The last few days have been filled will shots of medicine, shots of vodka, and shots of reality. It will come as no shock to anyone that the shots of vodka are my preference!
Last Thursday I got the first infusion of the bisphosphonate drug Zometa that my oncologist now has me taking. It wasn’t fun (IV insertions rarely are), but it did go quickly and without any complications. I did have a fever and chills most of Friday, but that turned out to be unrelated to the drug and did resolve itself by Saturday. Unfortunately, it manifested itself in Warren on Saturday night, but again, by Sunday he was fine as well. Just a fluke illness, I suppose, and today I’m feeling good.
Saturday night was Girls’ Night In – my neighbors and I getting together at my house for “Cocktails and Cupcakes” (NOT “cocktail cupcakes” Carol – although your margarita cupcakes were quite divine!). We gathered together to enjoy a stiff drink (mmmm whipped cream vodka – thank you Jill!), a sugar rush (yep, we all ignored the fruit and veggie platters in favor of the salty and the savory), and stories that made us both laugh and cry ( MJ’s meatloaf anyone?). We missed those neighbors that couldn’t join us (Linda and Sue) and we toasted those of us that did. We tossed our shoes off, curled up on the couches, sipped our drinks, and talked about our kids, our husbands, our homes, our families, our pets, our health, our schools, our government, our neighborhood, our bad habits, our good qualities, our lives. Michelle had us crying, Sandra had us laughing, and Mary had us shaking our heads (“I’m leaving now. No I’m not.”). We took a picture to preserve the memory and posted in on Facebook to celebrate our good fortune with all of our friends. And…we all relished the extra hour of sleep afforded to us by Daylight Savings Time!
With a quiet football-filled Sunday to recover, it was back to reality on Monday. Very early this morning, I took my stepdad to Memorial Sloan-Kettering again for a further procedure that will hopefully keep his liver cancer at bay for some time to come. We are fortunate that it hasn’t spread yet, that it can be contained, but we are cognizant of the fact that this won’t always be so, and we pray that he enjoys many more years with us. He is tired of working so hard to stay healthy, regretful of youthful choices made that brought him down this path, fearful of more invasive treatments (hmmm…some of this sounds very familiar!). But he is grateful for his family and for his good-hearted lady friend Dee (who has taken such very good care of him); he still manages to enjoy a very good quality of life, with recent travels to Italy and Vermont; and he still jokes and teases as only he can (“you know that what I really have is kryptonite poisoning”). Please share some of the prayers you reserve for me with him as well.
Blessings and Love to All.
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