A chilly 57 degrees here today on Edisto ... brrrrrrrr ... but the sun is shining, the sky is blue and there's no snow to shovel! Martha and I again send our warm greetings from Edisto!
A GREAT FAMILY CHRISTMAS (Part 2) ... Derek, Carrie and Jack arrived safely and as expected on Monday, January 21st. Stefanie and Capers picked them up at CHS and drove them to the beach. Our tree was still up and the outside of our porches decorated with lighted garlands in late January, generating a few curious comments from walkers-by. Jack opened lots of presents with much precision (not a piece of wrapping paper or tape remaining prior to opening each box) for what seemed like days ... Christmas with Mimi and Grandpa, a long with with Stefanie and Capers, then Christmas with Julie and Grandy. Christmas just kept on going this year which was lots of fun! Martha enjoyed cooking (for real) for a change and it was one feast after another in our
house. We really enjoyed her Julia Childs preparation of "Beef Bourguignon" in her new coastal blue Le Creuset. Simply delicious ... must have been the new pot! Our great Edisto friends (Susan and Bill Kozub) insisted we use their big red golf cart for the week and Jack was thrilled to explore the beach via golf cart. Our main road (King Cotton) was in the process of being repaved so Jack also got to sit on some of the big yellow equipment staged for the project. We took him to the Edisto Beach firehouse and he got to sit in the big red fire truck, blow the siren and observe the big ladder go up and down. We added a dinner out at Bowen's (a very local oyster shack, at Folly beach) with everybody, Derek, Carrie, Jack, Stefanie, Aaron, Capers, Betty, Julie and the two proud grandparents - just love oyster season! Add to this a day at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston and we couldn't have planned a better trip to visit Mimi and Grandpa! And ... the night before flying home Jack taught Grandpa how to use the VOD ("Video on Demand") feature of DirecTV in order to play episodes of "Bubble Guppies" and "Bob the Builder" many times over! Mimi and Grandpa even got Jack all to themselves that night while Mommy and Daddy enjoyed some well deserved fine dining at the Charleston Grill (where Julie works) and
an overnight at the adjacent Charleston Place Hotel. Oh yeah, Jack did in fact meet his new cousin "Capers" for the first time but was somewhat "less than excited" about the meeting, exclaiming "my daddy!" when Uncle Derek picked up Capers a couple of times. A great time was had by all!
CHEMO ROUND 31 ... my vitals and blood work were all good this past Wednesday, January 30th so I received chemotherapy round 31 on schedule. Unfortunately I haven't been feeling quite so well this past cycle and didn't experience the anticipated "bounce" a week or so post-chemo for some reason. Add some modest dizziness, light-headedness to my post-chemo issues and it hasn't been a good cycle. My oncologist and his team are working to pinpoint a cause but without success so far. Could be my meds, the fact I have a hard time drinking a lot of water each day, the fact my blood sugar is trending toward the low end, or the chemo. My wife (and oncology nurse Sue) both want me to drink more (water, ugh) and eat more carbs. Even flavoring water with fruit to make it more interesting "gets olds" quickly. I think that Stefanie has had us try every fruit and combination. Anybody have any suggestions? Still haven't lost any weight (or much more hair!)which is good. My oncologist (Dr. Ellison) admitted it might be a cumulative reaction to one of the chemo drugs, stating "frankly I haven't had a patient on this chemo regimen this long, so we're treading in some unchartered waters". Great ... I think??? I've asked Martha for a bullet from time to time but she refuses to give me one even if I don't own a gun ... at least not yet!
Martha was just saying yesterday that it is hard to believe that Stefanie is turning 30 on February 6th! Hard to believe how time flies
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Friendship Central School (Class of 1967) classmates Linda (Byron) Voorheis and Bill "Dago" Davidson who are also battling stage IV cancer at this time. Keep up the fight and never, ever give
up Linda and Bill. As they say, "it's hell to get old" but great to be enjoying life from the "green grass side
up"! We all have a lot more to live for ...
