Thursday, April 22, 2010
3 down, 1 to go....
I just got home from Rituxan treatment #3 so I thought I'd let you all know that it went well and I only have one more to go. My next appointment is scheduled for April 28 @ 10:20 am and after that, we'll take some scans and see how well the Rituxan has done it's job. i was at an LLS board meeting recently and was talking with Dr. Frank Smith, who heads up the pediatric oncology department at Childrens Hospital in Cincinnati. Frank is one of the smartest persons I've ever met and he has the ability to explain things to morons like me in a way that I can somewhat understand. I was telling Frank that I'm having four treatments of Rituxan and hoping that it will knock out the affected lymph nodes in my abdomen and he basically said it is an amazing drug and has changed the way my disease is treated. That made me feel pretty good. I know Rituxan has done the trick before and I'm hoping it's well on the way to doing the trick this time, as well. So, next Wednesday will be treatment #4 - I'm really looking forward to having these treatments over.
Jules and I took a donor couple from Xavier to see Mary Poppins last night. They took some liberties with the story as it compares to the movie and they added some new songs, but for the most part it was a very well done show. The best part was when Bert literally dances upside down during the 'Step in Time' number. You can see the strings that are allowing him to do this gravity defying feat, but it was still pretty darn impressive. (Nothing like Donald O'Connor in 'Singing in the Rain' but he probably got to do several takes to get it right.) The theater critic in The Enquirer didn't give the play a very good review but don't listen to her, it is well worth the time to go see Mary Poppins. (And if last night is any indication, there are plenty of great seats available!)
It was great to see Kate get the boot on Dancing With the Stars. She was absolutely horrible. Now she can go back to being an exploitive mother but I doubt that happens, either. She'll probably land a spot on another television show as producers try to cash in on her train wreck of ap personality. On Idol the viewrs also got it right as Tim Urban was sent home. My guess is Aaron and Big Mike wil be the next 2. My final four is Crystal, Siobhan, Lee and Casey. Siobhan is in big need of hitting a homerun next week; I don't know what Shania Twain song best fits her style (I'm thinking none of them!) but I'm hoping someone does 'That Don't Impress Me Much' just to hear Simon say the same thing about the performance. Really, I think they're all going to struggle with Shania Twain week - I can't picture Big Mike singing anything from her, same with Crystal - it may be a tough, tough week.
On 'Survivor', JT pulled the all time biggest bone head move in Survivor history by giving an immunity idol to the piece of shit, Russell. I will be stunned if JT doesn't earn a spot on the jury this evening as a reward for his complete and utter stupidity. The Villains are going to pivck the Heroes off one by one and I predict the final 4 or 5 will all be villains. I'm also shocked that the Villains decided to keep the Outback Steakhouse fan, Sandra, over Cortney. Cortney is the biggest loser to ever play Survivor - she is a waste, has no social skills and possesses ZERO athletic ability. No one will ever vote for her to win. Sandra is from the Army, is sneaky and spiteful and she knows how to manipulate a vote. Russell will regret not getting rid of her.
I've reached $5000 in my TNT fundraiser. That's to all who has helped. I need to do a drawing for this week's CD winner. I'll try to take care of this tonight. I'll try to post again on Sunday. Julie and I are going up to Columbus for a couple days to celebrate our 25th anniversary. We went to Cleveland to celebrate our 10th anniversary - I guess we're destined for Toledo when we hit 50 years! Talk to you all soon!!!
Vince
Jules and I took a donor couple from Xavier to see Mary Poppins last night. They took some liberties with the story as it compares to the movie and they added some new songs, but for the most part it was a very well done show. The best part was when Bert literally dances upside down during the 'Step in Time' number. You can see the strings that are allowing him to do this gravity defying feat, but it was still pretty darn impressive. (Nothing like Donald O'Connor in 'Singing in the Rain' but he probably got to do several takes to get it right.) The theater critic in The Enquirer didn't give the play a very good review but don't listen to her, it is well worth the time to go see Mary Poppins. (And if last night is any indication, there are plenty of great seats available!)
