A Cancer Story

A cancer journey – did they let us back on the freeway?

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Infusion time!
When last we left off, Rick experienced, what we hoped was a little detour in his cancer journey. It was the first, and I am certain, it won’t be the last. I know that now. It is a very humbling experience to hear you may not be able to continue on your clinical trial … all because of a blood test result. A test on Rick’s pancreas two weeks ago reported his lipase level at 1602, with the standard range between 23 and 300. Not good. It is why we were sent home two weeks ago instead of receiving his very first “maintenance” infusion and put on “evaluation” status in the clinical trial.

We were to await an appointment with a GI doctor to rule out pancreatitis. That last-minute appointment finally happened yesterday. We met with Dr. T. That is what they call her as her name is not to be easily pronounced! After a long and thoughtful consultation, looking over labs and scans, it was determined that Rick did not have pancreatitis. Dr. T also asked me how Rick was doing. I told her this guy is back at work, working out with light weights, eating everything in the house that is not tied down and has his sense of humor back. Yup … it was her opinion the lipase elevation is likely due to the infusion drugs. But would they return to normal?

Today we left the house at 7 am for blood work at 8 bells. Two hours later we met with the clinical trial nurse and Dr. Campbell’s PA. If the blood work showed a decrease on the lipase test, Rick would have an immunotherapy infusion. Unfortunately, the lab didn’t perform the lipase test. A simple snafu for sure which increased the tension. Back down to the lab we went! We got Tazz to draw blood. He has a Looney Tune’s Tasmanian Devil on his scrubs. Another two-hour wait. We cruised to lunch at a restaurant in the Rotary House. The sit-down restaurant has a nice lunch buffet which was worth the stroll from the Mays Building.

At 12:45 my cell phone rang. Dr. Campbell told me the lipase declined 1200 points and Rick could run over to the Main Building for his infusion. Just like that! A simple phone call and we were allowed back on the freeway. But not too fast! More waiting and it was finally around 3:30 when the immunotherapy drug started dripping. During “maintenance” there is only one drug involved. Cuts the actual infusion time down to about an hour instead of three. Immunotherapy should continue every other week for the next 20 months … if there are no detours.

So I call 3:30 pm the witching hour when I am at MD Anderson. I gotta be out of the parking lot to head back home before Mimi’s day center bus rolls in front of our house. Thank you Lord for the HOV! So I leave Rick to finish his infusion and our awesome son-in-law, Chad, does a MD Anderson drive-by after work depositing hubby home safe and sound.

What I learned this week … life can turn on a dime many times … blood work is important and I don’t understand it all very much … except for lipase. I also learned that unexpected good things happen at our house every few days … like Michele texting me she has extra and brings a delicious dinner and her cute dog for Mimi to pet. And cards appear in our mailbox every few days. This week from the newspaper I write for, The Tribune. One card for Rick, and one for me, signed by everyone in the office with lovely little notes. Made our day when we weren’t having a very good one! And then there was a long phone call last week with Aleta … we call each other “sista” … she is actually my lovely daughter-in-law’s mother and lives far away in Michigan. It was one of those tough days and she made everything better.

And my favorite little text relay early in the day with my little sister, Gretchen! “Big day at MDA today! Maybe infusion … maybe kicked out of trial!” I texted.

“I vote for infusion,” Gretchen texts.

A cancer journey – kidney surgery post-op … and an unexpected detour

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Kidney pillowWe have been dreading Monday since we saw the appointments listed weeks ago on Rick’s MDA patient portal … blood work, appointment with Dr. Karam (kidney surgeon), CT scan and MRI. It had been five weeks since Rick’s left kidney was removed and we were just ready to get back on immunotherapy infusions on Tuesday. But first post-op appointments! It was a long stressful day with lots of waiting. I guess we had both worked ourselves up into being grumpy bugs. Rick didn’t make it through the back door until 9:30 pm.

The highlight of the day was the appointment with Dr. Karam which went very well! Rick is cleared for normal activity and like a long football pass into the end zone he handed Rick back over to our oncologist, Dr. Campbell. We would see Dr. Campbell the next day. Nothing majorly amiss on Rick’s bloodwork taken a couple of hours earlier. Dr. Karam was also making us an appointment with a kidney doctor to teach Rick how to take great care of the one kidney he has left.

My big question was will Rick be able to lift things normally at some point. During the past five weeks of recovery, Rick was instructed not to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk. Helping lift our handicapped daughter was obviously not in the program. When Dr. Karam said, “Yes, but over time,” I was excited. Of course, if I were able to hear Rick’s thoughts, I am sure he was thinking about that next great big fish he was planning to catch!

