It’s been one week since Suzanne finished her radiation treatments and this was her toughest yet. Her throat pain, mouth sores, and dry mouth issues continued to increase in severity for most of the week making it more difficult to eat & drink. Trying all the tricks including increasing her pain medication along with mouth rinses and topical meds have helped some but not enough. At this time, calories are king, and trying to get her to eat is of…
For the past seven weeks, we had planned that today was supposed to be Suzanne’s last radiation treatment. Since her doctors were able to double up on one last week, we get today off. In fact, we get the rest of the week off, and even more. From here on, our schedule is dictated by time. First checkup in 2 weeks. Second checkup, 2 weeks later. Third checkup, a month after that. And then the day of reckoning, a month…
In my mind, ‘Faith’ is another one of those words that can lend itself to be troublesome for a Christian. As I wrote earlier, the word believe recognizes that there is some doubt as to whether something is real. But faith, for some reason, seems to has a little stronger connotation of reality. Faith, besides having a generic definition of “belief that is not based on proof”; as in ‘I have faith in your decision’. Faith also has an accepted…
We are home!!! Back in our own bed last night; No Ambulance sirens; No elevator bells; No Hallway doors baning. Just the peace and quiet of the country life we so much love (and the occasional howl of a coyote at the train whistle in the distance). This morning was coffee in bed together as usual and as it should be; A leisurely breakfast with no place to be; Enjoying the birds on the feeder, and the cats at the…
For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.Proverbs 9:11
Since I first shared our daily stroll, many things have changed. Most noticeably is the fact that the sun isn’t up when we leave the Guest House. It’s actually dark with only street & security lights providing illumination. But the hustle & bustle at that time of the morning hasn’t changed. Vehicle traffic, students on the move, morning joggers, medical staff heading to work. Because our time is the same every morning, we now recognize people & vehicles we pass…
One of my strange habits is to associate whatever is going on in my daily life to a song that is appropriate. Sometimes it drives Suzanne to the edge as I burst out into song while making breakfast, weeding the garden, or heading off to church. My very eclectic repertoire consists of mostly country, oldies from the ’40s to ’60s, and some other pretty obscure genres like Irish and comedy. I’ll get into the song and say to Suzanne ‘Singalong’…
Ok, we are in the ‘top of the seventh’ and Suzanne had a ‘doubleheader’ today. Yes, you are correct; it’s a sports analogy day! Suzanne is ‘in the home stretch’ this week with two radiation treatments today, her regular early morning, and then one early afternoon. This does not change the effectiveness of the treatments but does eliminate the need to be here in Chicago early next Monday morning. That means she will be ‘down to the wire’ for her…
I love music and the emotions that it stirs within me. It may seem strange but there are many songs I love that bring me to tears. Some of the songs because they remind me of days gone by that your heart wants to relive like ‘I’ll be home for Christmas’ Other songs bring out memories of great sorrow for me, like the death of a loved one. On the first Sunday back to church after Cindy’s death, the first…
Home for the weekend and today is just another Saturday. Like any other couple, have morning coffee, eat breakfast, do some laundry, work in a lunch break, run some errands, supper, and relax for the evening. For Suzanne, today started off pretty good, at least better than the last few have been. After Thursdays ‘throat lancing’ event, she was in a lot more pain and struggled more to talk & swallow than on previous days. She was just plain miserable….