PEG put in

A short note to tell you I am still among the living, at least I think I am.

The PEG was put in yesterday (Thursday) around 1:00pm. But it couldn't be simple. I had the dry heaves on the operating table as they were trying to put me to sleep.

So I have another addition to my body. A tube that is about 8 inches long coming out of the middle of my body. Maybe I will take a picture later of it. It is amazing how much those muscles are used in the movement and picking up of items. I am thoroughly wasted tonight (Friday) as I am trying to adjust to this new addition to my body.

In addition to this, I finished my third week of radiation this afternoon. So I have 4 weeks to go.

Thanks for you prayers. More later......

3 chemo down - 4 to go...

Hello to all this fine May evening.

Just finished up my 3rd chemo so I am officially into this treatment 3 1/2 weeks. Ate good supper tonight and feel pretty good. Was very tired before chemo but they gave me enough saline to get my energy level back up. Had a couple of bowls of chili tonight. It was great to eat and enjoy and getting full!

We meet the Morrisons today and the man was being treated for throat cancer also. Lucille and his wife shared some stories about his peg and other items related to the throat. So we will try some of them to see if it will help my tongue. He finishes his treatments in 8 more visits.

I will be out of touch for a couple of days as I have peg surgery tomorrow and a nights stay at MMH. Hopefully I can control my stomach so that the surgery will not become an issue. Will be home sometime Friday afternoon after radiation. Don't want to miss any radiation treatments. Not interested in moving back the July 3rd day!!

Another one of my Eagles came by today for a visit. He will be here for the summer. He has applied to medical school. I always enjoy his visit. It was a pick me up this morning. Thanks Jordan.

I am a cancer survivor! And I plan on being a living a long time cancer survivor. Things will get more rough as this treatment gets deeper but I am so uplifted by your comments, calls, cards and emails. I cannot thank you enough for all the support. I continue to pray for each of you. And I continue to try and live a normal life and to be strong. Some days are harder than others but God carries me through on those days when I cannot walk myself. I look at every conversation as an opportunity for God. I continue to search for this silver lining. And who knows, the life I may touch, I won't even know about it! But then it recorded in the book of life and that is all that is important! While recognition on this earth is fulfilling, the relation to God is the real goal. So my road rage has gotten alot less!! But stopping to help others has increased greatly even to the point of being late!! Well, I always seem to be 5 minutes late. I still think I can get across town in 5 minutes!!

My spirits are good this evening. I feel good and I am ready for the next couple of days. Talk to you Friday gang.....

weight - weight - weight

Just finished Wednesday radiation treatment and visit with Dr Corwin.

Weight down to 151. While throat is dry, I am still able to swallow as long as it is not dry. So starting to get to the all liquid diet. Hopefully not for a couple of weeks. I have chemo this afternoon and start the stomach issues all over again this week. Will start drinking cranberry or any juices with calories to help offset the calories I am not eating.

Last night Lucille fixed me SOS without the shingle and it was good and went down ok. So for the next couple of days, I will hopefully gain a couple of pounds back!

Fatigue is planning more of a role now. I slept for about 2 hours at noon and another 1 1/2 hours after work before Scouts. With the loss of weight and the fatigue factor, I feel more tired. Just have to keep sleeping and eating and drinking to be able to work some. Three and 1/2 weeks to go! Each day is closer to being finished. I am not looking at the cure, but at the finishing up of this treatment. I think the cure will be taken care of. All I can do and see is the end of treatment.

Everyone has been so great through all of this. I could not have gotten this far without all this support. I pray that God will bless each of you this day! Later gang...

start of 3rd week

Hope everyone had a great Memorial Day weekend!

I spent most of weekend trying to eat and drink and deal with my stomach. Yesterday was a day that finally I started feeling better. Today should be better before chemo tomorrow. In addition to my stomach problems, food just has not tasted good or even moderately good. I am using Biotene products to help with the tongue issue. The drugs for my stomach don't seem to be working. At this point in my treatment I am having the most trouble with chemo, not radiation. My throat is starting to dry up some but still able to swallow and able to keep the back of throat moist with water and Biotene.

