Valerie Anne Paget - wife, daughter, aunt, sister, GREAT aunt, friend, mentor, inspiration... So many words describe this amazing woman. This blog will be devoted to keeping you all updated on how she is doing. Like her, it will be direct and honest.
Monday was filled with emptying boxes around the house that had been brought up from the garage the day before. At least, that's what Valerie did. I worked. But when I did get home from work, Valerie and Michelle were sitting in the bathroom looking at paint samples - so I joined in. :)
Tuesday, Valerie went out to breakfast with her mom and sister. Then she worked most of the day on her contracted position - writing up assessments and doing paperwork. Then she and Michelle biked to pick up dinner at a nearby Chinese place that we hadn't tried yet. When they got back, the 3 of us watched a movie and ate dinner.
Enjoying our special bottle of DELICIOUS wine in our
soon to be kitchen nook area.
Wednesday, Valerie and her mom drove to her job in North Hollywood. After they got back, they picked up Michelle and they all went furniture shopping at the local shops. They got back long after I got home from work.
Thursday, Valerie and Michelle went through more boxes in the garage and separated out documents that we want to scan and then get rid of.
A preview of how Sunday began....
Friday, Valerie and I spent the entire day down in our garage going through boxes and organizing what goes where. While we were down there, we could hear movement up in our condo --- turns out, Michelle had transformed out house into a clean, well organized place from the scattered and dusty place it was. It was remarkably wonderful to walk into after a LONG day going through boxes in the garage. One of the areas that was worked on was the kitchen nook area. Valerie had already moved a lot of clutter out of that area, and Michelle took it a little further, to make it look like an actual sitting/eating area. We were so excited and enjoyed sitting there so much that we broke open a bottle of wine we got years ago. We had been waiting for a special occasion to break the seal - and this was just the occasion. It was delicious and it was great to see what an enjoyable spot that is going to be in our house.
Saturday morning, Valerie and I went through boxes and mostly worked on the back room that we'd REALLY like to get finished. It's going to be our workout / guest / hangout room. While we did that, Michelle worked on the garage - getting boxes that were piled up on a shelf all down and lined up so that we could go through those. For a late lunch, the 4 of us headed to one of our new favorite places - River's End. We had a great meal and then stopped at a few furniture stores on the way home to check out a few pieces. After a few more hours of work on boxes, we ended up in #12 watching a Top Chef marathon.... at least the last 3 episodes. :)
... and ended. :)
I should also mention, that during these stretches of going through boxes, and hard manual labor, we would just wander over to #12, and Valerie's mom would have chili made or water handy or she would happily run to subway. She kept us fed and going.
Sunday was so awesome it deserves a post all it's own..... coming very soon. :)
After lunch at the Royal Cup Cafe, Michelle played a tune on the piano. It was beautiful.
This weekend has been busy. Yesterday, one of Valerie's sisters, Michelle, flew in. Valerie's mom picked her up and we all met at the Royal Cup Cafe for lunch. After eating, we went to a few antique/used furniture stores to look for things for the house. After a few hours of shopping we came home for a little rest. Then, we went over to Mom Paget and Michelle's condo (where there is cable TV) to watch the second half of the Tennessee vs. Alabama football game. (we should have stayed home - Tennessee lost ---- I mean, got pummeled in the second half) :(
Then today - me, Valerie, and Michelle went down to the garage and started going through boxes. It's hard to explain how much we got done. We spent about 5 hours going through boxes - moving some of them upstairs to go through - putting some of them in the attic - and reorganizing what's in the garage. It was a LOT of work and it was a GREAT start to getting things put in their place. We might actually be able to park a car in there someday soon!! :)
Valerie's favorite building in our lovely city.... an old hotel converted into apartments. It IS a great building.
After all of that work - and after eating some healthy portions of pizza from our local Pizza Place (that's their official name). We went to the movies and saw "Ides of March." Our opinion (me and Valerie) - it was depressing. I may never vote again. ANYWAY - moving on!!
