Sunday (March 8, 2009)

I have so much to tell you and to be thankful for. I hope you will not feel that I am writing a novel, although, I feel it could be a best seller among Christian cancer patients and families!

In January, Joel did have 3 rounds of the more aggressive chemo IV drug. It did not affect him adversely as much as we thought it would. He did experience fatigue, which was expected, but other than that, he did not lose his hair (it only thinned a little), did not lose his appetite, and did not have any other side effects. He was quarantined for about 2 weeks, only being allowed to go out to the doctor. His platelet counts did get very low, but not low enough that he needed any transfusions.

This past week, he again had the aggressive drug, and started to feel fatigued more quickly than he did for the first round. He will go back to the doctor this week for blood tests to determine where his blood counts are. He is experiencing a loss of taste. But, that has not diminished his appetite!

On the last day of his chemo treatment, we were told he would have to go into a private treatment room. They could not tell us at the time why he would need to be isolated from the other patients, but we soon found out. All of the nurses on the treatment floor came into his room with birthday cupcakes, a black balloon, a potted Jonquil plant for me, and a DVD entitled "Arsenic and Old Lace". (This was because of his 47 arsenic chemo treatments this past Fall.) It was so nice of them and we enjoyed it immensely. We know for sure that he has received the absolute best care any one for ask for. We have made new friends of all the nurses and office staff and will miss them when he is released. He is now in remission and will only have to visit the doctor about once a month, and take chemo by mouth for another year.

We have been so blessed and know that we did not do this alone. God's hand was on Joel the whole time and guiding the doctors and nurses during his treatment.

We went to a restaurant in Archdale the week before he started this last treament and saw a plaque on the wall that said "Every Day Is A Gift". We felt immediately that this is our special saying. I spent several hours last Friday looking for this plaque but could not find one. I did, however, find a beautifully framed version of this and it is now hanging on the wall in our den so we can see it every day.

This past year has been so hard for me, with my father's death last February,my surgery in April, Joel's diagosis in September and his subsequent treatments, my Mom's death this past January, the care of my wonderful stepfather and just our lives in general. I could not have done this alone without the prayers of encouragement, our neighbors and friends and families.

We are looking forward to a wonderful Spring when we can have our grandchildren visit, we can get out more, and feel a great sense of freedom from hospital and doctor visits and chemo.

Please keep praying. Joel will not be considered cured for 5 years. But, we are confident he will remain in remission. He is looking forward to going back to the school around the end of March or first of April. This is a huge milestone for him and one that signals the time for moving forward.

Love to All!