Day 6 and 7...

Well, the patch is 1/2 way back. Todd needed it for the weekend and Monday but he told me today that he did not use it. Who knows, one day at a time! Yesterdays and todays treatment went well. After yesterdays appointment, Dr. Malyapa wanted to touch base with him. He showed Todd the map of his brain and exactly where they are shooting the protons. Todd said it was pretty cool. Dr. Malyapa said all was going expected-what does that really mean?! He also told Todd to try and wear a bucket style type of hat to protect the back of his head and neck. HEHE. I can not see Todd wearing this type hat. He told me that he would start wearing his ballcaps backwards.

I have had sooo much great feedback on the blog! I am glad that people are reading it. I had several customers that have become friends stop by today just to "check" in. It has also allowed me to reconnect with friends that I/we have not spoken to in awhile. Todd told me tonight that I have more support than he does. I told him it is because I have FRIENDS!!! Of course, he said that jokingly.

Well, I had intended this to be a long post with pictures but I am a little behind so I will keep doing the daily updates and then in the "spare" time I will work on the pictures post. Thanks everyone for caring.

Check Back

I have been working on a post tonight and it is taking me a while to get it together. I am putting in lots of pics and updating everyone on who is who. I will try and finish tomorrow before I go to work. Thanks for checking! Oh by the way, things went well on Monday and Tuesday for treatment.

The Map

I love looking at the Map on the bottom of the blog to see where everyone is coming from. So, I do not know who my California person is.....Mystery. Would love to know who you are so please leave a comment!!! I am updating close to every day and will post again on Monday after Todd's treatment. Keep praying!

Todd's Address

The other address has fallen of the page so I wanted to bring it back to the front page.

Todd Bloomfield

400 East Bay Street

Suite #603

Jacksonville, FL 32202

Day 4 and 5 of 30

So both days went well. I was excited to hear from Todd that he did not have to wear his eye patch on the way to the center on Thursday (To drive, he has had to wear an eye patch no matter where he goes) AND then he called yesterday while I was at work to tell me he did not wear his eye patch at all on the drive. You could tell that he was excited but I told him not to get his hopes up too much but that I was very excited for him!

Today is Saturday and I spoke to him this morning. He is going to meet a friend, Randy for lunch. Randy works for VF based out of the St. Augustine store. I was super happy to hear he was going to be seeing someone. I was afraid that this would be a long boring weekend for him.

Keep praying for him and us.

Day 3 of 30

So Tyler and I left today. I *think* I have him pretty set up for the next 7 days. I got the pantry stocked with the foods he likes-he just needs to get fresh veggies and fruits, I signed him up for a mail service on his PS3 games-so he does not have to drive to Blockbuster and left emergency contact numbers at the concierge desk.

Today's treatment was the same-the big black hole. I believe he is starting to slow down and get more tired but he has plenty of free time to relax. I probably will not post for a few days unless something changes. Tyler and I are going to fly out on Friday the 14-thanks to my friend Haven who has given us 2 buddy passes for this trip-roundtrip from Knoxville to Jacksonville. Much nicer to fly direct!!!!

Day 2 of 30

Today went "Easy Breasy" at Todd put it. We got to the center about 45 min early and just sat around. I realized that I am very thankful for our situation because there are people a lot worse off than Todd. I saw the "good, the bad and the ugly" while sitting there. At one point, I had to get up and refocus because I felt the tears coming soon. On the brighter side, there were many men-older men-waiting on their prostate treatment and they were just as happy as larks.

So the proton center is a facility meant for prostate cancers, lung cancers and head/neck cancers. While we were sitting there I said to Todd "I think some of these people could be our grandparents!" Everyone there today was 75+ years old. LOL. I don't see Todd finding a buddy in that group but you never know.

After treatment, Tyler and I went to the Museum of Science and History-MOSH. We had a good time. Todd wanted to rest so we left him alone for 3 hrs-I think he enjoyed the quiet time. The neat part of our trip was that we took the Water Taxi. What a cool concept and Tyler thought it was cool. The water taxi took us across the river right to the museum. Best part about it was that we got on the taxi right in the "backyard" of the complex. I have a few cool pics that I will have to upload so stayed tuned!

I leave tomorrow and I kinda worry a little bit. I mostly worry about him driving as his vision is not so great. I think the parking garage is going to be a big challenge. Todd assured me that he won't be "roaming" the city. I talked to my mom tonight and she assured me that he will be fine as he had been doing normal activities for months. I will stop by the concierge desk in the morning and leave them my numbers-just in case. Keep praying.

Day 1 of 30

Today was day 1 and it went really well. Todd said it was like going into a big hole which he called the Abyss. They had his head strapped down by the keflar (sp) mask that was molded to his face and attached to a board. Then his mouth was in a mouth piece which was attached to the mask. Bottom line, he could not move his head or jaw. The process took all of 30 min and he said it really was not too bad.

Today he has been a little loopy and tired. Tyler has been running around like a wild monkey so I have tried to keep him occupied. We went swimming, went for a walk along the riverfront and did some shopping. Hopefully once we are gone, he can relax and watch life go by. I did walk in on him napping, which is very unusual, so I know that he is not feeling his best.

All in all, it went well and he has 29 more to go. Keep us in your prayers!

WOW, What a gift!!!

I received an unbelievable gift from work the other day. For those of you who know my friend, Susan or who Tyler calls Crazy Susan, she wanted to start a "money" drive to get a $100 gas card. Well, she called all my mall friends, Amy and her parents just to say she wanted to give us a gas gift card. Well, this was started on last Sunday and she told me that the first person who donated gave enough to cover the gas card-at that point she said "oh, I need a bigger goal." Well, by the middle of the week she had raised as she calls "10 gas cards" and she still had people telling her they were going to give. Long of the short, She was a proud momma as she gave me a huge pile of cash and a homemade card with everyones name who had contributed. There were 37 people who gave and the amount was more than I could have ever expected. All she expected in return was a hug, lol. (I am not a hugger).

Thank you to everyone who gave to us. The money will definitely be put to good use. Also, thanks for caring about us.

Almost ready to go...

Well, we will be leaving-Sunday 3rd-in the morning and it seems that there is a lot of "stuff" to get ready. Just trying to get "life" wrapped up for Todd seems to be the hard part. Today he is not feeling all that great, I have noticed that he is off balance a lot and that is because of the double vision. Also, he is incredibly grouchy but Tyler and I just go with the flow.

Many people have come to my side to help with any changes the next few weeks. Lots of dinner invites and many people will be taken up on them, especially the neighbors. Glad to know that we have friends! 6 weeks will go by so fast with us traveling to and from.

Lastly everyone keeps asking me (and Tyler) if we are OK and I keep saying "YES." It makes this transition easier knowing that Todd is excited about getting Proton Therapy. I asked him the other night if he was nervous and he said "No" that he was more excited because he was hoping that by shrinking or eliminating the tumor it would help him feel better. I guess we don't understand how it feels to feel crappy everyday. Everyone, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we travel tomorrow and he has his first treatment on Monday at 10:45.

I will be setting up a separate email addy for Todd within the next few days but until then you can either leave comments or respond to our home email address. Also, I will post his address again for those that want to send a letter or card. I am sure he would love to hear some encouraging words. Todd Bloomfield, 400 East Bay Street Suite 603, Jacksonville, Fl 32202. I will update everyone on Monday to how the first session went.