Life is Good....

Seems like April has been a busy month for us.  We visited Lake Powell for a houseboat cleaning weekend, celebrated nephew Jimmy turning 14, celebrated our 30th anniversary!, traveled to the Pacific Northwest and saw friend Lisa after too many years and I went on my first real hike in a year!  Oh, and good news from Dr. Paripati - I continue to respond positively to the Afinitor.  I haven't reached dormancy yet - but we're moving in that direction.  I asked Dr. Paripati if she'd pose for a picture so you can all put a face to the name of the doctor who has been taking such good care of me. 

We learned that Karen, Connie and Dave were heading to Page, AZ, for a houseboat cleaning weekend.  Now that we live so close, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to participate.

Great weather and hardly any people - gotta love it.

The trip allowed for a stop in Prescott to see Laurie and Mike (met them when we lived in Peru) and meet Laurie's friend Tina. 

Nephew Jimmy (brother Jim and wife Liz's son) turned 14 - geez, does time fly or what.

You're going to see a few Larry and me pictures in this post.

I continue to enjoy spring in the Phoenix area.  There is a progression of blooming that takes place.  Now we're starting to see the Palo Verde trees bloom - I've started taking Claritin daily.... 

April 17th - we celebrated our 30th anniversary - has a lot happened or what!?  Those 30 years have taken us to Battle Mountain, NV, Yuma, AZ, Oroville, WA, La Paz, Bolivia, Cajamarca, Peru, Safford, AZ, Silver City, NM, Thatcher, AZ, Calama, Chile and now, Carefree.  It has been a good 30 years - thanks Larry.  Here's to the future!

Larry had business in Vancouver, BC, and I got to go along.  The trip allowed us to travel the short distance south across the border into Washington to visit Lisa and meet husband Oscar.  It has been far too long since we saw her last and was great catching up.

We stayed at the Semiahmoo Resort (highly recommended! if you're ever in the area).  We enjoyed the cool spring temperatures as well as the views.

We learned about the Tulip Festival taking place a little further south in Skagit, WA, so decided to go check it out -- loved it.

We then traveled back north to Vancouver for Larry's meetings.  Downtown Vancouver allows for nice walking -- such a clean city with neat architecture.  We enjoyed rain, spring flowers and cool spring weather while Arizona was experiencing its first 100 degree temps. 

Upon return to Arizona, the process of having our house repainted had begun.  The house is 15 years old and evidently it has never been painted and rumor has it (okay, the painters told me this) that homes that bake in the summer heat should be painted every 5-6 years - yikes!  I hope we're still here in 5-6 years to test this statement.

Friends Mike and Sue and Allison and Brian ventured out our way this past weekend - was time to catch up!  We then went on my first hike in the past year to a trail close to us here in Carefree.  It was a long but easy hike and so pretty - along a river bed with Mesquites and saguaros - so pretty.  Seems like life is almost returning to a somewhat "normal" state.  I'll go for scans every three months now (rather than the previous every two months) and I'll go for blood work every three weeks (rather than the previous every two weeks.)  Life is good....

April

March brought our first winter conditions contributing to snow on the surrounding hillsides near our home which is exactly the type of winter conditions I prefer to live in -- conditions that do not require that I shovel or have to drive in it and instead merely enjoy looking at it -- from afar.  March also brought us spring desert flowers - another motivator for taking walks in our neighborhood.

Did I mention in my last post that Larry's job was requiring more travel?  The most recent travel was to Safford and involved an overnighter so I went along allowing me to meet up with friend Becky.

Thanks Becky and Marty for the great dinner that evening - always a pleasure to catch up.

We traveled from Safford to Sierra Vista where we met up with brother Jim and his family to tour Kartchner Caverns - something Larry has wanted to do like - forever.  I messed up and didn't grab a photo - oops.

A couple of weekends ago, I was out and about when I received a call from Larry advising me to be careful, when I returned home, of the rattlesnake sunning itself on our driveway.  I think he/she looks quite healthy for having been hibernating.  Needless to say, I'm quite vigilant on my walks now -- before it was just keeping an eye out for the coyotes that were stalking me.

Last weekend, taking advantage of life in the city!, we went to the Desert Botanical Gardens for the butterfly enclosure.  One of the downsides of life in the city is that a whole lot of other people had the same idea.  Nonetheless, I was able to get close enough for a few pictures - okay, probably too many you'll be thinking as you scroll through....  First though, I need to post the picture of the King snake we saw at the DBG -- I was told King snakes are rattlesnake predators -- I need one of these in our yard.

Now for a few butterfly and spring cactus flowers...

