The Greatest Gift

Happy Holidays all,

I know my posts are getting less frequent, the day to day chemo is really a steady state of boring and we have been quite busy for the last few weeks. We are getting close to the end of the treatments so hopefully I can start to get more details in as we get into the more interesting part of final scans and recovery.

I had my fifth session of chemo on Dec 24th (Yay Xmas Eve!). Turns out not a bad day to get an infusion as most everyone else moved their sessions so the center was less than filled. We were in and out in record time. The infusion itself was uneventful, though I now realize just how out of it I am during these sessions since Cousin Bobby came to visit for a couple hours during his lunch break and while I remember the fact that he came, I have no recollection of the conversations he now assures me we had. Though who could forget this sweater?

As usual once getting home I managed to eat something small and then go to sleep for around 15 hours. The next day we had to get on a flight up to Sonoma to see little Paige so I wanted to feel as good as I could for that adventure. In all I feel pretty alright for it being my fifth cycle, though the tiredness is ever present. Today for instance I needed to stay at work for longer than usual and by 1 o’clock I could feel the pounding of my pulse and my head swimming from trying to stay focused for that many hours. I really do have to accept that I have a finite amount of energy to spend per day, and I notice that amount getting smaller as the sessions continue.

Now to more uplifting events, we celebrated Ship’s Surgeon Crystal’s graduation from Nursing School on the 12th. It was a great ceremony and special thanks to Aunt Deneece for coming down to share that with us. I’m incredibly proud of her for her transition from the military to civilian world and getting a second degree while she’s at it. She’s deep in studying for the Nursing license exam she will take on the 7th so pretty soon she will be a fully licensed Registered Nurse. She has made such an impact on Kaiser during her 6 month externship there that they invited us to their holiday party where the ER managers told us they consider Crystal part of the team and can’t wait for her to be licensed and to email them as soon as she is so they can have first crack at hiring her. Go, baby, Go!

We also moved in the last two weeks. Living downtown was lots of fun for three years and great for Crystal while I was deployed but it was time we found a yard for the dogs and a bit more space. We managed to find a nice place with a big deck and grass for the boys and even a garage for me. Moving is always twice as hard as you imagine it will be but now that we are here it is clear it was the right choice. Maybe we will finish unpacking sometime soon and get some pictures on the walls…

Then to really enjoy the season we got to spend some time with our beautiful little niece Paige. Flying the day after chemo is not the ideal plan but after a good sleep and some good drugs it was OK, and having this guy to keep me company was just icing…

Playing with Paige for Christmas made any discomfort more than worth it. Suzanne and John were such wonderful hosts, to the point of cancer specific shopping in preparation for us coming up and promising only bland potatoes for everyone if that was all I could stomach. Luckily that wasn’t necessary but I am touched by how caring and supportive they are of both Crystal and I. It is astonishing how quickly Paige grows and just weeks after seeing her last struggling to balance on her little feet she now confidently tromps around the house like it’s nothing. You can really see the wheels turning behind her eyes and her babbles are definitely communicating if you pay attention. Her wide grin is still the same, however, and here’s hoping it always will be. We had so much fun with the whole Sonoma crew over the weekend and it was perfect timing to get graduated, moved, chemoed, and then out of town for a few days to relax and enjoy good company.

Looking forward, my final chemo session is scheduled for the 14th of Jan. I should be doing a final PET scan two weeks after that and hopefully given the green light to officially begin the recovery phase of this mission. Not sure what that exactly entails yet but I’m hoping it involves surfing.

Happy Holidays to everyone and I’m hoping you’ve gotten to enjoy as many wonderful moments as I have.

Health is the Greatest Gift,
Contentment the Greatest Wealth,
Faithfulness the best Relationship.
-Siddhartha