October Update

I can't seem to keep this blog up to date....at least not as much as Earl would like. I have thought of letting him update it himself, but then it would turn into another one of those "hockey blogs" and some of you would be bored by that.

Well as of today, Earl continues to battle hard and what a fight it can be at times. This month his chemo was delayed by two weeks due to an infection in and the removal of two of his wisdom teeth. So all in all he had no treatment for 1 month. Needless to say the first round back was pretty rough. He saw Dr. Wong today and is ready to go for chemo again tomorrow. In case any of you are wondering how long he will be on chemo.....the answer quite honestly is we don't know. As long as the tumor is still there and as long as Earl is still responding well (that is that the tumor continues to shrink) he will remain on this chemo. (gemcitabine is a fairly low dose drug/poison and therefore he can be on it for a fairly long time)

As many of you know life is never dull with Earl and this past weekend was the perfect example. When we found out that the AHL team Grand Rapids (Michigan) Griffins were coming to town to play our very own Manitoba Moose we made sure we purchased our tickets. The Griffins are the farm team to the Detroit Red Wings and from our many visits with the team we have come to know several people who are involved with the Griffins. We were able to touch base with them and as Earl's reputation proceeds him, we were welcomed with open arms. The first game on Friday night saw the Griff's win 1 -0 which makes it so much fun to go down into the dressing room. Earl was so excited to meet the guys he didn't know and to touch base with the one's he does know. Earl was on a special assignment from a certain coach and was to report back with his findings. Well this made for a great time for Earl as he loves to study the game and the players. I just hang around in the background smiling and so full of pride for him. This started the weekend and then first thing Saturday morning we were back at the rink for the morning skate and more time for Earl to hang out and fool around with the boys in the locker room.....to be cont'd

Oct. 20th - I spent some time chatting with Bob Kaser the Vice President of Community Relations and Broadcasting and the voice of the Griffs on the radio. Earl made such and impression on the coaches that he was invited into the dressing room before the game to announce the starting line-up and give the pre-game pep talk to the team. He did a great job and I will try and figure out how to post this video clip. Earl and I were invited up to the broadcasting booth to watch the game with Bob Kaser and it was quite funny when we ran into Craig Heisinger the GM for the Moose and had to tell him that we were with the visiting team. It was great to watch the game from way up there and it was even better when the Griffins won 2-1. It was very exciting to go down into the dressing room after the game and Earl was given full credit for his encouraging speech which led the team to a win. After the game we went to Moxies where Earl hung out with the team while I sat back and had some quiet time at my own table. It was a late night for Earl...and did I tell you he played Sledge hockey before we went to the gane.

Earl will have chemo today and I pray and ask for your prayers as well that he will recover quickly and that the chemo would have a powerful effect on shrinking the tumor. Earl and I leave for Toronto and Detroit on Monday for a week so he wants to feel good and strong. We will be visiting at MT Sinai, Dr Wunder and 11south, then going to TSN for a visit and then onto Elmira to visit our friends the Allison's and Mark in his new appt. After that we head to Windsor and then to Detroit. We will be see the DRW play Phoenix and Nashville on Thursday and Saturday. Earl's friend and Winnipeger Colin Wilson plays for Nashville and so we look forward to seeing him play. Sorry Colin but our hearts are with the Red Wings, but we promise to cheer when you score. We have also been invited to a game in Grand Rapids on Friday night so we will have a little roadtrip and a lot of fun. Then the final activity will be a Detroit Lions Football game with our good friend Billy Ritchie.

Well that's it for now...Earl will be happy!
Take Care until the next time
Debbie