You forget how bad you feel during all of this. I guess the brain just moves those experiences back into the brain. But when it happens as in this case, the experiences come back. But have only four weeks left to go. I have not started counting the days but looking at weeks. This will be a hectic week with surgery to go on top of chemo and radiation.

Lucille has been trying so hard to find things for me to eat. She has cooked so many meals that have gone uneaten by me. Today and tomorrow should be pretty good eating days. I had a baked potato yesterday with all the trimmings. The biggest thing I have noticed yesterday was that everything needs to have moisture in it. But I can handle that with liquids at this point.

I hope all of you have a great week. I have prayed for each of you this weekend and hope that God blesses each of you for your support of Lucille and me. Later all....

Stomach issues..

Good morning all..

It has been a couple of days I would just as soon forget. For forty-eight hours, I have had an upset stomach in which I have eaten very little. I have felt like I have been sucker punched. And slept a great deal.

Today I am finally feeling like a living person again. I will be resting and sleeping but at least I was able to eat some breakfast and drink what I needed to be drinking this morning. I am two weeks into this process. I hope that I don't have another week like this one! This week coming up will be a very hectic one with the peg surgery squeezed inbetween radiation treatments. The chemo treatment will be on Wednesday afternoon.

But today I plan on enjoying the bright sunshine and the nice weather. And hopefully eating to make up for a couple of meals that I have missed the last couple of days. I want to eat but when anything hits my stomach, it starts churning and I will not eat anymore. If I could get the chemo stomach under control, things would be much better.

Tomorrow is Memorial Day and my Troop is putting out 500 flags. It will be a long day for me as far as being tired but these flags are a small part of what I can do to honor those Americans who have given their lives for this country. So tomorrow as you are enjoying your holiday, just say a tiny prayer for all those soldiers who are currently fighting to make sure we have our freedoms. Later all.....

Next day after chemo

Well, I have been tired since noon and have no desire to eat. Plus nothing is setting well on my stomach tonight. I hit the brick wall around noon and had to take a 1 1/2 hour nap to get through the rest of the afternoon. As of this writing, I will be in bed shortly.

Not sure why I am having this kind of day. The first day after chemo last week was pretty good. But today is a different story. Guess it might be different every week. And this could really present a problem next week when I have to go to hospital on Thursday morning for the peg operation. I will be there overnight but not in the onology wing so it will be interesting to say the least especially is I have the reaction that I am having today. The only good spot is that chemo is mid afternoon next week instead of the morning.

I have not been able to get rid or mask the bad taste in my mouth today and coupled with my stomach this afternoon, it has not be fun. Nothing I can't handle other than I need to be eating. Tomorrow brings another day and hopefully I'll be able to eat and get back on track. The good news is I have 3 days before the next radiation treatment on Tuesday so hopefully will be up and ready to go.

Hope all of you have had a good half week and are ready to have a good Memorial Day weekend. I will use mine to rest. Nite all..

2 chemo down 5 to go... 30 more raidiation treatments

Good afternoon all.. hope I didn't scare too many by not posting last night. Spent too much time at Scouts last night and just feel into bed when I got home.

Seven down and 30 to go! Was up at 6:30am - radiation at 7 - the peg doctor from 8 til 9:30 - then the chemo doctor - and then chemo until 3pm. Have felt pretty good most of day although at this moment my stomach is acting up some. Shouldn't be as I have medicine to take care of it. But doctor told me to take some extra medicine that I already take to try and take care of it. Have lost 5 pounds in two weeks. So that might be an additional 15 pounds. That would put me at junior high weight! I am pretty skinny now so I would hate to think how thin I would look then! I could fit into 32" jeans my kids bought me! And back then I had this great tan which today is as white as a ghost. Want to lay in the sun and brown my chest up some but can't do! But blood work looks good today so that is a great plus. Just need to be drinking more! And eating!

My throat is starting to dry a little but have noticed that if I keep moist then it is alot better so am sipping water and tea more. I am getting cold easier now but I'm sure that is because of weight loss. Thought I would not be wearing beanies anymore but wear one to bed and had one on during chemo. And it appears at this point my free right on shaving has ceased. My peach fuzz is growning with regularity so will have to shave every night now. Bummer!!

