The week before treatment number five felt almost normal as we settled into a rhythm that was similar to pre-diagnosis and pre-crisis. It took me all week to steam and bottle the grape harvest, and progress was made catching up on laundry and housekeeping at our house. I can’t move fast enough to accomplish everything. Emily has been working hard on getting her daily walks in, and I was able to join her a couple of times. The fresh air and movement feel good.
Tony met with Dr. Payne, the VA-approved primary care physician, so he will have a local provider for managing his overall health going forward.
The weather hasn’t cooperated very well for getting outside work done when Tony is available and feels up to it. He took Friday off and managed to get his table saw set up with blades and spacers. He made the dado in the new boards we purchased to replace the damaged boards on the eaves of the farmhouse before it started raining again.
Our sweet friends, Cinda and Lee, upgraded their TV and gave Will their perfectly functional old one and the stand it went on. Tony found a very large trestle table for free on Marketplace. The top needs to be refinished, and it will be a beautiful piece. We set it up and put a tablecloth on it for now. Another Marketplace miracle had us reconnecting with one of Spencer’s high school friends for a gently used couch and a loveseat. Our Superman made the couch fit into the van, and he strapped the loveseat on top and covered it with a tarp to protect it from the rain. It was so fun setting up the living room and seeing the surprise on the grands’ faces when their mom dropped them off for the week. There is still so much to do, but our childhood house is starting to feel like a home again.
With treatment week coinciding with Will’s week of having his kids, Emily took some time off work to help. We are so grateful for the way our family “circles the wagons” to help each other.
Allie was Tony’s AMU nurse today. It was a rough start to a long transfusion day. Allie tried three times to put in an IV, and Tony’s veins weren’t cooperating. Some chemo drugs can be very hard on the veins, causing inflammation. Allie called in Mark, who used an ultrasound to find a suitable vein higher up on the arm.
Dr. Graham visited and emphasized how pleased he is that Tony is staying active and still working. He told us that the last PET scan looked good, showing exactly the response to the therapy they were expecting to see. Tony has one more treatment in November, and then a new PET scan will be taken in December. Dr. Graham said he expects Tony to be disease-free by Christmas. 🎄 😅 🤗
We finished the day with burgers at Hires Big H.
“Remember this saying: ‘To be happy in life you need three things: someone to love, something to do and something to look forward to.’” ~ Don Hale
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