Quite a Year

We're back. Diane and I left Corpus Christi Sunday morning and after stops in Baton Rouge, LA; Memphis, TN; and Gillespie, IL, we arrived in Macomb Tuesday afternoon. Diane had not been home since May 27th, and we put 3300 miles on the car. It was a splendid trip. I much enjoyed my time with grandsons Luke and James plus newcomer Paul. While they wore me out, it is good wearing out.

After dinner on Fathers' Day in Baton Rouge, Diane presented me with a card and it really resonated. We tend to be note writers on our cards and this one hit home. Fathers' Day 2010 according to Diane found me at my weakest. I had just completed treatment on June 10th and was still in a downward spiral. Gordon and Ryan made it home that weekend, and I'm told they were quite concerned as I was down to 153 pounds and had no energy. I don't remember this but then I don't remember much of what happened on a daily basis during this period.

Now it is a year later and oh how things have changed. In her card, Diane posed a series of rhetorical questions: Who would have thought Gordon and Lisa would be in Austin, TX, because he got a big promotion? Who would have thought the Stevensons would have another baby? Who would have thought you (Gordy) would receive Western's Distinguished Alumni Award and the renaming of the James Grigsby Student Leadership Award to the Gordon A. Taylor Student Leadership Award?

None of these were on our radar. Add to this the wealth of good health news I have received lately, and it has been one heck of a year. I still itch but it is much better. In the last couple of weeks, I have noticed an improvement in both my ability to taste and an increase in appetite. My taste buds are certainly not what they were before all this happened but they are coming back!! As far as eating, for the first time in 16 months, I occasionally order an entree and not just soup and salad when dining out. Folks, in my world, this is BIG news. I also find myself able to get through the night with only a couple of sips of water because my mouth is so dry. I do remember waking up every half hour every night because my salivary glands were not working. Ahhhh progress.

I mentioned this in my last posting, but it bears repeating. I've talked to other cancer survivors and we share a common bond that comes with the territory. For lack of a better term, let's just call it "angst." You simply can't get away from the reality of the cancer experience. While it becomes less a part of your physical being, it clearly is in the back of your mind. I write this only because those of you fortunate enough not to have dealt with cancer on a personal basis need to know how your friends who have been afflicted have had their lives changed.