The Scope

Today Troy had his second Endoscopic Ultrasound (EUS). The first one was done back in January in conjunction with a needle biopsy. That one resulted in his diagnosis, which, by the way, is Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Esophagus. We heard just the words that we wanted to hear today: "significant esophageal tumor and subcarinal lymph node shrinkage". Music to our ears. We thought that the tumor must have shrunk because Troy has been able to swallow so well, but it sure is nice to hear it from a doctor that has actually seen the before and after.

I guess the screaming writhing dot of a tumor isn't feeling so good right now! I'm loving the visualization therapy. This tumor has no idea who it's dealing with. It sure is nice to hear some good news and to know that the therapy has been working.

Tomorrow is more lab work, PET Scan, CT Scan and oncologist appointment. Wednesday afternoon is an appointment with the surgeon. I have an uneasy feeling that we are on the fast track to surgery! I'm pretty scared about that, but for today I just want to enjoy the good news.

Happy Moments - Praise God
Difficult Moments - Seek God
Quite Moments - Worship God
Painful Moments - Trust God

The Weekend!

We finally made it to the weekend! We had been looking forward to getting out on the water and sailing. Our friends Mary and Larry came down to go sailing with us on Saturday. They brought sandwiches from our favorite sub shop (Neptunes Subs). We headed out on the bay at around 10:00. There wasn't much wind, but it sure felt good to get out there and sail. We have been missing that and we both really needed to feel the relaxation of being out on the water under sail. After our sail we took a dinghy ride and enjoyed the afternoon on the water and in the marina.

On Saturday evening we had dinner with more friends, Jean, Greg and Karen. We ate at a Mexican Restaurant (Melys Tex Mex). It was an enjoyable day and Troy felt good all day long.

On Sunday afternoon one of our favorite artists (Hamilton Loomis) was playing for a party on the patio at a bar that's within walking distance from our marina. Check him out at http://www.hamiltonloomis.com/ . We decided not to pass up the opportunity to see him play and we had a great afternoon with several of our sailing buddies - Ken, Craig, Richard, Brian and Brian.
It was a wonderful relaxing weekend that we really enjoyed. We were anxious about the tests and doctor appointments that Troy has scheduled for early next week so it was really nice to get away from the worry for a couple of days.

Next week starting on Monday - here is our medical schedule:

Monday - Endoscopic Ultrasound Scope
Tuesday - Lab work, PET Scan, CT Scan, Appointment with Oncologist
Wednesday - Appointment with Surgeon

This has really starting happening so fast that our head is spinning. We still don't have a date for the surgery, but we are beginning to think that it will be sooner than we thought. Troy has been feeling better every day. He's been having some problems with swelling and pain in the are where the chemo was injected. His ankle on the same side of his body has also had some swelling. Dr. Jac prescribed antibiotics, but his arm is still pretty painful.

A person who won't read has no advantage over one who can't read. - Mark Twain

Doctor Visit

We had an appointment with Dr. Jac (oncologist) today. It was basically a check up to see how Troy handled the chemo and to talk about the next round of scans. The scans (PET Scan and CT Scan) should be scheduled for next week. After that we will know more about when the surgery will be scheduled.

We will also find out that the tumor has shrunk so much that it is no longer visible, even using the latest and greatest technology known to mankind. No harm in dreaming, but seriously, Dr. Jac is pleased that Troy is able to eat and swallow so well. That could only mean that the nasty tumor has gotten lots smaller and is writhing in it's death throes. I'm picturing a screaming dot of a tumor that is withering away just waiting for the surgeon to cut it out and throw it away (or maybe perform some kind of torturous tests on it!). How's that for visualisation therapy?

We are planning to head down to Different Drummer this weekend and, if we are lucky, do a little sailing. It's been too long since we've been out on the water with the wind in our sails.

Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it with the handle of anxiety or the handle of faith. - Henry Ward Beecher

Quick Update

Nothing new to report. Troy is feeling a little better each day. We are looking forward to doing a little sailing this weekend. We are thinking about sailing over to Double Bayou for a long weekend. It's still all up in the air right now, but we really want to try to take some time to do some sailing and just enjoying life in general before Troy has his surgery.

Troy has an appointment with his oncologist on Thursday. We expect him to schedule the next round of tests (PET Scan and CT Scan) to let us know how much the tumor has shrunk. After that the surgeon and oncologist will confer and decide when to schedule the surgery. We are anxious to put this behind us, but we are dreading it at the same time. I think this is a good bible verse to remember today:

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? Luke 12:25 NLT

Company Picinc

On Saturday we went to my company picnic. It was at a beautiful private resort called Terra Verde. Lots of great trees, a pond, golf course - it is a really beautiful place and we couldn't have asked for better weather. Lots of co-workers were there. There was plenty to do, good BBQ and lots of events for everyone. They had sumo wrestling which was pretty amusing. The contestants each put on a giant sumo suit and helmet. A lot of the fun was watching people get into the suits and getting up after they fell down in them. It was fun visiting with everyone, especially the co-workers from other offices that I don't see often. We really enjoyed the afternoon.


