Catching Up

OK. It's been way too long since I have blogged. Here goes...

We're all doing really while, in spite of Ethan and Anderson having colds. We're hoping the rest of us don't catch it! We are enjoying the Holiday season in spite of its busyness and trying not to pack too much in. We've enjoyed a Christmas party at Bob's work (photo attached) and a potluck with friends. The month has also been exciting with Dawn's baby shower, Ethan learning to crawl and pull up on things, Lyndsey's enjoyment of the Christmas music (you should see her dance!), snow, Anderson getting ready to lose his 4th tooth, and the kids experiencing ice skating for the first time.

Last weekend, Bob and I went to Boston for a set of CT scans, doctor's appointments, and the removal of my port. All went very well. It was great to see some of my nurses again (quick visit) as well as my doctors, and the results of the CT scans were good. We stayed overnight in Boston at a friend's place and enjoyed dinner in the North end. (I'm sure we were quite the sight, walking in the rain while I caned and Bob held the umbrella for both of us. How romantic!) Getting the port out was the last thing on the "to do" list, and although it took longer than expected (they used me to teach a resident...a little disconcerting since I was awake for the whole thing!), I was amazed at how good I felt afterwards. I was expecially surprised at how I felt emotionally - I felt "whole" again. I hadn't thought that the port bothered me too much, but it sure was nice not having it in my body anymore, nothing extra (besides the steel femur that I'm happy to keep).

After all the appointments on Monday, we WALKED from MGH to the Cheesecake Factory (at least a mile) and had a DELICIOUS dinner. It was the first meal in its entirety where I could taste (and fully enjoy) everything! Woohoo!!! My tastebuds aren't all the way back, but this is huge progress. What a blessing to have such a great meal with Bob!

OK, enough for now. I'll write more later.

November "highs"

Well, the last half of the month has been fabulous. My energy is improving, and it is so good to not have to be going back to the hospital for overnights anymore. I don't really know what daily life will look like yet, but we are getting that much closer. The Holidays are always so crazy anyway that I don't think we'll really begin to adapt until we begin 2010. I guess that it's nice in that it might be more gradual, perhaps a bit easier for us.
The Thanks Giving Celebration was wonderful. Thank you to the many of you who have sent me notes about it. I really appreciate them.
Thanksgiving was just as good as I dreamed it would be. We kicked it off with going to Dave, Jill, and Aiden's for dinner (Bob's brother and family). Mom and Gerry were there as well as Jill's parents. It was a very comfortable evening with lots of entertainment thanks to Aiden, Ethan, and Lyndsey. The food was yummy and I could actually taste it! I think my favorite part was Jill's cinnamin rolls...Mmmmm! We headed for Pittsburg at 9:00 and got there by midnight. The next few days were filled with family and fun. It was so good to be back; it felt so normal and familiar. We got a lot of snow and had an adventure with losing the electricity for 19 hours. It was a visit we won't forget! The kids made snowmen with Daddy, Grammie, and Aunt Dawn. Ethan crawled for the first time on Saturday. (Now he's a little man on the move.) The only thing that kept me from crying over leaving was knowing that we'll be back up North in a few weeks for Christmas. Eleven full months being away was way too long.
I started physical therapy a few weeks ago and am already seeing progress. It will be a long process as there is so much to do, but I'm encouraged to know that I'm headed in the direction of walking without a limp (maybe by my birthday?). Right now, the biggest challenge is making the time to do my exercises. We've got to develop a family routine that will help me fit it in. God will help us figure it out.