Saturday, April 28, 2007

Barry's home

I got to the hospital by 8 a.m., in time to see Barry's doctor make his rounds. As usual, Barry didn't get discharged until about 11:30 a.m. A very long wait. Got his shot of morphine for the trip home. By morning the pain level was at a 4 thank goodness. Not a good treatment as pain goes. But at least it's history now.

He went right into his bed when we got home. I took phone off the hook and also went to take rest. Woke up with sore throat which I'm trying to fight off.

Tim had been at a school event all day, and he got home at 5 p.m. I went out to get pizza for dinner, no energy to cook. Tasted good.

Barry's back to bed, I'm off to take bath, and hopefully back to bed myself. Can't speak for Barry, but these treatment days take a toll on you. Mentally and physically. Can't wait to get jammies on.

Bye.

Friday, April 27, 2007

Today was one of the tougher chemo treatments. Requiring a lot of morphine, but still he's in pain. Scale of 1 - 10, he says it's a 10. They went back to treating the other side of the liver, whereas the past 2 cycles were on the other side and he had no pain with the chemo. He's had better days. Only thing he's had in stomach today was some water that I gave him through straw. Since the chemo was delayed so much, he didn't get into a room until 2:45 p.m. Therefore he wouldn't be able to get off of his back until about 9 p.m. I left the hospital at 8:30 p.m. so that I could grab a bus back to Family House. They don't run all night and I'm not good at walking Pittsburgh streets by myself.

I'm off to my room for what I hope will be a good sleep.

Back to hospital in a.m. to bring Barry home. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers. They mean the world to us.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

Another chemo treatment

We head to Pittsburgh once again (thank God) tomorrow a.m. for Barry's chemoembolization. Have to be there bright and early. I believe it has been 11 weeks since his last treatment in February.

New job is going well with me. Lots to learn, but am feeling more comfortable every day. Always hard learning new things. One good part of the job is being able to see Barry every day for lunch. In the past I would only see him on the weekends.
And I'm saving lots of wear and tear on my car with the short commute.

If possible tomorrow, I will update you on Barry's procedure. Positive thoughts muchly appreciated.

Saturday, April 14, 2007

Poem sent to me by my "bosom buddy" today

Recently I overheard a mother and daughter in their last moments together at the airport. They had announced the departure. Standing near the security gate, they hugged and the mother said, "I love you and I wish you enough".

The daughter replied, "Mom, our life together has been more than enough. Your love is all I ever needed. I wish you enough, too, Mom".

They kissed and the daughter left. The mother walked over to the window where I was seated. Standing there I could see she wanted and needed to cry. I tried not to intrude on her privacy but she welcomed me in by asking, "Did you ever say good-bye to someone knowing it would be forever?".

"Yes, I have," I replied. "Forgive me for asking, but why is this a forever good-bye?".

"I am old and she lives so far away. I have challenges ahead and the reality is - the next trip back will be for my funeral," she said.

"When you were saying good-bye, I heard you say, 'I wish you enough'. May I ask what that means? ".

She began to smile. "That's a wish that has been handed down from other generations. My parents used to say it to everyone". She paused a moment and looked up as if trying to remember it in detail and she smiled! even more. "When we said , 'I wish you enough', we were wanting the other person to have a life filled with just enough good things to sustain them". Then turning toward me, she shared the following as if she were reciting it from memory.

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess .

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final good-bye.

She then began to cry and walked away.

They say it takes a minute to find a special person, an hour to appreciate them, a day to love them but then an entire life to forget them.



Tim is the second person on the left. He was a Captain on a Relay for Life team. These are just a few of his friends that took the time to participate in such a good cause.
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The survivor's lap is a difficult lap to walk. But I can tell you personally, each year it does get a little better. The woman on the right with the classy short hair do is one of my new bosum buddies. Each of us show strength as we walk the walk.
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We made it another year. Tim joins us on the survivor's lap.
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The middle student is Sara. She will be graduating from college next month. I met her at this same Relay for Life in April 2005. A cancer survivor since she was a teenager. She even recognized me once again and gave me a hug.
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Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Footloose

I've just returned from seeing our High School production of Footloose. I saw a 'dress rehearsal' production last night, but it certainly doesn't compare to tonight's opening show. What a talented bunch of kids we have in our own small town. You can tell a good performance when the audience has their eyes focused right on stage watching. The main actress in the show was a girl I never knew could sing. And boy does she have a beautiful voice. The whole cast was top notch. This was Tim's first play/musical. He was in the chorus. I was just as proud of him as any other person in the cast. It got his toes wet and he's looking forward to next year and trying out for a bigger part. As I told him, you have to start somewhere.

I go back to see the show on Friday with Barry. Lots of good music that I don't get tired of.

Congratulations! to everyone that was involved in the production.

Saturday, April 07, 2007

Happy Easter


And they talk about Global Warming. This picture was taken today. I had to show my Easter lilly on the table with the snow. Beautiful picture.
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Friday, April 06, 2007

I'm dreamin' of a white Easter..

That's what Barry is singing. Probably due to the ground being white outside, and flurries still coming down. Poor forsythia! April can be an iffy month.

I'm off from work today. Yeah. 9 days complete with new job.

Monday, April 02, 2007

CT Scan results

Heard from the doctor today. CT scan results are stable/no change. His next chemo will be April 27th. A bit longer in between chemos due to doctor's schedule and my schedule. I like to have the treatments on a Friday so I only miss the one day of work.. Could have had treatment earlier but it would have been in middle of a week.