June 3rd – We managed a short week at the family cabin in Canada. Zeus had a great time and we almost lost him to Aunt Bea wanting to put him in her suitcase. The weather was beautiful. We read a lot of books, did a little fishing and had great meals with one of his cousins and his wife and Aunt Bea. And a visit wouldn’t be complete without a few visits with family friends that reside there.

It was great to have time with Scott’s cousin as we learned that he had been diagnosed with Essential Thrombocythemia about 10 years ago as well. While both ET an Myelofibrosis are not said to be conditions that are inherited we find it very interesting that they both were diagnosed about the same time and are close in age. In addition the family does have a history of Multiple Myeloma and Leukemia on both sides of the family. Hopefully our experience will help them be more vigilant with his blood count numbers and help them be on the watch for unexplained pain or fatigue. For so long, we just thought that ET was something that required medication and would be something he would just have to live with. Little did we know.

Between the EPO shot and all the rest and relaxation, Scott seems to be doing really good right now. They are working on the insurance approval before they move any further with the donors. They anticipate the transplant to take place in the next 30-60 days.

We are looking to start doing some visits while he’s feeling good. The next 60 days will probably go quickly and we want to see as many people as we can before we have to spend the next 30 + 100 plus days in another world. Tomorrow we will take a trip to see my parents and visit our Grandbaby; she’s growing up so fast. Last year when our financial advisor told us that I was in a position to retire from my job as a agricultural lender; I decided I needed another year to mentally prepare for what I had worked my whole life for. My plans were to help my son and daughter-in-law regularly with day care and pursue my store/catering full-time. Thankfully I didn’t retire last year as I wouldn’t have access to the same health care insurance today that I have now and so desperately need. In addition, laws require employers to offer COBRA insurance for up to 18 months; which will allow us to stay with our current insurance until the end of 2022. Another one of those things that makes you realize that God has had a plan all along. I can’t imagine this journey with a sub-par insurance plan.