Trying To Live A Normal Life

I am sitting here on a Sunday night watching the Olympics. Wow!! What a great night. Swimming and gymnastics!! So exciting. As you can tell, I love the Olympics. I think I got that from my Mom and Dad. Ever since I was a little kid, I can remember watching every Olympics. I am always sad every time they are over.

Enough about me, this blog is about Lauren. She has still been working with Gio on his house. It is coming together nicely and looks great. They have both worked so hard. Lauren hung the black and white curtains she made in the family room. They look really nice. Mark helped Gio put a kitchen light up today. I came back home and made steaks on the grill, potato casserole and broccoli for dinner. Gio and Wo came back to our house to eat and watch tv.

We went to lunch on Tuesday with our dear friend, Lisa. We always have so much fun with her and this time was no exception. We went to the Panera in Fairlawn this time istead of our regular place which is Rocknes. Lauren loves the broccoli cheese soup at Panera. Lisa and I had salads. We were sitting in a booth eating our lunch and someone says hi to me from over the wall at the booth. It was my friend, Brenda from high school. I don't think I have seen her for over 20 years. She looked great and is still as friendly as ever. It turned out that Lisa knew some people that Brenda was friends with. Small world. Her is a picture of the Cholangiocarcinoma Cuties at lunch.

Wednesday was a sad day for us. Lauren, Gio, and I went to Sharon's calling hours in Mogadore. There were so many people there and we paid our respects to Sharon's husband, Todd, Sharon's daughter and son-in-law, Katie and Clifford, and Todd's sister, Michelle. It was so nice to see them and offer them comfort, but so hard and sad at the same time. What a lovely tribute to dear Sharon. We sure will miss her and hoped she could've come to more lunches with us, but we know she will be there in spirit. She is now at peace in Heaven. Her is a picture of the last time we saw her. We had so much fun with her and Lisa. I remember at one time, they both had their shirts half up showing us their scars!!

Lauren finished up her 2 weeks of Xeloda on Wed. This is the chemo pill she takes now instead of the 5-FU in the pump she used to get. She didn't have much problem with it. I think it made her tired. She has laid around a lot these past few weeks and watched tv. Her back has really been hurting lately and none of her painkillers are really helping, so we will have to talk to the doctor about that. She is not in the mood to be bothered and has been a little testy at times with Mark, Gio, and me. You can't blame the poor kid, but it sure does hurt our feelings. Not Gio's though. He must have tough skin because he just laughs it off and can usually get her in a good mood. I usually just leave her alone. She usually says, if I need anything I will let you know and if I don't feel good I will tell you. I'm sure I would be a bear to live with if I were going through what she has to deal with. I just wish this was a bad dream and I would wake up.

Lauren and I will be heading to Michigan on Wed. She has labs, doctor visit, and chemo. She also has to go to Mercy in Canton tomorrow to get labs to make sure her platelets are high enough. Like Cisplatin that she was on in the past, Oxaliplatin can make platelets take a nose dive. Not as likely as with Cisplatin, but a possibility. If platelets go below 100,000, she won't be able to get chemo. Pray they are high.

Thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes. Bruce and Jan - Thanks so much for the corn. It was delicious. I will close with two pictures that I find so sweet. Sisters as beautiful today ( taken a few years ago) as they were way back when. Take care everyone.  Love, -Pam