Weights in the hospital room.

JPa. Jack Glover. Dad. Soul Dad.

 Whatever he is called, it always comes back to this: weights in the hospital room. 

Jack spent 2 weeks in the hospital as a result of his stem cell transplant and the subsequent recovery. This is a procedure that is combined with intense doses of chemo designed to completely wipe out cells. Hence, it has a tendency to weaken even the strongest of men. 

But, not this guy. 

I went to visit him in the hospital & while we were chatting I noticed the hand weights on the counter.

What on earth.

Who else but Jack Glover is going to bring weights to the hospital to have a very intense procedure done?

I love it.

If you remember from a previous post, Jack Glover is the most determined, focused person I know and it is not surprise to anyone who knows him how he has approached this situation. His meticulous attention to every detail surrounding his care, proactive attitude and mental & physical stamina have allowed him to overcome this very imposing obstacle. 

Never one to let an obstacle like not being able to leave a hospital room keep him down, Jack is always on the lookout for a project.

Here is the latest entry from Toni on CaringBridge to catch everyone up to date. Toni has been the real hero through all of this (sorry, Jack!) as she has spent countless hours at the hospital and meeting all of Jack's needs through this long ordeal.

The finish line

Written May 23, 2012 8:39pm

On Monday, May 21, Jack came home from his stem cell transplant. After 18 days in the hospital, he is tired, bald, has little appetite and will continue to have IV antibiotics until Friday.  But he is home----he will regain energy, the hair will grow back, and food will begin to taste good once again.  Now we begin a new period in this 10-month saga: keeping him in remission for a very long time.  As with all the other stages of this disease, he will be ever vigilant and continue to battle with everything he has in order to enjoy many healthy years.  We are so thankful that he has reached this place of renewal and hope.  We are thankful for the support and love of our family and friends.  We are thankful for his doctors, stem cell transplant nurses and the Fort Sanders 8north team nurses.  We are thankful for all the visits, food, calls, texts, cards and, most of all, the prayers we have received during these months.  One of the first emails a friend sent read "The only way out is through."  With much encouragement from so many people, we did make it through.  Teddy Ebersol said "The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new life."  This November, Jack will again walk (maybe run) in the Buddy's Race Against Cancer.  Most of us will wear orange Team Jack shirts.  Jack's shirt will be red.  And it will say

"SURVIVOR."

Call us; come see us.  It is a celebration everyday.

Hug someone you love everyday, 

Toni

10 months ago  we were all crying in the living room, trying to process the emotions and fear that literally appeared out of nowhere. I don't think any of us would've believed we would have made it here in less than a year. We should have  known better. A man who is determined and focused enough to bring weights to the hospital room is  never going to let cancer win.

We love you, Jack! Way to go!!

First Sleepover!!

In a really exciting twist on Memorial Day weekend, Jack Brimer became our weekend guest. His parents were celebrating a wedding miles & miles away and his grandma broke her foot! So, we became the lucky temporary guardians of an awesome red headed 2 year old!

Their first slumber party met all of the requirements...

Fun bath towels after the much needed bath (this is my fave pic. They are having too much fun)

 Lots of  construction

 Snacks watching Choo Choos (I have mentioned I love Steve Jobs, right?)

 WATER fights!

A shared car at Ingles with free cookies and some exploring!

 Playing outside...

 SAND and dinner al fresco

 Visits to multiple places...McDonald's, a new park...

 

 Barnes & Noble play area...& the play area at the mall! I told them multiple times we were not riding the $5/person train, so they were working on a free trip by showing off their knowledge of trains!

 Jack was napping on Sunday and I got nervous thinking it was too long of a nap & that it would effect his sleep at night, so we woke him up. Poor Jack. This napping bit is sort of uncharted territory for me.

Anderson looked at Jack & turned around and asked me, "What is he doing?"

 I replied, "Taking a nap."

 Anderson: "Jack taking a nap? Silly Jack!"

 Reading a construction book

 Playing at GG's. How great is GG that she doesn't even flinch when I show up with 2 toddlers at the family cookout?

 TWO Jacks! And, another tub pic. I wish I had a video of this hilariousness. These 2 are the best.

 I was slightly terrified when Jack first arrived. Remember, I can barely hang on to my ONE kid. BUT, this adventure turned out to be really fun!

Summer has begun!

This boy. It is too much. Pretty fun story involving poop, flea shampoo, dog hair and a semi concussion that goes with this pic, but we will save you the laughter. 

 Our Sonic is right across from the construction of a new Costco. We have big plans of hanging out watching the construction and using free ice cream coupons from Cousin Shae!

I have a feeling popsicles with the BFF will be a theme of summer, too. Clare found a fun (FREE) community fair down the street from her house!

 We went to Ijams Nature Center to celebrate the amazingly talented Uncle Curtis and it was so great. We will be going back. There is an outdoor "playground" that is just trees and dirt and awesomeness, a frog pond, turtles/fish/snakes to look at and a little kid area to teach about recycling. As we were walking through it Anderson spotted some books and said, "We should read a book, Bobble! I yuv to read." And then I had to run and grab some paper towels to clean up the puddle on the floor where I had just melted.

 Uncle Curtis WON the most votes!! Woo hoo!

 This is what most of the time with Anderson in public is like. He isn't crying. He is just crawling around my legs acting like he needs a tow truck. This outing was legit because there were green plates/cups, free food and drinks AND dessert was catered by a cake person! (baker?)

 Hilarious.

How great is this? The Rainy Day Brush Off is something Curtis participated in last year, too. He is so talented and his barrel was the talk of the event. 

We went to our first Lowe's "build & grow" activity and it was awesome/hilarious! Cousin Shae told us about it & it's free (which is all that matters) & he got an apron, goggles (which we didn't need, obviously) and the kit. We built an ice cream truck. I was expecting glue and cardboard. Oh, no. There were about 15 wooden pieces and 24 different sized nails. If you'll notice, this was our first attempt and I nailed the bottom on before we put the wheels on. I realized that this was a "read the directions first" kind of craft. Daddy will be attending next time.

The final product!! It was really so much fun and I have already signed him up for the next ones. Check it out wherever you live, if you have a Lowe's. They get a little "patch" to iron on their apron when they are done. When asked if he needed a patch, Anderson replied, "I have an eyepatch!"  

And so it continues.

 Our weekends have continued to be pretty epic (fun & cheap). 

There was a Bobcat in a backyard a few houses down from us & we could hear it. Taunting us. After a small hike through the wilderness we creeped up on the fence where we proceeded to scare the poor driver who was unprepared for our faces peeking through the slats.Turned out to be rather comical.

 Our goat area at the zoo now has turkeys.Anderson kept gobbling at them.

Zoo playground.

 He tried to shove his patch in the crack between the moles cage & the wall. I found it hilarious because the moles are blind! He was helping them see...Ha ha!!

It was Pirate & Princess day at zoo with random festivities. Anderson was very leery of this "Pirate". I think he realized the truth that he was a fake. Real pirates wear patches!

Face/Arm painting. The boy is starting to really like fire trucks.

We went to the Reading Festival at World's Fair park where we mostly played on the train tracks & in the fountain.

We try to never the leave the house without a Noni.

Then, just in case Sat wasn't enough, we went to Dollywood with Clare & Jack! Love how Clare is as excited as Jack in this pic!

These boys. Sigh.

Found a new playground area. Anderson continues to practice his jumping skills wherever we go.

Splash area!

I also managed to visit Stella & Emily! (Not really, but Nicole went & I told her to change clothes & pretend to me...I LOVE you, Stella & Emily!)