Island Park

We went on vacation to Island Park Idaho for an entire week and it was just bliss! It is the perfect vacation spot for the ages of our kids. It was so nice that all that was on the agenda was to arrive on Sunday and leave the next. Our days pretty much went like this...

Wake up at 8:00 or later and fix breakfast. Go for a bike ride and get good and hot. Jump in the boat and take off water skiing and tubing. Come back and have lunch. Take a nap, read a book, go on a walk, go for a spin in the paddle boat. Just enjoy the scenery! Eat dinner. Jump back in the boat when the water gets glassy and ski till your legs feel like jello. Come back to the cabin, eat dessert, put kids to bed and enjoy each other and being together without any distractions. It was perfect!

I'm amazed at what our family can do these days. Cale excels in anything that requires gross motor skills and riding a bike is no different. Months before he turned 4 he was able to ride his bike without training wheels and now he is a pro. He kept up with Jon, Tate and I and was able to bike trails with tree roots, rocks and ruts with no problem. I guess what I am most amazed at is that we could all go (Tess in a seat on the back of Jon's bike) and everyone was happy the whole time. That is the true miracle.

Water skiing was great. The water was always good and to feel like you are skiing in the middle of a painting with pine trees, amazing sunsets and beautiful mountains was awesome. The first night we were there we turned the corner up the river and right before us was a huge moose coming down to take a drink. We named him Manny. Another time we saw a mama moose and her tiny baby. It was so neat. Most of my friends know that I love water skiing, but I thought I'd post a picture to prove that I can actually do it. Not bad skiing for 32 and a mother of three if I do say so myself! We also got a tube so we could pull the kids in something fun behind the boat. Tate was a bit nervous at first so we convinced Cale that it would be great fun and he happily jumped on. Wouldn't you know we had him sitting too far forward and with Jon going so slow we submarined Cale. Not for long, but just enough to worry him. He went on it a few more times, but Tate was the one who was just thrilled about it. A turn could never be too long and we cound never go enough times in a day for him! Watching him go on the tube was watching someone experience true joy. His smile could not have been bigger.

Some of my other favorite things about our trip--
Tate "Can I hug you Mom? I haven't gotten to hug you so much today."
Cale has always been funny with the things he chooses to say. He will often add "mo" to the beginning of a word. "Mo-naked" made it's appearance for the first time.
Tess must have loved the vibration of the boat. She would come to the drivers feet and lay face down on the floor of the boat. It was quite funny to see.
Jon--that we could actually go on this vacation. Last year lake water was out of the question.
Me--the sound of waves against rocks and my childrens laughter waking me up from a nap and going right back to sleep.

First Timers

So right after Jon was diagnosed with cancer 20 months ago, we had a marvelous friend that offered to start a blog for us. Jon said it made him feel like a cancer patient, so we opted not. There are some decisions you seriously regret in life, and now I find myself struggling to make a "non-cancer" blog. We should have taken our friend up on it. It certainly would have been on the benefits of cancer list.

Our web address is jonandquinn.blogspot.com. (It's not in high demand.) But it seems as if we have always just been Jon and Quinn and all smushed together like it is one word seems appropriate. Canadian geese choose their mate early on in life and then live a life of monagamy for ever after. I could have just as easily been a goose. Since we were seventeen, we have simply been Jon and Quinn. We have been on many an adventure since then...graduating from highschool, Jon serving a mission for our church, getting married, both of us getting degrees from BYU, moving to North Carolina for some of the greatest years of our lives, adding one, two then three additions to our lives, Jon graduating from dental school, Jon being diagnosed with myleodysplastic syndrome, a bone marrow transplant, Jon graduating from his orthodontic residency, moving to Utah and buying a practice. In a nutshell that is where life currently finds us--amid the wasatch mountains, happy with our three children, Tate, Cale and Tess, Jon loving his job--the proud owner of Silcox Orthodontics in Cottonwood Heights, and very grateful for a new perspective on life and the chance to live it!

Nov. 2006 right after diagnosis

Just A Little Update

Well, we’ve been in Utah for almost 2 months now and so we thought we should send out a little update on how we have faired since our move. All in all we really like it here. I get especially nostalgic about Chapel Hill when I hear it reached 76 degrees on the day of a huge snow storm here. There is much we miss about NC, but Utah has a few perks we have discovered as well, and we are getting settled and reacquainted with the great state that we left almost 8 years ago.

