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My wife has taken Manhattan by storm!! That town never knew what hit them the week of May 7th. It was my wife, Jennie Perry, and Amazon.com, that's who. On Monday, May 7th, Jen attended the prestigious Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute Gala. Amazon, along with Vogue Magazine and its notorious editor Anna Wintour (from Devil Wears Prada fame), were the co-sponsors of the Event this year. The star-studded event went off without a hitch, and was the talk of the town that evening. Nine months prior, Amazon made the decision to sponsor the event as a great way to showcase their new adventure into high fashion, and voila, welcome to Jen's world for the last 9 months.  See the movie and you will get an idea of what working with Anna (it's actually not that bad, she's quite delightful) is all about.  She has been working tirelessly, relentlessly, and fastidiously toward this big day. So, Monday, May 7th was the big day, and it started early with the eagerly awaited release of the "big article" on the front page of the New York Times, (see link):

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/08/business/amazon-plans-its-next-conquest-your-closet.html?_r=1

Fortunately the article was good enough, not perfect, but good enough, so we checked that box. Now it was time to get ready for the press conferences, and I bid Jen a fond farewell. Little did I know that I would not see her again until 7:00 that night when she exited the elevator on her way through the swarm of Paparazzi who had lined the path from the hotel lobby to the awaiting limousines. Earlier that day, my dear friends Hope and Craig Beckman had come down from Boston to meet me for brunch. Craig and I had planned to surprise Hope, so we didn't tell her anything. The two of them were allegedly in town for a romantic evening (ha, ha). So when I waltzed past an outdoor table at Sarabeth's on Central Park South, Mrs. Hope nearly fell out of her chair (literally). I have never seen such a pure expression of surprise in my life, even surprise parties never work that well because there is always a chance that a surprise could occur. This surprise, no chance. It was delightful. Nice work Mr. Craig. After a wonderful, leisurely outdoor brunch on a gorgeous day, we decided that it would be fun to try and surprise Jen somewhere along her path to the event that evening. We determined the best approach would be to wait like locusts in the lobby of our hotel, The Mark. I knew that Jen was going to be taking a limo the short distance from the hotel to the Met. But little did I know that a significant number of "stars" were staying at the Mark and doing essentially the same thing. It turned out to be tons of fun watching all of the celebrities come out of the elevator and get into their cars. The paps had figured this out too, so they were all over the place.....what an intrusion of privacy, yuck. After about an hour of this, all of sudden the elevator door burst open and out popped the most beautiful (and I'm not even remotely biased here) woman I had seen that evening. As you can see (video and picture on bottom of page), she was all decked out in a beautiful pink gown by Oscar de la Renta. Random people in the lobby started to buzz...."who's that" they inquired, "who is she, she's gorgeous". I of course took the bait. "That's my wife, and she's running this show" I said. Hope started to cry at the sight of Jen, it was a great scene. Jen was stunned to see us and a huge smile came over her face. After a brief hello, she was wisked away into her awaiting chariot. Amazon came up with the idea of live streaming the arrivals once they got to the Met, so if you dig around on the amazon.com website, I think the videotape of the live stream is still available. Jen shows up around the 1 hour mark, and is on for about 10 minutes. Her boss, Cathy is interviewed as well on the stream. At this point, Craig, Hope, and I had to shuffle off to our dinner reservation at the notorious steakhouse Peter Lugers just across the Georgetown bridge in Brooklyn. Lugers is a classic, and Hope and Craig had never been. We had a great time, but I couldn't wait to get home to see Jen and hear all about the rest of the night. Finally at 2:00 am the door burst open and in came my wife. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally, but she was wound up too. I got to hear how great the night went. From Jeff Bezos having the time of his life in getting to hang out with Mick Jagger, to Beyonce at the after-party, to how normal Jim from "the Office" and his wife Emily Blunt seemed, and to Emma Stone being really nice and sweet.

