Marching On!

Well it is getting into late March and I am realizing I have not written in a while. Which continues to be a good sign for us.

Today Michele finished another round of Chemo. We were at the hospital for 1:00 Blood Draw and were on the road home right at 5:00. IT WAS A RECORD!!!!!! Or felt like one!

Building up to July

We joke with Dr Issa every time he says things are looking good. “So are we skipping any rounds?” and he loves to deadpan… NO. So we have talked about this week long HEAVY Chemo that was coming. We are on target for that to happen in July.

It makes us nervous for a couple of reasons:

1. The chemo that caused the seizure will be a part of the dosage.
2. Michele will likely loose her hair again.

I think the doctors have a plan to mitigate the potential seizure. We will also be very aware of what a seizure looks like if it should happen.

The HAIR! While I have learned to live without mine 8-)… Michele has enjoyed the hair for the grey and the styling that she has been able to do with it. She wears it incredibly well and if anything, we may need to get a grey wig!

I am prepared for her to lose it again. Y’all keep the prayers coming heading into July.

After July

With the big dose behind us in July, we will be on the downslope of the treatments. Half-way home? Potentially. This journey has been relatively short and long at the same time. We will need your lifting hearts to keep us going as the end gets closer. What I have learned is that the last mile can be the toughest. I don’t think it will as much physically as it will mentally.

Continuing to grow in life

There was a time during the maintenance treatment that was really tough on us. It seemed she got worse as it went on. When we resolved the med dosage things have become more normalized. We ALMOST forget that she is still fighting a terrible disease sometimes.

Since things have been more normalized, we both have been able to expend more energy in a positive direction. We had a different pace before covid and Cancer. Now our pace is more relaxed and steady. We are still working on growing our Insurance Business. I have been able to take a more active role this year. It is exciting and exhausting at times.

We are also excited about the growing family! Bella is continuing to grow and is getting around so well. Her new baby brother is also coming soon in May! We have a “baby sprinkle” at the house in a couple of weeks. It has been a blessing during this time to have a child recognize you and smile and now hugging you. These days go by so fast.

Mimi and PawPaw are ready to go into service as required!

The time of our lives

Ok. Get the tissues. I was getting here. It hit me recently that we are the age now that Michele and I knew our parents the most. Our core family memories are from our current age. I don’t even like saying the number.

It is strange clarity to have. Our parents were still bouncing around and living their lives. I wonder what challenges in life they were going through. What were their proud moments. Both our parents were great examples of joy. They all truly loved laughter and living.

They had not hit their season of sickness yet. I also realize that the reality was that when they entered their season of sickness they never really came out of it.

That awareness can distract and distort our views. We are working diligently to focus forward. HOWEVER! we will still travel and go dancing and hanging with friends as much as we can. We know that their will be a “last time” we do something. We still have more “still doing” ahead of us.

The Cancer has made us more cautious in activities and more tired in general. We do our best to get walking and we recently acquired a stationary bike. We also go to bed earlier and have been getting up earlier.

SLEEP

Ok. I don’t know if it is age, anxieties, or general exhaustion. I tend to sleep more than not. I love naps! Michele has struggled with being able to sleep. We laugh about it more now. It can involve watching TikTok’s, tv series and movies, snacks, and more snacks. Remember that today is chemo day. so we also have STEROIDS! 😎

Oh… and shopping.. lol. Online shopping is now a regular occurrence after midnight. We get excited to see what the latest package brings. Today, I even got my own package in today!

Travel ahead

We have a couple of trips coming. I will work on updating more often. You will definitely hear about the new baby coming and the major chemo.

Thank you to everyone that has been so supportive since the beginning. We continue to have more friends and family entering their own seasons. You are in our prayers.

Written with love,

Mike