Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Plans are now in motion for Thanksgiving Day at our house in Rockwall.  Kim and her family won't be there due to commitments to her family.  Dad and Clara, Mom, Gregg and Jeff, and many from their families, will be there.  We are anticipating around 15 people.  Cyndi has already planned the menu, and allocated some of the preparation to those that are attending.  She may still have a few adjustments to make, but she has it under control, as always.  Whitney should also be in town, so we'll enjoy her company for a short time, before she returns to Las Vegas.  There will be a lot of awesome food and drink, and we are very thankful that Dad is still here to enjoy it with us.  Of course, there will be some good Cowboys football to watch, and just good company from all of our family that will be in attendance.

Monday, October 31, 2011

Today is Dad's birthday.  I write this hastily before I have to leave for work.  He had a party at the house planned for this evening.  Clara has not been feeling well over the last week.  It appears there's a sinus issue, and antibiotics aren't doing the job.  Cyndi and I were planning on going to dinner with them on Saturday night, and that was cancelled.  Then we talked on Sunday and Clara wasn't any better.  So he's cancelled the Monday night party.  Clara will take a third trip to the doctor's office today for more testing.  Let's keep her in our prayers today and hope that she get's better soon.  I will update you as I know more.  If you have a chance, call and wish Dad a Happy Birthday.  Then hand out treats to the kiddos!!!  Everyone have a safe and fun Halloween.

Friday, October 21, 2011

Dad got results on Tuesday for some xrays and scans taken last week.  It looks like the tumor on his liver has shrunk from 4mm to 1mm, and has become hardly noticeable.  The rest of his tumors appear to still be about the same.  So that's good news.  However, in the "cocktail" he takes, there are certain drugs that his body can only take a certain amount of before the chemo itself becomes deadly.  So they'll have to adjust his cocktail to some new drugs that will hopefully maintain his current status.  He's also become more independent, and is actually driving himself around.  Short distances and time frames, but by himself.  So that's good news too.
As for his birthday, Clara and he have decided to have it on his birthday, Monday...not the Saturday before.  It will be a come-and-go thing after work, for those of us that work.  It will be for kids and spouses only, and a few of his friends, and Clara will have some easy-to-handle food and drinks out.  It won't last long but it should be fun.  So make plans, family, to be there on Monday night.

Tuesday, October 18,, 2011

An update.  Dad's birthday party will not be in Rockwall.  It will be at their house in Arlington on Fielder, and will probably be a come-and-go event on the Saturday before his birthday.  So kids (no grandkids, etc) make you plans accordingly and set aside that Saturday. 
Also, just for your reference, Cyndi found online the discussion of Dad's name on the wall of the aerospace museum in Washington, out near Dulles Airport.  I'm sure some of you have seen it, but here's the link:  http://www.nasm.si.edu/getinvolved/giving/wallofhonor/profiledetail.cfm?id=21545#.Tp3z8I2eJyg.email.
Check it out, it's some great stuff.  There's information on Dad that I never knew about, so I'll have to talk to him about it this Thursday when I'm visiting him for Clara's bridge day-off.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Well, Dad's birthday is fast-approaching.  October 31 will fall on a Monday.  Clara had mentioned about having kids and family, and Dad's friends, over at her place on Saturday.  I suggested the possibility of coming to Rockwall and eating at a restaurant at The Harbor, or possibly The Oar House, and then taking a sailboat ride on The Seawolf.  The Seawolf (see www.sailwithscott.com) is a large sailboat that take about a 1 1/2 hour ride around Lake Ray Hubbard.  Not sure if that will be the final decision, but it's a thought.  A lot will depend on the weather, and how Dad is feeling.  Dad is still pretty stable, to the best of my knowledge.  Not much has changed in the last week or so.  The only sign I see that worries me is that his blood cell count continues to stay low on a more frequent basis.  Other than that, his pain medication seems to be working well.

