Good News and Good News

We invited Ron and Donna to go with us to Sarasota. We got to Gary’s Dr. appointment on the nose. Donna and Ron waited in the coffee shop down stairs. His Dr. was pleased to announce his scan and blood was perfect, but because of his radiologist’s hesitation to radiate, suggested a chemo treatment. It involves 5 days of intravenous injections in a row, and then three weeks off. Side effects were mild: nausea and fatigue. We asked to what extent and the reply was that her 82 year old patient felt tired but she had very little nausea. Well, reasoned Gary, if an 82 year old female could do this, he could, too. The name of the drug administered will be Ontak. There can be some serious side effects that we will watch for, but we are hoping for the best. The good news is that we should start seeing improvement after the first treatment. We were given permission to continue our travels to Tennessee, but she would like a reference for an oncologist rather than pick one from a book to continue his treatments there and monitor his progress. If any of you can help…please leave a comment or leave your email address in your comment. Thanks so much.

So after that good news (relatively so) we went to lunch at TooJay’s to celebrate then drove over to show D&R our house and on to Lido Beach. How ‘bout that sky?
What about that water!
And the sugar sand?? This is why we chose Sarasota as our home. It was wonderful to take a walk along the water. A gentleman with a very fancy camera was walking toward us, and I asked if he would kindly take a photo of all of us with my weenie camera. It didn’t take him but a second to figure it out.
Good photographer, yes? Or is it the subjects? Ha.

By then it was getting late, and Donna was going to do dinner tonight. But by the time we got home and it was finished baking, it would be very late. What to do? Stop for ice cream at Friendly’s!
Oooooh that was good. (I’ll have to walk 4 miles tomorrow!) Driving on the highway in the Jeep is not fun, and especially at rush hour. Holy cow, we got to the end of the ramp and we stopped to a near crawl. It was only traffic, so it picked up. Nevertheless, we arrived home at 8pm and Donna got to work in the kitchen. We all said we were not hungry, but the yummy cooking smells did its magic, and we finally ate at 9:45! We hung out until nearly midnight, then called it a night.

Just before Gary fell asleep, he said “I feel like a new man”. As far as he’s concerned, a clear scan equals a new lease on life. Thanks for all your prayers and well-wishes. They worked again and are so appreciated!