Cradle Robber Island

I am continually amazed by the human body and its many capacities to heal. They say that time heals all wounds; emotional and physical. Someone meeting Andrew today, less than 2 months after his last chemo treatment, would never be able to tell the tale he endured this past year. His hair has returned to his face, in all forms, and he was even kind enough to shave it before we left for our trip to Bermuda. As you can see from the picture he was more overjoyed than ever to shave. Needless to say I vetoed Juan Valdez's attempt to try and leave the country in the body of Andrew Waxman ..... good move on my part, but it was a good laugh for Linda, Pete and I.

But it's good that we can still laugh after the year that we've had. I'm also very happy to report that Andrew did participate in the Virginia Bar exam at the end of July. (he will not find out the results till mid-Oct.) And I'm also happy to report that our marriage survived the study process!! Andrew's firm was generous enough to give him about 4 weeks off to solely concentrate on his studies .... however no one told me it would solely be in our office at our house. If anyone would have asked me last year what my worst quality was, I would have said patience. But not after balancing this past month with Andrew in the house 24/7!! Though this past year was very trying, I found the time that Andrew was at home studying to be the hardest.... the uphill battle before the big reward ......

PARADISE!!!!! Finally, we made it to Bermuda ... aka, Cradle Robbers Island!!! In all the places that we've been, Bermuda was by far our favorite place to visit. It was beautiful, clean, safe, warm and windy and all class. And thank goodness for my sanity .... anyone who has even flown with Andrew can sympathize ..... is only a 2 hour flight from DC. We stayed at the Elbow Beach Resort and the picture above is the view from our bungalow lanai. What a view to wake up to every morning. We enjoyed our time relaxing on the beach, reading our books, shopping in the town of Hamilton and drinking lots and lots of frozen drinks at the bar!!! It was just what the doctor ordered. We also spent many hours on the beach people watching .... particularly at the 60-something year old men who were frolicking with their 20-something year old playmates!! Hugh Heffner would have been proud at the all-out cradle robbing taking place on the island. And it was a constant source of entertainment for us ... and with Andrew always looking older than me, with his dark hair and heavy beard ... he always received a wink-and a nod from the men who thought he was part of their club!! Andrew and I are determined to return with the entire family one day to Paradise!!!

But since returning to reality, life has returned to normal. About a week ago, Andrew had the port in his chest removed successfully. The last reminder of the year that changed our lives in so many ways. And yes, he did convince the doctor to give him the actual port that they removed as a souvenir.

Andrew has also returned to work which is great for me. I love my husband, but like carbs and sugar, in moderation!!! Just kidding ..... but I give couples credit who can own businesses together and see each other 24/7/365!!

We are also preparing for Andrew's first 3-month appointment with his new doctor, Dr. Wexler, at Sloan-Kettering in NY next Thursday. This week he had an MRI, PET Scan and Echo and we look forward to discussing what we understand is good news about the reports from the scans.

The next step for Andrew is to continue with his weight loss and exercise plan. The weight is falling off nicely ... which makes everyone, especially his doctors happy!! We are also eagerly looking forward to PSU football season and the 3 weddings we have this fall. It's nice to be able to plan for the future!!

And as for me .... I'm still at home and trying to plan my own future. After this year, I feel like the skies the limit ..... stay tuned!!

And as I sit in my new family room, unable to sleep because of the sinus infection I contracted on the plane ride home from vacation, I'm excited to see what the future holds for us. We have a new outcome on life, a good reason to smile everyday and a new house to do it all in .... well not a new house, but thanks to Big Pete, a remodeled one. While we were jet setting off around the world, Pete and Linda spent about 2 weeks at our house babysitting Winston and putting new hardwood and tile floors in our house ..... and we can't thank them enough for their patience with Winston and their love for doing this for us.

And for the first time in a while, we feel hopeful for the future; live for the present; and are thankful for the outcome of the past!!

Thank you to everyone for your love, thoughts and prayers ........

