I am finally updating everyone on Louise. I know it has been awhile, but that is good news not bad. She is going to radiation everyday. She is tired, but not completely exhausted. Her hair is thinning but not bald. Her spirits are good for the most part, other than her usual frustrations with her … Continue reading Louise Update

I haven’t been completely honest with you. Oh, I was honest about coming off of my cholesterol meds. I was honest about cutting my diabetes meds in half. The CA125 (tumor blood test) really was half of what it was last time I had it. All of my blood results really did amaze my doctors; … Continue reading Lesson 16- Stay Transparent and Vulnerable

I gained two pounds. It was bound to happen. Summers are not structured enough for me to keep up my regular routine, no matter how hard I try. What has surprised me however, is not the gain itself but my reaction to it. My mind wanted to quit. How odd that I can loose 44 … Continue reading Lesson 15- Keep Hope

Yesterday I found out that if you already have bruises on both arms the people in the lab take drawing your blood much more seriously. The lady I got yesterday said, “Whoa…what happened here?” I told her that I had a CT scan on Monday and that these marks were all the places they missed. … Continue reading Radiation update

I have been out of town for a couple of days…college looking with William. I cannot believe that he is a senior and we are doing the college search again. Time flies. I wanted to update you on Louise. She continues to go to radiation each day. Yesterday Bill took her. He said she is … Continue reading Louise Update

There is a technique in Psychology called flooding. In theory, if you are afraid of something and you face it head on you will learn that it is not as scary as your irrational fears are making it out to be. Therefore, if you are afraid of spiders you might go into a room filled … Continue reading Needle phobia

I met some women today who inspired me. Two of them are multiple year walkers of the 3-day. One is a repeater from 9 years ago. We walked 8 ½ miles together on a training walk. Along the way, I told my story, and listened to theirs. The woman who is repeating this year after … Continue reading Inspiration

Louise continues to have her radiation each day during the week at 10:30. She will have the weekend off as well as Monday for the holiday. We saw her tonight for Bill’s birthday and she said that sometimes she thinks the treatment is making her mind worse. This is the first we have heard her … Continue reading Louise’s Latest

One of the first things you ask after you hear the words ‘you have cancer’ is “How do I get rid of it?” There is a militant desire to root it out at all costs, because the cost of not doing it is extremely high. Unacceptably high. The part of you that is alive rises … Continue reading Lesson 14- Get Rid of It

We had a good visit with Louise last night. She was in good spirits. We took William over to see her since she had called him on his birthday and told him she had a gift for him. She said she remembered his birthday AND his name. Pretty big accomplishment for her. I don’t know … Continue reading Reading and Writing