David's 70th Birthday

I was thinking is it better to express my feelings after he is gone, or share them with my loving husband now. This led to my thoughts as shared below with my loving husband.

Happy 70^th birthday ode to David

Who will kill the cockroaches when you are gone?

My dad wrote a poem to Suzy, his mother’s dog and then his dog, after she was gone.

My mother asked me to read a poem when scattering her ashes after she was gone.

I want to tell you these things now, before you are gone.

You were not what I prayed for or dreamed up but you were the answer, better than anything I could have imagined.

We have traveled thousands of miles side by side exploring the country in various RVs. Adventures too numerous to begin to name. Volunteering, working and just exploring.

We have been to states and places that only existed on a map until they came alive when we crossed a new state line.

-Meetings and people and conferences and rallies, energy, excitement, sweet people and a few, not so sweet. If you hadn’t driven us, I would have missed it. You were the leader, I the follower.

Our vows in sickness and health came to pass. You have been visited by sicknesses, mild to critical. I wasn’t always the best nurse but you were always the best patient.

Are these the highlights of your life, speaking in front of 8,000 people in Atlanta, GA? Getting flagged down to turn off the propane before entering the tunnel under the Chesapeake Bay on the east, or barely able to pull off the road as the engine stops, feet before the Eisenhower Tunnel.

Maybe the annual meeting getting a cash bonus award for selling ads and collecting the most cash up front.

Or was it getting detained at the Canadian border for an incident over 40 years ago.

For me it was a young couple, sitting by the campfire at San Simeon State Beach drinking brandy to keep warm,  my hair stuffed into a beanie on my head, snot running down my nose (so you said). Later you told me that was when you knew you loved me. Our first camping trip in a tiny pup tent; the adventure was just only beginning.

My only prayer for you is to not suffer – at least not any more than you already have. You have brought joy and happiness to many; you’ve been an inspiration to many more. You, my warrior of hope, you have given me more than I can ever repay. I can’t even imagine what my life would have been like without you to influence, guide and share with me. I love you beyond anything words can describe. Even this is inadequate but I wanted to tell you and only to ask who will kill the cockroaches for me, when you are gone.

Results are in

The results are in! It’s a Christmas miracle, David is remaining very stable. His tumor has not grown since his last CT and has not spread. We will now do a scan every 2 or 3 months. The doctor’s main concern is if it were to spread. Per the doctor, David’s biology is on the good side. Today we heard for the first time, a possibility that it is benign; might be due to the experimental radiation. We are ending this year on a very up note. Thanks for all the prayers, they are working!

Waiting for Results

12/8/17: Watching the SoCal fires on tv and listening to the advice for preparedness, one of the items is keep your gas tank filled. That’s a good tip, and one of the first things I started doing when David started chemo. The danger of an infection and immediate need to get to ER, made that a now standard practice. Another preparedness tip that we started when David became diabetic, caution over his blood sugar going to low and his passing out, snack bars and a high sugar snack are always carried in a cooler permanently in the car.

And when we had dogs, always kept an extra leash in the car. There are a lot of small things we can do; you never know what events may transpire. My favorite preparedness tip, keep the motorhome lightly packed, tanks appropriately empty/full, and your earthquake vehicle is ready for escape!

Later this morning David will have his telephone consultation with his doctor on the results of his latest CT scan. So glad we were able to do by phone because the strong winds fueling the fires would have made out travel to San Diego a bit more difficult.

I have not posted anything in quite some time. We have been enjoying the chemo holiday. Taken advantage of how well David has felt and done some traveling and just enjoying not being tired down with labs and doctor appointments and not being overly concerned with who around us if feeling ill and concern over David picking up a bug with his immune system. At this point, I don’t know that his immune system is back to normal but it is not as fragile as during chemo.

Thanks again for reading, I am just distracting myself and keeping my mind occupied until the phone call! Have a great day!