Happy Labor Day to everyone-enjoy your picnics and shopping!  We wish we at home to celebrate with you!  All you hard workers, enjoy a day of rest and the symbolic “end of summer”.  For us, we especially miss the fact that we aren’t sitting on Assateague Island, slathered in SPF 50, catching some fish.  Next Summer!

…nothing much to update (thankfully).  Nice visits with my parents today and Kevin got some good naps.  He’s having bad headaches which the fellow thinks are related to a possible sinus irritation or infection.  Pray they can get it figured out.  Kevin’s red blood cell counts are looking good and stable, which means he shouldn’t need blood for a while-yea!

Thank you all for your continued prayers as we head into this week and starting the second round of chemo.  Have a great Labor Day tomorrow!

My online devotional today focused a lot on encouraging others and lifting people up.  I knwo some of you find this blog encouraging, and that encourages us!  Thank you for that.

Right not, we’re literally gettin through the muck.  I can’t describe to you what goes through my mind every day except to say that it’s a constant flutter of fear, love, disappointment, hope, uncertainty, imagination, draining, dreaming, confusion, faith, despair and passion.  And that’s just the beginning.

I may have said this before, but looking in on situations like our before it happened to us, I thought, oh my word-how would you even get through that??  For example, Kev and I watched “50 First Dates” last night.  At the end, we said “Oh my word-can you imagine doing that day in and out” and then we both said “But you do that to be with the ones you love”, and you just do.  When something like this happens-and in some forms, it happens to everyone of us in different situations at different times-when it happens, you just DO.  You don’t have time or energy to focus on giving up, you only have time and energy to focus on pushing ahead.

Your world no longer revolves around where you’ll go on your next vacation, whether you should trade your old car in on a new one, what movies you want to see this week, what new restaurant you want to try, what pair of shoes you absolutely must have, where you should get your hair done, making sure you’re wearing the right brand or label, making sure you have the right title behind you name-none of that matters.  Coming from the generation that literally has the options to HAVE IT ALL, I’m telling you, none of IT means anything!

Yes, I’m materialistic at times-who isn’t?  I like to shop, I like to have THINGS.  But the more I think of going back and packing up our little apartment, I think-wow, there’s so much STUFF we have that means nothing.  Yes, there are sentimental values to things, but honestly, right now, all we want is each other.  And there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Frankly, if we could give it all away without the financial repurcutions of that, we would.  Getting through the muck of things means looking at al lthat you do have and embracing it wholly.  So I hope you embrace your loved ones today and not worry about what THINGS you do or don’t have.  Because none of that ever really matters.

Good Morning everyone-I hope you’re having an enjoyable Sunday morning with your friends and family.  I am!  Today is a grand day: Early this morning, the granade was thrown!  The egg was cracked!  AKA-The 2nd to last tube was pulled out!!!  This is SOO exciting.  Kevin feels like a new man.

Also, I finally found a good way for the esophagostomy bag to stay on!!!  This last one stayed on for about 60 hours!!!  That is a record and just so awesome-that’s the amount of time it SHOULD be staying on (the last ones were averaging staying on just 12 hours).  We’re both very excited and praying the one I just replaced stays in this new, better position.

Another record from yesterday is that Kevin walked to the bathroom for the first time since we were at LGH!  This is such a huge accomplishment.  I imagine this week he’ll start walking around the halls-very exciting.

Last night, he had to get some more blood transfusions due to his red cell counts dropping again, but they didn’t plummet, and he’s still very stable.  Because of the transfusions, he didn’t get much sleep, so hopefully he can nap today.

Today looks like a great day-it’s nice and sunny-not a cloud in the sky.  My parents are coming to visit, and it should be a nice day.  Thanks for all your comments.

Continue to lift us up in your prayers, and praise God this morning for his blessings.

Wow, summer is DEFINITELY not outta here yet-it’s H-O-T out there!  Today has been great so far.  Joni and Lou came in later morning which was so nice.  Joni and I escaped to White Marsh Mall, about 15 minutes south on 95 for a little retail therapy.  I got a pair of VERY comfortable flats for all the walking I’m doing (needed closed toe for Fall coming) and a pair of jeans-all on sale!  Yea!

