Cross Country

The week between my birthday on the 10th of April and leaving for another week working in Great Falls went quickly. We had some nice weather allowing some longer bike rides, yard work, and flying. I was able, this time, to fly the Comanche to Great Falls on the 19th, but, typical of Northwest Spring weather, a widespread system of cold moist weather then moved in for several days. I was very lucky to have a "window" to get back to Sandpoint on the 24th.
The next week was primarily spent preparing for our cross country trip to the Southeast.
Again it was only a short break in the weather that allowed us to make the first leg, from Sandpoint to Tucson, on Monday the 4th. Flying over the Idaho mountains we noted that they have lost little of their snowpack as yet. Our route also took us right over a segment of the Grand Canyon that we floated exactly two years ago.

Tucson definitely fulfilled our desire to "get warm and dry"! We stayed two days with our friends Tinsley and Dennis. We did some desert hiking and had memorable dinners outdoors on their ramada amidst desert vegetation and songbirds, while our eyes were treated to spectacular Southwest sunsets.

Two days ago we headed East. Our first day we witnessed the dramatic transition from stark vast mountain deserts to the lush green of Lafayette Louisiana. Yesterday we flew from there to Nashville Tennessee where we are attending our friends' daughters wedding. The festivities tonight include "honky tonking" on Broadway. That should be fun.
Tomorrow we're hoping to make the short hop down to Birmingham to share Mothers' Day with our friends the Harrington's. Then it's on to Atlanta for a brief business engagement (one of the Locums companies I work for), and visits with MC's brother Jeffrey and our friends the Chafin's. Hopefully by late week the weather will allow us to begin the long slog back to Sandpoint. Realistically, there will probably be some payback for those tailwinds we've enjoyed on the way out!

I'm currently reaching the end of my second 28 day course of this oral Chemo, Revlimid. My side effects (fatigue, leg numbness, constipation) are worse, but not intolerable. I learned after the first course that the full side effects, as well as clinical benefit, are not seen until at least 60-90 days. They may be lowering my dosage on the next round. On the positive side, at just 30 days my serum IgA (the protein produced by the Myeloma) had already leveled out. Hopefully we'll see a decline by my next test in about a week. I'd hoped to see the lump in my right thigh getting smaller, but in all honesty it's about the same. Certainly though no bigger.

Dealing with the cancer in a way is like this cross country trip. It's a big challenge. I approach each segment by gathering as much information as I can. Then I make my plan, and back-up plan, and proceed. I have to trust that things will somehow work out, but not always as expected, so I must be prepared to change course if necessary. All the while remembering to enjoy the ride!

Phil