I thank God for another good day. As ET says, "above ground and breathin' ". But I truly thank each of you for your support, words, and deeds. We know that this would be extremely hard without your support. Talk to you later.......

5 down, 32 to go

Another pretty day in Midland. I got up at 6:30 for an 7am radiation treatment. By 7:30 I was at the office getting ready for a days worth of work. It's going to be a busy week, both medically and work.

Got up feeling pretty good this day and will go to bed feeling pretty good also. Have lost some weight from the weekend. Still not eating enough. It was a great supper but my stomach would not take it tonight. My stomach says it is hungry but my mind and mouth says that it doesn't want to eat. And tonight was an example of that. If I had eaten one more bite, I would not have made it to the sink! So tomorrow will work on eating more often all day.

I had to really shave last night before bed. My peach fuzz was about a 1/8" long on my upper lip and chin. And pure blond and soft. It will be interesting to see how often I have to really shave now. And what color it will be. Of course I expect to probably lose this hair with chemo every week and I understand that radiation will also cause hair loss. But I still only use 10 minutes to get ready for work or play.

My nails have two sets of white curves in them and them an major indention in the nail that is just beginning to show itself. The result of chemo. So guess I will see more of it in the future until this is through. If that was the only problem I would have, I would be jumping for joy! But then I could be alot worse so I cannot complain. Yes, it will be bad and rough, but when I see others that are alot worse than me, I have no room to complain. God is protecting me courtesy of the prayers of all of ya'll.

Got some more special hot sauce tonight. It will help to kill the taste buds so maybe I will be able to eat more! The upset stomach should be taken care of by using Nexinum. But I expect tomorrow to be another good day. Only radiation tomorrow with chemo and radiation on Wednesday. Just have to keep my energy levels constant which is hard for me. No nap today but should have taken one. I have alot of work to do this week so will need to find time to sleep a little during the day.

So going into this second week, I hope to be able to continue to eat and swallow. If I can make the week I get three days off this weekend to recover. So will make the most of the week in work and play.

Hope everyone had a great day today and that the rest of the week goes good. Just don't forget to stop and smell the roses! Especially true of the seniors in high school. Nite all...

A wonderful Sunday

Good evening all.

Today has been a good day. I ate pretty good today. Of course Lucille had to watch over me to make sure I cleaned my plate! But I got through it! The weather was beautiful today so worked in my shop most of the afternoon.

Slept well last night. Got up only once. Evidently not enough water yesterday. Was up around 8:30am and after Lucille fixed breakfast, I went to the store to buy some parts for my router. Came home, fixed the router and then sat down for an hour or so to rest. Then worked on drawers for the Troop chuck wagon. Probably spent too much time in the sun but it was great being able to just work and enjoy the day without hurting.

Week two starts in the morning at 7am with a full week of radiation scheduled. Wednesday will be meeting with the doctor on putting in the peg (stomach tube). Another surgery which I am not looking forward to, but the good news is that as my throat gets worse (or burned) I will be able to maintain some calories. Do you know how hard it is to get 2000 calories a day? The good thing is that the peg is temporary so will look forward to getting rid of it in July. My energy level was up today but must plan accordingly this week to make sure I have enough energy to get through the week. I had two days of chemo sickness (but not too bad). Especially if one looks at the trouble I had in the first two chemo treatments. So hopefully I will be able to work a good couple of days a week for next 7 to 8 weeks.

The days that seem normal (that is, as normal as one can be doing chemo/radiation treatments) are a real blessing. The comments the last couple of days have been an inspiration to me to keep a stiff upper lip and to stay positive. It does get difficult but God will carry me when I cannot handle it. As I have said, without God none of this would be possible. And without the support and prayers and phone calls and cards and emails, this would be such a hard trip. May God bless all of you this beginning day of the week. Good things happen to those who make the most of our opportunities. Have a great week group. Nite all..

First week gone

Today is Saturday. I have spent the day resting and sleeping. It rained this morning and has been cloudy all day. The rain is such a blessing. Hopefully it will continue tonight. Went to bed last night around 10pm and we slept until about 9am this morning. Sarah and the kids came over for a few minutes to visit before traveling to Dallas for a doctor's appointment for Walker. Please keep them in your prayers as they continue to find a cure for Walker.