Crossing the finish line .......

Standing at the starting gates over a year ago, today seemed like such an impossible accomplishment. Like everything Andrew has tackled in his life, cancer was just another obstacles to overcome.... and in grand style, I am happy to report that he has done it!!!! Today is the last day. No more chemo, radiation, injections, weekly blood tests, doctors appointments, hospital visits, infusion center visits, hydration .... he is now trading all of this in to study for the bar and enjoy the rest of his life!!!

But like every milestone in life, it comes with its bittersweet moments as well. We will miss our time with the wonderful nurses at the Reston Infusion Center who so kindly had a heartfelt card and muffins ready for Andrew when he arrived this morning celebrating his release from treatment. Their loving care, kindness and attentiveness to Andrew while he was a patient in their care is something that cannot be matched. We will forever be grateful for their friendship during this time in our lives.

We will also miss our weekly visits with Dr. Felice, Emily, Donna and Mike .... however they may not miss all of our phone calls and questions!!!

Andrew and I would also like to report that he had a scan last Friday and after speaking with the doctor we have learned that there is no sign of cancer, just a little inflammation, probably from the radiation, but we will be consulting with a doctor next week to make sure that there is nothing we can do to help the inflammation decrease. But the important thing is that the CANCER IS GONE!!!!!

And even though Andrew has been waiting for this day for a very very long time, he also has a bit of concern in his voice today too. After today it is up to his body to keep the cancer from coming back. No more chemo and radiation to aid him in the fight against any cancer from reoccurring and with good reason, he is worried. But I'm sure the further and further he gets from today, the better his nerves will get and the stronger and stronger he will become. Getting back to normal, regrowing hair, working out and maintaining a normal routine will help him as well.

So as I sign off on what is one of the most exciting days of our life, we are excited for what's next .... after the bar exam of course (b/c of course all of you know, I have a little bear on my hands right now ... GGGRRRRR)!!!! And we thank all of you for everything!!!

..... is Andrew, CANCER FREE ...... and the crowd goes wild!!!!!!

My week in 3 words ..Good Morning America

Dear All, Please watch Good Morning America on Saturday morning at the end of the broadcast to see if Andrew makes the cut and his video is chosen for "My Week in 3 Words." Below is the video that I submitted for GMA!!!

A look back and the journey ahead ...

Through this experience we've realized a lot about ourselves inside and out. That the outward appearance of someone doesn't explain what's happening on on the inside .... and vice versa. I'm continually impressed with Andrew and his own bodies recovery mechanisms. Andrew has yet to be hospitalized for infection, fever or for a blood transfusion. His body has taken the chemo and radiation so well that even his own doctor is questioning his many years of training and experience. Though Andrew and I would like to take all of the credit for his multiracial recovery from each and every treatment, we cannot help but thank the many many people who continued to send cards, emails, facebook messages, flowers, phone calls and of course your everlasting thoughts and prayers.

As we enter the last week before his final chemo treatment on June 21, it's hard to believe that one year has pasted since finding out about his dreaded disease. The emotional ups and downs, continual doctors visits and hospital stays could not have been tolerated without the help and support of our friends and family who stepped up to the plate without hesitation.... and for that we are forever great full.

Until recently I had not fully realized the effect that the blog and my entries had on our friends and family who read them. I promise to continue to keep the blog going even after the treatments have ended. After the treatment, Andrew will continue to have monthly chest X-rays for a year and MRI's every 3-months for 3 years and then every 6-months after that for 2 more years. At the 5-year mark, the follow-up will move to just once a year. We look forward to the 5-year mark and what may come .....

As for Andrew, he is continuing to study for the bar exam and Winston and I try to stay out of the way. 63 rounds of chemo and 33 sessions of radiation never set his nerves in such a frenzy as does the rigor of studying law. And to make matters worse (for me) he will begin his time off from work on July 5 until the bar exam on July 27 and 28 ..... in case you are counting (like me) that's 3 weeks, 24 hours a day 7 days a week .... with Andrew in the house..... it makes treatment look like a cake walk. But like everything, we will make it through with flying colors and ease. And at least at the end we can look forward to a much needed vacation in Bermuda in August. Andrew also looks forward to getting back into shape and ready for football and wedding season for us in the fall.

