We have settled into a new routine of going to chemo twice a week, adding pills to the many he already had to take. We are thankful though! Our time in the chemo room is very short!Some patients  spend most of the day there. His chemo goes directly in a vein in his hand. He does not have a port!  He takes 10 steroid type pills on Mondays. He normally feels pretty well until Wednesday and they drop him like a rock. He is also having to deal with the bloating and weight gain that comes with it. Nights are the worse for the pain so he does not go out much at night now.

I made a trip to Belk's yesterday for one size up! It is a good thing men deal with issues like this better than us ladies! One side effect that is hard to deal with is the shortness of breath. We made a trip to the hospital ER last weekend but they could find no real reason for it.  The oxygen they put him on helped him a lot but I am glad his levels are not low enough for a prescription. I do hope he will be able to breath better at night. Two visits to the heart doctor in as many weeks have provided no answers. The swelling and the night sweats are probably related to his treatments or to his illness. I am not sure the doctors really know. While I am thankful it is treatable the road to remission is thus far not smooth asphalt but more like rough gravel!


   Elizabeth Edwards once responded to someone who said she was dying of cancer. She corrected them by saying she was not dying of cancer but  LIVING with cancer! There is a vast difference.  I so admired this lady for her strength and courage. She was a public figure who not only fought a brave fight with cancer but had to endure public humiliation in the middle of that battle. She said that we all are going to die but she just happened to know( more than likely) what she would die of. She chose to put her energy towards living!

   There is good that comes from all bad. We are closer than ever before. Our family is more important than ever before. You tend to see the best in people instead of their faults. You no longer major on the minors! It puts life in proper perspective really quick!

When you  are young, you have an idea of what you think love is. Romance, rings and pretty things.. all wonderful but the love that endures is the love that binds you during hospital stays with sick children, losing loved ones, financial difficulties, raising kids, job changes....all of these things plus other things satan can toss at you! Young love is wonderful in many ways but it does not touch the surface of love that is tried and true!  While that old couple's picture of their 60th anniversary may not be a beautiful portrait in the eyes of the world, you can believe it is very special to God.

   
 ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.