5 days a week

Thats Jon's treatment schedule. Monday he went to work for most of the day, came home around 2, We all know what a hard working man Jon is, maybe a little stubborn too! Which is a good thing for fighting this!

 

We heard from the Doctor that his counts have doubled since being in the hospital, What that means is his cancer is aggressive and growing. right now we have to take into consideration that his treatment has "Just" started and we hope to see it drop conciderably within the next few weeks possibly a month from now. Give the Oncologist's treatment regiment time to take affect.

Tuesday was the first treatment, Radiation & Kemo~ Jon said that he felt pretty good about it and the normal side affects weren't around. That was until yesterday, The Doctor mentioned that with one of his oral medications may cause him to react to cold, like water, foods apparently it makes them feel like razors. That can't be good.

The house is up for sale as of tuesday. So if you know anyone that wants to move to Goodrich… There's a beautiful home for sale.

May 14-21 update

May 16 Jon went to see his Oncologist, She explained everything to Jon in great detail about what will be happening and was very informative, They agreed that they would set goals that are attainable and proceed day by day. The current Goal is to keep it from spreading, and see how the kemo affects the tumor. Jon said he felt really positive about everything.

May 17 Tattoo day at the radiologist. . . I'm familiar with the concept as my old roommate and good friend Brian Kane does this for a career, they make tiny tattoo's so they can easily locate with consistence the target area to be treated… kinda like a scope, get the cross-hairs locked in to ensure proper treatment.

The rest of the week was busy as Jon & Tracy decided to put their house up for sale to move into a smaller more manageable home, this had to be a tough decision, their house is Beautiful. Currently they are looking in goodrich and have noticed a nice ranch for sale in the area.

Jon's Treatment starts Tuesday 5/23 at 2:30 Lets wish him luck. The main side affect from this is fatigue, possible Nausia. The Oncologist & Radiologist both seem positive about being able to shrink this to the point that they will be able to operate.

He said he will be going into work  on Monday, maybe for just 1/2 a day, but its a start to try to get back into a somewhat normal routine.

Sponsor Me

It has been a long time since I've said that, "Sponsor me!"  the most recent its asking for product from our snowboard company rep's to give away to our USASA snowboard & ski competitors.

This is completely different, Very rarely do I ask for much but now more than ever I need your support to help raise money. I will be walking in the relay for life June 23-24th that benifits the American Cancer Society: there's an area below this post to leave a comment, Just drop in a few words and how much you would like to donate, I will contact you and send you a self addressed stamped envelope to make it that much easier.

All the info is here, this is my plea and my hand, please join us as we take a walk for a great cause, I of course will be walking in honor of my brother, Jon Flowers who was recently diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer.

Thank you in advance,

Greg Flowers

Fenton Relay For Life:

Relay for Life

• More info here–> 
• What: the Relay for Life event is rain or shine.
• Date: June 23 & 24 2006
• Where: 3200 W. Shiawassee Ave. Fenton, MI 48430 (click for map)
• Start time: 2:00pm Friday
• End time: 2:00pm Saturday
• Agenda:
  Opening Ceremony: 6:00 PM
  Victory/Survivor Lap: 6:15 PM
  Luminaria Ceremony: 9:15 PM
  Closing Ceremony: 1:00 PM

Additional Information
Luminaria Ceremony: Hope shines the brightest during the luminaria ceremony at Relay For Life. Each light honors someone who has battled cancer. Each light, laid out along side the track and buring through the night, commemorates a treasured relationship. Luminarias light the path of hope.

Luminaria bags are available from all team members for $10 each. They can also be purchased the day of the event prior to the ceremony.

T-shirts: T-Shirts are given to each team member who raises $100 or more. The t-shirts will be ordered by team captains by May 22nd deadline. T-shirts are not sold. They are earned by team members who raise $100.00 each or more.

Note to Flowers Family & Friends: Our family is asking that we all pull together and walk in this. Kristi has been involved with this walk for a few years and has gathered some information that I will post below:

There is already a team formed "the Lake Fenton Team" She say's that the team would love to have us come out and walk on their team!!!  You can come out and walk at anytime during the relay June 23-24th. Kristi will get us a registration form. (everyone should have Kristi's e-mail, if you don't, e-mail me here: gregory.flowers@gmail.com )

straight from Kristi"

"If you are interested in collecting money to earn a Relay for Life t-shirt -you need to raise $100. Please let me know ASAP as the deadline to order the t-shirts is May 22nd.

We will be having a team meeting sometime after Memorial Day and I will have more details as to where our team will be located on the grounds of Fenton High School on Owen Rd.   I will keep you posted.  This will be a great family event and I am so glad you can come out."

The contact person for this event -Tammy Harbin, is a very good friend of Kristi's, Kristi spoke with her Friday about Jon and his Pancreatic Cancer. Tammy is the Community Development Director for the American Cancer Society in this area.  She said the American Cancer Society has a web page with tons of accurate information about cancer. Click Here–> They also have a 800 number staffed 24 hours a day to answer any questions about cancer. @ 1.800.ACS.2345  She said they are very knowledgeable and helpful with any question you may have.

Contact: Tammy Harbin  Phone: (800) 513-9930  E-Mail: tammy.harbin@cancer.org

Happy Mother’s day

Every year we have a Mother's day, this is where we take extra time to thank our Mother's for bringing us into this world. Its a day that, like no others, keeps us focused on the small things. After all, its the Mom's in the world that take the extra time to notice the small things. To make everything all better, so to all the Deserving mother's "Happy Mother's day" 

Being a Mother has a lot of responsibility, Its always paying attention to the little thing's in life, before you know it, the small things grow up to be bigger things. The unfortunate part is that you can never get the lost time back. . its just lost. 

