9/29 - Hole in one in the tub, blub...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday, September 29, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Awhile back I told you that the Scout troop went to see “The
Greatest Game Ever Played” It was a pretty good movie, and the
scenery was really good. Even though you knew the outcome, they
made the story very interesting. It’s a great family friendly
movie to take everyone to. I’ll give it a 3 out of 4 son
rating...

Son #4 got to take a shower with me this morning. He got his
plastic PICC line cover on his arm, and hopped in. When I was
done, he said he wanted to take a “shower bath”. Which in little
boy talk means, ‘turn the shower off, keep the water going, and
plug the drain please.’ I did and also put a little shampoo in
there to make some bubbles for him. I turned the water off a few
minutes later and was busy in front of the mirror when he said,
“Wow, that was interesting.” (His exact words) I said, “What’s
so interesting?” He said without missing a beat, “I farted and
it made bubbles!”

Ahh... to discover things as a 4-year-old.

For those of you who get this as email...
Enjoy today’s Jokes!
Marty

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today
is a gift. That's why we call it the present."
~Babatunde Olatunji

=-=-=-
Reader Comment Section:

>Yesterday it took forever to get son #4 into surgery... When he
>went in, he had a choice on how to get there; walk, wagon, or
>toy car.

My 6 year-old son has had several surgeries at the same
hospital. They treat the kids great! I am glad to report that my
son has had a full recovery but still goes back for checkups.
Sometimes out of the blue, he will ask when he gets to go back
to the hospital. They have great toys. (Like we don't have
enough!)
~David C.

[Ahh... to be at a point where your kid ~wants~ to go back...]

Marty,
I just had to ask?

>Although... he does have an uncle who was exactly like that as
>a kid. He's now serving a church missing in Seattle,

Is there any chance that the church can be found?
And if it is in Seattle Is it really missing?
Caught your mistake!
~Don W.

I bet he is serving a mission not a missing though he might be
missed too.
~Wanda D.

[Wow, you guys are quick and observant. I’m surprised no one
else sent that one my way. Yeah, sometimes my fingers do fly a
little faster than my brain. He is missed, the Church isn’t
missing, and he’s on a mission. There, say that 5 times fast.]

9/28 - Mow'n For Cookies!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday as the nurse came to change out Son #4’s PICC line
dressing, she found some very small sores under his dressing.
She said she’d ask what to do and get back with my sweet wife.
They decided to replace it with a different type of dressing
today. (He gets strange blisters if he wears band-aids too long
too... He’s done this for months before tumor diagnosis.)
Anyway, while son #4 and my sweet wife were waiting for the home
health nurse to come, they decided to play in the front yard. My
sweet wife ended up pulling weeds in the flower garden. (Hmm...
maybe I could ask the home health nurse to come every day!) Son
#4 ended up “mowing” our lawn with his plastic mower. Then he
asked my sweet wife if he could go across the street to “Grandma
Neighbor’s” house and “mow” her lawn too. She said, “Ok”. After
awhile, “Grandma Neighbor” came to the door and son #4 ran up to
give her a hug and talk to her. They both went inside for a few
minutes and son #4 emerged with a package of cookies. As my
sweet wife came over to chat, “Grandma Neighbor” explained that
son #4 said, “I mowed your lawn, you have to give me money now.”
(Son #1 mows their lawn most every week). When “Grandma
Neighbor” offered son #4 cookies as payment, he said, “That’s
not money.” But he accepted them anyway.



I guess we’ll need to do some ‘real’ service for someone soon,
so I can teach son #4 not to ask for money and be so forward
with people. Although... he does have an uncle who was exactly
like that as a kid. He’s now serving a church missing in
Seattle, and turned out to be an extremely awesome guy. Maybe
I’ll let well enough alone, and steal another cookie. (grin)

For those of you who get this as email...
Enjoy today’s Jokes!
Marty

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today
is a gift. That's why we call it the present."
~Babatunde Olatunji

=-=-=-
Reader Comment Section:

Mostly quiet today...

9/27 - That went over like a lead balloon

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday, September 27, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Boy, is it only Tuesday? I think this week has dragged (drug?)
on. I keep thinking it should be Friday or something.

And now I think my humor is getting a little darker. Its flu
shot season, and they’re coming out with the shots in the next
week at work. Those of you who have been with us over the years
know that I refuse to get one. Not because I hate needles (I
give blood every 10 weeks or so), but it’s just the thought of
putting a dead flu virus in my system.