It was a wonderful, progressive, weekend. Things continue to move in an upward shift. Valerie still needs to rest after exerting herself, but she's able to exert herself more and more every day. WOO HOO!!!
Lisa, we got your "Stay Strong" package and we will definitely try it out - THANK YOU!!
Again, THANK YOU ALL for your continued prayers, thoughts, messages, love, and support. We couldn't do this without you!
So, I have several days to catch you up on. And let me tell you, we have been busy. And by we, I mean Valerie. :)
Tuesday, we had an appointment with a neurosurgeon, Dr. Duma. This was a follow up to the brain scan that Valerie had when the doctors were trying to locate the cause of her nausea. They ruled out brain cancer, but saw a .4cm dot that they just wanted her to get checked out to cover all possible bases. Dr. Duma looked at Valerie and said, "You have not impressed your neurosurgeon today. And that's a good thing." :) His impression is that it is a tiny area of her brain that just never developed. He said it's quite common and he'll do another scan in a month or so, and then again in 6 months just to make sure. If Valerie's brain looks the same, then he's right. I get the feeling he's right a lot. He even printed out a picture of her brain for us to take home.
The most intelligent, most beautiful brain out there. The
small black spot right in the middle is the "suspicious"
culprit that our doctor thinks is just empty space.
You know that Valerie has been painting the closet doors. Well, when I got home Tuesday to take her to Dr. Duma's office, I noticed the living room looked different... empty kind of. Then I realized that ALL 6 of the doors were gone, the tarps were put away and the card table with all of the supplies was gone. Paint fairies?! Valerie had moved ALL of the doors back to their respective rooms - she had put away all of the supplies - and Mom Paget had washed, dried and put away all of the tarps. Paint fairies indeed!!!
I told you about a care package we got from our friend Charla, her husband Michael and their adorable kids, Karis and Titus. The package came with a disc of pictures - this one was on it... here are Karis and Titus with a message to us.
Valerie has been more involved in every part of "regular" life. She's been on the computer doing assessments for her contracted job - she's been online looking at furniture - one day she biked to the bank and the library (probably about a 3 mile trip) - and today she is in North Hollywood working.
WHEW!!!
She is doing more and more everyday. What I am now trying to make sure she does is listens to her body. She has reached a point where she knows she CAN do things, but her body still gets tired and needs rest and she starts to think she's just being lazy if she rests. I keep telling her that her body is still quite busy fighting to stay healthy and she needs to listen and let it rest when she feels tired.
One of Valerie's sisters, Michelle, arrives tomorrow. More help in attacking some of this house stuff so that Valerie has at least ONE homey space soon!
Thank you all for reading, commenting, and continuing to offer support and love. It means the world to us and you have been unwavering.
As of Friday, I had taken all of the doors off of our closets so that Valerie could paint them. She said that realistically she thought it might take her a week or two to paint just a little at a time.
Saturday morning, I woke up and heard Valerie milling around (okay, that by itself is different and improvement). I got up to find that she'd set up the card table and had all of the paint stuff set on it ready to begin painting the closet doors. whoa.... :)
She spent most of Saturday, painting a little, then resting some.... painting a little, then resting some.... She got all of the doors (6) painted with 2 coats on one side. The other side could wait until tomorrow.
Sunday, she felt a little pooped - kinda nauseous - and she moved a little slower. BUT she still painted the other sides of the doors, ate and took all of her supplements. Then we went to a place she's really been wanting to go to for dinner.
A painting machine!
When we were in Mexico this last time, Valerie was talking to another patient about where we live and the woman asked if we'd ever eaten at River's End. She said it was her favorite place and we knew where it was (because we had turned around in their parking lot once) but we'd never eaten there.