Passed out by 3:00, just call it a spectacular day to remember. We spent the rest of the week NYC mostly just doing our own things. Jen was very busy with work. As you can imagine, there was a tremendous follow-up that coincided with the Event. One nice problem they had was that a plethora of unsolicited inquiries from top fashion designers were wanting more information about the new program. Also, on Thursday, Amazon hosted a huge party for the "fashion business" and over 700 people showed up. I took advantage of this time by just doing one of the things I love doing best.....hanging out in NYC. An old friend of mine, Bob Tramo, came in from New Jersey to spend the day with me on Tuesday. We had a great time catching up. Just hung out, had lunch, and a Rafanelli Zin that Bob had brought in for the occasion. The next couple of days I spent discovering. I revisited a wonderful kids bookstore called "Books of Wonder" in the Flatiron District (West 18th and 5th). Our friends the Lawry's had turned us onto it a couple of years ago. It's one of the only remaining kids bookstores in the country, and it reminds me of the store featured in the movie "You've got mail". Needless to say, I couldn't resist the temptation to buy Charlotte at least 10 books. I had also made it my mission to "cheap eat" my way through Manhattan as well. I always like to discover food that I can only get in NYC. Those finds always include an amazing slice of pizza, an Indian lunch buffet, a falafel, a meatball sandwich, a pastrami sandwich, cookie, burger, and bagels. I can safely say that this trip was a huge success in adding to my growing list of dives and delicacies found only in the Big Apple. I spent Thursday in search of Eloise. I successfully found her at her fictional home the "Plaza Hotel". Shockingly (heavy sarcasm), the Plaza has an entire gift shop dedicated to Eloise.....and I went nuts. It's safe to say, Charlotte now has more Eloise "stuff" than Eloise herself. In all seriousness, I had a great time browsing around the Eloise shop and buying all of the necessary "accoutrement" that any 4 year old could possibly need to worship that wild little 6 year old girl that lives in the Plaza. By Friday, we were ready to go home. It was a great break. NYC is so full of life to me, it gives me a jolt like few other things. It was just what the Dr. ordered. As we were on our way to the airport, on a beautiful NY morning........I experienced one of "freeze em" moments.....I've realized that I have everything I've ever wanted, and no matter what happens to me, nobody can ever take that away.

On the health front, I am awaiting a date for a scan and follow-up appointments with my medical team....should be within the next few weeks. These will be important as we will determine how successful the surgery was at eliminating the threat. The results will also determine what to do next. We are all lined up on the offensive front if necessary. We did some chemo-sensitivity testing on my lung tissue to help determine what might work.....and fortunately there are a couple of non-toxic smart drugs that showed positive signs. But of course the hope would be that things are stable and we eliminated the immediate threat. That sure would be nice. I'm feeling better every day. I'm trying to put a consistent cardio plan in place, I'm walking every day for 45-60 minutes, at about an 18:00 mile pace, which Doc Renneker says is pretty darn good for an old man with half a lung!! So I'll take that and try and build on it. As summer quickly approaches, we are trying to put together a vacation schedule. Hopefully we can squeeze in a week on the East Coast, and a Tahoe or Pajaro Dunes sojourn too. 7 years ago today, Jennie and I got married on a picturesque Glen Ellen afternoon. My life changed that day in so many wonderful ways. Thank you god for these last 7 years, and most of all thank you for Jennie.


 With Love, Mike

Play ball...

Ok, so we only lived in Boston for two years, yet somehow Charlotte has turned into a member of "Red Sox Nation". She loves the Red Sox, I honestly don't know how this happened, but I'm going with it. While we were in Boston we took her to one game and she remembers it fondly. I have had so much fun these last couple of weeks with this. I subscribed to mlb.com so I have access to every game, and Chart and I watch the Red Sox play each day. The other night she even said "do the Red Sox play every day", and then "goodie" upon my answer. Her favorite player is "Big Papi", followed closely by "Jacoby" and then "Pedie". This current phase sure beats princesses in my book :) Let's hope it lasts. Of course, I had to impulsively buy her a baseball tee set, with requisite case of yellow soft balls so she could hit them around the house. Pokey makes an excellent shortstop and ball retriever. Still not sure Mom is completely on board with this idea yet!

Not much else is new around here. My recovery is still going well. Last weekend I got on a roll and just didn't stop. It was beautiful on Saturday, one of the those "chamber of commerce" Seattle days. I started out on a walk and the next thing you know it's an hour and 20 minutes later. It sure felt good to be that alive again. Little things......progress, it's all starting to come back. I know what is looming around the corner (another scan) but for now I'm just enjoying the ride. We had a wonderful Easter Sunday brunch at our friends the Beaudoin's. They have become really good friends of ours, and it is so nice to have them here in Seattle. Their daughter, Stella, and Charlotte get along magnificently. This allows us adults to really relax and have a nice time together. It felt good for me to get out of the house too, I had not been in a car since I got back to Seattle. Was going a little stir crazy.

We've decided (not 100% sure yet) to take a get away in early May. Jen is spending a week in New York on business, and I've decided to tag along. I'm a little worried about my stamina, but I figure if I can walk for an hour and a half, then I can handle it. I am hopeful that my buddy Craig Beckman will come down from Boston for a day and hang out a little. Maybe we can catch a Yankees game or see the new play about Magic and Larry Bird. One of my favorite things in the world is to hang out in Manhattan. I am so looking forward to doing this that I can't even think straight.

