Goodbye 2009

January: Elliot Martin Oliver arrived during the ice storm of the century in Fayetteville. By some fluke of engineering, our hotel had power, so we took Ethan back with us. He's convinced to this day that we lost his LSU football uniform pants there. So, Nana replaced them. Now Erin has TWO LSU helmets to store. Surely, Elliot will have a phase when he will wear one to humor his Daddy.

February: We continued our house remodeling project. Painting morphed into new window and door trim and starting the screened porch addition. I loved waking up to see a yard full of pickup trucks. All I had to do was make a request and these guys said, "Yes, ma'am."

March: Bryan first noticed the swelling in his parts. We spent Spring Break in Fayetteville, helping with bridal pictures and grandbabies. Erin and I took Elliot along to the photo shoot with Rachel. He was a trooper. The photo shoot had been delayed because of weather, so when we got to Fort Smith to meet the photographer, there was no place to change into her gown. Shannon marched across the street to the funeral home, asked if we could use a room, and led us in! Erin and I were panicked that mourners would encounter the beautiful bride in the hallway, but there was no confrontation.

April: The house project continued quickly. After 27 years of glacial-speed progress, having all these workers here was quite a change for us. We had carpenters, granite fabricators, tile layers (thanks, Keith!), roofers, electricians. . . . and we had a wedding about to happen!

May: The weather threatened, and we rented every tent in Fayetteville, but the wedding was beautiful! Wearing blue rainboots, Rachel avoided the puddles, and the ceremony happened as planned in the Botanical Gardens of the Ozarks. The nephews and niece made it down the aisle and the bridesmaids avoided hypothermia with their lovely pashminas. Then we had a great party. Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Silvestri! We celebrated Emily's third birthday. She loves Fancy Nancy books, Legos, and baby dolls. As much as she loves to read, she loves to talk.

June: Bryan and I went to Malibu to visit with Bob Harris of Malibu Ceramics. He and Bryan collaborate on a lot of projects since their talents complement each other. We stayed in a beautiful house on a mountain overlooking the ocean. It was then that we realized that a visit to the urologist was necessary to figure out what was going on.

July: We had a houseful. The Sutcliffes were here. All the kids were here. Peggy was here. Daddy was here. Others were waiting at home to hear. After the diagnosis of stage-four renal cell carcinoma, the brain scan was next. We held our collective breath and together sighed our prayers of thanks when it showed no mets. "We knew there wasn't anything in your brain!" Then waiting for surgery was hard. Knowing that a cancer is growing inside you is frightening; to have to wait so long to get it out gave us a sense of helplessness. However, we had met the surgical doctors on the team and were confident in their plans. July 22: radical nephrectomy followed by several days in the hospital. What a supportive, competent group of nurses and doctors we had at St. Vincent's. They took care of us and smiled at our beach-themed visitors. We met our oncologist, Dr. Baltz, and immediately felt safe and optimistic in his care.

August: We actually went to the beach. Dr. Baltz understood our family's crazy need to complete our annual trek. He approved the delay in Bryan's blood tests by prescribing daily heparin injections. The grandkids understood their parents' explicit instructions to NOT use Pawpaw as a trampoline. I even got a new car for the safe transport of the patient. I had expected to need to drug him up for the trip, but he did fine, even walking into rest stops and restaurants. The beach house had two living areas. In past years, we have made ourselves available to the kids, focusing on each one in turn. This time, Bryan napped and I found quiet places to reflect and rest. Just being together was healing. Elliot contracted foot and mouth syndrome (disease?) and was a mess. His mouth hurt so nothing was soothing. Bless his heart. He was better by the time they flew back to NWA. The other kids loved the pool and the sand. They love to be together.

September: Back to school and the self-centered world of middle school kids. All my colleagues have been tremendously supportive and helpful. Teaching is a monumental task. There's not really a break from it. No substitute takes over the tasks. The planning, responsibility for instruction, assessment, interaction with parents, care of students doesn't abate whether the teacher is on deck or not. It's a heavy load to carry along with a heavy personal load. I know many teachers carry that load, and I hope to understand it in others and help when I can. I try not to whine.

