Roots

Just to let everyone know that we made it back to Ontario safe and sound.

The Cowboy continues to amaze me. I’m not sure how he just drove 1300 miles in the last 5 days after having gone through what he has in the last 2 months.

We didn’t spend long hours on the road, pulled over at a rest area or a big box store parking lot when he needed to rest.

He is still sleeping a lot but sleeping better now that we have arrived back home. And yes our motorhome has been our home for the last seven years but where we park it can make all the difference between a house and home. This is where our roots are. Deep roots.

When I started this blog last fall my intention was to journal our travels and photos to share with our family and friends. In February, when The Cowboy was diagnosed with cancer, the blog took off in a different direction. We needed to communicate with everyone and keep them updated, being so many miles from home.

We also hoped that if there was anyone else out there that were facing the same challenges that we could help alleviate some of those fears of the unknown.

At that time I had no idea where the strength would come from but YOU our readers have given us that strength! We never would have been able to make this journey without your Prayers and encouragement. There were many evenings when I have sat and cried many big grateful tears reading your comments and positive thoughts for us. We owe all of this success to YOU! How can we not have made it through with all of the love and compassion you’ve shown us?

I swear if the bunch of you decided to open a greeting card company that Hallmark would be put to shame!

Below is a comment left by my brother KLM – who by the way would be the President of that greeting card company. He says it best!

I am remembering when this blog first started, and then how it blossomed into this part of the journey or quest. It seems to me it became an informational forum for all of us involved to learn and experience with you a part of life we don't all fully understand.

I think back to watching the ticker and thinking, my gosh how I miss and you both and have to wait even longer to see you. I cried with you, I laughed with you ...tried to do my best and be strong and inspire you.

Being positive has proven to be beneficial as we all know when dealing with this demon, and I want to say again, kudo's to you both for fighting a good fight.

"The will of God will never take you where the Grace of God will not protect you."

Now the day is just around for your arrival and I am so thankful. I would like to also thank all your followers for all their encouraging and sincere support...you can never have enough friends in life.

The next chapter hasn't been written, but I think we can speculate and rejoice accordingly.

Much luv and happiness to you both,
KLM MAE CJM

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We will continue posting although probably not on a regular basis and it will probably take off in a different direction as The Cowboy continues to recover.

We know we still have some challenges ahead of us but we will tackle them head on, just as we’ve done with this adventure.

Tying the Knot

Awww . . . and you thought this was going to be a follow up to our previous ‘proposal’ post? Sorry, no.

Meet Phillip:

We met Phillip in the Pharmacy waiting area yesterday.

Although he doesn’t seem very animated in this photo he really does come to life when engaged in a conversation.

Phillip has been coming to MD Anderson for 10 years to be treated for Hodgkins Disease.

 

He brings along one of his hobbies to pass away some of the hours between appointments. This particular craft is one where he takes used mule strapping and braids or knots it into stronger more durable ropes.

Here he’s showing the base or the center of the rope which he braids the nylon mule strapping around. Recycling at it’s best!

He then coils it so it becomes more compact and easier to carry around.

Last year when he was in the centre for a 4 week session of treatment he brought a chair with him that needed to be re-caned. He likes to stay active and believes in ‘Idle hands are the devil’s workshop’. Quite the guy and he has so many stories to share that I asked him to write a blog to post here. So hopefully we’ll be hearing from him real soon.

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Wednesday night we went for a long walk around the park. The Cowboy’s strength is coming back and he’s able to do more each day.

We are on the road and travelling north and that’s about all I can tell you right now. I’ve scheduled this post ahead of time so it will be published regardless of whether we have an internet connection or not.

Just know that we are taking our time. We have no deadlines we have to meet so we are traveling at The Cowboy’s speed. We may only drive for an hour, pull over at a rest stop, have a nap and continue on. Or we may be able to drive for 3 or 4 hours. We know that everyone is as anxious as we are to get back - just know that we are not being foolish or taking any chances on his health.

We know that God will be traveling with us just as he has along every step of this journey. We hope that he is in your hearts as well and that you can find peace in those thoughts.

Mount Rush Hour

Just one more shot of Houston’s landscape – check out those beautiful blue skies and white puffy clouds.

This was our view yesterday morning, through a dirty windshield, sorry.

Traffic was . . . well, hey it’s Houston!

We’ve passed this statue many times but it’s really difficult to get a good shot of it through the trees from the interstate . . . in a moving vehicle. Here’s a little better shot . . .

Mount Rush Hour

A Lone-Star-State-skewed version of Mount Rushmore, placed by sculptor David Adickes (who has built other big things in Texas) at a notorious Houston bottleneck.

