What a great vacation we had in Maui!  On Friday, Dave played 18 (yes - 18!!!) holes of golf with our friend Laurel.  We always laugh about something we call the '6 degrees of Dave Phelps.'  Everywhere we go Dave runs into someone he knows or is connected to in some way.  It turns out that the marshall at the golf course is married to the sister of one of our friends.  Later in our adventure Dave was talking to a woman and found out they both went to San Marino High School (albeit 20 years apart).
We walked on the beach and went to a Luau. Sunday morning we got up early (never did adjust to the time difference) and went to mass in Lahaina.  It was in a sweet little church and there were only about 20 of us at the early service.  Everyone went up on the altar and stood in a circle to get communion - that's when I noticed that the priest was barefoot - what a great lifestyle!
All was going well until noon on Sunday.  We were back at our condo when Dave had a seizure.  I caught him before he fell so his only injury was a scratch on the arm.  We spent the remainder of the day resting and reading out on the lanai.  Dave was feeling pretty good and I had prepaid tickets for a 'romantic sunset cruise' to celebrate our anniversary so off we went.  It was a beautiful evening on the water, dinner was delicious and we were half-way through dessert when Dave had ANOTHER seizure!  Damn!!!  Luckily we were sitting but unfortunately he bit his tongue (never had that happen before).  We ended up at Urgent Care where the doctor described Dave's wound as "gnarly" but no treatment necessary. 
Monday arrived WAY too early and we boarded the plane to Portland to catch our connection to San Diego (I booked our trip so late that we couldn't get a direct flight).  In Portland, we found out that San Diego was closed for fog so we ended up landing at LAX and had to take a bus home!  We finally got to bed around 2:30 a.m. and I gotta tell you - our bed never felt so good!
Today, Robert took Dave back to UCSD for chemo and a spinal tap.  Tonight, our awesome caregiver Marge-in-Charge has prepared chili and cornbread for dinner, and Kelly and Dan are coming over to hand out candy.  I have a cheerleader costume and hope I can convince Dave to wear his football official's uniform -

Celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary in Maui! There have been so many times in the past year that we thought we wouldn't make it. Three days ago Dave was in the ICU! All of our challenges have just taught us to be more grateful for what we have... And enjoy the journey (I like to say, enjoy every sandwich :-))
Right now, we're enjoying the view from our balcony!

I can't believe how strong and determined Dave is!  Yesterday morning he was on a breathing tube in the ICU, his brother Steve, Kelly, Robert and I at his bedside.  Last night we had dinner at Olive Garden (Dave's choice) !!! 
I love the staff at UCSD Hillcrest.  They could see that Dave was really going to be okay and he has a LOT of support so they worked really hard to get him out of there so he could go for chemo today and we can head to Hawaii tomorrow.  They even had the pharmacist come up and give me a lesson on how to use a syringe and practice injecting valium in case Dave had a problem on the plane.  I mean these people really busted their butts to help us - it was amazing and we are extremely grateful.  Special shout out to Dr. Karanjia
There's alway a 'BUT' and this time it was, no surprise, UCSD La Jolla.  After all that work I got an EMAIL late in the afternoon from Clinical Trials that they were cancelling Dave's infusion today.  Really, UCSD?  Couldn't you have called and talked to me?  Because I didn't read your email until 4:15 and by that time no one was at your office to talk to about it.  So Kelly took Dave up there this morning at 7:00 (got pancakes on the way) only to find out that Dave can't have chemo til the doctor clears him and the doctor is not available...  Arghhhhhhh!  So now we're rescheduled for doctor/chemo next week.
Oh well, we're getting on the plane tomorrow for 5 days in Maui and lord help anyone who gets in the way   :-)

After a great weekend in Lake Arrowhead, Dave got to have lunch at the golf course today with his friends from work.
Late this afternoon at home he had an uncontrollable seizure so tonight we're at UCSD Hillcrest trying to figure out what's going on. It's almost midnight and he's still out of it so they're moving him from the ER to ICU to run some more tests. I'll update in the morning.

Well, it wasn't West Virginia and it wasn't the Blue Ridge Mountains, but it WAS heavenly at Lake Arrowhead in the San Bernardino mountains this weekend.  We left Friday afternoon and returned today.  Dave is on the Board of Directors at our timeshare there and we went up for the annual meeting.  We took our neighbor Rene with us so Rene and I went outlet shopping while Dave was at his meeting.  Let's just say it was an expensive weekend :-)
Dave is feeling GREAT!  He is taking golf lessons on Friday mornings and we are usually able to take a little walk after dinner.  This new chemo has really helped him improve his strength and balance.  Next infusion is Wednesday, then we leave for Maui on Thursday morning. We'll be celebrating our 29th wedding anniversary there on Monday the 29th, thumbing our noses at the doctors who told us back in February that he wouldn't live to see Fathers Day!  We are enormously grateful for the staff at UCSD and the benefits of Anthem Blue Cross ;-)

Even though Dave's tumor is not shrinking, the chemo is helping him feel great!  Yesterday's round went uneventfully.

Ever the optimist, this morning Dave went to the golf course and invested $300 in golf lessons :-)  I wonder if we can write this off on our taxes under physical therapy?!?!?

Anyway, I am the one who is confused.  A couple of days ago I said we were going to Lake Arrowhead this weekend.  That is actually NEXT weekend.  THIS weekend we're going to Palm Springs.  I figure the devil can't catch us if we keep moving!

This new chemotherapy is definitely helping Dave feel better!
Saturday night we walked to town and back for dinner, something we hadn't done since before his last surgery.  He feels so good that yesterday he went to the golf course for a couple of hours in the afternoon - YAY!!!  He's already had two rounds and he is scheduled for the next one on Thursday.  We're leaving Friday for the weekend to Lake Arrowhead.  Last time we were there Dave was on a walker and he could hardly climb the stairs :-(   Hoping this time we can actually go for walk around the village and stay awake past 8:00 :-)

Dave was a little foggy all weekend (I noticed Sunday afternoon  that when the Charger game was over, he just sat and watched an infomercial for  a couple of hours...), then Monday afternoon he had a seizure. Then this morning  Kelly took him to UCSD for his 2nd round of chemo. I don't know what was in that  IV but he is feeling great and has been chattering like a magpie all afternoon! 

We went to a 'soiree' for the Epilepsy Foundation tonight and the  Executive Director honored Dave for his 'million dollar vision’ - when he  challenged the board ten years ago to develop a financial plan to grow the  foundation.  It was completely  unexpected but in true Dave style he stood up, thanked everyone, and gave a very  moving talk encouraging everyone to continue the work to educate the community  and raise money to support the individuals and families affected by seizure  disorders.   I  gotta tell you it made me a little verklempt!  

So no more chemo til next Thursday.   Meanwhile we’re looking forward to attending Admiral Dave Buss’ change of
command on the Nimitz on Thursday and checking out the La Mesa Octoberfest this  weekend.  As Dave would say, “We’re
too busy living to worry about dying!”