Jon successfully bought an orthodontic practice in Salt Lake City that he absolutely loves. He loves to go to work everyday and is driven by all of the many challenges that come with being a new business owner. He is finding out that there is a lot more to running a successful orthodontic practice than just being good at straightening teeth—and that makes it even more exciting. As far as his health goes, we think we are on the up and up now. After two days at work in his new practice, Jon had a nasty spell of pneumonia. He can’t seem to do anything just average or low key. So it was with pneumonia—he did it with gusto… he not only got bacterial pneumonia but RSV pneumonia as well. He was in the hospital for eight days, six of them being in isolation and the kids and I couldn’t see him. That was the pits. Sometimes it is hard not to be a bit impatient at wanting to be over this sick stuff and just get on with life, but there are a few lessons we still need to learn and apparently one of them seems to be patience! Jon’s doctors are also learning patience with us as well as Jon seems to have his own ideas and protocols for treatment. If anyone is counting, today is day 322 following Jon’s transplant.

Tate is doing great and loves school. He is such a happy go lucky chap as is, but combine that with having his Granny at his school and it is a piece of heaven for him. We have had record breaking snow this year and as far as I'm concerned if it is going to be cold it might as well be white and beautiful. It beats the pants off of cold, gray and an inversion! Plus, the boys love the snow. They will get on their snow clothes and play for hours. A month or so ago, while Jon was in the hospital, Jay (Jon’s dad) took the boys up to the cabin on a snow cat. He tied Tate's sled to the back of the snow cat when they were coming out back to the car. He kept asking Tate if he was cold and he said no. When they got back to the car he told Jay that he was freezing, but that he didn't want to say so because it was SO MUCH FUN! That pretty much sums up Tate. He tries to get as much fun and excitement as possible out of life!

Cale continues to be such a funny little fellow. It is interesting the things he picks up on and how he processes them. Just this week Cathy could see a big hawk in a tree and tried to point it out to Cale. He said "My dad had a hawk. Before he was bald." His "Chemohawk" (the Mohawk Tate and Cale gave Jon before chemo). We all laughed about that. He is so particular about things sometimes and one day after I had spent 5 minutes (it seemed like eternity) trying to get him bundled up to his satisfaction--zipped up just so--in exasperation I said "Cale you're killing me!" It was 2 or 3 hours later when we were in the car and he said "Mom, you said kill me. Dat not nice." I had to reply that what I said wasn’t nice and I apologized. Nothing like your kids keeping you humble! Cale started preschool and they are serious about it. It is a great little school, but there isn't much play about it. They know all their sounds and numbers to 20 I think. Who would have ever thought that your kid would need remediation in preschool--when he is 3! I didn't think it was possible! He’s catching up and doing well. Phew!

Tess is such a lovey! She just turned one on Thursday. She is just the apple of our eyes. She is standing and pushing things around. It won’t be long till she is walking all over. I'm just waiting for the day I can do pig tails!

As for me, I'm doing really well. Kids are happy and well and Jon is doing good...so that pretty much equates to me being happy. I am getting nuttier and nuttier in terms of nutrition--much to Jon's chagrin. I just figure that after all his body has been through good nutrition can only help him. So he has all kinds of fruits and veggies blended up daily to which he and the kids are good sports! If ever he even thinks to complain I remind him that it is his fault that I’ve become this way since he up and got cancer! J

So all things considered, we are doing really well. We love being close to our families, but miss so much our friends and try any way we can to get them to come and visit. (That was an open invitation to any North Carolinians!) But we wanted to let you all know we are doing well and pass along our contact information. Every 6 weeks in Jon’s office they do a contest and the current contest is called “Who’s your doctor?” to which they have a bunch of random questions about Jon. One of them is “Where does Dr. Silcox live?
A. a house B. an apartment C. the garage D. His parents basement

If you guessed D you are correct. Nothing like going to seven years of graduate school so you can move into your parents basement, but in reality we couldn’t be happier about it. It is working out great. It is giving us a chance to get on our feet, figure out a business, and catch our breath before we start on another adventure and find a house. So, our address will change, but our phone number will stay the same. However, we will always get anything that comes to Jon’s parents address.

Hope this update finds all of you healthy and happy. The Tarheels just won and we are surprising the boys tomorrow and flying to California to go to Disneyland. So life is good….really good!

Sending lots of love,
Jon and Quinn


PS
Any email account associated with UNC will soon be inactive. Below is our updated contact information.