It was great to see Kate get the boot on Dancing With the Stars. She was absolutely horrible. Now she can go back to being an exploitive mother but I doubt that happens, either. She'll probably land a spot on another television show as producers try to cash in on her train wreck of ap personality. On Idol the viewrs also got it right as Tim Urban was sent home. My guess is Aaron and Big Mike wil be the next 2. My final four is Crystal, Siobhan, Lee and Casey. Siobhan is in big need of hitting a homerun next week; I don't know what Shania Twain song best fits her style (I'm thinking none of them!) but I'm hoping someone does 'That Don't Impress Me Much' just to hear Simon say the same thing about the performance. Really, I think they're all going to struggle with Shania Twain week - I can't picture Big Mike singing anything from her, same with Crystal - it may be a tough, tough week.
On 'Survivor', JT pulled the all time biggest bone head move in Survivor history by giving an immunity idol to the piece of shit, Russell. I will be stunned if JT doesn't earn a spot on the jury this evening as a reward for his complete and utter stupidity. The Villains are going to pivck the Heroes off one by one and I predict the final 4 or 5 will all be villains. I'm also shocked that the Villains decided to keep the Outback Steakhouse fan, Sandra, over Cortney. Cortney is the biggest loser to ever play Survivor - she is a waste, has no social skills and possesses ZERO athletic ability. No one will ever vote for her to win. Sandra is from the Army, is sneaky and spiteful and she knows how to manipulate a vote. Russell will regret not getting rid of her.
I've reached $5000 in my TNT fundraiser. That's to all who has helped. I need to do a drawing for this week's CD winner. I'll try to take care of this tonight. I'll try to post again on Sunday. Julie and I are going up to Columbus for a couple days to celebrate our 25th anniversary. We went to Cleveland to celebrate our 10th anniversary - I guess we're destined for Toledo when we hit 50 years! Talk to you all soon!!!
Vince
Monday, April 19, 2010
Happy Anniversary/Abbey wins the election....
Tomorrow, April 20, Julie and I will celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary! Hard to believe its been 25 years but when you think of everything that's happened since 1985, I guess its not that unimaginable. Think about this; in April of 1985 Pete Rose was still 5 months away from being Major League Baseball's Hit King. Amadeus had just been named Best Picture. Villanova had just won the NCAA championship. Ronald Reagan was president. None of the nieces and nephews on my side of the family had even been born. The Space Shuttle explosion would occur 10 months later. Jack Nicklaus would win his final major tournament at the Masters about a year later. We would move to Cincinnati in November of '85, Mason in June of '87 and we built our current home iduring the summer of '91.
It's been a wonderful 25 years. We've been blessed with three beautiful and unique children. Two are now in college and the baby will be college searching next school year. We are inching closer and closer to being empty-nesters. We've shared many wonderful memories, hopefully there are many, many memories yet to come. I thank Julie sharing her life with me, for supporting me through some difficult times recently and simply for being my best friend. I have been very blessed to have her in my life.
Following up on my last post, Abbey WAS voted class president for her senior year at MND! She thought she bombed her campaign speech but it must have been good enough to win the most votes. I don't know what the president of the class does but it is awesome that her classmates thought enough of her to vote her into that role. Needless to say we're very proud of her.
Other than that, there's not much else to report. I'll have treatment #3 on Thursday and then I'll be down to just one more to go. I'm going to schedule the final treatment for April 30. I'm feeling pretty good, I rode 57 miles on Saturday with little trouble. I'm actually getting stronger going up the hills, I think I have my legs pretty well conditioned and really all I have to do is keep pedaling. I still am planning to do the 145 mile when we head to New York City for the ride.
Oh well, I'll keep it short tonight. Thanks for checking in and thanks to everyone for supporting the LLS ride, I just crossed the $5000 mark in funds raised!
It's been a wonderful 25 years. We've been blessed with three beautiful and unique children. Two are now in college and the baby will be college searching next school year. We are inching closer and closer to being empty-nesters. We've shared many wonderful memories, hopefully there are many, many memories yet to come. I thank Julie sharing her life with me, for supporting me through some difficult times recently and simply for being my best friend. I have been very blessed to have her in my life.
