Buddies

I’m so glad Mom and Dad are here. Sam is too.

Veterans Day

I think this is the longest I’ve gone without posting. Sorry.

Happy Veterans Day to my Dad and others.

It’s been nice having Mom and Dad here in Florida. The kids are enjoying their company. Sam and dad have some ongoing banter about bananas. I think it is a conspiracy to rid the world of bananas. Sam like bananas until Larry arrived. Larry is a bad influence. Strange to write that in a blog titled “We love Larry”. I love him but my kid better keep eating fruits and vegetables when he leaves.

We haven’t really done a lot except hang around and be together. I’ll take it.

Pictures later.

Last day of chemo!! – Send messages!

Welcome to Larry day. I’m going to dedicate this last day of chemo treatment to him, a celebration of his end to treatment and a beginning of getting better. I think I’m obligated to mention, again, that is is also Sam’s birthday and he is happy that it is shared with the above. I asked Sam what day it is today, thinking that he knows it is his birthday and telling us he is going to be 5 today…he said “It’s last day of chemo day!!” That’s pretty cool.

Here are my collection of wishes / comments so far from friends, family, and strangely….just some people. I’ll explain that one later. Most of these are from my facebook account, but I will update this post all day long with new stuff as it comes in. To add your comments / wishes / thoughts to this page, just e-mail me at joncarroll01@gmail.com.

My initial entry on facebook:

Jon Carroll is happy his dad only has ONE more chemo treatment left. Go Larry! Love Jon

Wendy Rogers Worley  I am happy for that too! Go Uncle Larry!!!

John Longo  Good thoughts for Larry - (friend of mine from college – fraternity brother who remembers my dad)

Jay Parrott  Jon, my thoughts are with you and your family. (another fraternity brother who met my dad)

Beth Wrenn YAY! We love Larry!!!!

Paris K. Krupnik  Hope he is OK Jon! Been there, done that. 21 year Cancer survivor. (old casino friend)

Dear Dad C.,

Gratulerer med dagen!  This is Norwegian for Happy Birthday on Sam's 5th and your 1st birthday.  It's been a long and difficult past year, filled with the frightening unknown and many tough days, but now...today...a new and healthy year begins!  Today, when you leave that final chemo treatment, hold your head high and yell out "CHEMO SCHMEMO!" Sure, you'll scare the hell out of everyone, but that's part of the fun, isn't it? Just kidding. The fun part is that chemo is finished and you can concentrate on beating this thing. That's the plan - adios, sayonara, see you later, alligator. So anyway, I am so proud of you for getting through this rough time, and am looking forward to celebrating next year's birthday...did you say we're going to run a marathon???

With much love,

Jen

Jon,
Tell your dad congratulations from all of us in the Farwell clan!
Ed Farwell

Pat and Leo  So happy this day is here. Go do things and enjoy yourself. Come to Kc and see everyone here. Love Pat & Leo

We are Jim & Gloria Howley friends of Larry &  Wilma from our USMC days in Albany, Georgia.  Please tell your parents Congrats on the final treatment, Semper Fi, never give up, keep up the good fight and our prayers are with you & your family.  (Go Red Wings!)

Marc Carlson  - Way to go Larry, keep up the good fight!

The Godfrey Carrolls say “Happy Day” to Larry and Sam. We will be to Orion soon to celebrate this wonderful day. So, be looking forward to the carrot cake and ice cream. We are so proud of you!!

Larry, Wilma, Jon, Jen, and all the other Carroll crew. It is great to be writing a letter to say:“ Way to go Larry and family for fighting this together and supporting each other !! “ I am eagerly awaiting a planned Locander invasion at the Carroll household in Orion where we can sit back eat some food, and make fun of Jon and his exploits over seas. I really have enjoyed the updates of the life as a homeroamer and sometimes laughed a little while reading the daily entry. I never lost sight of the true inspiration for this blog which was to support a good friend and respected family during a tough battle. Keep us all informed on any updates. The Locanders will be in Orion soon with hungry appetites, and visions of the 2009 Chicago Cubs dream season.

See you soon …Mike

Just wanted to send our best wishes to Larry and Wilma and all of their families.  We are so glad that Larry is doing well and finally done with the Chemo.  We know it can be really rough on Larry, but also the family.  Great job is getting everyone through this.  We are looking forward to seeing Larry and Wilma in Gulf Shores.
Your buddy's from Michigan and LA (lower Alabama) .
Al and Pam Mason

Some pictures to commemorate the day….Most of them have both Sam and Dad. Those are the ones I can get from Holland. Send more if you want them posted!

She’s phoning it in all right

Since there isn’t much else going on here are some medical reports.

Dad is doing o.k. He went to the dentist because of a sore tooth and I’ll spare you the details, but he’s on some antibiotics. Adding drugs into his world always complicates things, so I’m sure they are excited about that. Pulmonary visit today to check up on his breathing, which my mom has been concerned about also. That covers Orion.

Here in the Netherlands we are battling a big cold with Sam. He developed some sort of “out of nowhere” earache yesterday and could not be comforted. He’s a pretty tough kid, so when he was squirming around crying that “it hurts, it hurts” it must have been a thing. Curiously he fell asleep about 15 minutes into this episode, woke up the next morning and has no signs of any problem. It’s going to be interesting.

Since I’m kind of on the topic, this is one of the subjects that I get asked about a lot and don’t really have an answer for. “What do you do when / if you get sick?” My health insurance will cover things while we are here, it just requires that you fill out a lot of paperwork and pay out of pocket initially….I think. The problem is what do you do when you don’t know the doctors, the hospitals, and the “system”? So far we haven’t had to find out. I did make a call to Sam’s doctor back home to see if there was anything we could do in the meantime, but that was such a waste. After telling the girl who answered the phone we were out of the country and the problem, she said that she couldn’t call something in for me and he would have to be seen. Really? You can’t call something in? Duh. Oh and what time do you have that we could bring him in? Keep in mind we would have to book a flight and see if we could get there on time. Seriously.

Anyhow…both kids, Dad and Sam are ok for now. Stay tuned. You know how these stories go.

Follicle folly

After many weeks of smooth sailing, today my lack of ability to speak Norwegian cost me. I took Sam to get his hair cut and I was also going to get mine cut. I talked with the stylist about cutting Sam's hair...all according to Jen's instruction. Don't cut it too short was the biggest deal. The girl spoke good English, so I thought she understood.....until she took the first swipe at Sam's hair with the clippers. So after the first swipe up the middle of his head, what are you supposed to do? Tell her to put it back? Make it longer? I chose to sit in my chair and devise a plan to tell my guy how I wanted my hair cut so we both didn't end up the same way. My turn came and due to the nature of my "haircut" all I needed to know was the metric measurement, 4 mil. Phew. As my hair was being "styled" I saw Sam and his stylist in negotiations over something. A toy? A lollipop? No....what color to spray paint his hair. As he was climbing out of the chair I noted that they had settled on green. I walked back to the car wondering how this was going to go. Too short? Yes. Too not his natural color? Yes. Spiked into a faux-hawk? Check! The only saving grace was that Sam loved it. I have no doubt that Jen is blogging this same episode over at www.homeroamers.com. Go see her side of the story.

Happy New Year

I think I passed on new year wishes a post or two ago, but I'm too lazy to read my own blog and find out.

No real news from Orion today. Breakfast out with friends, rehab, McDonalds for lunch, and a nap. It's not necessarily a bad thing to sum up an entire day in only one sentence. Especially if it is the last day of the year.

Happy New Year, thanks for pulling for my dad in 2008, be safe tonight and into 2009. See ya next year!

Love, Jon