1213 Sweet Caroline Dr.
Riverton, UT 84065
Home phone 801-649-5407
jon.silcox@gmail.com
qsilcox@hotmail.com

Merry Christmas from the Silcox's (January 20, 2008)

A friend recently asked me if this year seemed long or short. I didn't really know how to answer that question. In some ways, it seems like a never ending year…all the doctor's appointments, the emotional roller coasters, Jon's transplant and recovery, having a new little baby. Yes, it seems like quite a long year, but then it also seems like it was just yesterday that Jon was admitted to the hospital and we learned that he was so sick. As I think about where we were last year, we had just gotten the diagnosis of MDS and were waiting to see if one of Jon's sisters was a match and all of the anxiety associated with such serious matters, to where we are today, I am extremely humbled and my heart is overflowing with gratitude. Jon just rushed off this morning to work, is submitting his thesis this afternoon and is working on the final contract to purchase an orthodontic practice in Cottonwood Heights, Utah on January 1, 2008. I marvel to think how drastically our circumstances have changed in such a short period of time. So, I don't think there is an answer to that question, but it has been the most challenging, humbling, growing and also joyous year we have yet experienced together.
This has been a huge year for Tate. I am amazed all the time at how much he is growing and learning. Much of our conversations with Tate are about his "ideas" which range from anything from how to play the most complicated game has dreamed up, to how his lego contraptions work, or the fun we should be having that minute. He learned to ride his bike without training wheels, played t-ball and soccer, and has started school. The first day of school he got on the bus just as happy as can be and waved out the bus window to Cale, Tess and I. All I could see was a little hand waving like crazy while he rode off to school. I went back home and cried. The other day he told me "Mom, Amy (name has been changed to protect the aggressor ) just kissed me lots of times on the bus--even on the lips!" I wasn't prepared for that to start quite so soon. Thankfully they have an agreement that she can sit by the window if she keeps her lips to herself! I just don't understand how they grow up so fast!
Cale's knick-name is "Little Buddy" which seems to fit him perfectly. He loves to be your right hand man no matter what you are doing. Sometimes I truly don't know what to do with so much "help!" Cale's gross motor skills continue to amaze us, worry us and make us laugh. He jumps and clears way too many stairs, can ride his tricycle down our hill like he was trying out for a bobsled team and jumps off things with his inflatable horse that make me shutter. But he does have fun and we have avoided the emergency room this year which is a real plus…knock on wood! He has an extremely well developed sense of humor (I wonder who he got that from). He thinks it is hilarious to bless the food when he is saying his prayers before bed. He loved T-ball, tolerated soccer and most of all loves to kiss Tess and be best friends with Tate.
And then we had a baby! We felt like we needed a wonderful surprise (we had just a few unpleasant ones recently) so we decided not to find out the sex of the baby. I had convinced myself that I would not be disappointed if it was another boy because I just adore little boys and it would be great to add one more to the tribe. However, when she was born and Jon told me "It's a girl!!" I thought of course it is. We needed a little girl to make our family complete. Tess is our miracle baby. She came in the midst of craziness in our lives. In January Jon's blood counts were improving so they postponed his transplant. It was just long enough for us to get Tess here. A week after she was born his counts went back down and he had his transplant 4 weeks later. I couldn't imagine delivering and him not being there. She has been an absolute joy. She is the happiest, cuddliest, cushiest baby you can hold and squeeze. I don't understand how one little person can be so adored by so many. After 2 rascally boys, I have thoroughly enjoyed pink, bows, tights, ruffles, and dresses and the more the better!!
As for Jon and I, life has been a crazy ride this year. Sometimes we have felt like it was all we could do to keep everyone and everything together, but thanks to the love and support of so many, and many blessings from up above, we are more grateful for the simple and important things in life than we ever have been before. To have time with our little family and have everyone happy and healthy is a blessing we no longer take for granted. We still have quite a few changes up ahead. North Carolina is certainly home and it will take a long time before we can call anywhere else home. So it is with a heavy heart that we anticipate leaving, but are so grateful and excited for the new adventures that await us in Utah. I'm still trying to figure out a way I can keep the friends, beauty and weather of North Carolina while living in Utah. I haven't quite figured it out, but maybe someday I will. I used to think of the years going by as the opening and closing of a book. Once the year is gone it is closed and onto the next. My views have changed a bit, and I think this cancer chapter of our lives will always be opened even just a bit, and I'm grateful for the growth and perspective that will bring to us. I can't close this letter without acknowledging and thanking our Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ for the abundant blessings and miracles in our lives. May the Lord bless and keep you and may you have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season.