Got home around 7pm last night after doing some necessary work at the office. Did not get to send the Troop off on their backpack trip. There is no way I could have even walked the couple of miles with the guys even without a backpack. Lucille and I took a little walk last night and I was just wore out after a half a block. This chemo/radiation is really making me feel tired. The good news is that it appears (this week anyway) that I will have stomach problems on Thursday and Friday. The bad news is that I am on a diet again!! Having to force feed myself to keep enough protein and fats to keep me going. It is frustrating on Lucille, needless to say.

I may have to start shaving again. It seems that my beard is starting to grown back - - - as peach fuzz on my upper lip. Let's see that hasn't happened since junior high days!! Still have the five wild hairs on the right side of my face. So will shave in the shower every few days now. What a hassle!! (you should be laughing!).

I think the weekends are good for recovering from the weeks activities of chemo/radiation. I hope to feel stronger tomorrow as a result of this rest. So I have finished 4 days of radiation with 33 days to go! My neck tan continues to get browner but may have to go to the tanning salon to get the other side to match ! Just a joke.

Hope all have enjoyed their Saturday. Tomorrow will start a new week. I will try to post each day but as the week wears on, my energy level drops to the point so I want to do is sleep. Have a blessed evening ya'll.

3 down - walking zombie

Did not post last night as I slept the evening out. At radiation at 7am. Went to office and worked until I crashed for a power nap around 12:30. Worked until around 4 and had another power nap. Got home at 8pm and proceeded to sleep until 9:30. Then I showered and crashed into bed asleep at 10pm. Woke up to the dry heaves at 4am.

I truly had about 2 hours of yesterday that I was feeling ok. I was not grougy or sleepy or felt tired. Stomach didn't feel too bad but had to force feed myself to eat. I had protein drinks for supper.

And this is just the first week! I am really going to have to pace myself with work. I think I will be cutting my work day down to no more than a half day to see if I can do better. I certainly don't want to end up in the hospital for several weeks. Every day is different so it makes it difficult to prepare for anything. Will just trust God will watch over me. I know I will not be able to do it myself.

2 down, 35 to go

Two days of radiation down.

Was up at 6:15am and at radiation at a few minutes passed 7am. Took my second day of radiation and was at the office by 7:45am. Woke up feeling pretty good, did a workout. Around mid-morning I felt a little hot and took a couple of Tylenol . Came home for lunch, slept for about 30 minutes and went back to work. About 4 pm I had to lay down for another 30 minutes as my body said it was time to rest. Came home, had a good supper (courtesy of Sarah) and proceeded to sleep again.

Everyone talked about how red I have was today. Guess I will get a good tan out of this! I guess the radiation burns the outside as well as the inside. Will have to put aloe vera on to keep from burning on the outside. I am still able to swallow without problems so continue to eat and drink. Good thing as it will be 7 to 10 days before I get the peg. Other than being a little tired, I am doing well. No stomach problems at this point from chemo. So will see what tomorrow brings.

Just getting started in this final push and know that the worst will come. I have felt good for so many weeks that it is hard to imagine being sick again. But know that God will see us through this ordeal. And then there is the continued support from all of you. Thanks for being here for me. The Kennady boys wanted to carry my backpack if I would go backpacking this weekend! And if I feel good going into Friday afternoon, I might take them up on it! Just kidding, but I would let them carry some of the weight. Needless to say, it make me feel good. God sends blessing in various ways and I consider this to be one of those blessings. Nite all...

day 1 down - 36 to go

The first day is history. And more answers to our ever ending questions for what is really going to happen.

There will be 37 days of radiation spread over 8 weeks. And every week that I have radiation I will have chemo so I will have 7 or 8 chemo treatments (which includes the one I had today). I will have radiation every morning (like 7am morning!) five days a week (excluding holidays and other events as Dr Corwin deems necessary. That being said, radiation could last well into July depending on the circumstances of radiation. So at 11am this morning, I went to have blood work, a visit with Dr Rastogi, lunch with Lucille, radiation, a visit with Dr Corwin and 2 1 /2 hours of chemo. So finished the day around 4:30pm.

