Gratitude

It's hard to believe it's been almost three weeks since I posted. I've been drowning in work (a good thing!) and the time has literally flown by.

Yesterday Joanne had her last chemo treatment!!! It wasn't without incident, of course. Her systemic port was clotted and it took over an hour to unclot it so they could draw blood and give her the chemo. Unfortunately, we had to cancel our celebration lunch - will do it this weekend.

We have so much to be thankful for today. We are both alive. We celebrate our partnership, our cat-children, our friends and family, our clients, and our general well-being.

My major orthopedic surgery is November 27th at Swedish Hospital in Seattle. Joanne and I get to switch roles for a bit - she becomes the caretaker. I will literally be off my feet for several months - a huge challenge for me in many ways!

So, this weekend is a time of getting in all the biking I can, stocking the freezer, and Joanne's birthday celebration. A good time will be had by all.

I don't know what my relationship will be with this blog in the future. Our vision is that Joanne will continue her healing and get stronger each day. My challenge will be staying out of that fear place around recurrence. We plan to celebrate and live fully each day that we have.
We are making plans. . .

May your Thanksgiving be rich and joyous.

We're Moving Forward

The docs have finally communicated and it appears that Dr. Rubin is only comfortable giving Joanne's last chemo over three doses, instead of one. So that means that she will get 1/3 the normal dose this Wednesday, next Wednesday and the 21st. That will be the end of her chemo!
We will have much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving as we focus on her regaining her health and energy.

It has been three weeks since chemo and Joanne has been getting so much stronger each day. We're hoping the "mini-doses" will not have a huge effect on her energy - we'll see. She still needs to get shots to stimulate her red and white blood cell count.

The rat apparently has disappeared - hasn't been seen in three days. I hope he's moved on to greener pastures. He was a very cute rat. . .