With much love,
Jon, Quinn, Tate the Great, Captain Cale and Sweet Tess Caroline

Happy November 1st!

Howdy!

I can't believe that it was a year ago today that Jon was admitted to the hospital and told that he had cancer. It has been one crazy year and I am just amazed at all that has transpired in one years time. Here are a few pictures of what we have been up to lately. Caramel apples were quite the hit. A sticky, messy hit, but a hit nonetheless!

The halloween cowboys. They love to dress up as cowboys whether it is Halloween or not. I was worried that since they have dressed up as cowboys all year that it wouldn't be as fun on Halloween. I shouldn't have worried. Their favorite things were their spurs that sounded just like the real thing when they walked. Cale loves his cowboy boots because he can put them on really fast all by himself. The only problem is that he almost never wears socks with them. They are the stinkiest shoes, but he loves them!! They LOVED trick or treating. By the end their pumpkin-sacks were overflowing and Tate said "Now we can go home and pick out a treat." I don't know how I got so lucky, but they think they should only get one! :) I wished I thought I should only have one!
So we were cowboys and indians this year. I looked for quite awhile online for an indian costume for me, but just didn't get it together in time so I made a quick run to JoAnn's Fabrics. I figured I could whip up something easy as pie. The skirt was a cinch, and I was planning on just making a poncho for the top: cut a perfect square and cut a hole in the top. Jon explained how I could easily make it much better and make a shirt. Needless to say, unsupervised and unattended (by Jon) I am a disaster with the sewing machine! Even when he told me how to fix my diasaster I didn't quite get it right. So, Jon had to do a major refix job after my fruitless hours spent on one very mediocre indian squaw top!! Fringe does wonders and added to the image of this interracial marriage!

Tate's jack-o-lantern is titled "I let my mustache do the talkin." I am amazed at how big he is getting. He loves school and has lots of friends. Cale can't wait for the minute he comes home and goes running for the bus stop, and then play resumes from wherever they left off the evening before.

Tess was certainly the cutest pumpkin in the patch. She continues to be such a happy bright spot in our lives. She has learned to crawl and I have forgotten just how quickly they can get into things. Life has changed a bit with this milestone. Just today she pulled-up for the first time.

Cale went right away and found his pumpkin. It was instantly his favorite and he carried it (and dropped it) all around. Tate had to look at every pumpkin before he found his perfect one. And yes, Cale is a new boy with his haircut. I think it makes him at least a year older. He thinks so too. When people ask him how old he is he says 4.

Cale is such a sweet big brother to Tess and kisses her all the time. I sometimes wonder how much they get about what is going on with Jon. Just today I heard Cale tease Tess and say "You're a parasite." I am impressed with his lingo. He may not have the slightest clue about what a parasite is, but it sounds like something good to call his sister!

I saved the best for last. Aren't these pictures worth a thousand words. All the miracles that came to pass so we could have just such a picture. Jon looks so good, and he is doing really well. Since he's been off his parasite medicine and has upped his thyroid medicine, he has been feeling so very much better. So I just wanted to wish you all a happy November 1st. This one was great and totally "normal," especially compared to last 1st of November. Kids went to school and preschool, Jon went to work, I cleaned house and got to have a few minutes all to myself, took the kids to get a flu shot and then stopped by the park on the way home. I'm so grateful for just a normal day. I don't think I've ever been more grateful for just plain old normal! Sending lots and lots of love--Quinn and posse

The Silcox Update (July 9, 2007)

Hello family and friends,

We realize that we are long overdue in sending out an update, but we are thrilled to report that we are doing much better than anyone ever expected. Out of the recent events, the actual stay in the hospital was by far the most difficult part… twenty-one days surrounded by the same four walls and performing the same routine everyday became a little repetitive and monotonous. Now, 100 days post-transplant, life is by no means monotonous, as summer is now in full swing. We find ourselves chasing boys, riding bikes, practicing T-ball, discovering the joys of a baby girl, and avoiding the North Carolina heat at the swimming pool. Oh yah, and I also work! I work in the orthodontic department at UNC as a part-time faculty in the graduate and undergraduate clinics and assist in teaching courses. I am also able to work as a clinical associate in two private orthodontic practices and have been busy publishing my research. With all of this going on, I still have energy! Perhaps too much energy— Quinn and I are currently training for a half-marathon to take place in August, I mountain bike at least once a week, help coach two T-ball teams, and now I think I will take on the task of remodeling our kitchen! I am definitely enjoying my new blood (thanks again to my sister, Jadi!) and it has not been the typical recovery, but Quinn reminds me that most things I do are not typical! Tess continues to be the sweetest baby ever, complete with constant smiles. I think she knew she had to be on her best behavior to come to us at this time and she has been nothing but an angel.