May the good Lord continue to bless you and yours ....
Dan and Martha
A GREAT FAMILY CHRISTMAS (Part 2) ... Derek, Carrie and Jack arrived safely and as expected on Monday, January 21st. Stefanie and Capers picked them up at CHS and drove them to the beach. Our tree was still up and the outside of our porches decorated with lighted garlands in late January, generating a few curious comments from walkers-by. Jack opened lots of presents with much precision (not a piece of wrapping paper or tape remaining prior to opening each box) for what seemed like days ... Christmas with Mimi and Grandpa, a long with with Stefanie and Capers, then Christmas with Julie and Grandy. Christmas just kept on going this year which was lots of fun! Martha enjoyed cooking (for real) for a change and it was one feast after another in our
house. We really enjoyed her Julia Childs preparation of "Beef Bourguignon" in her new coastal blue Le Creuset. Simply delicious ... must have been the new pot! Our great Edisto friends (Susan and Bill Kozub) insisted we use their big red golf cart for the week and Jack was thrilled to explore the beach via golf cart. Our main road (King Cotton) was in the process of being repaved so Jack also got to sit on some of the big yellow equipment staged for the project. We took him to the Edisto Beach firehouse and he got to sit in the big red fire truck, blow the siren and observe the big ladder go up and down. We added a dinner out at Bowen's (a very local oyster shack, at Folly beach) with everybody, Derek, Carrie, Jack, Stefanie, Aaron, Capers, Betty, Julie and the two proud grandparents - just love oyster season! Add to this a day at the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston and we couldn't have planned a better trip to visit Mimi and Grandpa! And ... the night before flying home Jack taught Grandpa how to use the VOD ("Video on Demand") feature of DirecTV in order to play episodes of "Bubble Guppies" and "Bob the Builder" many times over! Mimi and Grandpa even got Jack all to themselves that night while Mommy and Daddy enjoyed some well deserved fine dining at the Charleston Grill (where Julie works) and
an overnight at the adjacent Charleston Place Hotel. Oh yeah, Jack did in fact meet his new cousin "Capers" for the first time but was somewhat "less than excited" about the meeting, exclaiming "my daddy!" when Uncle Derek picked up Capers a couple of times. A great time was had by all!
CHEMO ROUND 31 ... my vitals and blood work were all good this past Wednesday, January 30th so I received chemotherapy round 31 on schedule. Unfortunately I haven't been feeling quite so well this past cycle and didn't experience the anticipated "bounce" a week or so post-chemo for some reason. Add some modest dizziness, light-headedness to my post-chemo issues and it hasn't been a good cycle. My oncologist and his team are working to pinpoint a cause but without success so far. Could be my meds, the fact I have a hard time drinking a lot of water each day, the fact my blood sugar is trending toward the low end, or the chemo. My wife (and oncology nurse Sue) both want me to drink more (water, ugh) and eat more carbs. Even flavoring water with fruit to make it more interesting "gets olds" quickly. I think that Stefanie has had us try every fruit and combination. Anybody have any suggestions? Still haven't lost any weight (or much more hair!)which is good. My oncologist (Dr. Ellison) admitted it might be a cumulative reaction to one of the chemo drugs, stating "frankly I haven't had a patient on this chemo regimen this long, so we're treading in some unchartered waters". Great ... I think??? I've asked Martha for a bullet from time to time but she refuses to give me one even if I don't own a gun ... at least not yet!
Martha was just saying yesterday that it is hard to believe that Stefanie is turning 30 on February 6th! Hard to believe how time flies
Our thoughts and prayers go out to Friendship Central School (Class of 1967) classmates Linda (Byron) Voorheis and Bill "Dago" Davidson who are also battling stage IV cancer at this time. Keep up the fight and never, ever give
up Linda and Bill. As they say, "it's hell to get old" but great to be enjoying life from the "green grass side
up"! We all have a lot more to live for ...
May the good Lord continue to bless you and yours ....
Dan and Martha