Coyne Operated

It now seems that Lauren and I have to pick a theme song each year for the battle. It's a tradition we rather not have and plan on doing away with very soon. Two years ago we used "Going Thru Hell" by Rodney Atkins and last year was "Living on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi. This year we decided to use "Right Now" by Van Halen.
If you have been reading our blog posts then you have probably figure out that both of us are usually inspired by good song lyrics. We both feel that this song represents how we feel as we gear up for Round 4. My personal favorite in this song is "Make future plans don't dream about yesterday, c'mon turn this thing around.."
We are including the lyrics in this post and if the song is still the first to come up on this page then listen along, "right now!"

Dont wanna wait til tomorrow,
Why put it off another day?
One more walk through problems,
Built up, and stand in our way ,ah
One step ahead, one step behind me
Now you gotta run to get even
Make future plans, dont dream about yesterday, hey
Cmon turn, turn this thing around
Right now, hey
Its your tomorrow
Right now,
Cmon,its everything
Right now,
Catch a magic moment, do it
Right here and now
It means everything
Miss the beat, you lose the rhythm,
And nothing falls into place, no
Only missed by a fraction,
Slipped a little off your pace, oh,
The more things you get, the more you want,
Just trade in one for the other,
Workin so hard, to make it easier, whoa,
Got to turn, cmon turn this thing around
Right now, hey
Its your tomorrow
Right now,
Cmon, its everything
Right now,
Catch that magic moment, do it
Right here and now
It means everything
Its enlightened me, right now
What are you waitin for
Oh, yeah, right now
(solo)
Right now, hey
Its your tomorrow
Right now,
Cmon, its everything
Right now,
Catch that magic moment, and do it right,
Right now
Right now, oh, right now
Its whats happening?
Right here and now
Right now
Its right now
Oh,
Tell me, what are you waiting for
Turn this thing around

This weekend was kissed with perfect summer weather and we could not let it escape without some beach time. So, Lauren and I packed the cooler, grabbed the chairs and hit the sand. We were joined by my sister Karen and her boys, Anthony and Maxx.
I decided to give surfing a try with Maxx's short board and once again confirmed that my mind still runs like I'm 18 but my body is definitely ready for 37. I did not think it would be all that tough to get up on the board. Heck, Greg Brady could do it, right? I am brave enough to post the pictures.
I wound up body surfing while Maxx showed me how "easy" it is to surf. We all had a blast. The day ended with me and the boys having a rock throwing contest. They had set up a piece of driftwood and put a crab shell on top. I'm happy to report I won (still got the pinpoint control).
As you enjoy the pictures please remember that white is the new tan.

After the benefit down on Long Island, we drove back home for a family reunion with Mike's cousins. They are Mike's dad's nieces and nephews and we don't get together with them often enough.
Thanks to the hard work of Mike's sisters, Maryellen, Debbie and Sue, the party went off without a hitch and we enjoyed catered BBQ from Famous Dave's. Mike highly recommends the spicy chicken wings!
This summer is going by too fast and we are glad we are able to get some fun stuff in along the way.

....Alzheimer's Association Long Island. Saturday marked the eighth annual Alzheimer's benefit at the family marina of our dear friend, Robin. I remember going to the very first benefit, which was started in loving memory of Robin's grandfather. For the first time in three years, Mike and I were able to attend together. In addition to supporting this worthy cause, we were able to see a bunch of friends we haven't seen in ages. Except for a quick rain, the weather held out (you can even see the beautiful rainbow in one of the pictures below) and made for a lovely day!

The bell rang for round 4 on July 30th. I received the call confirming that the same cancer has come back. Lauren and I were confused and upset while wondering how the heck this keeps popping up.
I did a PET/CT scan in late June and everything was fine. I visited the dermatologist on July 21st and everything was fine. I was stretching my legs after a workout on the morning of July 24th and saw something that looked like a faint bruise on my right shin and it started to look all too familiar.
I went home and found a few more on my left shin and then called my doctors. Lauren and I went into Mass General Hospital and even my doctors were baffled. The spots looked so faint compared to last year's presentations. We were asked to keep an eye on them and see if anything changed before my regular appointment on the following Friday.
Needless to say, Lauren and I did not get much rest that weekend and graciously my dermatologist took me right in on that Monday morning to biopsy the spots. There was nothing else to do but wonder for a few days. We had a good idea what news was coming and that was not in any way being pessimistic. We had been down that road before and the mile markers looked all too familiar.
So, we have met with my doctors, the expert at Dana Farber and even various healers since the bell rang. My oncology team is taking time going over every possible option for treatment and we are going to meet again on August 26th to talk about the best treatments available.
I am in perfect health, otherwise, and I truly mean that. I have no other classic signs of lymphoma and I did another PET/CT scan which was clean (save a small spot in my left thigh bone that we are looking at with an MRI) I did another bone marrow biopsy and the marrow is all clean (and the reason why the place in my left thigh is not as scary sounding). It almost seems impossible that I could have a small area of cancerous cells.
We plan on posting updates as we go along. We appreciate and request all prayers and well wishes as we fight this round and hopefully find the knockout punch.