(8-27-08: Please see updated medical info below)

If you’re the type who prays, or believes in sending good “thoughts and energy” someone’s way, there’s a family close to our hearts here at RTV6 who could use all they can get right now.

Our production photographer and editor Don Foss is in the middle of a serious fight with cancer.  Thankfully Don and his wife Susan have 2 great kids, and lots and lots of family and friends supporting them.  He’s one of the nicest people you could possibly ask to work with, the kind of person that rarely shows up to work without a smile on his face and something positive to say.  Even in his hospital room last week when Todd and I visited, he was thinking positively, and cracking jokes with us.  I was encouraged by Don’s and Susan’s attitude and strength.

Don has been going through intense chemo. He and his family have deep faith, and say they can feel the prayers of others, which gives them great comfort.

  I wish I had better news to pass along to those of you who have been following Don’s situation, but here’s the latest update:

    Weds Aug 27 from Susan Foss:  “As of 3:40pm Don is still at Community North. We have not see our doctor as of yet today, we figure it will be after office hours today. We will wait and see when the doctor thinks Don should go home. Don has had about 5 IV treatments of antibiotics a day since arriving this weekend.  The sores in Don’s mouth have improved with the treatments. 

The liver tumors did not respond to the first round of chemo specific to the liver given the week of August 13th. Don received a different chemo on 8/26/2008 and Don is praying that God SUPER SIZE the effectiveness of the chemo on the tumor.  Don realizes that may not be God’s will, we also pray for God’s will and continued strength for Don, Susan, Megan, Zach and our family and friends.

Don knows and understands the extent of the cancer and we are praying frequently for God’s help and God’s will.  Don and I have had some serious conversations about the what if’s but primarily Don and I are living in the Hope Faith and Love of God’s loving kindness and keep focusing on keeping up the fight against cancer on this journey. We are slowly giving our children pieces of the puzzle called Cancer and how very serious this disease can be and working to show them our Faith and Trust is in God and God’s Word.
     It’s Trisha again. Here’s how you can help:

   The family is asking friends, family, and anyone else to pray at 12:35 pm each day.  Specifically, Don’s wife Susan tells us they are praying for their children, for healing from this week’s chemo, for Don’s strength, that he will “know God’s will”, and that God will help his journey become a little easier.  I am also praying for the network of family and friends who’ve swooped in to help get everyone through.

I believe that life’s most challenging and difficult moments always have something to teach us.  My own small struggles seem much less stressful to me now, and my family even more precious. If any of you have positive and encouraging messages to share, feel free to do so here, or email them to me and I’ll pass them along.

By the way - almost nothing makes me madder than cancer.  I pray that in my lifetime scientists and doctors are able to unlock some miracle cures to shut down this awful disease.

I hope you are all well -thank you so much for your words of support for Don and his family.

Trisha

BACK TO SCHOOL

     This seemed way too easy.  No tears, no drama, just a very excited little boy on his first day of kindergarten.

    Calvin was up at 7am, asking “Is the bus here?” After wolfing down a breakfast, allowing me to comb down the Alfalfa hair, and putting on the brand new black Chuck Taylors, he demanded we go outside to wait for the bus - 20 minutes early. 

    Once it pulled up, he posed for the obligatory picture (darn, he blinked!), climbed right aboard and didn’t look back. A flawless departure.

     So of course, I followed him to school.  He told me I didn’t need too, but I needed to see with my own eyes that he got off the bus and figured out where to go.  I watched him find his teacher, get his nametag, and line up with all the other wide-eyed 5-year-olds clinging to a rope and filing down the hall to the classroom. 

     I did make sure to get myself out the door before he and his backpack totally disappeared around the corner.  I’m still amazed at this, but the flood of tears I was afraid of never came.  I was relieved to see him so happy and confident, and apparently ready for this big step.

      I hear not everyone’s first day went so well.  We’re reporting on some back to school registration snags for IPS parents.  I’ve heard a couple of school bus stories that made me cringe. I’d love to hear any of your stories from all over the area - good and bad!

JACKSON’S BIG NIGHT

     Saturday night I had the pleasure of meeting a very special young man. 7-year-old Jackson DePoy is the namesake for the Jackson Center, a school that provides therapy for children with cerebral palsy.  Jacskson’s parents, Spencer and Lara, started the center upon realizing that there wasn’t anything similar in Indiana. 

   I hosted their annual fundraiser, and heard from one family after another about how wonderful this program is.  Jackson certainly hammed it up - dancing with his Grandpa to the music of Orquesta Bravo!  This family has so much to be proud of, and I was glad to be able to lend a hand to such an important cause.

ONE MORE ELVIS

      Here’s an item I forgot to mention in my Elvis collection entry from the other day.  This sweet little guy wandered into our neighborhood recently and didn’t leave.  He looks like he’s made of black velvet, of course, I had to name him after the King.  This Elvis is a totally cool cat, and while we may never solve the mystery of where he came from, it looks like he’s ours for good now. 

    By the way, I found it really weird that just a few months after we had to put down one black cat, another one dropped out of nowhere and claimed us.  Anyone else have anything like this happen?

THIS JUST IN…

    Just got this photo of my niece, Anna, who is apparently after my job.

I’ll bet she’s even cuter in hi-def.

Have a great day!

Trish

THE KING AND HIS BRIDE

I hear my co-anchor, Todd, tried to talk our producer into leaving this important item out of our 11pm newscast. Shame on him!