Nana and Papa are coming on Monday for a couple of weeks to take care of us while Michelle (our nanny) goes on vacation. Charlotte is over the moon with glee. Spring is in the air. Just glancing at her now (and she can't see me), but damn my wife is beautiful. And so is my life. It's all good.

xoxoxo

MIke

Reunited...

And if feels so good. This was the scene last Saturday morning at our house. What a wonderful feeling. I've been home now for 8 days, and my crew is taking great care of me. My amazing care crew consists of Jen, Charlotte, Grams, and our nanny Michelle. They are taking excellent care of me, just like my parents. I am so blessed to be in such great care. I am also making great progress in my recovery. Just yesterday, I walked continuously for 35 minutes......as my parents can attest, a far cry from where I was at just a couple of weeks ago. I feel like I'm getting stronger every day, and the pain is starting to mitigate. I still get winded climbing stairs, and taking showers take a lot out of me, but all in all, I'm feeling pretty good. It's really been a wonderful week. On Tuesday morning, we got word that Charlotte had been accepted to a phenomenal private Kindergarten here in Seattle. This was such welcome news for us, as we really wanted her to be in a smaller, more nurturing environment. Like most major cities, the public school system here in Seattle is in a state of upheaval. And with what Charlotte is going through right now, it just wasn't going to be the best solution for her. Having Charlotte settled into a great school brings incredible peace of mind to me as I contemplate what the future will hold for all of us. We are very blessed.

So what now? I keep getting better, that's the ticket I hope. We will do another scan in a couple of months, and pray that is shows stability. We did some extensive assay testing of some tumor sample. This will give us an idea of what might work and also what most likely won't work with regard to chemo-type solutions. Essentially, assay testing is taking some tumor sample and putting it a variety of petri dishes, and then testing it for a reaction to a variety of different chemo solutions. Sounds pretty simple, but for a variety of reasons (mostly political) the practice is not widely embraced by the scientific community. Hmmm, heard that excuse before, doesn't fly with us, sorry scientific community, we don't have time for your non-sense. Ideally, my scan will show stability, and we won't really have to do anything, thus I can give my body a much needed break.

That's it for now. We've got Easter Eggs to dye, and cookies to make. I love my life.

xoxo

Mike

Mann-crush...

I love this man. This is a photo of me and Dr. Mann yesterday at my follow-up appointment. I recall actually telling him that I loved him the first time I saw him post surgery three plus weeks ago. Now granted I was a little loopy, but I meant it, I really do love this man. Jen was there, and she'll tell you that it did actually register with him. I, of course, was a blubbering mess when I said it, but he was genuinely touched too. Why do I love him so? So many reasons. Right from the beginning, 6 years ago, we were forever linked by destiny when one hard-nosed-take-no-prisoners-general (Jennie) stormed into the Thoracic Surgery department at UCSF and demanded that she see a doctor that could take a look at my case. Well, it happened to be a Friday afternoon at 4:30 (a time when everyone has long called it a day), and the only guy around was Dr. Mann. I was summoned, literally out of a barbers chair, and told I needed to get to the hospital ASAP. I was there in 5 minutes, and the rest is history.

At that very first meeting, I connected and bonded with him. If you recall, at this point in my journey, multiple nodules "too numerous to count" had been discovered in my lungs. It had been only one month since I had my salivary gland removed and it was determined to be malignant. The normal course of action for this diagnosis was to watch and wait and then try some un-proven toxic chemotherapy regimes that they had been using since the 1970's with very little success. No thanks, not going to work for us, fortunately was our response. Jennie had learned that the best way to get rid of lung mets was to surgically remove them, especially when there is no proven chemo regime to try. Surgery was going to be my best option by a long shot, but we had to find someone who agreed with us, and was willing to go "out of the box" in their approach. Enter Dr. Mann. Within two minutes of our pleading, Dr. Mann was on board. He could see that I was young (about his age), willing to fight, and that's all I think he needed to know. To this day, I don't think he has forgotten that initial meeting.

So we have done the drill now 4 times, and his outlook and demeanor have never changed in the 6 years I have known him. He exudes a subtle confidence and warmth to me that is simply impossible to convey. No other doctor has ever made me feel this way. I trust him completely, literally with my life. He is optimistic, and hopeful, but also truthful. As a person, he is also funny and dorky. He keeps holding out the hope that we will find something that gets rid of these tumors once and for all, and he knows his role is to hopefully keep giving me enough time to find the solution. That's really what he has given me.......time. What more could anyone ask for?

