Home is where I want to be
I’ve been on the road so long, my friend
And if you came along I know you couldn’t disagree
A little Simon & Garfunkel to start out my post. It really is great to be back home! I just realized that I haven't written since early December. A lot has happened since then. The fourth of this month was the one year anniversary of my lymphoma diagnosis. We didn't do anything to celebrate.
We had a wonderful Christmas! We had carolers come to our home the night we returned. Our front yard was full of friends and family. It was a great way to be welcomed home. We spent the week just loving each other and being grateful for our blessings. Our time went by quickly and Christina, Norah, Peter and I went back up to Seattle for my final appointments with the staff there. We came home for good on Dec. 31.
As eager as we were to come home, it was almost hard to leave Seattle. We felt safe there with the nurses and doctors at the SCCA. We had been through some hard times and some good times there and developed a great relationship with them. In September after we had received the bad news that I still had cancer cells in my spinal fluid and that the transplant had little chance of clearing them out, our long-term nurse Cindy stayed behind in our room to give us a hug and tell us that whether my chances were 1% or 5% I still had a chance and that I could survive this. That made a difference to us. I still get choked up when I think about that day.
Christina and I were able to spend a lot of time together. More time alone than we've had since we were engaged to be married. Well, we did have Peter, but after having 8 kids, we felt as if we were alone. I think that some couples go through adversity and it tears them apart. I'm grateful to report that for us, going through this experience pulled us together. When we first discovered that I'd be going to Seattle for a transplant, I insisted that Christina stay at home with our children. She insisted that her place was with me and that the kids would be alright at home with her Mom and my Mom there to care for them. I know that it has required a lot of sacrifice from our mothers and that it has sometimes been hard for our kids, but I also know that staying together as a couple was the right decision for us. I don't think I could have gone through this emotionally, physically, or spiritually without my sweetheart at my side. I treasure the relationship we've built.
Now we're back in the real world. One of the things I like best is being around healthy people. It's hard to see people suffering through cancer treatments, even though so many of them have great attitudes and real insight to share. One lady and her husband were going home after a failed transplant. She knew that her husband only had weeks left in his life. When she found out that we were about to leave the UW medical center and would need an apartment, she offered to give us hers, where the rent was already paid for the rest of the month. I was surprised that she would make such a generous offer to us when we were almost strangers to her and she was surely distracted by her own grief. People can be so good to each other, even under the poorest of circumstances. Sadly, her husband passed away in early December.
We made friends with a couple from Spokane, Leland and Rebekah. Lee had had a transplant a year before, but his leukemia had returned about 9 months later. After going through treatments from a new experimental study, when we met his cancer appeared to be in remission. We had dinner with them the last week of December and Lee looked healthier than I was. We found out in early January that his cancer had returned. He and Bekah returned to Spokane with their little daughter. Lee passed away about a week and a half ago. Sometimes I feel like I'm experiencing some PTSD from my experiences. Cancer is horrible. I don't know why some people are able to survive it and others can't. But I'm glad that I'm still here and I plan on sticking around.
I'm seeing a new doctor, Thomas Boyd in Yakima. We wanted a lymphoma specialist who was used to working with the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and their long-term follow-up department recommended him. He has a great office, it reminds me of a ski lodge! Here is their lobby:
I'm seeing Dr. Boyd once a week. I'm also taking a fitness class at the Tri-City Court Club that is designed especially for cancer patients. I'm starting to feel a little bit like my old self. I'm hoping to start back to work, at least part-time this spring. In the meantime, I'm sleeping a lot and spending time with Eliza and Norah while their siblings are in school.
Life is precious, good and worth giving our best to!