So, Sunday night, we had dinner there. It was GREAT! Valerie and I shared fish and shrimp tacos with rice and beans. Yes we are vegetarians.... except when we eat fish and seafood. :) Valerie's mom had the fish and chips. We watched the sun set and saw the last of the kite surfers coming in for the day. It was perfect.
Then today, Valerie finished up painting the doors. As if that wasn't enough, she cleaned up the frames where the doors hang and painted them too. I will rehang them tomorrow and the bedroom will look that much more complete so Valerie can have a more pleasant view to wake up to. (And I cleaned the ceiling fan that was BADLY in need of a cleaning. She noticed this morning - Monday - and was very excited.)
Dinner at River's End - one of our new favorite places!
It's amazing how much your surroundings can impact your health and healing. It's HUGE!
We did have a bit of a crisis today. Valerie's mom, Colette, was worried because her cell phone wasn't working. Obviously, it's the only phone she has while she's here, so Valerie looked up the nearest T-Mobile store for her and she set off to get it fixed. She arrived at the store - asked the first person for help - they looked at her phone, and after about a half a second, they pushed the power butting, turning on the phone - and then they said, "there you go!" THE PHONE WAS TURNED OFF!!! :)
We are all suffering from our minds being in different places these days..... but that was a particularly good one! :) More progress and good news to come.... stay tuned!
This has been a good week. I can truly say I feel moments of our "normal" life creeping back in and that's an AWESOME thing!
One day at work, Valerie called me and said that she'd called a plumbing place and found a piece we need to make our shower work.(She hasn't been able to do any of the remodel/errand type things for months without getting nauseous.) I said that I'd stop by there on my way home and pick it up. She texted me a little later and said that she and her mom were going to pick it up. (She certainly hasn't been albe to do any running around errands for months!)Then after I had been home for a few hours that night, she offhandedly mentions, "Oh and I drove today." WHAT?! Then she said "Why are you staring at me, it's no big deal." HA!!! OF COURSE IT'S A BIG DEAL! :)(I don't think she's driven since maybe June because of the nausea or pain.)
That was a good day and signs of things to come.
One night she had me come home and take all of the closet doors off and line them up so she can begin painting them. Are you all following me here?! This is starting to sound like facebook where I just tell you what we ate and where we are going - it certainly doesn't sound like the same blog from 2 months ago... or 2 weeks ago for that matter.
Usually after I blog, Valerie says that I make her sound stronger and better than she is. So I will take this time to say that of course, there are still hurdles. And she can only do small projects and a little at a time. She gets pretty wiped out after exerting herself and so she rests. She still can't lift anything over 5 pounds or so. But I can still remember the day in Mexico that she got out of the car and picked up a bag from the back seat to carry in.... because she hadn't been able to do that for months either.
Since coming back from Mexico this time, she's pretty much been managing her supplements and food all on her own. The area she wants and needs help with now is doing the stuff around the house to make this a home. And that's, in and of itself, a huge improvement.
Last night, I finally hooked up the Wii, on loan from the Waldinger-Sprafkin family (thanks guys!!) - to our new TV that has just been sitting in a box in the back room. When I called Valerie in to show her it was working and we could get Netflix through it, she said "Let's watch a movie!" So we pulled some beach chairs into the back room and watched a movie last night. The next step is for Valerie to do some of the Wii fit to see if we want to get one. (I'll try to post pics or video of that.) :)
Mom Paget continues to be over in the other condo. She makes regular trips over to check on Valerie, take out the trash, load and unload the dishwasher, and sweep. What a help it is not to worry about those everyday things! Valerie's sister, Michelle, is due out for another week starting October 22.
Today we are headed to the oncologist's office for a meeting with him and to get an IV treatment. It's something he and the Mexico doctors recommended - Zometa. That treatment, in conjunction with the hormone blocker that she's taking, is supposed to completely get rid of any cancer in her spine.
Sorry no pictures today - I'll do better next time!
Slowly but surely things are moving steadily in a positive, strong direction.
Thanks so much for your continued prayers, hugs, jokes, and support!!