Saturday, October 1, 2011

I went to Dad and Clara's house on Thursday.  It wasn't Clara's bridge day, that's next Thursday.  I went there to help him with setting up some financial things that would go faster on line.  Since Dad doesn't have a computer, I went there to go online and be sure to setup the accounts properly, the way he wanted them set up.  He was supposed to have gone to chemo on Wednesday, but again, his blood cell counts were way down.  So he got the shot and will have to wait until next week for chemo.  I'm concerned about the increasing amount of times that he's going in for chemo and it's being postponed because of his blood cell count.  It used to be just now and then, now it seems to be almost every visit is postponed because of it.  On the good side, he's still very active and alert.  He tells me that he really doesn't need me, or anyone else, to be over at the house with him when Clara's gone for the day.  But, I tell him that maybe it's more for me, than for him! It's at these times that you have to prioritize a few things in life.  When he's gone, I won't have the liberty of taking a weekend here and there to go see him.  So I'll do it now while I can.  I believe this weekend he and Clara were going to Greenville to see their friends the Ralstons.  They were going to watch a play or theater thing, and spend the night.  Then come back home on Sunday.  The trip from Arlington to Greenville is about an hour and a half, maybe hour and 45 minutes.  He should be okay in the car for that long.  I told them to take a break in Rockwall and visit with us for a while.  We'll see if he's up to it or not.

Sunday, Sept 18th, 2011

Cyndi and I went over this afternoon and visited with Dad and Clara.  Clara had a great spread out on the table of sandwiches, dips, wine, and pasta salad.  We sat around the table and visited and then watched the Cowboy game.  Dad has developed a little back pain, he thinks its sciatic nerve stuff.  I think he plans on going to the Dr. to see about it.  And he's back feeling somewhat depleted on a daily basis.  I think he's thinking of driving again, since his Dr. said it would be okay.  I think that most of us are against that idea.  It's something we'll be talking to him about.  Clara does an awesome job of taxiing him around anyway.  Nice to have a chauffeur.  He ate well at lunch, and moved about fairly well.  But eventually he had to go horizontal for a few hours.  While there, I sat by his bedside and we discussed several things.  We left just after halftime of the game and that allowed us to get home to Rockwall at a reasonable hour.  He called later to make sure we made it home all right.  An 85 year old man calling his 61 year old son to make sure he made it home all right an hour's drive away.  It felt good.  BTW, we planted the seed of what to do for Thanksgiving.  We have several options that we'll be discussing here pretty quickly.  It's only a couple of months away.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

This was an eventful week for Dad.  We completed the sale of his house on Woodwind in Pantego (Arlington) and he is out from under that major headache of care and responsibility.  No more going to the house to water everything...including the pool!!!  The people that bought it moved from Hawaii, via Denver (not sure exactly how that worked out).  Our realtor, Tambre  Ruggiero, did a great job.  She wasn't working under the best of circumstances having to deal with Dad and Gregg and me to figure out what to do.  But she came to us as a referral from Gregg who has worked with her before, and I must say she did a very professional job for us. So now we can move a little closer to a more simplified life plan for Dad now that the house is out of the way.  Gregg and I will sit down with Dad probably this weekend and try to map out a strategy that's effective for all of us, but especially him.  He's been in really good spirits and health recently, so we're keeping our fingers crossed that this situation maintains itself for a long time.  His good friend Bill Ralston drove from Greenville to Arlington to have lunch with him this last week.  I know he likes it a lot when Bill visits with him.  He's a very good friend.
I'm not sure about his chemo schedule with the holidays this weekend.  Clara is out of town visiting friends and relatives and Gregg, Jeff and Kim will be taking turns staying with Dad while she's gone.  I have a great sibling support group to help me with this. And my wife Cyndi helps an awful lot to, even if it's just with her wonderful patience and understanding, and love for my family and my father. It's great to have all of this love and concern and contribution from those in the family that do contribute to his care and concern.  I know some of you that read this blog aren't in the area where you can visit, like Bill.  If you can visit, he loves the company.  If you can't then call or write.  He's not into computers at all, but Clara is.  If you need Clara's email address just contact me or comment below and I'll be glad to forward it to you and you can email Dad through her. 

