I purposely have not written because when I went to post, I saw my son’s, Jeremy, posting and I thought it was the perfect post. He summed it up so well how I had been feeling! Jeremy is my oldest (23, will be 24 next Monday) and reading that post made tears come to my eyes. In fact, two of my sisters told me the same thing. For him to capture and relate to you how I was doing was so intuitive of him. His concern for me really shows through in his postings. I want Jeremy to know how very proud of him I am, how much I appreciate all he has done, and how much his mom loves him.

As Jeremy posted, the chemo has been very exhausting for me. Each treatment, the exhaustion has been a little worse. The absolute bad days have been Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday following treatment. It takes a real effort to do anything. I was not as sick (queasy) this time but the tiredness was worse. I was able to work today but my stomach did bother me all day.

As if my family hasn’t been hit with enough, we found out last Thursday that my Dad has macular degeneration in both eyes. The doctor told him he was legally blind in the left eye and the right eye was almost there. He absolutely can not drive. So for now, Dad is getting injections in his eyes that will hopefully slow down the progression and may even give him a slight improvement in his vision.

One thing about my cancer experience, it has taught me, and I believe my family as well, that life can change at any given moment. First with my mom’s cancer battle, and death, my cancer and now my Dad. We must appreciate the many opportunities we are given and truly count the blessings in our lives. I receive (and give) a lot more hugs and “love yous” from my children (and family) than I did before my cancer diagnosis. Maybe when I am all done with treatment and life marches on with chemo and cancer in the past, we may slowly move back to the old ways, but for now I will continue to feel very blessed and keep receiving (and giving) hugs and “love yous”.

Again, I say thank you for all your prayers, support, and encouragement. I know I couldn’t do it without family and all of you.

Love, Lori