October: We love those Hogs! We were able to attend all the football games both here and in Fayetteville. Rachel and Matt organized great tailgating in The Gardens. We usually rode the shuttle bus up the hill. One of Bryan's side effects has been tender feet. We even went to Dallas to the new Cowboy Stadium to see the Hogs play Texas A&M. David Sutcliffe and his wife, Jenn, are A&M alums, so it was fun to visit with them and their baby, Anthony, before the game. Rachel and Matt met us and took us to the game. David's folks, Gail and Vic, retrieved us from the game so we didn't have to negotiate Dallas traffic.

November: Thanksgiving is usually at our house. We love it. Cheryl Dawn, Peggy, and I usually make dressing by the vat. Tables everywhere. Enough food to make us all feel stuffed, drowsy, and very grateful. But, this year, Sam and Alicia were going to KC, Erin and Shaun were going to Shreveport, and Rachel and Matt were packing in preparation to moving. We had many invitations from all of our friends. We decided to go to the Henry house where we had a wonderful meal, a soft couch for watching football, and a very-welcomed respite from our busy lives. I actually made a normal -sized dish of dressing that was pretty good. We were disappointed that LSU beat the Hogs in overtime the next day. Ethan had to be convinced that his team really lost. He was in Tiger country and was influenced to defect. The best news came on the 30th, though, when Bryan had his latest set of scans. Whole body, top to bottom (thanks NovaSys) NO NEW METS!! and the mets in his lungs are shrinking! Bryan used his famous math skills to calculate the volume of the largest based on the numbers from his previous scans to figure a 79% reduction in size. Dr. Baltz told us that it was nothing short of a miracle. Keep those prayers coming folks!

December: Birthdays! Eli turned seven on the 2nd. He chose El Porton for the birthday dinner. When he was two, he loved that place. He called it "Tone" and would eat cheese dip with a spoon. He is much more refined now. His friends' party was a Lego party at his house. Alicia made a great cake that looked like Legos, of course. He's enjoying first grade at Williams Magnet School and is a Tiger Cub. His Daddy is, of course, the den leader. Ethan turned four on the 8th. He had a friends' party at "Chucka" Cheese that we missed. It was on a Tuesday! Ethan is now on the Mighty Mites' hockey team and actually ice skates. Matt's birthday was the next day. We made it to Fayetteville over the weekend to see their new house. We have guest quarters! We realized that the perfect gift for him was a sky hook, but since those don't exist, we found a great ladder that is alternately an extension ladder or a step ladder. The smoke detector in their living room is at 20 feet! We continued through the fullness of Advent, getting busier and busier. Gertie came down for a short visit. We appreciate the folks who carry her down. She needs to see her boy regularly. This isn't something a mama should have to endure. On Christmas Eve, Sam and family, got out to the house around 3:00. Daddy was already here. We had planned to be here with them until Christmas afternoon and then head up to NWA to see the other kids. The weather was coming at us, though! Sam and Alicia and kids were heading to Germany on the 26th, and they didn't want us to get stuck here, so they said Go Now to beat the snow. We quickly threw clothes, gifts, food, etc. into the truck and took off around 5:00. The precipitation was liquid until we got onto I-540 when it turned into blowing snow. It did get slick, but we made it to the Silvestri abode by 9:00. They welcomed all of us, even sleeping on their couch so we older folks all had beds. Cheryl Dawn and Marty made it down from Bella Vista to get Papa the next day. We had our usual rollicking Christmas dinner complete with crackers (silly hats, jokes, and toys) and a delicious dinner. Ethan is into Jesus and the wonders of his birth and reality. We elders are kept on our toes, answering all his questions.

We celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary yesterday with dinner and a basketball game. Tonight, we've watched more football and other New Year's Eve television. How blessed we are to be here, together. Life is about as normal as we could ask. We look forward to 2010 with optimism and hope. We continue to plan new projects and new trips. As we said when this diagnosis was presented to us: What do you do when told you have cancer? You live!

Christmas Season '09

Well, it's been awhile. Things are still dull and going well.
What a year it has been. (or at least half a year) .
I just started round 4 of the Sutent, so we've completed 18 weeks so far, and 5 months since surgery.
Had a doctors appointment today. This was a normal appointment with bloodwork and some face to face time with the Cancer Warrior. Blood work was normal or ok for the situation except
that the blood is super thin at the moment. He adjusted the coumadin for a couple of days to
get it back where he wants it. We'll check it again in a week. I don't feel bad. I couldn't tell that something was out of adjustment.


We had Christmas all over the place this year. Years ago, we were determined that our kids would wake up in their own beds on Christmas morning. Well, dang !!! They were paying attention and now they want the same thing for their kids...and so we travel. We had a shortened Christmas eve time with Sam, Alicia, Eli and Emily. Our plan was to also be with them on Christmas morning, but at their urging because of the eminent snowstorm, we went on to Fayetteville on Christmas eve night. Stayed with Rachel and Matt (they don't have any little ones yet, Rigby the puppy doesn't count).


Carrot's Version:
Dull? What does chemo do to your perspective?


After receiving the news that OKW's scans were "nothing short of a miracle," we settled into celebrating Advent and Christmas. We got a real tree instead of going through the intense work of putting up the nine-foot artificial tree. We met Eli and Emily at the tree farm to choose and cut our tree. They had already chosen, cut, and loaded theirs by the time we got there.
I took off the last day of school before the holiday to avoid the three-hour holiday talent show and movie for 300 sixth graders. I had a wonderfully calm, quiet day to begin my vacation. Of course, I have 200 essays to grade before I go back, but that's the price of that quiet day.


Daddy came to our house on Wednesday for the duration. On Christmas Eve we had all eyes on the weather. With the snow storm looming, Sam and Alicia encouraged us to get ourselves in the car to get to Fayetteville before the road got slick. So, in an hour, we tossed gifts, clothes, food, Daddy, and ourselves into the truck and headed north. The snow hit soon after we got onto 540 and made that leg of the trip really exciting. We arrived at Rachel and Matt's house safely but unwilling to go any farther to find more beds. Rachel and Matt ended up giving us their bed and sleeping on the couch. On Christmas morning Cheryl Dawn and Marty made it down to retrieve Daddy and headed back to Bella Vista. We had a wonderful dinner of veal and crab-macaroni and cheese and enjoyed our silly crackers with hats, jokes, and toys. Sam's family negotiated the airlines successfully after a nearly three-hour sit on the tarmac in Atlanta. They're in Germany now with Alicia's folks touring the snowy old world.


I helped Rachel unload the boxes in her office. Matt painted stuff using his new 22-foot ladder. Who puts a smoke detector that high? This morning I rode back to Little Rock with Erin and her boys. Ethan sang every word to "Do You Hear What I Hear?" over and over. Elliot is perfecting the back-arching screech to protest any denial of his mobility. PawPaw is installing a gate on the stairs as we speak.
On Wednesday, we'll celebrate 37 years of wedded bliss. What a journey. From U of A students in 1972 to the joys of grandparenthood today, it's been a blessing to be best friends and in love.
On January 6, Bryan will turn 59. We hope his 60th year is as exciting as this one. Dull? I don't think so.

