Welcome Home Jeremy!

The boys are back from Camp, and they had a great time - they came home dirty and smelly but they were happy and all had big hugs for their moms when we got there.

Me: What was your counselors name?
Jeremy: Box

Me: Box?

Jeremy: Yeah, but his real name is Kevin. He was nice.

Me: What was your favorite meal?

Jeremy: Chicken Sandwich

Me: Did you miss your mom?

Jeremy: Yeah.

Jeremy top five things from camp are:

1. Riding the Go-Carts and running Daniel into the wall
2. Archery - "I got all my arrows in the target"
3. Climbing the rock wall
4. Tubing at Lake Taps
5. Swimming in the pool everyday

Here they are - Chris, Jeremy, Box, and Daniel

NW Highland games

While our boys will still at camp, Paul and Jackie invited a few of us to join them at the NW Highland games - Pub Piping competition in Enumclaw. Mike and Jennifer hooked us up with a Limo so we could spend as much time in the Pub as needed. It only took a few (dozen) beers to get Joe into a Kilt - I must say it was about the funniest thing I've seen in a long time. Paul was the only "real man" that wore his Kilt with the pride all night. I think Mike, Mike and Joe were secretly a little jealous of him.

Joe's Softball Team - 2 wins tonight!

It was time

My hairdresser Debbie gets me. She knows that my idea of the perfect hair cut is one where I can't see any hair on the ground when she's done with my "trim" and there's nothing to sweep up off the floor, or she at least has the courtesy to wait until I'm gone before she gets rid of the evidence. So, you can imagine her surprise when I plopped down in her chair today and said, "It's time" and handed her a cute picture of Meg Ryan.

Before

After

Just my luck

I had a fabulous day yesterday.
I took my dad to the Mariners game and had a lovely day at the ball field watching them lose (duh!) but all and all, Dad and I had a great time. It's been too long since we have done something, just the two of us. After the game we met my mom and Jeremy at my brother and Erin's house for fresh dungeness crab salad (YUM) that they got this weekend on Whidbey.
After dinner and cake - we headed out for our long drive home. Joe had a softball tournament, so he met us for dinner and we headed home in separate cars. Thank the LORD that Jeremy opted to ride with Joe - he likes Joe's truck (I refuse to admit it's his company) better than my car. Anyhoo, onto the big events of the day. On the way home, I took the 277th st. exit off 167 to come home and I was waiting at the red light to turn left. All of a sudden I feel the crash before I can see in my rear view mirror that this idiot just smashed into me. I was shaking and scared, but this nice couple pulled up next to me and I rolled down my window and he asked if I was ok and they offered to pull over and wait with me until the police arrived. Yeah! for nice people that still exist in this world. When I got out of my car, I noticed Joe coming up the off ramp and he jumped out of his truck and yelled at the guy "YOU HIT HER DIDN'T YOU!! YOU WERE DRIVING LIKE AN IDIOT!!"
My Hero.
So, the police show up and we all noticed the guy was acting weird and smelled like he'd been drinking so Jeremy got to witness his first Field Sobriety Test and subsequent "cuffing and stuffing" of the gentleman when he wouldn't cooperate with the breathalyzer. Good times.
So, I'm taking the day off work as my back is really sore. I went to urgent care and they said it's classic Whiplash and sent me home with some meds. This is just one more thing I don't need to deal with. My CRV will need some work, but it held up really well. The spare tire on the back destroyed the idiot's car, it looked totaled - the whole front end was smashed in.
I'm going to nap now.

Welcome

People are curious as to how Jeremy is doing, how married life it going and what new projects we're working on this weekend. I thought this would be a good way to keep our family and friends updated on more of our day-to-day activities. So here you go:

1. Jeremy is doing well - progress is slow, but it's progress so we don't complain (too much). He is still on lots of meds and we are doing methotrexate injections now (not fun, but he's a trooper). He is still on Prednisone as well. Because of this, my skinny little boy has packed on over 20 pounds in the last 2 months. We do physical therapy 3x a week as well and are all getting lots of good use out of the new hot tub. The good news is Jeremy is pretty much walking on his feet, rather than his toes, these days. This week he is off to Junior Camp at Camp Berachah with two of his good buddies, Chris and Daniel. God help their counselor.
2. Married Life is pretty much the same as before, except with nicer towels and dishes. :)
3. Right now, the project is a new deck to go around the new hot tub. I am so glad I married a handyman and I really appreciate his hard work and attention to detail. He is doing a great job.