Valerie and her mom at the Ports O'Call Restaurant.
PLEASE take note of the Poseidon (the huge ship over
Valerie's right shoulder). We worked hard to make sure it
was in the picture. :)
Today was a day of unpacking and exploration.
Valerie wanted to go to a restaurant that we were told is fantastic - they closed at 2:30pm so we had to adjust. We went to our backup plan. It had been recommended by a friend as a cool place to go watch the ships come in to the port. (Thank you Sonia, we loved it!!)
We live at the 2nd largest working port in the U.S. We love living at a beach that also has a working port. We hope to take a tour soon, but for now, this will do.
One of the AWESOME things in our box from Charla
and family! The Peace, Love and Buc-ee's shirt! :)
We ate a delicious meal on the water as we watched HUGE cargo ships coming and going. Then Valerie and I relaxed and watched a movie and had a lazy afternoon.
In the evening we went on a quick bike ride to the library. We needed to return a book and I wanted to be with Valerie the first time she road a bike - for the moment and to make sure she was okay. She was a little unsteady at first - worried about her strength and ability to maintain herself on the bike. She did fine all the way there and back and then was pretty wiped out for awhile. But WOO HOO!! - she rode a bike and was able to get around unlike she's been able to do for the past few months. I don't have a picture because it was dark. There will be other bike rides in the near future I'm sure. :)
Walking along the Ports O'Call Boardwalk.
Tomorrow, I head back to work. Valerie will most likely start back on her full round of supplements and try to get into a routine.
Things are so much better that our return last time. Thank you to everyone who has made that possible by sending love, thoughts, and prayers!!!! Whatever you're doing... KEEP doing it.... it's working!!!! :)
The wait at the border yesterday was BRUTAL!!
At least an hour.
We arrived home today around 3pm, after laying around the luxurious Motel 6 until their 12 noon check out time. It's always a bit of a transition coming back home. The ride can be exhausting and nauseating for Valerie and after staying at our little bungalow it was a bit harder to come back to our still unfinished home. I hesitate to mention this because we are lucky and fortunate to have such worries as this, but it is an impacting factor on Valerie's health, so I'm going to go ahead and trust that you will take it with the vein in which it is intended. It will involve a little bit of a history lesson on how we got to where we are now, for those that may just be joining us. :)
I've mentioned before that we bought our very first home last July 2010. We had both worked and saved for many years and then we did a lot of work in finding something that we could afford without being irresponsible. We found something that we could afford comfortably and not have to go into debt (other than the mortgage, which we consider an investment). This took a LOT of hard work and determination.
Once we moved in, because we'd been so careful, we had some wiggle room to update our original 1950s bathroom and kitchen. We still did this very intentionally - getting a Home Depot card that would allow us to have no interest for 12 months, etc. We were very careful to do things in a way that did not put us into debt that we had no foreseeable plan or way to pay off quickly.
Then BAM!! 7 months into a long, hard, exhausting remodel, Valerie found this strange lump in her breast. Needless to say, the people in our house (literally) finished up their jobs and then everything related to the house pretty much came to a screeching halt. This meant, we've been living with a main bathroom for over a year with no vanity, sink or toilet and a shower that had plastic tarp nailed up to the backer board so we could shower. We've had the kitchen cupboard doors off of the cupboards and laying in a pile in the corner of the kitchen waiting to be stained ... because that was cheaper than buying new cupboards. They've been laying in the kitchen nook area that will one day hold a small table and 2 chairs. Valerie has always said this will be her favorite place in our new house.
There are MANY more examples of unpainted closet doors, hardware not on drawers, no bedroom furniture, a garage still full of boxes, walls with nothing on them .... all of this to say that we are still living in a very unfinished house. For a person recovering from such a debilitating illness, this is even more difficult and frustrating. I should pause and say that Valerie's brother Jon, and her niece Vanessa, and the Jungbauer Paint Posse did complete some of these projects... painting, installing a bathroom vanity, etc. And that has been SO appreciated and helpful. It is because of them that we have a pretty fulling functioning main bathroom now and paint on almost all of our walls.
