T-Minus 2 Days

Here we sit 2 days before a major life changing event in our house not to mention Emma. So many emotions and fears racing through my head. Somewhat like buyers remorse, but before the purchase. I just need to keep focused on the reason for the surgery and how it will set her free.

Setting her free from the limits of a fragile leg must outweigh the fears I have as a parent. If her leg was good enough to keep she would have already played sports with the other kids,or gone sledding with her sisters. Putting this surgery behind us and getting through her recovery will ultimately make the sky her limit and not her leg. I have recently watched a couple things on TV about amputee's doing incredible things. The first was Terry Fox a 22 year old Canadian who after surviving bone cancer decided to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research. What an inspiration to many that you cannot let a disABILITY stop you or knock you down. The other was a man who as a double amputee climbed to the summit of Mt Everest. He was a climber and lost his legs to frostbite, he never let that stop him from doing what he loved. I hope I can take their inspiration and transfer it to Emma who can and will do anything she wants with her disABILITY.

Really, April since I last posted!

I just made the realization that it has been a few months since I last posted. Life seems to be traveling by fast. So fast in fact that another summer has come to an end and winter will be upon us. We spent Labor Day weekend at a Brain Tumor Family camp. While I wasn't real crazy about using my last long weekend of the summer to a Family camp it proved to be quite a good weekend. Lots of families like ours all seeking support from others going through the same things.

Prior to Camp we had met with Emma's Doctors because she has been having trouble with her leg. She has Pseudoarthrosis of the tibia which is brought on by the NF. This in short is a bad bone that once broke will not heal back into a union. If it does heal it will most likely become deformed. The bone has been bowing for some time and has now caused much pain in the ankle and tenderness in the leg itself. So through much discussion we have decided to amputate her led below the knee. We are doing this not to call it quits on trying but to give the the life that every kid should have. To date she has never gone sledding or played on the playground equipment with her friends at school. Gym class was always a sit on the sidelines "activity."  She will now have that chance once we get through all the recovery and her new "fake leg" as she puts it.

Media Star

A big part of our spring has been following the LU Softball Team, this has been as rewarding for us as it seems to be for the team. A week ago there was a special game between our team and the University of Chicago. Chicago also adopted a girl with the same thing as Emma. This made for a fun but busy weekend for all involved. At game time both girls were given the honor of throwing the first pitch at the game. Later they were sitting along the third base line when a photographer from our local paper wanted to get some pics of them. I stood in the background and took pics of all of them. Here is what I took.

This Is the pic I took of the Photographer for the paper. See the article here.

The Girls walking with Coach to throw the first pitch.

High Fives after all the Team Introductions are made.

Encouragement

I have posted in the past about "Friends of Jaclyn" an organization putting children with brain tumors together with college sports teams. I cannot express how wonderful this program is, it has given Emma a sense of belonging to a group that she has not had at school. It has shown the team how special good health truly is. Many Team members draw inspiration from the children that they have adopted. This seems to be so with the Lawrence Vikings. Here is Emma giving them some encouragement while at the Midwest Conference tournament. This weekend proves to be a big one for the Vikings as they host another Team that has adopted another young lady. More pictures to come after the event.

Mama's Satisfaction

While down in Gulf Shores we went out to eat a a number of places. One of our most memorable came when we made a drive up to Mobile AL. Down on Dauphin Street there is a place called Mama's. Excellent food and Gumbo. Well this is our Mama feeling all content after having the best French Dip that she has ever had. I particularly like the look of satisfaction through that MonaLisa smile of hers.

Saluda Hill

While out Geocaching in Alabama we found this quaint little cemetery at Saluda Hill. This is just outside of Blakely State park, home of the Battle of Blakely, from the Civil War. There are confederate soldiers buried in this cemetery as well as citizens of Blakely. There is one known Revolutionary War veteran also buried here. I took a photo op. while spending time here before looking into the nearby battlefield.

Dunes Sunrise

This is yet another shot from Gulf Shores Alabama. Taken over the Dunes of Gulf State Park I was able to mix the sunrise and the morning fog that had just settled in the low area's. With a hint of the housing market fallout in the distance, is a bankrupt condo that stopped construction and sat idle. How sad the beach is littered with these big high rises esp. ones that are not even being used.

Gulf Shores Sunrise

We recently went on vacation to Gulf Shores Alabama. Even on vacation I had a habit of getting up early. I used this time, instead of going to work to go out and take pictures using the warm light of the sun. This is one of my favorites from my first morning. I will be posting more as I seemed to have taken around 1800 pics in the week we were gone. Stay tuned for more.

