OUR DEAR FRIEND HAS CANCER FCS

[timebuilder]

I'd be interested to hear more about "genetic is Braf."

Is that a type of tumor profile?

[fcs]

JP how's the boys.
Art what you have going this weekend
Doug. Doing any rideing, how Brenda and the girls
Timebuilder how's the move going
Frank were the h#ll are you Helen lock you won't let you come out to play

[timebuilder]

As with most weekends these days, It's a honey do weekend, where I am both the honey and the doer.

[Doug Lockhart]

JP how's the boys.
Art what you have going this weekend
Doug. Doing any rideing, how Brenda and the girls
Timebuilder how's the move going
Frank were the h#ll are you Helen lock you won't let you come out to play

It's been beautiful weather up here and very unseasonable.....10-15 degC with sunny days..... down to -1 degC overnight so pretty mild. It's been great riding weather so I've been up the mountain a lot so I don't $%@^ing kill anyone from the tax dept. No final news yet but no one can predict anything.

Thanx for the letter from Karen on your progress......should I post it to update the crew here Bret?

[timebuilder]

Good morning, Bret and everyone!

Happy March! Yeah!!!!

[jpsmith1cm]

Use to be I never Minded the Heat but the cold I hated.
Walk In freezer work in the Summer down south was the worst go Outside in no time your soked in sweat the into the freezer you go to this again and again.

I am the exact opposite.

While I take precautions as I outlined, I'd rather spend all day on a roof in cold weather than in hot weather.

I sweat a LOT and dehydrate rapidly, even with constant water intake. I'll drink 2 gallons of water a day in high summer and still never really be sated.

I agree about the extremes. I remember wearing some UA heat gear in the summer and working on a condenser fan and, when I was done, I walked into the store with the AC blasting and almost froze.

I don't want to think about walking into a freezer with that on.

[jpsmith1cm]

JP how's the boys.
Art what you have going this weekend
Doug. Doing any rideing, how Brenda and the girls
Timebuilder how's the move going
Frank were the h#ll are you Helen lock you won't let you come out to play

Sorry, been crazy busy with life, lately.

Boys are doing good. Scouts keeping us busy, busy, busy..

Had one at an Order of the Arrow event this weekend and the other with us. Took him and a friend to Carnegie Science center.


An update on our chain reaction project. We got the results and we made 4th place. Teacher is excited, I'm BEYOND thrilled and the boys should be proud as can be.

They displayed their project at Westinghouse engineering last week and, from what I hear, the engineers were really interested and excited to see the things they had built.

Headed to Florida at the end of April for National Academic Games again this year. Smart little bugger qualified again.

[sparky05]

Hang in there Bret, you will not be leaving us until it is your appointed time, This is a time to believe and rejoice in the faithfulliness of God the Father and his provisions through Jesus his only Son our Lord and Savior. Lift your eyes up to the mountains, from where our help comes from, our help comes from the Lord. if you go to either my website or my FHGsernices Facebook page and read my testimony my testimony you will see where the Lord raised my from the dead, he was not finished with me yet, and I do not believe he is finished with you yet.

[timebuilder]

Nice website, Don. I too have thought about moving form Pa to a warmer climate, but the Lord has not laid out that path for me yet.

[heavymetaldad]

whose the guy in the middle of that pic with that lovely lady and young man?
someone should tell him he has a booger hanging.
how ya do!, bret.
sincerely hope all is going good, for you.

[timebuilder]

Good morning, Bret and everyone!

[timebuilder]

Good morning, Bret and everyone!

[fcs]

As with most weekends these days, It's a honey do weekend, where I am both the honey and the doer.

Makes it easyer to say sorry I watching the game will get to it latter

[fcs]

It's been beautiful weather up here and very unseasonable.....10-15 degC with sunny days..... down to -1 degC overnight so pretty mild. It's been great riding weather so I've been up the mountain a lot so I don't $%@^ing kill anyone from the tax dept. No final news yet but no one can predict anything.

Thanx for the letter from Karen on your progress......should I post it to update the crew here Bret?

That would be great if you would Doug.