Most of you can probably relate to times when you are sick, depressed, etc. ... and you reach for your favorite blanket, go to your favorite room in the house, find your favorite chair, whatever environment you think brings you the most peace and comfort. Valerie doesn't have that. She has bare walls, unpainted closet doors, boxes in the corner, a dinner tray table as a bedside stand, and really only 2 places she can comfortably be - in bed or in the lazy boy in the living room. Not a lot of options for someone healing.
There's no reason to share this except just to share. Valerie and I talk about it pretty frequently and even more so today after coming home from such a nice getaway. We will get there - it'll just take time and of course, the ever needed money. :) We were talking today about how sad we feel that when we are in Mexico, we can spend most all of our time together, but once we get home, I have to run a not-yet-finished house that 2 of us used to run together - and it pretty much takes ALL of my time.
(**Here's a small clip of the long awaited "12 Days of Treatment." If you can't hear it, let me know and I'll post the lyrics**)
So please know that all of your donations, your time, your thoughts, your prayers, your love, your encouragement - have all made this journey that much easier to bear. It would have been unbearable and we would have felt completely defeated without you.
Now I do have a few updates..... Valerie has continued to be nauseous, and travelling pretty much wipes her out. We came home and she promptly crawled into bed and went to sleep. BUT she has also been eating pretty well and not vomiting, so we'll call that a success!
We both think once she settles back into a routine here at home, the nausea will subside and she'll continue to get stronger.
We have learned that the Oasis' strong points do not include communication, so this time we asked better questions. After talking to the doctor yesterday, the plan is for Valerie to have a repeat of tests done in about 3-4 weeks.... bone scan, and MRIs of her chest and abdomen. Then we'll send those results and images to the Oasis and they'll let us know what's the next step in the course of treatment. That way, we won't get there for 6 days of treatment, only to learn that we really need to stay for 12!
All of the roads within the complex of our
bungalow looked like this - ADORABLE!!
Except if you are nauseous, then NOT so
adorable. Or wearing flip flops... NOT
adorable. Just sayin'.
When we got home today there was a pile of lovely mail to go through... okay, so it wasn't so lovely. :) But there were 2 VERY LOVELY packages waiting for us. I mentioned one in a previous post. My mom had sent ahead some banana bread, knowing how much Valerie liked it last time. Well, did she EVER send some banana bread! I don't know how much the package weighed, but it cost $15 to mail it and the ONLY thing in it was large loafs of banana bread, banana bread muffins, small loafs of banana bread... you get the picture. :) It's AWESOME!!! (I have to admit, I've already eaten 3 muffins just while I've been writing this. Mom, did you put crack in these?!)
The other package was from a mutual friend of ours from many moons ago... Charla (used to be Johnson now Shultz), her husband Michael, and their 2 children, Titus (age 3) and Karis (age 2). After they watched The Sound of Music (one of mine and Valerie's favorites) they started a box of their favorite things. We got everything from bubbles, to lollipops, to t-shirts from their favorite place to eat - Buc-ees!! I've been wearing the Buc-ee hat all afternoon. :) We'll try to take pictures tomorrow. THANK YOU CHARLA AND FAMILY!!!!!!
Tomorrow, Valerie plans to take a bike ride. Some of you know that one of the reasons we moved to Long Beach was because of how walking and biking friendly it is. Since moving here we have biked all over - we LOVE biking around Long Beach. Valerie hasn't been able to bike for several months now and it's been really hard for her. So, I'll keep you all posted on the progress of our ride tomorrow!
(**One of the many sites while waiting to cross the border. This little girl couldn't have been more than 7 or 8. She would stand on the boys' shoulders and juggle - 4 BALLS!! I can juggle pretty well... 3 balls. THIS is REALLY good!!**)
Yesterday was pretty much a repeat of the previous 2 days. We drove up here to the Oasis - got the treatment - drove back and relaxed the rest of the afternoon/evening.
