Sum-Sum-Summertime

Cooler August than usual, so far anyway. It didn't even reach 90 today and tomorrow is supposed to be even cooler. Yep, time to kick back, relax. Husband's CT scan is now over. They gave him an IV solution before the scan and he said it burned and left a metallic taste in his mouth but other than that the procedure went okay. He said he even fell asleep in the scanner! Actually, he can fall asleep standing up so that probably doesn't mean much. He has a bone scan scheduled for next week and another scheduled appoinment with his doctor before the surgery on the 15th.

We have had some friends weigh in with opinions on his pending surgery. One neighbor said he would rather die than have his bladder removed. Husband told him if it was really a matter of life or death perhaps he would think otherwise. I think husband always felt like our neighbor but not now. Real life trumps theory.

And how good was my commute this morning? 70-75 mph all the way. Has everyone taken August off? Was there a holiday and no one told me? I need answers! Hmm, probably an aberration, just enjoy!

Last Sunday

Though we're having unseasonably cooler weather, these are heat-loving geraniums. Today was our daughter's last Sunday in rehab, her 90 day stay ends on August 11th. There has been an adjustment in her after-rehab plans as they don't have an apartment available for her and her 13-year old son. So, he will continue to stay with us until one is available and she will live in a communal setting but will be able to have him spend weekends with her.

I think one of the biggest miracles of her sobriety is seeing how her boys now relate to her. The 17-year old that once told her he didn't want to see her and in fact might hate her was today sitting with his arms around her laughing and sharing jokes. The 13-year old who will eventually be living with her, now seems more confident that she will stay sober. And we will be glad to relinquish the job (and privilege) of rearing both young men. It's now our turn.

Husband has to drink his first container of Berry Smoothie this evening and can't have anything to eat or drink after 9:00pm. Another container of Berry Smoothie tomorrow morning and then off to the lab for the CT scan. I'm not sure how long it will be before we get the results.

Statistics and Stuff

Samantha got her first mail today - an invitation to visit the vet for some shots. Doesn't she look happy? Lucky Sam. One in 30 - chance of a man developing bladder cancer at any time in his life. One in 90 - the chance for a woman. Bladder cancer is the the fourth most frequent cancer diagnosed in men and the ninth most frequent cancer diagnosed in women. It's a cancer of older people. Nearly 90% of people with this cancer are over the age of 55. About 74% of those first diagnosed with this cancer have it confined to the bladder. In 19% of the cases, it has spread to nearby tissues outside the bladder. In 3% it has spread to distant sites. We are hoping husband's bladder cancer is in the first group, confined to the bladder. His CT scan is scheduled for Monday. Lucky him, he gets to drink something called Berry Smoothie. Do we think this is going to taste like a berry smoothie? We do not.

Tomorrow is the last Sunday visit with our daughter in rehab - she will be through with the program on the 11th. When she entered rehab almost 90 days ago she was confused, paranoid, tired, and scared. Now she is a completely different person - doesn't even look the same. She was so ready for this and though we all know she has more work ahead, we're confident she will make it. We are all proud of the hard work she's done.

We have had so many doctor appointments and been so busy lately that when husband said to me, "Do you know what happens tomorrow?", I drew a blank. I couldn't think of anything we had planned so I said, "No, nothing special that I can remember." Big smile on his face as he said, "There's a football game on tomorrow!" Love anything that puts a smile on his face.

Finally Friday

Office courtyard - sometimes kids fill the fountain with soap and we have bubbles everywhere. There was an article in the NYT about a 35-year old woman who had just had her first child when doctors found she had colon cancer and the disease had spread to her liver. The theme of the article is how confusing and uneven treatment is and how when a person is ill, scared, and vulnerable, they need to be pro-active - be very involved and learn everything they can about the different treatments. One of her doctors gave her six months to live, the second and third said chemo would buy her more time, but a surgery wouldn't and the fourth offered to operate.

One of the things I gleaned from the article is a web site that has the treatment guidelines approved by cancer experts: www.nccn.org/ - it has been very informative and helpful and better prepares us for our coming appointment with his surgeon.

Missed blogging yesterday. Some neighbors came over and it was pretty late when they left. We were finishing up our dinner when they came and after hurriedly clearing the table we sat down to look at some papers they brought with them. I had a checked tablecloth on the table and the neighbor began tracing the checks with his finger, sort of doodling. Then his finger obviously came across some crumbs and he began forming them into a little pile. Scooching here and there to arrange them just so. I wanted to laugh but I was the only one noticing this so I muffled myself. Then I was curious as to what was going to happen to that tiny mound of crumbs - yep, off the table they went and onto the floor. Maybe my sense of humor is weird but I thought it was funny. The things we do to entertain ourselves!

August

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it's off to work I go! West bound on the 91. Overcast because of our monsoon condition. Typical for August.

Merrily we roll along. East bound on the 91. Going home.

And how fast was I going when this picture was snapped? Fast? On the 91?

At last we have a date for the CT-scan, Monday, August 6th. Bone scan, August 14th. Surgery for bladder removal, August 15th. Though going ahead with the operation is still the plan, he wants another visit with the surgeon to go over some of the details. Things now seem to be happening so quickly but the doctor described his cancer as a nasty, aggressive one so we want it out ASAP.

Our visiting Texas grandson is going to Sacramento to visit his maternal grandmother this evening. Our daughter-in-law's birthday is August 3rd. Husband's CT-scan is the 6th. Our wedding anniversary is the 7th. And son has an operation to remove some pins on his recently broken leg on the 7th. Daughter is due to get out of rehab August 11th. Grandson returning from Sacramento on the 14th. And bone scan scheduled for the 14th. Surgery, August 15th. Then we can relax. I'm only kidding a little bit when I say I go to work to relax. The market's volatility is very little compared to what's going on at home!