End of the first POST-TREATMENT WEEK & Happy Birthday Bright Eyes!!!!

I know not all of you follow me on

FB or are able to access

The Caring Bridge.

so I am going to copy and paste 

my journal entry here

for those of you 

that don't have access to that site.

Happy Friday!
John had a very long week.  His throat is raw inside and out and he feels miserable overall.

We had our final 'follow-up' visit with Dr. Kevin Mortara, the oncologist this morning.  Let me say here that he is a high-quality person.  An intelligent caring man that is encouraging while still bringing reality to the table  We like him for his optimism, but also for his honesty.  He did not say- You are going to be great in a couple of weeks.  He did tell John that he believes this is the "low point" post-treatment. 
 
John has a long, hard battle ahead of him.  While the treatments have ended, now comes the reality of recovery.  Dr. Mortara says 6 - 8 weeks--more like 12 weeks.  We were told that John has done exceptionally well during his treatment.  He followed directions just as they were given and, as a result, it appears that treatment has been successful.  We will know more in early June when they do a final PET scan.  Although John still has a couple of nodules on his lungs they do not feel they are anything to be concerned about at this point.  If they are---well, we will cross THAT bridge when we come to it.  At this point, we are believing there is not another bridge to cross....except the one to good health.

John does fight taking "drugs".  He is so opposed to taking anything that is opiate based that it was hard to get him to accept the fact that morphine might offer him the only relief possible.  Nothing else has worked.  When his pain level reached a 5 (on a scale of 1 to 10) he finally allowed me to administer morphine.  The results were almost immediate and he slept for 5+ hours.  It was the longest uninterrupted sleep he has had since this started last fall. I closed my eyes and thanked the DRUG PUSHERS (known as doctor and pharmacist) that enabled John to find relief-even for a finite amount of time.

We are continuing to go into the cancer center for hydration 2 or 3 times a week.  This will most likely continue for a while.  John has not been able to swallow and I can only put so much water into his feeding tube before he feels bloated and miserable.  IV hydration is the answer for him.  It is about a two hour session in a big comfortable chair with warm blankets and a bright window. 

See this cute little Irish colleen?

The bright spot today is that our little Anna Ireland is TWO YEARS OLD TODAY
Her mom put a sweet little birthday dress on her and she went out to mow the lawn.  That's my girl!  
What a blessing she is in our lives---as are all our grandkids.

I hope you all have a beautiful wonderful weekend. 
 
I will leave you with the last words Dr. Mortara said to us today---"I would encourage you to live each day to the fullest.  Look at each day as if it is the only day you might have because life is uncertain, and you never know what tomorrow might bring." 

 
That is one smart man!

AND THAT is my new mantra!

Blessings and love to you all- Diana