The month of May has been quite busy for us. We’ve had lots of visitors in town. First our nephew (with his sweet daughter) stayed with us for a few nights. They joined us at the YMCA for one of our swimming days. We also hosted a family dinner, thank goodness for take out BBQ. Then for Mother’s Day, we had even more family come into town. We all gathered together in Onion Creek and had a great visit with the many moms and great/grand moms. Since initial diagnosis in 1999, this is Susie’s 19th Mother’s Day. Pretty darn impressive for someone who had a 5% chance of surviving to 3 years.
A few days after Mother’s Day, Susie and I traveled to MD Anderson for her regularly scheduled follow-up. I’ve worked out our schedule so travel is in and out on the same day. We leave very early in the morning for her MRI in Houston. I setup the rear of our wagon as a bed, and Susie snoozes until we stop for breakfast (normally kolaches at Hruska’s). After the MRI, Susie’s doctor appointment is normally in the early afternoon. After which, we stop for a late lunch/ drive home to Austin.
Last week was no different than previous follow-ups in Houston. Susie’s neuro-oncologist has a new nurse practitioner, who Susie enjoyed talking with. She told us Susie’s scans look stable, did a physical w/ Susie, evaluated Susie’s right-side neuropathy and how Susie’s vision/ alignment has improved. We then met with Susie’s neuro-oncologist, who walked us through Susie’s MRI. For Susie, this means looking at areas affected by stroke, surgical site (scar tissue/ cancer growth), and radiation effect (brain cells/ blood vessels). Our motto has become “no changes” = “good news”. In addition, Susie now moves to follow-ups every 4 months.
We were hoping to join in the Callahan’s General Store 40th Anniversary festivities, but Susie did not feel well yesterday. She was quite disappointed, but enjoyed seeing photos/ videos on Facebook. Our next adventure is Gabriel’s graduation.