Erin's perspective:
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah. I sat in that oncologist's office today... it was ridiculous. I was looking to meet the Mysterious Dr. Baltz, but I didn't have the chance. Seriously folks... a line as long as St. Peter's, waiting for your name to be called. This guy must be good.
I had dinner and drinks with my dearest friend Amy this evening. She was worried about Dad. I told her (and she is well versed in seeing thru any facades or shenanigans I may pull) that he was fine. He has white eyebrows, but he's working full days, and doing his thing, and that for right now, he was just fine. She bought it , so I will too. Her major concern was that Mom had not booked the beach house for next summer. She knows us, and knows that booking the beach house is as regular as fixin' breakfast, so... her conclusion was natural. I assured her that with our latest results from scans, we were in talks of beach vacations.
There was actually a minor sibling scuffle over the parents this year for christmas. Rachy and I wanted them in Fayetteville, Sam wanted them in Little Rock. I'm sure they felt wanted and important, and I'm sure they secretly loved it. I just wanted them to open their new jerseys for next years' games in my presence.
















Oh Yes! The perfect present!
Ummmmmm, don't know what else to say. Blogging is stressful. I didn't like sitting around that Oncologist's office today with lots of people that looked sick. Dad doesn't look sick. He looks ridiculous with his white eyebrows, but most people would assume he had an unfortunate pigmentation condition, not the dreaded Big C.
Next, the Birthday Party. We've always shafted Dad's B-day simply for its unfortunate juxtoposition to Jesus' birthday. Too bad for him. This year, it's on.
Come one, come all, we'll have pie.
Lervy Dervy, E

Hellew there. Life has gotten busy, and I've neglected my LittleRottenBlog. Just talked to mom. She said that in their appointment with Dr. Baltz today he wheeled his little rolley stool over and said "about these scans..." Mom was ready to throw up expecting the worst, Dad was probably ready to show his spherical volume math skills, and then he said "they are nothing short of a miracle."

What a nice thing to hear at your oncologist's office! That's all the technical news I know of.

Moo and Poo came to Fayetteville and stayed with Matt and Rach. They just bought themselves a palatial mansion for the two of them and Big Rig, The Hairy Little Dog. They'll make some babies one day and fill it up... but until then... there are some apparently comfortable guest accomodations. Word on the street is that Dad slept until 10! Whaaaaaaaat?? Yeah, 10.


Here's PawPaw and Elliot. I like this picture because their eyes look the same I'll line us all up at Christmas and show the magic of genetics. How can three people have the same lookin' eyeballs?

Christmas is approaching. Lets think about this. On July 5th, I read somewhere that the average survival rate of Stage 4 RCC was 5 months. So instantly I thought, Oh, December 5th, ok, Christmas is going to be weird this year.
But its not! I still don't know what the HEYUL to get Dad, as he is THE HARDEST person to shop for... I am hosting Christmas dinner, and I thought about putting some sappy place card at Dad's spot telling him that I'm glad he is here, but then if I saw him read it, then I'd start crying, and then he'd see me crying and he'd start crying, then Rach would start in, and them Mom would catch on a little late, but she'd join in, and then Shaun and Matt would just stare at us and wonder what they've married into.... so I'm not gonna do it. Too risky.

Glad you're here, Dad. I'm not going to write it down. Maybe I am and I'm just prepping you?

Christmas approaching. Today my Ethan asked me if God was real, if Jesus was real, if we could drive to Heaven and take Jesus a present, that I told him that Jesus lived with God in Heaven and his Daddy told him that Jesus lived in his heart, so how could he be both places?, if God can fly, if God was a baby once, how long ago Jesus was a baby, if it would take a long time to get to Heaven to drop off the present and would he get to watch a movie in the car, and how did God make the Earth. He wouldn't get out of the car before I answered the last one. I felt like putting on my best Charlton Heston voice and starting in on the "ON THE FIRST DAY, GOD CREATED...." but we were late. I haven't had to answer any questions about the Holy Ghost yet. OYVEY!

So, what will I get Dad for Christmas? I actually have THE PERFECT gift. I think. It was all Shaun's idea, and I'll give him full credit.

Dad gave us the Bob Dylan sings Christmas CD. So, get your Bob Dylan voice in your head .... and

Fawl.... on ya knees..... and hear..... the angel voices....

