Thursday, September 21, 2006

It’s been awhile…

I know…I know…It’s been awhile. That’s proof that things are starting to get back to some semblance of normalcy. Hee Hee

All is going pretty well here. Dave’s doing great. No major news on that. He’s off Chemo and Radiation right now and he’s loving every minute of it. He is continuing to “molt” a bit…which isn’t too surprising since technically his body is still undergoing radiation for a month after treatments stop.

He begins his 5 days a Chemo a month October 6th, I believe. He will also be having another MRI done to check the status of things as well. We’re confident that it will show absolutely no change. He’s Cancer Free. We can feel it…

Anyways. Onto other news. The kiln is now in the basement and our friend “Bob Villa” came over and began the hard wiring of the kiln. The copper wire, which I might add is DAMN expensive, is installed and the plug has been wired in. We just need to set up another appointment for him to come out and wire the new 40 Amp circuit to the wiring. The shelf for the kiln, which was on backorder, should be arriving any day now and most of the other supplies are here as well. So…if all goes well…we hope to turn that baby on in the next couple weeks or so! We can’t wait. We both have so many ideas…We’ll post photos after our first firing!

We’ve gotten back into the Home Renovation as well! We have the bug again! The bookcases that Dave had so laboriously stained and polyurethaned in spring are upstairs and we’ve begun framing out the wall and dry walling. Never fear though folks. We’re very conscious now of the chemicals and dust particulates. We both have kick ass respirators that we wear when doing even the simplest sanding, staining or dry walling. Neither of us needs to be exposed to any more crap that we are not already exposed to in the environment. We’ve also starting finishing up the numerous projects we had started up and the materials we had already purchased months ago. It’s great seeing the upstairs starting to come together! It’s been a blast doing these projects and spending time together “playing” on the house. Stay tuned…

Continue to Dream…

Friday, September 01, 2006

Latest News on the Treatment…

I thought it was about time for an update on the latest and greatest news in our life. Dave is doing splendidly. He is “molting” a bit…but nothing too bad. Just a bit around the ears. He’s getting a bit red around the temples as well. Which is nothing considering he’s been in radiation for 5 1/2 weeks now. Actually we’re down to 1 day left!

Only 1 day…Can you believe it? I can’t. It’s gone so fast and he’s done so well with the treatments. Onto other big news with the treatment. The handy dandy computer worked its magic and Dave was put into Group A for the Trial. The trial is completely randomized and the computer picks which group you end up on. Group A or B. Group A is the standard treatment of 5 days on Chemo and then 20 days off. Group B is a much more aggressive course of treatment that they are currently testing where you’re 20 days on Chemo and 5 days off. When we originally signed up for this trial, we felt like the universe had opened up this opportunity for us so that Dave could be on Group B since he had such an aggressive tumor. But as time went on, and the waiting continued as we waited to find out which group he was on, we decided that he would end up on whatever Group he want meant to be on. We were, and still are, confident that whichever group he ended up with in the end would be the one to help him become cancer free. And when it came back that he was on Group A, we weren’t upset at all. He’s going to be fine…and this course of treatment won’t be quite so devastating. I believe we ended up on this trial not for the more aggressive course of treatment…but for the perks of being on the trial. Mainly, that the Chemo drugs are completely paid for as being part of the trial. Seeing as Chemo can cost upwards to $8,000 a month…this is a very good thing.

Dave will be off chemo this month starting September 6th and won’t start up the next phase until the first of October. This is because the radiation and chemo drugs he’s been taking daily for 6 weeks will continue to be in his system in high doses for the next month. Beginning in October he will begin his 5 days on and 20 days off cycle. He will be on this phase of the treatment for a year.

Since David is doing so well and getting a bit stir crazy as well. He plans to start back at work on September 25th. Wow! It’s been nice having him around on my days off and we’ve had the chance to play a lot and enjoy the gorgeous summer weather. But I also know that both financially and for his mental well being…it’s time for him to get back to the daily grind.

Well, that’s all for now folks…but I’ll try to blog again later this weekend to catch everyone up on the more fun stuff going on in our life…Like the kiln!
Until then…

Continue to Dream