A Little Something for Everyone

I actually have a little tidbit about each member of the family for this post. I will start with the most pressing issue: my wife. We had yet another visit at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital this week. Fortunately we had some good news. The official diagnosis is idiopathic thrombocytopenia (ITP). Everything else has been ruled out. Her platelet count is still low, but not low enough that the doctor feels the need to treat it. So despite feeling quite fatigued, Kate is doing well. The bruises are going away.

Don't Need a Helmet, Got a Hard Hard Head...

Patrick's best friend Kaison does not wear a helmet while riding his bike. Patrick knows that he is not supposed to ride his bike without one, but he feels dumb wearing it while Kaison doesn't. Monday afternoon he learned what happens when you go without protection. He and Kaison were involved in a head on collision, which left Patrick with a nice goose egg on his forehead, and scrapes all up and down his arm. So he learned the hard way that his mom and pops aren't just being mean by making him wear the helmet. Sometimes kids just have to learn the hard way that parents are right. Kind of like when my mother told me if I made this ugly face that it would stick. Turns out she was right...

Bean also has learned from her brother's mistake. She found her Wildcats (High School Musical, of course) helmet this week, and hasn't taken it off, even though she doesn't ride a bike. She lounges around the house in it. She insisted on wearing the helmet to school, and Kate allowed it, rather than fighting her. Soon after the bus departed with Bean on it, the school teacher called. She told Kate that she remembered that Lauren had a history of seizures, and wanted to know if the helmet was a precautionary measure due to a recurrence of the seizures. Kate explained why Bean had the helmet, and assured her that there was no risk of anything, except Bean looking like the village idiot.

Call on me

And then there's Whitney. Last Thursday Kate found a message on the phone from Lucas. Lucas is a young man in Whitney's class who was calling to see how she was doing with her math homework. She called him back and had an awkward conversation with him. It was nice to see that she's growing up. But do not, under any circumstances, insinuate that he is her boyfriend. Otherwise she will punch you. It seems that to her boys still have cooties, which is fine with me.

Gettin' Jiggy With It

Samantha participated in a dance competition last Saturday. She did very well.

And finally, there is me. Last week during a Jazz playoff game I saw a commercial for the NBA in which my cousin Jeff sat next to Carlos Boozer, while Booz read books to elementary kids. Jeff did a good job of pretending that he didn't notice the camera was on him. It wasn't as cool as when the news showed up at the school during a snowstorm, and Jeff was seen 'accidentally' wandering into the camera shots repeatedly. But cool nonetheless.

Last Thursday I gained national prominence when I sent an e-mail to the Jim Rome show, which was read on the air. Before you listen to the clip, let me set it up for those who don't listen to the show. Every day Rome reads dozens of e-mails and texts from listeners. At the end of the show he reads the 'Triple U'. It is uninspired, unfunny and unreadable. If the material is bad enough, the sender will get blocked from sending future messages. (No, my e-mail was not the Triple U). Before he reads the Triple U, Rome announces the 'sponsor', which is usually something annoying, irritating, or that people just hate. People send Triple U sponsors to the show, and that day Rome picked mine. He had a little fun with it, and I got my 1 minute of fame. I'll take what I can get.

The Old Man and the C

Last Sunday we hosted a party to celebrate a couple of birthdays. Though it was my birthday, the real reason for the party was Stretch's 60th. I made this video to celebrate him, as well as embarrass him. I accompished both. For those who were unable to attend the party, enjoy.

I'm hoping to look that good when I am 60. Though I know it won't happen.

Pat had a good time...

Mac had a good time...

Kate had a...do you see a recurring theme here? Must be a Wharton thing...

Based on baby Gwen's stare, I'd say she was hungry...

This is Buddy before he decided to punch my coffee table with his face...

Pat was in a better mood after Ard and Jan arrived. Who wouldn't be?

Hooray for School!

Last Friday I attended a short ceremony at the elementary school, wherein Whitney was presented with the 'Power' award. She's working hard in school and doing a great job.

Bean also has been enjoying her pre-school. She came home last week with the lion and lamb she made. A woman in my Dad's ward works at the school and knows Lauren. She told my Dad that Bean talks about her sister Whitney and her brother Patrick. The woman was surprised to find out that Bean has another sister, Samantha. That speaks volumes about how the two of them feel about each other.

Eggheads

Tonight we performed our annual ritual of hard boiling and dyeing 60 eggs that we have no intention of eating. Not that I don’t like hard boiled eggs. It’s just that you can only eat them so many different ways before they get really old. Anyway, the kids had a great time coloring the eggs, and we managed to get through it without a single spilled dye. And as a bonus, we won’t have to go to church on Easter Sunday with someone’s whole hand colored green.

I asked Kate to demonstrate a trick she learned from 'Cool Hand Luke', but she politely declined...

A Real Pain in the Rear

Warning: Some of the following images are graphic and are not meant for children and the squeamish.

By now most everyone knows that Kate has had some strange happenings going on with her body. Several people have said it to me, so let me just put one thing to bed: It has nothing to do with all of the weight she’s lost.

We have started playing a game called ‘count the bruises’. My personal record is 33. Some of the contusions are minor, while others are pretty nasty. Some can be explained, like the one on her forearm that she smacked against the dresser. Others cannot, like the one on her ring finger. We are not sure what is causing the easy bruising, but I can say that the jokes about me beating my wife are starting to get stale.



We spent the day at the Huntsman Cancer Hospital running the gamut of tests. Her platelets are still low, and have gone down since the last tests. The hematologist is pretty sure that she has ITP, or Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura. But he is concerned about the excessive bruising and her swollen lymph nodes. So there will be more tests to come.

The highlight of the day was the bone marrow biopsy. The NP who performed the biopsy insulted me by telling me that I could stay and watch, but that I had to stay seated with my head near my knees, ‘just in case.’ I explained to her that I had practically delivered two of my children and didn’t get squeamish. She wasn’t impressed.

The NP told Kate to find a happy place, because it might hurt a bit. Apparently Kate’s happy place is in a comedy club, because she cracked dirty jokes all the way through it. We wondered if the topical lidocaine had gone to her brain.

To get the marrow, the NP had to go through the flat on the top of the rear pelvic bone. She had to force the needle into the bone, which prompted Kate’s joke about her ‘hard bone’, and her request that I not get one too. Ba-doom-boom! I don’t know what gauge needle she used to take the sample, but I have seen garden hoses that were smaller than that needle. It was huge. The marrow looks like Dr. Pepper. Though if it came from Kate, Diet Coke would be more appropriate. She also took a cross section of the bone. It was fascinating to watch.




We appreciate all those who have been concerned and keeping her in their prayers through all of this. IT has been strange and stressful. The support helps. It also helps that Kate’s glass is always half full. And if you haven’t noticed, Kate and deal with situations through humor. Everything will work out as it always does. And we’ll keep you posted.