Medical Updates on Both of Us

Al got a good report from his eye doctor today. Far vision in his operated eye was 20/20. The eye is healing on schedule and he has surgery scheduled for the right eye next week on October 30. He can’t wait; he keeps trying to move time up a day. For example, on Tuesday, he thought it was Wednesday and wanted to go to the healing service at church to share his good news!

And I have a medical update too. In June I reported that my blood level tumor markers were down to 2.9, within normal limits! Yea, God!  Three weeks later they were 3.2. The doctor said then if the level continues to rise, we may have to change my treatment. They have been sneaking up little by little.  On October 10, three weeks ago, I saw the doctor and was informed that they had gone up again to 4.2. The doctor, however, was not concerned about such a small increase because the alkaline phosphatase had come down from 164 to 155! That is the lowest it’s ever been! 130 is normal, and it’s almost down to that! The doctor is pleased with my progress and will continue the same chemotherapy drug. I’m glad he did not change the medication, because I have gotten used to this drug, Alimta. I know what to expect and how to treat the symptoms and even avoid some of them. I actually have control over this drug. When I told it, “I’m not going to get sick from you anymore” I stopped getting sick. And when I told it, “No more sore throats”, it stopped giving me sore throats! It took me a long time to train this drug and let it know who’s the boss, and I would hate to have to take the time to train a different drug!!

Two pictures show the Bridge of Promises in my garden, with lavender heather and yellow marigolds. There is a close-up of the heather. Al gave me the flowers for my birthday in June and Dorothy helped me plant them. The other picture shows a tall burgundy red plant surrounded by lush green ferns. The tall red plant represents me and Al. All the ferns around it can represent many things. Sometimes I think of them as our guardian angels. At other times they are our supportive friends and relatives. Frequently they remind me of the blessings God has bestowed upon us. As the ferns multiplied through the summer and fall, so did God’s blessings in our lives.