More Energy Than Ever | Adding Sweetness to Life

This has been by far the most energy and best Steve has felt since starting chemo two months ago. This week off chemo has been good for his and Dixie's spirit and soul. Steve realizes too that he'd lost much more energy and strength than he ever realized. 

With four more days before he's expecting to have his next infusion, Steve and Dixie are trying to plan out how to balance making most productive use of his energy as well as enjoy themselves. Our friends' generosity are helping us decide. Saturday some of Steve's fly fishing friends are taking him fly fishing. He's really looking forward to it! 

And another event Steve and Dixie are looking forward to is a stay at a very nice downtown Seatle hotel. A couple have generously donated their hotel points to put Dixie and Steve up at the hotel with some very nice extra perks this coming Monday; this is the night before Steve gets tested to see if/how effective the chemo has been and (hopefully) proceeds with further treatment. Thank you two for enriching our experience!

The Sweet Spot Between Good Times and Getting Things Done

"3.   Most people think happiness is in the future"
"13. Happiness is knowing how to celebrate"

          List from "Hector's Search for Happiness" 

The First Sweet Spot This Week
Steve's brother Gregg, came down from Bellevue this Thursday to visit through Saturday afternoon, to help us downsize - amongst his many talent's, he's the family eBay expert. He's helped us set up a doable system to sell things on eBay as well as helped Steve post things himself. All the while Steve has been gaining energy daily since his treatment on Tuesday. We had a good time coming up with practical ideas and setting them into action together to downsize. We're fortunate to have such warm, caring and generous family members. Thank you Gregg. And thank you Chari for taking care of the kids while Gregg was down here!

The Second Sweet Spot
One of my fly fishing friends and his wife cooked then brought over a full dinner to our place this Friday.  The five of us, including my brother Gregg had a good time together (We're so happy to have leftovers of everything since the dinner was so delicious! Thank you, you two!).

Then around 7:30, four more fly fishing friends came by to help with a second round of sorting fly tying and fy fishing gear. This group made short order of determining what Steve should consider donating or selling (all towards relieving Dixie of the burden of all my stuff).

Thank you, each of you, for creating a perfect blend of a good time with good friends and family, and getting stuff done.

Better than Before | Thankful

Well the meds, including the steroids really have taken care of Steve's chemo side effects. The steroids do though, keep him jazzed for the first 24 hours. More significantly, Dixie and Steve will no longer need to stay the night in Seattle after his infusions! And next week is a recovery week- a week off from chemotherapy.

Steve's brother Gregg is back down from Bellevue as the primary driver behind posting so much of the stuff Steve has accumulated but wants to sell on eBay. His experience and help is invaluable. Thank you Gregg! Steve wishes he had 1/4 of the energy Gregg does to more fully help with this part of downsizing!

Like Last Week - What Infusion? Summer Break

Like last week, Steve doesn't even feel like he's had an infusion! So we passed the meds we used overcame the worst chemo thrown at the cancer so far! 

The secret is steroids - and the downside. I'm prepared to come off of the single injection of steroids about mid afternoon today (Wednesday). What this feels like is that I have really low blood sugar and just want to flop down for a couple hours. I was not prepared for this last week, but am this week.

Good news! With the meds for side effects dialed in, we may be able to return to same-day trips for infusions, rather than renting a hotel room every week. 

And Steve feels like a kid on spring break! He officially skip infusions next week! 

Test of Meds to Prevent Side Effects

Steve here: Okay, this week I'll see if the meds given to me to prevent side effects due to study drug are effective. We tried preventative drugs last week with just standard treatment drugs. This is the real test.  Hoping we've got the right combo of preventative meds dialed in now, so we don't need to stay overnight every week from now on.

I'm thankful for having a good week last week and so many caring friends and family. I'm thankful for Dixie's unwavering, ongoing love and support. Adavan is kicking in, getting drowsy-more later :-)

Quick Update - All's Well

After on Thursday a nice visit with Jerry, Dixie's brother from Houston (rode his BMW up and stopped by on his way to a rally), then an unplanned trip to the emergency room for Steve (he had hard chills and fever, but checked out okay) Dixie was set to leave for the weekend, to participate in the much anticipated Portuguese Water Dog Water Trials at a lake a few hours north of us. She'd been practicing since early spring with friends (and the dogs of course) for this.