Mattell has created an Elvis and Priscilla wedding gift set.  This is a beautiful thing.

I don’t really need more Elvis stuff, but I can always find room for one more odd thing.  I have a velvet Elvis painting, an Elvis carved out of a matchstick, a few nice framed Elvis prints, a salt and pepper shaker, an Elvis Presley Blvd. road sign, three Elvis purses, Elvis matryoshka nesting dolls (pictured here - aren’t they great!), a pink Elvis T-shirt with a tiny matching one for Clara, a glass paperweight with his image etched inside, etc. etc., along with a bunch of CD’s and even a couple of movies.  I swear I don’t actually buy the stuff - once people know you like something like Elvis, these items have a way of just showing up in your life.

I’d love to know if any of you have anything more spectacular in your collection, or if any of you think I have a problem.

KINDERGARTEN COUNTDOWN

For those of you keeping track, my big guy ( I don’t think he wants to be called a “little boy” any more) will climb aboard his bus Wednesday.  We found out that it will come by at 8:04am instead of 12:00am like the letter said, so that’s a relief.

Tomorrow we’re taking Calvin shopping for new back-to-school Chuck Taylor’s (Chucky T’s) because he has his dad’s fine taste in footwear.

(Photo update as of Tuesday:  Guess who else decided she needed new Chucky T shoes too?  His are black, hers are brown.)

I asked what special thing would he like to do on his last day of summer vacation?  He tells me he wants to ride his bike on the bike path with me.  (have I mentioned how awesome this kid is?)

He doesn’t seem the least bit nervous.  Me neither.

OK, that’s a total lie.  But I’m not a wreck about this, just nervously, cautiously excited for him to take this big leap into his formal education.  Public school, here we come!

I’ll welcome any advice you have on the first day jitters!

Trisha

I feel about as fried as the fair food, yet I’m getting ready for round 2 at the fairgrounds today.

Anyone have good “strategies” for getting the most out of your experience without feeling like you’ve been run over by a tractor by the end? 

It’s awesome - and exhausting. I had both kids with me this morning, helping blow up balloons and greet visitors at the RTV6 tent.  They also did their best to clean out our candy dish, as well as the sugar-coated mini donuts they talked me into.

   I was out early, with Stacia, Rafael, and quite a few helpers who work behind-the-scenes.  Lots of really wonderful people stopped by to say hi and tell us why they like to watch our station, and exclaim that “you look so much different in person!”  I hope nobody was too terribly disappointed. 

  Eventually the little ones dragged me onto the tram. We escaped the midway only because the rides weren’t open yet (blessing in disguise), and we headed over to the kids’ area.  All Clara cared about was getting her hands on some animals, so we made sure to visit one of the barns.

Here they are in aprons at the Little Hands on the Farm exhibit (I called it the “basket game” and that seemed to get their interest).   Very, very cute - and they get a treat at the end! 

Getting back to the car after everyone was worn out was the toughest part of the day.  These “angels” fought pretty visibly over who got to ride in the stroller. I tried unsuccessfully to give Clara a piggyback ride while pushing Cal. No good. I was about ready to pay one of the miniature ponies to ride them all the way home.

  Now I’m back at it, minus the kids, plus Todd (who is admits he is a big kid - just look at this old photo I found!)  

 We are heading out along with Kevin and Stacia for live broadcasts from the fair tonight at 5,6, and 7.  I’m sort of looking forward to the evening hours - there’s something strangely magical about a Midway when all the lights start coming on.

   I hope you all get a chance to make a State Fair memory or two this year (or live vicariously through our broadcasts from the comfort of your couch!)

Trish

DRUMMER GIRL

It’s been an eventful week so far!

In the process of working on a story about Drum Corps International getting ready to hold their World Championships in Bloomington, I somehow got roped into a “celebrity” drum-off.  I did my best to convince those in charge that being married to a drummer DOES NOT mean that even an ounce of his talent has rubbed off on me.  They did their best to convince me that didn’t matter.

So there I was, sticks in hand under the blazing sun, trying to keep up with the reigning champions of Drum Corps International, the Blue Devils.   They drum so fast I think I saw their sticks send out sparks.

The sad thing is that one of my fellow competitors, Bowser the Pacers mascot, put me to shame, in spite of his big furry costume.  That dude has some real rhythm.

I guess I could blame radio host Dave Smiley for throwing me off by giving MY drum a few good whacks when he got swept up in the moment.  But I think I’ll give Dave a break and blame my own sorry self.

My kids and bailed me out in the end, and helped beat on the drum with me.  They were better than me too.

LOOK OUT, HELIO AND DANICA

Calvin and Clara climbed into this Indycar two-seater on hand for the drum event today.   I’m glad they didn’t find the gas pedal or I’d still be looking for them downtown.

MIDNIGHT BUS STOP

I guess we’ll have to move up Calvin’s bedtime. He starts Kindergarten next week and today we got a letter about  his bus route.  His listed pickup time - 12:00AM.

How convenient - right as I get home from work, I can walk him to the bus.

I’ll let you know when I get the real story. OOPS.

FAIR ADVICE

Friday is RTV6 day at the fair!  I’ll be out there by our booth in the morning, and eventually roaming around with the kids, before we do our evening newscasts from the fairgrounds.  Any advice from parents on the must-see/do/eat list for kids 5 and under?  I’d love your suggestions!

Thanks as always for reading and for watching our station.

Trish