Anyway, on my new Pediatric Brain Tumor group that I’ve joined
(They have groups for everything. I think I even saw a left
handed dog juggling group. Now don’t call the SPCA on me. That’s
dogs who are left handed who juggle, not people who juggle dogs
with their left hands... but I digress...) Anyway, I posted a
message about me never having had a flu shot because I thought
flu shots could cause brain tumors...

Ba-dum-bump. Hello? Anyone in the audience?

Um, I don’t think that one went over very well in that group. I
guess I’ll have to temper my new found dark humor by telling you
my jokes. You guys are just bent enough that it might work.

And for those of you who get this as email...
Enjoy today’s Jokes!
Marty

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today
is a gift. That's why we call it the present."
Babatunde Olatunji


=-=-=-
Reader Comment Section:

[Re: Picture of the 5 hairless boys on the blogsite]

Your hairline is receding......
~My evil, heartless, older, and always will be(!) sister #1

[Oh, Hi Sis. Nice of you to chime in. Glad to hear your house
didn’t blow away with Rita... Well, kind of (big grin)]

Hi Marty,
Just wanted to let you know my family & I went to Chili's for
dinner tonight in honor of son #4. We all colored Chili Peppers
too. Anything thing that helps children is a great cause to me.
You are all in my thoughts & prayers often, you all feel like
family, I have been getting your newsletter for so long now. My
daughter is 5 & my son is 4, I think he & son #4 are within a
few weeks of each other.
Sincerely,
Jennifer K.
Tucson, AZ

[Yup, they were born just a couple of weeks apart. Funny how
life goes by so quick...]

9/26 - Hair in my chips

Son #1 looks really happy 'eh?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monday, September 26, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tonight we went to Chili’s for dinner and to color some chili
peppers for St. Jude Children’s hospital. We got a table near
the back, and right near the pickup station. While one of the
waitresses walked by, she dropped a huge plate of chips and
salsa. She went to her table to deliver the rest of what she was
carrying. When she came back by our table son #3 said, “Cleanup
on isle 3!” The whole table laughed along with the poor
waitress.

I posted a picture of the 5 hairless boys on the blog.

And, if you get the email version...
Enjoy today’s Jokes!
Marty

=-=-=-
Reader Comment Section:

Did not see your chili recipe...our church had two contests...
first time I came in 2nd the second time 1st place... As far as
St Jude...our nephew's wife was a patient when she was
young...and still goes there now for checkups...what a great
place...Danny Thomas did a great thing.
Also, our prayers are with you all as well God Bless!
Mair, formerly NJ now GA
ps I'm a lefty...

9/25 - Hot Peppers

Mouse over these to see who did them

9/24 - Back home, ready to eat at Chilis!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Saturday, September 24, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a quick Saturday night issue.

Son #4 made it home from the hospital fine today. My sweet wife
spent the first two nights with him, and I spent last night with
him. One night was plenty for me. I was ready to leave, but I
wasn’t sure son #4 was. They did a lumbar puncture, and his back
was pretty sore. He was walking like a hunched over geriatric
patient. But, his pain tolerance is pretty big, so he didn’t
complain much. Everything else checked out fine, and it seems
once he gets moving around and works things out, he’s fine. So,
they let him go. When he came home with his brothers, he was in
full force. It amazes me how fast he bounces back. He was
playing with his army guys, running around outside with his
brothers, and he and son #3 were playing mailman. (The mailman
came to the door today to see how son #4 was doing. Son #4 used
to go across the street to ‘Grandma Neighbors’ and get two
pieces of candy. He’d eat one, and leave one for the postman. He
says he wants to be a postman when he grows up.) Anyway, with
all of the running around, I wanted him to slow down, stop
climbing on things, and just watch TV or something. But, I
didn’t say anything to him. It was good to see him run with the
brothers.

Now, the real reason I wanted to do a Saturday issue, was to
remind you of the Chili’s donation on Monday of 100% of their
profits to St. Jude Children’s research hospital to fight
childhood cancer. (See St.Jude or Chilis) When you go, you can
also buy a placemat sized chili for a buck and color it.
(Money also goes to St. Jude’s). After seeing son #4 in action
today, I’m more than convinced that he’ll be ready for an
outing on Monday. We’ll be eating there, how about you?

Also, if you’d like to color an online version of a chili, you
can go here Then, if you’d like, email the chili to me
(under ‘email to a friend’ link) and I’ll post them on the blog site.