This is us at my Friend Sharon's 4th of July Party on Bonney Lake. We took the paddle boat out on the lake and enjoyed a fabulous BBQ - Sharon and her family are all great cooks. We are never in town for the 4th, so the boys had to do fireworks this year. What is it about boys and
fireworks?

In Loving Memory

In Loving Memory of Irene Moore

Joe got the news last Monday that his Mom's mother had died. We booked a flight and set off for Ohio on Thursday morning. It was a sad occasion, but it was nice to meet all of Joe's family. Joe's Aunts Kathy and Glenna (his mom's sisters) came to our wedding, but it was nice to meet their husbands and kids. The memorial service was beautifully done and even though I never met Grandma Moore, I really felt like I knew who she was as a person, a mother, and a grandmother and I think she was a pretty amazing woman. After the memorial, we had just arrived at the Sheraton for a luncheon and Joe's mom stepped off a curb and fell. We took her to the emergency room and she had broken her hip! She had surgery Saturday morning and they put pins in there and we hope she will be able to come home in 3-4 weeks. Keep her in your prayers please! We got to visit the beautiful hospice center where Irene passed away. I can't do the place justice with words, it really has to be seen to be appreciated. The grounds and gardens were beautiful, there is a path that they can even wheel the residents around in their wheelchairs or even their beds.

We were able to sneak away so I could have my first Archivers experience. It was a great store and I wish they'd put one in WA!

older emails on Jeremy

I decided to include these - in case anyone missed it the first time around...

Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 7:03 AM
Subject: Update on Jeremy

After a long day at Children's Rheumatology yesterday, we finally have a diagnosis for what is causing the stiffness in Jeremy's feet, legs, arms and hands.

We have been to a Pediatrist, Pediatrician, Orthopedist, Neurologist (had an MRI), been back to the Orthopedist and back to the Neurologist. Our wonderful Orthopedist, Dr. Jinguji, with Children's is the doctor that suggested Scleroderma and got us the appointment with Children's Rheumatology. It is a very rare disease, and even more rare in children. I am assured that the Doctors at Childrens are the best and we are lucky to have the diagnosis so quickly as often kids are misdiagnosed for years. There are some links below where you can read more about it.

Yesterday Jeremy had a bunch of tests, (breathing, Echo, blood, urine, x-rays) and my mom will be taking him back Monday for a swallow test, redo the breathing, and he needs a biopsy and CT scan still. They are trying to determine which form of the disease he has:
Localized - not involving internal body systems. Localized is much more common in children than adults or Systemic - involving internal systems. Systemic is much less frequent in children. The hope and prayer is that it is not Systemic, which is why we have to do so many tests to make sure it is not effecting his internal organs. Once we determine which type he has, we will begin different med's to help soften the stiffness.

Thank you for everyone's thoughts and prayers as we continue on this journey. Jeremy's friends have been great to him (& their parents to me) and his baseball team has continued to let him play and encourage him, even though it is very difficult for him to play.

I will keep everyone posted.

Carlanna



Sent: Monday, May 19, 2008
Update on Jeremy - Part 2

Well, we have some GREAT news to pass along and are eternally grateful for all of your thoughts and prayers - They are working - Keep the prayers coming!!

As some of you know, Jeremy had a Biopsy on his leg on Friday, where they took out a piece of his leg and examined at it. This was the last test he had, after the battery of tests he's done in the past few weeks at Childrens. We had a meeting with the Rhumatologists at Children's today, and after looking at the Biopsy, they believe that this IS NOT Scleroderma, but rather Eosinophilic Fasciitis. (and I just learned how to say "Scleroderma" now I have to figure this one out) They say this is great news, as Eosinophilic Fasciitis (EF) is possibly curable, and more easily treatable than Scleroderma, as in, Jeremy will likely respond better to the meds than if this was Scleroderma. Jeremy will be on prednisone and methotrexate for at least a year, and then will need to be symptom free for one year in order to be determined, "cured". (We hear the prednisone will make him hungry and cause him to eat like a horse - this w ill be a big change for him ) The doctors believe we should see a noticeable improvement in his walking and mobility in 6-8 weeks. He will also be starting physical therapy soon. They have also strongly recommended we get a hot tub - so that's Joe's project to work on.

Again, thank you for all of your prayers, our family is eternally grateful. Please continue to keep Jeremy in your prayers. I know the news and concern for Jeremy has spread, please pass this along to people you think should know.

Carlanna, Joe & Jeremy