There were lots of prizes given away by drawing. The Super Grand Prize was a 42' plasma TV! I won an HP printer/scanner/copier which was really nice since I have been talking about buying one anyway! The prize drawings were lots of fun and the great part was that everyone (all employees) ended up winning something.

Troy felt good almost all day. He made it through the whole picnic feeling fine. He didn't start to feel bad until we got home later that afternoon. It's been a really busy weekend, so I hope he didn't overdo it.

He's been feeling good today (Sunday). We went to church is morning and even did a little yard work this afternoon. So far, so good.

When you do not know what to do or which way to turn, smile. This will relax your mind and let the sunshine of happiness into your soul. -Napoleon Hill

Double Bayou

The first time we went to Double Bayou we sailed our boat over - I think it was October of 2005. It was the boat that we had before Different Drummer, a 27' sailboat named Storyville. We knew we wanted to sail to Double Bayou because we had heard that it was a great destination, so we set out with a hand held GPS and our Campbells Cruising Guide. We were so excited to be out on the water. We were pulling both of our kayaks behind us and were ready for adventure.

We had never even crossed the Houston Ship Channel before, so we were a little anxious too. We had a wonderful crossing, boy were those big tankers scary looking!

Dolphins followed us for part of the trip (how cool is that?).

We were on top of the world. We had never sailed so far away from our slip and we were thrilled that we actually found what we were looking for.

Thanks to the Campbells Cruising Guide we made it safely into the bayou. We were amazed at the peace and quiet. We made our way up the east fork of the bayou and tied our boat up to a tree!

The serenity and peace and quiet were indescribable. I can't remember the last time that I could relax and listen to the sounds of nature without hearing one man made noise. We watched a beautiful sunset and then the most amazing moon rise that I have ever seen. It was a big, giant full moon rising over the bayou - incredible.

It was Troy's birthday and I gave him an MP3 player with some of his favorite music already loaded. Troy still says: "It was my best day ever, and I've had a lot of good days". We sat in the cockpit enjoying the moon rise until the mosquitoes drove us inside.

The next day we took our boat as far up the bayou as we could go. We were amazed at how far that turned out to be. We saw an alligator and lots of birds. We saw a kingfisher. I thought that was cool, I surprised myself by knowing what it was!

On our way home we were worried that we might need additional fuel so we decided to stop at a small bait/shrimp place that we had seen on our way in. We figured that they might be able to drive us to a gas station for some fuel. We were right. It is called Pirates Landing and we later discovered that is it owned by Ernestine's sister Diane. The young man that was working that day drove Troy to the local store for fuel and then told us that we should tie up at Channel Marker 17 if we were hungry - they have great burgers.

We decided to give it a try - who can resist a great burger? We secured the boat and walked into the bar/restaurant. I forgot to mention that this was a Tuesday - mid morning and it turned out that we were walking into a local bar where the regulars were having lunch and/or a few beers. It was kinda dark in there and everyone turned to look at us as we walked in. I thought to myself - self - this is really scary, but I had Troy by my side so we endured the stares and took a seat at the bar. I was feeling really awkward right up until we placed our order - two Miller Lights and two burger baskets. That's all it took. Everyone turned out to be really friendly and, of course, the burgers are legendary (not to mention all the great seafood). Channel Marker 17 is a really cool place and everyone is friendly. If you ever make it over to Oak Island, you gotta visit!

We were sitting there enjoying our pre-lunch beers when a woman came running downstairs (turns out Jimbo - and now Ernestine - live upstairs) yelling "Jimbo asked me to marry him!!!!" She was so excited. That's how we met Ernestine. Over the next two years we have been sailing over there whenever we get a chance. We have made many many great friends and have many stories to tell. Who knows, maybe some of them will make the blog!

Here's Jimbo - - -

And Ernestine - - -

And Channel Marker 17 - - -

Here's a test to find out if your mission on earth is finished: If you're alive, it isn't. - Richard Bach

Jamie's Birthday Party

Happy Birthday Jamie!

On Friday Troy picked me up form work and we drove down to Different Drummer for the night. We had plans to drive over to Oak Island or Double Bayou (close to Anahuac) to our friend Jamie's birthday party. We had been looking forward to this party since Troy had been in the hospital. He felt really good that afternoon and we were both excited about see all of our friends in Oak Island. We had a great drive over and I think Troy was really looking forward to one of Ernestine' famous cheeseburgers. We got there and greeted everyone. They all said Troy was looking great. Ernestine was working her butt off in the kitchen (we aren't the only ones that love her burgers!). There was a big crowd and everyone was having a good time. Troy got that cheeseburger and tater tots that he wanted and we went out back on the patio to share it. As soon as he started eating he felt sick. He had to go out to the car for a few minutes, but he did manage to come back and finish his share of the burger. After that, he never really felt good the rest of the night. He spent about 30 minutes resting in the car, then he came back in to the party, but we left pretty soon after that. (Don't worry Ernestine - we'll be back for more burgers)

It's really strange how the chemo and radiation recovery have been affecting Troy. He will be feeling great one minute then nauseous and tired the next minute. I think he is feeling better everyday though, so hopefully he will be feeling lots better by next week. I think he would like to make it down to the boat to do a little work. That would probably work wonders for his morale!

People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember the way you made them feel. - Anonymous