Just a Mom of Big Kids

Today.... some good news.  The scan results came back CLEAR!!! Chemo is doing its job!! The cancer is all but eradicated...there are a few shadows, presumed to be scar tissue. No biopsies were ordered. Tears of pure GRATITUDE were shed. God is good, prayer is powerful and today, we are so overjoyed to hear those words. That big exhale when you didn't even realize you were holding your breath.... absolutely a real thing.  But, in a true "half-glass-full way", we did get word that Mike's treatments are extending an extra 2 months. While originally we believed he would have 4 rounds of chemo, in reality, he's facing 6 rounds total, which is protocol for his stage 4 cancer. He's done with 2, starts number 3 tomorrow, so not halfway done, but merely 1/3 of the way.  Those are some hard realities of medicine. And not what Mike wanted to hear. It's as if the finish line moved, and he's left feeling frustrated. And kinda mad. He had his eyes on the end line, a...

 And we are definitely living on a prayer, thanks to some amazing prayer warriors.  So, what does treatment look like half-way through?  It looks a lot like this.......   Mike is tough...tougher than I can tell you.  He never complains about treatments, about doctor appointments, about his port. His eyebrows are thinning. He barely needs to shave. He hears me ask him a million times a day, "How can I help you? What can I do for you?"  His answer is always the same..."Nothing, Kar. I'm good."  It looks a lot like this.... It seems that 3 days after chemo, he loses all sense of taste and smell for about 10 days. Gatorade has become sort of the barometer test of what he can taste. As a guy who drinks TONS OF WATER, this change has been funny to me...but quite the gift to him. While it doesn't make it better, it makes liquids tolerable. And for now, we will take that as a win. It looks a lot like this... These cards are the visual reminder that we aren't w...