My WISH for you

My last blog had the title of a December to Remember...that was an understatement. On Saturday December 18th our fighter had some family and friends come by the house for some holiday cheer. The group was on hand to witness quite the spectacle, the Tinley community came out to help one of their own our Pink Warrior. Reenie was nominated and chosen as a recipient of Tinley Wish this year. A parade of 30 plus vehicles and 100 plus members of our community, Police, Fire fighters, village trustees, village employees, citizens from Tinley Park, and some past year recipients paid a visit to Reenie and her family, they came with sirens blaring, lights flashing and marched through our house presenting Reenie and her family with gifts to help make this a wonderful holiday season and for a time forget the struggles of the past 14 months. They succeeded. Lt Ken Roemer along with Reenie's cousin Eileen sponsored Reenie for the special day they felt that because our warrior has been in treatment and unable to work for over a year that she deserved a special day. I have been trying to wrap my head around the huge undertaking that this program takes on every year and I am amazed at what a life changing event this program provides, it changed ours. I don't think it is the material benefits we received from this that will stay with us as much it will be the out pouring of love that was experienced that day in our home. We know how lucky this family is that we have an amazing support group, from our family and friends, now our community has let us know that we are not alone in this battle. It may be a call from New Jersey or Texas, a letter from Florida , beautiful well wishes from Kentucky or a prayer from California our Pink Warrior knows she has the support of so many, this is what keeps her strong, keeps her fighting and keeps her winning. I know I have become redundant in my thanks to all of our support group but it is heartfelt, each one of you have managed to make our Christmas this year a special one. May God bless everyone in the upcoming year and may all your WISHES come true. A special thanks to our photographers, Megan Casey and Erin Stefanik, I'm working on the slide show.
Love Reenie, Tom and family

A December to Remember? here's hoping!!!

Well it has been quite awhile since I have updated Reenie's blog my only excuse is that the last update had such good news I guess I wanted to sit back and enjoy it. We are usually a little leery of the good news since we have gone through this step before yet we know that as long as the treatment is achieving good results we have hope and it is that hope that gives our fighter added strength. Now that the holiday season is here again another realization is that Reenie has been fighting this latest battle for over a year now and it takes one helluva strong person to endure ongoing chemotherapy treatment on a weekly basis, receiving this weekly has reeked havoc on her blood cells both red and white and left her with frequent bone pain. She has persevered and done so so gracefully its really inspiring. The doctors decided that the since we received good results in October we could dial back the regiment from every week to 3 weeks of treatment and 1 week of just hydration so that Reenie could have a week to recuperate. The new regiment has given our warrior the much needed break her body needs, but in November her tumor markers increased slightly which our team of doctors believe had more to do with skipped treatment than increased tumor activity, we're hoping they're right.
  Reen has tackled the upcoming Christmas season head on and wants to make sure everyone has a great Christmas. It has been great to see a different woman this year at holiday time and it is because of the renewed hope that we have found the right treatment, and it is also because of the unwavering support that the Haas family has received from our amazing friends and family. I was asked recently by an old friend who has received similar news about a loved one "how do we get through this"?  I didn't have to think too long about that question because I think of it everyday....We get through this because of our support group, our group has been there every step of the way, we get through this with prayer I think I have prayed so much this past year I may have become a deacon. We get through this because Reenie doesn't give up and when she gets down its not for long she has a way of keeping us upbeat because she hasn't lost her quick wit or sense of humor.

I titled this a December to Remember not because I have purchased a Lexus for my beautiful wife but because of more news and blessings bestowed on our family, yes we have endured alot of pain and still have a few hurdles to jump we still receive blessings each and everyday ,sometimes we have to look extra hard and sometimes they appear out of nowhere. Kristen and Josh are expecting and due May26st, we found out today that our first grandchild will be a BOY and as you can imagine our Pink Warrior can't wait to start shopping. We also found out recently that Reenie was nominated by her cousin Eileen, along with a letter from her kids to be a recipient of the Village of Tinley Park's "Tinley Wish" program. The program helps 7 to 10 families or individuals who may be suffering from various hardships, they help ease the pain and burden experienced during the Christmas season. I first thought that I wanted no part of this that I thought their has to be others that had more hardships than we have had, but I guess I was thinking of myself not Reenie initially. Yes she has had it hard, harder than most this year, yes she has stressed how are we going to get through Christmas and yes she deserves a great day just for her so on Saturday Dec. 18th the Tinley Wish foundation made up of our community, our Fire Department and our Police Department will get together for a parade and stop at our humble home to wish our Pink Warrior a Merry Christmas and help give her a December to Remember!! Love to all and again thanks to everyone for your constant support and keep the prayers coming.

