Wednesday was our sixth visit to Rush for Suzanne’s PATHway clinical trial. As usual, many Doctors are always anxious to see her while she is there.

Her oncologist now only visits with her every other infusion, and this was the one. Very happy with all that he is seeing and always comments that her blood work comes back perfect. This is important to him because the trial drug Ketruda does cause many body organs to malfunction including the liver and kidneys so having them function properly is a big deal. His watchful eye is especially important now that he too suspects that she is receiving the drug in this trial as evidenced by little rash-type bumps on her body that are somewhat irritating.

Her swallowing coach dropped in for a quick visit. He is always busily typing when we meet him, either he is taking notes about every aspect of her eating escapades, or texting his friends, I haven’t figured out which. Pounding away this time, his excitement for her accomplishments was very evident. When we told him that she was getting about sixty percent of her calories by mouth, you could see his smile through his mask. We shared her biggest challenge was thinner liquids so he scheduled a scope with her on the next visit to watch down her throat as she swallows. We commented that last time he didn’t use any anesthetic so it was painful for Suzanne. He shared that in Illinois, he is not allowed to administer anesthetics like New York where he was from so he would arrange for someone else to administer it on her next visit.

Off to her surgeon who was supposed to meet with her last visit but didn’t make it, so this visit was like an old home week. He was overwhelmed at how good Suzanne was doing and didn’t stop telling her. If you remember, Dr. A was our ‘Douting Thomas’ of the team but he couldn’t hold back his enthusiasm. Taking pictures of everything, her arm, her neck, and all-around under her chin, in her mouth; I was surprised he didn’t take a selfie with her. He also performed a scope through her mouth and took movies down her throat. Wonder if he has a Youtube channel? His exam was thorough and when he was done he wanted Suzanne to come back again in six weeks. Little does he know it will be a lot longer as our schedule will change in late August. More on that later.

The trip to Rush is always stressful for Suzanne and this week’s visit followed an eventful and very emotional week for Suzanne. Justin was home for a heartwarming homecoming, not seeing him for this past year was difficult for both of them. Friday she saw The Beach Boys at the Champaign County Fair. Saturday, the family from all across the midwest celebrated her dad’s ninetieth birthday, most of them seeing Suzanne for the first time since her cancer diagnosis. So many smiles, hugs, and words of encouragement that day. And then Sunday she took her dad to the draft horse pull & show at the Champaign County Fair. You would have expected Suzanne to be completely worn out from all this but she’s pretty much back to normal, at least her new normal; but that too continues to change as her drive to surpass what she accomplished each week motivates her every day.

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4

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