Round Rock Express Games + Orthodontist

 Here's what's been going on over the last few days.

On Saturday and Tuesday, Evan went with his friend to the Round Rock Express baseball games.  On Saturday he caught a foul ball in the air. 

Morry hasn't been feeling well for the last week and was able to get a telehealth appointment the other day.  The doctor prescribed him some antibiotics.

This week I've had a few doctor's appointments for checkups that I've been way overdue.  I had an appointment with the dermatologist on Monday and today I saw the eye doctor. 

Evan has started baseball practices again.  He had a scrimmage on Sunday and will have another one this Sunday.

Today, I took Noah to his orthodontist appointment.   He has one more tooth to lose, but the orthodontist says he's ready for braces now.  He'll get those next week on Wednesday.

Morry and Evan just got home from baseball practice. 

Hello Friday!

This morning we walked with Chewie.

Then, I was at school from 10-2 and Morry had a meeting at HomeAway.

Shortly after I got home we walked to pick up Noah.

Jude came over after school and he and Noah had a good time.

When Evan got home Morry took him to the CVS Minute Clinic.  Evan is still complaining about this throat hurting and now his ear hurts too.  We tried to make a doctors appointment but they only had after hours times available. 

It turns out Evan has a double ear infection along with a virus and he got some antibiotics.

For dinner, we ordered pizza from Papa John's and watched the last episode of Stranger Things.

We walked with Chewie after dinner.

Now the boys will get ready for bed.

Vet Adventure

Yesterday Noah had his cooking class and seemed to have fun.

In the afternoon we took all three animals to the vet for their yearly checkup.  They were all due and we thought it would be better just to take them all at the same time.  So, all four of us plus the 3 animals went to the vet.

They were amazed at how much Lizzy improved since the last time she was there.  She has a tumor in her rectum that is slow growing, but there's really nothing we can do for it.  Besides that, she's doing pretty well.

Flash checked out fine.  Everything looked good.

Calvin has lost quite a bit of weight.  He's down to the same weight as Flash now (8.3 pounds).  We got some bloodwork done.  Today, they said they think he has a UTI so we will start him on antibiotics for 10 days to see if that helps.  If he continues to lose weight we will need to bring him in for an ultrasound.

Last night we grilled steak for dinner.

Today, Noah went to cooking camp again and enjoyed it.

Evan hung out with Morry at Aaron's for meetings.  Evan really enjoyed doing that and getting lunch with all of them at the Little Deli.

This afternoon, Evan hung out with Wade.  They went swimming at Lifetime Fitness.

I was supposed to tutor this afternoon but it got rescheduled for Thursday.

For dinner, we had corned beef.

We took a walk after dinner.

Now we are going to have dessert - s'mores on the grill.

Not a Usual Tuesday

This morning we walked the kids to school and then went to Camp Gladiator.

From there, I went to tutor.

On my way home I stopped at Costco.

I picked up Noah from school around 1:15.  I made a doctor's appointment for him since he is still complaining about not feeling well.

The doctor thinks Noah might have a sinus infection so he prescribed some antibiotics.

Noah and I stopped at HEB on the way home to get a few groceries and pick up his medicine.

Morry picked up Evan from school.

Evan did not have baseball today and I didn't have to tutor.  That hardly ever happens.

For dinner, we had rotisserie chicken and rice.

I tutored a student by Facetime tonight to help her get ready for a test tomorrow.  It was not a planned session.  She needed some last minute help.

Now, everyone is in bed.

Both Back At School

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

For the first time in 2016, both boys went to school at the same time.  It was not without difficulty.  Noah refused to take his medicine, either the Tylenol or the antibiotic this morning.  He was just choosing to be difficult.  He wouldn't get up and walk with us when we left, so I ended up carrying him all the way to the top of the Doswell trail.  Rachel carried/dragged/pulled him the rest of the way down.

At lunch, Rachel went to Whole Foods for the Pink Ribbon Cowgirls.  Ironically, I had planned to meet my friend Jeff there not knowing it was a Pink Ribbon Cowgirls day.  As Rachel was checking out, her phone rang.  It was the school nurse.  Noah was complaining about his throat and wanted Tylenol.  The school nurse cannot give it to him.  Rachel called Grandma who went over and gave him the medicine.

I walked to get the boys while Rachel had her first full day back at tutoring.  Both boys were in good moods on the way home.

We had pasta for dinner.

The boys are about to go to bed.

Until next time...

Cloudy Day

Hello everyone, this is Morry.

Evan is sitting here with me as I write this.  Evan says, "meow".