[fcs]

whose the guy in the middle of that pic with that lovely lady and young man?
someone should tell him he has a booger hanging.
how ya do!, bret.
sincerely hope all is going good, for you.

The good looking guy is me I can even make a booger look good

[fcs]

Sorry, been

Boys are doing good. Scouts keeping us busy, busy, busy..

Had one at an Order of the Arrow event this weekend and the other with us. Took him and a friend to Carnegie Science center.


An update on our chain reaction project. We got the results and we made 4th place. Teacher is excited, I'm BEYOND thrilled and the boys should be proud as can be.

They displayed their project at Westinghouse engineering last week and, from what I hear, the engineers were really interested and excited to see the things they had built.

Headed to Florida at the end of April for National Academic Games again this year. Smart little bugger qualified again.

Great to hear about the boys

[timebuilder]

Good morning, Bret and everyone!

[fcs]

Morning all
Andy and I actually made the mini build last night. 1st Tuesday of the month just him and I for last 5 years. Now that is something worth doing no matter what it take. JP if you ever say what have I done with my life. Look at your last post and you'll say you'very done what's important
You'll walk through the fires of hell to protect those times with your sons.

[timebuilder]

I hope none of us ever find ourselves walking through those fires...

[Doug Lockhart]

That would be great if you would Doug.

From Karen.....Bret's better half
Hi All: Week of Feb 16 and Week of Feb 23

It’s been a hectic week or two.

Week Feb 16: Bret had surgery on Tues Feb 17 as planned, in spite of stomach flu (Andy), ice storm, and the dog also being ill. We slid into the hospital at 5:30am, the hospital was hopping, and waited for the surgeon to slide in. Very long day, but surgery itself was pretty quick and went well. Took out 2 spots, one within the small intestine along with removing 6 inches, and one enlarged lymph node. There are even pictures! Surgeon not able to get to liver growth for biopsy. Bret was pretty miserable the first day or two but has been doing well since then. Terrific nursing staff at Rex Hospital, 7th floor East Wing staff rocks. Eating the soft surgical diet for the time being. (Andy and I are eating it too for the most part, in solidarity.) Since school was out all week, Andy spent every day with his dad at the hospital, and one cold eventful night at the ER vet with Simon and his mom.

Thank you to everyone who texted during the surgery and hospital stay. While only Andy and I could make it to the hospital in the ice storm, we did not feel alone, felt completely supported. The waiting room wouldn’t actually hold us all, but it felt as if you were all right there with us. Really nice. Thank you to Shelley H. for keeping up with Simon while we were at the hospital.

The oncologist confirmed the growth as melanoma, and shared the news that Bret’s statistics are not good. We are trying to absorb this and also stay strong.

Bret came home on Friday. Weren’t even sure how we were going to get him into the house without slipping on our long, icy, in-the-shade-all-day driveway. Bret was off pain meds last Sunday. Yay!

Week of Feb 23: So Bret is home and resting, and getting in some walking. Have been waiting for the genetic test results this week. Another 2 snow showers hit, school was out again this week. On Friday we got the genetic testing news that the cells are BRAF mutated. This is good news, we think. Sometimes the worse of 2 evils are your only choices: aggressive cancer cells but there’s aggressive treatment available, or moderately growing cells and moderately effective treatments. Not sure we know where it falls.

Surgery follow-up appt on Monday, and Fri appt with oncologist to discuss treatment.

Thanks to Lesley F., Carol B., and Sandra A. for the great help this week, staying at home with Bret multiple days. We are a stressed mess some days and you helped sweep up the edges, and keep Bret eating healthy food – no small task. Bret is tired of bland food, says he’s ready for some spice.

Bret (and Simon) are on the mend, taking their medications, and eating their new diets. (Simon the dog has a section of his intestine that is inflamed, almost same spot as Bret. We are wondering about this, seems it’s a bit like husbands who get pregnancy symptoms right along with their wife.) After our visits to the ER vet and regular vet, Andy says we should start taking his dad to the vet: the vet doesn’t even care what species you are, and it costs a lot less. J

Thank you for your continued prayers. We need them, and we feel them. Lots of love, Bret and Karen, Andy