For the 100 days following my transplant, I made my appearance in the bone marrow clinic 2 times a week to get my blood drawn, cell counts checked, and most importantly, to chat with my doctors and the nursing staff about whatever was good for a laugh that day. My doctors have been wonderful and we feel so grateful to have been here to receive such good care. I have been dubbed the “all-star of the transplant clinic” by my doctors because I have felt so well and my counts have been so strong following the transplant. I guess everyone has to be an all-star in something, and thankfully I am a pro at transplants! I will now see my doctors much less frequently and life will continue to move on.

Speaking of moving on…the criteria that Quinn and I set as an indicator of when we would be ready to move from North Carolina was when my health was stable and we could start a new chapter in our lives. We feel that time is quickly approaching. Quinn and I recently celebrated our ten-year wedding aniversary. It is great to look back at what we have accomplished and even greater to anticipate the wonderful things the future holds for us. We are anxiously pursuing job options that will bring us closer to our family and allow us to set down some serious roots! Again, we find ourselves in fortunate circumstances and blessed beyond our expectations.

We hope that this letter finds you and your family well and happy. For the past few months, I think people haven’t wanted to “bother” us, but please, we would love to hear from any of you.

Thank you again for your friendship, kindness and prayers!
Jon, Quinn, Tate, Cale & Tess

Day 92 (June 26, 2007)

I'm just a bit emotional and teary as I write. We just went to our last appointment with Bob and got Jon's bone marrow biopsy. They drew his blood and it was the best it has ever been. Hemoglobin of 14.1 and everything is just coming up. Of 19 things it tells on his print out 15 were in normal range and all of the others were close. Whites, reds, and hematocrit are not normal, but really close to normal and the highest they have ever been on his own. This visit felt like every other one until it was time to leave. We found out that this was Jon's last visit with Bob and that we won't have another doctors appointment for 3 weeks till he sees Dr. Shea. That is the longest we have ever gone without a doctors appointment since November. It was really humbling to think about that. What really made me emotional was as we were leaving and checking out and making our appointment with Dr. Shea, there was a young tall handsome man in his early twenties with an over night bag and his mom carrying his pillow. He was waiting to check in--for campath was my guess. I identified so much with the look on his face--one of optimism and hope. He looked so brave, but I also imagined he felt like we did when Jon went in--that we were holding on for a crazy ride and just hoping we could hold on long enough and strong enough. It was such a vivid realization for me of where we were, how far we have come, and where we are now. For a brief moment, I had a very clear visualization of the past, the present and our hopes for the future. In November my day today seemed like it might never come. It was hard to imagine a day where the fears of cancer wouldn?t occupy all my mind's energy. It is still there, and to be honest, I think it will always be there, but it keeps moving further and further back in my mind. And what I didn't know in November was that we can still be so happy as our little family with cancer still in the picture. I've also come to realize that the experiences of the past year will be something I ponder upon for the rest of my life. As I remember certain feelings and think about things in a new way, every time I am amazed at how the Lord was with us and carried us and strengthened us. Jadi had mentioned that her being a match could have been a blessing that the Lord had prepared for Jon before he came to the earth. What a loving gift from our Heavenly Father. I am amazed at his goodness towards us.

There are still patches in my memory. I think I remember telling my mom about Jon, but I don't remember at all telling Micah, and yet there are other things that are so vivid. During the very hardest of times it seemed that heaven was the nearest. For so long our lives seemed to revolve around endless doctors appointments. Now we are going to t-ball games more frequently than we are doctors. Who would have guessed. Today has been a real day for reflection and gratitude and I hope it can be one of gratitude for all of us. We are doing so well and are so happy! We aren't out of the woods by any means, but then again I don't think there will be a moment or a day when we say that we have closed this cancer chapter of our lives. I'm just so grateful that where we are right now is the very best place we could be. Thank you so much for all the roles that you have played in our lives. We love all of you so very much and are so grateful for your faith and strength that you have added to ours.. Thank you for all your sacrifices for us! We love you!!

Quinn and Jon