1st week of chemo...

Patrick began his first week of chemo on Saturday. It's a five day treatment, so he'll finish on Wednesday. We take him up to NIH for a rather short period of time each day to change his chemo bag, which he wears oh-so-stylishly on him at all time in a fanny-pack. (It takes a real man to wear one.) So far he is tolerating the chemo fairly well. He has to take a high dose of steroids (I believe to shrink the tumor and it's surrounding inflammation (?)), so he's all hyped up (literally) and feeling great. According to the protocol's time-line, he's expected to crash on Wednesday, so we're looking forward to that. For the first time in our relationship he functions on less sleep than I do, and talks my ear off (and the ears of anyone he runs into!) It's so strange to see him so strong and vibrant, while knowing there's a tumor in his brain, poison in his fanny-pack, and many hard days and nights ahead.

Thank you for praying, leaving various messages of encouragement, and offering your generous help. We're completely overwhelmed with the love of so many, and very thankful that we're not in this alone. So many wonderful things are happening, in the midst of this awful beast called cancer, and with each blessing, we are reminded that God is indeed good, even when cancer is so intrinsically evil.

Steve and Nancy Skancke, friends of ours from our days at The Falls Church, have invited us (and our two cats!) to live with them in their lovely Great Falls home. They have a roomy 2 bedroom basement apartment that will be just perfect for us. It's much closer to NIH, so our daily commute there and back will be cut at least in half. We're selling Patrick's car to his mom (since she needs one, and he's not allowed to drive for at least 6 mos with his recent seizures), packing our stuff into a Pod (thanks to friends who have offered to pay for our move and storage fees!), and downsizing our life for a bit, as we concentrate on Patrick's care. Others are providing meals, care for Cecilia, rides to NIH, help with packing, cleaning, and advice with all of the required (and rather confusing) HR paperwork. Our landlord is allowing us to move out of our house without any hassle, so we are thankful and very relieved at the ease of all of this, despite the internal complexity going on in Patrick's body!

So, thank you, thank you, thank you, for your generous care. We're learning to see God's love for us and protection over us each day through your prayers, gifts and love.

With hope, (and a new appreciation for fanny-packers),
Julie