My follow-up appointment yesterday went great. Dr. Mann was very pleased with everything after seeing me and a chest Xray. I'm now totally off of the oxygen, but I have my limits in how much I can do before I reach my winded point. Right now, I'm able to walk without oxygen for about 6 minutes which is great progress, but far from where I want to be. The pathology report came back excellent, no surprises or any evidence of lymph node involvement, which is great. The best news is that he cleared me to fly. Yeah, I get to go home. I'm still a little scared about how much I can push it, so it will probably be middle of next week before I get on that airplane. But I've got the best motivation in the world waiting for me on the other end.........a couple of Dougherty girls and a tuna-breathing slobbering golden retriever.

xo

Mike

Home sweet home...

Or "there's no place like home", or "home is where the heart is", whatever the quote, there is nothing like being home. Especially after getting sprung from the 10th floor of Long Hospital at UCSF. Late Friday afternoon, we got word that they were ready to spring me. Just hearing that set the adrenaline in motion and my body seemed to respond to the opportunity. By Saturday morning, I was ready to get the hell out of Dodge. The only challenge was that I would have to go home with an oxygen setup because my breathing ability had yet to catch up to my environment. Dr. Mann had explained to us that this was nothing (being sent home on oxygen) to be concerned with at all, and totally expected. This being the fourth time my lungs have been operated on has caused my body to be very sensitive to the shock of the surgery, thus it is taking much longer to overcome the invasion. In due time, I should heal just fine, and be able to get rid of the oxygen. So on Saturday, by about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, after a much needed shower, my brother in law Peter arrived to drive me to my parents house in Mountain View. The drive was uneventful but I knew what was waiting for me on the other end. My little girl who I hadn't seen in 9 days. It was a very emotional reunion. We weren't sure how Charlotte was gong to react to me, after all I had a tube coming out of my nose, and scars all up and down my two arms, but she saw right through everything and gave me the most delightful squeezer I have ever received. After a quick evening back together as a family, Jennie and Charlotte flew back to Seattle at the crack of dawn on Sunday morning.

So for now, I sit (literally on my arse) and wait to recover. Weird feeling for me as I have always been one to be active and inpatient (comes around goes around?). I do little exercises and walks to increase my lung capacity, but mostly just sit around and watch REALLY bad daytime TV. Although I must thank "Kitchen Nightmares" for ruining my dream of someday owning and running a restaurant. My Mom and Dad are taking excellent care of me. We are figuring it out as we go, but it's working. I can't even begin to thank them enough, this is certainly nothing they signed up for. How many parents out there expect their oldest child to return home at age 47, totally helpless and on oxygen? Oh yeah, and that YOU have to take care of them. The goal for now is to reduce my pain such that I'm able to take in deeper and deeper breaths so that my lungs will repair themselves. Sounds simple, right? And one final note. Thank you to everyone who was there for us these past couple of weeks. The notes, the thoughts, the prayers, the visits, etc. You know who you are, and I hope you know how I feel about you. I love you like crazy. And to my wife..........I just can't find the words, but just know that you are my heart and soul, forever.

xoxo
Mike

10 Long

Another update from Jen.

Looks like we'll be at on 10 Long (UCSF ward for thoracic recovery) for a few more days. Mike's lungs are having a really difficult time bouncing back from surgery. He's doing well and is only tethered to oxygen at this juncture but his lungs are taking their time to heal, no surprise given the work out they've had in the past 6 years. He's comfortable, but tired, when on oxygen. The doctors have ruled out anything serious and feel its just a slow and steady process.

Charlotte is having the time of her life in Mountain View. She has Nana, Papa, Grams and her favorite cousins, Jake, Sean and Eric to play with.

Prayers for Mike's friend Kate are appreciated. She's in ICU 2 floors below us and is having some pretty severe complications with a recent infection in her brain.

On the other side

Hello all -

long, LONG story short Mike is resting comfortably in ICU. Surgery went very well yesterday, all 7 hours of it. Dr. Man was really pleased. The new, faster growing tumors were in the lining of the left lung and chest wall, the pleura. Dr. Man removed all of the pleura in the area and also did a lung wedge resection, to grab some pesky, nasty stuff hanging out within the lung. Mike still has plenty of lung capacity in the left lung. He's doing really well physically, all vitals are great and I think the pain is under control. Dr Mann (after Mike's four, successful lung surgeries, we're now calling him "His Manliness") stated that he felt we had "set the clock back quite a bit."

Sounds like he's due for at least one more night in ICU, then another 3-5 down the hall.

Thanks to everyone who spent the day, and part of the night, on the ground at UCSF yesterday - Nana, Papa, Grams, Kate (in from CT), Matt (in from LA), Will, Stace. I would have struggled navigating that waiting room experience without you. BIG thanks to Aunt Shannon for showing Charlotte the time of her life yesterday (cousins, Disney store AND Coldstone Creamery?!) And thanks to the scores of folks sending their love and support from near and far.