Day of Play

Wow, did we have a full day; it was great and it went fast. Toni and Gordon Powell from Kalispell, and Barbara Lohn (Toni's sister) and her husband, Jim, came over to the hotel for a visit. Toni and Barbara's father worked with Dave's father in the 50's. Later in the afternoon, Ralph and Kathy Swanson picked us up for the Seahawks game - what a treat! Dave did well and had a great time. Tomorrow will be a day of rest, then we move forward on Monday.

Appointment Time

Looks like we see the radiation oncologist Monday at noon!! We should find out our time-line then. Dave looked a little "gaunt" this morning so I kept nagging him to drink, drink, drink! I think he gets tired of me sometimes always telling him what to do!! Anyway, he did as I "encouraged" him to do, and he looks much better this evening. He is suppose to drink 100 oz./day (13 cups) of any type of fluid. That is really hard to do, but I know he drank over 80 oz. already. He also had some juicy grapes. I took a break away today and rode the shuttle to Pioneer Square. Boy, was that interesting! I spent most of my time browsing the antique stores, and could have stayed the entire day, but I didn't want to push it!!! Dave is watching the Mariner's game, so I think I'll grab my knitting and join him. Hi, to all!

Still Waiting

It has been a good & full day. They sure don't give a person much time to worry but we did manage to sleep until 10 a.m.; I don't think I've done that since being a teenager, and I doubt Dave ever did! I guess we were pretty tired. We did meet with our PA and team nurse, but Dr. Holmberg was unable to join us. There really isn't much to report, but we should have the schedule date for the radiation oncologist tomorrow. Sara, our team PA, was very positive and showed us the PET/CT scan. We couldn't see the mass ourselves, nor could she. She says the density is less, so it doesn't "light up" as much as it did. That is also to our advantage. Another encouraging sign was that our nutritionist actually dismissed us as of today. Dave is still a little low on fluids, so he needs to work on that. His weight is stable and every day he seems to eat more. Can you imagine his desire for Spam and now he likes peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwiches(at least they are easy to make!!) Please don't tell him I told you!! HA! I'm trying to figure out why these food choices. I wonder if it has something to do with his childhood and the fact that he has to have all of his childhood inoculations given in a year. His skin is even "baby-soft". It's amazing. I also met someone else today from Whitefish; Skip and Shelly Arbuckle, and we had a nice visit this evening. They are staying here in the hotel for a few days. I love it when I see a vehicle with a Flathead Valley license plate parked here. There is someone else here from Bigfork, but I haven't met them yet; I'll make it my goal for tomorrow!

Preparation Classes

There sure aren't many days that are idle here! Today, Dave and I attended a Long-Term Departure Orientation. It was pretty interesting and very educational. It also gave us a boost realizing that we will be home soon. Tomorrow we have an appointment with the "team" and will discuss the next move. It's a little disheartening knowing things are not all cleaned up, but we will do our best to remain positive and take the next step forward. It will also be a relief to meet with Dr. Holmberg tomorrow, and have a game plan. We took the shuttle to the hospital to visit with Mike Eve. He had his nephrectomy (kidney removal) yesterday and is doing well. We only stayed about an hour as we didn't want to tire him out. What an ugly disease we are confronted with. Thanks again everyone for all your best wishes and prayers!

Not Quite There Yet

Dr. Holmberg called this evening with the results of the PET/CT scan. Everything was clean except for one 5 cm mass that is being very stubborn. She seemed very positive that it could be cleaned up with pin point radiation, and will be consulting with a radiation oncologist tomorrow. We really don't know much more than that. There is the possibility of it being done in Kalispell, but they might prefer to do it here. It should only hold up our return home for another couple weeks if we are understanding things correctly. We have an appointment Thurs. with the "team" and will have more answers then. Don't give up on those prayers, we only have 5 cm to go!

CT/PET Scan Done

Went to the University of Washington Hospital today for the CT/PET scan which was scheduled for 2 p.m., and we finally got back "home" at 6 p.m. It was a long day; Dave was tired and hungry (good sign), and I was upset with myself for making too many mistakes on my knitting. I guess my mind just wasn't going down the right path and my eyes were going in different directions! We now have the waiting game. Hopefully, Dr. Holmberg will call us with results so we don't have to wait until Thursday. Tomorrow there are no appointments, but I plan to meet with the knitting group at the SCCA for a little "girl time". Who knows, I might even learn something! It will be to bed early this evening for us; I'm sure we will sleep better than last night, and tomorrow a better day.

Unsettled

Tomorrow is the big day as Dave will have a PET/CT scan to determine if his treatments here have been successful. I wish I could sweeten it up, but the truth is, we are pretty anxious even though we won't have the results for a few days. I'm afraid those few days will be somewhat unsettling too, but we will do our best to keep busy and keep our minds occupied with other thoughts. That, in itself, is a real challenge at times! It's been a pretty quiet day, but we did go to Whole Foods for a few groceries. Wow, was that ever a nice store; everything is organic, pretty spendy, but one of those stores that you could spend a lot of time in just looking. I did buy some free-range chicken for dinner, along with a rutabaga for Dave (one of his favorites)! That sounds pretty healthy, doesn't it? But, you have to remember - he did have Spam and eggs for breakfast!!! Maybe the Buffalo Cafe should add that one to their menu! GlenH would you send us your e-mail address; I lost it! Thanks for continued prayers.