Tuesday, August 24 2011

Wow, I cannot believe it's been a week since my last posting. Dad had another chemo treatment today, and it was just another day at the doctor's office.  We've all been hustling around the house on Woodwind as it looks like things are moving right along. We will be having a garage sale this Saturday, and any items unsold will either go to the curb for trash pickup or be donated to Mission Arlington, on Monday.  The sale of the house will close on August 31, and Dad will be finally out from under its weight.  One less item for him to worry about.  Most of the other siblings will be handling the garage sale this Saturday, as I will be working.  If you think there's something you might want, please get by the house and take a look.  Otherwise, it's trash or Mission Arlington.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Today is some pretty good news.  Dad's results came back yesterday, and it appears that the tumors have diminished is size slightly.  While this doesn't mean remission, it means that he's been able to keep the cancer from spreading and growing, so that's good news.  He's had 7 treatments, and was scheduled for his 8th yesterday.  But they decided to postpone it for a week until next week.  We knew this would be a long, hard battle, so he'll keep plugging along and doing his best.  He's in good spirits, his mind is still in good shape, he still gets angry and perturbed at times (that's a good sign) and he's physically mobile.  The contract on the Woodwind house has been finalized and it's moving along nicely.  Inspection will be this week, and if all goes well, closing by the end of this month.  This will be a great burden off of dad, and he said he'll sleep better at night.  We will probably be having an estate sale on the weekend of the 27th-28th, and whatever is leftover will go to Goodwill or Salvation Army.  More later.

Sunday, August 14, 2011

It's Sunday evening, and we have some good news.  We have a contract on Dad's house on Woodwind.  It should close within the next two weeks or so, by the end of the month.  This is a great burden lifted off of Dad's shoulders, and I know he'll sleep better at night know that the maintenance and upkeep on the house will be ending.  As for the medical side, he should find out this week the results of last week's tests.  He has been feeling pretty good, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that it's good news.  I will post here as soon as I hear something from him so that all of you will know what the situation is.

Wednesday, August 10th

Short post today.  I talked to Dad today.  He went in for new catscan, petscan, ecg, bloodwork, etc.  This will let him know if the chemo is working on remission, or not.  He said he's been feeling pretty good.  We won't know the results until next week, time for the labs to do their thing, I guess.  I would think the petscan and catscan would be immediate, but what do I know.
Not much else.  Like I said, a short one.  It's late anyway.  Later, everyone.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Yesterday was an unusual, and busy, day.  I spent the day with dad at Clara's, while Clara went to play bridge with her friends. We had a couple of stops we had to make.  First his new doctors office for his primary care physician.  The we went to the second doctor's office and had the stitches removed from his left shin area from his coffee table gash two weeks ago.  His leg looks really good, and the doctor did a great job.  Then we went my Woodwind and did a few chores and visited with his realtor.  About 1pm, we headed bach to Clara's and ate some lunch.  By then the stock market was in the middle of it's huge downslide.  It was down about 270 points.  He went and took a nap, while I got some work done.  I hadn't had much time in the morning. After about an hour and a half nap, he woke up, and we watched the Dow dropp another 240 points to close at -512.  Fortunately, I convinced him to move a lot of his holdings out of the market and into MM Funds. I had done the same the day before.  Clara got home, around 4:15 and we visited for awhile, and I left about 6pm.  It seems his chemo is doing well.  He's awake and around a lot more than in the past few weeks.  Next week is very important as he goes in for EEC, ECG and Catscan to see what he's looking like.  We should be able to see if the chemo is doing well or not.  And that should help decide what his plans will be for the next several months.  I will let you know next week.