Following up on my last post, Abbey WAS voted class president for her senior year at MND! She thought she bombed her campaign speech but it must have been good enough to win the most votes. I don't know what the president of the class does but it is awesome that her classmates thought enough of her to vote her into that role. Needless to say we're very proud of her.
Other than that, there's not much else to report. I'll have treatment #3 on Thursday and then I'll be down to just one more to go. I'm going to schedule the final treatment for April 30. I'm feeling pretty good, I rode 57 miles on Saturday with little trouble. I'm actually getting stronger going up the hills, I think I have my legs pretty well conditioned and really all I have to do is keep pedaling. I still am planning to do the 145 mile when we head to New York City for the ride.
Oh well, I'll keep it short tonight. Thanks for checking in and thanks to everyone for supporting the LLS ride, I just crossed the $5000 mark in funds raised!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Treatment #2 goes wa-a-a-a-a-ay smoother, still takes 7 hours!!!
Well, there was no alelregic reaction to Rituxan treatment #2 but it still took 7 hours for the bag to drip into my somewhat, defective port. Yes, it now appears that the only way my port is going to work is through the aid of an electrical pump that beeps non-stop...and remember what I said in the first line - it took 7 hours; non-stop beeping for 7 hours. Fortunately, they gave me a double dose of Benadryl prior to the Rituxan which knocked me out for more than 2 hours so I only had to lisiten to 5 hours of beeping. I can tell you all my neighbors down at the chemo parlor were ecstatic when my treatment was over, they cheered in unison when I left. Bottom line, after 2 visits and 14 and a half hours of the steady drip, drip drip of Rituxan, I only have two more sessions (and most likely 14 hours) to go. My next visit will be Thursday, April 22, so if you need to reach me give me a call on my cell phone - I'll most likely be sleeping.
Thanks to my colleagues, Anne Ernst and Brian Maley, for bringing me lunch today; a fine combination of a Wendy's single, fries and a diet Coke. They even got my burger toppings correct - there probably aren't many who order a single with cheese, lettuce pickles and mayo but it works for me.
I got home and mowed the lawn; now I'm baking a couple items for our office's back sale tomorrow. My Pecan Pie just popped out of the oven and the Pineapple Upside Down Bundt cake should be done in about 5 minutes. I forget what the proceeds go for, I just hope my baked goods aren't the last to get sold. I better price them to sell.
Really proud of our Abbey girl - she was selected for the National Honor Society today. Tomorrow she's doing her campaign speech as she's running for class office. She's been the class VP this year and really doesn't care what role she's elected to - she just wants to be an officer her senior. She asked me for some suggestions for her speech but I'm hoping she doesn't take my advice....she might get laughed off stage. Although for a school full of girls, that might be the response she's looking for. So here's hoping all goes well for Abbs tomorrow - either way, with apologies to every one who has one, Abbey is our favorite 17 year old girl in the world; we're very proud of her.
Been watching all the reality shows...here's a brief synopisis...
Dancing With the Stars - How does Kate continue to avoid elimination? She is easily the worst of the bunch, she has a shitty attitude and I'm still trying to figure out how a woman who exploits her children for profit and gain is considered a star. I think Chad Ocho Cinco has gotten better but I also think he's sleeping with his partner. My guess is that Nichole from the Pussycat Dolls and Evan the Olympic gold medalist will wind up in first and second place.
American Idol - I really think there are only three singers who can win; Crystal, Siobhan and Casey...if anyone else wins the voters screwed up. Katie and Andrew were shown the door tonight - Mike will most likely go next week unless they do Marvin Gaye night. Tim will get votes from the teeny boppers as will the other teenager who's so distinct that I can't recall his name. Lee is pretty good, he just lacks charisma. That leaves someone who will battle it out Lee for 4th and 5th place.
Survivor - Anyone but Russell is my motto. I actually think the Villains will go into the merge with numbers, they'll knock off the Heroes one after the other and the final 3 will be Villains. Something tells me Sandra will win again; she's coniving, sneaky and not nearly as dumb as Russell thinks she is. He'll underestimate her and she'll take him out. Just my hunch.
