Sunday, February 16th
With the good news of
yesterday and tons of visitors scheduled, it was shaping up to be a great day.
My shower in the am revealed that my hair was now falling out en masse.
Once the good news arrived, the doctors started me on Neupogen, which is
a white blood cell booster, but comes along with hair loss as a side effect.
I was a swimmer in high school and college where annual full-body shave
downs were a ritual, so I don't carry any stress around this process.
Just a little inconvenient having bits of hair everywhere. My
pillowcase is now covered each morning.
The kids were happily
playing with their cousins at my sister's house so Joanne arrived alone.
We were able to have some good conversations and begin reviewing all the
questions we have for the transfer home and the Consolidation Phases that will
follow. She went back to fetch the kids and lunch as we had another great
picnic lunch outside and walked by the lake holding hands with my daughters.
Joanne picked up Just
Dance for the XBox and kids enjoyed some after lunch exercise. I just
loved watching them, even the mini arguments that inevitably break out.
They stayed until about 4:30 and then headed back to Vero as Joanne has
patients of her own to see on Monday and Brenna has a band rehearsal all day to
prep for her trip to Jacksonville. One cool part of the day was that we
pulled up the pending soccer schedule for the girls and opening weekend is
March 1/2, and I will be home for it!
Next up was some
visitors from Spartan Race. Joe, Mike, and Dann stopped by to visit.
There was just a race in Tampa that brought them all down. It was
great to see them live and pass some time. A woman came with them whom I
had never met, because she wanted to pray with me. She was so forceful in
her effort that she actually kicked the other guys out of the room so she could
perform her prayer properly, which took everyone off guard. All help
accepted at this point. (I'll get to religion as a separate entry at some
point).
For the evening, my
sister and brother-in-law brought me some great dinner and a movie - Lincoln.
I thought the movie was good after hearing mixed reviews. The
company was excellent and we had the first of several talks about family
matters. My Dad has Parkinson's Disease, and getting to spend so much
time with my family recently has brought to the fact that I haven't been
actively involved with his health due to my own busy life. Something I
plan to change.
I haven't had too many epiphanies yet about the future or
major course corrections that I feel I must suddenly make in my life. Maybe
those will come down the road as my mind transitions from the here and now back
to dreaming about the future. But, the rapid change in perspective that
this life event has given me has made me want to dive into and address head on
any festering personal issues. I've already begun that process with my
family and I hope that it will continue to boil over into everything I do.
I feel emboldened by this event and it's giving me the motivation to
address some things that I have ignored for a while that were causing stress
with my family and within me. So, like cancer, why not stomp them out and
create a healthier living environment for all?
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