We did walk down near the water the past 2 days. Even though we can see the water from our room, there is a really nice path down closer and some really cute club houses that you can sit it overlooking the water.
Valerie has had an okay few days. She's definitely had better days. This chemo, even though it's low dose, has just made her feel pretty blah. But she has been eating and she hasn't vomited since Sunday.
The sky was gorgeous yesterday.
Today, we will probably leave here and drive across the border and stay in a hotel before heading home tomorrow. Baby steps.
Walking yesterday - no cane, no walker.
I posted a picture a few days ago of Valerie laying on the couch in our bungalow - I meant to mention that the blanket she's all snuggled up under is our neighbor, Tallis'. THANK you Tallis!! I don't even know how it ended up with us - maybe when Vanessa was here, she used it for Hannah? Either way, Valerie has used it almost everyday since she found it. :)
For those of you that have expressed concern for me and want to make sure that I've been taking care of myself..... I got a massage yesterday AND today at our hotel in Rosarito. It was heavenly.
Our view when we open our eyes first
thing in the morning - - aaaaahhhh
Hola! Buenas tardes! Como estas?
We are once again at the Oasis for a quick stop - just the chemo. We are heading back to the bungalow soon. Valerie continues to feel kinda blah but better than she did over the weekend. She hasn't vomited again and she's resting a lot. Two more days and we're back home.
This morning, we laid around and Valerie started singing "The 12 Days of Chemo" and that turned in to "The 12 Days of Treatment." We actually sang it to the nurses at the nurses station. We did a video and I'm going to see if I can cut it down and post part of it. :)
Quick note... We came to the Oasis today. Valerie got the chemo IV and we just talked to the doctor. He suggested that we go back to Rosarito, let Valerie rest and see how she feels tomorrow.
She felt kind of poorly this morning, but after getting some anti-nausea medication, and eating breakfast, she felt better. She's been sleeping during the chemo IV and feels tired, but not particularly bad.
So we are headed back to our bungalow getaway. :)
One more thing I keep forgetting to mention.... Valerie has been using a walker a lot to get around. She doesn't need it to walk but it helps her conserve her strength. For the past 3 or 4 days, she's only been using a cane - no walker. And the past day - no cane, just walking on her own strength. I am dropping her off and picking her up close to the elevators and doors usually, but that's still a major step.
more tomorrow....
oh yeah, Aunt Vicki... we are trying to make it a little hidden mini vacation. :) We figure if she can make it through the chemo, she deserves SOME kind of reward! :)
Our lobster dinner - lobster, rice, beans and tortillas the size
of a pillow case!
We are once again at Oasis for several hours getting supportive therapy with the chemo IV. It definitely made a difference yesterday and today. Valerie still had some nausea and was not as energetic as last week, but much better than the two previous days.
We did not leave last night until about 11:30pm - but it was worth the drive back to wake up to the view of the ocean and to be able to wander around our humble abode.
We got here an hour and a half earlier today and it's still going to be a long night. Hopefully not as long as last night.
I have to admit, Jesus on the hillside kind
of spooks me. You can't tell from any of the
pictures I took how incredibly huge it is.
We spent some time talking to Dr. Borroso today. Valerie had been wanting to ask him some questions about their different treatment recommendations. He is the one that does the classes and he is just so knowledgeable about reasons why to eat something or not, to take something or not, etc. He was very helpful today.
We spent some time talking to Dr. Borroso
about treatment options, diet, etc.
Thank you to everyone that reads the blog, comments, sends love. I wish there was a way to put all of the responses in one place - I get things here on the blog, on facebook, and through email. Just know that I love reading all of them and read them all to Valerie. Thank you all!!
