Monday, March 30, 2009

Hello to All! The rain is finally moving out and we now get to play outside! Yeah...Addi just watched the new Barbie movie Thumbilena? (however you spell that) and now ever tulip we pass carries a fairy inside it. I feel bad for our neighbors because they have some beautiful tulips and we are always in their yard trying to see a fairy.
Another funny Addi story. Just when you think they are not paying attention...Addi and I are at church and for communion (we are catholic) they just give the little kids a blessing. We now at our house the coasters are communion and she get the be the priest (whom every time she sees him she asks me that that is God) and she pretends to get it out with a "Peace be with You" We still pray for Uncle Leon first and then everyone else. Not quite sure what Uncle Leon did, but heaven's gate it wide open for him.
Switching gears. Tickets are being sold for the Addi's Cure event. Please either email info@addiscure.org or ask whom you bought from last year. We are so excited for this year's event and getting to see our friends that we haven't really been able to spend the last year with. We certainly understand the economic times, but we do hope you all can make it. Also if you are on Facebook, look for Addi's Cure, we are now spreading the news that way as well. Please invite everyone you know!
Love to All
Christi, Bo and Addi (the priest)

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Here is a little something that if you have time would be wonderful for Addi's Cure. Thank you so much Miss Candy, you will always have a special place in our hearts, especially Addi's!
Miss Candy is a local, fabulous, photographer that would like to honor her father with her "dream job" If you have a moment please follow the link to vote for her. If she wins she is donating the winnings of $50,000 to Addi's Cure. Below is her Posting...


Make it count
My dream assignment is celebrate my father's life. Make every day, every action count. Love, work, give, relax as though your life depends on it.
Because it does.
Today is my father's 57th birthday, but he is not here to celebrate it.
In October, he lost his five year battle with lung cancer. In the spirit of his giving nature, my dream assignment is to donate the assignment funds to Addi's Cure and then document the effects. Addi's Cure donates directly to research at Duke Medical Hospital, specifically for lung cancer, and since I am close, I would so enjoy seeing the difference, the real difference, the research is making in people's lives. My father underwent several clinical trials during his treatment. When I asked him about it, he said that someone did it for him and he got to be around longer because of it, so he wanted to do the same for someone else. I know I wouldn't see the immediate effects of the donation, but I could document the cumulative effects of donations and research to date. That all sounds so clinical, but it wouldn't when I could capture a family after good news or a patient who walks in, on his or her own feet, for a checkup years after a lung transplant or doctors who know what they're doing is changing lives. Lung cancer is comparatively underfunded and has a societal bias of patients bringing the disease on themselves.
Addi's Cure works to change both, and I, like my my father, would like to help.
http://www.nameyourdreamassignment.com/the-ideas/candyhoward/make-it-count/

Love to All
Christi, Bo and Addi

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Sorry due to playing phone tag, we finally found out about Bo's test results. He came back pretty much negative on everyone. No rejection, No CMV and no Infection. So now we tweak more medicines. He is moving down to a lower dose on the steroids and some on the anti-rejection meds. I am not sure when we will go back for another appointment, the transplant coordinator told Bo and well Bo being Bo, he forgot. I guess when we get the paperwork we will know and make it work.
On another note, Bo mentioned that today was his best day yet, post transplant. So Yeah for that!
Love to All
Christi, Bo and Addi

Friday, March 20, 2009

Hello and sorry again...when we got back we had a nice surprise of Grandpa, Grandma, Uncle Leon and Aunt Marilyn at the front door. So we have been having so much fun, much less Addi played so hard with CJ and Hannah, she went to bed at 6:45.
The doctor visit was uneventful, Thank God. We will not have the result back from the doctors until Monday (so possibly Tuesday). We are hoping and thinking they will say everything is going well and we can keep coming off some of the medicines. Bo made it through the initial tests great, they want him to increase his cardio to make his PFT's better, so we will have to get Dave the trainer on that one. They Biopsy went well and his visit with the ENT doctors showed that his vocal cords are working well. They are not as "plump" as they would like them, but we are going to pass on surgery to make them fuller.
I will be sure to post as soon as we hear anything.
We are off the play.
Love to All
Christi, Bo and Addi

