It's been 9 months

 Nine months, as long as it takes to grow a baby, I've been missing from the blog world. I don't like that and I resolve to do better. Because it's so nice to come back here and see so many friends still blogging. I want to be that person. So try, try again for better consistency!

Several of you have asked me about my son. He had very good results from chemotherapy that has also taken nine months, from February through October. The tumor surgically removed from the colon has behaved itself and not returned in any form. The small tumors showing up in his liver were successfully shrunk to nothing by all the chemo, and so far it doesn't appear that the cancer has spread to any other parts of his body. Although he has had a persistent headache and so they're going to do an MRI there to rule out cancer.

It's been a rough year for their little family, but it seems the worst is over, and let's hope it stays that way. He said to me the other day, "Who ever says I'm working on losing this cancer weight" but that's what happened. He gained 30 lbs from chemo! Apparently they include something in the treatment that stimulates appetite since so many lose their appetite and get too thin. Instead, Don had an increase in appetite leading to late night binges and weight he did not need to gain. His other main side effect was neuropathy in his fingers and toes, which is gradually improving.

Now, post-treatment, he goes in for regular CT scans to make sure no tumors return. Then begins the countdown of how many months then years of being cancer-free. I've heard that one is not officially cancer-free until it's been twenty-five years. What a beast is cancer.

I Never Thought I'd See the Day

 You can tell my age from this title, one of those old expressions I remember hearing from my mother, grandmothers and aunties. I love these old-fashioned expressions, but as interesting as I find that as a blog post topic, it's not for today.

The day I never thought I'd see was my son starting a blog. Not only starting, but seriously crafting his posts and asking me to review them and offer edits. This is a son who hated homework with a passion. And as much as he, like all my kids, loves to read, writing was always just another form of hated homework.

But then a cancer diagnosis does strange things to a person. It's been a little over three months since he learned that his recurring and worsening stomach pains and digestive issues were due to a colon tumor. This photo was taken in June, when as Don says, "There was this huge thing growing in my colon, and I had no idea." 

After his operation and further scans showed it spread to his liver, Don was still processing how life had suddenly changed for him and his family. Talking about it helped, but how much to share and with whom? Some folks aren't comfortable with the topic, while others want to know everything. So Don decided to start his blog. 

It's been a great way for him to process events and to inform friends and family who want to know more. I think he's done a fabulous job with it. In these three months, I've learned way more about cancer and its treatment than I ever knew. 

Because of what my son is experiencing, I'm very interested in this now and would love to find other blogs that deal with cancer. If you know of any, please share links in the comments. 

If you're curious about Don's blog, it is Don has cancer! (exclamation point is his, not mine)

The Glad Game

 I love reading old classics. What I'm reading now is Pollyanna by Eleanor H. Parker. First time reading it although I've seen the movie many times. It's one of those that still hold up, decades later, surprisingly enough given it's sweet innocence. But Disney did it so well, and Hayley Mills played Pollyanna with such verve and personality, that it never came across too too sweet. 

Today's world is the opposite of 1960--before the feminist revolution, the drugs and hippies, before Vietnam, before the Kennedy assassination, before the other Kennedy assassination, then Martin Luther King. All these things that turned post war America upside down. And still, this film and this book stay relevant.

Maybe it's because gratitude in the midst of sorrow or disappointment will never go out of style. Playing Pollyanna's Glad Game is always a great idea for anyone at any time.

Today I am glad that this dreary winter is nearly over and spring is in the air. Yesterday in Salt Lake City I woke up to snow and ice. Yet going outdoors early, stepping carefully to not slip on the icy sidewalk, I smelled spring! It's not quite March yet, but I smelled spring. That made me very happy.

I am glad about a whole lot of things that I didn't know I was glad about until I started writing this post. A new grandbaby, a darling little pink beauty named Rose. A few trips planned for the coming months. My good health and a loving family. Just to name a few.

What are you glad about today?