Roadtrip

“I wonder if I’ve been changed in the night?

Let me think: was I the same when I got up this morning?

I almost think I can remember feeling a little different.

But if I’m not the same, the next question is,

Who in the world am I?

Ah, that’s the great puzzle!”

From Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by Lewis Carrol

Since Johnny’s diagnosis it’s felt like Alice’s first trip down the rabbit hole, as she lost her footing and her world spun out of control.  Just like Alice we have been catapulted into another bizarre cancer misadventure so this week we decided it was time to reboot.  We took a long weekend and went to Indian Mountain State Park.  The park is located in the town of Jellico, Tennessee just across the Kentucky border. It’s a scrappy old industrial town with some beautiful architecture – but as with all small towns there were several abandoned store fronts.

The land itself was an abandoned strip mine that Tennessee reclaimed and turned into a 200+ acre park for recreational use.  The ponds are well stocked and the trails were easy to walk.  And it gets a lot of use from locals and travelers alike.  We met two families from Cincinnati (traveling with 8 dogs between them) while we were there.  The trip was just what we needed.  But as always it was too short.

We had yet another small victory, Johnny’s CEA (tumor marker) number is now at 6.6. The staff at the Zangmeister Center is very pleased with his progress.  We won’t bore you too much with vacation photos, but here are a few.  And please keep in mind the cancer research fund:  https://www.gofundme.com/9svgbdys

Rose was more interested in the ducks than having her picture taken

Out for one of many walks

Lounging

Encouraging news

We have Johnny’s latest CEA (tumor marker) number and it’s 8.8.  So it continues to fall.  The normal range is 0 – 5. It's not evidence of a cure but is evidence of the treatment heading in the right direction.  So tonight we’re going out to celebrate. More news on that next time. And as always,Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

still practicing with the selfie stick

Great weather has settled in

Monday of this week, Johnny had a CT scan of his chest and abdomen along with the standard lab work before his chemo treatment.  The results were “unremarkable”.  The CT scan showed that the tumors haven’t changed – but any day that metastatic liver tumors don’t change is a very, very good day.  As of this writing we are still waiting for the CEA (tumor marker) lab results.  But the rest of his blood work looked good.

The Monday combination of contrast dye and chemo was not a good one for Johnny. During the early part of this week he was low on energy and had a lot of nausea, but he’s bounced back, he’s feeling good and grilling salmon steaks for dinner tonight.  We are continuing to use dietary modifications to change the way he feels on a daily basis.  The smoothies and juices provide adequate nutrition, that along with hyperbaric oxygen result in more energy and quicker recovery after every chemo infusion.

great weather means baths for dogs

        What I’m reading —
The Tail End by Tim Urban — If you only read one article this month, please make it this one. It was recommended to me by Tim Ferriss and uses diagrams to really underscore how short life is. Here’s just one gem: "It turns out that when I graduated from high school, I had already used up 93% of my in-person parent time. I’m now enjoying the last 5% of that time. We’re in the tail end.”  It might be time for you (and me) to rethink our priorities. Read this as a catalyst.

And finally, please remember and share Geoff Taylor’s gofundme site. Crowdsourcing has changed the lives of many people, and empowered generous spirits to decide where to send their money. There are some people out there who love to give, it is a gift to them, I feel that way myself.   It is vitally important to get the word out about Dr. Young Hee Ko’s life-saving cancer research.  Here’s the link:  https://www.gofundme.com/9svgbdys-utm_sourc