Wedding Bells

We had a great time in Arizona. The festivities surrounding Pat and Mary's wedding were fantastic. Even the weather cooperated and cooled off for the weekend. It was so nice to spend time with family and friends. Those are times we will always remember. Thanks to everyone who was able to make the trip.

The welcome dinner and the wedding were the only things not held at the hotel. That made it much easier for Randy. With the help of Joe Winterman and a wheelchair, he was able to motor the long distances and save his energy for the short walks. He did great. It was good for him to be able to rest between events and he did. We even went to a restaurant in downtown Tempe on Sunday evening with the folks that stayed until Monday. We had some good laughs when the boys nearly threw poor Randy out of the wheelchair onto the street. It doesn't sound funny, but you just had to be there. He was a good sport about all of it.

Randy had his second chemo treatment today. Everything went well. Dr. Ahmed did say that his hemoglobin is low again. So, we will spend most of tomorrow at Deaconess Gateway getting two units of blood. His hemoglobin has always run a little low with the drugs to suppress his immune system from the kidney transplant. But, the chemo just makes it worse. We are hoping that the side effects will not be as severe as last time. If they are, I think we are better prepared to deal with them and recognize them earlier.

We are planning for our trip to Maui in November. Dr. Ahmed is modifying the chemotherapy schedule to accommodate our plans. We will be going four weeks between treatments instead of three. But he said there are things more important than missing a week of chemotherapy. He is such a caring person. We feel blessed to have him as Randy's oncologist.

On the table beside my mother's chair was a calendar. It was the kind that you flip everyday and it has the date and a quote. When she passed away, I brought that calendar home with me. It was special because she touched everyday. Today it is on the shelf above my desk and everyday I flip the page. When I flipped it today, I could almost hear her voice reading the quote to me. It said: Even if it burns a little low at times, the secret of life is to always keep the flame of hope alive. Thanks, Mom. I am trying.

Continue to pray for us.

Peace be to you.

Randy & Sue