During radiation, you get pinned to the bed as in the pictures from yesterday for about 30 minutes. I think I can feel the radiation hitting the cancer. But then again it might be that it is so quiet in the radiation, I feel my pulse. No lights to show where the beam is being pushed, just some red lasers making sure the right spots are lined up. Dr Corwin did tell us that the this ct scan did not show any cancer. The radiation is in the area as if it was there. So it appears that the two heavy doses of chemo pretty well took care of the cancer. The radiation is to just make sure there is none left to come back.

I was also informed that I needed a feeding tube (a peg) inserted into my stomach sometime next week as the length of time for radiation would make it extremely difficult to swallow enough calories to keep my weight up. We think it will be next Thursday. It will be after I do radiation in the morning, then surgery and then radiation again the next day! Anyone want to take this journey with me? (I would not wish this on anyone!!).

So after radiation I went to chemo lab for a 2 1/2 hour treatment. Got a needle into my port, some saline, took a horse pill (literally, I will split in two next week to take it), had some anti-nausea medicine and then an hour of cysplatin. This took an hour to put into today and will probably ask for a little longer next time as I could feel the push of the fluids today. Then once a week I will have to have x-rays of neck. So it appears that I will spend at least 1/2 of a day doing radiation/chemo every week, maybe 3/4 of a day depending on scheduling.

Oh how do I feel? As of right now, not too bad. I have medicine I am to take if I even start feeling sick. Hopefully, this dose will not make me sick. The radiation will eventually make me not able to swallow due to the burning and soreness of my throat. Also have to work on keeping my swallowing reflect going and hydrated! So have to pay alot of attention to drinking, eating 2000 calories a day, and swallowing all the time. I will have alot of caregivers keeping me in line, I'm sure. And some of you will enjoy it more than others!! (Some of you should be smiling right now!).

Thanks for you support and prayers. I believe this will be my most trying of the three treatments. But God will see this family through, that I believe. Attitude is all important and many of my caregivers will also be working hard to make sure it is positive! This will be a long treatment, but I am 1/37 down. Thanks to ya'll for everything. You just don't know how much it means to us. Nite all...;

Day one of radiation was a dry run. Final tests to pin point where the radiation will be delivered. The real radiation starts tomorrow around 1:30pm followed by chemo.

The day started out cloudy and misty. Went to the office and worked steady til 1:30pm. Had lunch on the way to the doctor. And as we walked into the radiation office, the staff was waiting for us. As you can tell by the yellow sign, there is alot of radiation done here. The door looks to be solid lead that is about 4 inches thick. And it is closed while the radiation is being done. The techs monitor the patient thru tv monitors. Your head is literally bolted onto the bed to keep it firmly in place. Not a place one needs to be if you can't be still! The procedure itself takes about 15 minutes a day. Once a week they take new x-rays to make sure they are hitting the right spots. If you notice the American Flag in the background, there is an equal amount of space of crosses on the wall as you walk into this room as well as the cross on the door into the radiation room. As Mariah (the radiologist tech) says that this place honors God and serves our country. As they were taking the x-rays, Lucille got to see the cancer via the x-rays. She says it is about the size of the tip of her little finger.

Oh and I have a tattoo! Yes, I would have never thought I would have one and one that if you look everyone can see! I just had to go look in a mirror to see it myself. Of course, if it wasn't for the permanent marker pointing to the dot that is smaller than the head of a pin, I would not even be able to see it!

So seven weeks plus a couple of days for holidays and I will be finished. We hope to find out tomorrow how much this massive amount of chemo has shrunk this cancer. We have been told that I have received the most chemo a person can have in the first two treatments.

So I go into this not sure about how I will react to all of this - both the radiation and the chemo. Only time will tell. But there is light at the end of this tunnel so will focus on that.

The trip was so good for me..

Back in Midland after going to see Adam. Got up there late Friday afternoon. Had some spicy Mexican food and then crashed Friday night. Major wind storm that woke us up but Saturday turned out to be a beautiful day. Went to Jemez Springs for a 6 mile round trip day hike. Was not sure I would feel like going. But thanks to Adam and Lucille, I went. And boy was it great! I really needed to know that I could do one of the pleasures I like and that is hiking in the great outdoors. Was tired when we got home Saturday but felt so good about the trip. Expected to be sore today but so far no soreness. Tomorrow might be different.

