Side order of Life, Scrambled with Cheese

Ok, so 2007 was an awesome frickin' year overall. Got married, saw family a lot, got a new car (albeit because the insurance co. totalled the old one), went to Seattle... enough said, you get it right? Great year for us!

So far, 2008 sucks and is not a great year. We'll get through it, but it has to be said that we're getting a good kick in the pants this year. First we'll say that David's mother was diagnosed with cancer in December, days before Christmas. She is truly kicking cancer's sorry little butt and we're super proud. As we understand it she is finishing up chemo and should be able to get back to her "regularly scheduled program" very soon. My grandmother moved to Virginia Beach from Missouri last May. After a two month stay with David and I waiting for an apartment to come available, she moved in to an independent senior living facility. She hasn't done as well as we expected and last week was diagnosed with dementia. We are very sad to have this diagnosis, but grateful to know whats going on and be able to move forward. She will be moving into a nursing home this week, where they will better know how to encourage her to have more interaction with others. I do want to say that both David and I are blessed that she lived with us for a time and we really enjoyed her. Hopefully time and some adjustments will give some of her back to us. In mid-February I got a call from my uncle. My papa, who lives in Colorado, was very sick. My father was out of the country, and could not be informed of this. I have been unable to travel to see him, but he had a very hard fight and passed away today. He had been fighting pneumonia and sepsis; his organs had been shutting down. Today he peacefully stopped breathing and went home to heaven to see his wife, my Nana, for the first time in five years. I felt the loss of him coming. I love him more than words, I think he loves me more than I even know. I was his "bip-bip". Rest in peace Papa.

Finally, if you can believe there is more, my beloved husband, was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease/Lymphoma on February 26, 2008. We found out after a surgery was performed to remove two swollen lymph nodes from his neck on Feb. 20. We had been dealing with these nodes since November '07, but were never led to believe that they were cancerous. Before the surgery he had a CT scan, a fine-needle biopsy, endured 3 sets of steriod pills and at least that many anti-biotics. Since the diagnosis our life has felt surreal and as if we're on fast forward mode. He has had a PET scan, to find out if there was more cancer. This provided us with staging so we knew how long a battle he had ahead. He also had an echo to make sure his heart is good, and a pulmonary test, checking his lung function. He had a medi port installed on March 13 so they can give him his medicine through that rather than through IVs every time. David's news is good. Hodgkin's is very treatable and curable. Better than that, he is stage one! He began chemo last Tuesday and is tolerating it very well. He will have chemo every other Tuesday a total of eight times. He will most likely lose his hair, but other than that the side effects are minimal. He has medicine for nausea. Last week he felt very drugged on Tuesday, Wednesday and some of Thursday. He is going to ask about reducing some of the meds that relax him. But, if its a choice between relaxed and sick, we're taking relaxed.

So that's our life right now. We are trying to take it all in good humor. David has accumulated a series of nicknames lately, cancerboy, chemoboy and my new favorite bionic man (b/c of the medi port). He is working as much as he is able and relaxing alot too. I love my husband, he is a really tough guy to handle all this crapola!