Last Scheduled Chemo Day

Monday, December 17th....finally, last day of chemo. White blood count good, platelets good, everything a go. Today Scout came to chemo. Bobby's oncologist wrote the order to get Scout licensed as a service dog. I think Dr. Eisenberg knew how much benefit it would be for Bobby to have a dog to care for. He is a HUGE hit at the cancer center. He's very sweet and easy going. After chemo we all went for a walk. Bobby's stomach was already bothering him but he's been through this enough to know that walking helps him feel better.

Bobby has met with the decision makers (I can't remember who all is included in that) at the cancer center and they have agreed to let him establish a men's hiking group with other cancer patients. All the details are being worked out and it should be ready to launch sometime in January. The center offered to pay him but he really just wants to do this as a way to help others so he declined wages but they will pay for snacks and beverages. He's really excited to get started.

My last day of work was Wednesday the 19th. We went to Bobby's in the afternoon and did some Bible study. What a joy to be able to study Scripture with my son. Dad did a little more work on the backdoor....hopefully that will stop the water from coming in. Bobby's stomach is bothering him but he's determined to get to feeling better and stay feeling better. He still has radiation ahead of him in early January so it will be a few weeks before he'll feel more like himself.

David had been keeping an eye on the weather and determined that we needed to head for home Thursday the 20th. We made plans to celebrate Christmas with Bobby and Johanna Thursday morning. 

Christmas morning (Thursday) we had breakfast with Bobby and Johanna at their home followed by gift opening. What fun!!!

The time went so fast. We had to say goodby which is always hard to do when we've been together everyday for several weeks. We got on the road around 1:15 pm. David had been worried about Donner's Pass and wanted to make sure we got over that and through Reno before dark. God is good and gave us clear roads. There was some snow off to the side but the roads were clean. We drove straight through and made it home around 1:30 a.m. Home is good. We already miss Bobby and Johanna (and Scout). We are so thankful that all the details were worked out for us to be able to be with our son during this time. God is merciful.

 
"Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed, because His compassion's fail not. They are new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness.
The Lord is my portion says my soul, therefore I hope in Him."
 Lamentations 3:22-24

Birthday Surprises

Monday, December 10th was chemo day again. Unfortunately my work schedule and Bobby's chemo schedule weren't in agreement so David and I weren't able to be there but Johanna always goes with him. We're glad about that. I always feel sad when I see people at the cancer center alone. After work we headed to their place to finish working on some projects and we planned to go hiking. Johanna and the dogs were home but Bobby was standing in line at the pharmacy. He called to say he didn't feel well and didn't think he would be up for a walk. Not up for a walk???? that is not good. We have seen him drag himself up out of bed (and us off our chairs) after chemo and radiation while it was raining just to go for a walk. His lab work did show that his white blood count was at an all time low. Normally he has a Neupogen (white blood cell booster) injection three times a week, this week he has to have four. We waited until he arrived home so we could give him a hug and let him go to bed. 

Tuesday, December 11th was my birthday. David asked if I thought Bobby would remember since he wasn't feeling well. I knew he would remember but wasn't sure if he would feel up to doing anything. I had gone to work, finished my shift and headed for my car. There was my son, sitting in his car with my dog Riley waiting to wish me a happy birthday. He had gotten up early enough to drive the 30 minutes and be there to take me to lunch. Amazing. He looked pretty good and said he was feeling pretty good. What a GREAT birthday surprise. We had such a nice lunch at an organic (of course) restaurant just across the street from where I work. After lunch I had an acupuncture session with Johanna and after arriving home my husband took me to a fun dinner at a little restaurant within walking distance from our place. I couldn't have asked for a better way to spend my birthday. 

Bobby felt well enough to work and had work all day Saturday. Amen, thank you Lord.  Johanna, David, me and the dogs headed for Rodeo Beach. This was Rileys first trip to the ocean and he is a BIG fan of water. Oh my goodness.....it was sheer joy for him to run in and out of the waves. It was also raining so we were all pretty wet by the time we were ready to head home. Johanna had a car full of wet, tired dogs. She said both dogs were worn out for the remainder of the day. Bobby had a good day with his clients and feels pretty confident that he'll have work again next week.

We all attended Tiburon Baptist Church again. So nice to see again the friends we met last week and to meet several more.....a really friendly group of people. I hope this is where Bobby and Johanna settle in. After a wet walk around the bay we headed home with plans to meet at Bobby and Johanna's for dinner and football. Our time here is coming to an end. Bobby has one more chemo session tomorrow. We're planning to celebrate Christmas on Thursday and start home Friday. What a blessing it has been for all of us to have this time together. 

"In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name."

Psalm 33:21

ticks, slips, GcMAF & church hopping

Wow....it doesn't rain like this in Kuna. I think it was 9-10 inches in a couple days. Things get pretty soggy when that much water arrives in such a short time. David did some more work on Bobby and Johanna's place while it was dry but somehow the water is still coming in. Grrr. More work to be done.

We've been doing some walking near Bobby's home....(not on the sidewalk, that's way too easy) off road of course....plenty of uphill and downhill. We've been taking the dogs with us. Our dog, Riley, is NOT happy being walked on a leash. And he doesn't really want to walk, he wants to run and explore and sniff and if he sees another dog, he wants to run up and introduce himself. He is a big dog, around 80lbs. Towards the end of a recent walk/hike, I happened to be holding on to both dogs. It was already dark and even though I had my headlight on, I couldn't see far. I saw a guy on his bike coming toward us but what I didn't see was that he had a dog on a leash with him. Both of our dogs however did see the dog on the leash and took off. It was dark, muddy and they were much stronger than me. Bobby and David both said they didn't realize anything had happened until they noticed my light pointing up from the ground. OUCH!!! Pulled my calf muscle and banged up my knee and shoulder but mostly it was just embarrassing. Bobby says our dog is teaching his dog bad habits. Something about evil company corrupting good character. Hmmm. Bobby called after we got home to say that both dogs had ticks (14 on one dog and 5 on the other) and that Bobby had found one on himself too. We probably won't be hiking on that trail again anytime soon. David is thrilled about that. He prefers flat and slow.

We praise God for how well Bobby is doing this time around.  Johanna and Bobby both tell us that he is doing so much better since we arrived. That's exactly what we want to hear. :) He will be done with chemo on Monday, December 17th. He will be starting a new alternative treatment soon. GcMAF stands for vitamin D-binding protein derived macrophage activating factor. That's a mouthful isn't it. There's much that I don't understand but I do understand that weekly injections are meant to prime macrophages (Greek for "big eaters) to become cytotoxic to tumors. (http://mysunrisecenter.com/gcmaf-an-emerging-therapy-for-immune-disorders-seen-in-autism-other-neurodevelopmental-disorders-and-chronic-health-conditions/). We want his immune system to become a tumor busting machine. The results are very promising. The product had to be ordered from the UK. He will be giving himself the injections and expects to continue for several months. He's excited about the possibilities as are we. 

We have been visiting churches with Bobby. This past Sunday we attended Tiburon Baptist Church. What a blessing that was. We had a chance to talk with some folks after service and it happens that two of them are cancer survivors. They had much in common and we all prayed together before departing. God is good. It was a good day. 

"Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him"
Psalm 34:8