Through it all, we have always tried to look to the future and live in the moment. If we have learned anything about this year, we have taken it from it that life is about enjoying what you have and not waiting until tomorrow to do what you can today.... and we can't wait to see what we do!!!

"When it comes to the future there are three kinds of people;those who let it happen, those who make it happen, and those who wonder what happened." John M. Richardson, Jr.

And then there was one!!

Never in my right mind did I ever think that I would be able to say that Andrew has only ONE more chemo treatment left on June 21st. He just completed a treatment today and is already in bed recovering from his long day. But with that said, he is still feeling pretty good all things considered. I think what is getting him through right now is that his birthday gift is arriving next week ... that's right, I broke down and bought him an IPad. I have no idea what they really do, but his smile from ear to ear gave me the distinct impression that he will know exactly what to do with it when it arrives next week. (The picture is from his birthday last Wednesday. I made him a birthday smoothy with a candle.)

With life beginning to return to normal, so are the activities that we are starting in incorporate back into our lives. This past weekend, we had a wonderful time 'summering' at Lynn and Pete's house in Uniontown. Pete recently sprung for a new addition to the house, a hot tub for 8!!! You know you're a redneck, when you buy a hot tub and set it up at the end of your driveway so that its easy to remove when you are done with it. I mean how many people can say that they can back their car up to their hot tub and tailgate at the same time they are relaxing in their 'pool.' Which brings me to .... you know you're a red neck when you call it a 'pool' .... dad!!!! But it was a wonderful and relaxing visit full of family, friends and Freddie and Muts too!!!

Andrew and I are also very excited to report that we have planned a much needed vacation in August, after the bar and chemo to Bermuda!!! I myself have already packed and printed our boarding passes ... warm weather and pink sand ... and little drinks with umbrellas, here we come!!! And Winston will be going on a little vaca too to Nana and Pap Pap Bozick's house for the week ... he loves it there!!! Full of shitting up Nana's new living room furniture and pooping all over Pap Pap's lawn so that he steps in it on his morning walks (most things Winston do have to do with shit or poop!!! haha) ... it is sure to be a fun week had by all!!!

With 62 chemo treatments now under his belt, Andrew is of course ready for his to all be over but we just take each day as it comes. One day at a time, one foot in front of the other. June is a month I never thought would come .... and here it is. We cannot wait for everything to be over. Andrew will be having one more MRI at the end of June and then his first base-line scan in August after we return from our vacation. But between now and then, Andrew must complete the rest of his chemo and hydration treatments and study for and take the bar ... so you know, nothing big!! Just kidding. Remember to keep him in your thoughts as he continues to do well with treatment and now that he passes the bar.

One is the loneliest number .... but the only one better is zero!!!

61 down and 2 to go!!

No matter how you look at it, life is full of milestones. Learning to crawl, walk; obtaining your drivers licence; graduating from high school ... and then college (and grad/law school too, dad!!!); getting married, turning 30 ... and on and on and on!!! Through my life, I've set goals based on my age, education level and according to those peers around me. But after reaching my most recent milestone of 30 .... I've decided to take another approach to my traditional plans. After a great deal of soul searching and discussion, I decided to leave my position at Georgetown University to not only take care of Andrew but to also work on pursuing my own hopes and dreams .... so my new plans are to be just be open minded and try not to let fear hold me back.

Andrew is also coming up on a few huge milestones in his own life .. and let me tell you, I cannot wait for them to come. For the past week and a half, I've had to hear that he is still in his 20's and I'm not anymore. The words 'robbing that cradle' have been used more than once when describing our relationship. But May 26 is the big D-Day ... I mean B-Day for him too!!! Thirty is not so bad, or at least that's what I'm telling myself for now. This year is going to be different for Andrew. The hope is that he will be in remissions soon and able to return to the things that he loves most. His most recent milestone, finally finishing his last 5-day outpatient treatment, gives me great hope that life returning to normal is soon to follow.