I’ve posted a chili that I made for son #4 on the blog site.
It’s really cheesy, but cheese and peppers go together, right?



Oh, and if you don’t get too grossed out, I’ve also posted pix
of son #4’s MRI before his first surgery on the blog site.



From the front, looking at him face to face


From the bottom of his head, looking to the top
Tumor is on his left side.

Nasty stuff 'eh? Now, got eat lunch (grin)...

Have a great Sunday!
Enjoy today’s Jokes!
Marty

"Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today
is a gift. That's why we call it the present."
Babatunde Olatunji

=-=-=-
Reader Comment Section:

>If the left side of your brain controls the right side of your
>body, then only left-handed people are in their right mind.

Hi Marty, This joke is actually partly true--or the opposite is
true, whichever you like. There are a number of right-handed
people who have survived and live well with only the left side
of their brain (the right side having been removed). The same
cannot be accomplished by removing the left side of the brain.
Our "left brain" apparently has most of what we need to get by.
This explains why it is so hard to get left-handed people to
write with their right hands, as work normally done by the
person's right brain would have to be completed then transferred
to the left brain before instructions to activate the fingers
could happen. As I think about the people I meet each day, I
have no problem with the conclusion that only left-handed people
are in their right mind. Too bad I don't know many left-handed
people. Thanks for telling us about the struggles of son #4.
Your journal of his trials may be therapeutic for many of us
readers as well as for you. Life is not easy for anyone. Cheers
Bill A.

[It’s too bad you don’t know many lefties. Nice folks (just like
anyone else) but it’s a tough go if you eat next to a leftie on
who is your right side... ]

Marty, You and your 'sweet wife' have had a very "hard row to
hoe" the last few months. But I want to commend you all, your
faith has not slipped, and no! your blog is informative to us
who care about you, and not depressing! I send your info as
prayer request to everyone I know, and people talk about son
#4’s progress like he is the kid next door. Know that you are
loved and prayed for like you were the kid next door. Keep us
informed, we care. your friend in Christ,
(Rev.) Carol W. (Az)

[Thank you Reverend!]

9/22 - Can you hear me now?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thursday, September 22, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday it took forever to get son #4 into surgery. The bone
flap was stored off in a different building on the medical
campus, over at the University. He finally went into his 1:30
surgery at 3:30. When he went in, he had a choice on how to get
there; walk, wagon, or toy car. He chose a plastic police car,
with sirens blaring and a noisy radio. The nurse that was
pushing was a 'police dispatcher' and played the part well, "We
need back up here 'kzzz' Can you read me, over?" They were
having a great time walking down the hall to surgery...

The assisting surgeon told my sweet wife this morning that after
son #4 got in to the operating room, he indignantly asked the
surgeon, "Why did you take my bone out?" Son #4 said he couldn't
remember what his answer was... But he also asked to see his
bone before the put it in. He said it "looked like a wall." But
he couldn't describe much more. I can just see a world famous,
Mt. Everest climbing, brain surgeon being asked a bunch of
questions by a precocious 4-year-old. (Yes, he actually climbed
Everest http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,600153058,00.html)

After surgery, the doc said he had calcium growth already
forming, so it shouldn't be a problem with healing. But he had
to drain some fluid where the tumor was in order to get the flap
back in and not put pressure on the brain. He said that was
normal. (if not gross...)

Today I spent a couple of hours with Son #4 and my sweet wife
before going to work this morning. I fed him a little breakfast
that he threw up after I left for work. They weren't sure it was
because of surgery drugs, a backed up system, or pressure on the
brain. So they left his brain fluid drain in for now, but pulled
everything else out. He also had a pretty tender back where they
did the spinal tap.

I came back to spend lunch with them, and as I walked in I said,
“Hey bud, I heard you threw up.” He looked at me with big eyes
and said, “You ~heard~ me throw up?”

Um, sort of...

Enjoy today’s Jokes!
Marty

=-=-=-
Reader Comment Section:

The Last joke about the guy breaking his wife's hard drive was
good! BUT roses alone, won’t save the poor guy! I know this from
experience!
Don!

[Ouch!]

Please don't think your updates are depressing. My opinion is
the updates express how much hope and support you show your
family. You have a great family and very good friends around
you, not to mention all your readers. All our prayers are with
you each and every day.
~Linda

Huge kudos to you and sons #1, #2, and #3 for shaving your
heads.
~Doug S.

