January brought members of the Todd family to a Carefree escape.  Because niece Karyl and brother-in-law Jeff decided they would go to great lengths to escape Nebraska winter by choosing to participate in the annual Phoenix PF Chang Rock-n-Roll Marathon (both ran in the half marathon [13 miles!]), Larry's sister Linda and mother Dorothy traveled this way, as well as Wayne and Sophi from Portland.

Back Row (L-R) Linda, Sophi, Karyl, Dorothy and Wayne in front.

Linda and I always enjoy the opportunity to record (with a photo) the event of both of us seeing Sophi and watching her grow.  We don't think we are getting shorter....

While the majority of our visitors left shortly after the race, Linda stayed on a few more days and Dorothy stayed into February. When Larry headed out of town on a business trip, Linda, Dorothy and I headed north to Sedona for an overnight get-away.

 

The weekend before Linda had to leave, we enjoyed the weather with a visit to the Desert Botanical Gardens.

Linda is a good sport by agreeing to my staged photo.

The remainder of Dorothy's stay had its quiet times but we did take her on one of Larry's quick business trips to our old stomping grounds of Silver City (long drive!), we saw the play My Fair Lady, did a little shopping and ended her stay with a Mormon Tabernacle Choir concert.  A tad different from the Bob Seger concert we attended in December....

February was officially a Dealing With Cancer turning point - no more scarves in public!  Gosh, one wouldn't think it would be that big of a deal to venture outside of the privacy of one's home without a scarf on but geez, those scarves had provided a type of security I'm incapable of describing.  However, once my hair started growing again, there was no longer an excuse to use those scarf crutches anymore, but once I chose to allow strangers to see me in my natural state, my self-confidence might have taken a bit of a hit.  Nonetheless, it is so much more comfortable and I get more comfortable (sort of) daily.  So, bye-bye scarves and thank you Susie for loaning me yours.  Thanks too Susie for being the strong role-model you are for dealing with this health issue!

February also allowed us to help the Frederick family celebrate their first year of Harper in their lives -- what a joy that little girl is. 

So now whenever I see Harper, we'll have to grab a photo to watch who's hair grows faster!

Larry's job has slowly been requiring more travel.  One of those trips was a return to Silver City.  I again traveled with him and this time we were invited to the home of Kathy and Terry, friends we met when we first arrived in Calama in 2008.



Regarding a health update, I had an MRI and PET scan on February 6, and we were advised by Dr. Paripati the following day that chemo treatment in pill form (Afinitor) was working whereas with traditional chemo (which I had twice a month for three months), she was only able to report, "disease is stable".  At this appointment date, I'd been taking Afinitor for only two months and rewarded with this good news!

However, we met with Dr. Paripati for my monthly scheduled appointment last Tuesday (March 6) and she has pulled me off the Afinitor for now and has scheduled me for an x-ray, a pulmonary function test and an appointment with a Mayo pulmonologist next Thursday (March 15).  The Afinitor can possibly cause inflamation in the lungs and I've noticed reduced lung capactiy.  I'll meet with Dr. Paripati again on the 19th to find out the results of the appointments on the 15th. 

So, a little hiccup in this adventure but we're doing fine and remain positive that I'll be able to return to the Afinitor (or another drug treatment option) and ultimately go into remission.