Sorry its been a while- we’ve been really busy living it up the past few months and trying to squeeze every bit of loving fun in that we can! We’ve come to refer to it as living in the window. The stretch of life between Dean’s scans. The small break in reality that we give ourselves to counter the stress of dealing with this crazy disease.  The most recent window has been filled with soccer games and sailboats, band practice and birthdays, living in the moment and loving even bigger. We’ve been so blessed with opportunities to do and see and to share the world with our girls.The transition form New York back to Philly for treatment was bittersweet, although much less taxing on the family, its never good when the medicine stops working. It typically means a few weeks of scrambling to find a new plan, lots of collaboration of the nurses and docs and inevitably a new schedule to get used to.

Which brings us to the latest update-

We counted tumors this week- 22 in all. Sounds like a lot for sure. Even still, this comes as good news. All 22 pesky tumors are contained to Deans lungs and haven’t moved anywhere else. If you saw him sing a few weeks ago- you’d never believe it. He is starting to feel a bit fatigued at times,  and squeezing in the fun takes a bit more effort, but he’s still quick to paddle out in the ocean, launch the boat w the girls, and dream up the next big adventure. Work has been going fairly well, and his team at Boeing is so tremendously supportive, but with the latest developments and the transition to a new protocol, it looks like some time off is in the cards.

Well take the next few weeks to get set on a new trial, possibly taking is back to Sloane or Duke, refill our tanks for this next round of treatments and conquer the lists of things we want to do this summer. Something we suggest everyone do- making the list, not quite as far reaching as a bucket list, more like things you want to do but don’t make the time. Dean’s has sailing the sunfish in a race, Sophia will be working on getting barreled (if the summer flats don’t hit too soon!) Gianna wants to have a friend stay with us at the beach for two nights, and I’ll be making blueberry jam. The lists go on, insuring that we make the most out of our time this summer, and that everyone gets to share in the fun!
Well be spending our time in Ocean City, and taking a few road trips up the coast visiting with friends, and seeing the sights.

Please continue to pray for Dean and add to list his mother, Angela Hawes. She is currently in the ICU at Our Lady of Lourdes after complications from her recent knee replacement. While she is in stable condition, she has a long road ahead.  Thanks for all  your good thoughts and kind words! They mean the world! Hope you have a safe and Happy 4th- make sure to catch some fireworks- they always make us smile 🙂

xxo NDG&S