The Scale

I am not sure why I like this picture. Maybe because it is so simple. Just a still life of a scale on the shelf in the bathroom during our recent overnight in the hospital. Maybe it is cause I was so bored with having to spend a day cooped up in the room. Who knows but here is what I took.

Frank Lloyd Wright

A recent and unexpected trip to the AFCH in Madison provided me with an opportunity to get some pictures of a FLW building across the street from the Hospital. This is the Unitarian House. I didn't have a lot of time to take  a lot but here are a couple of them. I put them in B&W to make you look at the lines of the architecture. I found this a great subject to photograph.

Sleepy

Earlier I had posted pics from Emma's chemo treatment. Two days later this is how she spends her afternoon. Sleeping on the couch waiting for the chemo to work it's way through her little body. Though it is sad to see her so tired and week, we certainly do enjoy the quiet time.

Waiting for School

I was a little bored the other morning waiting to take Laney to school. I noticed ho the light was shining in the window as she was peering out at the other kids getting dropped off at their school. She posed as I asked (at least a little bit) and this is what I came up with.

FOJ Sisters Step it up Again.

Today was a fun day. First of all see an earlier post on FOJ and the LU Fastpitch Team. We have been doing things with them for several months now and are really enjoying our time spent with them. Coach Kim Scheduled a date for us to come to an LU Basketball game. Within the time frame of the Woman's and Mens games they put on a 50/50 raffle with the spectators. At each Halftime Allie got to speak to the fans and explain what she is doing for the sick kids with her blankets while the team members sell the tickets. Emma of course spent time with some of the girls and Nick (Football Team). She even got a taste of recruiting with coach. Below are several pics from the day.

Lucky & Emma

Yesterday Emma got to go home with one of her teachers to visit her dog Lucky. She was so excited to play with Lucky she gave me Strict orders to bring the camera and get a picture of her with Lucky. She really seems to like the dogs that are little and hyper. Too bad that is the exact opposite kind of a dog that I want. This way it works better as a reward.

In the Wrong Place

In my opinion this is not one of my more stellar pictures. With that being said, The Bird and I have one thing in common. We are both in Wisconsin in the winter and I am quite certain we both think we should be south this time of the year. I am told that Robbins will stay north if they have a food supply and a warm place to stay. I guess I do have them too, and that keeps me around here in the winter. I just wish I didn't have to shovel and I could just fly around all day and poop on windshields. But I guess I go to work and that is another thing in common.

Sturgeon

Living in Wisconsin the sturgeon spearing season is much like the deer hunt. However I have never been infected with the spear. When this season arrives I don't get all crazy with stories from the past, but I do like to go to the local registration station to see what is happening. This day was better than the last couple of years. There were all kinds of folks bringing in their catch for the local DNR to count and tag. When this happens there are all kinds of folks hanging around with drinks on hand reveling in the successful fisherman's bounty. Here are a couple of the pics from the day.

Exhausted today

Today seemed like it would never end. I had to get caught up at work because I was gone yesterday so the stacks of projects just never dwindled down. Plus not really recovering from the long day yesterday. Maybe it is the cumulation of all the unrest the last two weeks have put on my shoulders. Now that it is coming to an end maybe I should go to bed?

Naw, it is nice and quiet, and I have the house to myself.  Back to the TV to fall asleep on the couch in  my nice, finally quiet house. Good Night!

2 More Years

Today at chemo we found out that chemo will last for a minimum of 2 more years, and if it is working we will keep going with it. Wow thats a long time.......we have already invested 2+ years in chemo add on a minimum of 2 more years yikes thats a long time.

Looking at it from another point of view....What's 4 years compared to a lifetime without her? I'll take the 5 or more years of Chemo..  Below is a picture of Emma holding Mom's hand just before they accessed her port for the first of her third run at chemo. The other is during her infusion.

Cold as Ice

Prior to the storm moving is I was outside taking some pics around the house. Wanted to play with the Depth of Field a little bit just to see what I could do. Here is some ice hanging off the neighbors garage.

Room For Bears

Today before the Superbowl we decided to tag team Emma's room. 4 bags of garbage out to the dumpster and we could see the floor. When we had enough room we put in a new chair and she sat down with the bears. Kind of reminded me of ET in the closet.

