Halfway Home!

Having just finished the last of the Prednisone for round four, it's now official—chemotherapy is half over and most of my lymphoma has been moved to the curb. Four more rounds to go!

Julie is now two weeks out from her successful surgery and is doing well! She is amazing and so is her loving care network. Thanks so much for all the calls, cards, visits, flowers, and of course all the yummy meals. In addition to feeding us so well, you are nurturing our hearts and minds.

I have had some yucky moments thinking about what we have to deal with as we go forward. What can I say—I am ANGRY! While I know that question of "why" this is happening is pointless, it still annoys the hell out of me that we are BOTH dealing with cancer at the same time. When I'm overtaken during those soul-grabbing times, my crabbiness and tears flourish. The good news is that so far there is also a sense of cleansing that comes from the process--in a way it "cleans out my system" and seems to get me ready to go forward.
I do trust that we will get through all of this—with your love and support--day-by-day

Three down!

Sorry for being MIA lately in the blog-o-sphere.  Life has been hectic, and I think I've just been hunkered down in coping with the day-to-day while gearing up for Julie's surgery coming up this week.

Overall, I'm feeling well.  I've completed the third round of chemotherapy with little discomfort of inconvenience. I do have more fatigue, and right now my blood counts must be on the low side as I have a mild sore throat and swollen glands. I'm applying aggressive rest as my therapeutic intervention of choice--read MANY NAPS!

We had an absolutely fabulous time attending my niece Emily's Bat Mitzvah in Cleveland in May.  She was FANTASTIC!  I was so impressed by her ability to lead the service, read from the Torah and bring meaning to her portion during her talk. Emmers was poised throughout, brought her own touch of humor to the event, and looked smashing!  The service project she selected, preparing and taking gift baskets to mothers of premie babies, was particularly meaningful, and indicated to me the depth of her character and the size of her heart.  With the love and support of older sisters, Allie and Leah, she really shone.

Parents, Carol and Michael, put together a wonderful weekend--so special to have our whole family together.  Seeing my nephew Evan from California looking great and definitely very LA suave was a delight. Niece Jenna is terrific, and it's obvious that NYC and her work at the MOMA are keeping her in good spirits.  It was great to be with Mom and Dad who at 85 and 86 sure are role models for how to live life to the fullest--they are an amazing couple.  It was wonderful to have our Detroit family join in the festivities.  While I didn't get to spend enough time with them, it really made it special to have them with us.  Nancy and Will gave a yummy brunch, and it was great to end the weekend snuggling with all my nieces in the beautiful setting of their home.

Graduation at RIT was the next highlight.  It is always a bit bittersweet to see students I've worked with over the years turn ready to take the next step, and hard to imagine not having them in my daily life as they begin their next adventures.  I was particularly thrilled to celebrate with Pawee and his family and friends from Thailand the great accomplishment of his graduation.

Julie has spent the past month putting together her medical team. After an initial false start with a surgical consult, she has selected doctors we both feel very comfortable with.  She will have surgery on Wednesday, June 11th.  I'm grateful that her nephew Zachary is coming to be with us and along with her sister Jane will be able to be my "representatives" at the hospital.  I'm not supposed to be exposed to the germs there while my own immune system is weakened by the chemotherapy.  Julie will be in the hospital 3 or 4 days and then home to recover for four to six weeks.  Then it looks like we will both be sitting in chemotherapy infusion rooms while we get rid of any lingering nasty cancer cells.

I do want to express my gratitude and appreciation for all the support that you've shared with both Julie and me.  We are so fortunate to have such loving family and friends surrounding us during this trying time.    When I told my doctor about Julie's diagnosis, he remarked that he knew we'd both be okay--but that this would be a "really crummy year."  I so appreciated his honesty and understanding about how this is really a challenge and when I think of what it would be like to face this alone, I just have to thank all again for all the support and blessings you've bestowed on us.

I'll keep you posted on how things are going.  I'm not making any promises about the frequency of my postings, but if you want me to send an email alert that there is a new posting, drop me a  message at EDRDHD@RIT.EDU.

Take good care,

Ellie