Okay, on to the next step. I'm feeling some relief now that we have a plan of action. Tom's surgery will be on October 27th at St. Mary's. There was a bit of a wait in the doctor's office this morning. I told Tom he must be feeling better because he was grumpy about waiting!!

We both like the surgeon and we think he's the best man for the job! He answered almost all of our questions before we asked them. It is definitely a long involved surgery. We expect Tom to be in the hospital about a week if there are no surprises or complications.

Now on to Coos Bay so we can eat our fill of crab and other fresh seafood and visit with friends. We've been watching the weather and the first couple of days may get rain but it should improve after that. Tom's rarin' to go. If the trailer were packed he'd be hooked up and on the road already.

Until the next time,
Jan

travelin' man

We decided to do a trial run to Graeagle with the camp trailer. We left Reno on Wednesday and came back home today, Friday. We also wanted to celebrate many things, one of which is today is our anniversary. FORTY-FOUR YEARS!!!! We also celebrated that Tom was feeling well enough to take this short trip. I celebrated with Mimosas and Tom stuck to red wine. Carbonation and Tom don't get along. We deemed ourselves ready for the trip to Coos Bay next week. The difference is that we'll have lots of help from great friends getting to Oregon and back home.

We stayed at Little Bear in Blairsden. The camp site had marauding bears a few days before we got there - appropos don't you think?? Fortunately, or unfortunately, we didn't see any live bears, only the carved ones in the camp ground. While there we visited our lake (Lake Davis), down town Portola and Graeagle.

We had an appointment with a surgeon earlier this week and will see another one next week. Then we'll have to make some decision on who, what, when, where and how. We'll keep you posted and want to say thanks for all of the support!

Until next time,
Jan

rest

Now that Tom isn't being abused on a daily basis, he's starting to feel better. He's eating better and probably putting on weight. He tells me that he is not ready to get on the scale just yet. We have appointments later this month with two surgeons.

We had a great visit with my brother and sister-in-law. Tom sure enjoys visiting with friends and family which we got to do on Balloon Race week-end. We are both looking forward to our annual trip to Coos Bay. I'm sure Tom will be a good adviser!

Until the next time,
Jan

WooHoo!!! Today was the last day of radiation and chemo. The Rad. folks presented Tom with a certificate, pomp and circumstance, and hugs all around. What a great group!!!

The next step is to rest and recuperate. In a few weeks we'll make appointments with a couple of surgeons and go from there. The expectation is that Tom will be feeling better in a week or two and hopefully will regain his appetite.

Until next time,

Jan

PS He still has hair.

Therapy home stretch

Today started a reduced area of radiation treatment and the next to last chemo treatment. Let's put it this way...we think that next Wednesday will be the last of the chemo and radiation treatments before the rest and recovery period needed prior to surgery. I'm fairly certain more testing is in the near future. The probable sequence of events is three to four weeks after treatments are completed we should see a surgeon who may or may not want another gastroscopy and who knows what other tests.

I've been brushing hairs off the shoulders of Tom's shirts. Natural hair loss???? Maybe??? His eyebrows are still bushy, but I have my eyebrow pencil sharpened just in case I need to use it on him. I'm now trying to line up some false mustaches. I think maybe a black one and he can wear a black fedora for a whole new look.


Until the next time,
Jan (and me too, (Bubba))

We've made it to the half-way point of treatments. Everything is going as planned and as expected. The radiation oncologist told us things are going well. Tom usually feels really good for a day or two after chemo. They tell us it's the steroids. Tom jokes about looking forward to chemo. Still working on keeping the weight on.

Today was chemo day and Kemma's birthday party. We got to visit with the kids and most of Rollie's family. A good time was had by all. No pictures because I forgot my camera. Maybe Raina will share her pictures.

Tom wants you all to know how much he appreciates all the cards, calls and visits! They sure perk him up.

Until next time,
Jan

A week and a half into treatment and Bubba's doing well. We're still working on putting weight onto to him, not me. Oh, well, can't say I don't support him in eating every couple of hours. We bought a juicer and that has helped get his fruits and vegetables down without too much hassle. I put together a big salad then dump it in the juicer. If you don't look at, it's not too bad (says me, who doesn't have to drink it). When he has his chemo they give him certain drugs just before the actual chemo and one of those is a steroid. Due to that he feels pretty good for a day or two. We took food and drink and our own blanket last time. Oh yeah, Tom had his ear buds in and I had to tell him to quit singing. It looks like three hours is going to be the usual session time.

He still gets out and does his wood turning and works in the yard. He mowed the lawn a few days ago and cleaned out the flower bed that has the day lilies. Lo and behold there was the missing egg from last Easter's egg hunt. It started out as a hard boiled egg, then got dyed. Well, there was no color left and fortunately it was still in tact, so no smell either. Neither one of us was brave enough to crack it open.



Tom went to Carson City this morning without me. Not on the bike, but in the truck. I think he needed to get away from me always 1) asking him how he feels and 2) asking him if he can eat something. Whatever the reason, it lifted his spirits to get out and talk to people.

Until the next time,
Jan