It's New Year's Day 2012

I'm sitting at our kitchen table enjoying the last few minutes of a wonderful holiday visit with Steph, Marvin, Callie and Maria!  They have consolidated the many Christmas items, including 2 new bikes, in order to squeeze everything into their mini van to head home 4 1/2 hours to Christiansburg. Chuck just sat down and everyone is savoring soup, pasta or cheese and crackers as I savor the sweetness of having family all around me.

It's been some time since I have taken the time to "muse."  It's been a wild ride since 11/14/11 when I first got the word that my life as I knew it would change. Now as 2012 begins, I am still feeling good and very thankful that my medical care has been so excellent and has finally started "moving."  I was stymied in early December since the biopsy done in Richmond came back "inconclusive."   We had to halt our plan to start radiation and chemotherapy since my oncologist needed a specific diagnosis.  Fortunately my primary doctor was able to send me over to Virginia Beach to a gastroenteroligist who was fantastic and after a very painless biopsy process, got the diagnosis which he gave to me as "good news and bad"--good because we needed the diagnosis to move ahead with the treatment that the experts felt was necessary; bad because it did reveal the tumor was an adenocarcinoma.

Today I am completing 4 days of chemotherapy, but delivered, I think, in a very innovative way.  The oncologist is using a drug called 5 FU and it is in a fanny pack dripping a small amount each hour through a port that was implanted 12/22; I have had a great deal of freedom to come and go even though I have stayed pretty close to home.  A home health nurse is coming today to remove it.  I also started radiation last Wednesday and have 25 more of those treatments.  They are only for 15 minutes each day (M-F) at 3:15.  I will have one more round of the chemotherapy "fanny pack drip" 1/23-26 and then there will be some testing to see where we are.  My wish and hope is that surgery will then be possible.  If it is, I will go up to Johns Hopkins to Dr. John Cameron, well known in his field, for surgery. 

So, I think that catches me up on the details of my life since I last wrote.  My main "musing" for right now is how very grateful I am for everyone in my life. So many prayers, cards, emails, texts and personal calls plus visits make me feel so loved and cared about.  I continue to be inspired by other people's stories and successes and am keeping an "inspiration" file at the heart of which is a special note from Lance Armstrong and his whole staff plus 4 yellow bracelets that Steph, Marvin, Chuck and I are wear reminding us to "Livestrong."  Take care. Love always.