What's next?

In early October Tim will be coming home for his next set of scans. He will also be speaking at a Make a Wish Fundraising Dinner called Serving up Wishes. This will be a new experience for him speaking to a large audience but I know he'll rise to the occasion. BSU athletes will be participating in the event so come join us.

Tim climbs another mountain

Labor Day came and Tim joined Michael and some of his friends at Mt Borah. Their intention was to climb to the top and that they did. Four out of the seven climbers made it all the way.










Tim and Michael were among them. I believe that altitude was a major factor for those that didn't make it to the top.

What an experience and accomplishment. Doing that while just being three months out of treatment is something to be proud of.

Off to University of Idaho

Tim arrived at U of I on Friday Aug 17th with all his belongings in tow. Lucille was already up there with Michael helping where she could with setting up Michael’s new apartment. With four people unloading it didn’t take any time at all. With Vandal card in hand books were purchased and he was ready for his first day of class. Things are going well and he sees Michael every now and then. He has had dinner at Michael’s apartment. Nice to have some place to go to get away from the dorm.

Tim attends Camp Rainbow Gold

Campers are age 5-16 yrs so he received a weekend of training and attended Camp Rainbow Gold as a junior counselor. He had so much fun at camp that he cannot wait for next year. He was sad that camp was over so quickly and wished camp was two weeks long instead of one. He made a lot of new friends that have shared the same path. He has also decided that this is something he wants to continue doing. He now wants to take care of his "survivor's responsibilities".

Port comes out

With clean post treatment scans under his belt he is ready for his port to come out. Its removal is a very symbolic event and a huge milestone. He was so excited for this day to come. If he had his way he would have liked to have it removed the day after his last treatment but that just isn’t the way they do things. They wait till post treatment scans are done.

Make a Wish trip was more than Tim expected

Our first day in Connecticut was a free day so we spent it at Lake Compounce, an amusement park. A lot of roller coaster rides were taken and everyone had loads of fun.

Tim was the Grand Marshall and a guest of the Audi team. This was definitely not what he expected and beyond his wildest dreams. His duties as Grand Marshal were as follows:
1. Start the race with the phrase : Drivers start your engines!
2. Wave the green flag as the drivers pass the start after their warm-up laps
3. Hand out trophies to the winners of the various classes

He was mentioned and welcomed in the Lime Rock Race Book. On qualifying day he took some laps in the BMW M5 Lime Rock Pace Car. Too cool!

As a guest of Team Audi the entire family experienced an awful lot. We met and had breakfast with the Audi drivers. Chatting with Allan McNish (Scotland), Dindo Capello (Italy), Emanuele Pirro (Italy), and Marco Werner (Switzerland) was quite the experience. We talked about cars, racing, autocross, being parents of teenagers, soccer and what being the grand marshal meant to Tim. Emanuele joked that Tim should give the Audi drivers a head start since he should have the authority to allow them to start their engines first.

We were given a tour of the Audi paddock and an up close and personal view of their cars. They keep everything under wraps since these cars are prototypes. No pictures please. Touch and look all you like but no pictures. Bob, Timothy and Michael were in heaven as they all talked tech. Becks and I did a lot of smiling. When Audi heard that Tim had taken some laps in the BMW pace car they offered him a ride in their R8. Tim couldn’t believe his ears. Not too many have laid eyes on this car in person let alone take a ride in one. We had full access to their hospitality suite which was really nice. We had a nice air-conditioned place to sit and rest. We were allowed VIP parking thus enabling us to park our car practically at its doorstep. Breakfast and lunch were served while snacks were available throughout the day for both qualifying and race day. That suite turned out to be our home base so to speak for those days.

On race day Timothy was to perform his grand marshal duties and he did them well. He was also asked for some comments over their public address system before the start of the race. He has the green flag that he waved at the start of the race in his room at home. One of the most exciting parts of the day was taking a Hot Pit Tour. Michael and Becks were able to experience that with him. They all dressed in the Audi Pit uniforms and got to hang out in the pit during the race.

After the race, it was off to Winners’ Circle for the Trophy Presentation Ceremonies. What a thrill it was to hand trophies to Allan McNish and Dindo Capello for winning their class. Photos with Podium Hats and Trophies were taken, confetti thrown and champagne was sprayed about. Tim managed to stay out of the way. Allan gave Tim his Podium Hat after the photos were taken and it hangs on the wall in his room. We all also have hats that all the Audi drivers had signed at our breakfast together. He was given huge banners by track officials and the Audi folks to take home as souvenirs. We still have to find walls large enough to accommodate them. We spent a day in New York City visiting the Museum of Natural History, driving through Times Square and by the Empire State Building. We also drove around Bob’s old neighborhood in Flushing. The next day we did some kayaking and then visited grandparents in New Jersey and then it was home again. None of us will forget that trip. Make a Wish definitely outdid all Tim's expectations.

First off treatment scans are good!

An awful lot has happened since the last entry. Here’s the reader’s digest version. All post treatment scans came back with no trace of tumor and no hint of scar tissue as a result of the radiation treatment. There are still some residual side effects of treatment that may take up to a year to go away but with any luck they’ll disappear sooner.




Mark Johnson of Channel 7 interviewed Tim for a piece they were doing for the Make a Wish Foundation. Tim really enjoyed doing that. They were also able to capture Tim’s reaction at the announcement of what was in store for him on his trip. ….. His trip was to take place the following week. Here is the link to Channel 7's piece: http://www.ktvb.com/video/video-index.html?nvid=157243&shu=1 or at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EgSbuY7lfYs&feature=user