:Weekend update
Posted: March 17, 2008 Filed under: DRambles on Black Mountain 2 CommentsA quick weekend update before digging out so Carol can take Suzanne to work. Her Jeep is in the garage. Again. Sleek Sue and I will follow a bit later. Zena and Wyatt are scheduled to have some baby teeth removed. Wouldn’t ya know, it started snowing last night. It’s too dark to tell if it’s still snowing this morning.
And on Sunday morning she was ready to eat! The physical therapist had been by before we arrived and had Chris standing up on a stool by the bed. Everything seems to be working correctly, confirmed by a few tests Dr. Duke did while we were there. Chris is in good spirits, has all her wits about her and will be moved out of ICU this morning.
Besides the smile, note the carpenter’s level hanging off that rack. Her surgery was done using some kind of Stealth Guided Computer Assisted Navigation system…the latest technology. But the machine tracking her blood pressure isn’t working correctly. Not sure how the level is suppose to fix that, but I couldn’t resist getting a photo!
The other day Kathy asked me why is Chris my hero. She’s my hero because she has accepted her situation, from the beginning, with grace and dignity. She doesn’t whine about it; she simply looks at what must be done to buy more time, as long as it’s quality time. “I’m buying myself some more time.” Her positive outlook has surely helped her defy the odds. The survival rate for IBC (Inflammatory Breast Cancer) is 30% is the first year. Chris has passed the five year mark. Yesterday, the occupational therapist asked her about her long-term goal. To play a round of golf, was the reply. You can bet she’ll be doing that later this spring. Or this summer.
Kathy also wondered what has touched me the most. My family, I suppose. Saturday afternoon, Rick and Nate picked me up from Clothes Day – would that be Clothes Quarter Day? – and I joined the rest of the family at the hospital. After surgery, Dr. Duke entered the waiting room, took a look and commented on how many of us there were (seven). “That’s the way we roll!” my niece Emilie replied.
Kunza at FleetFire Timbers 
The level is like a talisman of protection for Chris from carpenter Rick!
Your Chris is a hero to us all, Debby. Please tell her that. My mother, who battled her way through cancer many years ago, also did so with a grace and dignity that inspires me to this day. She taught me how to live one day at a time, to enjoy each moment, and to cherish life and love.
Spring comes this week, and with it, officially, The Season of Renewed Hope!