Of course, on the way back to hospital, we had to make a stop at safeway for some juice shopping.  We loaded up on Juicy Juice and some other new goodies as well.  I hope Kevin likes them!

Joni and Lou just left a few minutes ago, and Kevin and I are enjoying just chilling.  Been a quiet day so far-but we just found out that Kev’s red cell count dropped to 25.5 which means he needs to get 2 units of blood :(.  We’re a bit disappointed, but glad it didn’t plummet.  Pray that the numbers pop back up and stabilize.

Thinking of you all-much love, blessings and prayers being sent your way!

Good morning.  Kev and I are all back and comfy at 5D again, even in our old room.  It feels SO good to be back.  I’m trying to get back our portable tv so we can get the Xbox hooked up so that when Lou comes they can play some guy games.  Exciting!

Another exciting thing-Kev got off the heart monitor this morning!!!  So very happy-he is back to where he was before all this junk happened, and we are quite happy about that.  The Dr’s say that the plan looks to start Kev on his second round of chemo this week, and they’ll just keep a close eye on him!  Wahoo!

Kev is exciting to get back up and walking this week, and he’s also looking forward to getting a new, more comfortable chair in here for him to lounge in outside of the bed.  Fun stuff happening!

He’s back to his full on Juicy Juice kick, so I know things are improving-haha.  Kev got a great sleep last night, which was so great.  He even got an extra nap already this morning.

I hope you all have a wonderful, wonderful day today.  Happy Labor Day to everyone in the states-stay safe!

Well, as God would have it, we’re back in 5D, and even in the same, beautiful room 10!  We are both very, very happy.  It took a long while to get here-first the wait for the discharges, and then, seconds after we were told that our room was ready, someone coded on the floor in the next room.  I was in our new room getting set up, and came over to find chaos in 5C.  We prayed for the patient and the family, and were very relieved to hear they had made it.  It is so scary to hear that “code” word, and even scarier to practically witness it.

Kevin is getting all set up with his monitors and IV’s, and then will hopefully enjoy some warm green tea, some Ativan, and sleep!!  I hope to do the same (minus te Ativan) in a little while.

My sister and her husband are visiting us tomorrow, and hopefully the guys can score a new tv here to hook back up the Xbox and enjoy some GUY TIME.  Joni and I are looking forward to heading to White Marsh Mall to do a little retail therapy.

An update on the other angiosarcoma patient family that I met here-her name is Doris, and I believe his name is Ronnie.  It turns out, they decided not to discharge him!  We are praying that means good things, in that there may be hope for his case, and some comfort.  But I do want to lift up Ronnie not only in prayer for healing, but our sympathy.  His son, just 18, took his own life last week which was very difficult to hear.  Doris says she wasn’t sure if it was because he knew he was going to lose his father, or what, but our prayers certainly have increased for them.

Thanks for all the love you all have left-I LOVE hearing all your comments.  I’m glad you find this blog to be so encouraging and a great read.  It’s very “zen” for me to write and put my thoughts after.  I have always loved writing, and I want to give a BIG shoutout to Mrs. J who truly helped shape my writing and my commitment to it.  Kevin asked me to write a story about our journey, especially this, so it has begun.  I’m just on page 10, so we’ll see where it takes me.  I’m not sure if I’ll write a book just on everything, or if I’ll incorporate the blog in it as well.  That’s to be decided.

Have a wonderful sleep, and a safe, celebratory Labor Day weekend!

Go to http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com and type in “theboitsons.info”.  There you can vote to nominate us for the Best Health Blog!
Thanks!

I bet that half of you reading this blog have never met us, or have never met I! So, I figure it’s time to share the story of “us” in as short of time as possible.

Kevin and I met online just over 3 years ago. I got a mysterious email sent from my old high school personal website that only included a picture. That picture was of Kevin, and after a few emails back and forth, I figured out he didn’t know how to work email, but that he was cute enough to talk to-Ha! Anyways-so began the hours long phone conversations that went well into early morning and caused some very disturbing phone bills (just ask my mom!).

Three weeks into our phone conversations, Kevin’s father passed away abruptly from an angyna attack. It was completely unexpected, and devastating for his family. Kevin held his faith through it, and we bonded even more so through this terrible event. Soon after, we decided it was time for us to finally meet face to face.

