Good Luck charm

What a great night for some White Sox baseball!  We went to the game on Friday night, and saw the White Sox beat Tampa Bay.  Cousin Roger got us amazing seats and for an extra bonus there were fireworks after the game.  Lar definitely is the Sox lucky charm...not only did the white sox win but the division leader, the Detroit Tigers, lost.  I'd say it was a pretty great night!

After the game, we visited Larry's brick that I got him as a Christmas gift the year the Sox won the championship.  Here's a picture of him with it.  He was so thrilled to take the picture :)

This Tuesday is Larry's 4th chemo treatment this round.  Please send good thoughts his way that he continues to tolerate the side effects of the chemo. 
And as you can see his thumb is still bandaged and is slowly healing.

The LRM Crew is growing in members for the walk on October 21st.  Try-outs are unnecessary for our team, we do not cut, so please consider joining us as we walk the Get Your Rear in Gear 5k.  My mom is hosting a great brunch for everyone after the walk - you don't want to miss her cooking.  
Sign up today: Get Your Rear in Gear Sign-up


Sox it to it Lar...

Emeril he is not

Top chef is not in the future for my brother.  On Tuesday night, he was making meatloaf and scalloped potatoes and instead of cutting the potatoes he got his finger.  He was able to stop the bleeding, so he thought nothing of it.  Last night when he took the bandages off it bled a lot, so to the ER he went. Seriously!  At the ER they determined he didn't need stitches,  he just needs to clean it in 2 days and then after that everyday.
I told him I needed material for the blog but he does not have to go to that extreme.  

Other than that he is feeling pretty well.  We head to the Cell tomorrow night to cheer on the Sox and turn their losing streak around.  If anyone can it's my brother!

The finger getting cleaned

He's all bandaged and ready to go home

Sox it to it Lar...

In my mom's words

My mom was asked to speak at Larry and Livia's wedding.  For those of you who don't know her-she does not enjoy the spotlight on her and despises speaking in public.  Since she spoke at my cousin Kelly's wedding, she definitely could not turn down the offer to speak at her own son's wedding.  I will go on record that she spent at least a month writing the speech and a couple weeks rehearsing it - that's her...a perfectionist! 
I wanted to share her speech with you all.  For not liking the spotlight on her, and for not liking public speaking she did an AMAZING job!  I'm very proud of her!  She speaks from her heart, which is slightly larger than the universe!  Her words capture our family and my brother perfectly!  (The video had to be split in half) Enjoy!

Larry continues to tolerate his chemo.  He's a tired boy, but who wouldn't be??  He's working 40+ hours, and his only days off are his 'chemo days'.  We're planning on going to a White Sox game this week - hoping he'll be the luck they need to turn it around!



Sox it to it Lar...

We walk for them....

Back Row (from left): Lauren Matson, Leighanne Matson, Blake Gelber, Olivia Fulton, Natalie Fulton, Abby Fulton
Front Row (from Left):  Tyler Kullen, Claire Gelber, Chloe Gelber

One of the best parts of my brother's wedding was having our entire family together in one spot, celebrating something happy.  This is a picture of the youngest generation of cousins, on both sides of our family.

We danced, 

And laughed,

And celebrated our family. 

My brother's diagnosis hit the generation in the middle.  Mine and my brother's generation.  Not my mom's or dads or uncle or aunts... but our generation.  That rocked our world.
As I watched my family come together to celebrate Larry and Livia and I watched the top picture being taken, I could not help but want to protect them from everything and anything.

That is why I am walking on October 21.  

To raise awareness about colon cancer,
              to raise funds to research colon cancer, 
                                to educate about colon cancer, 
                                               to prevent Colon cancer.
                                
And to gather our family and friends to work together to beat this disease.  So, the younger generation has one less thing they have to fight against!


Please join us on October 21st to walk with family and friends to celebrate my brother and raise awareness about colon cancer.  