Just as Dr. Karam was about to leave I said, “Wait, we have a present for you.” You should have seen the look on his face when I handed him the plush purple “kidney pillow.” Hubby received the kidney from our grandson, Jake, after his kidney removal surgery.

“Is it filled with kidney beans?” Dr. Karam smiled.

He had never seen anything like it. Turning the kidney around, he remarked how the pillow was actually the right kidney. We all chuckled.

“I’ll put this in my office. Will you autograph the tag?” Dr. Karam said.

On Tuesday, Rick and I backed out of the driveway after Mimi left for her day center at 7 am and hopped on the HOV to the medical center. The plan was first bloodwork, see Dr. Campbell and then start back up with immunotherapy infusions. At least that was the plan. As I have explained in a previous post, the bloodwork they do for a clinical trial is so much more extensive then the normal stuff. Yesterday, three vials were taken. On Tuesday, Rick counted 16. Next we started our appointment in Dr. Campbell’s area meeting first with the nurse, then the clinical trial research lady, who asks questions and goes over lab results. She mentioned we would be entering the “maintenance” phase of Rick’s treatment. I liked the sound of that. Everything was looking like we would soon be headed to the 8th floor for an infusion when she said, “wait.” One of the tests on the pancreas came back elevated, but she would let Dr. Campbell talk about that.

First the good news … even though it has been eight weeks since Rick’s last immunotherapy infusion, the remaining small tumors continue to shrink. How was that possible? Dr. Campbell used the word “remarkable,” my new favorite word. He also mentioned the areas in the bone were “healing.” Great news! I was wondering when we were going to talk about the bone areas.

Then Dr. Campbell explained that Rick’s pancreas was inflamed. Obviously, this was not something that was screened for on Monday. His pancreas levels had previously been normal although the bloodwork was all pre-kidney surgery. Dr. Campbell explained the elevated numbers could be as a result of the surgery … or the immunotherapy drugs.

One of the other causes is drinking LOTS of alcoholic beverages. Since one of the restrictions of the trial is no alcohol that one was scratched off the list. Rick hasn’t even gotten close enough to a beer to sniff since he has gotten on the trial! Dr. Campbell  mentioned that in clinical trials their goal is to “do no harm” and Rick would be referred to a GI doctor to find out what was happening with his pancreas. Obviously, the immunotherapy infusion did not happen on Tuesday. The possibility also loomed like a dark cloud that Rick could be removed from the clinical trial.

We left MDA and headed home. What just happened? I wanted to cry, but no tears spewed from my tear ducts. This is just a little detour. We wanted to go straight down the road and were asked to exit the freeway. Not a great reason for tears.

Please don’t stop praying for us!

A cancer journey – recovery from surgery

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Heparin
Rick is now in recovery mode 15 days after having his left kidney and cancerous tumor removed. We just finished his longest walk ever … probably one-quarter of a mile … around the block! Things are looking up!

In the beginning, most of his recovery days were a challenge. Had to help him get into a sitting position from the bed … he slept most of the day … eating not so much … requests for pain meds. None of those things are happening now.

Of course I’ve had lots of help. Rick’s awesome sister, Bonnie, has been staying with us for nearly two weeks. We are great at tag-teaming between caring for Rick and Mimi, our daughter in a wheelchair. We can’t even talk about Bonnie leaving on Saturday. Getting the Kleenex ready!

I’m getting pretty good at giving Rick the heparin (prevents blood clots) injections three times a day. Think I only performed one really sorry-excuse- for-a-needle-stick once … maybe twice. Today is “day 11” of 28 days. The bowl of heparin doesn’t appear to be shrinking.

This week Dr. Karam, the kidney surgeon, called to let us know about the pathology report of the removed tumor. It was stunning news. The margins were good and ALL the cancer cells in the tumor were dead.

I didn’t know what great news this was until I spoke with Dr. Campbell, the oncologist, the next day. He told me he had never had a patient have the primary tumor completely killed by immunotherapy drugs. He had one patient come close. I remember Rick telling Dr. Campbell when we first started this journey he was going to be Dr. Campbell’s “star pupil.” Obviously, Rick does not disappoint.

The end of this month we travel back to MDA for post-op appointments and start back up with infusions! We have more tumors to destroy!