Our new (and improved!) view - to compare, you can see
our view from the Oasis back on the post titled "Day 3-
Morning" on August 6, 2011
Okay, so that hiatus was short lived. :) There's a very good reason!
We are at the Oasis right now (9:15pm) and probably won't be leaving for at least another hour. Here's the backstory...
Enjoying our first afternoon on our balcony
Beginning Saturday, Valerie has been getting ONLY the IPT, which is low dose chemo. She has felt pretty lousy both days. We were both excited about all of the good news on Saturday and we wrote off her not feeling well that day to just being overwhelmed... packing, moving, lots of big news, etc.
But she continued to not feel well. She's vomited both on Saturday and on Sunday. So we thought we should mention it to the doctor in case it's related to her just getting the chemo without all of the other supportive elements of her therapy.
We got to the Oasis at about 3pm this afternoon, thinking she just needed a 30 minute IV, no big deal. Well, after talking to the doctor about her nausea and overall yucky feeling, he wanted to add some things back to her treatment. They gave her a Vitamin C IV, and for the past 3.5 hours, she's been getting fluids with electrolytes, and in about 30 minutes she'll get the chemo IV. Hopefully, those added IVs will boost her system up to handle the chemo better.
Did I mention that it's spacious and ADORABLE?!
So, since we are here, I have easy access to the internet and can give you all the update. And I should add, that even while feeling lousy, Valerie has continued to eat, take most of her supplements, and in general enjoy the surroundings. After throwing up last night, she said, "let's go have a lobster dinner, I'm starved." We drove to Puerto Nuevo about 20 minutes away and had a lobster dinner!
We have room to move around and relax - aaaaahhhh!
In the meantime though, we are thoroughly enjoying staying in Rosarito. Today, Valerie said, "well even if I'm going to feel lousy, at least it's beautiful here." The doctors and nurses all say things like "oh yes, it's better in Rosarito" and "did you have too much tequila last night?" They tell us where to go and what to eat - they seem to wish they were leaving with us. :)
We are currently sitting in an adorable place in Rosarito overlooking the Pacific. I am in the club house and Valerie was lounging on the couch when I left. I have to set up the computer at the pool or club house for wifi - it's not in the rooms. So, what that means is a week of little to no blogging.
I can't even get my phone to hook up here to email myself pictures to show you. Suffice it to say it's SO much more green, comfortable, healthy, and cozy to spend a week than a hospital room.
We have a balcony to sit on. We look out over lots of trees and we can see the Pacific off through the trees. There's a full kitchen, a restaurant, need I go on? Valerie has said 100 times today if she's said it once.... I'm so glad I don't have to sit in that room all week.
The thing about the Oasis - as nice as it is - it's not in a great area. We are kind of confined to our room. There are a couple of sitting rooms, but nothing to look at or do. Valerie doesn't enjoy much of anything as much as she loves looking at the sky, the trees, and the water.
So, we are all settled in here (THANK YOU ANA) and we will make the drive back to the Oasis every day for Valerie's 1/2 treatment and maybe for a class or two... we'll see. Then, we'll stay back at the Oasis on Friday night and head home Saturday after her last treatment.
I have had wifi while at the Oasis, letting me post on Facebook, the blog, text, check email, etc. I won't have that now. I will probably check most days at the Oasis, but I otherwise, I'll be techno-free. Valerie has been wanting me to be... we'll see if it's a vacation or if it drives me nuts. (we can both still receive unlimited texts but we will now be limited to about 40 outgoing texts)
I'm going to lounge, drink wine, eat something, and otherwise have a mini vacation.
We ran up to Whole Foods in San Diego today. Valerie
tried their banana bread. As soon as she took a bite, she
said, "they don't have anything on your mom's banana
bread." Thankfully, my mom emailed today saying she's
already mailed a loaf of her banana bread. It'll be waiting
for our return. Thanks mom!!!
Okay, so NOTHING can top the GREAT news!! But I will say, today has been a day for good news.