Glad you're here Dad. EAT IT, STATISTICAL DATA!

Erv

Shar-pei Syndrome

Hi all,

You know that Chinese dog the Shar-pei; a bundle of wrinkles with a sweet dog inside.

That's how I looked this morning. I'm in an off week and for some reason retain water.

I had so much water this morning that my eyelids were bulging and partially blocking my view of the world. This is how I felt this morning.

The Shar-pei was the first thing I though of. Maybe I'll soon join old Asian royalty.

Tonight I'm back to about a normal 58 year old face....I'll take it.

We got the scan data today. Incredible !

The largest nodule in my lungs has decreased from 2.3X2.1 cm. to 1.3X1.3 cm. If I assume that the thing is somewhat spherical, then the volume has gone from 5.54 cubic centimeters to 1.47 cubic centimeters. Folks, thats a decrease of almost 75%. The other three had decreased slightly or were deemed stable. This Sutent is working.

The brain scan only had one notation....unremarkable. Hmmm how can that be? I can calculate the volume of a sphere; that's remarkable in and of itself. I am happy to have an unremarkable brain scan.

The other CT scans of the abdomen and pelvis also showed nothing that would be considered to

be mets. Essentially no change from the August 27 scan. And they did note that the right kidney was gone, gone, gone.

I was also injected with radioactive stuff and then given a bone scan from skull to ankles. There was nothing noted except that maybe my right knee was wearing out before my left knee.

I feel extremely relieved. You never know if the right drug has been prescribed. Apparently we started with the right one. Dr. Baltz is still my hero. He's quite a warrior. He did appoint Debbie to be the "boss". So she must be doing a good job too. We've made it this far. Although

I don't stress much, there is notable relief in the air the last couple of days.

Eli turned 7 today. I had lunch with him at school then we went with Sam and Alicia to Eli's choice for dinner at El Porton. Cheese dip and tacos YUMMY! Then we went to their house for birthday cake. Alicia and Emily made a "robot" cake. We've had a good day.

This weekend we're going to Fayetteville to stay all night in Rachel and Matt's new house. You know of course OKW can't move furniture hehe.

Erin, Shaun, Ethan and Elliot were here right before Thanksgiving; passing through on their way to Shreveport. Ethan's birthday is Tuesday the 8th at Chucky Cheese. We'll miss that but will celebrate early with him this weekend.

Carry on y'all

Great Speckled Byrd

Lookin Old, Feelin OK

I had an Oncologist appointment on Friday afternoon. Blood work still improving and blood pressure improving with medication. Thank goodness the blood work is still ok...therefore the food possibilities are still wide open. Or so I thought !!

After that comment last time about the width and breadth of my integumentary system (skin area) it is noted that weight is increasing. Doc said, "What's with the weight?" There seems to be a steady increase going on there too. He said something about, ". . . all gut, no butt." Soooooo , get some of it off. Get under 199.

By my interpolation of the skin-area data, that should be about 2.08 square meters. I didn't give the excuse that during my off Sutent week I retain fluid....so maybe I have an ace up my sleeve. The next appointment will be at the end of two on Sutent weeks. I think I'll make the weigh-in, but to make sure I'll step up the exercise and drop the pie and bread.

The eyebrows are white as are the lashes. I included a picture here. Geeeze I look old, but since being old is the goal of all this, I might as well look the part. Maybe the exercise and the vacation from pie will take care of those jowels.

We finished the out-of-town football game schedule this weekend. We do enjoy it, and especially seeing those out-of-town grandbabies makes it special, but I'm looking forward to being home for a while. I'm feeling good, not particularly bothered by any side effects at the moment.

I'm working every day which is mainly talking to customers and scheduling the factory. I hope this week to secure a building permit for the expansion of the factory. I want to pour concrete by early December at the latest. The building is already on order and will be delivered by about the 10th.

