Blessed In So Many Ways

Hello again, 

It has now been nearly two weeks since my last session of radiation, and over a week since my setback.  I am slowly regaining strength and endurance, and have been feeling incrementally better most days.  While I still require prescription narcotics for pain management, I have gone from taking one tablet every 4 hours to taking one every 6 hours.  The pain, even at the at that lower dosage, is now less than half what it was when I started pain medication about a month ago.  Sometimes now I even go for several hours at a time with no pain.  However, I tried to skip a dose the other day, but found I'm not quite ready for that yet.  Bleeding and general discomfort have both subsided considerably.  I consider all of this to be a real blessing and a mark of progress toward healing.  One thing for sure, I have developed a lot more sympathy for those who endure chronic pain as a constant companion.  Even when it is successfully managed, you become a slave to pain management and the narcotics reduce your function to some extent. For example, I just resumed driving, and only for short distances.

Now that I'm feeling better and have learned that it will take some time for a full recovery, it is good to sit back and reflect on the many blessings we have received during this time of trial in our lives.  First of all, as we have said many times before, we have been totally blown away by the outpouring of support we have received.  We started this blog with the intention of letting our close friends and family know what we were up to while away from Alaska for an extended time, and to provide periodic updates during treatment.  It has turned out to be so much more.  The responses to our posts, whether as comments on the blog, e-mail replies to the notifications, or phone calls, have given us a level of comfort and a sense of being part of a big, wonderful, caring, family that I could not have imagined.  Undoubtedly, all of your prayer support has made this journey so much more bearable. What an incredible blessing.  Thank you all so much for being there with us, and for us, through all of this.

We expected we would retain some level of contact with friends, but, besides the many messages, we have been absolutely delighted by the number of our friends who have come by to visit us since we have been here.  What a blessing to see a familiar face walk through your door when you are far away from home and not feeling 100%.  It is always so good to see familiar faces, share a hug, and exchange stories. The visits have been a real blessing to us and especially welcome when I needed a boost.  Hillsboro isn't exactly the center of the universe, so we know it takes some effort to get here. We have posted information on previous visits in earlier blogs.  We have had several more visitors since the first of April.

Joyce, Rowan and William

On April 1, our very long-time friends from Petersburg, William and Joyce Bergmann stopped by  to say hello and to meet Rowan.  I knew the Bergmann's even before we moved to Petersburg permanently.  In fact, William gave me my first job back in Alaska after I finished college, and Joyce is Erika's Godmother.  Unfortunately, they were on a tight schedule and couldn't stay for dinner.  Joyce had been going through the life experience of relocating her mother to a facility in a nearby community.  We were so happy that they were able to get away for a few hours.  It was great to see them and we really appreciate that they made the effort to drive over to see us. 

Dave, Barry, and Sally

On Thursday, April 5, more long-time Petersburg friends, Dave and Sally Riemer, came over from their daughter's house in Vancouver for a visit.  We chatted  and showed off our new house and then headed over for dinner at Erika and Brad's house.  Sally made a beautiful quilt for Rowan and presented it to them while we were here.   Kathy cooked one of our favorite nutritious chicken soup recipes, which was perfect for a body on the mend.
 

Barry and John Dewing

On Monday, April 9, a friend from way back (I don't want to say old friend), who I went to high school with in Valdez about a 100 years ago stopped by with his wife, Judy.  I've only seen John a couple of times since we graduated.  We have close bonds as two of only seven members of the last class ever to graduate from the old Valdez High School.  Our school was condemned the year after the Great Alaska Earthquake destroyed much of the old town and killed many of our friends.  The most recent visit I had with John was in Washington D.C. several years ago.  He and his wife Judy now live near Bellingham, so it was quite an effort for them to get here for a relatively short visit.  We had a lot to catch up on.

Barry, Bruce (with Rowan), Sue, and Kathy

On Tuesday, April 10, Bruce and Sue Rauch came over from Vancouver to visit and for dinner.  Bruce and Sue lived in Petersburg a number of years ago when Bruce worked for the phone company there.  We try to see them at least once a year when we are in the area.  We usually visit them at their house or another rendezvous because, in the past, we have not had a place to invite them to.


Based on my experience, I would encourage anyone who is in close proximity to a friend or family member who is receiving medical attention away from home to make the effort to pay them a visit.   The anticipation of the visit, the visit itself, and the fond memories of fun times together that the visit brings are all very uplifting to a person in ill health.  If the person does not want visitors, they will tell you. 

We hope that by having a place of our own down here for part of the year, friends and family will continue to drop by regularly.  When I'm feeling better, we can plan to get out and show off the area a lot more.

 Spring finally arrived in Oregon the first week of April.  Getting out into the warmer fresh air and enjoying the incredible flowers has been a blessing for us as well.  The adjacent photo was taken in one of the public areas within our well-landscaped subdivision.  What's not to like?  We get to enjoy the flowers and other decorative trees and shrubs, don't have to worry about deer, and don't have to do any of the work.

Easter dawned as a spectacular spring day.  We felt blessed to be able to share Rowan's first Easter with him and Erika.  Unfortunately, Brad was working and not able to join us until Monday.  Some of the pictures in this blog were also posted on FaceBook, but are worth showing again.  On Saturday, we helped Erika make a bunny carrot cake in order to continue a long-time family tradition.  Easter morning resting with my snuggle buddy prior to a ham (organic) and egg (also organic) brunch was a wonderful way to celebrate such a special day.

Just being close and watching Rowan grow has been a blessing.  If it weren't for the treatment, we would not have stayed in the area nearly as long and would likely have missed his first charming little smiles, happy cooing sounds in response to play, and how alert and responsive he has become.  It makes me feel better just to be around him. 

On Easter afternoon we went to Rood Bridge Park, which is close by.  It was such a pleasure to wander through the rhododendron garden in 70 degree weather!  I spent a good portion of the time sitting on a bench while Kathy, Erika, and Rowan strolled through the rest of the park.  That was just fine with me.  I was surprised to see so many small animals from my perch in the partially-shaded woods.  All of the animals I saw, birds, mammals, and reptiles, seem to be less frightened by human presence than the animals at home. 

Out of necessity, we have adapted well to life down here, but it just isn't home.  My last (scheduled) Dr. appointment is April 20.  We made reservation to fly back to Alaska as soon as possible afterwards.  Kathy is flying mileage and I needed a reduced fare ticket on the same flights.  The soonest we could travel together is Tuesday, April 24, on the morning flight, leaving Portland at the ungodly hour of 5:30 a.m.  We have a lot to do between now and then and a lot more to catch up on when we get home.  

We are getting close to the end of our journey and hope this isn't the last post.  I'm sure we will have more adventures to share.  Also, there are a lot of things about the disease and treatment options we have learned during this journey that I would like to post.  We will be very busy up until the time we leave Oregon, so it may be awhile before I can get back to it.  So, I will leave this post saying, again, how very much we appreciate all the support, prayers, feedback, visits, etc.  Even writing the posts has been very therapeutic as it has allowed me to put into words exactly what I am feeling.  Thank you all so much for being part of it!!

Shalom,

    Barry and Kathy

A trillium blooming on the shaded forest floor on Easter Sunday