A Bittersweet Week

Today was a sad day. Our cat Smokey had been diagnosed with a number of health problems. He had some liver damage, an infection of unknown origin, an open sore on his left cheek, and . . . worst of all . . . diabetes. His glucose was very high. So today I took him to the vet and had him put to sleep. Sandy agreed that this had to be done but did not want to know when. I made an appointment on Monday and he was put down today, on Friday. I pampered him all week while telling Sandy nothing about the appointment until she came home from work this evening.

We'll miss him, and we guess that Bandit will miss him, too.

On Wednesday the 16th, Sandy and I drove to the University of Chicago Hospital to see her doctor. We got there about 20 minutes early and didn't see the doctor for another two and a half hours. It was a busy place that night.

The good news is that Sandy is still very much in remission. The CA-125 score that must be below 35 to be in a "no-cancer" range was nine. 9! Good news indeed.

We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Life In Remission

Sandy is doing very well. Her life is back to normal. We've hosted Thanksgiving dinner for her family and we've been doing some local traveling.

at the Fair Oaks Dairy Farm in Indiana.















Colors at Starved Rock State Park, near LaSalle, IL.















Waterfall at Starved Rock State Park.





















Canyon wall in Starved Rock State Park.















Collecting Army Worms on the trail at Starved Rock.















Sandy and I took Julie's sofa to her in St. Paul.
We'd stored it in our basement since August 2006.
Here's Julie and Todd.






















Ava turned 4 on November 10th.
Her birthday party on the 14th was in her new home in Woodbury.















Ava gets her cake.





















Julie's self-portrait with Ava.






















Sandy hosting Thanksgiving.





















Historical Society Museum in Elgin, IL.















An Elgin watch.




















Sandy at the General Store in the Elgin Museum.





















A chance encounter with Sophie, peering over a park bench.














Next day, we drove to see the lighthouse at Michigan City, IN.















A smokestack near Michigan City.





















1 of about 80 deer pictures that Sandy took, west of Michigan City.














Sculpture in basement of Lake County Courthouse.






















"Quacky Tourist" outside John Dillinger Museum.






















at Popolano's in Chesterton, IN.






















at Popolano's for lunch.






















After we got home we put up a couple Christmas trees. This is how Sandy's been spending her time in remission so far. She has another appointment with her oncology doctor, Doctor Yamada, on December 16th.

When cancer strikes, the patient is subject to chemotherapy. The chemicals cause hair to fall out. The lack of hair may cause the patient to buy wigs. That's where Sandy is now.

What you don't want to do when wearing a wig made of synthetic hair is get near a hot stove or oven. If you do, it might singe the wig. Sandy has gone through two or three wigs in just this way.

To help her remember to be more careful, Sandy did this:

Stage Two

We saw Sandy's doctor yesterday evening. She said that Sandy is officially in remission, but . . . her CAT scan showed some "borderline" areas to keep an eye on. For now, everything looks good. The doctor said that because of these borderline areas she is not a candidate for the year-long clinical trial. We will see the doctor once each quarter.

Meanwhile, the doctor ordered another test for CA-125 to ensure the number stays well below 35.

Sandy is happy. Her hair is beginning to grow back and she's in tears watching the premiere of Grey's Anatomy.

It's a good day.

Winding Down

Sandy's health is getting better. The neuropathy in her feet isn't nearly as bothersome to her as it was near the end of chemotherapy. Her life has returned to what it was before her diagnosis in January.

She has another appointment with her oncology doctor on the 23rd. It's then that we'll learn the results of the CAT scan Sandy underwent on August 27th. If she "passes," the doctor will declare her to be in full remission.

On Saturday I rented a core aerator and punched holes in our yard wherever we don't have new sod. After I got done, Sandy said, "Why don't we go to Yoder's Kitchen for lunch?"

Yoder's Kitchen is over an hour and a half away, in Arthur, IL. Nevertheless, we cleaned up and took off on I-57 south. When we got there at 2 o'clock we figured the place would be empty. Who eats lunch at 2 o'clock? We found out.

The region was having its annual Corn Broom Festival. Yoder's Kitchen was filled with people. We waited over half an hour just to get a table. When we finally did sit down, it was right behind the noisy ice cream machine. But the food was good and we were soon on our way.

On the 19th, Saturday, Sandy and I took our bikes up to Frankfort, IL. We rode 25 miles on the paved bike path called the Old Plank Road Trail. I was very impressed that Sandy just kept right on going, didn't take many breaks.

She was sore the next day.

Her eyebrows and the hairs on her head are beginning to grow back. This makes the prospect of entering a clinical trial unpleasant. She could be put on the one "arm" of the trial that would give her the kind of taxol that she received during her six cycles of chemotherapy. If so, there goes the hair again. If not, she'll have a full head of hair within a few months.

We'll see her doctor tomorrow, ask a few questions, then make a decision about that clinical trial.

Remission!