We're hanging in ! Life is good ! I feel the strengh of your thoughts.

Great Speckled Byrd

The Fast Lane

We don't seem to be slowing down any. I took a couple of personal days on Thursday and Friday. It was nice to be able to take care of errands in a more relaxed time frame. Thursday afternoon Bryan went to get Eli; they had a Home Depot date. They've been designing and planning an addition to our new deck that would include a slide, swings, etc. Eli also says that we need to find four trees around which they'll build a tree house. He's very adamant about the number. Bryan suggested that one tree might be enough support along with other lumber. No. Four trees. His other plan is to have a hinged ladder so he can raise it up into the tree house, preventing someone (little sister? little boy cousins? Nana?) from entering his space.

So, they drove up in the truck with the back open because the big box containing the Tunnel Twister slide was so huge. It took the whole afternoon to remove part of the deck rail, frame in the slide barrier, and begin to put the slide pieces together. Eli's job was to hand me sets of one bolt, two washers, and one loc nut for each of the fourteen connection points. Sorry, no pictures of that engineering feat. While we waited for Pawpaw's construction part to be done, Eli and I swept a mountain of leaves off of the deck. Kid power is amazing. We were almost late for dinner back at their house. Emily was holding court with Mary Helen and Joe, showing off her new room. She was ready to have Mary Helen start reading stacks of books.

Friday we went to Fayetteville just in time for Bryan to change clothes and head to a meeting at the Fay Jones School of Architecture. I stayed at Erin's house and played with Ethan and Elliott while she finished packing for their weekend trip to Branson. Ethan has transferred his focus from football uniforms to superheroes. He greeted us in a Batman costume and changed into several others within an hour. Rachel made a cool birthday party invitation for him that superimposed his face onto a Spiderman body. He thinks he gets Spiderman boots and gloves now. Where on earth can I find those?

My favorite sister in the whole world (Cheryl Dawn) came by for a visit. She lives up in Bella Vista. We always have trouble getting all of our catching up done with each other. We talk about Daddy a lot. We enjoy watching him enjoying life but worry too. Mama left us with that worry gene.

Friday night we had a lovely dinner with the Dean's Circle group (folks who support the Architecture School). Leslie Belden is the minister who married Rachel and Matt. She's also an architect. Her husband, Ted, and she are active in this group. Steve Kinsler is the chair of the group. He was a Scouter when Sam was in high school. Arkansas really is a small state.

Today we had fun at the game then drove home so we can have a day of recuperation from all of our fun before the new week begins. We joined the line of cars going back over the mountain. There were two choices--the slower lane was going about 60 mph and the fast lane was pushing 80 mph. Which do you think we chose?

Bryan's lifelong friend, Mike Roller, and his wife, Dianna, are coming to see us Monday and Tuesday. Their beautiful daughter has taken a week off from her medical residency in Rhode Island to come home and to make the Arkansas Bride's Pilgrimage to Lowe's Bridal Emporium in Brinkley. I've given them enough information to give them guidance without scaring them to death about weddings (I hope). My best advice is to hire Jessica the Wedding Planner. She saved us much more money than she charged, plus she took care of everything!

Today began the off-week ending his second round of Sutent. The current side effect is sore feet. He says they feel like blisters that have popped, grown new skin, and are being abraded by his socks and shoes. For that reason, we used the handicapped parking lot and rode the shuttle to and from the stadium today. I insisted. Foresight is not his forte. He told me later that I was right, of course. New scans will be scheduled for the end of November. We pray that this drug is doing its thing on his lung mets.

Between Razorback games and grandchildren's events, Bryan continues to go to work, keep his customers happy, and supervise the work on our house. While I was driving to Fayetteville, he was on the phone, arranging for gravel to be delivered and spread on our driveway. I'm tired just recapping all of our activities! I need a trip to the beach.

I Had a Loaded Baked Potato and a Diet Coke for Supper

My oh My ... we had a busy week

We had dinner with Eli and Emily on Wednesday.