The following day, we ventured out to the AZ Game and Fish Department's Ben Avery Shooting Range where brother Jim works.  I believe the shooting range was hosting a wildlife expo -- all I noticed is that there were a lot of people shooting guns -- a lot!  Was nice to see Jim though...

  Sue, Harper and Allison came up to Carefree for a visit recently.  Harper is a cutie and I love taking her picture -- I just have a difficult time catching her looking at the camera when the picture is being taken. 

And, of course, I must include a picture documenting the hair growth competition...gad! I might be ready for a trim!

I'll end the blog with a health update.  As a result of my appointments in March, my good doctors at Mayo determined that I was experiencing inflammation in the lung air sacs (inflammation can cause scaring and therefore permanent damage) due to the Afinitor and have elected at this point to keep me on the drug but at a reduced dosage.  I've been back on Afinitor for a week and am doing well.  Whoo hoo - hope it stays that way.  I go in for blood work again next week (I go in every two weeks) and meet with Dr. Paripati the following week - Dr. Paripati monitors me closely.  I need to get a picture so you can put a face to the name.

This is Easter weekend and we're heading to Lake Powell! 

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. 

Post Thanksgiving, Christmas and 2012 Arrives...

We're learning to enjoy the benefits associated with living in a metropolitan area.  Festivities began with a friends' Christmas along with a Sue and Susie birthday celebration gathering at our home on the 10th followed closely by meeting a group of friends at the Desert Botanical Gardens for the winter luminario display.  Oh, yes, and I began a new chemo treatment in the form of a pill!

Susie (left) and Sue - The Birthday Girls!

Back Row (l-r) Barb, Michelle, Jackie, Susie and Allison

Front Row:  Sue & Jayne

The night of December 23rd took Larry, me, brother Jim and nephew Jimmy to a Bob Seger concert - Jimmy's first concert!  We had a great time -- Bob was excellent!

Christmas Eve took us to Jim and Liz's home for a birthday brunch.

We then stopped at the home of friends Allison and Brian where we met up with Mike and Sue for another birthday celebration.

Christmas Day brought Jim and Liz and Jimmy to our home for dinner.

Larry enjoyed some extra days off between Christmas and New Year's allowing us an opportunity for a  leisurely drive to Bartlett Lake only about 30 minutes from our home.

Larry started his new position with Freeport officially in August but was just moved into an office before Christmas.  Since he now has space for more books, we delivered a load on one of his days off allowing me an opportunity to see where he spends his work days!

Welcoming 2012 brought friends to our home to celebrate complete with an awesome falling star!!!  Maria and Michael (see previous post mentioning that Michael was our ring-bearer!), both former Chadronites, were able to join us.

Since moving to our Carefree home, we've fished a baby rattlesnake out of the pool, watched deer across the way while relaxing on the back porch, watched (and have heard regularly at night) a pack of coyotes as they make their way wherever they are going, enjoyed a variety of birds and most recently observed a herd of Javelina as they fed just outside our yard. 

I was very pleasantly surprised one evening with a visit from former Calama expat neighbor Odessa and her son Nolan.

Our most recent visitors were Tammy and Corey (and kids) who were expat neighbors from Chile who are still in Chile but enjoying an opportunity to visit the U.S.  Our mutual Central/Safford/Thatcher friends Becky and Marty (and kids) traveled to Phoenix allowing us to gather - what a treat!  Mike and Sue brought Harper up for a visit too!

(L-R) Tammy, Sue (with granddaughter Harper), and Becky

Alex, 5-year-old son of Tammy and Corey, was beside himself to utilize a swimming pool and was determined to give it a try -- he didn't last long.

So, the time since Thanksgiving and our trip to Portland and Vancouver has gone fast.  Christmas was a joy in our new home and we are thankful and blessed to have dear friends and family so near and welcome visitors ANY time they are able to make it our way. 

The new chemo treatment in the form of a pill is going very well (because I feel great!) but scans will tell the true story.  I'm scheduled for PET and MRI scans on February 6, and we'll learn the results of those on the 7th.  I realize feeling  good isn't an indicator as to if the drug is working or not but what the heck -- I'm going to keep a mindset that it is a reflection that the drug is doing its job and doing it well!!  You're going to see me in a picture soon, maybe even by the next post, without a scarf.  This new drug therapy only affects those nasty cancer cells and their ability to reproduce which means it is allowing my hair to slowly but surely grow back.  I've heard several stories of how hair comes back different after chemo - mine appears to be as fine and thin as it always was - just grayer!  Nonetheless, I'm very much looking forward to not wearing a scarf.

Several members from the Todd side of the family (Nebraska and Portland) are traveling this way beginning the end of this week providing me with plenty of photo fuel for the next blog

We're wishing you all health and happiness in 2012!!!