There are a few reasons we decided to start this blog.
(1)Primarily this is for us, even if nobody reads it we will find it a valuable exercise in documenting our adventures.
(2) There are a number of things that are constantly changing in our lives that people often ask about. The primary topic of questions is Emily's health. If you are not aware of Emily's recent health happenings, you can read this. We will try update any new health information as it occurs, but if there is nothing new on here, you can assume things are business as usual (usual for us at least). We will also post education and career updates as we have them. This is not to say you can't still ask us questions; we aren't bashful or offended by questions.
(3) Chris is starting his PhD in September (2011) and will have little to no free time during the school year. This blog will serve as a gentle reminder to Chris that there is life outside of school and that wilderness adventures await each coming summer.
(4) We have had some great adventures that we want to make sure we document and remember. We have kept a journal of these adventures and thought we might as well share them with others. Maybe they will give you trip or gear ideas, encourage you to go backpacking or do an AR, make you laugh, or make you cry (not really).
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
PhD Adventure
[Chris] I was recently accepted into the PhD program in the department of family social science at the UofM. I will be specializing in Marriage and Family Therapy, which is what I have studied for my MA. I am particularly interested in trauma and, specifically, systemic interventions for mass trauma and general models for understanding traumatic responses. I spent about a year preparing my application, volunteering, getting a book review published, and meeting faculty. The program will take at least 4 years and will most likely kick my butt, but I'm really excited!
As a side note, my brother was accepted into med school at the UofM and we will both be starting September, 2011. My running joke is that our wives can support each other during the years we have given our lives to school, it's probably not funny.
As a side note, my brother was accepted into med school at the UofM and we will both be starting September, 2011. My running joke is that our wives can support each other during the years we have given our lives to school, it's probably not funny.
Em's Health Background
[Chris] For anyone who might not have known the details of Em's health over the past few years, here is a short catch-me-up...
Before Em was born, her 1yo sister, April, died of a brain tumor. When Em was 7yo her 16yo brother, Adam, died of bone cancer he had developed from a brain tumor found when he was 10yo. Em's mom has had two types of breast cancer, lung cancer, and is undergoing chemo for pancreatic cancer at the time of this post. A couple of years ago we found out that this is all because of Li Fraumeni Syndrome and found out that Em also has this genetic mutation.
As a result, Em has dozens of appointments and screenings every year so that we can catch anything that develops at an early stage. A few of these screenings revealed that she had a tumor in her breast in the summer of 2010. The doctors said they didn't think it would be anything but it turned out to be a malignant phyllodes tumor. Because of the risk of this tumor returning and her risk of developing a future breast cancer Em, myself, and the doctors agreed to do bilateral mastectomies. That surgery was in August of 2010. Em was in the hospital for a week, has no memory of the first three weeks at home, and then began the long process of recovery and reconstruction. I'll let her write about that, but suffice it to say, it's not quick or easy.
She is healthy now but we never get away from it, cancer is part of our lives. We are constantly reminded of this by her ongoing screenings, her mom's health, and our discussions about having kids (we would have a 50/50 chance of passing it on to kids we had naturally). This is one of our ongoing adventures; it has occasionally beat us down but we are stronger and closer because of it.
Before Em was born, her 1yo sister, April, died of a brain tumor. When Em was 7yo her 16yo brother, Adam, died of bone cancer he had developed from a brain tumor found when he was 10yo. Em's mom has had two types of breast cancer, lung cancer, and is undergoing chemo for pancreatic cancer at the time of this post. A couple of years ago we found out that this is all because of Li Fraumeni Syndrome and found out that Em also has this genetic mutation.
As a result, Em has dozens of appointments and screenings every year so that we can catch anything that develops at an early stage. A few of these screenings revealed that she had a tumor in her breast in the summer of 2010. The doctors said they didn't think it would be anything but it turned out to be a malignant phyllodes tumor. Because of the risk of this tumor returning and her risk of developing a future breast cancer Em, myself, and the doctors agreed to do bilateral mastectomies. That surgery was in August of 2010. Em was in the hospital for a week, has no memory of the first three weeks at home, and then began the long process of recovery and reconstruction. I'll let her write about that, but suffice it to say, it's not quick or easy.
She is healthy now but we never get away from it, cancer is part of our lives. We are constantly reminded of this by her ongoing screenings, her mom's health, and our discussions about having kids (we would have a 50/50 chance of passing it on to kids we had naturally). This is one of our ongoing adventures; it has occasionally beat us down but we are stronger and closer because of it.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Lord James Byrce writes on American haste
[Chris] I heard this on a documentary... good stuff:
“Gentlemen, why in heaven’s name this haste? You have time enough. No enemy threatens you. No volcano will rise from beneath you. Ages and ages lie before you. Why sacrifice the present to the future, fancying that you will be happier when your fields teem with wealth and your cities with people? In Europe we have cities wealthier and more populous than yours, and we are not happy. You dream of your posterity; but your posterity will look back to yours as the golden age, and envy those who first burst into this silent splendid nature, who first lifted up their axes upon these tall trees and lined these waters with busy wharves. Why, then, seek to complete in a few decades what the other nations of the world took thousands of years over in the older continents? Why do things rudely and ill which need to be done well, seeing that the welfare of your descendants may turn upon them? Why, in your hurry to subdue and utilize nature, squander her splendid gifts? Why allow the noxious weeds of Eastern politics to take root in your new soil, when by a little effort you might keep it pure? Why hasten the advent of that threatening day when the vacant spaces of the continent shall all have been filled, and the poverty or discontent of the older states shall find no outlet? You have opportunities such as mankind has never had before, and may never have again. Your work is great and noble: it is done for a future longer and vaster than our conceptions can embrace. Why not make its outlines and beginnings worthy of these destinies the thought of which gilds your hopes and elevates your purposes?”
Viscount James Bryce, The American Commonwealth, with an Introduction by Gary L. McDowell (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1995). Vol. 2. Chapter: chapter 121: The Temper of the West (Bolding of text added)
http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=697&chapter=188503&layout=html&Itemid=27
“Gentlemen, why in heaven’s name this haste? You have time enough. No enemy threatens you. No volcano will rise from beneath you. Ages and ages lie before you. Why sacrifice the present to the future, fancying that you will be happier when your fields teem with wealth and your cities with people? In Europe we have cities wealthier and more populous than yours, and we are not happy. You dream of your posterity; but your posterity will look back to yours as the golden age, and envy those who first burst into this silent splendid nature, who first lifted up their axes upon these tall trees and lined these waters with busy wharves. Why, then, seek to complete in a few decades what the other nations of the world took thousands of years over in the older continents? Why do things rudely and ill which need to be done well, seeing that the welfare of your descendants may turn upon them? Why, in your hurry to subdue and utilize nature, squander her splendid gifts? Why allow the noxious weeds of Eastern politics to take root in your new soil, when by a little effort you might keep it pure? Why hasten the advent of that threatening day when the vacant spaces of the continent shall all have been filled, and the poverty or discontent of the older states shall find no outlet? You have opportunities such as mankind has never had before, and may never have again. Your work is great and noble: it is done for a future longer and vaster than our conceptions can embrace. Why not make its outlines and beginnings worthy of these destinies the thought of which gilds your hopes and elevates your purposes?”
Viscount James Bryce, The American Commonwealth, with an Introduction by Gary L. McDowell (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1995). Vol. 2. Chapter: chapter 121: The Temper of the West (Bolding of text added)
http://oll.libertyfund.org/?option=com_staticxt&staticfile=show.php%3Ftitle=697&chapter=188503&layout=html&Itemid=27
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