[Who’da thunk a persons head could get cold in 80º September?!]

9/21 - Bone Back!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was a good hospital day. Two years ago, son #4 got a kitchen set for Christmas. One with pots, pans, plastic food, plates, etc. He still plays with that once in awhile. He has a very vivid imagination, and does well with ‘imagination’ toys. At one point today we were in the radiology department, waiting for them to call us for his CT scan. In the waiting room they had a kitchen set like the one he has at home. My sweet wife was using my laptop to check her email, so I was ‘recruited’ to play with him. He had me turn some knobs and push some buttons while he ‘cooked’ the food. Then he put it on the table, and told me to come over and ‘eat’ with him. I said, “Ok, you get the hotdog, and I’ll eat the egg.” He looked at me and said, “Dad, say prayers.” So in the crowded CT waiting room, I closed my eyes and quietly whispered “subba subba subba Amen”. Son #4 looked at me indignantly and said, “not that...” and then in his loudest-make-sure-everyone-can-hear-you-voice he said, “SAY PRAYERS!” So we said a quick and quiet prayer over our plastic food. I looked up and some lady was snickering, “You’ve taught him well.”

When I got home late from the hospital tonight, a neighbor had already brought in dinner in for the other boys, and they had consumed a good part of it. As I ate my dinner alone, I asked each of the boys to come up individually and tell me how their day went (Being the first day of buzzed hair). Son #1 had the best day. He said when he told his story why his head was shaved; he got 2 or 3 hugs from girls. I told him as long as that’s all he got, he was ok.

After surgery today, I got to go in the recovery room while son #4 woke up. When I got there, the nurse said that the first words out of his mouth were, “I got my bone back!” and his first words to me were the same, “DAD! I got my bone back!” He drank some root beer slurpie and drifted in and out of sleep. After we took him to his room, he was pretty mad that we forgot to tell him he’ll spend a couple of days at the hospital. He wanted to go home with me tonight.

Enjoy today’s Jokes!
Marty

=-=-=-
Reader Comment Section:

Don't worry about your site being depressing... we want to be
kept in touch with what is going on with Son #4, and with all of
you. As in all our lives, there are good and bad times. We
share all of it, right? All of you are in our prayers today.
~Linda B.

our prayer is for a speedy recovery for # 4 and a special prayer
for #1 who has a terrible taskmaster for a father. When he is 25
he will rejoice that you were a father who cared enough to
insist he do his best. Your veiwer mail has been a little slow
this past week. I find people will be afraid and not
do anything but we need to reach beyond the fear of saying the
wrong things and express ourselves. It gets kind of lonely when
people don't speak up. You have a great support system in your
life. prayers are with you.
~Kay L.

Hi Marty,
Will be thinking of you all tomorrow - and hoping it's not too
cold for the new haircut. With very best wishes,
~Ruth

[Funny you should say something. I need a stocking cap!]

Marty,
I can only speak for myself, but I have not found your website
"depressing". I have been saddened to read of the pain and
tribulations that you and your family; especially son #4, have
gone through, but I'm also honored that you would share this
with me; along with all your other readers, so that I can keep
you lifted up in prayer. Please continue to share in as much as
you feel comfortable doing. You and your family are in my
prayers that God will bless and keep you during this terrible
time. Your brother in Christ,
~Eddie

I have the book "If I Get To Five".
I loved it. The author, Dr. Epstein, holds a special place in my
family's heart for his loving consideration of my niece Kyra.
When you feel ready, you should consider reading it. It's
inspirational, the words written coming from one of the most
compassionate and loving doctors you could ever hope to meet,
who also happened to be one of the best neurosurgeons ever.
He suffered a serious head injury after a biking accident, and
he can no longer operate. In an ironic and touching twist of
fate, the surgeons he so lovingly trained ended up caring for
him after his brain injury. We're praying for Jimmy today, may
his bone flap surgery go well.
~Kathy

[Oh, it’s not a bad book by any means. The title just catches
you off guard when you’re not ready for it. I did finish it
Monday]

9/20 - Do your homework and Shave your head!

[sorry so late with this issue. Blogger.com died last night]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Someone at work today told me that my website was getting
depressing. "What's up with that `if I make it to five' book?
Why would they send you such a thing? That's depressing." She's
right. So, nothing sad in today's issue.