Friday, July 22

I spent the day with Dad today while Clara played bridge with some of her friends.  We had a really good day.  Bad news...Dad hit his shin on a coffee table and wound up with a 2"-3" gash.  He had to get around 20 stitches in his left leg.  It's wrapped with gauze right now. The table, in the upstairs TV room, has been moved over to the side. He only uses that room to watch a tv and work a picture puzzle.  He is walking on it and appears to be doing fine.  He was awake most of the day.  Seems he naps more now than he sleeps.  He seems to be handling the chemo a lot better.  We changed his pain patches.  To get out we went to Woodwind, and there was a showing occuring at the house, so we waited around the corner in the car until they left.  We looked around, cleaned a few things up, made a few decisions on things that needed to be trashed, and he took a few small things with him back to Clara's. We had lunch, he took another nap, then he read some.  He's currently working on a balsa-wood clipper ship model.  Clara returned about 3:30 and I left about 4:30.  It was a pretty good day for him.

July 18th, 2011

This was a good weekend. Cyndi and I were in Arlington on Sunday along with most of the rest of the family to witness Penelope's baptism at Trinity United Methodist Church on West Park Row.  It was a wonderful ceremony, and Penelope did great in front of a huge audience of witnesses.  Dad and Clara made it and sat next to Cyndi and me.  After the ceremony Nick and Kassidy had a small gathering at Mom's pool clubhouse in North Arlington by Randol Mill Park, with snacks and tea.  All of us sat around and visited.  Dad and Clara made it there later.  He went home and took a short nap.  He has been in really good spirits these days.  Maybe the chemo is working.  Last week was his 5th treatment.  I asked him what the plan was for total treatments and he said he thought it was 8 or 9.  I will find out and let you know.  This week I'll be back over at Clara's house for the day to watch him and work while Clara again gets some well-deserved time off to play bridge with her friends.

Picture of Shawn and Grandpa on Thursday July 14, 2011

Wednesday, July 13th

Today Dad went for his 5th chemo treatment.  I didn't get to call him this evening to see how it went, so I have nothing new to report there.  I will try to talk to him tomorrow and report on his status then.  I did talk to him on Monday, and he said his weekend was pretty quiet and peaceful.  I did spend the day with him last Thursday while Clara went to play bridge with her friends in Dallas.  We talked a little in the morning, but his hydrocodon strength has been increased slightly and he was feeling the effects of it.  He was a little woozy and out of it.  So we postponed our conversation for a few hours while he grabbed a nap.  He had plans that day to have lunch with his good friend Bill Ralston.  He came about 11:30 and they went to eat lunch at a small diner in Pantego on Bowen Road.  He came back around 12:30-1:00.  He said he had a good visit with Bill and ate a good lunch too. It was great of Bill to come all the way from Greenville, Texas (about an hour east of Dallas, and an hour and a half one-way to Clara's house).  Clara arrived home about 3:30-4:00 and had a good day with her friends. The Woodwind house is coming along, not too many bites right now. Kassidy and Nick will be bringing Penelope into Arlington this weekend for her baptism on Sunday morning at Trinity United Methodist Church in West Arlington. And I believe that Reno and his family are scheduled to come into town soon too, I just don't remember the exact dates.  I think around the 21st of July.