About an hour after she left, Steve got a call - our truck and quit running, and fortunately Dixie was able to guide it and the travel trailer over to the shoulder on I-5. She was waiting for a towing service to get the truck to a local repair shop. And had in the mean time come up with a plan to still get to the event (way to persevere Dixie!). With Jerry's help, Steve got the van prepped, then he drop to the repair shop where Dixie transferred everything she' need for the weekend into the van, though now she was going to stay at a motel. Then she drove Steve back down to the Portland airport, where he rented a car for the weekend, so he could run the errands and meet friends as originally planned. So though the weekend was off to a shaky start it ended up well.

As you can gather from this blog entry, Steve was feeling pretty good this weekend. He was more energetic than he'd expected he'd be. So both Steve and Dixie enjoyed their independent weekend plans and came back "re-created".

Finally we wanted to thank a couple we like and trust very much for being the emergency go-to people for Steve this weekend. Your being there gave Dixie peace of mind and Steve assurance he was not alone should an emergency arise.

Steve's Infusion Day

Photo right after Steve's infusion today. 

Steve is feeling surprising good after the  infusion today in contrast to the prior infusions. This has been mild - the difference, we think, is that he did not get the study drug this week.  

So mild that Dixie and Steve were able to take advantage of the Hyatt Olive 8 facilities and had a nice dinner of crab cakes on a feta-pea salad, macaroni & cheese with crab and house made pickles. Yum!

Then Dixie went to the whirlpool while Steve slid into bed ready to watch a movie once Dixie returns.

Grateful for Our Friends

On Sunday we learned how deep friendships really run. Four fly fishing friends came over this morning to sort through Steve's fly fishing books and rods to figure out what to donate, what to sell for how much, and who might be interested specific items. The work they did in a couple hours would have taken Steve days. Thank you friends.

Sunday afternoon we were mentioning to two other friends visiting us that the hotel we were staying at the night of Steve's transfusion didn't have vacancies this week. So, we were staying a 30 minute drive away- very iffy given how fast and hard Steve has been hit by the  side effects in the past. Our dear friends used their frequent hotel points towards  securing us a room at a hotel in downtown Seattle just blocks from Virginia Mason. We're deeply touched by this act of generosity and kindness. Thank you dear friends!

A number of friends over the past two weeks have brought us prepared meals-they've been delicious and provided us much more than just nutritional sustenance. Thank you. 

And fronds and family have been sending us cards and emails wishing us well. Each message bouys our spirit that much higher-thank you!

Finally our dogs Jude and Breeze may not understand, but we totally appreciate the team that has been taking care of the dog when we are up in Seattle. When we arrive home the dogs are more relaxed and content than we are! Your insights and understand of each of our dogs makes the difference! Thank you!

May the generosity and kindness you've extended to us be returned many-fold to you in the future.

In This Case No News is Good News

Well The good news is that Steve has had quite a bit of energy the past few days so he and Dixie have been keeping busy. Dixie has arranged for and managed a large scale project to take out and prune trees and trim bushes-thank you Emily! She's also resumed grooming fewer Portuguese Water Dogs and training Jude and Breeze. Steve's been getting squaring away some legal matters, prepping items to sell on eBay and providing some insights and suggestions on friends' business projects. At a friend's suggestion Steve is volunteering with a regional community foundation, helping with the local group's planning as well as "manning" a booth at events. 

Steve is at about 80% of his energy level and 60% his strength - his two weeks in bed really affected the later. He's picking up some strength building along with the walking and yoga he's undertaken. 

"Chemo? What Chemo?" Slam "Chemo? What Chemo?"

Well Steve had a full course of chemo treatment last night, along with new meds to reduce the side effects brought about by the experiemental drug. So the good news is that Steve is more than likely getting the experimental drug.  

