Greetings, hope you are not all stressed out being consumers trying to get the perfect gift for everyone on your list, remember it's the season of cheer and joy and love for family and friends and all that good stuff, so try to keep the true meaning in mind when you're wanting to yell at the person ahead of you in line that's going too slow--anyway, enough rambling! Apologies are again in order for it being over a month since my last post, I really don't have a legitimate excuse for it... You know how when everything is going nice and smoothly, you kind of forget to let everyone know it's going that way?Well that's how it's been around here.. Funny, it only seems when times are really tough that you let people in and share. I promise to really try and give all the positive news too!
Tomorrow my dad and I will drive in to Nashville and on the next day he will be getting his 4th chemo treatment. Woo hoo! Only 8 more to go. He has had some side effects, like weight loss, skin irritation and fatigue. 3 weeks ago, dad had lost 12 pounds in one week, but over thanksgiving break he had gained 8 of it back.. It was scary to see it drop that low, but he is making a lot of effort to gain more. Every day, he tries to exercise more and eat more than the day before. The drug Tarceva has been giving him a red scalp, pimples on his face, chest and back, even some of his fingers. It's more annoying for him than anything else, but he tries to not think about it so much. Last week he got prescribed some ointment and pills for him to take, but he says he doesn't feel much of a difference. Still, compared to what other cancer patients have to go through, the nausea, hair loss and total drainage of energy, his don't seem as severe. The current trend seems to be that the second day after his chemotherapy injection, he feels very tired and has no energy. The past couple weeks though, he's been pushing himself to go out and do stuff on that day anyway.
The whole way through, my dad has had the best attitude, mind over matter completely and I am a firm believer that your mind is the most powerful tool, it can truly heal you, or make you sick. He is back to being his stubborn self, craigslisting buying and selling like a dealer, driving around everywhere, fixing things around the house, and as of this week, officially going back to work!
I could not be more happy or grateful for the way things are going. This holiday season, I more thankful for all the blessings in my life. Even though I miss my friends in New Jersey and my mom and grandmothers, it will be nice to spend a christmas here with my sisters and my father. Peace and Love to everyone reading this, I hope you cherish this season with the ones you hold dear to your heart.
Merry christmas/hannukah/kwanzaa/winter solstice!
