Knee sliding

Yes, today Masashi was showing Seiko and I how he can run and then drop to his knees and slide. We haven't been watching an music videos and rock concerts, so I imagine he learned it at daycare today. It was actually pretty cool.
Last night, Masashi went to bed around 5! He hadn't eaten dinner, so he woke up a lot and want his bottle. It is just water, and has been for some months now, but it still means we have to change his diaper any number of times throughout the night. That was last night, and I've had enough of it. I'm not making him go cold turkey, but there will be severe rationing of his evening drinks from now on!
This morning, he wouldn't wake up. He must have been really tired, but I finally had to wake him around 8:15 to eat and get ready. We shoveled snow (got a lot last night) and then went to daycare. He had a good day, though he hasn't really taken to the school lunches.
Ritsuko seemed to be doing well when I visited her around 6PM, but her sister said she wasn't feeling that great when she had gone to see her just before. Ritsuko will probably get her stitches out next week, but her calcium levels have remained high and need to come down before her release from the hospital can be consider, I guess. We have decided to both start listen to these French CDs we have (on our MP3 players). She has a lot of time in the hospital, and I have my commute time. Thought it be fun to learn French together. Hopefully, it will also help Ritsuko take her mind away from worrying, too.
New pictures up from the day of Ritsuko's surgery at
2006-01-26 Surgery

Waiting for Test Results

Today was a beautiful day. Masashi and I woke up around 8AM, ate breakfast, took a shower, and then went to see mama in the hospital. Ritsuko's parents were there when we arrived, and we all soon went to talk to the doctor again. Fujita-sensei, Ritsuko's doctor and surgeon, didn't have anything new to say. It was Ritsuko and Ritsuko's parents' first time to hear about how the surgery went and ask questions.
The rest results we are waiting to for will tell the doctor how "bad" the cancerous cells are. Wasn't exactly sure what he meant. He explained that the test would determine how quickly the cells were able to spread. Still, with all the visible tumors removed, I'm still not sure why how quickly they were able to spread would matter. Maybe it will help them to determine how likely it is that small growths might be located outside the neck area. What I'm thinking is more likely, though, is that the test will determine if the cancerous cells are actually thyroid cells or if they are so abnormal that what cells they are is indeterminable. The latter case gives cause for worry, as the prognosis is not very good. Assuming that this is not the case, the 20-year survival rate is very high (95%), even with the size and number of tumors found. This entry is starting to get too long. I'll leave the cancer stuff at that for now.
Masashi finally has a molar coming in! Hopefully this means we can stop mashing and cutting up all his food soon. He was a pretty good boy today, though he always acts a little spoiled when grandma and grandpa are here. He's still up now (after 8PM), and is not showing any signs of sleeping.

Tired

Ritsuko's doing really well just one day after her surgery. She's up, eating, talking, doing everything except turning her head from side to side. I took Masashi over this morning, and then Seiko made and brought lunches over for us at about 11:30. Masa and I then went home and took a nap. Ritsuko took a couple naps today, too. I then went back over to the hospital before and after dinner (the hospital is only a 10 minute walk from our house). Tomorrow Grandma and Grandpa Bando will come to visit. I'm sure Masashi will be excited to go for a drive with Grandpa!

Surgery Complete

Well, Ritsuko's surgery has been completed. She returned to her hospital room around 7:30PM, barely awake because of the anesthetic and pain medication. Seiko and I spoke with the doctor (Masashi was there, too!) after Ritsuko returned. Everything went well, and all visible tumors were removed. The reason the surgery took so long, though, was because of how many tumors there were and how far they had spread throughout the neck. The doctor showed us what was removed, even cutting into the thyroid to show us how swollen and hard it had become with the cancerous cells. What was more surprising, though, were the lymph nodes. Normally the size of pea, Ritsuko's were more like large pecans (sorry, can't think of a better example). That, and small tumors were found all the way up to her mandible and all the way down to her clavicle (collarbone). Being much more extensive than original though, the likelihood of small, undiscovered tumors is quite high. Fortunately, these can most likely be destroyed through iodine-radiation treatment (which we expected to do, anyway).
I wasn't really able to talk to Ritsuko after her surgery, so I won't be going to the funeral tomorrow. I really want to be with Ritsuko through all of this, and I want Masashi to be able to see his mama. He cried when he saw Ritsuko come back from surgery with a drip in her arm and an oxygen mask on her face. He knew it was his mom, but I think he was scared that something was wrong with all that stuff attached to her. It made me pretty sad, but I know everything is going to be okay. And, Masashi had a good day up until then. He made a good friend an the daycare (6-year old girl), played with his toy cars and had fun at the hospital, and went home and right to sleep after Ritsuko's surgery was finished. We'll shovel some snow tomorrow morning then head to the hospital to see mama. Pictures are of a lymph node and half of Ritsuko's thyroid (the cancerous half, itself bisected).

Ritsuko's in the Hospital

Ritsuko checked into the hospital today, and Masashi had his first day of real daycare. I picked Masa up after work, and we went straight over to the hospital to see Ritsuko and talk more with the doctor. Everything should be fine tomorrow, and Ritsuko's sister, Seiko, will get in around 10 AM. Her being here will help a lot. Masashi has been fine so far. He ate well this evening, and went to bed without a fuss. He did whine a little when Ritsuko left the daycare, but only a little. Ritsuko's friend, Haru-chan, came up from Osaka for a day to visit Ritsuko, and she brought Masashi some cool little toy cars. They are very realistic looking (models of real cars and trucks) and Masa loves playing with them. Maybe they have helped take his mind of the fact that mom isn't around.

Grandma Yamamoto

Grandma Yamamoto, Ritsuko's mother's mother, passed away today at the age of 78. She was a wonderful woman, and everyone was very close to her, especially Ritsuko. Ritsuko looked up to Grandma as a true sensei, in the way Americans often think of the word, as a wise, kind, truthful person who teaches not just how to do certain things, but also about life in general.
Unfortunately, Ritsuko will not be able to go to the funeral. The ceremony will be held Friday, the day after Ritsuko's surgery to remove her thyroid cancer, and there is no way she can go. Masashi and I will go, though. I wish Masashi could have been able to remember his Great-Grandma Yamamoto, but her memory will definitely be kept alive in our family.

Weekend Snow

I guess I'm going bu-Log happy with two real postings today. So, we got a ton of snow this past weekend. Not that heavy, sticky stuff, either. We're talking about light, fluffy, POW, the good stuff, what skiers and boarders pay a lot of money for. Here's a picture of one night's fluff with my glove. It was beautiful, and the weather that day was perfect. Being the good husband and father, I did not go snowboarding. Instead, we went to the park to play. You can view the pictures here.

Well, one more day until Ritsuko checks into the hospital. Tomorrow, her friend is flying up from Osaka for one day to see her. I have to work. Then, Ritsuko checks in on Wednesday, surgery on Thursday.

New Blog Site

My wife's new blog on and sister's recent move to blogger.com has inspired me to also relocate my blog. Well, that and the fact that my old blog hoster didn't support Firefox (I really don't like using Internet Explorer anymore). Links to my old blog page, Lisa's blog, and Ritsuko's blog (Japanese only, sorry!) can be found in the sidebar.