After an exhausting week last week, Andrew finally made it through what was definitely his most challenging 5-day outpatient treatment. To date, Andrew has had 61 rounds chemotherapy and 33 rounds of radiation. With only two, 1-day treatments on June 1 and June 21 to go, I'm sure you can all understand that the anticipation is almost to much to take. Regaining so assemblance of normalcy is going to be a big adjustment from the 'firefighter approach' (ready to attack at any given moment) we've been taking for the past year.

And speaking of the past year, today is actually the anniversary of our first doctors appointment with our oncologist, Dr. Felice. Andrew wasn't diagnosed until June, but today was the day we found out something was wrong.

All in all Andrew is doing great. He continues to go to work as much as he can and has now begun to start studying to take the Virginia Bar exam at the end of July (see him studying at chemo in the picture above). His bar review class begins next week and is actually a nice destraction from chemo ... but I mean what isn't at this point in his life.

We have also decided to take our health very seriously from now on and we will both be starting P90X very soon (me probably sooner than him) with the help of our wonderful consultant Liz Wildes, who was a classmate of mine from high school. If anyone else is interested in doing it with us, sign up with Liz and take charge of your health too https://teambeachbody.com/signup/-/signup/free/43419

So as we travel down these last few weeks of treatment, we cannot help but thank everyone who has come on this journey with us. We feel very loved and cared for by everyone who reads our blog, sends us cards and messages and prays for Andrew's speedy recovery every day. We hope that all of you will continue to support all cancer efforts taking place all over the country and will continue to support all of the efforts and Andrew and I cannot wait to embark upon so that no family has to go through what we have had to endure over this past year.

Early detection and gene therapy save lives!!!

Health Care Survival Guide

I take for granite the fact that not everyone is as keenly in tune and aware of their own health insurance benefits as Andrew and I have become over the past year. Not a day goes by where the Post or the Times are not covering some sort of political matter on the happenings of the new Obama health initiative and its overall ramifications over our personal health coverage. Health care is not a given for all people in this country yet those who do hold the 'golden ticket' do not always understand, ask questions or even challenge the authority of the health care industry so that they too can better comprehend their own personal health care coverages.

Knowing the in's and out's of your own health care plan should be a mandatory priority of each 'ticket holding' individual in this country. It should be no different than knowing your address or phone number. Relying on the health care providers to actually 'provide' you with the answers in a timely matter is sometimes too late. You wouldn't prepare for a meeting the day after it happened, so why would you call to better understand your coverage after the procedure was preformed.

So here are some tips to help you better navigate through the mountain of documents that make up your health care coverage and how to make sure your own doctors are using only those labs that take your health care .... and what to do when they don't .....

1. Reading the pages upon pages of your office's health care plan may put your head into a tail spin and the sheer volume of literature may turn you off from ever wanting to learn more ... instead of giving up, find out who in your own office is the Health Care Benefits representative. It may be your HR rep or someone in a high position. But also remember to find out who that person reports to. For example, if you work at a branch office, then find out who at the national headquarters is the main benefits rep or if you work at a university, who in in charge of wellness and benefits and write that persons name down.

2. Once you have narrowed down who that person is, ask to set up a meeting with them or to have lunch to talk about your health benefits plan. And don't forget to ask if your significant other can attend the meeting too. If you have a joint health care plan, like Andrew and I do, make sure that both parties involved understand the perimeters of the plan.

3. And don't forget about the website. Every health insurance company have a website. It usually just takes a few minutes to set up your account and you can access what doctors are in your plan and what phone numbers to contact in case of an emergency in minutes. These sites can also help track any contested health insurance claims. They are very helpful especially when you are doing research on your own. They can help to answer both simple and hard questions alike.

