June 3

Well, another chemo cycle is over for Mark and he is glad to be finished. He was unhooked a little early today. The chemo started leaking from the port, so he went in to the cancer center and they finished the infusion a little quicker than usual. He carries around a spit cup and constantly spits. He looks like someone who dips although he doesn't. His mouth is sore to the point it hurts to swallow the saliva and it tastes bad to him, so he'd rather spit. That should be gone in another day or two.

The patch really is helpful and the later part of the infusion seems to get better with the nausea and vomiting. He looks better today and was up more than usual for a Wednesday. I ordered the wrist watch yesterday. We should be able to use it with the patch next cycle, so we will see if it helps any. Pray that it does.

Mark celebrated his one year anniversary of the BIG surgery on May 30th. It was a weird day for both of us. I think we just had a lot of relived memories of the day and the process. I remember all of us waiting in the waiting room from the start of the day to the very end of the day watching all the other families come and go. We were the first ones there and the last ones there. I still remember how tired Dr. Bartlett looked when he came to talk to us and how relieved we were to hear the news that he had gotten all of the cancer from Mark. Mark, of course, has different memories and they involve a lot more pain and suffering, but certainly joy as well with what the doctors were able to do for him in Pittsburgh. It was a long recovery process for Mark and there were times we questioned whether it was the right decision, that's for sure. We both now know that it was the right place for us to be and the right thing to have done and we are glad we did it. Life became real again for us after Mark healed from that. He got several great months off of chemo before he started back in November and we hope and pray for more time like that.

I think I may have written once before about this, but I felt so much like we hit a brick wall on October 16, 2007. Our lives just stopped and stood still for so long. I clearly remember the day I realized that life was still going on around us. It was in April 2008 and I opened the front door to go outside for the mail and saw two ladies walking in the neighborhood. They were just walking, talking and laughing like they didn't have a care in the world and it was that moment that I realized that all this time life had still been going on around us. I was finally able to stop living October 16th over and over again and to move forward.

Mark's CT scan has been scheduled for June 24th. Please pray that it is clean and there is no disease present. Thanks again to all of you who continue to support us. God bless!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!