Can I get an AMEN!!!!

In writing about Reenie with her amazing strength and her inspirational fight, while she has been involved in the battle of her life for 11 1/2 months, I've tried to update and explain what she has been going through. I've introduced Reenie's extraordinary support group, made up of family, co-workers and her unwavering friends. Her team of doctors, physician assistants, nurses and pharmacists that take care of our warrior weekly. With this group and with many many prayers from coast to coast we have stayed positive and believed that this fight will be won. It has been a long time since we had really good news that were direct results of her treatment, but this past week the treatment paid off. We received the good news that we have been praying for, Megan (Reenie's primary physician assistant) called last Friday because she couldn't wait until Monday to deliver the news that her tumor markers have decreased. Exciting news but we weren't done yet, Monday Dr. Baridi and Megan as excited as medical professionals can be, delivered the real tangible news that her PET scan showed massive improvement, as Megan explained it there was only one (1) (uno) , a singular hypermetabolic (cancerous) node, and that one has decreased in size and malignancy since her last scan in July. The last scan in July was not good, it had showed tumors throughout her abdomen and into her pelvic area, and today no signs of activity in those areas......today we can breath a little easier, today we thank God, our support group, and our medical team , today is a great day...as I said at the start can I get an AMEN... Reenie is not done yet, and this news I believe has given our warrior some much needed strength to continue this fight. The treatment will continue for 3 more cycles (months), through the holidays with more tests in mid January, so were not done yet but we have seen some light at the end of this tunnel.
Love to all and thank you for your thoughts and prayers...

Now we wait....and pray....and believe

Monday October 25th we have a date with our oncology team to discuss the progress of our warriors treatment. It has been 2 months since tumor markers were drawn and that showed an improvement after 1 months treatment of the new drug Navelbine. And it has been 3 months since her last PET scan and the start of this new treatment. Reenie spent this week being tested, which as we have found can be a nerve racking week. This week Reenie had a small procedure to clean out a dry socket that was in her arm from where the port was removed last July, so hopefully this will help with the healing process of that area. The tumor markers were drawn yesterday and the PET scan was today (Thursday) and results will be Monday. Our fighter did get a much needed break from treatment this week, this was her hydration week with no chemo. We look forward to this week, Reenie needs this stoppage to build up strength to keep this fight going, this takes so much out of you , she has had days when she barely gets out of bed, but then the next day she pushes to lead a somewhat normal life style, taking care of her house and her boys and we make sure herself. She will get out with friends from work for lunch, maybe a dinner with her circle of friends, we found this chemo may be working but it definitely zaps her of strength. One of the highlights in the last month was the special mass at St. Stephens for cancer patients and survivors. Reenie was able to attend the mass with her fellow cancer fighter and friend Debbie Markham. The mass was a moving tribute to the on going fighters in this battle and those that have fought and won. Reenie had many family and friends also in attendance to show support with love and prayer...a pretty powerful combination. I know I have said this many times in the blogs that she amazes me with her inner strength and resolve, I wonder why her and not me, and I believe the realization is because she is stronger and more determined and her support base is unexplainable ...the love and kindness shown to her and our family doesn't stop...so Reenie is not only fighting for herself but for her family and her friends. So this Monday is a big day in our Pink Warriors treatment, so please keep Reenie in your thoughts and prayers, she gains her strength from you her angels...Love to all and again you have blessed our family in so many ways with your kindness.

Surprise..Surprise ..Surprise..and they're all good surprises...for a change!!!

September..the month that football starts, the month when fall begins and oh yeah the month of our warriors birthday. September 25th is the actual date but  the celebration can be anywhere from a day to 2 weeks, and that's just fine with me. As Reenie got together with the cheer moms a week and a half ago it was a birthday dinner for our girl surprise number one. Last week end the high school friends got together for their annual trip to Sister's Lake Mich. to celebrate Reenie's birthday, but to her surprise they ended up in  Oak Brook for the weekend to shop and eat, along with another surprise her girlfriends from New Jersey and Houston came in for the get together. Surprises two and three.
 A couple of weeks ago at chemo Reen had a little wheezing going on so they performed a chest xray to see if there was anything happening. The chest xray was not conclusive so now the recommendation was "lets do a CT scan". Man it always seems like good news is short lived (previous tumor markers being good) we got to enjoy that for about 15 minutes. We received the news of the scan last week and the lungs were fine some scar tissue from previous surgeries and past infections, but there was a bonus. The CT scan was of the chest area, and compared to the last PET scan the tumors were decreased in quantity and size...surprise number four and just wonderful news...this chemo is helping!!!
Well Reenie has enjoyed her birthday month, she is getting through the pain and fatigue with your love, support and prayers and the belief that this chemo is working, the battle is ongoing so she needs the continued thoughts and prayers. After all the get together, the dinners, the presents, Reenie celebrated her actual birthday with the news that she now will be sharing that birth date with a very special person Quinn Ainslie a beautiful baby born to Megan and Mike Darcy, daughter fo Maureen and Jim Scobey, it has been a good month.
Reenie sends her love and appreciation for all the cards and birthday greetings.

