June 3, 2010

Today was another day at the hospital and the end of day 6 of chemo. It went well and the day was made a little easier with a wonderful visit by Jayden. He stayed with us all day today and helped mom and dad to laugh a lot. We shared stories and talked.

Nurse Lisa said mom's white blood cell count is still pretty high which is good news. Her liver enzymes are fine and kidney function is great. Everything is moving a long pretty smoothly. The radiation treatment was less stressful today. The nurses and assistants were very kind and took their time to make sure the mask was as comfortable as possible.

Today was the great unveiling of mom's hats. We had two to unveil today and the pictures are below. I think I'll let the pictures tell the story about how mom is doing and as you can see by her eyes, she is a little tired but VERY strong.

Dad had an appointment with a dermatologist today and I was in the room with him when the doctor gave us the news that they needed to do a biopsy on a mark on his back as it appears to be a skin cancer. we'll have the biopsy results back in a week but now I add dad to the list of people in the house who needs a bandage changed everyday :-) that's ok - they have done so much for me in the past that I am honored to be available to help them now.

Enjoy the pictures and thank you to EVERYone for your wonderful messages in emails, cards, letters, and here on the comments of the blog. Please rest assured that each one is read and great memories are shared between mom and dad when ANY of your names are mentioned. They both truly have an amazing circle of friends and family and your prayers, thoughts and support are an amazing source of strength for all of us.

Some of you may not know this but in years past I was a crisis intervention counselor and teen counselor. I spent many years with both teens and adults through illness, disease and even passing. What amazes me is that even though I hurt deeply for each and every one of them - I was still able to leave to my home and retreat away from those issues. I hope I never forgot that even though I left their presence - they still had to deal with the issues every waking moment of every single day. It is in remembering that fact that I am now even more touched by your comments each day. You are all truly walking this journey with Mom and Dad. You are all a true blessing. Enjoy the photos.