Emily is a squeeler...especially when PawPaw walks into the room. At dinner she wanted to

know why PawPaw had a sick kidney. Those little ears hear it all and they deserve explanations. They learn from us constantly.


Eli is quite a writer. He has made a big list of things to get from HomeDepot. He and I will go next week and get materials and start construction of the best ever swingset/monkey bars/ playground. Photograph attached.







Another Razorback weekend in Fayetteville. Homecoming is fun, but the game was too easy. We actually left in the 4th quarter (unheard of) when we were ahead by about 50 points. I'm always amazed at how tired going to a ball game makes me. Ethan reminded me Sunday morning when he asked me to play football with him. A couple of throws, catches and soft tackles and I was ready to ride the bench for awhile. Moonpie ( Elliot ) can say DaDa and I was encouraging PawPaw but didn't get very far. He's pulling up and looks poised to take off soon.


Then we went to Mtn. Home on Sunday afternoon for the visitation and memorial service for Don Bell's mother. Although those are sad occasions that we all must attend to, they are also joyous and grounding occasions when we reconnect with our friends and families. It was great to sit with a pew full of friends who go back five plus decades. We weren't there to see each other; we were there to hold up Don and his sister Patty. It was a very nice service. The women in Mrs. Bell's Faith Group each spoke about her memories of Winifred and read favorite bible verses.

Y'all have heard all the moaning about what I was going to have to eat and live on forever and ever. Well.....you have to go way back for all of the connections in this story, but this is how things work in Arkansas. My next door neighbor growing up, Laurie Ahrens Townsend, about 5 months my senior, started first grade a year ahead of me because I was a January baby and missed the cut-off, so we were separated all the way through school, then she went off to college and became a dietitian, practiced 27 years in New England, retired and then moved back home about 5 years ago. Laurie was in a Bible study class with a classmate of mine, Julie Gustafson Williamson. Julie told Laurie about the blog and the hell-of-a-diet we were looking at, and Laurie called me and offered to review. I sent her all of the blood work data for the last two months and the diet information we had received.

Debbie and I stayed with Mom on Sunday night and Laurie came over for supper. We laughed a lot over old childhood stories, then we had a consultation about my dietary needs that made a whole lot more sense to us than what we had heard before. Maybe it's that we trust our peer group more, but with plenty of time and discussion which is sometimes missing or misunderstood in a medical setting, Laurie gave us lots of information. The new analysis... blood work indicates there are no problems with calcium, potassium, phosphorous. All current and recent past indicators of kidney function are in the normal range or explainable because of the recent surgery. Sooooo.... eat normally, but be aware of what is going into your mouth...particularly the sodium. Pay attention to the blood work...if something starts trending the wrong way, then make a change. Diet Coke....made with the purest of water...can't hurt. So now I go from a pie-with-cool whip diet to something more logical.

I was sitting in the oncologist's office waiting and I have access to my electronic charts. I learned that my integumentary system (skin ) is 2.13 sq. meters in area. WHO KNEW !!!!! That is up from 2.11 sq. meters about 6 weeks ago. I musta dozed off when they measured that...I haven't a clue. I think the 0.02 sq. meter increase must surely be from the pie diet. Does anyone else know how many square meters of skin you have?

I'm of an age where I scan the obits along with the sports page. I've noted that some folks die
after a long battle with cancer. I don't get the feeling that I'm battling cancer....I do not say that lightly, because my situation has not been what I would consider to be a hard road. I may not know what a hard road is. We are extremely fortunate to have found a warrior, Dr. Baltz, to do the battle for me. He's the warrior who encourages me and hands me this little pill about the size of a pinto bean to lob daily at the cancer cells. He knows what the Sutent is doing and isn't pulling any punches with it. My job is to keep the battleground tilted in his favor. I have great respect for the cancer, and I'm ready to have it gone.

Great Speckled Byrd