Here we go again...

On Decenber 8th... I'll be going under the knife... Again.

Except it's not exactly a knife in the surgical blade sense... and I don't know as though I'll actually be going "under" much of anything.

In a little over a month, I'll be spending a long day at the James Cancer Hospital here in Columbus having Gamma Knife Radiosurgery. I'm not responding to my medications anymore, so this procedure is pretty much my last shot at killing whatever it is that's decided to call my brain "home" for the past few years.

Gamma Knife is basically a precise, high dose of radiation, delivered to abnormal brain tissue... With the hope of killing it. It's also a one shot deal, so I only have to go that one day... and there's not hospital stay... WOO HOO!!

I'm a little nervous because as with most medical procedures, there are some risks. This procedure could possibly damage my pituitary gland, resulting in the need for lifelong hormone replacement therapy (not too huge a deal... I could deal with that). However, because of where my tumor is located, it could also damage my optic nerve which could result in visual impairment (not too thrilled about that). My neurosurgeon says that Gamma Knife has about a 2 millimeter "safe zone". Meaning that only the tissue within 2mm of the radiation beam should receive the radiation. My tumor right now is about 4mm away from my optic nerve. It's a small window... but it's a window.

On the other hand, I am hopeful that this procedure will eliminate the need for me to depend on medication, as well as do away with the horrible headaches I have been living with, day in and day out, for the past few weeks. I consider myself a pretty tough broad... but I just can't handle this pain anymore. I'm just about at the end of my rope. I feel badly for Steve because I can't be a very fun person to live with right now. I'm always tired... I don't feel like doing anything... and lately I've become pretty damn grouchy. He and the girls continue to put up with me and for that I am extremely thankful. He truly is an amazing guy.

My neurosurgeon and radiation oncologist are very optimistic that this will do the trick, and say I have about a 70% chance of a "home run". That is... everything coming out the way we want it to. I'm putting my trust in them and taking the chance.

I'm praying for a home run.

The Bald and The Beautiful...

They just don't get much prettier than this, folks!!

Saturday is game day at our house. We all dress up to cheer on the home team!

Black Friday

Friday, September 11, 2009, is a day I will never ever forget. Not just because it was the anniversary of one of the darkest days in our nation's history, but also because of what happened at my place of employment.

As I walked into the Flight Center at 6:15am on Friday morning, I crossed paths with two of my co-workers. One was walking towards me... on his cell phone. I figured he was on a personal call and looking for a quiet place to sit and talk. The other one was walking not too far behind me on her way in to start her shift. I said a quick "Good morning!" and continued on my way.

Neither one of these people ever made it in to work their shifts that day.

Instead, they were stopped at the door by one of our managers, told they were no longer employed, and sent back out of the building.

As I sat through my 10 hour shift, doing my best to stay focused on getting my planes from point A to point B safely, I watched as co-worker after co-worker, friend after friend, were tapped on the shoulder, told to gather their purses, back-packs, coats, etc., and escorted out of the building. One by one... they were picked off. I'll never forget the looks on some of their faces... some were angry, some were scared, and some were in tears. Most were just in total shock... Completely blindsided. I'll also never forget the way I felt knowing that each and every one of their lives were being turned upside-down.

One of the people let go from my department was a single mother, about my age. I wondered how she was going to take care of herself and a young son with no job. Another co-worker was a proud new father whose wife was a stay-at-home mother to their daughter. I wondered how on earth he was going to break the news to his wife when he got home.

I also sat there wondering if Steve and/or I would be the next to be tapped. We both work for the same company and therefore both of our jobs were on the line. Every time a manager walked by, I sat there hoping that they weren't going to stop at my desk. As they continued past, I hoped that they wouldn't stop at the desk of one of my friends. Some did, some didn't.

At about 5:30 that evening, I received a call from Steve, letting me know that although his entire department had been eliminated, he had been offered a position in a different department... which he of course took. I was also informed that my job was safe and that I no longer had to worry.

I cried.

It was an awful, horrible day. One that is going to be very difficult for us to overcome as a company... if we ever do.

It's three days later now, and I've gone from being really sad about the whole thing to being really angry. I am very thankful to still be employed... especially considering we just bought our home, and put down a deposit on a wedding venue. However, I am experiencing a sort of "survivor's guilt", knowing that there are well over 200 people here in Columbus who were not so lucky.

In the span of a few days, the company I work for has gone from feeling like a family based institution to a battle ground. It used to be a very easy-going place, and now it's like you constantly have to watch your back. I walk down the hallway, happy to see familiar faces... And sad that there are so many I will no longer see.

I simply cannot believe the number of amazingly intelligent and dedicated people who were terminated on Friday. My heart goes out to them all.

So Proud!

I posted a couple of months ago about Steve's decision to participate in a local charity bike ride benefitting the James Cancer Research Hospital here in Columbus. Well... The ride was this past weekend, and my sweetie rode his 50 mile ride in 4 hours and 12 minutes (that includes a bathroom break, and a 20 minute rest stop). I am SO proud of him!!

His buns were pretty sore for a couple of days, but he said time and time again that it was totally worth it!

Steve rode with a group of guys from the Schedule Planning department at work. Here are a few of them in their Pelotonia jerseys getting ready for their early morning start (from left: Adam, Steve, and Adam). The entire team raised over $10,000, and the ride itself brought in over $4,000,000! That's great news for the fight against cancer!!

GREAT JOB GUYS!!!

If I get brave... and invest in a bike... I may attempt to join them next year!

We're HOME!!

It's been an insanely busy couple of weeks, but Petunia, Cookie, Steve and I are finally getting settled into our new home! We still have boxes everywhere... and I suspect we probably will for a while... but we are here!

I'll post more later... just wanted to let everyone know we survived the move... YAY!!!

It's FINALLY Official!!!

Steve and I signed our lives away today and officially became home owners.

Can I just say WOO FREAKIN' HOO!!!!

I don't care what anyone says... The process of buying a home is not nearly what it's cracked up to be, and I hope to not have to go through it again at anytime in the near future. I am SOOO glad it's over and done!

Funny story (OK, not really, but here goes)... Steve and I were actually supposed to close yesterday at 1:00pm. As we're sitting at lunch at 12:45pm, we get a call from out mortgage company saying there was some kind of name discrepancy. Immediately, I started cursing my parents for naming me Erin and calling me Kasey. But, it turns out it wasn't my name that was the issue... It was Steve!

Steve is named after is dad, and is therefore Steve E. Jones II. He always writes and signs his name as such on legal documents. Well, it turns out that our mortgage company left the "II" off one of the forms they filled out, and the title company was questioning it. So... we were told that it would take up to 24 hours to verify Steve's identity and that we would have to push closing back to today. Grrrrr!!

I was disappointed, and Steve was flat out pissed off! No two ways about it. He spoke with our loan officer a few times, and even ended up talking (loudly) with the branch manager to get things straightened out. The mortgage company ended up giving us a nice little discount off of our closing costs, and rushing things through so that we could close at noon today.

So... we did it!

I can't wait to get moved and finally be HOME!!!