Surprise Visit from Justin

A real highlight since my  last blog entry was a surprise visit from my son, Justin, who secretly travelled all the way from Cork Ireland for a weekend visit.  Steve and I were home on Friday, October 23, when a knock came to the door.  When Steve went downstairs and opened the front door, he was shocked to see Justin standing there with flowers in his hand.   Steve came upstairs and asked me if it would ok if the person delivering flowers to me could come in our master bedroom.  I wondered what Steve was doing inviting the delivery person upstairs, but I said ok.  What a fantastic surprise to see Justin with the flowers.  It was like a dream.  I hugged him tightly to confirm that it was not a dream.  We had a wonderful weekend together.  As he is in medical school, it was great to have him see me and share his medical knowledge with me.  Additionally, it really lifted my spirits.

            Another fun family event was Lee and Stephanie’s family visit over Halloween weekend.   I got to see the grandchildren in their Halloween costumes and go trick or treating with them.  Also, we had a blast carving pumpkins.  It was another wonderful weekend.

           In my last blog entrance, I mentioned that we were meeting with the doctor who specializes in medications.  Although he is not sure what caused my prior incidents, he is concerned that the combination of pain medicine, nausea medicine and sleep medicine as well as the cancer treatments needs to be watched closely.  We are working with him to get the right balance.  The challenge is that my body does not seem to fit the normal treatment regimens.    

From the cancer standpoint, I continue with the same treatment.  I have felt pretty good on a few days, but most days I experience a lot of pain in my abdomen.  I always feel full so I cannot eat very much.  I try to eat small amounts often, but this has placed a lot of stress on me to plan out what I can eat.  The headaches also continue.  Lately, my acid reflux has been challenging, especially during the night.  The doctor has ordered a CT Scan for early December.  This should help us know the effectiveness of the current cancer treatment. 

            I am grateful for everyone’s support and prayers.  It means a lot to me, and I know it is helping me to deal with this situation.