DVMsWife: 1/10/10

I'm so glad it is almost the weekend!
I'm thinking Hope is pretty excited too. It is looking to be a warmer and less wintery weekend around here which means plenty of romping around outside, good fun for all creatures great and small.

I'm so glad Friday is here and we made it through another week. This week flew by. And it seems days are flying by. The scheduled appointments Yooper has each and every week make us plan, schedule and make arrangements for and then pretty soon the day is upon us. We are busy with Mini Me's twice weekly figure skating she attends and then to add to our chaotic life, Yooper Jr.s' basketball started up. Which all means more time chauffeuring them about and plenty of time driving in my beautifully repaired truck.

Chemotherapy went very well for Yooper Wednesday. He had two different chemos run through him; his medical cocktails I like to call them. He also began his oral pill form of chemo Wednesday night as well which runs for five days. He was pretty tired yesterday, fatigued and feeling some nausea, but handling all of this so well. I truly do not know how he does it most days. Maybe it is the chocolate chip ice cream bars I bought him or the two Dunkin' Donuts coconut donuts I came home with today. If anything, the treats makes him smile. We do know we are finally finding a hold of his medications and his body is handling them much better.

We are almost to the six month mark since this whole new life of ours began. It is has been quite a talked about topic lately as we hit this milestone. It amazes me how we have done all this for these past six months. A blur yes, but most certainly some trying times with so many memories. Some I would like to block out!
We head back down to Duke University next week to have his latest MRI read and see where we are with his treatments and the next plan of attack on this brain cancer. I foresee a really good report on his MRI and good vibes all around. I suppose lately I am feeling very hopeful about our future. I have to be!
While most days I feel so tired, usually due to waking up at 3 a.m. during the night feeling so anxious about so many things, I keep plugging away. Yooper is feeling better as the days go on and regaining some more function in his arm and leg. These are such reliefs for both of us to believe we are perhaps finally coming over that plateau and settling in for some smoother roads ahead.

I'm guessing you are wondering if all I ever take pictures of are of Hope and Ruby and if we really do have kids. Let's just say these dogs of ours are much more willing and fun to photograph than the two legged children in this household. It is hard to resist not taking pictures of those dogs. They are so much fun to photograph!

Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!

Good thing about cold, wintery days is there is no problem finding someone to bed down with you and cuddle under a blanket. At least for Ruby, she is hard to resist a good nap with along side her furry, round, stuffed animal type body.

She is a great dog to spoon with. She's a great sleeper too. She loves nothing more than to be next to moi, her mommy, warm and cozy.

Pathetic, spoiled dog that she is.

But I love her so. So does my daughter.

The dog bed you see here? Well it seems it also doubles as a kid's bed as well. Have you noticed how dog beds are suddenly looking like your home's furniture? As if to blend in with your home's decor, not to stand out as "the dog's bed"? This new bed Santa brought Hope and Ruby fits in with our home's decor yes, but funny how it appears to look like a couch. I also find it entertaining how Hope assumes the human couch is hers and Ruby is content to plop down on this cush piece of material. She's such a good dog.

Hope, not so much. Nearing that six month puppy madness stage. We still call her "Spaz" most days. Okay, I love her too. When she isn't grabbing freshly baked loafs of bread off of the kitchen counter. Because I love freshly baked loafs of bread. Apparently she does as well.

These long, dark, gloomy days of winter are here to stay for awhile this I know. No better time to get in a few naps. The dogs do anyway. Yooper does quite a bit throughout the day. But he has plenty of reasons to rest up. His two rounds of chemotherapy and a blend of flu thrown in really kicked his butt. And mine as well. Being the caregiver is not all it is cracked up to be. It is a full time job. Right along with being a mom to my kids, keeping our home in order, making sure cows and horses are satisfied food wise, managing a veterinary business.

But things are settling in now and this January day. We are finding a routine. Yooper is finding some comfort and feeling better, stronger. Right now it is all about the chemo and not the cancer. The chemo make him sick.......not the cancer. Funny how that works. But then again, if he didn't have brain cancer, there would be no chemo to give him yucky days. My head spins.

So now we try not to feel any cabin fever and try to maintain a peaceful, calm attitude and realize the worst parts are over, at least for now. Because two weeks ago, things were pretty rough around here. Focal seizures, flu for me, flu and chemo side affects for Yooper, holiday craziness and making sure Santa made an appearance Christmas Eve. I was pretty frazzled. Thankfully and I say this with absolute honesty, we have such an awesome network of friends and family who show up daily to help out. They call to chit-chat. They bring food and too many sweets! Our kids warm up to them and hang out and play cards or play games on their cell phones. Life is calm, for now. Sure some flare ups appear between Yooper and me when we don't communicate well which usually means I am so tired and need a break from him and all things around me. I suppose that sounds selfish, but it happens when all of your energies are going into taking care of everyone and everything around you. Sometimes you need some peace and quiet to yourself. Sometimes I just need time with me.

For now we rest up. Life is good, right now.