Sandy and I went to UCMC Friday to see her oncology doctor, Dr. Yamada. We talked about the clinical trial that Sandy might be able to get into, but Dr. Yamada expressed concern that the neuropathy (burning and tingling) in her feet might bar her from getting into it. Sandy will have a CAT scan this coming Thursday to check for any anomalies. Then, on September 23rd we'll see the doctor again for a progress check.

Meanwhile, the doctor told Sandy that she is officially in remission! Sandy was so happy about this that she insisted on another trip to Ghirardelli's Chocolate Shop in downtown Chicago to celebrate.

The Energizer Bunny

Ever since the day after Sandy's blood transfusion she has been going virtually nonstop. She goes to work, she cooks, she bakes, she sews, she rides her bike . . . she keeps busy. The burning sensation in her feet has diminished.

I think that, for her, feeling good is the absence of feeling bad. When you don't feel well, you wish you did. Now, when she feels well she appreciates it!

We'll see her doctor in Chicago on Friday. We have questions for her, and . . . based in part on her answers . . . Sandy will decide whether to go into their clinical study. To do so will mean monthly visits to UCMC for a year and it might mean enduring chemotherapy side effects for as long.

Meanwhile, daughter Julie is setting up a law practice in St. Paul while Scot and family are looking at a new home in their near future.

Big decisions for all.

Here's Sandy, in front of Lincoln's temporary tomb in Springfield, IL (He was here six months before being moved to his current site).
(Click to enlarge)

2nd Blood Transfusion

Nurse Connie of the University of Chicago Medical Center (UCMC) called Sandy last Thursday. She told Sandy that her numbers in her most recent hematology results were low. For this reason, Connie suggested that Sandy have a blood transfusion, as she did <once before>.

Connie said that it would be best to have the transfusion as soon as possible. Both Connie and Sandy got on the phone with various medical personnel to make the arrangements. On Friday, the very next day, Sandy and I checked into Riverside Medical Center's Infusion Room, in the C Wing, 4th floor. She received two units of blood over a four-hour time span.

Sandy considers a blood transfusion to be "creepy," but the fact is that she had been tired. After the previous blood transfusion it took roughly fifty hours before she began feeling like her old self again. Today is Sunday, as I write this, so we figure that she'll start feeling better sometime this evening if not before.

Her feet have been feeling as if she's standing on hot coals. Anything to cool them off is a godsend to her right now. Well, this past week we had about 220 rolls of sod put into our back yard and along the east side of the house. New sod requires watering to keep it moist. I had sprinklers on three hoses and a fourth hose with a nozzle. She opened up that nozzle enough to spray a mist and aimed it at her feet to cool them off.

The smile on her face said it all.

Last Chemo Day

Thursday the 30th was Sandy's last day of chemo ... for now. After we finished, which was around 1 o'clock, we drove to one of Sandy's favorite places in all of Chicago, Ghirardelli's Chocolate Shop, where she got her favorite, a chocolate soda. Then we went to Sam's Club to stock up on basic supplies, then home.

There was one final thing to do on Sandy's last chemo day:


This morning at 7:10, I found Sandy kneeling on the kitchen floor scrubbing grout. She had already washed two loads of laundry. Like every preceding day-after-chemo, her cheeks were flushed red:

Chemo Day 6 - Last One

Sandy got a call yesterday from the nurse at UCMC telling her that she could go to chemo tomorrow. This will be her last chemo unless she ultimately decides to enter a trial at UCMC that lasts a year. If she does, we'll be going there every month for a year. She would be given either 1) xyotax or 2) a reduced dose of the paclitaxel that she's been taking or 3) no chemicals but monthly visits with her oncologist.

Sandy hasn't decided for certain if she'll enter the trial. The thought of going through 12 more visits to UCMC over the next year is too much to think about right now.

Meanwhile, Zoey next door turned 10 today. She and friend Jenna came to the house yesterday to give us an invitation to her party. While here, we talked about ... of all things ... computers. Jenna's dad is a Mac user and I'm a PC user. The girls decided they would make up a song about me and PC's. They came back within an hour to sing, "Chuck, The Microsoft Man."

Here it is:

The Swarm

Sandy got a call from her UCMC nurse Connie the other day. Connie told her that her platelets are too low for her to undergo chemotherapy this Thursday, so it will be put off for a week. She also learned that her CA-125 "score" is now 9, well below the 35-and-above numbers that might indicate the presence of cancer. Things are looking up!

Yesterday afternoon the weather was perfect for kids, so we had a swarm of them at the house. Here are a few:

Sandy talking to Lexi, with Emma, Luke, Zoey and Maddie.














Maddie, Zoey, Lexi














Gerrit and aunt Zoey















Gerrit, Zoey, Maddie, Lexi and ... Luke with a Fizzie.

