A cancer journey – kidney removal surgery

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It has been a week since Rick’s left kidney/tumor was removed. Whoever said it “takes a village to raise a child” musta also been talking about someone having major surgery. Throw our special needs daughter into the mix and the village quickly became a small metropolis. Our son, Ricky, and lovely daughter-in-law, Kate, flew in from Washington, DC. Our daughter, Katie, along with son-in-law, Chad, and even grandson, Jake was also there to help. We thought we had all our ducks in a row with our dream team in place! After all, hubby was only going to be in the hospital two to three days tops.

A day before surgery, my friend, Mary, stopped by with fruit and sandwich trays with a card signed by so many people with special needs connections. There was also homemade brownies from Sandy, and macaroni salad from Jan. I gotta get that recipe! How did they know I hadn’t thought about feeding the dream team?

On the morning of the surgery, Katie surprised her dad in the surgery waiting room with a visit from Jake. It was magical watching Jake run toward Rick yelling “Pop-Pop.” Nothing like your favorite two-year-old crawling in your lap to lessen the tension. We didn’t know it at the time, but surgery day would be twelve long hours until Rick finally made it into his hospital room for the night. We were updated so much along the way from meetings in pre-op, to surgery updates every two hours, and finally visiting in recovery. When we met with Dr. Karam, the kidney surgeon, after surgery we learned the kidney/tumor removed was the size of a cantaloupe. I will never forgot how he held his hands up to represent the size of the tumor/kidney. Everything went as planned!

In a vague peanut shell … the details you don’t want to know … the hospital stay lasted five days and nights with lots of walking the halls trying to get his gut to wake up. Seems thirty percent of patients have this challenge after surgery and we just had to wait. Someone spent each day and night at the hospital. It was a regular relay team. I only had plans in place for people staying three nights. I took one night and Ricky stayed two. When things dragged on through the weekend, I called his brother, Gary. Our Katie also spent a night. The nights were especially challenging. At MDA they wake you up at night for something every couple of hours. I got the feeling sleep isn’t a priority at MD Anderson. Getting well is!

I think it was on day two that Katie, Jake and Chad paid a visit to Rick’s hospital room. Jake was bringing Pop-Pop a stuffed purple “kidney” pillow. The plan was for Jake to enter the room and say, “Pop-Pop I think you dropped something,” and then hand him the kidney pillow. I think he only got the words, “Pop-Pop” out but you get the picture!

Sometime during day four, the nurse said I had to watch an instructional video to learn how to give Heparin injections. Yep … I would be giving Rick injections three times a day for 28 days. Lucky me! After the video the nurse had me practice on Rick. Good thing the needle was small … very small. I can do this … but I will be glad when we are finished!

We are now in recovery mode at the house, getting lots of sleep, and better every day. When Ricky and Kate boarded the plane for home, Rick’s awesome big sister, Bonnie, came to stay for a couple of weeks and we are tag teaming nicely!

Things I have learned … my neighbor, Marie, makes the best soup and decorated “happy face sun” sugar cookies! She always me smile! I learned that when someone sends you an email asking how they can help, you write them back. I asked for help bathing Mimi … and then they also brought Mimi and I holy communion and homemade cookies and muffins. I am so blessed. I also learned that sometimes people know exactly what you need without asking. And I learned the reason I never considered becoming a nurse … giving injections!

A cancer journey – the green folder

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Lots of wheelchairs to borrow
Next week is surgery week. Rick’s left kidney comes out on Tuesday! It all sounds a little too simple. Right?

We thought we had finished all our appointments during our pre-op day at MD Anderson. Now we could just coast on a lovely, poufy cloud until the big surgery … but wait! It seems in taking all that blood, possibly a gallon by now, someone had forgotten to “type” Rick’s blood. Really? Is that necessary? But Rick’s dog tags from his Air Force days clearly state the dude is an A+. It seems they don’t take anyone’s word on that. The place is careful … very careful … and I actually appreciated MDA for that. So we spent last Friday … the 13th … our anniversary … at MDA for two last appointments.

The first was the lab! Whenever we visit the MDA lab, I hang out in the waiting room. I figure Rick can perform that task himself as there are not going to be any notes I have to take. After about twenty minutes, my macho Rick walked toward me with the funniest grin on his face. The hot pink flexible tape around each arm where the techs took blood were obviously the culprit. I almost fell on the floor laughing. I took his picture with my phone and immediately sent it to our kids.

“Why did they take blood from both arms?” I asked, picking up everything I dropped on the floor.

Maybe I should have gone into the lab area with him!