Just before Evan and I left for school, he said he wanted to ride his bike.  Unfortunately, the tires in our bikes needed air so we walked today.  Tomorrow morning, we'll ride bikes.

Noah slept until close to 10am.  He gave Rachel a hard time about taking his medicine and eating.  He needs to eat and drink enough to take his antibiotics.  It took until nearly 1pm to get him to eat enough to take it.

Rachel had jury duty today.  Rachel was supposed to take Noah to Grandma's but because he hadn't finished his food and drink, she came over to watch Noah here.

Rachel got downtown, found a spot to park for 5 hours and paid for it, got to the courthouse only to be told she wasn't needed.

I walked to get Evan from school.  We walked home with Jack and his dad.

After I finished working, Evan and I dropped off a check for someone and then got a PowerBall ticket.

For dinner we had a pork tenderloin.

Evan wants to finish the blog with the following thought, "Poop!"

Until next time...

Seattle Trip

We are back from our trip.  Morry and I dropped Evan and Noah off in Dallas and went to Seattle for a few days to meet Maya.

The boys were good for Grandma and Papa.  Unfortunately, I got sick and was not able to hold Maya.

I have had fever, aches, and a cough for a few days now.  I went to the doctor today.   It's mostly likely either West Nile Virus or Typhus.  Typhus is common in Austin apparently.  It's carried by fleas and common in areas with dogs like dog parks.  I haven't been to the dog park lately, but we did go to the lake a Barton Springs.  It's possible I got it there, though I don't remember getting bitten.  I may have bronchitis or pneumonia on top of that so the doctor ordered an x-ray.  I started antibiotics, but if I have pneumonia, he'll give me a stronger antibiotic.  We won't know for a day or two.  Neither are contageous, so that's good for the family.

When we got home today, Morry took the boys to Noah's school for the open house.  Then, they went to swimming lessons.  They stopped at Evan's school to see the class lists/teachers for this year.  Evan apparently got a good teacher and he knows 3 other boys in the class already.

I stopped at HEB on my way home to get the medicine my doctor called in. Even though it was about 2 hours later, it wasn't ready for some reason.  They made me wait another 25 minutes so I got grocery shopping done, even though I didn't feel so great.

For dinner Morry and the boys had pasta.

Here are some pictures from our trip.

New Bike and Swim Lessons

This morning I went for a run and then we all went to get Evan a new used bike.  I looked on Craigslist and found one that looked good.  It's a Trek brand that's a few years old.  We met the guy at his work and Evan tried out the bike.  It seemed good so we bought it.

We had lunch at home.

A bunch of our water bottles got ruined today.  I normally put them in the dishwasher, but this time they were melted and distorted (even the ones on the top rack).  I couldn't figure out what happened.  We noticed, somehow, the dishwasher was set to the high heat setting.  Most likely one of the boys pressed it.  We had a talk with them about pushing the buttons.  Now, we need to go out and buy new water bottles for all of us.

This afternoon Morry went to the doctor.  He's still not feeling well.  The doctor gave him some cough medicine and antibiotics.

Around 4:40 we left for the gym.  The boys had swim lessons at 5:20.  We got there early and they were able to play in the water a little bit before the lessons.  They were in separate lessons in the indoor pool.  There were 2 other kids in Noah's class.  Evan ended up having a private lesson.  The kids seemed to enjoy it and do well.

We picked up Morry's medicine at HEB on the way home.

We had leftovers for dinner tonight.

Morry is about to read to the boys and then hopefully they'll go to sleep.

Here are 3 of the melted water bottles.  The others aren't so bad, but the lids don't close well anymore on those.

Strep?

Evan was coughing a lot this morning. He took a shower and after that seemed to feel a lot better. But then, this morning we got a call from the doctor's office. Evan does in fact have strep throat. I guess there is a more detailed test that takes longer and those results came in today. They called in a prescription of Amoxicillin. Evan seems to be a lot better today, but he still has to do the 10 days of antibiotics.

We ate lunch at home and then went over to HEB to pick up the medicine. That was our only time out of the house today.

Noah eventually took a nap today, but it took some time before he fell asleep. He has been really cranky today. I asked if he needed to get a strep test, but they said only if he has a fever and a sore throat, which he doesn't.

For dinner, Morry ran out and picked up Chuy's for us.

We did our biweekly clean up tonight and in a minute we'll put the boys to bed.

Impetigo

Evan, Noah, Lizzy and I went for a 3 mile walk around the neighborhood this morning. I didn't take the boys out of the house today because they are both still recovering from colds. Evan started getting these sores around his chin and between his lips and nose. I was worried it might be impetigo, something Michael use to get as a kid.

