunately, I left our camera back at Brad & Patty's and don't have a single photo of that fun evening (if you click on the Sam & Shanna link above they have a few pics posted). Saturday morning we headed even further south to Twin Falls, ID for Blair N & Kristin I's wedding. We felt so honored to be invited and just loved having the opportunity to share their special day with them.

Kristin & her Mom walking down the aisle:



Blair & Kristin saying their vows (under the amazing rose covered arbor):



Officially Married:



Blair & Kristin with the Mayor of Twin Falls (who conducted the ceremony):



Newlyweds with Blair's Dad Scott's family (including Darren & Emily that we used to know in Seattle)




BBQ Pizza Luncheon (they actually made the pizza on the BBQ):



Scott & Ellen N:




And, a shot of Darin and I in the WONDERFUL shade tree that the tables were set up around:




After the Wedding we went back to Boise to stay with Brad & Patty and ended up spending the evening in downtown Boise. What a great downtown area and to make it even better we ran in to a "cruise in" that was part of a huge weekend long car show at the local fairgrounds. Here are a couple of the highlights:




Here is a photo of Brad, Patty, Taylor & Braden before we left on Sunday morning. We had a great time with them - lots of singing and catching up!:



Next we were off to see Kim & Doug S & their boys in Ontario, OR. They live on a farm and have four of the cutest boys you've ever seen. They are all so smart in school, excellent at sports and great farmers! We loved our time with them too.

Kim & Robin H (also visiting along with Bonnie S while we were there):



The "big boys" (from left to right: Laramie, Jackson, Sage):



The "little boy" Orin - still sleeping:



We've decided that when we have kids we need to take them to spend a week on the farm every summer!! (We haven't asked permission from Kim & Doug yet though - they may nix the idea:-) And, next time, I'll have to get a good photo of Doug to share!

Last Thursday we attended the Mark O'Connor, Maya Beiser concert with the Seattle Symphony (violin & cello). It was an absolutely wonderful performance. If you ever have a chance to see Mark DO IT!

This last weekend we started painting the house - decided to do it before putting the deck in so that we don't have to do any more taping and draping than absolutely necessary. It went really fast so hopefully will be able to have a before and after photo of that by the end of the week. Tyson came to help again on Saturday.

Sunday evening we went to Seattle to meet Mom & Dad for the evening (they are in town for Dad's cancer treatment at Virginia Mason). Tyler joined us for dinner - here are a couple of photos from our evening:

Tyler with Darin and I (with my very wind blown hair from the ferry):



Tyler with Nana & Bobpa - love this picture:



And the ferry ride home:





Well, that should about catch you up with what's been going on around here - never a dull moment, that's for sure.

Another Masterpiece by Darin

Darin's company (Real Carriage Doors) moved into a new space several months ago. They have been building a new office at one end and Darin has built all of the office doors. Each one is a different design and they are each made out of different kinds of wood. They are really beautiful. This one is my favorite - it is for Beth's office (she is one of the owners). The panels are made of lace wood and the frame out of mahogany. The window has a glass sphere in the center. If it were for sale, this door would sell for several thousand dollars. The lockset alone was $1200 if I remember correctly.

Below is a photo of the Real Carriage Doors Crew with most of the office doors. Aren't those doors just amazing??!!