I think Pink is your color!!!

Its amazing as I sit here today and watch my wife fighting the battle of her life and realize 100s of thousands of women have dealt and are dealing with the exact same issues. I watch Reenie each day fight through the pain, the sickness, and the unknowing and I wonder how she manages to persevere. I was able to see the inspiration last week when Reenie's family (Shannon,Kristen,Ryan,Reen's mom Maureen and myself) spend a day with the Pink Heals Tour. Reenie set out last Monday to see the Pink Fire Trucks that travel the US each year in support of women battling breast cancer. The Fire department has always been special to our family, Reenie's dad Bud was a Chicago Firemen for 30 plus years, Josh, Kristen's husband is a fire fighter in Cicero and our son Ryan has completed a fire training course  and is continuing his education that he hopes will land him a career in the department. So the combination of fire trucks and a breast cancer awareness program brought our family together for one of those special days that we don't mange to share often enough. Reenie was the star in Homewood, she donned the Pink fire apparel and took pictures with the crew from both departments (local and traveling) . She posed for numerous pictures for the host support group and many family pics as well. The members of the Pink Heals tour helped Reenie share her inspirational message to others by writing a message on the trucks cab and we spent some time reading the messages of others as well. The truck is filled with messages from 1000's of women who are fighting the same battle our warrior is involved in. We payed a visit to Matteson where 2 more trucks from the tour stopped, Reenie met other women going through treatment and they share stories and hugs, and more inspiration. I know that Reenie gains strength from her family and friends, from knowing she handled this before and from her doctors and nurses and from prayer. I now know her experience will give others strength, her messages on the Pink trucks will inspire others to keep going to "Keep fighting like a girl" as I know the messages have inspired her and our family, like the mothers day walk this day was for Reenie to wear her badge of courage for all to see and she was most definitely "Pretty in Pink"
The last few appointments for our girl have been very encouraging, I said a couple of weeks ago the "eye" test showed improvement well so did tumor markers that we received last week, the cancer cells and tumors are responding to this new chemo...so please keep the prayers and good thoughts coming Reenie's way. The problems are and probably will be during treatment the side effects of infection, low white counts and fatigue, but this post is staying upbeat because it was a good week for our warrior...got good news, spent some time with family and friends and this is how "PINK HEALS"

Love to all....keep praying the miracle prayer!!!

Pack a suitcase or pack a wound

The calender says its time for another school year, time for a White Sox playoff run, time to celebrate Kris and Josh's first year anniversary and most importantly time for some encouraging news about our warrior. The past few weeks have been really difficult for Reenie, our fighter is tough but so is this treatment. She has to push herself to get through the day, lots of pain meds and lots of pain. It has gotten to the point where she is losing her nails and easy tasks are almost impossible. Yet she doesn't complain but will become sad, last week she had a great day on Thursday only to be knock back down on Friday when her visiting nurse felt her surgical wound looked infected, it was, so back on antibiotics and stay close to home. The antibiotics made her nauseous and on Monday she became sick so they backed off on some of the medication. Our girl is still receiving care at home, she needs to have her pick line flushed daily and the site where her port was removed has to be monitored for infection. It was a year ago we were packing for a long weekend and a wedding this year just packing wounds. Reenie has been on her new treatment since July 21st for a total of 5 cycles of Navelbine with daily doses of Femara the hormone therapy. The doctors are waiting until she has completed 8 cycles before any testing, PET scans and tumor markers will be done. The encouraging news we have had is that the EYE test, the visual examinations done the last two weeks have shown an improvement in both look and feel of the tumors. We take this news as a positive but we can't get too excited as we know this beast is a mother @&#*$% and we really need to see an improved scan and markers....but this is a move in that direction, so keep those prayers coming our warrior's way, she needs them for her strength and spirit. The Haas' family sends their love and appreciation to all family and friends you guys are our rock...thank you
And thanks to our special Tuesday flower man....you have no idea how much Reenie appreciates them!!