The good news is that we got to really enjoy the outdoors before this seven weeks starts. Not really knowing what to expect is what made this weekend so special. Adam made the comment that he has not had spicy food three days in a row!! His taste buds may never be the same! He bent over backwards to have spicy foods and snacks for me. My taste buds have really been acting up so the spiciness really helped in eating.

Slept pretty good for two nights and enjoyed the drive up and back from Albuquerque. My attitude is charged going into tomorrow. Radiation starts at 2:30 with radiation/chemo starting around around noon on Tuesday. It will be an interesting week to see what happens.

I know God will not let me bear anymore than I can handle. I have trusted in him to get me this far so will trust in him for the rest of this treatment and my life. Nite all.....

Food tasting bad... again....

Well today was a day of trying to find something to eat. The only way I ate today was some food followed by a jalapeno. Nothing tasted worth a flip today. This is not suppose to happen until next week after I start chemo. But will continue to try and eat to keep the weight up. I am now at 158 pounds. It was hot enough today to lose a couple of pounds if you were outside very long. It was 105 here in Midland.

Had an upset stomach this morning. I believe it was due to the magnesium I started taking last night. So took it with my evening meal. But other than being a little tired it was a good day overall. I think stress is getting to Lucille. I really think she has it just as hard as I do as she worries about her eating, my eating, my complications, finances, etc. It makes me feel bad in that I am causing her some of her problems. So after this is over with, I will have to make it up to her.

But I feel that God will look after both of us. Seven weeks and then the real road to recovery. That can take up to two years from some of the folks I have talked to. But it beats being six feet under. Besides I have alot of stuff to do, providing God does not want me yet. And I believe he has much more in store for me here! So even though I am anxious about this next week I am approaching it as the beginning of the end and the beginning of the future.

I am going out of town with Lucille for a little R & R with my son Adam. So I may not be back on until Sunday evening when we return. So I hope everyone has a great weekend and just remember Mother's Day. Nite all...

Finally, answers...

Well, today was a very productive day medically. We went to the chemo doctor this morning. Found out that my blood counts were all great except the magnesium which was on the low normal range. But the better news is that starting next Monday I start the first radiation treatment. And on Tuesday I start the chemo treatment. Radiation is every morning 5 days a week for 7 weeks. The chemo on Tuesday will be after radiation and is expected to last most of the day. This will be every Tuesday for 7 weeks. So on June 26 I should have my last radiation, assuming there are no problems.

My weight is not what I want but will try hard to keep what I have during these treatments. I hope that the reactions I have had to chemo were not to the cisplatin. But will be taking drugs for that. And hopefully the radiation using the IMRT will allow me to eat and drink for the duration. Biggest effect according to doctors will be fatigue.

Last night I really finished shaving my head so it is truly bald now. It had grown a little and I just decided to finish it off in the shower. I have white semi circles on my fingernails as a result of chemo. Other than being tired I am doing well. Just have to keep pacing myself. No summer camp for me this year. First one I have missed in 25 years. But if I feel pretty good, I may drive to camp for the day. It will be during the last week of treatment. But I do know the boys and adults will do fine without me!

I met Randy face to face this morning. He is starting his second round of chemo and has throat cancer also. He looks good and is doing the same treatment that I am going through. He's off of coffee right now. I was off coffee until after the second chemo. I expect I will not like it again during this last round as this chemo is what affects the taste buds.

So today was getting the last peg in place for the final push. Getting some answers so we can get plans made for the next seven or eight weeks. Needless to say I will be anxious as I go into next week as to what to expect. I am praying that the radiation does not affect my eating or drinking and that the chemo will have a minimal side effect on eating and stomach problems. And that I will be able to work at least 2 days a week. Your prayers and support have gotten us this far. One reason we have stayed in Midland for treatment is because of the support of our friends here. And the prayers and support of our friends, old and new, from across the world has been a blessing I would have never thought could happen. Thank you, thank you, thank you and may God continue to bless you for your support! Nite all...

Just a routine day...

Good evening all..

A pretty normal day today. I did not take an afternoon nap and my wall is rapidly approaching tonight. Had Scouts and found out the summer camp we were supposed to attend has been canceled so looked at some alternatives.