We all were a little excited, and worried about cutting our hair
tonight to support son #4's surgery tomorrow. As I left work,
one lady came running up, "Oh, I want to feel your hair before
you cut it off. I'm so proud of you." So, I let her. It was kind
of a strange feeling. But, not as strange as it feels with no
hair!

Sons #2 and #3 were easy to convince. It just took me a dozen
krispy kream doughnuts. (Those things are $6 a dozen! Wow, no
wonder why I've never bought them.) But, I was a little worried
about son #1. He currently has no computer privileges because of
his school grades. Not that he's doing really poor, but he has
to keep his grade to a certain level, and if not, he gets kicked
off the computer. At the first of the quarter, it's hard,
because if he misses just one assignment, it will kill his
grade. And it did.

So, we negotiated and he'll get 2 weeks, 4 and a half days of
computer privileges, as long as he does his homework first.
Anyway, he was the first to cut, and even went so far as to
shave. Plus he `helped' me get his brothers into the chair so I
could get them too.

I'll post some pics soon.

Don't forget son #4 in your prayers tomorrow.

Enjoy today's Jokes!
Marty

=-=-=-
Reader Comment Section:

Still quiet today.

9/20 - Hairy Depression

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Someone at work today told me that my website was getting
depressing. “What’s up with that ‘if I make it to five’ book?
Why would they send you such a thing? That’s depressing.” She’s
right. So, nothing sad in today’s issue.

We all were a little excited, and worried about cutting our hair
tonight to support son #4’s surgery tomorrow. As I left work,
one lady came running up, “Oh, I want to feel your hair before
you cut it off. I’m so proud of you.” So, I let her. It was kind
of a strange feeling. But, not as strange as it feels with no
hair!

Sons #2 and #3 were easy to convince. It just took me a dozen
krispy kream doughnuts. (Those things are $6 a dozen! Wow, no
wonder why I’ve never bought them.) But, I was a little worried
about son #1. He currently has no computer privileges because of
his school grades. Not that he’s doing really poor, but he has
to keep his grade to a certain level, and if not, he gets kicked
off the computer. At the first of the quarter, it’s hard,
because if he misses just one assignment, it will kill his
grade. And it did.

So, we negotiated and he’ll get 2 weeks, 4 and a half days of
computer privileges, as long as he does his homework first.
Anyway, he was the first to cut, and even went so far as to
shave. Plus he ‘helped’ me get his brothers into the chair so I
could get them too.

I’ll post some pics soon.

Don’t forget son #4 in your prayers tomorrow.

Enjoy today’s Jokes!
Marty

=-=-=-
Reader Comment Section:

Still quiet today.

9/19 - Chili's Bear Hair

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Monday, September 19, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

First, I wanted to let you know how much I appreciate Justin
filling in for my on Fridays (And sometimes Monday mornings :-)
It keeps things going around here, plus gives me a day off
during the week. For those of you only reading the blog, you can
check out Justin’s humor almost every week at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/martysjotd

It’s been a year since we joined up with blogger.com and I
thought the site looked a little dated, so it’s got a whole new
look. Visit it at http://martysjotd.blogspot.com

Anyway, those of you who have been with us for awhile know that
I’m a computer technician for the huge hospital conglomerate
here in Utah. It’s the same place that took son #4’s tumor out.
They really do do good work. (I guess they do well on costs too,
because we’re still only around $105,000 on total bills.)

Anyway, every other Friday, we have our computer guys’ staff
meeting at the main office and we generally end up going to
lunch afterwards. Computer geeks working in the medical field
can generate quite an interesting conversation. On Friday we
ended up teasing each other about getting colonoscopies. I’m not
sure some of the other tables enjoyed our conversation, but our
table sure did.

I’m a little reluctant to say that I don’t mind going to work
just to get my mind off of son #4 and his cancer. Which
unfortunately leaves my sweet wife home to deal with it 24/7.
Still, going to Chili’s for lunch with ‘the guys’ was a welcome
break. That was, until we walked in. They had crayon colored
chili peppers all over the walls, and signs posted everywhere
saying they’re raising money for St. Jude’s and childhood
cancer.

Needless to say, I didn’t participate too much in the
colonoscopy conversation. I was too busy thinking about son #4.
(You can color a virtual chili pepper at
http://www.createapepper.com/ Also on Monday, September 26;
Chili’s will donate 100% of their profits from that day to St.
Jude’s children’s research hospital. (at least $100,000) So, if
son #4 is up to it after his bone flap replacement surgery this
Wednesday, I think we’ll go there. I hope you’ll all go there
too. (Speaking of Wednesday’s surgery, don’t forget us in your
prayers!)