After our last experience, we opted to stay overnight so Steve's side effects could play out in a motel room, rather than in the  car. Good thing too - the new meds did a better job of curbing nausea and diarrhea, but did not eliminate them. He was fine walking out of the hospital ("chemo? what chemo?") , but the side effects overtook him within an hour. So, once we checked into the motel Dixie steered Steve to bed where he crashed out, making frequent trips to the loo. 

Then about midnight we awoke to the alarm clock the former guest had set as a "favor" for us. Steve noticed he once again felt good ("chemo, what chemo?"). He slept though the rest of the night soundly. 

This morning he woke up okay, hungry and thirsty. So today he's up and about, crusing home (thank you for driving Dixie)  operating like he'd just not had enough sleep We'll see how the day progresses!

Yikes! Trying Full Strength Dose of Chemo

Dr. feels Steve has bounced back enough to try a full dose again and we are better dialed into dealing with side effects now. So here we go!

Okay Here Goes Another Round of Chemo - Staying Whole

Steve: I'm writing this while Dixie is driving us up to Virginia Mason to begin chemotherapy after a week off. 

I'll say this out loud now, so I own what I feel rather than my feelings own me.  I'm angry and sad that I have to go through this, and fear that for all I'm going through, it might not work. For me, acknowledging what I feel is what provides me the power and integrity to maintain a positive attitude, to progress, and keep our challenge and journey in perspective - that Steve needs a part of his whole healed.

So we'll do what we need, and hope that the therapy is working. We have another month before we'll know for sure. We appreciate you keeping your fingers crossed, that we are in your thoughts and prayers, etc. that the chemo is working.

Stretch to Exert Now, Get More Energy Back Later

On Sunday Dixie and I did our own things with others. Dixie spent the morning with her friends training our dogs Jude and Breeze for upcoming Portuguese Water Dog Water Trials. In the  mean time, Steve did some grocery shopping then met some friends for brunch at their place. Steve needed a brief rest in the early afternoon, before going fly fishing for the evening with a group of friends that happen to be in the same fly fishing club. The fishing trip was fun, and Merrill Lake, our fly fishing club's home waters, was as beautiful as ever. Steve hooked a few trout including a 14-16" brown trout, but alas was unable to bring any of them to hand. This fishing trip lasted 8 hours, and though Steve was a passaenger in the car and rode in David's boat, Steve was definitely exhausted when he got home - he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.   

Steve woke up with even more energy on Monday - he felt he had practically as much energy as the day he started chemotherapy! In general, Steve's feeling no pain, though has pretty constant GI turbulence. 

So what has Steve learned? He's convinced that pushing himself physically just a bit before resting, be it yoga, walking, shopping, fishing, etc., really helps him regain more energy when he recovers.

Celebrating Her Half Year Birthday

Well Dixie's birthday is on January 6. This is just when everybody is pretty much partied out, running thin on giving juices and the weather is typically sucky. Let's face it, she's gotten the short end of the happy birthday celebration stick. 

So for the past couple years Steve has been throwing modest celebrations for Dixie's half year birthday - which turns out to be on July 6th. So at least she gets two birthday celebrations a year. 

Please join me in wishing Dixie a Happy Half Year Birthday! 

Beacon Rock State Park July 3 2015

Step by Step, Literally

Steve is regaining his strength literally step by step. He's up to 2-3 hours of activity followed by 1 hour of rest. Last night we took a nice 3/4 mile walk with the dogs during sunset at Beacon Rock-it was beautiful!  Then we went to the Vancouver Farmers Market with a friend for a couple hours this morning. Steve even did a bit of street photography at the market, which brightened his mood. Then off to another friend's house for a 4th of July dinner. Being with friends has made our experiences all the sweeter.

Between yoga, errands and walking,  Steve is trying to regain as much energy and strength as possible before beginning another 3 weeks of chemotherapy (starting this coming Tuesday).

3 Gratitudes

. For Steve's best and most energetic day since starting chemo

. For friends that help us in seemingly little ways that end up making our day-like coming by to chat awhile.

. For seeing the magic in a moment - like noticing the shadow of my hand in a moonbeam.