Oh well, Jules needs the computer. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers...I truly appreciate your support. Also thanks to everyone who stepped up and contributed to my Team In Training effort - I'm now close to $4500 and hope to keep adding on to the total right up to the day of the ride. The winner of the first of 4 Vince Hopkins Greatest Hit's CD's is Ed and Jane Riestenberg - now I guess I better get busy burning them! Another drawing next week - make a donation and you'll be entered in the drawing.
One last thing, I have to thank one of the boys on my football team, Matthew Halas, for sending me a very nice note and the DVD 'Miracle' to watch at one of my treatments. His note made my day and I really thank him for thinking about and praying for me. Thanks so much, Matt!
Here's a link to my TNT page....
http://pages.teamintraining.org/soh/montauk10/vhopkins
Thanks to my colleagues, Anne Ernst and Brian Maley, for bringing me lunch today; a fine combination of a Wendy's single, fries and a diet Coke. They even got my burger toppings correct - there probably aren't many who order a single with cheese, lettuce pickles and mayo but it works for me.
I got home and mowed the lawn; now I'm baking a couple items for our office's back sale tomorrow. My Pecan Pie just popped out of the oven and the Pineapple Upside Down Bundt cake should be done in about 5 minutes. I forget what the proceeds go for, I just hope my baked goods aren't the last to get sold. I better price them to sell.
Really proud of our Abbey girl - she was selected for the National Honor Society today. Tomorrow she's doing her campaign speech as she's running for class office. She's been the class VP this year and really doesn't care what role she's elected to - she just wants to be an officer her senior. She asked me for some suggestions for her speech but I'm hoping she doesn't take my advice....she might get laughed off stage. Although for a school full of girls, that might be the response she's looking for. So here's hoping all goes well for Abbs tomorrow - either way, with apologies to every one who has one, Abbey is our favorite 17 year old girl in the world; we're very proud of her.
Been watching all the reality shows...here's a brief synopisis...
Dancing With the Stars - How does Kate continue to avoid elimination? She is easily the worst of the bunch, she has a shitty attitude and I'm still trying to figure out how a woman who exploits her children for profit and gain is considered a star. I think Chad Ocho Cinco has gotten better but I also think he's sleeping with his partner. My guess is that Nichole from the Pussycat Dolls and Evan the Olympic gold medalist will wind up in first and second place.
American Idol - I really think there are only three singers who can win; Crystal, Siobhan and Casey...if anyone else wins the voters screwed up. Katie and Andrew were shown the door tonight - Mike will most likely go next week unless they do Marvin Gaye night. Tim will get votes from the teeny boppers as will the other teenager who's so distinct that I can't recall his name. Lee is pretty good, he just lacks charisma. That leaves someone who will battle it out Lee for 4th and 5th place.
Survivor - Anyone but Russell is my motto. I actually think the Villains will go into the merge with numbers, they'll knock off the Heroes one after the other and the final 3 will be Villains. Something tells me Sandra will win again; she's coniving, sneaky and not nearly as dumb as Russell thinks she is. He'll underestimate her and she'll take him out. Just my hunch.
Oh well, Jules needs the computer. Thanks to everyone for your thoughts and prayers...I truly appreciate your support. Also thanks to everyone who stepped up and contributed to my Team In Training effort - I'm now close to $4500 and hope to keep adding on to the total right up to the day of the ride. The winner of the first of 4 Vince Hopkins Greatest Hit's CD's is Ed and Jane Riestenberg - now I guess I better get busy burning them! Another drawing next week - make a donation and you'll be entered in the drawing.
One last thing, I have to thank one of the boys on my football team, Matthew Halas, for sending me a very nice note and the DVD 'Miracle' to watch at one of my treatments. His note made my day and I really thank him for thinking about and praying for me. Thanks so much, Matt!
Here's a link to my TNT page....
http://pages.teamintraining.org/soh/montauk10/vhopkins
Thursday, April 08, 2010
Catching up on the latest news......
