It's the weekend!!

Friday finally came and Deana and I are at our boat, It's stuck at the dock right now, I replaced a lift pump and tried to get the fuel system bled of air but then my battery bank died so now I have to replace them!! There's always something to fix. We watched fireworks last night and hung out at the dock with friends until bedtime. It looks like a rainy weekend, but we will be here all week so maybe we can get the boat engine running, get the batteries relaced and have time for a little fun too! Tuesday is our 10th anniversary!

Back Home

We made it back from Fort Worth after a great visit with Troy's family - his mom, sister and brother in law. They had not seen him since his cancer treatments and surgery. They had seen pictures and followed the blog, but I don't think that really prepared them for how much weight he has lost and how different he looks. We don't get to seen them as often as we would like to and we really enjoyed visiting with them and spending time catching up.

Troy did really well this weekend. He even drove all the way to Fort Worth and back. I have a feeling that's because he couldn't stand the thought of riding in the truck with me in the driver's seat for 4 hours at a time!

Troy and I just shared some Chinese take out for dinner. He ate his portion without any trouble. He opened the fortune cookie and his fortune said (are you ready for this?) - "Good health will be yours for a long time."

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3:11

Fort Worth or Bust

We're headed to Cow Town this weekend to visit Troy's family, his mom, sister (Tammy), brother-in-law (Dan) and hopefully we will get to see Samantha too. Tori will be going with us and we are looking forward to visiting with everyone. We haven't been able to visit since Troy got sick so we are definitely past due and I think his mommy is missing her little boy!

Troy is still getting just a little better every day. He seems to do pretty well in the mornings, but he doesn't feel too well in the afternoon and evening. I wonder if it's me? I'm gone to work in the mornings and get home just in time for him to start feeling bad! Hopefully he hasn't developed an allergy to me!

I think the hardest part right now is figuring out how/what to eat. Some things he can eat fine one time and it will make him sick the next time he eats the same thing. I sure hope that will get better with time. I think his body needs to get used to the new size and shape of his stomach, not the mention the position it's in now.

To the outside world we all grow old. But not to brothers and sisters. We know each other as we always were. We know each other's hearts. We share private family jokes. We remember family feuds and secrets, family griefs and joys. We live outside the touch of time. ~Clara Ortega

Medical Update

We spent all day - 9:00 am until 4:30 pm - at the medical center. Blood work and doctor appointments and waiting and more waiting. Troys blood work was all pretty good considering the radiation, chemo and surgery that he has been through.

We thought that we would find out whether the oncologist wanted Troy to have another round of chemo. While we were dreading what we would hear at least we would know what is in store in the next month or so. Unfortunately, he still hasn't decided whether he wants another round. Dr. Jac will take Troy's case back to the tumor board in the next week or so and they will decide there whether another round of chemo would be beneficial. The other not so great news from the oncologist was to continue with the daily blood thinner shots for at least another month. Those are no fun! The doctor will schedule a CT Scan next month and scans every 3 months for the next year.

The appointment with the surgeon went a little better. He removed the feeding tube! This is the first time since March that Troy hasn't had some sort of tube attached to him. What a relief that is - to be completely tube free!

A Short History of Medicine
2000 B.C. - "Here, eat this root."
1000 B.C. - "That root is heathen, say this prayer."
1850 A.D. - "That prayer is superstition, drink this potion."
1940 A.D. - "That potion is snake oil, swallow this pill."
1985 A.D. - "That pill is ineffective, take this antibiotic."
2000 A.D. - "That antibiotic is artificial. Here, eat this root."
~Author Unknown

The appearance of a disease is swift as an arrow; its disappearance slow, like a thread. ~Chinese Proverb

Weekend Report

We had a great weekend. Troy is definitely feeling better everyday. He had a good day on Saturday (with the exception of our boat motor breaking down). We had our friends Robert and Carolyn spend the weekend with us on the boat and we all went to the Latitudes and Attitudes First Annual Gulf Coast Cruisers Party. What a long name for a party! Troy had a great time listening to the live music (Eric Stone Band) and we stayed at the party until 11:00 pm! Everyone had a good time.

I was happy that Troy stayed out of bed for most of the day on Saturday. I think that's the day I was looking for. The first one where he is out of bed more than he is in bed. That shows definite improvement. He is still having trouble sometimes when he eats - he feels sick afterwards. But it's good to see him feeling better.

We are spending all day Monday at the Medical Center with several doctor appointments. I will be sure to post again later tonight with the latest news.

Don't dream your life, live your dream. ~Bob Bitchin

The Wedding

May I present: Josh and Shawn Tennyson:

Everything went as planned. Even the weather cooperated and the rain held off until the afternoon. Congratulations to the Bride and Groom!

The highest happiness on earth is marriage. ~William Lyon Phelps

It's Still Not Friday

But it's getting closer! It's been a crazy-busy week at work, but I'm off work tomorrow and we are heading down to the boat. I think it's supposed to rain most of the weekend, but we're hoping most of it passes us by. I'm glad to have a day off and we are looking forward to the weekend and relaxing tomorrow. We have a busy weekend planned, so hopefully tomorrow will be relaxing.

Troy is doing better every day. I'm starting to be able to see the difference day by day. He even worked in his shop for a little bit this evening. It's good to see him with sawdust on his shirt again!

