A ‘Happy Dance’ today as this is the first day since last October that Suzanne is pain med free. Getting her off the narcotic meds has been a goal of her doctors as well as mine, and it’s been a journey When she first started, the pain was minimal and so were her meds. As time went on and the destruction that took place due to the radiation caused her pain to increase, so did her meds. At home, she…
You’ve probably never heard of, let alone watched ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’, a show on NBC. Don’t worry, your not alone as this show is very eclectic. Much like me, the main character of the show, Zoey, has a musical affliction. In my case, I hear in my head music that fits the situation around me. In Zoey’s case, she sees the people around her perform musical numbers that display how they are feeling. For me, her affliction seems much more…
Fun Fact: I was a dance minor in College. You wern’t expecting that were you? While in college, dance is what brought Cindy and me together. We would go and square dance, round dance, line dance, or folk dance any chance we got. I learned to call square dancing and made a pretty good second income for a number of years. I also taught international folk dancing to schools and groups who wanted to learn. Dance is still in my…
Back tonight from Chicago where we experienced our first really big snowfall of the winter. Not actually why we went there, but it was quite the sight. This afternoon, Suzanne had a procedure that included a biopsy of her throat. Since her PET scan earlier in the month wasn’t definitive, the doctors wanted more info. After the biopsy, the doctor shared what he saw during the procedure but will not have final results for a number of days. Bottom line,…
Suzanne is scheduled for surgery Tuesday, a throat biopsy at Rush in Chicago. Have you looked at the radar lately? There is suppose to be a blizzard there Monday & Tuesday. As if this coming event wasn’t stressful enough, we’ve been hearing about the impending snowstorm for a week now. You can imagine all the ‘What ifs’ that were running through our heads; What if we can’t get there, what if the doctor can’t get there, cancel the surgery, can’t…
A 1977 Mel Books movie by that name describes what I perceive as the phenomenon prevalent in our household these past few weeks. Suzanne and I are both suffering from what I assume is anxiety as we continue to wait and wait for definitive answers and the next steps that will dictate our lives. As I went into ‘Internet Doctor’ mode to see what I could find, I discovered there was no easy explanation of our emotions. In Fact, everything…
Do you know a half-glass-full or a half-glass-empty person? Maybe you fall into one of these two categories yourself. Well, all three members of our physician team fall into one of these, two are half-full, one is half-empty. Our day started at 6 am when we left for Chicago in the dark. Once there, Suzanne’s day consisted of Accessing her port, PET Scan, Interventional services to check her feeding tube, CT Scan, and then appointments with her doctors; Radiation, Chemotherapy,…
On Sunday we were surrounded physically and remotely with our many wonderful friends and family. That day Suzanne & I were at our local church, prayed, sang, and read a little from the bible, all with the hope that God will place his healing hand on her. I shared with those in attendance that praying aloud was not my forte, not in my wheelhouse, just not something I’m comfortable with. I do it all the time; every meal Suzanne &…
This week, our journey in life is at a crossroad that we knew was coming. This week has been in our crosshairs since mid-August when Suzanne’s cancer treatment plan was discussed and implemented. This week, the success of Suzanne’s treatments will be revealed. I would like to share with you how we got to this week and how prayers have been answered. August 1st we met a Dr in Gibson City who told Suzanne that she had a large mass…
We all have one. The shelf in the basement where all the canned goods which were questionably purchased have been banished. A bottle of salad dressing that sounded good in the store but has never made it to a salad; that half a case of green beans you bought when you needed 1 can for a recipe; those Campbell Soup cans that accumulate because you bought 2 more not remembering if you had any; All of which have questionable dates…