Done, finished, complete, caput, concluded, through, all over, a wrap, terminado, vollendet, законченный, 終えた, THE END Suzanne was so ready for this day. Despite all the hope this clinical trial provides her, trips to Chicago every three weeks for this past year has been a life-controlling event. After blood work and the waiting game for results, her appointment with her oncologist was finally called. He has been a little pessimistic the last few months so when he came in happy…
You know how repetitive activities or events in our lives become so automatic? The morning bathroom routine, Getting the kids off to school, Going to church, and The family Thanksgiving get-together, all seem to happen without a lot of thought or planning. That’s what Suzanne’s PATHway trial has become, routine, and it’s about to end. Yesterday was treatment number eighteen with one more to go. It’s hard to believe that it all started a year ago when my astronaut wife…
My Bologna has a first name, it’s O S C A RMy Bologna has a second name, it’s M E Y E RI . . . Love to eat it every dayand if you ask me why I’ll sayThat Oscar Meyer has a way with B O L O G N A I hope you’re old enough to remember and sing along with the lyrics above. I was singing this the other morning when Suzanne walked in and gave me…
Today we learned of the passing of a friend, a friend who was one of my first acquaintances when I moved to the area; a friend that lived only about three miles from us as the crow flies, a friend who ironically has been on the same journey as Suzanne during almost the same time period, a friend who’s death hits pretty close to home. My first memory of him was when I was volunteered by my father-in-law to do…
Able to sleep in this morning, we made a quick stop by the Bank to take out a loan to fill the car with gas and be on the road again. Today was more of a shopping trip than the typical cancer patient hospital visit. We checked in and before we even sat down, Suzanne was called to have her vitals taken and blood drawn. Knowing that we had about two hours before her infusion, off we went on our…
When Suzanne came downstairs this morning and walked over to greet me at my too often position in front of the computer, she shared that it was one year ago today that she last ate solid food. WOW, where has the time gone, and how did we get here? I stood up, we hugged, and then, just like anyother day, we proceeded to head to the kitchen to each prepare our own breakfasts; I had steel-cut oats with pecans &…
We all know the song . . . . “On the Road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again” You’ve probably even sung it when you got in the car for a repetitive drive. For us, the drive to and from the Chicago Medical District this past year and a half has been one of those repetitive drives. Fill up with gas, pack the car, throw in a few water bottles, and out the door we go….
An early departure to Chicago yesterday as a busy schedule awaited. The usual, bloodwork was first on tap without hitch and as it turned out, all is fine. Her CT scan with contrast dye was another story. First, a little background, six months ago Suzanne had a minor reaction to this CT, some facial skin rosie appearance. At that time, we weren’t sure what caused the reaction, the CT or the infusion. Then, three months ago, she had a much…
Yesterday was supposed to be a wonderful & joyous day for Suzanne. Yesterday was the day she finally was able to have her feeding tube removed. Postponed because of snowmageddon last week, yesterday afternoon, in her Gibson Hospital doctor’s office, the 5-second procedure was performed and Suzanne was set free from the protruding plastic which has been the cause of much frustration and has limited parts of her life for over a year. Yep, yesterday was to be a spectacular…
A balmy -10 degrees when we pulled out of the garage this morning, but it was time to go and wasn’t going to get any warmer. Traffic was unusually bad when we hit the I-94 interchange and didn’t let up all the way to downtown. Passed a couple of stalled drivers and there seemed like there were more cars than normal, assuming that people avoided outdoor mass transit. After bloodwork, her only doctor visit was with her surgeon. I’m guessing…