Ramblings from the week of March 13^th

Friends; the family you choose.  This journey has reminded us just how big our family is.  One “side of the family” is my friends from my first marriage.  Their support and love for Scott has been there since the first time I introduced him to them.   This group has been there for each other for over 50 years; high school friends of my first husband. The beloved annual canoe trip that has turned into a rafting trip has been a highlight for me since 1983. Scott was finally able to experience this event in 2021. 

We have another group of friends up in the Kent City area that blossomed in 2011 from of my Farm Women’s Symposium affiliation.  Then we have the friendships that have sprouted from our friendship with Tal and Cindy.  Tal is like a brother to me and Scott’s ability to be friends with him was a “must happen” test in our early dating days.  They passed with flying colors and now they are as close as can be.  When Tal found Cindy, that completed our fabulous foursome. Everyone should have at least one couple that they can travel with and have bucket list experiences with.  We’ve enjoyed annual trips to several tropical areas, a Riverboat Trip in 2020 on Kentucky Lake, Maine in 2021 and a several trips to enjoy the waters of Michigan. We even took our honeymoons with each other; providing some more great stories and memories.

We are over-whelmed by the number of people that have offered their prayers and well wishes. It seems like every day I learn about someone else who has gone through something similar. Sometimes it’s just hard to believe – believe in today’s health care system, understand why Scott’s deserves this, believe that it’s all going to be ok. We’re trying hard to keep the faith. He had a decent day yesterday and again today so we are grateful for that. It isn’t looking like the PET scan will be happening in Kalamazoo but he already has four appointments showing on the Mayo Clinic version of MyChart. We are going to beat this – one location or another!

Pain update – The key to keeping the pain manageable is vigilance; if you relax and forget what time it is – you pay the price.   We live in 2-hour blocks and manage work and naps in between. Thanks to family that is bringing food and stopping in to visit so I can go do errands and things.  He’s not well enough right now to be left alone. 

The PET scan won’t be approved because there hasn’t been a biopsy. Doctors are trying to schedule some CT scans but I question they will be able to schedule them in before we leave.

We decided to take Tal up on his offer to drive us to Mayo. I’m not on my game any more than Scott is lately so this will be safer and Tal has a proven track record of getting us where we need to on time. He will stay a couple days and make sure I can handle getting Scott back and forth. If we need help, Ellen has offered to fly out and help when Tal leaves. We have the best friends!

I booked a house last night with VRBO that is one block from the hospital and will give us a really comfortable home base; cheaper and more comfortable than booking a couple hotel rooms for 10 days. I’m really relieved to have that booked and off my TO DO list.