Giant busts of George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Sam Houston, and Stephen Austin give morning commuters something to look at as they creep into downtown from the northwest suburbs. Across the bases it is labeled: "A Tribute to American Statesmanship."

So while you're caught in an interminable traffic snarl, gaze into the patient gaze of any of our hero Statesmen and still your rage. But if you want to admire the sculptures up close, you have to get off of the freeway.

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Cowboy’s blood work completed – doesn’t even take long enough for me to barely start a conversation with anyone in the waiting room .

Dr. S’s efficient Clinical Nurse Linda spent quite a bit of time with us going over the results. Leaving out the fine details and complicated ratios, calculations and percentages that I would never be able to translate for the purpose of this blog. I can tell you that his white  count, while still low is coming back up. She said that he looked better than she expected although he is slightly dehydrated. On a previous visit we were told the same thing but by drinking just another 8-10 ounces right away would have brought that level up immediately.

With the white count is coming back up she still advised that he stay away from crowds of people or places where there could be any contact with germs risking chances of infection. Even though his immune system is being built back up it his body needs to be stronger in order to fight off any bad bacteria.

For any of you medical specialists out there (Hi Nancy!) or any of you out there that have any concerns or are thoroughly disgusted with my casual terminology – we have copies of all the reports for your perusal.

Out of 5 he says his throat pain is about a 2 and with medication he’s able to control that. He’s comparing the outside neck burns, which we can see is healing, to the inside burns of his throat.

His weight is at 204 lbs. and while that is a total loss of about 16 pounds it’s not a big concern. Most of his adult life he was about 180-190 and it’s only been since semi-retiring and living this life style that it has crept up to about 220.

 

Myself and other girlfriends that I’ve chatted with are taking this as another life lesson.

 

 

You should always carry around some extra weight in order to be able to combat whatever may happen.

That’s my story.

Getting Back to Normal . . . slowly

Well, here we are all rested and on the road to recovery. It’s going to be a long, slow journey and we don’t expect all of the roads to be paved. 

Just a quick follow up to our last post and The Cowboy’s proposal – what you didn’t see was the whole radiation team plus others in the waiting room all crying and cheering us on!

We’ve made quite a few friends during this little adventure and these two wonderful ladies are part of our special memories. Norma, on the right, was looking forward to ringing the bell on Friday, the day after The Cowboy. I passed off my camera to her daughter Donna, on the left. However, mainly because of lack of instructions on my part, nothing was recorded. I’ll have to check with Donna since I know she took some shots with her phone and thank them for the wonderful tins of candies that they gave us.

And don’t ya just love how that day was supposed to be all about The Cowboy’s celebration and yet the attention and hoopla  . . . turned out to be all about ME?

This photo is courtesy of our beautiful Shygirl posted on Facebook this morning and ya just gotta see this coming . . . I’m such a Pioneer Woman wannabe – actually no that’s not true -  I’d rather be her BFF.

So I’m thinking this will be the new theme for my blog!!

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The Cowboy is gradually improving and I see him getting stronger each day. He’s sleeping less and doing more as he progresses. Every day we go for a walk and every day we go a little further. Today we (he) actually drove into Conroe which is about 25 minutes away, spent some time walking around the mall and did a little shopping.

I know he’s disappointed that he’s not improving as quickly as he would like but it took him a long time to get where he is and it will take some time to get back to where he needs to be. He’s not running any marathons yet . . . but truth be told,  he wasn’t exactly running any before.

He still isn’t eating anything substantial yet but he’s drinking lots of Boost and other liquids too.

Now here’s something I haven’t mentioned before and only because I didn’t think that it was major but it really is. For those of you that know The Cowboy know that he has always been a big coffee drinker (it’s a cowboy thing). Well, he hasn’t had a cup of coffee for about a month now. At first he was adding protein powder to his coffee in his travel mug but it just doesn’t appeal to him any more.

We’ve extended our stay here at Castaways RV Park  till Thursday. We’ll see how he’s feeling then. Tomorrow we have an appointment with Dr. Santigny, MD, PhD, (pronounced Santeeny) – doesn’t that sound like a soap opera name? He actually looks the part too, being very tall and speaking with a very strong french accent. He is an Assistant Professor from France – Chemotherapy Oncologist. This wasn’t on our schedule but he wants to see him before we head back up north. Just routine – lab work at 11:30 AM then our final visit.

I just want to re-iterate something that I posted last week but it may not have been emphasized enough the way I worded it. I’ve spoken with a few friends that follow our blog that asked when we were scheduled to come back for follow up. Dr. P. is so confident with the radiation treatment that he doesn’t need to see The Cowboy for 3 months! He usually asks patients to come back in 6 to 8 weeks but he is very pleased and said that everything looks really good. By waiting until near the end of July everything will be completely healed and he will be able to get a more accurate reading as to what is or isn’t there.