We go to the chemo doctor in the morning and hopefully get some straight answers about the length of this chemo/radiation. I thought it was six weeks and Lucille thinks it is closer to eight weeks. So we'll get on the same page tomorrow morning about the length of this treatment. It has kinda thrown a kink into summer plans and my mental state. But if it is to be eight weeks, then it will be eight weeks. I did not come this far to say I'm not going to do this anymore!

Other than tired tonight, I am doing good. Lucille gave me some vanilla ice cream tonight but it was covered with coco mix and cinnamon. Those two items really masked the taste of the ice cream. Will try some more tomorrow. Still only weigh 155 pounds and need to gain a few pounds before next week.

Will continue to rest, eat and get some energy. But I thank God that he is carrying me at times when I cannot cope with this. And I am truly thankful that he listens! All I have to do is listen! Hope everyone takes the time to listen to God! Nite all..

A sleepy day...

Good evening to all. A pretty good day even for a Monday. Finally got up at 9am. Then babysit two of my grandkids until noon. Then came home to meet adjustor who had come earlier in the day. But slept for a couple of hours. So finally got to the office around 3pm and left after my Troop meetings around 8pm.

Other than needing sleep, which I did not fully realize I needed, I had a pretty good day. Did not eat enough today so have to really work on that the rest of the week. I eat alot more than I used to but cannot seem to gain the weight needed. So will keep at it in hopes of getting a few pounds before next week. My sinsues have cleared up some and should continue to do so the rest of this week. Food is still a chore at times. No sweets or sugar. An apple today did not even taste good. The good news is that I can tolerate most other foods so will continue to eat and eat and drink and drink!

I have worked out some and will continue to do so if for no other reason that to keep my muscle tone. Medium workouts are out of the question at this point. Will try to hike some this weekend, but will be careful not to over extend myself.

This should be a good week to get energy, gain some weight and have some extra endurance. I don't know when the final push will start but will let everyone know when I know. I thank each and everyone of you for your continued support and prayers. Nite all...

A good weekend..

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend. Am back from my camping trip. Tired but doing ok.
Got to Breckenridge, TX around 10:30 Friday night with 9 boys and 6 adults. Set up beds and got to bed around 12am. Up at 7am to get ready for the work day. After breakfast, we jumped in and helped the MD Anderson ladies set up the tables for the later afternoon meal. We then set up the parking lots (a blank field) for the cars that were to arrived after lunch. The day started out very cool and rainy. We did have some rain late Saturday morning but the day was cloudy and windy and cold the rest of the day. We set up camp as waiting for all the folks to leave Saturday night is too much for the boys (and some of us adults).

I talked to some of the MD Anderson ladies and it seems (at least among them) that I am known at MD Anderson. They all asked about my treatment and how much more I had to undergo. They were very nice and supportive.

I pretty much left the parking to the boys after the first 30 minutes and they did a great job the rest of the afternoon. THe boys did not get to see much of the polo match as the paid supporters did not really arrive under around 5pm. We are normally finished with parking around 4. We ate supper and the boys then kept the trash emptied until around 8pm. We then retired to our campsite while Jack Ingram played for about an hour. THen the fireworks started and lasted about 30 minutes this year. After that, we spent about 45 minutes helping to break down tables, put up decorations, and stack chairs and then clean up the area. We were back into our camp around 10:30 and proceeded to get ready for bed as everyone was pretty tired.

The boys and adults did a great job this year. We were a little short handed but the boys chipped right in and worked hard all day and night.

As for me, I took a little nap Saturday afternoon and then directed the boys for the balance of the afternoon and evening. Not alot of direction when they were working so hard! This is a big fund raiser for MD Anderson and was told it was the largest one that have done for this event. The Troop was glad to be able to be a small part of this event.

I am tired tonight as I drove the Troop bus down and back home. And being out in the elements has a way of wearing one down. But a good nights sleep in my bed and I will be ready for a good week. I talked to a few people who had heard about me and were praying for me. It is amazing how word spreads sometimes. It just goes to show you how wonderful people are in helping one another.

As I get ready to shower and go to bed, I sincerely hope your weekend was as rewarding as mine. My God continue to bless each of us as we start a new week. Nite all...