Our dear friend Lisa (who thinks she's not doing enough - ha!) just posted a beautiful piece on facebook about Valerie's healthcare and the cost to come here to Mexico. It is a beautiful, wonderful, compassionate plea for people to contribute to Valerie's healthcare. Lisa, we can't thank you enough for your concern, help, support, love, and compassion. THANK YOU!!! When Valerie was first diagnosed, Lisa sent cards, gifts, tokens, uplifting things almost everyday for WEEKS!!! She has been one of my closest friends for the past 25 years and one of OUR closest friends for the past 15 years. Lisa was the first person I called when Valerie and I got together. I was prepared for a difficult or awkward phone call and Lisa made it easy as pie. Let's just say she knew me better than I knew myself. love you Lisa!!
One of our (Lisa and my) favorite times together. That was a whole other long
story.... it actually had it's own blog too. :) Love you Lisa - and David RIP.
Another bit of good news is about where we'll be staying for the next 6 days. In case it wasn't clear in previous posts... Valerie received the full 6 days of treatment that included the IPT-C (her course of treatment that includes IVs of vitamin C, vitamin K, perftec, kemdalin, etc.) plus the IPT (low dose chemo) - all told, about 5-7 treatments per day. Well, when we got here, the doctor said that he recommended she do 6 extra days of JUST the IPT (low dose chemo). That particular IV lasts about 30 minutes. So we were toying with what to do the rest of the day for the next 6 days. Riding around to see the sites would have been okay - but riding in a car (with ME driving in Mexico!) may not have been the most relaxing thing for Valerie. :) So I contacted a friend who, last time, had offered the use of her time share, before she realized we'd be "living" in a hospital the whole time. She and I talked today and after it was all said and done, we will be staying at a resort just 30 minutes south of where we are now from Sunday through Friday - all thanks to her and her time share!!! THANK YOU ANA!!!! This will be such a more relaxing, healing, comfortable space to be. We just have to drive 30 minutes each way to get Valerie's one IV per day. Piece of cake. Valerie has said all day how thankful she is that we will be in a room/suite overlooking the Pacific. We don't have to drive to the ocean or to see the sites, we can just sit and relax for the week.
The other piece of good/bittersweet news is that Valerie has known for awhile that she was getting an inheritance from her Aunt Georgia, who died earlier this year. We just learned today that her Aunt Georgia's estate is settled and Valerie will be receiving several thousand dollars within the next month. Obviously this is bittersweet because her Aunt Georgia died and it was actually quite a surprise that she left a lot of her money/assets to her nieces and nephews. Her gift will easily pay for this trip to Mexico and the next month's worth of home treatment. Wow. What a huge gift and the timing could not have been better.
We continue to be overwhelmed with the kindness and generosity of those around us. Thank you all for sharing in the good news that the doctor gave today and for continuing to keep us in your thoughts, prayers, alter sacrifices, chants, etc. :) We have such a diverse group of friends and family and we are forever grateful for all of the support and love you show us everyday.
Dr. Cecena - thought I had a better picture
but I'll get one.
I had to share this news RIGHT NOW.... one of the doctors just came in - Dr. Cecena (don't know how to put the tilde over the n -- gringos say it with me, suh-say-nyuh). He was the doctor that did the initial phone consult a couple of months ago and he always makes rounds with El Jefe, Dr. Contreras.
He came in to update Valerie's chart, to check on her progress while she was home and to do a physical exam. After doing the physical exam of the tumor and of the one inflamed lymph node that was cancerous, he said that he would estimate the lymph node has shrunk by 50% and that the tumor in her breast has shrunk by 20-30%!!!!!!!!! As he walked out the door, he looked back, smiled and said, "Congratulations."
I'LL SAY - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! WOO HOO!!! Such wonderful, validating, encouraging news!! There's more (different from other people) good news, but that will have to wait until later. We've got to get going to the Whole Foods. :) :) :) :) :) :)