For Shawn & Josh:
Love one another and you will be happy. It's as simple and as difficult as that. ~Michael Leunig

Is It Friday Yet?

Well a little good news for a change, Troy went two days without pain medication! Still, every time I think he is doing better he will start to feel bad again. His scars are healing nicely, but he still has quite a bit of pain. Most of his problems now seem to be fatigue and nausea. It's good to see a little bit of improvement. We'll take what we can get.

He has appointments with the oncologist and surgeon on Monday. We are hoping that the surgeon will remove the feeding tube. It would be wonderful to get rid of that one last tube! We think we will also find out if the oncologist wants to have Troy undergo one more round of chemo. It depends on what all the doctors on the Tumor Board decide. We really dread the thought of more chemo, but whatever it takes to make sure the cancer doesn't come back.

We have big plans this weekend. My oldest daughter, Shawn is getting married, just a simple ceremony at a park. We will be gaining a son in law, Josh. We are happy for both of them. We are also planning a big weekend at the boat. Saturday night is a Gulf Coast Cruiser's Party for Latitudes and Attitudes (a sailing/cruising magazine that we love to read) and we are moving our boat over to the marina where the party is taking place. We have our friends Robert and Carolyn coming to spend the weekend with us. I sure hope Troy will feel well enough to enjoy some of the activities. At least if he feels bad he will be able to rest on the boat.

I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind.
Some come from ahead and some come from behind.
But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see.
Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!
~Dr. Seuss

The Weekend!

It's been an uneventful weekend. We stayed on the boat all weekend and Troy rested and worked on feeling better. I managed to install our brand new macerator pump. (We are back to flushing - that's a relief!) Troy spent most of the days resting. He seems to be making some progress. His voice is getting better everyday, but he still has coughing spells every now and then and it's not only painful, it affects his voice too. He's also having a little bit of difficulty eating. Sometimes he feels really sick after eating and unfortunately the feeling lasts for quite a while. We knew to expect this, but knowing about something doesn't necessarily make it easier to deal with.

I've been a little discouraged lately because it's hard to see if he's making any real progress. Fortunately all our friends here say that he is looking so much better than he was last weekend. I guess it's difficult to see the day by day progress, but it's good to have a different perspective from people who haven't seen him in a week.

We had a great dock party on Saturday night, lots of good friends and good fun, unfortunately Troy missed most of if. He just didn't feel well enough to participate. I can't wait to get my Troy back. I miss him alot!

I had to make a change to the "About Us" section of the blog. I was reading it this afternoon and I realized that I needed to change the part about Troy battling esophageal cancer. The truth now is that he is an esophageal cancer survivor! Of course, he's been a survivor of esophageal cancer since the very day that tumor started to grow. The good news now is the cancer is gone from his body. I praise the Lord for those answered prayers.

There are chapters in every life which are seldom read and certainly not aloud. ~Carol Shields

Thursday!

We almost made it through the week! Troy's progress is still really slow. He has good days and not so good days. Today was a not so good day. He's not feeling good this evening, kinda nauseous. It's been a long week for both of us. We are looking forward to getting down to the boat tomorrow evening and relax for the weekend.

My macerator pump came in today. I'll be sure to report back on my success with the installation. It can only be success, no room for failure. I need to flush!!!!

A little good news - Troy's voice is getting a little better. Just a little, but it's good to see any kind of improvement. He still coughs if the talks too much and he sounds really hoarse and raspy but it's good to see any kind of improvement.

Any emotion, if it is sincere, is involuntary. ~Mark Twain

Monday - Blah

Mondays - don't ya love 'em? Glad to have this one over. It was a busy day at work and Troy still isn't feeling very well. I think he made it through the whole day without pain medication so that is something good to report. Even though the pain is under some control he just feels kinda blah. I just asked him how he felt and the said "right this second, poorly but overall better today".

He just looks so sad. I can't wait for him to feel good again. I want my Troy back.

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. ~Mother Teresa

The Weekend's Over :(

We spent the weekend at our boat. I think it was good for Troy to get out of the house and to spend some time at the boat. He mostly napped and read books, but I do believe that being on the water and on the boat did him some good. It was good to visit with our friends - we miss y'all!

We are both discouraged by the amount of time the healing process is taking. We are impatient for him not to feel pain with every movement. His voice is still really raspy and it's difficult for him to talk too much. Sometimes when he talks it brings on a coughing spell and that spells agony for him.

I have to brag on myself a little. Last time we were on the boat we were just getting ready to leave and the macerator pump quit working. For all the landlubbers reading this post, that means no more flushing. Of course it's really important that everything you put in the head (toilet) goes away quickly - for obvious reasons. Well - Troy is definitely the "fix it" guy in our family. He can fix anything so I rarely need to worry myself with this kind of problem. Anyway, at the moment he can't even bend over, much less squat down into the small space behind the head and remove the broken pump. I managed to get the old pump off without too much trouble. I used tools and everything! It was a messy job, but somebody had to do it. Only problem was that we couldn't find a replacement pump at the boat supply store. I am ordering one online and looking forward to completing the project. If, that is, you can really look forward to working on a toilet!

By the way - when I checked the blog this afternoon we had 1,111 hits! That's cool! Thanks everyone - for your thoughts and prayers.

We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. 1 Thessalonians 1:2