So today we make a point to thank our Mothers for paying attention to us.

Thank you Mom, Caroline, Peggy, Becca, Kelly and all the other Mom's that take care of us

. . .We love you, Greg & Jillian

Potty Time

May 13th, 2006::   Ahh yes, the moment that all parents dream about. . .  Babies using the potty! Although Jillian has used her "Thrown" twice already, tonight was really special. She made it clear to us that she needed to go and took matters into her own hands. Wriggling out of her pants and trying her best to un-snap her onesie (for the guys with puzzled looks on their faces, its like a 1 piece) she finally accepted help from Mom and then she was on her way to the "Potty Chair". I guess something good was on T.V. cause I (being the man I am) moved her potty chair closer to it. after a few minutes of figiting, "Walla" she made potty! Caroline & I congradulated her on a Great job! If you don't have little ones then your thinking, whats the big deal…. well let me put it into perspective. Winning $10 on a scratch-off as opposed to Winning the Lottery- Its that huge. Next is "pull-ups" and I can't wait!

May 15th 2006:: I decided to Edit this post instead of making a new one, Tonight we had #2, okay, I know your thinking "TMI" (too much information) but This is a Historical record that some day my little girl will read and know for a FACT that her old man is a weird-o. . .  She was really proud of herself, almost as proud as I was. Gonna start buying pull-ups! "yeah-whoo"

Trip to Dearborn

Today Jon went in for a surgery to block the nerves that are leading to his source of pain. When he got there the Doctor seemed to think that it was too risky and offered other options for pain management. I spoke with him and he feels strongly about the alternative to the surgery. Next Tuesday he has an appointment with the oncologist. We'll know more then.

tooth hurty

Thats exactly the time I went in for my root-canal today, 2:30pm and approximately 3:30pm I was headed out with 2 more prescriptions and another appointment to go back in a week. Apparently I have a very tricky set of nerves in the jaw area.  Ya know when the Dentist gives you that shot we all HATE ? its a "Blocker" shot to numb the area, and suddenly your a drooling idiot? slurring your speech and talking even though you know you shouldn't? Well, I arrived on time, grabbed a magazine (the new OUTDOOR magazine, I reccommmend it) I get called back, Keep in mind I have never had anxioty about going to the Dentist like some people do, I was gonna go in, get it done and get out.  So I thought, I took my shot like a champ, the Doc started working away then he got to a spot that wasn't too numb. I about went thru the roof! WOW pain 101~ first lesson: Say something, so I used my best slur language and managed a arrrrgh.. He quickly stopped, gave me another shot, waited the standard 4 minutes for it to take and then we were back at it. For some reason there was this tiny spot that just wouldn't get numb second lesson: see lesson #1 This time with FEELING so it was AHHHHHHH added with a body thrust to the cieling, that'll get his attention, Man that hurt. Doc stops, looks at assistant and gets another shot, this time right into the nerve thats sending me thru the roof. While this is happening (the actual shot) I almost pass-out, but I managed to work thru it and he finished (the shot that is) this will take a few minutes, so back to the T.V. that was on the Discovery Channel. Yeah, Love that channel! He comes back and its time for round 3, um…ah… still hurts- Okay so here are my options: Continue and take it like a man, or have him cap-it and come back in a week. Let me fill you in on this whole thing. I lost a filling about 6 months ago, I thought I had an ear ache so I went to the Doctor, he gave me antibiotics and I was on my way.. the pain still there but now I realize that its actually my tooth that is the source of all this pain. so I go to see my good friend the Dentist. As it turns out, its an abcesed tooth. there's an infection there and I needed stronger antibiotics to clear it up before I can go thru with my root-canal. So lets go back to round three, I tell him I have a weird nerve structure and that sometimes its hard to hit it with the shot that "Blocks" the pain. Okay "Good to know" he says and I get another shot. needless to say that didn't work either, and now "I'm" about to be a subject on the "discovery" channel . . DOH~ We are talking about why this happens and he explained everything perfectly. The reason they can't work on you if you have an infection is because the anesthetic won't be as effective. 

What a fantastic day I had, I'm looking forward to next thursday to possibly go thru it all over again!

and if your wondering, My Dentist is a GREAT dentist, I will highly recommend him, keep in mind, I do have a tricky-to-numb-jaw, I've had it all my life, this is just the first time I wrote about it.

Jon’s Page

I've added a page for my brother Jon, to collect his thoughts about what he and his family are going thru, and to have a historical record. As he has a couple good reasons to do so.  Its Password Protected so if you click on it, you'll need that~   I'm sure if there's something there he wants you to read, a simple link and the password from him will do the trick (Don't ask me for it)

Friends

Very important concept. You met someone with a common interest and share viewpoints untill the time that you discover that time has passed to the point there's an inseperatable bond and you really couldn't live without the other around, well you do live, but the bond grows stronger. Some of my best friends I don't see on a regular basis, T.J. & Roddy are accross the US, but everytime we talk, its like no time has passed.

I have grown very strong bonds with my circle of friends, it seems to never stop growing. I hope to address each and everyone with this area.  Funny when someone says "I'd take a bullet for you" usually its a figure of speech to make a point, I have only been able to say that to a few people. My wife just lost her very best friend in the world, it has been devistating. it leaves you with a question about why? How could this happen, a beautiful person taken away in an instant. It also bears the realization of just how important friends are, makes us clear of our destiny.

Friends are very precious and should always be held close.

"We will be the best friends that friends can be, I'll be you and you'll be me"