In August, Kevin came down to visit for two weeks, and we both admitted it was “love at first site”. The calls continued, and we visited each other as much as possible, although all long distance relationships are extremely difficult.

In April of 2006, Kevin came down to visit me in Montana where I was living at the time (I had moved from Lancaster in February of 2006 to Montana to explore). We were taking a walk along the Bitterroot river downtown, and he got down on one knee and professed his love and commitment to me. We were engaged, and life was roses.

So begins the immigration battle. Over the next 7 months we battled high and low with US immigration to get a K-1 fiance visa for Kevin to move to the states where we could be married. I moved home, as we decided it would be best to make our home in Lancaster. Finally, right around Thanskgiving, we got the best thing to be thankful for: an approval for the visa! Kevin flew to Vancouver over the following weeks to interview, and we were set.

The last week in January of 2007, Kevin and his mom and brother came down to move Kevin in and for our wedding. On February 3, 2007, we were married at New Danville Mennonite Church in Lancaster, Pa. We honeymooned at my parents (primitive-haha-but comfy) hunting cabin in Wellsboro, Pa (northern) and Buffalo, NY. It was cold-did I mention we got married during a record cold week in Pa? That week’s average was around 10 F. Ugh!

During the first 4 months, Kevin was unable to legally work. It was very frustrating and difficult. Finally, in June, he received his working papers, and soon after, his 2 year permanent residency. In August, the position opened with Rohrer’s One Hour, who agreed to hire him on as an apprentice-he was so happy. We had moved to our College Avenue apartment in March and were finally settling into NORMAL married life.

I introduced Kevin to the Atlantic Ocean on Memorial Day weekend of 2007, and he was hooked to ocean life and surf fishing! Ever since, we’ve gotten down to the beach for getaway weekends as much as possible. It’s so relaxing, and so much fun for us.

Over the past year we have enjoyed exploring around the East and just enjoying finally being with each other! We have discovered that we are each other’s perfect fit. We’re a story that wouldn’t have happened, but for the grace of God, and invention of the internet!

We are so happy together and can’t wait to be for many, many years to come. We have so many dreams to fulfill, and through this journey have discovered even more things we want to do.

We thank you for joining in our love story.

Here are a few pictures from back when…

Kissy Kissy while dating, at Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba

Our New Year's Dinner at Assiniboine Park in Winnipeg

At a friend's place in Montana where we had originally hoped to be married...

At our wedding social in Winnipeg

Our Wedding day in Lancaster 🙂

More of that GREAT day!

Running into the COLD!

Walking through Downtown Lancaster after the ceremony

Wonderful Reception Kiss

Numb to the bone on our honeymoon at International Falls

Much warmer staying in Buffalo at The Mansion on Delaware during our honeymoon (notice the Buffalo Sabres gear?-GO SABRES!)

Happier times in Baltimore-During a trip to Fell's Point

Our Favorite Place to be-Assateague Island, Md Fishing!

The Dr’s FINALLY made their rounds AROUND (hehe) 11:30! We got to meet a new gentleman to the “team”. The Fellows are switching (as they do every few weeks) so we’re losing our good pharmacist Leigh, and our great oncology Fellow Daniejla (whom I love dearly). It’s sad, but the new fellow (Kev calls him Allen from Two & A Half Men-haha) seems very thorough and on his game. The goals for today, or at least for over the weekend are:

-Get Kev off the oxygen
-Take Kev off the heart monitor
-Get Surgery to come in and take out the egg (or granade) drain from the stomach
-Flush the other stomach drain tube and hope that it doesn’t drain any more blood (this is the drain that’s putting out the fluid from the clotted area in the stomach)
-Move Kevin back to 5D (For this to happen-discharges need to occur, and no one of greater need than Kev needs to come through-right now-he’s top on the list, and we’re praying we get back over to 5D today!)
-Get PT in this weekend and have him walk!

These are some MAJOR MAJOR goal to happen, and quickly. I think the idea is, we had a BIG setback, but now it’s under control, he’s stable, so let’s bring him back to where he was and push on so if anything happens again, his body is better able to fight.

We’re fighting. Enjoying the rainy day here at Hopkins and our new routines. These are our new full time jobs: Patient and Supporter.