A lot has happened since my last post. The NCAA crowned a new champion as Duke withstood a spirited challenge by the hometown, Butler Bulldogs, to win their 4th National Championship. The Cincinnati Reds opened up the 2010 baseball season on a beautiful April afternoon, unfortunately the outcome wasn't beautiful as the Cardinals beat up on Redleggers, 11-6. I just finished watching Tiger Woods shoot a -4 on his return to the PGA golf tour. He trails The Masters leader, Fred Couples, by only one stroke as he heads toward day two. Tonight I plan to watch Miami's hockey team try to win a berth in the NCAA Hockey National Championship as they take on Boston College in the semi-finals.
Yesterday I reached my fund raising goal for my upcoming bike ride in June. I'm currently at 110% of my goal and I'm hoping to go way over that total as I still have almost two months before the ride. I thank everyone who has supported this effort and if you still would like to make a contribution, visit my TNT page at the following link...
http://pages.teamintraining.org/soh/montauk10/vhopkins
On Tuesday, I had the first of the 4 Rituxan treatments I'll be receiving to hopefully take care of the lymph nodes that have grown a bit over the past 6 months. What a day! As happened the first time I received Rituxan almost 5 years ago, I broke out in hives all over my body. That meant I had to get another dose of Benadryl, slow down the drip and a procedure that typically takes 4 hours lasted well over 7 hours. Thankfully, Julie was there to check in on me from time to time - it would have been a lonely day without her friendly face popping in to check on me. The good news is, I shouldn't have this problem for the final 3 treatments. And you know what; as long as the Rituxan takes care of the nodes, I'll sit there for 10 hours if needed. My next visit is scheduled for April 14 and at the end of that day, I'll be halfway through the process - certainly better than the 7 months it took my first time around.
Finally, I'd like to ask for prayers for our friends, Peggy and Jerry James and their family. I'm sure everyone from Cincinnati heard about the tragic death of their son, Matt, while he was in Florida on spring break. Many of you also know that Peggy is one of Julie's best friends and to say the past week has been very difficult would be a huge understatement. You think about the events of last last Friday and it simply leaves you numb. I really am at a loss for words as to what else you can say but I know they are going to need the prayers and support of everyone who has touched their lives so if you could lift up some prayers for this wonderful family, I know it would be greatly appreciated. With that, I'll end for the evening. Peace to all...
Yesterday I reached my fund raising goal for my upcoming bike ride in June. I'm currently at 110% of my goal and I'm hoping to go way over that total as I still have almost two months before the ride. I thank everyone who has supported this effort and if you still would like to make a contribution, visit my TNT page at the following link...
http://pages.teamintraining.org/soh/montauk10/vhopkins
On Tuesday, I had the first of the 4 Rituxan treatments I'll be receiving to hopefully take care of the lymph nodes that have grown a bit over the past 6 months. What a day! As happened the first time I received Rituxan almost 5 years ago, I broke out in hives all over my body. That meant I had to get another dose of Benadryl, slow down the drip and a procedure that typically takes 4 hours lasted well over 7 hours. Thankfully, Julie was there to check in on me from time to time - it would have been a lonely day without her friendly face popping in to check on me. The good news is, I shouldn't have this problem for the final 3 treatments. And you know what; as long as the Rituxan takes care of the nodes, I'll sit there for 10 hours if needed. My next visit is scheduled for April 14 and at the end of that day, I'll be halfway through the process - certainly better than the 7 months it took my first time around.
Finally, I'd like to ask for prayers for our friends, Peggy and Jerry James and their family. I'm sure everyone from Cincinnati heard about the tragic death of their son, Matt, while he was in Florida on spring break. Many of you also know that Peggy is one of Julie's best friends and to say the past week has been very difficult would be a huge understatement. You think about the events of last last Friday and it simply leaves you numb. I really am at a loss for words as to what else you can say but I know they are going to need the prayers and support of everyone who has touched their lives so if you could lift up some prayers for this wonderful family, I know it would be greatly appreciated. With that, I'll end for the evening. Peace to all...
