Tuesday morning Kevin and Dawn took Braeden and his baby brother to somewhere near Ann Arbor. They left the baby with Dawn's stepmom and proceded on to U of M where he underwent several tests and an MIBG SCAN. As I understand it, the tests and scan were to help the doctors determine where Braeden was in his illness and how to head with further treatment. There was a 3 hour consultation scheduled for Thursday. So they stayed over night at Dawn's dad's and came back to Grand Rapids this morning. Braeden was scheduled at clinic in town this afternoon so they may not have arrived home yet. Kevin was working this afternoon so his work load wouldn't be so far behind.
I don't think I told you guys about Kevin's wonderful experience. He was concerned because he had used up all his vacation time but all so he could be with Braeden, not for fun vacation. And now he was faced with needing 3-4 days off to go to Ann Arbor. So his boss calls him in his office and says, "I know you are concerned about your job and I just want you to understand that if we do layoffs, you are one of the good guys so you will be the last to go." PHEW!! Then he said, "I also know you are faced with taking some more time off to accompany your wife and son to go to these next appointments in Ann Arbor and you don't have any vacation time left." He already knew that Kevin desparately needed the money so didn't want to miss work. "Several employees have approached me asking if they can GIVE you some of their vacation time. We have consulted with the legal department and have discovered we can pull it off. So we broadcasted the information to everyone and within 90 minutes there were 10 days volunteered to your name. If you use them up, we'll again assess the situation and decide what's next."
Knowing my son, I bet he was blubbering like a baby at that point. He gets that from his mommy. LOL.
Kevin told his boss that he would take work with him because a lot of it is done on a computer and he would be sitting around a lot in waiting rooms during that time. The boss looked at him and smiled and said, "If you really feel you have to do it OK but I know from experience that this may be one of
those times when what your wife needs from you is just to be there, ready to talk and look at her." So I don't think he took work.
We were going to their house to pick up Eliana from school around 4 and spend the nights but got a phone call that day just before noon that Ian was sick at school. Wouldn't you know. So we flew around and got things together and picked him up. Pete came up later with his work truck. So we just stayed there until Friday morning. I made Ian go back to school today. I never did determine if he was really sick Wednesday and Thursday.
Last winter about this time, Pete and his son had spent about a week installing drywall in Kevin's basement. There will be a huge family room, two bedrooms, and a good sized playroom someday. And I hope a bathroom too. Anyway, one bedroom was finished and Ian had moved into it so Braeden could have his own room. Kevin had started taping and mudding the drywall but with all the hubbub, he hadn't gotten very far. So Pete and his out of work son finished up the mudding, taping, and sanding. I cleaned up the mess.
Mostly I did dumb stuff like polishing sinks, soaking and scraping the calcium buildup off the faucets on three sinks, cooking and baking, shopping for groceries for them, and sitting waiting for their awful dial up computer service. LOL.
I taught 14 year old Ian how to do laundry and Eliana how to fold clothes. I taught them to help set and clear the table, fill and empty the dishwasher, and Ian how to vacuum, empty the wastebaskets and take out the trash. Hopefully they'll tell their mother and she'll pick up on it that they are plenty capable of doing those jobs and lots more. I showed Ian how to make brownies for dessert and scrambled eggs for breakfast, so expanded his cooking experience. He may just be a cook when he grow up. I'm a mean granny.
Dawn just called with the particulars about the tests. :'( :'( Not good. The tumors that were removed just about two months ago are back about pinky fingernail size. It is in a lymph node on the other side and there is a suspicious lesion on his bladder. Because the thing is progressing so fast, they can't wait for the MIBG treatment at U of M. Their first opening is in January. So they are aiming to do it in Cincinnati but no date has been set. The doctor recommended that a grandparent go along to be able to take turns with Dawn so I probably am going. Maybe Pete too, come to think of it. Dawn said, "We don't have much hope." So sad.