Just click HERE to join our team.  My goal is to have the BIGGEST team walking!  
After the walk my mom is hosting a breakfast at her place - just across the street from the finish line.  C'mon it will be fun!  Join Today!!


Sox it to it Lar...

Half way there

Half way point.... that's where we are at in Larry's first round of chemo.  He had his third treatment yesterday and he has three more left.  Yep, that is the "half" way point.  Gosh, there are so many ways to look at half way.  Sometimes my mind drifts to the famous 'glass' is half full or is it half empty?  Sometimes my mind goes to being 'half way there' yes, I'm quoting a little Bon Jovi.  And yet sometimes, half way is just a segment of a journey.  We know for sure that he has 3 more treatments in this round.  But we are very uncertain what our journey looks like after that.  How many half ways will we be celebrating?  How many half ways will we be looking forward to?  To me that unknown is scary.  Yes, I try and take it day by day - it's a little bit easier to grasp.  I'm not typing this to scare any of you, I type this today because last night my apprehension, my vulnerabiltiy with this awful disease, and my total outlook was eased by one man.  I share this today because I know I'm not the only one with these feelings.  I want all of your fears, your feelings of vulnerability of the unknown to be eased.

It's a tradition now that the night of my brother's treatment we eat as a family.  Steak and potatoes on the grill is our 'chemo day' meal.  When I walked through the door of my mom's place I saw my brother.  Sitting, watching the Sox game shooting the shit with my mom, aunt and Livia.  This is a guy that just sat for 6 hours and received chemo.  Of course, I had to know how the chemo day went in FULL detail.  He laughs at me now, but I'm sure it's annoying.  And here are the highlights of that conversation...

I felt much more nauseas this time....but I took my pill and it's better

I definitely cannot drink or touch cold things at all now...so I drink lukewarm water and don't go in the refrigerator

I felt much more tired after treatment...so I took a nap when I got home

The one man living this disease everyday of his life, is the one man that easily puts your mind at ease.  Whatever is thrown at him he deals with it. On August 21st, I posted:

This Wednesday will mark the day my brother takes his first at bat with cancer on the mound.  The hardest part is you never know what pitch it will throw at you - I'm sure he'll see a couple curve balls, maybe even a few change ups.  But one thing that I am certain about is that my brother will be patient in the batter's box and and he will fight off every pitch cancer throws at him.  How do I know this?  He learned from the best - thank you White Sox. 


He has proven to be a good scout.  My brother is exactly who I want in the batter box, because he has proven he can hit whatever is thrown at him.  As the season goes on, as his cancer journey continues, I have complete confidence that he will continue to be that batter.  So, last night my brother put my mind at ease.  Not with words but by his action.  

Sox it to it Lar...

Just another weekend...

Larry is feeling well and going about his daily activities - he's waiting for his next chemo treatment which is tomorrow.  This will make 3 which means we will be half way there at this time tomorrow.

So... that's about all going on here... not too much to report.





OH WAIT!!!  I forgot one thing... MY BROTHER GOT MARRIED THIS WEEKEND!!!
What a whirlwind five days!  It was filled with family and fun!!  We had an amazing time celebrating Larry and Livia.  Here's a little recap.  There will definitely be more pictures and stories to come.

It started on Wednesday night when our family from California arrived.  It was our niece, Natalie (aka NK, sweet cheeks), golden birthday.  She turned twelve on Sept 12th, 2012 - how cool is that?

My aunt bought her a tiara to wear to school and on the plane.  The girl didn't take it off :)  It was so fun being able to celebrate with her in person.

On Thursday, we had the bachelor and bachelorette parties.  Larry's best man, Roger, planned an awesome night at the cell for the Sox game.  He got club level so they could watch the sox beat Detroit and watch the Bear's beat the Packers.  Well... unfortunately, the Sox game got rained out and the Bear's lost!  The boys night wasn't a total lose - they went to a local establishment and threw back a few (or maybe 10).  The bachelorette party was a blast.  We had a great meal, we watched a couple transvestites dance and sing and then we met up with the boys.  Needless to say we had fun and were paying for it in the morning.  Nothing a little Ann Sather's couldn't cure.