“They had to take blood out of each arm, with two different technicians, and then they will compare the tests to make sure I match,” Rick explained.

“And so … did you request the hot pink?” I countered.

“I don’t know whose idea that was, but when the first lady was finished, the second one decided I should match. Only they ran out of hot pink and had to scrounge around to find some,” he grinned.

Our next appointment was with patient education in the Mays Building. That was when we were given the dreaded “green folder.” My eyes widened like bowling balls as the nice lady went over everything for about an hour and then put all the paperwork into the folder. Then she slid the green folder over to me. Basically, it was loaded with checklists, Rick’s preparation for surgery, phone numbers, maps and care plan. OK … this wasn’t going to be simple. But I think I already knew that.

First time in ages we finished at MD Anderson before lunch. Next we headed to mid-town for an awesome anniversary lunch at a place called Holley’s Seafood Restaurant and Oyster Bar on Louisiana. Our first time there. It was delicious! Highly recommend sharing the apple pie bread pudding for dessert!

Yesterday I checked MDA’s patient portal for test results. You get three guesses on what Rick’s blood type came out to be.

A cancer journey – waiting for surgery

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Lots of wheelchairs to borrow
Not too much to report on the “fighting cancer front” at our house over the past two weeks. Rick has lost his voice for the past 12 days … I mean it is no where to be found. Believe me … I have looked for it everywhere. That and sleep issues have been our main challenges.

It is why we paid a visit to MDA’s Supportive Care for some help. Rick has never taken a sleep medication so this was going to be uncharted territory for us. Getting up seven or eight times at night just isn’t good for anyone. The Supportive Care people have expertise with helping control the many cancer symptoms their patients experience. It took a couple of nights taking the prescription, but now Rick wakes up rested and experiences no fatigue during the day. Can I get an amen?

We also asked Supportive Care with help retrieving Rick’s voice. It is here we learned that MDA doesn’t help with illnesses not related to cancer. Good to know! A trip to our local Dr. Young’s office revealed an ear infection and swollen vocal cords. We left with a few medications. It has been just over a week on meds and not sure the voice is on the comeback trail. We just don’t want this to be an issue to not perform the surgery. That left kidney has got to go!

Yesterday, we survived five pre-op appointments at MDA. Every time I go to MDA, I learn new things. I learned it is a good idea to have a medical bracelet made that tells people he has one kidney and is on a clinical trial. What a great idea! I also learned if you go to your primary care physician with an ailment and are prescribed meds, be sure and let the MDA people know. If you are on a clinical trial, there are certain medications you can’t take! You don’t want to get kicked off the trial. I learned appointment times are kinda like suggestions. Basically, you have a slot! If you happen to be early for an appointment they just might take you. So getting on the road back home early could really happen.

A cancer journey – CT scan and infusion results

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Infusion drugs!
When last we hung out, Rick had just finished his third immunotherapy infusion. So for about two weeks the superman t-cells have been “cooking” on Rick’s insides. I can tell you we haven’t been twiddling all four of our thumbs this whole time. We ordered a car to be converted for transporting Mimi in her wheelchair, completed construction on a pocket door for Mimi’s room (it needed to be widened for years), and celebrated our grandson Jake’s second birthday. We are in serious love with the tyke!

Rick’s CT scan was this past Sunday … yes I said Sunday … at MD Anderson, the hospital that rarely sleeps. Our awesome daughter, Katie, took her dad for me while I hung out with our Mimi. If you have never had a CT scan, I can tell you do not feel compelled to add it to your bucket list. Not a fun way to spend your day. First you drink a large flavored drink in the waiting room. Rick chose “watery orange” this time. Yum! Then an IV is started. The rest is a mystery to me as daughters and wives have to sit and wait in the waiting room. After lots of hours, Rick came out all done and wasn’t glowing.

On Monday, we had an early morning appointment with the kidney surgeon, Dr. Karam. We pretty much knew from the beginning Rick’s left kidney (the cancer “mothership”) would be coming out. Now we would be getting a surgery date and meeting with the surgeon for the first time. Rick still wasn’t feeling well from the CT scan, so in my haste to pack crackers and nausea medication before backing out of the driveway, I neglected to bring any paper for taking notes. I just know it … someone is going to take away my Girl Scout card for not being prepared.