Happy Birthday

It's been a couple of days since I posted. I have been having a tough time dealing with recent news around the house. However a birthday party can always bring you out of the dumps. My oldest turned 14 and we had to light the candles. Here is a shot of the lighting of the candles.

Barefoot Children

Todays Pic is part of a statue/Fountain in Neenah. This is just one of many children playing in the fountain. It's a rather whimsicle scene made just a bit better by the hats and scarves put on the children by the local residents. Notice the sock on the front foot. This was originally a color pic but it just seemed a bit cooler in B&W. 

LU Athletics Step Up

Today we went bowling with the Lawrence University Fastpitch, Football and Volleyball Teams. Our Daughter has been adopted by the Fastpitch team through Friends of Jacklyn. The Foot ball Team Adopted a boy named Luke who also has a Brain Tumor. The Volleyball Team adopted Luke's sister Emily because they could and they didn't want her left out. Luke's Parents along with us organized a get together for all the teams and the families to go bowling. We reserved several lanes at a local bowling alley, where we had lunch and several games of bowling. Nothing too serious as we just wanted to get together and have some fun. Emma took to the boys on the football team as well as entertain the Softball Team. We even celebrated a birthday.

With Emma's recent news of starting yet another round of cheme the LU Athletics stepped up to the plate again and made her/our day.

Returning From MRI

This one evokes a bit of emotion for me as, Emma just returned from an MRI. The MRI was moved up from it's normal schedule after an eye exam showed that she lost vision in her left eye. About an hour after this picture was taken we found out that the tumor grew, resulting in changing chemotherapies. Now we start yet another trail on our long journey.

Laney

When I bought this camera I was told to get better pics of the kids that the old point and shoot could do. So I sit around the house getting them used to this big lens staring at them. Not sure if this pic is what she wants, but I will continue to work at them.

Game Over!

Remember back to our days as a child when playing ball and it was hit or kicked out of bounds/ over the fence? Nothing could be done until another ball could be found. When I saw this shot I grinned and thought about the movie "The Sandlot" still makes me smile.

No Picture!

Yesterday I did not get a picture posted due to having another setback in my daughters health. She had an eye exam and it was determined that her vision in her left eye is totally gone. She did not even respond to light. Now we are waiting for a rescheduled MRI and the tumor board to determine if/when we need to switch to another chemo plan. Did I ever mention that Brain Tumors Suck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well they do.

Morning Rain

While I was looking at the rain this morning I thought to myself. I don't want to get my camera wet. But look at the ripples in the puddle. Out I went onto the porch, sheltered from the rain and popped a few off of the puddle. With a little work I came up with this.

Fox River Mills

Probably one of the more photographed buildings in the Fox Valley. But it was my turn to do so, because I hadn't yet and wanted to capture some moving water. The colors came out pretty good, but a tip from another area photographer may lead me to better color in the future.

Reading Time

Tonight I went in a different direction. I prefer to do landscapes and close ups in nature. However tonight I didn't feel like leaving the house and saw an opportunity right in front of me. Amie and Emma were doing some reading on the couch. God bless them for allowing me to snap a few shots as I learn the exposure levels.

My Favorite Rose

It seems that I keep taking pictures of this rose. Once in a bud, another with full bloom. Evenone when it had color and frost on a fall morning. But here seems to be it's final appearance as winter has taken a toll on him.

Old Paper Mill

Luckily we have a lot of paper history in this area. This give me the opportunity to get plenty of good pictures of old buildings on the water, or in this case ice. Another night shot as It is dark when I go to work and dark when I get home.

This picture seems to capture the cold of the evening, and the blowing of the wind.

Vulcan Dam

Here is another one I took over the weekend. I took a short walk from home to get pictures of the frost. When I took the initial picture and saw it on the computer I was a little disappointed.  But after a little tweaking with Gimp I was able to make into something I would hang on the wall.

New Camera

2 days ago I purchased a Canon Rebel XSi. I have been patiently waiting on this purchase since October when I had the opportunity to use my Mother In Laws. While most of my pictures were not all that good as I was unfamiliar with the controls and spent too much time using a point and shoot. I am now a bit inspired to post some pictures. I am not going to promise that I will post one every day but I will give it a good shot. Here is one I took the first night with the camera. I took my old tripod out of the closet and dusted it off. Armed with my new weapon the dusty tripod and a cup of hot chocolate my daughter and I headed into the cold night air to capture a few pics.

After this shot I thought another angle would be pretty cool. So I headed over to the side of the bridge and took this one.

I hope you enjoy my journey through learning how to use this camera.