A busy week in June

Patty & Phil at The Villages visiting Don & Carol Marder

On June 12th, I flew down to Ocala, FLA with my daughter Sarah and her husband, Thomas for the purpose of attending my father-in-law's memorials. When we arrived, we met up with the rest of my family (Patty, David, and Nathan) who also came in for the same reason. It's a strange combination of feelings that you go through attending these things. It's very sad for all of us to have lost Dick Rohde even at his advanced age of 83. Dick was a WWII hero whose ship was sunk by the Japanese and a beloved family member. But at the same time, it was wonderful seeing relatives that we rarely see in person. On Tuesday, June 16th, I flew back to Indiana with Patty, Sarah, and Thomas. Then, on Friday, June 19th, Patty and I flew to Chicago for my Avastin treatment which went flawlessly. Saturday, June 20th, was my wedding anniversary. Patty and I have now been married 39 years. We went to Palomino's in Indianapolis to celebrate. Nothing beats their crab and artichoke dip. Finally, yesterday, June 21st., my daughter Sarah and son-in-law, Thomas came over to our house in Indianapolis for a wonderful Father's Day dinner including T-bone steaks and a cake that Sarah baked for us.
All-in-all, a very busy week, indeed.

Slide show of our visit to Ocala for Dick's memorials: HERE
Slide show of my father-in-law, Dick Rohde: HERE

Early June Update from Phil

Hi everyone. On Friday, June 5th, Patty and I went to Chicago for an appointment with Dr, Nicholas and an Avastin treatment. The news on my condition continues to be good with a positive report on my condition from my doctor. (M. Kelly Nicholas). I told him that I was so happy to have chosen their group for my treatment and he told me that he was very happy to have me in his study. He told us that he was using my case as an example for his new GBM patients, partly because of my progress and partly because of my willingness to travel to Chicago every two weeks for treatment. On this day, we flew up on Southwest making it a one-day visit. We will return for more Avastin on June 19th and then again for an MRI on July 1st which tells the real, anatomical story. Our trip was tempered somewhat by the recent passing of my wife, Patty's father, Dick Rohde, the day before we went to Chicago. To see a short essay about my father-in-law and a photo slide show remembrance, click on the following link:
http://philmarder.com/marderhomepage/