Why has the blog taken so long!

There are so many days that I have said “I need to write a blog”. I even started that today again. So much is happening and nothing is happening. Here a couple of highlights to catch you up.

The Cough

Since the last writing Michele has had a persistent cough. There were some Doctor visits and some fancy cough medicines involved. It lasted at least 4 weeks. Then all of a sudden, it was gone.

Anyone dealing with a major illness knows to not ignore things. Yet… We spent the first week saying it was going to be fine. The second week she saw the doctor and ruled out Covid. It got better for a few days. Then it got worst again. Then it went away.

The Doctor said it was most likely a virus of some sort.

Fast forward another month… and we are dealing with it again. It is a common cold thing. Nothing that serious. BUT. It is one sleep interrupting bugger!

Then we managed a short getaway

To an undisclosed location. We literally were in bed most nights by 7:30 while gone. One of the things with Chemo is trying to “Not” understand the cycles as they hit. The truth is we were both off Ballance on the trip. We got up with the birds each day. Had coffee, hung out at the pool and met new friends. and then Crashed!

Everything in our world right now is a trial run. Seeing what we can and can’t do. Whether we stay on the resort, go on an excursion, or even doing a SPA day. All are trial runs.

The getaway did give us time to reflect on our business and how to continue to adjust for our abilities, for our age… for our life.

The big one is coming

In July we will have another “Big Chemo”. When Michele first went in to the hospital, the place a PICC line in her. This is to allow the strong Chemo to enter into her larger veins.

And there is much more that comes with the line.

• Can’t get it wet
• Have to change bandages weekly
• Have to be careful not to catch it and potentially rip it out.
• Great for blood draws though.

So in early JULY… Michele will go back in for another 6-7 days. We feel good about it overall and look forward to being the last hill to get behind us.

Still more to go

Several people have asked “so is that it after that?”. No. We still have another 18 months of maintenance doses ahead. We expect that she will lose her hair again with this big round. We know the routine now. It is still a long road ahead. When we eventually exit, THAT will be the weird part.

GREAT NEWS – GRAHAM CARTER YEAKEY!

Grand child number 3 has arrived. He is a happy and healthy baby boy. His only mission at the moment is to bring smiles and gain weight. We will have some pictures coming in the near future. I am going back to photography school to relearn how to take pictures of the new baby… lol. Just kidding.

I am finding the most fascinating things to watch is the interactions of there is a “new” baby in the house. From the parents, to Bella, there is the curiosity of who is this person? What I know to be true is that the house if full of love. Bella is just a sweetheart and is learning to be independent and play on her own. She has a wonderful sense of learning.

I find it most interesting that she wants to touch Grahams face. I think because the rest of him is covered up.

We head out soon

Before the big Chemo, we have one more adventure to do. An Alaskan Cruise. In the insurance business we have been blessed to have gone on many incentive trips. Before Michele fell sick, we were planning to make an adventure to Aruba!

This will be a return for Michele. Her first incentive trip in 3 years. Even though she has won them in between, we were not able to both go. (Yes… I did get to do Ireland last year).

We have done this trip with friends and family in the past so it makes it even sweeter to be with our Insurance Family. We plan to see the whales again and get off at the two other ports and walk around. The goal is to enjoy the presence of friends, spend time reflecting on our blessings, and sleep and wake when we want to.

Thank you for your patience in waiting for this blog. In General… we are doing fine. We enjoy each others company and enjoy planning for what our future holds.

Until the next blog…