4. Take notes and ask questions ..... You may not have anything wrong with you now and you may only go to the doctor once a year for a check-up but ask questions for the future. If my wife gets pregnant or what if the baby has complications? or if we get into an accident and I need to take time off work? Find out how your companies handles those bumps in the road before they happen. The problems themselves are 'shock and awe' enough ... finding out that you now have to deal with the health insurance company to find out and fight for your rights can put a strain on you and undue pressures on your already delicate situation.

5. Make sure the doctors you already see are covered under your health insurance plan. You would be amazed at what doctors do and don't take. Do a self check-up for yourself before scheduling any appointments or scans. It usually just takes a check to the insurance companies website and a call to the doctors office itself to make sure that everything is covered.

6. Also remember to check up on what the co-pay for each appointment will be. For instance, with us, a normal doctors appointment is $20, but to see any sort of specialist is $30 to $50. Know what it is going to cost before you go. Hidden fees are the worst. Ask the receptionist taking your appointment what it will cost and check the front of your insurance card to verify the amount. If you are still concerned, call the toll-free number on your card and talk to your benefits representative about how payments for your coverage works. It's better to know now, then pay later. And with that in mind, know what your maximum coverages are for a year ... and for a lifetime. They may seem high and out of reach, but you would be surprised how much hospital visits, doctors visits and tests can add up quickly. Also remember to keep a check regularly so you always know where you stand.

7. As for scans or scheduled tests that your doctor may recommend, always make sure that these procedures are performed at a facility that takes your insurance. You will always be safe if you have anything done within a hospital that takes your insurance, but if you are having something done at for example an MRI center or CT center, always to a check yourself to make sure they take your insurance. Just pick up the phone and call and ask. It only takes a minute but can save you a lot of headaches in the end if you either show up and find out you cannot have the procedure done or that you need to reschedule with another place. Also remind the receptionist at your doctors office which insurance you have before they schedule the scan for you. They see so many patients a day, it is easy to mix them up. I always wait while the scans are being scheduled so I can overhear the scheduling and make sure the right information is being presented.

8. Speak up .... and use your voice!! Question everyone. Doctors offices may do these things hundreds of times a day, but you don't!! Remind them of that. Don't let anyone talk down to you or fluff off your questions ... and make sure they know that. Ask how they will bill and code your procedure and what to do or who to call in their office if it is not coded or billed correctly. Meet that person if possible so they can put a face to the name when you call. And if you are anything like me, they won't forget your face .. or your name ... and will probably be fearful if you call and ask for them ... I keep everyone on their toes and accountable for their actions. But everyone makes mistakes and when you are working with coding numbers they are easy to transpose ... and then you get a huge bill.

9. Leading me to my favorite saying ... if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck ...then its probably a duck. What I mean is that if you have health care coverage and you receive this astronomical bill in the mail ... there is probably something wrong, especially if you checked off all of the above steps before proceeding with the procedure. But don't panic .... be calm and make some calls. Start off with your doctors office. This is where investigative journalism comes in handy. Speak to the coder and find out what numbers they used to code ... then call the insurance company and find out what those specific numbers are not covered under your plan. It may be that they now use a new set of numbers that your doctor may not know about and all that has to be done is that the claim just needs to be resubmitted. Easy!! But if there is a bigger problem, get the name of the person and the direct number at the insurance company hot line that you just called, call your doctors office and have them talk together, with you on the line, and work this out. Usually your doctors office will know more about the coding system than you. You may also need to contact your office Benefits rep and make them aware of the issue. They may be able to step in and correct the problem as well. Just remember to speak up .... and question your bills... because if you pay the bill without contesting it, you will never see that money again.

This is not a perfect system but at least I hope it gets everyone thinking about their own health and health insurance plan. Andrew and I had never given our personal coverage a second thought until a year ago when we had to learn some things the hard way. You don't have anything if you don't have your health .... so take it seriously!!!

Stay tuned!!!!