Update #10 - April 30

Dear Family and Friends,

Please join us in making today a great day.

We have so much to be grateful for in each day, take time to appreciate all that you have and live fully in the present moment.

Right now my mom is sitting down, enjoying a cold glass of grape juice, watching her grandson, and watching the deep blue waves roll in. She is breathing in life and goodness and positive thoughts. And wanted to let you know how her appointment went yesterday in London....

According to the doctor her bloodwork looked good, which means that she is tolerating the chemo well and that among other things, her white blood cells aren't getting too low. The doctor said at this point they can't tell how well the chemo is working, but that her bloodwork is an indication that they can proceed with more treatment. The doctor also laid out the plan for her treatment in this appointment, so my mom now knows what to expect over the next couple of months. They plan to do a total of 6 chemo treatments, at which point they will do a CTscan to see how well the chemo is working. So on Monday, my mom will start her third round of chemo -- the half way mark.

The doctor also talked to her about how to manage her symptoms more effectively with her medication schedule. And she saw the nutritionist who made suggestions for how she can better manage her diet. So she now has some new tools and suggestions for how to manage her symptoms and side-effects on her own. And the doctor also said that they would be changing her the ingredients in her next chemo to try to tweak things to help her side-effects. They will be taking away some of the drugs, and adding new drugs in hopes that it will work better for my mom.

After her appointment, she met her brother Tom and Kim for a visit and they all went out to lunch. And after that she stopped and went shopping in London before heading home. When she got home she had a nice family dinner with everyone and then crashed out for the night. It was a huge day for my mom, with all the activity. Today she is exhausted because of such a busy day, but it's really great that she was able to do so much when just a few days ago she could barely lift her head off the pillow. All in all it was a great day for her and we just know that this is a sign of good things to come.
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle."

And I know which one we choose.