Marching to a different beat

Dear Friends,

Deb had her first week with Taxol. She was tired on Thursday night and Friday, but had a great surge on Sunday when she returned from a outdoor wedding shower. This week she has been tired, but today she feels well enough for dinner. So tonight I let her open the cereal and get the milk from the refrigerator. Kidding, kidding, kidding. OK. She fixed a nice meal tonight and I helped with the dishes.

She misses her sense of taste the most. Perhaps it's her sense of smell, but most food doesn't have enough taste to interest her, not that she's given up eating, but most food tastes bland. There are some of her favorite vegetables and fruits she shouldn't eat, so that adds to the bland diet too.

We have been working in the yard the last few days, cleaning up an area where we took down a tree and the weeds took over. Couple that with the 90 degree temps we've had and it becomes a bear out there.

Deb goes for chemo again tomorrow. We believe that she will be checked by a MRI in three or four weeks and without significant reduction in the size of the tumor, she will probably have surgery. Following that she will probably have more chemo and perhaps radiation.

In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe and enough shadows to blind those who don't. Blaise Pascal

We continue in faith to face this journey. We couldn't sleep at night or focus on anything else if not for our faith. The power of your prayers and the grace and mercy of God, continue to make all of this bearable for us.


A true friend knows your weaknesses but shows you your strengths; feels your fears but fortifies your faith; sees your anxieties but frees your spirit; recognizes your disabilities but emphasizes your possibilities.
- William Arthur Ward

So, we struggle to find the words to say thank you to so many people who say silent prayers for Deb, and in doing so, change our lives and theirs in ways unfathomable.

I'd like to ask all of you to say a prayer for all the care givers out there. I've been blessed that Deb hasn't had to have much help. She still does the laundry, cooks when she can and pays the bills. But there are those, such as my sister Diane and her husband Ken who have cared for my bed ridden mother for two years, every single day. They are typical of so many who struggle to care for the difficult, and try to deal with their own feelings of resentment and hopelessness. We can easily identify the lame and the sick, but consider those who have no visible sign of the struggle they face everyday.

Thank you for reading this and for your comments.

God Bless

Dan