New Year, New Blog

Hello again everyone! Now that the whirlwind activity of the holidays is over I figured it was high time to update you all. In the future, I’m hoping to write at least once a week.

The 2007 Connor’s Army ride has now officially begun! We’ve raised a little over $3200 and more support keeps coming in from everywhere!

I got off to a great start the first week of January and rode twice (once when the temperature was 25 degrees), so I’ve logged 50 miles already. The weather so far this month has been incredible for riding (credit El Nino, I guess); but the second week of January saw me not riding at all for two big reasons.

First of all, I contracted a major chest cold and I pretty much lost my voice completely - never an easy thing for an acting teacher to lose. With my asthma, I have to be careful about riding when I have any sort of chest congestion.

Secondly, Amy was in Hell Week for her production of Sweet Charity and really needed my help in the morning to get the kids out. She was rehearsing till all sorts of ungodly hours, and was pretty much exhausted most of the week. If you haven’t yet gotten the chance to see her you have three more chances to see her perform in a role she was born to play. She’s amazing and I’m so proud to be married to her. When you see her up there you completely forget it’s Amy and all you see is Charity - she really is that incredibly good! If you miss her doing this show, you’ll really be missing an incredible experience. (You can get tickets at www.TownshipTheatreGroup.com if you want them.)

On other fronts, a lot has happened since the last blog!

I had written last time about a friend of ours who had been diagnosed with Stage 2+ breast cancer that was behaving very aggressively. She’s started chemotherapy to shrink the tumor before surgery, and the doctors at Sloan Kettering are optimistic about her case. We’re all praying for her recovery, and we’re standing in the wings to help the family out in any way we can.

Even closer to home - it was right after I last wrote that the results of the tests for my mother’s skin cancer came back. The doctors have determined she has Merkel Cell melanoma, which is a very rare and highly aggressive form of skin cancer. The biggest issues are that it can metastasize rather quickly (usually in more than 50% of cases), and it tends to recur in other spots even when all the cancerous growth is removed.

Right after Christmas the plastic surgeon removed the cancerous tissue and some of the healthy tissue as well. They performed a biopsy and determined they’d gotten it all, but they also did a die test to highlight “hot spots” in her arm. They found four - two of which were lymph nodes.

They removed these on the spot, as well as a small connecting duct that connected the lymph node closest to her affected elbow with the rest of the lymphatic system. They installed a stint to drain fluid out of her arm and they placed her arm in a full cast.

Given the aggressive nature of this particular form of cancer and the fact that it had been misdiagnosed (most likely because of its rarity) six months earlier, we were all pretty terrified about what the results of the tests on those four spots would be. So you can imagine our tremendous relief when they all came back negative!

On Friday, they removed the cast and did a full body scan to make certain there wasn’t anything else in her body. Right now the doctors (GP, plastic surgeon, and oncologist) are all pretty certain she’s clean, but we’re anxiously awaiting the results of that test.

She visits the radiologist next week, who may recommend she have some radiation treatment just to be on the safe side; but it doesn’t look like any chemo will be required. So we’re very excited and very happy.

And I can’t even begin to thank everyone who’s been praying for her and sending her positive energy. A member of Amy’s cast of Sweet Charity even gave us a medal for her that had been blessed by the Pope!

The family is growing like weeds and we’re so blessed. Sarah is such a joy and is smart as a whip. The boys’ personalities are emerging more and more every day, and we’re more and more amused by their wit. Amy is amazing - how she manages to do all she does in a single day (and did I mention manage to be so amazing in the show) and still have such a positive, nurturing influence on our kids still mystifies me.

School is going well. I just returned from a trip last weekend to Kerhonkson, NY. For those of you who know my personal story, you may remember that Kerhonkson is where the National Shakespeare Conservatory where I studied for two years used to hold its summer program. I spent a really great summer there, and it was fun going back to that neck of the woods. I was there with 20 terrific kids attending the New York Theater Educator’s Association student conference. Our kids had a wonderful time and learned so much. I even got drafted to fill in for a teacher who was too sick to make the conference, and I had a great time teaching the workshops; but I completely lost my voice by Saturday night. When I called Amy she didn’t even recognize me! I’m planning on teaching again next year - only this time I’ll have more than 12 hours to prepare!

Except for the fact that the bus arrived an hour and a half late (we’re still not sure why) - the weekend was a great experience and I was so proud to be associated with such great theater students.

The weekend was not a total joy, however. Saturday night my beloved Cowboys were eliminated from the playoffs in what was definitely one of the most dramatic and bizarre football games I have ever watched. I happened to be watching with my colleague Pete and at least twice he said “That’s it, the Cowboys have this one.” (Thanks for being a Cowboys fan for an evening with me, Pete!) But I kept telling him to wait because I’ve had my heart broken one too many times to feel it was in the bag. I won’t describe the entire horror of the last minute/second loss (it’s just too painful to relive) but my Northport “friends” seemed to have taken great delight in my pain. On my return I learned that mini Butterfinger candy bars with the name “Romo” written all over them had been scattered all over my lawn. And there was a big sign on my front door with a football and the words “Caution: Slippery” on it. Thank you so much Mike and Greg. MY only answer is, it’s now January 15 and we have one thing in common - none of our teams are in the playoffs! Ah well … there’s always next year.

Now that I am healthier (although not completely back) and the weather is still unseasonably warm, I can’t wait get back on my bike. My goal is to do at least 200 a month so I have a little to make up for January, but I’ll get there.

We should have all the jerseys printed and ready to wear by the beginning of February, so to all you wonderful sponsors I once again say thank you and want you to know you will be fully advertised soon.

Oh, by the way, check out the links to more news articles. I’ve done a lot of interviews - once again, due to the efforts of my incredible PR wife - so click on the In the News link to read the ones that have already come; and keep checking back for the ones currently still in the works.

And please let all your friends know about Connor’s Army. The more we spread the word the more support we gain for the ride, and the more money we can raise to fight this horrible disease.

I’ll sign off for now. Check back with me to see what’s going on and for updates with press releases, miles ridden and my adventures with the off-season rides with the Huntington Bicycle Club. For now, stay well and be grateful for the loved ones in your life.

Peace and health to you all.