In the end, I wrote everything down on the back of a Kroger grocery receipt. Here is what he told us. We talked in general terms about the CT scan. No numbers or percentages. The phrase “mixed response” was thrown out. Surgery is Tuesday, May 24. Actual surgery takes about three hours, not including all the stuff happening on the front and back end. Hospital stay is two to three days. Recovery … about two weeks but still not running sprints. Interesting factoid about MD Anderson … they give you a surgery time the day before the surgery. The reasoning is surgeries get cancelled and then some surgeries get added so there are always lots of shuffling of the cards. Seems like it could work for the benefit of patients. I’ll let you know how well it works.

Today we had an appointment with Rick’s oncologist, Dr. Campbell. This is the visit I was most interested in as we’d get information on how the infusion drugs have been working. His first CT scan was in mid-February right before he was diagnosed. This was an important visit!

We learned that in just over two months, the tumor in his chest is reduced by forty percent. OK … double digits! The tumors in the lungs are clear. That means they can’t see them. Can I get an “amen?” The tumor in the liver is reduced by twenty-five percent. We were pleased with the number! The tumors in three bone areas “lit up” as unchanged, but it was explained that the CT scan is not a really good indicator with the bone. We will get further on down the road and perhaps at some point do a bone scan and get a better feel on those areas. The kidney tumor has not changed in size but doesn’t look the same. He was not concerned about this since it was coming out. Rick’s mission for the next four weeks is to get in shape for the surgery. Dr. Campbell suggested a personal trainer. He also mentioned yoga. Yeah … like that is going to happen. I don’t expect the Incredible Hulk in just four weeks but then again … I know an awesome personal trainer!

Bottom line … the tumors are responding to the immunotherapy infusion drugs. Clearly, the power of prayer and immunotherapy is working!

A cancer journey – the third infusion

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Infusion drugs!

On Monday, Rick gave lots of blood for MDA to work with. It is MD Anderson’s clinical trial standard operating procedure. The following day we were to  see the doctor and have the infusion. I counted 15 vials of blood taken and I didn’t even faint. OK … I got a little weak in the knees maybe. I don’t know how the lab technicians do this all day.

On Tuesday, we met with Dr. Campbell, our kidney oncologist. Rick’s blood work continues to majorly improve. Yeah! Dr. Campbell also noted that if he didn’t know exactly where the lump on his chest was located, he would have missed it. He estimated the size now at approximately one centimeter. Lots of smiling while this sinks in! The CT scan in a couple of weeks will give us lots more information, but for now, the signs are all there that the immunotherapy infusions are working their magic.

Next we headed over to the MDA’s Main Building for the last of Rick’s long infusions of the two drugs. The Main Building reminds me of the wild west … a lot rowdier than the calm atmosphere of the Mays Building. It was new territory for us as we had always headed up to the 8th floor of the Mays Building for infusions. Not a big deal except I had to figure out where to go to get Rick’s IV started. It has been our experience, so far, the nurses who drip the drugs are not as well versed in starting IV’s. Not to worry … MDA has people that are expert IV starters. Just ask me … I will tell you where to find them.

The infusion started late and took four hours this time. Our world record was five hours … not counting waiting to get in the door! Yeah … you can burn a whole day hanging out at MDA but then they give you a warm blanket and the tension melts away. Katie drove her dad home for me again so I could get back home for Mimi’s bus. What would I do without her?

As I made my way to collect my car from valet parking I had my own adventure. Not to worry … no blood was spilled. The valet dudes were a little pokey in getting me my car keys. Instead a Valet Supervisor came toward me with a clipboard. Not a good sign. Seems one of the valet drivers backed my car, which has backup camera, into a concrete pillar and crunched one of the tail lights and messed up the paint. Really? In the grand scheme of things … not as big a deal as Stage IV Kidney Cancer … and they are paying to fix it.

A cancer journey – week before infusion number three

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Infusion drugs!It was just fifty days ago that Rick and I officially stepped across MD Anderson’s threshold. That was mid-February. So far we have paid the hospital eighteen visits, mostly for diagnostic testing. In mid-March, Rick qualified for a clinical trial and started treatment with immunotherapy infusion drugs. This week we are between doctor/bloodwork/infusion visits. He gets a teeny bit better every day, nausea is almost nonexistent, but still has a long way to go.

Since infusion number two, Rick has spent his time working from home with red pen in one hand and yellow highlighter in the other pouring over engineering documents and drawings. Yep … it is all Greek to me! I have no clue what he is doing.