Livia and her maid of honor, Shannon

Shannon, Livia, Me and Angela

After we recovered from the parties, we had a rehearsal at the church and a rehearsal dinner hosted by my mom.  Of course, we had Smoque (my brother's favorite bbq) nothing but the best for her baby boy :) The weather was gorgeous so we were able to enjoy the roof and the beautiful view.

Larry and his wedding party
(from left: Roger (best man), Larry, Johnny (Livia's brother) and Matt (cousin)

Livia, Livia's mom and Larry

Larry, Abby (niece) and sister

The beautiful host and beautiful aunt

Saturday was the big day!  Another gorgeous day, we couldn't have asked for better weather in September.  We had a wonderful day and evening shared with family and friends.  Couldn't have asked for anything more!  Here are a few pictures...more to come this week.

Cutting the cake at the second reception

Mother and son dance

Somewhere in Millennium Park

Larry and his good college friend, Angela

Trust me there are more pictures, stories and blog posts to come....



P.S. Have you signed up for the Get Your Rear in Gear 5k yet????


Sox it to it Lar...

Get Your Rear in Gear!!

Larry has tolerated the second chemo very well- he had a little nausea and some sensitivity to cold.  I am so relieved that we are 2 down and his side effects are mild!  Of course, in Larry fashion, he is back to work full-time.

Next week at this time, he will be a married man.  This week will be busy to say the least.  We have family coming in from all over, bachelor/bachelorette parties, a rehearsal dinner and a wedding!  A lot to look forward to :)

In honor of this amazing man, GET YOUR REAR IN GEAR, and come walk with us on October 21st.  I would love to get as many people joining our team as we can - so please consider.  If you can't walk please consider donating.  

Visit our team site to sign up and/or donate:
Get Your Rear in Gear Sign up or Donate


Sox it to it Lar...

2 down.... 4 more to go

Lar's meal after chemo - steak, baked potato, broccoli and a salad

Larry had his second chemo yesterday.  It was uneventful which is a good thing.  He watched the Three Stooges movie, snoozed, and ate a chicken sandwich from Au Bon Pain. 

We had a family dinner at my mom's house after his treatment.  Lar did have his first experience with the sensitivity to cold that the doctor explained is a side effect of the chemo.  He took a drink of ice water and instantly winced - so it's lukewarm water for a couple days.  Today, he went into the refrigerator without thinking and it it didn't bother him, so who knows.  He slept well last night and had quite a to-do list for today:

1. clean kitchen 
2. set-up wireless printer
3. call management office to reserve roof for rehearsal dinner
4. meet David for lunch
5. return redbox movie

and he got it done.....  With a chemo pump attached to him...amazing!!!

Sox it to it Lar....

Stand up!

I apologize I haven't been the best blogger the past week.  I'm back at work, in a new position, and trying to keep my head above water.  I promise I'm back on track :)
Larry has done great since the last post.  He's working a 40+ work week and helping with the wedding planning - I'd say he is keeping busy.
Today, he is getting his second chemo (can you believe it's already been 2 weeks???).  My mom has Tuesdays off so she will be taking him to his chemo appointments from now on.  I have to say it is EXTREMELY more difficult not to be with him than I ever imagined.  I keep telling myself he's in good hands with my mom....She knows I will be expecting a text with all of his levels (white blood, hemoglobin, etc.) by 10:30 :)  It's the same routine as last time, the only difference is they will be adding one more chemo to the long list.  We will see how he does with the new drug.

Did anyone see the Stand Up to Cancer event on TV yesterday??  WOW! The stars showed up for a great cause.  I want to share one clip with you.  Of  course, it has to do with baseball AND cancer.  

I'm a believer!!  Are you?


Sox it to it Lar....