I think I told you that “Parker Bear”, the bear we got from the
children’s brain tumor foundation ended up being moms bear. That
lasted for about an hour. Son #4 looked so cute with him, plus,
my sweet wife put “corn flake” bandages on the bear to match son
#4’s ko-flex bandages.

Since it’s a possibility that we’re all shaving our heads, and
my sweet wife is chopping off 8” of her hair for locks of love
tomorrow, we decided to get family pictures taken by brother-in-
law #1 on Saturday. (You can see son #4 and Parker bear on the
blog site.) Brother-in-law #1 does excellent work, so if you
need family pictures, email me and I’ll get you his information.
(shameless plug)

As always,
Enjoy today’s Jokes!
Marty

=-=-=-
Reader Comment Section:

All quiet today.

9/16 - That's just not fair...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Friday, September 16, 2005
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It’s Friday. Not my usual day to do an issue, but... The stars
seemed to have lined up just right. Justin seems to be a no-show
today, there was a Cub pack meeting tonight, so no date night
with my sweet wife, and I worked overtime on Wednesday and
missed an issue, which produced guilt; so, here I am...

We have a very small Cub pack. There are only 4 boys, including
son #3. So, at pack meeting when it’s game time, or running
around time, sons #1, #2, and #4 also get into the act. Son #4
was running around like not a thing in the world was wrong with
him. He played in all of the games and participated in
everything. I wish I felt that good...

We got a package today from the Children’s Brain Tumor
Foundation. It had all sorts of cool stuff in it. A book about a
teddy bear with a tumor, some Sponge Bob Square pants cards, a
Michael Bublè CD, and a teddy bear with a red bandanna ‘rag’ on
him. (We won’t take him to the state fair, I promise.) In the
last 4 weeks, son #4 has been showered with all manner of gifts,
visitors, cookies, cakes, candy, and ice cream. So, with this
batch of stuff, the bear ended up as moms, and the rest of the
toys were tagged as “everyone’s” toys. Boy, it’s not easy
keeping a kid with a tumor unspoiled. Who would of ever thought
we’d be faced with ~that~ problem. Interesting...

Then, in the package there was a book titled, “if I get to
five”. Oh, that’s just so not fair. When I got home from work
and saw the book cover I put it down and went to my room and did
my 5 minutes of daily crying.

Stupid tumor.

Ok, now let’s make that a total 6 minutes today.

Well, that means less blubbering tomorrow, right? Right!

Sorry. Something funny now.

At the pack meeting we have a great Cub Master. He handed out
some cards for staying safe. We talked about what to do when
you’re lost, and then we talked a little bit about flag
etiquette. We talked about how to put a flag at half mast; (All
the way up briskly, then down half way, slowly.) Anyway, he
asked the pack, “Does anyone know why all of the flags are being
flown half mast this week?” Son #4 was sitting on my sweet
wife’s lap and said, “Because I’m sick?”

No son, not quite.

Anyway,
Enjoy today’s Jokes!
Marty

=-=-=-
Reader Comment Section:

Speaking of all things "mandatory," I applied for a store credit
card at Future Shop. Just as I was about to sign on the dotted
line, I noticed that a $25.00 membership fee would be applied to
the first month's statement. When I questioned this fee, the
clerk told me this is a mandatory fee, it's part of the package
that allows you to buy very expensive electronic stuff and then
take 3 months to pay for it, without interest. I asked the clerk
to cancel the whole application, since I have no "interest"
(there's a pun for you!) in paying a fee for the privilege of
buying stuff. They told me I would have to call the head office
on Monday to cancel my account... ...I explained that I wanted
to cancel my account. When she asked for the reason, I replied
that I did not want to pay the $25.00 fee. "Oh," she said,
"we'll waive that fee." Wait a minute, I said, how can you just
waive the fee, if it's mandatory? "Oh," she said, "we'd rather
have your continued business than your membership fee." Then why
do you charge the fee in the first place? I asked. "Oh," she
said, "We have to. It's mandatory." I can only quote Homer
Simpson ... "D'oh!"
~Joanne - Montreal, Canada

9/15 - Milk contains Protons?

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Thursday, September 15, 2005
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Sorry about not doing an issue yesterday. I had the ‘chance’ to do
5 hours of ‘mandatory’ overtime at work, so I took it. Then, I
figured after 11PM my JOTD issue wouldn’t make any sense anyway.
But, I thought about you guys. That counts, doesn’t it?