I made a doctor's appointment for Evan at 5:30. Morry met us there. Evan had a slight fever (99 something) and the doctor diagnosed him with impetigo. Evan just has to take a topical antibiotic 3 times a day.

After that I took the boys home and started dinner while Morry went to HEB to pick up the prescription and a few other things.

For dinner we had leftovers I found in the freezer along with a carrot and potato soup I made at lunch time.

After dinner I gave Evan and Noah showers while Morry cleaned up. I thought showers would be good for their colds and help them breathe better. They both enjoyed the showers. We just put the boys to bed, but they are still awake.

UPDATE

So, we were about to go upstairs to get ready for bed. I heard some heavy breathing and assumed Noah was at the top of the stairs still awake. I got closer to the stairs and saw this...




Noah fell asleep on the stairs!

Evan to the Doctor

This morning I took Evan to the doctor. His nose has been runny and his voice got hoarse. He wasn’t getting any better so I took him to get checked out. The doctor said his ears and mouth look fine, and he is borderline for being diagnosed with a sinus infection. The doctor prescribed antibiotics and said we could wait a couple of days to see if it gets better on its own before starting the medicine. We might wait until Wednesday and decide.

Marilyn stayed at home with Noah while we were at the doctor.

After the doctor we came home for a little bit and then met Morry for lunch. We went to Wendy’s since it was close and we thought the boys would eat well there. They hardly ate at all.

When we got home I put the boys down for naps.

I left at 4:00 to tutor and they were still sleeping. Marilyn watched Evan and Noah while I was tutoring.

I met Morry, Marilyn, Evan, and Noah at the Little Gym for Evan’s sports class.

For dinner we picked up Blue Bamboo and ate at home.

The boys are in bed now, but both are still awake.

Poor Little Noah

Last night was a tough night again. Noah woke up around 4am and wouldn’t go back to sleep. Morry and Grandma/Lynn took turns holding him until the morning. Care now, a walk- in doctor’s office, opened at 9am. We made a web appointment and they were able to see Noah right when it opened. We were concerned because Noah wasn’t taking his medicine or eating or drinking anything. He was extremely fussy. Morry took him in and they gave Noah 2 shots- one antibiotic and one cortisone. The cortisone was to help his throat feel better. The doctor also said his ear was red and we needed to continue the antibiotics at home.

For lunch Papa/Lenny picked up deli sandwiches and soup for us. Then, we packed up the car and drove back to Austin.

The ride home was not fun. Noah was complaining and crying a lot of the way.

For dinner I picked up Little Caesars. Evan ate very well. Noah still wouldn’t eat anything, so after dinner we went to Wendy’s to get Frosty’s. Noah ate most of his Frosty. At least he ate something today.

We tried giving Noah is antibiotic before bed tonight, but he just spit it out. I’m not sure how to get him to take it. He keeps spitting it out. We can’t mix it with food or drink because he’s not eating or drinking anything.

It seems like Noah is asleep now, but Evan is still up.

Update – Dallas Doctors

It has been a busy couple of weeks. Last week, I had my endoscopy. My mom came to Austin to help out and take care of the boys during my procedure. Everything looked good. The biopsies were benign.

My mom, Evan, Noah, and I drove to Dallas on Tuesday. Morry stayed in Austin to work, but drove to Dallas tonight. Then, we (The Belkin family) will drive back to Austin on Sunday.

Wednesday I had an appointment with the plastic surgeon. He was pleased with my progress. I got another expansion. It wasn’t too bad. I’m just a tiny bit sore.

Thursday was a big day for many reasons. It had been 3 weeks since my last chemo treatment. My treatments were every 3 weeks, so it would have been another chemo day if I hadn’t had completed my treatments. It feels great to be finally done and be able to actually recover from chemo without getting hit again when I just started feeling better.

Thursday, I had three more appointments with the breast surgeon, oncologist, and gynecological oncologist. We brought Evan and Noah to Grandma/Bubbe’s house. Sherah (my cousin) watched the boys including her 2 boys, Nolan and Court. We were gone from 9:30 am until about 4:15 – a very long day for all of us.

