Category: Family

What Are You Doing For Christmas?

William 3 Comments

I really like keeping this blog. I like the idea of friends and family being able to keep up with what is going on, on their own time, day or night. Thanks to everyone that called, text, posted or just visited the site. This was no Katrina, but it’s was nice to know that I was on your minds. It’s been a day of helping neighbors dig out their cars and long treks over short distances. The plan is to head to Dallas in the morning. The expressways are now open and if conditions look good in the morning, I will be on my way. This will also be Kyllan’s first Christmas away from her parents too. I guess we will try to start some of our own traditions. Kyllan and I will be going to my parents house in Jacksonville for New Year’s.

So, you know our plans for Christmas. What are yours?
snowed in

Thanksgiving Holiday Weekend

William 6 Comments

As Kyllan told everyone in her post, my parents and I spent Thanksgiving with Kyllan and her family. (When I say her family, I mean her family. There were around 30 people at her parents house on Thanksgiving.) The weekend also included a surprise engagement party. Kyllan and I were told that we were going to a surprise birthday party for her cousin’s wife. We were probably socializing for about 15 minutes before we were told the surprise was on us. The next night Kyllan and I went to one of her cousin’s house to watch the Wake Forest vs Maryland game. It wasn’t long before more cousins showed up. We ended up playing board games late into the night. It was a fun trip and it was great to get to know Kyllan’s cousins better. Now we won’t all be a bunch of strangers at the wedding.
There are plenty of pictures on my flickr account. Kim N., Kyllan’s sister, has also posted some pictures to her flickr account.

Caroline Cody

William

This plaque is of my sister Caroline Annette Cody. It sits in the lounge area of the Biology Department at Xavier University of Louisiana. Today would have been her 29th birthday. There is an identical plaque in the “Caroline Cody Library” at the University of Florida College of Medicine. The library is located in a medical student lounge and provides free access to medical text books. The College of Medicine has also established the Caroline Annette Cody Memorial Scholarship Award, “presented to a third-year student who best exemplifies Caroline’s remarkable personal characteristics and altruistic service to the community.” The Jacksonville Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity also presents a scholarship in memory of Caroline. It is a competitive scholarship awarded to a local graduating senior who will be attending a four year university the following year. The first recipient attended Xavier and is now a in medical school. The Gamma Alpha Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority presents a book scholarship every year to a current Xavier University student.

I could write for days about my sister, her life and her accomplishments. So many people seem hesitant to ask me about Caroline. I have so many memories of my sister I could share with you. I promise, the stories I would tell wouldn’t make you cry. They would make you smile and they would make you proud. That is one of the reasons I discussed the scholarships above. The other? I think the easiest way to explain the impact Caroline’s life had on her family and friends is to see the things done to preserve her memory. Some more examples are below.

Read about Caroline being posthumously awarded her M.D. here and here

Read about the “Caroline Cody Act” which was passed last year in the state of Florida here and here

It is more important to me that you read the articles above, but here are two articles from after the trial here and here

… I have blocked commenting on this post. I would, however, enjoy calls or e-mails from you sharing your thoughts and memories. I am sure my parents would as well.

***EDIT 4/10/09*** Contact information can be found the page dedicated to my sister’s memory. In addition to the information found above, it will continue to be updated. Please visit it here. ***End Edit***

Treatment

William 9 Comments

As many of you know, my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year. The diagnosis occurred before I started the blog and while many of you inquired about her health in e-mails and phone calls, I have never discussed it in a post. I asked my mother to send me an e-mail about her treatment so that I could post it to the site and she could tell everyone in her own words about the progress she has made.

Hi William,
I was diagnosed with breast cancer on April 13, 2006. Chemotherapy started May 1. I finished chemotherapy on August 7. I have been on immunotherapy for one month and have 11 months to go. I will be having several weeks of radiation sometimes during the immunotherapy. When radiation starts, it will be 5 days a week. My chemotherapy was once every two weeks. My current treatments are once a week. I’m hoping the oncologist will change my treatments to once every 3 weeks soon. This will mean that I will get 3 times the Herceptin that I’m getting now but only once every three weeks. The toxins should be out of my system in 4-5 months. I look forward to seeing all of my side effects from the chemotherapy disappear. I have been very fortunate not to have had severe side effects and I have been very blessed to have so many caring family members and friends supporting me through this.

Love,
Mom”

Thank you to all my friends and family for your continued support. As my mother’s treatments continue, I will post updates on her progress to the blog.