Gerrit, Zoey, Lexi















Luke, hogging the frame
















Zoey loves Gerrit




















Luke, taking a break from golf (Bandit in background)















Emma (back) with Gerrit, Zoey, Maddie and Lexi

Birthdays

Sandy's been feeling well lately. Her platelets are low, however, so there's a question as to whether she'll be able to have chemo next Thursday. Hematology results taken this coming Tuesday will tell the story.

Yesterday we went to the birthday party of Gerrit, grandson of the folks next door. He turns 3 on Monday. I regret that I don't have pictures of the event because it's hard to believe how much stuff he got from everyone who showed up. More than that, the expression on his face when he knew everyone was going to sing Happy Birthday to him and that he could blow out the candles on his cake was the definition of happy.

Here's Ava with Gerrit on July 4th at Gerrit's grandpa's house:
















and here's Ava with friend Zoey (A.K.A. Gerrit's aunt):





















After we left Gerrit's party, we went to a party for a neighbor across the street, Jeff. While there, Sandy met a woman who had once had ovarian cancer and lived to tell about it. She's been cancer-free for 17 years. They talked at length and I know Sandy came away with a greater hope than she's felt for a long time. It was a real blessing that she met this woman.

Blueberries

Sandy and I went blueberry picking yesterday. You gotta dress for it.
































We got there as they opened at 8. Before you can start collecting blueberries, you need to gather along the fence so that you can . . .
















. . . get a ride out to the bushes.













Here's a bunch of pickers in the highbush country.





















Here's another.

















Once we checked out . . .














. . . we found out we had picked 22 pounds!





















I picked something like 0.2 pounds more than Sandy, which surprised me because I thought she had more than I did. Or maybe she switched pails when I wasn't looking to make me feel good.

Just a note about the blueberries. Some of the bushes had berries with white spots on them. I found out from one of the owners at Tammen Treeberry Farm that the white stuff is an insecticide called Imidan. It washes off easily. What you're supposed to do to get blueberries ready for freezing is to very gently wash them to get the insecticide off, dry them on a paper towel, spread them out on a cookie sheet, put them in the freezer, and when they're frozen, put them in containers or bags to freeze thoroughly.

Oh, yeah, we're gonna do that with 22 pounds of blueberries! I put them in quart freezer bags, then into the freezer. We'll wash 'em as we use 'em.

We went to lunch with our friend Ruth in Momence, then home.

As we got out of our van, Sandy noticed that her Chevy Tracker had a flat tire!

We sat down, too tired to deal with it right then. But . . .

As fatigued as we were, I jacked up her Tracker and put on the spare. We drove the flat to our friendly repairmen at Balthun's in Kankakee. They repaired it for only $8, we returned home, put the tire back on her Tracker and were good to go.

We sat back down to relax, but then Sandy's restless legs started acting up, so I pumped air into our bike tires and off we went for a short bike ride. That helped her relax and then the day was over.

It was a long day and a good one.

Sandy's Birthday

Sandy was #%&@ years old yesterday. She didn't want a party, so she and I had a quiet day together and that's what she wanted. We went to the movie Public Enemies, came home to make root beer floats, she lounged on the patio reading a murder mystery, then we went to her favorite restaurant for dinner, Lone Star.

She had neuropathy in her feet (translation: burning soles, as if walking on hot coals) but still managed to enjoy the things we did and the time we spent together.

Today she went to see her mother in her assisted-living facility in the town of Watseka (30 miles SSE of our house).

Sandy feels fatigued much of the time. The last time she felt this way her red blood count was down. Whether it's low now we don't know, because we don't have her most recent hematology report. A June 30th report indicated that her red blood count was at the bottom of normal limits.

Earlier, when her RBC was well below normal and she was fatigued, she got a <blood transfusion>. Although she considers a blood transfusion to be "creepy," it made her feel better a couple days afterward, so if she needs another one she'll go for it.

After The 4th

Sandy is returning to "normal," now that the weekend has come and gone. The weekend following chemo are typically the worst days of chemo's 3-week cycle.

On this weekend we were blessed to have Scot and Heidi and the girls as guests. They were on their way from Atlanta, GA to St. Paul, MN. Scot passed his Aircraft Commander training with flying colors (if you will) and is now officially a pilot-in-command (civilian term) of a C130. We're very proud of him! Sandy was in some pain and was very tired over the weekend, but coped well. On the 4th it rained all day. Not good. The neighborhood kids wanted to play outside, but couldn't.

Finally, an hour or so before sunset, the rain stopped and the sky brightened with a rainbow. The kids came out from everywhere. We lit sparklers and other fireworks and the kids ran all over the place in smoke. It looked like this:











and this:
















Ava had a great time with her friends Lexi and Zoey. Here, she gets a big hug from Zoey.





















We also enjoyed watching Reese grow before our eyes.































Finally, when we all went to dinner, our little Ava occasionally acted less like a big sister to Reese than like "The Exor-sister":





















We were sorry to see them go, but at the same time Sandy needed rest and she got it on Sunday.