Reflection about MD Anderson – I’ve never been to a hospital that has the patient wear a hospital bracelet, hospital staff calls it a wristband, for months at a time. The wristband contains information like your name … but also your patient number. Rick’s is seven digits. The patient number is very important as it is one of the pieces of information asked for multiple times and scanned during a MDA visit. I’ve been married to Rick for so many years, I have his social security and driver’s license number memorized. And yes … he has been at MDA long enough that I now have his MDA patient number memorized. Oh, and when your wristband gets a little ragged the MDA check-in desks around the hospital have a little gadget that can print out a replacement in a snap! Rick is now on his second wristband.

Since no visits to MDA were made this week we took advantage of inviting worker dudes to the house. We have some home projects that have been on our to-do list since last year. Our very old and crusty water heater was finally replaced. I have been having nightmares it would spring a leak in the attic like it did about 12 or 13 years ago flooding my side of the closet and adjacent bedroom. Potential disaster averted! We also replaced the attic stairwell in the hallway and the cracked windshield on Rick’s truck. There was also a bid for a pocket door accomplished for Mimi’s room. In a few weeks, the doorway will be widened so I can navigate her wheelchair through without gouging the wood door trim. I also finished and dropped off a charity quilt. Future blog post!

This week I learned … waiting for infusion drugs to work takes lots of patience … and we are not patient. I also learned it is OK for Rick to rip off his MDA wristband because he doesn’t want to look at it for a week … and I expect MDA will gladly replace it next week.

A cancer journey … promises and second infusion

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Last year when Kate, our lovely daughter-in-law, was going through RCIA studying to become a Catholic, my husband made her a promise. He would be there with her at the Easter Vigil in Washington, DC when she officially became Catholic. A few weeks later we paid for plane tickets. I even did something I’ve NEVER done before … paid for four days of hotel on hotels.com. Oh yeah … we were going to be there … or be square!

Shortly after, Rick got the kidney cancer diagnosis and it didn’t look like that promise was going to be kept. I knew Kate would understand but Rick and I were both really upset. We had quietly prayed for over four years that Kate’s faith journey would lead her in the direction of the Catholic Church and now it was going to really happen.

Dr. Campbell told us it was possible Rick would feel better after his first immunotherapy infusion. Maybe even well enough for the trip. Not sure I believed him. But we clung to the possibility. Except the first infusion was delayed five times and time was getting short. Every time I spoke with our son, Ricky, on the phone I would tell him to be prepared that we might not come. Personally, I really didn’t think it was even possible considering how bad Rick felt. We were to leave on Thursday, March 24. That Monday before, we were still going back and forth on whether we should go. On Tuesday, my hubby said, “We are going.” He was a little better … but wouldn’t be running sprints in the airport.

The trip was way more fun for me than for my husband. It was the first time in months that I had sat in a restaurant and held an adult beverage in one hand … especially one so darn cute with lots of fruity stuff poking out the top. After the first three sips, I was calling my Sangria … Sagria. It was a magical night!

We had to majorly slow things down for Rick. He took lots of naps during the day. I also rolled him through the airport in a wheelchair. Rick barely managed to get through the three hours passion service on Good Friday at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, DC. I don’t know how he did it. Well, it wouldn’t have happened without our son dropping us at the curb. On Saturday, Rick did have to miss the four-hour Easter Vigil. It wasn’t going to be over until 11:30 p.m. and I insisted on him hanging out at the hotel. Kate’s awesome mom recorded the big event on video for Rick to view later.

The day after we got back from our trip, we meet with Dr. Campbell right before Rick’s second infusion. The lump on Rick’s chest had turned from hard to soft and flattened out. Imagine going from a “D” cup to a “B” in two weeks. He is getting some of his stamina back and his blood levels look great. His doctor told us Rick’s improvement was “dramatic.” I love that word “dramatic.”

The second infusion went smoother than the first. Not much in the way of side effects. No MDA appointments for two weeks. We’ve got some home projects that need attention and I finally dropped off our income taxes.

This week I learned … it is lovely when you run into people you know at MDA like the amazing Ev and Joan Evans … oh and my daughter, Katie, is extra awesome. She drove her dad home from MDA when the infusion lasted longer than expected and I had to get back home for Mimi’s drop off by the day center bus. She is my hero! I also learned how much pleasure I get out of just getting the sheets washed when I realize I don’t have to be at MDA the rest of the week! I learned the simple pleasures of walking among the cherry blossoms with people that I love like Aleta, Sarah and Kate. I learned how much of an awesome adult my son, Ricky, has become. He took such great care of his dad and me on our visit. I got a little emotional when he dropped us at the airport. I also learned the priceless value of a kept promise.