Another sign that I noticed that would indicate The Cowboy is getting back to normal . . . when he gets behind the wheel – everyone else on the road is an A$$*%^*  !!

Thanks again for following along and all of your wonderful messages and your prayers.

He Proposed!

Our beautiful Shygirl posted this link on Facebook:

Bells Ring End of Radiation Treatment

A bell rings out at one of MD Anderson's regional care centers following the completion of a patient's radiation treatment.
Photo: F. Carter Smith

MD Anderson’s radiation treatment facilities have all the bells and whistles — with emphasis on the bells.

Department of Radiation Oncology faculty and staff used their expertise and the latest technology to treat more than 7,000 cancer patients last year.

When their treatment was completed, many of those patients celebrated by ringing a bell at MD Anderson’s centers on the main campus, in the Greater Houston area and in Albuquerque, N.M.

The now-widespread tradition was introduced in 1996 at MD Anderson when U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Irve Le Moyne, a patient with head and neck cancer, installed a brass bell at the main campus Radiation Treatment Center.

Patients who finish treatment at MD Anderson’s Proton Therapy Center make a bit louder noise by banging a gong to symbolize the restoration of balance, harmony and life energy.

Young patient Karim Apollon bangs the
gong at MD Anderson's Proton Therapy Center.
Photo: Ryan Stephens

 

Ringing out

Ring this bell

Three times well

Its toll to clearly say,

My treatment's done

This course is run

And I am on my way!

— Irve Le Moyne

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Did you hear that? Yes, the bell has been rung!

And more will be ringing!

However, that bell ringing ceremony got trumped!

This man just doesn’t do anything half way. Treatment over and time for the traditional bell ringing. The Cowboy takes my hand and leads me to the bell to be at his side or so I thought. . . before I realize what he’s doing he’s down on his knee and proposing!

For those of you that don’t know our story you can check it out on our ‘About Us’ tab.

He handed me a piece of paper that looked like a certificate that I thought they had given him to signify the end of his treatments.

After that it was just a blur.

Even after practicing taking videos on my camera last night, the above picture is all that I got.

This is what was typed on that piece of paper:

We have been together through the best

You’ve been at my side through absolutely the worst

Our love has lasted through 50 years

I ask you to think as I bend at my knee

Sharon

WILL YOU MARRY ME?

If your answer is yes then ring that bell so all can hear

You mean everything to me my dear

Now ring that bell so loud and clear

Cuz we are getting’ outta here!

I Love You                         Your Cowboy

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We are moving today so I’m not sure what type of internet connection or cell service we will have when we arrive but we will try to keep everyone posted.

I said ‘YES!’

On The Green . . . written by The Cowboy

Sunday, April 22, 2012

So here it comes. I rounded the bend and now stand on the eighteenth hole. I can see the clubhouse. You would think I should be dancing but my putter is dragging and all my power is gone. Just throw me into the sand bunker and let the squirrels cover me over.

 

This is the lighted mural on the ceiling in the room where the Cowboy receives his radiation treatment.

 

 

 

Man they out did themselves building this hole. Four more Radiation treatments to skin that would put a lobster to shame. Phlegm so thick it could nest bullfrogs and with the energy level of a three month old.

Well bring it on! I know I can’t swing my driver anymore or any of my big clubs but I can still whack the ball with my pitching wedge and if it takes me 30 strokes we are going through this hole. As they say In Golf as in Life you can’t win or lose you can only play the game. There won’t be a great hurrah with a party as I couldn’t celebrate if I had too, but you have to know that little man that stands inside me will be jumping for joy that we can now start the mending process and make some plans to be back with the family we love.

To any of you that may be thinking of taking up the game, I suggest you stay well away from this course.

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Wednesday, April 25, 2012

What, what happened? I am on the green. We met with Dr. P today and I checked out fine. He said everything looked really good and he was very pleased. He normally would want a follow-up visit in 6 weeks but unless I feel a need to see him, he will see me in 3 months for my first follow up. I’m good with that so tomorrow is “Move Day” we are heading North 60 miles to an RV park we have stayed at before and let Mother Nature begin to erase this memory from my soul. I may even find a nice shade tree to sit under and polish my clubs.

This ain’t my first rodeo but I never want to draw this card again. It is because all the great folks we have had pullin’ for us that we have made it. You can count your money as often as you like but believe me it means nothing like an encouraging word or smile or virtual hug from those that care. Now that is real wealth.

Thank You Good LORD and I will see you down the road.

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Just a final note: We sincerely hope that the pictures were not too graphic and did not offend anyone. We are hoping that the photos will take help ease that fear of the unknown for anyone following us on this journey.