The breast surgeon said everything looked good and I see her again in 6 months. The oncologist confirmed I’m definitely done with chemo. She said I can now have my port removed. The breast surgeon will be able to remove it during an office visit. I just need to figure out when I will be in Dallas next and schedule it to be removed. Since I’m triple negative (the cancer is not affected by hormones) there are no further drugs I need to take. I will have follow ups every 3 months now. The gynecological oncologist discussed the ovarian cancer risk with me again. She believes I don’t necessarily need to do the hysterectomy or oophorectomy (ovary removal) next month as originally planned, but I should definitely have my ovaries removed by the time I’m 35. She ordered base line tests (blood and ovary scan), which my dad took me to today. Basically, as soon as I feel I’m ready, we should remove my ovaries. The risk of getting ovarian cancer by the age of 40 is only 2.2% (from BRCA1 mutation), but it goes up significantly after that. Until then, I will meet with her and get the blood test and ovaries scan every six months. Right now, I want to focus on feeling better and getting back to normal. Then, I’ll start thinking about when to have another surgery. Anyway, I walked out of the appointments feeling pretty optimistic about everything. I have been so pleased with all of my doctors and the whole UT Southwestern system. The doctors are very professional and knowledgeable. They also have great bed side manner. All of them have taken the time to sit and talk with us as long as we needed. I have never felt rushed. I hope you never need these services, but if you or anyone you know does I highly recommend UT Southwestern Medical Center and my doctors; Dr. Teotia (Plastic Surgeon), Dr. Leitch (Breast Surgeon), Dr. Harker-Murray (Oncologist), and Dr. Kehoe (Gyn. Oncologist).

I must have picked up a stomach virus or something. For about a week now I haven’t been feeling so great. The doctors weren’t concerned about it.

And in the meantime, Noah came down with a fever last night. That was after playing with Evan and Nolan and Court all day. We took him to the doctor today, who said his throat is very red. The preliminary test doesn’t show strep, but we’re waiting for the five-day results. He’s now on antibiotics, and is generally asking for even more attention than he normally does. Now that Morry is here we’ll have two more much-needed hands to help out around here. Evan and Noah were very excited to see Morry tonight. As soon as they heard Lizzy (the dog) run in the house they ran over to see Morry.

Overall, besides the stomach bug, I’m feeling pretty good now. I still have a few more procedures to think about in the near future. The next will be one or two more expansions and then the implant surgery. We are thinking that surgery will likely be in April or May. I won’t know until the last expansion.

We have a lot of fun times to look forward to. Morry and Evan will be meeting Jack (Morry’s Dad) in Florida for baseball Spring Training in March. I’m hoping to make a trip to Chicago in March as well for a cousin’s wedding. Evan and Noah’s birthdays are coming up soon and we’ll have a joint party for them the end of March.

I’m looking forward to moving on and getting all of this behind me. I have starting tutoring again. I really enjoy tutoring – not just for the extra money, but it gets me out of the house and doing something that helps others. I enjoyed seeing all of the kids again.

Well, I just wanted to update you all on what has been going on. I know some of the frequent readers of the blog were concerned when they saw I hadn’t updated in a while.

I hope you all are doing well.

Love, Rachel

Feeling Great to Feeling Bad

This morning Morry took Evan to school so that he could meet the new teacher.

This was the first morning that I did not have help. It was just Noah and me. I took Noah and Lizzy for a walk. I wasn’t going to take Lizzy, but she gave me those puppy dog eyes and I couldn’t refuse. I had a talk with her before we left. I told her she had to be good or else I couldn’t take her for walks anymore. It was really nice outside. We all enjoyed the walk and Lizzy did fine.

Around lunch time I started feeling a little achy and really tired. I decided to take my temperature. I didn’t think I had a fever, but I thought I would just check. Well, it was 99.3 degrees. Normally, I’m on the low side, so that was definitely a fever for me. The oncologist said to call if I have a fever over 100.5, but I went ahead and called anyway. I left messages for two nurses and waited to hear back.

Blanca came at 1:30 and Evan got home a little after that.

Around 2:00 the nurse called. They wanted me to go ahead and come in so that they could give some antibiotics and check my blood.

I was supposed to tutor 2 students tonight, so I called and canceled. I was looking forward to tutoring.

At the oncologist they took my blood from both my arm and my port. I also had to give a urine sample. When they took my temperature there it was 99.7. My white blood cell count went up .1 from yesterday, but another type of white blood cell count that determines how you fight infection was still low. They gave me a prescription for antibiotics. I need to return tomorrow to get IV hydration. That will take 2 hours. Then, on Thursday I go back for another blood test. What a pain!

Right now, I’m not feeling great. I wasn’t able to eat much. My throat is sore – it has been sore, but now seems a little worse. And, I have a sore on my tongue. This is starting to remind me of the poem “I cannot go to school today…”.

I took my temperature just now and it’s at 100. I need to keep an eye on it overnight.

Evan and Noah are in bed now in their separate rooms. I just heard Evan coughing a little. We put the humidifier in his room tonight. Noah seems to be asleep.