Monday, July 4th

Well Happy 4th of July, everyone. Let's recap the last several days since my last post.  Dad, after chemo, went in the next day for a shot and a 2-pint blood transfusion.  It obviously worked. Cyndi and I went to visit with him Sunday afternoon, and he was in a very active state of mind, and physically moving around. He was concerned about the house on woodwind, so we agreed to jump on it the next day...July 4th.
So early this morning we were at Woodwind.  The house has a realtor sign in front and is on the market.  Cyndi and I arrived from Rockwall about 9:00 and started to work cleaning, clearing, and decluttering.  Dad and Clara arrived around 10:30.  Pedro helped most of the morning too.  Gregg and Austin arrived around noon, and Russell and Kim arrive around 1:30.  We got a lot done with the house.  The trashmen (who come on Tuesday, that's one of the reasons we jumped on the house today, Monday) won't be too happy when they see the pile of trash that's at the curb!  But the inside of the house looks great.  It still needs a little more work in the kitchen and the master bedroom, but it's about 85%-90% there. Dad, Clara and Gregg left about 2, and Russell and Kim and Cyndi and I left around 2:30.  It was a long, hot, hard-working day, but a lot was accomplished.  When Dad left he was a little exhausted, but I think he felt good that so much was done today, and the house looks much more presentable to the buying public. Thanks to Cyndi, Gregg, Kim and Russell for helping so much today.  Siblings, please send me emails with items in the house or garage that you want. I will be maintaining a list. FCFS (first-come, first-served). I will be over at Clara's on Tuesday to watch Dad while Clara takes a well-deserved day off to play bridge with her friends.
Also, Nancy, Dee's daughter, has informed me that the golf course in Costa Mesa where Dee played golf for so many years, is trying to get a plaque put in place on the golf course in her memory, since she was such an active member and love by all of her lady golfers there.  What an awesome tribute.  And there will be a dinner service held in July held by her family which I will attempt to attend.
That's all for now.

Wednesday, June 29

Today was chemo session number 4.  He and Clara had a long day today. They spent from 10am to 4pm at chemo, then he had to go get a shot for his low wbc's.  Then they took a trip over to Woodwind to check a few things out.  When I talked to him tonight about 9pm he and Clara were pretty tired.  We talked about a few things that he's worried about, I told him to relax and get some sleep, the we would take care of them.  He has to go tomorrow to get a blood transfusion, in the morning, which will take a couple of hours.  He's not having a good time right now, and he's getting a lot of needles stuck in him.  But he's hanging on like a real trooper.  We kids will have to take turns on responsibility of watching over Woodwind while it's on the market until it sells. It is listed at $215,000. 

Sunday June 26 2011

Cyndi and I went over to Woodwind, with Mom, to visit with Dad.  We were coming from taking Mom to dinner for her birthday.  We took her to Olive Garden and had a great visit.
Dad was just finishing up dinner, and Jeff was watching a movie.  We sat down and visited and a little while later Gregg showed up.  We discussed several things, including the remaining terms of his chemo, and how to handle the sale of Woodwind since the summer selling season is rolling along .  We had an appraisal done, and were pleasantly surprised. It appears house values in that area of Pantego have actually been increasing! We discussed some minor repairs and maintenance that it needs to have done.  We left and took Mom home and headed back to Rockwall.  Jeff stayed again last night with him.
He should be heading back over to Clara's house sometime today.  Jeff will be helping him with that move.
All in all, the four kids were able to handle the situation well, without a hitch.  The week's gone by and he's weathered a few minor storms, but all is good for now.

All Day Today

This is the week that Clara has company at her house.  So Dad is back at Woodwind until Sunday.  Kim and Russell helped get him from Clara's to Woodwind, then stayed with him until around 6pm.  Then Cyndi and I brought over dinner, and Gregg arrived, and Kim and Russell left. Dad, Gregg, Cyndi and I had lamb chops, mashed potatoes, and asparagus.  It was a good dinner.  Dad ate well.  Gregg left about nine.

Today was a busy day.  We bought him a portable CD player to listen to music, and Cyndi bought him three books-on-CD to listen to.  He also has a vast collection of music CD's to listen to.  He didn't want anything digital.  We had a short trip tot he Doctor in the afternoon for a shot to help his low red and white blood cells (a side-effect of the chemo) and we were back home by 3:00 o'clock.  The rest of the day was quiet, and Gregg arrived about 5:00 to take over the next shift.  Jeff will come in on Friday around 5:00 and watch Dad throught Sunday morning.  Gregg and Kim will help him through the weekend.
Dad will be at the Woodwind house through Sunday around noon. So you can call him at the house or on his cell if you want to talk to him. He does have his good days and some bad days.  Today was a pretty good day, all things considered.

Dad, Kassidy and Penelope on Father's Day, at Clara's

Here's a picture of Dad, Kassidy, and Penelope on Father's Day.