Yesterday and today were quite productive days for gathering cancer
information. The internet really brings people with similarities
together. There are several groups out there that deal only with
pediatric ependymomas. There is also a user group that deals with
childhood cancers that sends out thousands of emails a month. I
joined and got a lot of questions answered. I got the phone number,
and spoke with a doctor at St. Jude’s children’s research hospital.
He’s supposed to be the world’s most knowledgeable doctor on
treating childhood ependymomas. He also suggested that we do
radiation therapy for son #4.

I’m also learning about new treatments through this group. Someone
mentioned proton radiation therapy. Protons are physical particles
that don’t go as deep into the brain, because they are stopped by
brain matter. Whereas x-ray beams, aren’t made up of particles, but
are rays that go right through the brain. (They intersect several
small beams to meet at one place in the tumor bed to get max
radiation at the one point, without as much going through the rest
of the brain.) Anyway, it’s another option we may have. Here are a
couple of sites about it.

http://www.proton-therapy.org/pr02.htm
http://www.massgeneral.org/cancer/about/providers/radiation/proton/psrt.asp
http://www.oncolink.upenn.edu/treatment/treatment.cfm?c=9
http://www.llu.edu/proton/index.html


Son #4 is now scheduled to have the bone flap put back in next
Wednesday. We’re trying to schedule all of his other ‘have-to-be-
sleeping-for’ procedures done at the same time. Spinal fluid check,
MRI, earwax volume testing, toenail length observations, you know,
the really important things in life.

Anyway, son #4 is really ~really~ getting back to normal. So much
so that we’re getting a little worried that every time he runs
anywhere that he’ll smack or poke his head where the bone is
missing. Plus, he hates his helmet. Every time he stops (which
isn’t often anymore) he’ll take it off and said, “I’m not moving
now!” So, we’re constantly on guard for his head.

At dinner tonight, it was good to get back to some giggles. It’s
been too long. Out of nowhere son #4 said, “Hey dad, do you know
where milk comes from?” I said, “Where??” He said, “From Cows!” I
told him he was wrong and milk comes from milk cartons at the
store. He tired to argue with me, but I spanked him and sent him to
his room. Ok, not really. But then I said, “Where did you hear that
from?” I think that confused him, so he stopped and thought. Then
said, “Oh, I picked it up.” To which son #2 started laughing pretty
hard. Then, son #3 said, “Hey dad, I got to milk a cow yesterday!”
and I said, “How on earth did you do that?” He looked at me, put
his hand in the air, and started squeezing in imaginary udder. That
made son #2 laugh even harder, and we all joined in. (Son #3 went
to a local ‘farm’ with some friends.) Anyway, it was good to get
some good belly laughs in for a chance.

Since son #4’s surgery is scheduled for Wednesday, I’m trying to
get sons #1, #2, and #3 to shave their heads with me on Tuesday
night to ‘support’ son #4. I’m also trying to have my sweet wife
cut her awesomely gorgeous strawberry blonde hair for locks of love
(www.locksoflove.org) but I’m not sure how things will turn out,
but I’ll let you know.

As always...
Enjoy today’s Jokes!
Marty

P.S. Here’s a cool site. It’s the story of Ross Romenesko, he’s the
author of “I had a tumor, it wasn’t a rumor.”
http://www.rossromenesko.org/


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Reader Comment Section:

The Cabela's opening sounds almost as bad as the IKEA opening I
went to a few weeks ago. There was a freeway access ramp that was
partially shut down to accommodate the traffic, with traffic
control and signs on where to go to park, multiple parking lots,
then a 30 minute line to get into the store. (In line, since it was
in the hot Texas sun, they were handing out bottles of water.)
Once you got into the store, there kind of had a path mapped out so
you could see everything in the store, but boy, if you got out of
the line of people following the path to go look at something, it
was like merging into rush hour traffic to get back in!

I hadn't ever been to an IKEA before, and it was a pretty cool
store, but I would recommend not going to a grand opening! There
was a woman in front of me in line who said she'd been to several
IKEA stores before. I asked why she was standing in line to see
this one, and she said she didn't know....... Go figure!
~My #1 Sister

Marty I hope son #4 keeps up his usual mischief and that all goes
well with his treatments. We are praying for you and your family
constantly...
~Anita M.