Monday, March 16, 2009

Hello to All - Busy, Busy, Busy - that is the word for this week! The rainy weekend made our house very unproductive, so now we have to have our game face on. Thursday we visit Duke for another biopsy. As scary as this is everytime, we are slowly learning to deal with them. This will be another all day visit with Bo getting his vitals checked, PFTs and bloodwork. Then we sit and wait for our turn at a bronch/biopsy. We pray that they have an uneventful day so they run somewhat close to time. We wait in recovery then off to visit with the ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor. Bo appears to be a little hoarse so they want to make sure everything his healed properly and there is no further nerve damage. After all that we visit with Dr. Palmer, discuss meds and hopefully leave. We will not get the results for a couple of days about rejection and infection.
When we get back we will hopefully beat my family that is coming to visit after visiting with my little sister in Conn. What driving they do. Addi is so excited I am not sure what she is going to do when they get her. All she talks about is painting Papa-Cow's toe nails. He sure takes one for the team. They are just doing a quick visit since they are driving all over the east coast.
With all the being said, "Beating the Odds" is in full force. Tickets are for sale! So please, please, tell all your friends and family. After the year Bo has had we would love to see everyone we know for a good time! They are $50 again with half the proceeds going to Addi's Cure. We are having this as a casino night so be ready for some Texas Hold'em, Blackjack, Roulette, and Craps. It should be one great night. I do have to admit this is coming up quickly, so if anyone has some free time, let me know. We would love the help.
Love to All
Christi, Bo and Addi

Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Hello - I hope you all are enjoying the weather we are getting right now. For those of you not in North Carolina, we are high 70's and sun. Don't worry we are about to get cold and rainy, but it sure is nice right now.
Things here are good. We are trying to enjoy the weather as much as possible with a lot of family outings. Addi is getting good at riding her bike. We are still working on the slow down, shocker that she likes to go fast. She made it about a mile the other day. Her and Daddy have been walking the dogs a lot. Which is good entertainment on our street. Bo is doing well. The weather is helping. Still tired a lot, but he is pushing through and doing things with out little girl. We might have to take the boat out and eat dinner on the lake soon.
A funny story about Addi. Whenever she is running around without her pj top on or Daddy doesn't have his top on, she thinks that is "handsome". It is cute to hear her wake up Daddy in the morning and say, "Daddy you are handsome." The she like to have no clothes on and be handsome. Unfortunately, lately there have been some shows, The Bachelor, where they are "handsome" also. But Daddy certainly is the most handsome of them all!
Crazy kid
Love
Christi, Bo and Addi

Wednesday, March 04, 2009

Hello and so sorry. Yesterday was such a long day that we went to bed almost right after we got home. Sorry Lena and family that has been doing a phone tree. We got neutraul news. It appears that nothing has changed. Unfortunately when you do a MRI you can't guarantee that the machine will image exactly the same way or that the same person will analyze the images. Dr. Crawford says that the lab believes the spots appear the same, which is good. Dr. Crawford is going to again send the MRI to Dr. Kirkpatrick, the specialist and let him look at it and confirm that nothing as changed and see if he can reassess anything. So we wait for him to confirm and we are going to come back up in 2 months and pray that it either leaves or stays the same.
Sorry for taking so long to notify everyone, we will do better next time.
Love to All
Christi, Bo and Addi

Monday, March 02, 2009




Hello to All - Well we have another snow day! Addi and I marched outside this morning and tried to play in the snow. It rained all day yesterday so this snow was frozen and wet. Some trees fell down and knocked out power. We only lost our satellite for a little while, so no damage done here. A couple of pictures of us all bundled up...
Tomorrow is a huge day for us. Bo gets another MRI done on the brain. Let's pray and hope that nothing has changed and the can then rule a few things out. So we are hoping for an uneventful drive to Durham and then some uneventful news.
Love to All
Christi, Bo and Addi
While you praying, please say a little prayer for our friend Jerrold. He is waiting on news about a spot they found on his newly transplanted lungs. (He received a transplant about a year before Bo) They found a spot, he names it Jack. Jack just needs to go away.