The Little Things

Yesterday was our six month wedding anniversary. Many of you are thinking, big deal....six months, but for us it was special. Not the kind of special most couples celebrate, but then again, how many weddings have you been to with a Deacon and a female Rabbi? Seriously though, whoever said the first year is the toughest was right. And that's got nothing to do with fighting, living arrangements, bad habits or Tigergate. In the first six months of marriage we've: lived in different states for 2 months (a new job starting the day after B's birthday forced me to leave Chicago on his birthday), started new jobs in a new state, which is also our old state, and are now facing this thing! I'm tired just writing about it! So, as we were saying, yesterday was a big deal. We celebrated the way we celebrate our marriage on most week nights that don't involve some sort of sporting event...didn't do a damn thing other than look at wedding pictures, watch some TV and let each other know how much we appreciate the other. It was nice...and Special!



Another little win was, uh, I guess you could say B seeing a guy about a horse? No? Dropping the kids off at the pool? Still not following? He took a dump! For most of us, preparing our daily numero dos' consists of waking up, maybe reading some emails or having some coffee and marching our groggy selves to the porcelain tree stump. However, here at the Muttz casa, B having a BM is a big deal. He has been able to take care of business 2 days in a row.....consider that another win for the week. Well, 2 out of 3, but that's better than last week when it was 0 for 4! Sitting hurts for him and when you're blood type is considered 'PILL', it makes going a bit tougher. It's the small things in life, right?!

And then there's B's modified gait. Last week you would have guessed that he was training with the Green Berets, readying himself for armed combat in Munchkinland, the way he was crawling around the house. The only difference is that the point of staying low is to go unnoticed, and between us, B didn't master the art of camouflage. His crawl was accompanied by loud moans and painful groans defeating the incognito strategy. This week, however, has been a bit better. With radiation underway (4 sessions down, 11 to go on his hip), he is now able to gimp around on crutches. He is even able to put some weight on his leg (albeit the same amount of weight a ladybug crushes your forearm with), which is more then could be said the last few weeks. Don't think that he is feeling better though. His back hurts from trying to avoid shattering his own hip, his eyelids are heavier than bricks because he still can't sleep, and his precious moments of sleep are rudely interrupted by a quick twitch causing his leg to spasm and almost bring him to tears. But, he can go up and down the stairs now without a safety net behind him, and the doctor assured us that by this time next week he should begin feeling a reduction in pain. That being said: Small Win!!



Lastly, B has been able to eat this week. We were competing (well, I was) this past week to see who could go longer without eating, and he won....WHAT? I can survive on a handful of croutons and a piece of licorice for 3 days without feeling hungry, but last week B just didn't have much of an appetite. This is a guy who invented his own diet called "Calorie Stacking." He eats a bowl of Fruit Loops for breakfast and then fasts THE ENTIRE DAY until dinner. From that point until bed, he seemingly devours anything he can get his hands on. When I question him about his approach he explains to me that until dinner he only ingested 150 calories or so, meaning that he has 1,850 to crush before bed so he doesn't get ripped off. And those are on non-activity days! Anyways, the meds were making him so sick that eating was out of the question. He almost threw up watching a Wonder Bread commercial, for goodness sakes. But this week things are looking up. He ate a ton of pizza tonight....thanks to the Sisters 'Reno, and it seems that we are back to normal....B stacking his cals so he can raid the pantry (well, have me raid the pantry for him) all night. Yup you guessed, another win.

This week really wasn't so bad, ya see. As simple as these things are to most, they are big deals over here. We're anxiously awaiting our meeting with Doctor #4 this Thursday. That should tell us the results of the lung biopsy from last week, hopefully fill us in to where the cancer started, and then we can figure out a plan of attack for getting rid of the rest of the cancer in B's body. I can hardly sleep and have to make myself eat, but I know whatever we hear, good or not as good, we will deal with. We got this!

Also, a couple personal shout-outs to express our thanks to all of our family and friends. It's no blessing that we're going through this, but one thing that's been great (besides watching all of you quit smoking), is knowing how much we're loved. We can't express the gratitude that we have to everyone who has helped...making meals, sending cards, gift cards, taking B to and from treatment, and on and on and on. Friends from high school, neighbors in the dorm from college, acquaintances of acquaintances. We appreciate all of your support and encouragement. This journey would be impossible alone, and it's nice to know how many people are with us for the ride.

Please continue to spread the word and bring others to the blog. Everyone has a story to share...whether it's about cancer in your family, a funny story from the past with one of us, or just some words of kindness. Everything we read makes a difference, and from our hearts, we love you!