Father's Day

Sunday was an unusual Day.  Sunday afternoon Kim and Russel, Jeff, and Cyndi and I met at Clara's place. The big surprise was Kassidy and Nick and...Penelope!  She is so adorable.  They were able to visit with Dad upstairs for a little while.  Then Dad and Gregg and I had to shut the door and take care of some business.  Dad will be at the Pantego house from Wednesday morning until Sunday.  Jeff and Amy will be leaving us on Wednesday afternoon.  They've had a great, fun stay here in Texas, but it's time for them to return to Delaware, where it's much cooler!
During Dad's stay at Woodwind the four of us siblings will take turns staying with him at the house.  This is important because it will require overnight stays and feedings, along with medication (patches and oral medicine) and the taking of blood pressure.  We have the schedule worked out and all looks good.  Russell and Cyndi are on alert in case one of us cannot do or continue our tour.
He's still in good shape, but the doctors want us to feed him fattening foods.  Starches, candy, whatever, to put some weight back on him.  He's also asked Clara to get him a portable CD player and then get some books on CD (I tried to recommend an mp3 player, but he declined digital. Imagin that!).  He's slowing down with the vision and the reading, but he's still wanting and needing to enjoy what a good book has to offer.
And, much to my surprise, he still enjoys sipping a little JD black and water.  I don't think he'll ever give that up.
That's all for now.  Keep the comments coming if you have them, post them below.  And remember, if you don't want to wait to come read this, you can sign up for an email each time I post.
Mark

Video Idea

I will be heading over to Arlington on Sunday to visit with Dad.  I will post an update Sunday night.  In the meantime, I have an idea.
I would like to record a series of videos to post on this site and then keep for later.
Here' my idea, and it's not etched in stone, so any other ideas or spinoffs of this idea are appreciated.
I would like for each of the siblings, to start, to come up with 3 questions they would like to have Dad answer. Then I will video either me, or the sibling, asking him the questions and Dad answering them. They might be specific, such as an event in his life.  Or they might be generic, such as what is his belief or general take on some aspect of life.  They could be about business, sports, family, history, whatever.
My plan is to make each sibling's interview session a separate video.  We will shoot it very casually, say at the kitchen table or just sitting close on the couch.  Then I can post each video to the blog where all can see and enjoy.
I would also entertain any non-siblings (family, friends, etc) that want to ask him a question, to submit it to me a maschellhammer@yahoo.com and I can have a separate session to ask him those questions. I'll do the best I can to make sure there aren't any repetitive questions.  And then, after each session is done, I'll post it to the blog for all to see.
That's the idea.  Any expansion or deviation of this idea will be entertained.  Let me know.  I plan to start it soon, so please give me feedback on the idea, and if possible think about your questions so we can start scheduling the sessions.  It obviously would have to meet Dad's, your and my schedule.
I'm looking forward to your feedback.

First Post on this Blog for Dad

Today is June 15th, 2011.  This blog is dedicated to telling it's followers of the status of the health of my Dad, Augie Schellhammer.  Please sign in as a follower so that you can subscribe to updates as they are posted.

Today was not the best of days.  Dee, Dad's wife, passed away at 4:00am EST.  Nancy, her oldest child, was notified of her passing.  She has not currently made any plans for the funeral or a service.  Nancy's mailing address is Nancy Ocean, 46341 Pryor Sq., Potomac Falls, VA  20165-7264.  If anyone wants her phone number please call me and I will give it to you.

Dad had a trip to chemo today, and appeared he went through it okay.  Clara will be out of town from Tuesday the 21st of June until the following Sunday night.  Dad will be staying at his house.  Several of us will need to be taking care of him 24/7 while Clara is out of town.  I will be in Arlington this weekend, probably Sunday, and Gregg, Jeff and Kim and I should get together to nail down the schedule. He will have Dr appts to keep.  I will get medicine and doctor schedules ready for that meeting.


Amy is in town this week with her kids, from Delaware.  Everyone should make an effort to go see her.