My Two Daughters (and a quick update)

I am a very lucky dad. I have two grown daughters who are terrific. Cindy, my youngest, worries about me perhaps too much, but it is only because she does love me. I know my oldest daughter, Cheri, worries too, but she is much less vocal about her concerns, though not silent by any means. That has always been a difference in their personalities. Last year Cindy took us on a trip to the Grand Canyon, via Las Vegas. I wrote about this earlier in the blog, but it was a fantastic trip. Something I had wanted to do and see for a long time. I don't gamble, but even walking all around Vegas was very interesting, seeing the theme of the various hotels. However, the highlight was obviously the canyon itself. No pictures can compare to seeing it in real life.









This is me with my grandson, Jonathan and my daughter, Cindy.

Another thing I have always wanted to do was go on a cruise. My wife, Cheryl, has never been that keen on the idea. She is afraid of the things that may be lurking under the water. Not sharks, but anything that might resemble a snake. It is a phobia she has. However, since my diagnosis, she has been more open to the idea. (See what love does?)

Well, beginning Labor Day, we are going on a cruise! A gift from Cheri and her husband, Marc. Cheri, Marc, and grandkids Jimmy and Holly are all going with us. Our ship will leave out of Galveston a week from this Monday, and return on Saturday. Cheri was even able to get upgraded rooms so we all have balconies. Cheri and Marc were going to do this for us at Christmas, but the scheduled chemo messed up their plans. Cheri figured now was a good time to do it. I am really looking forward to this. Now, even Cheryl is looking forward to it too. She has bought some new clothes and even a swimsuit! It should be quite relaxing and very enjoyable. There are even activities all day long to keep the kids entertained. Of course I will post details when we return.

UPDATE:
The suspense was killing me waiting for Monday's appointment, so I called over to see if the bone marrow biopsy results were in so I could be better prepared for Monday's visit with the doctor. They were not back, but the CT Scan results were in. The nurse faxed them to me and I was quite disappointed. Although overall some better since three months ago, the size of most lymph nodes had not changed, or only decreased a little. I still have them in my lungs, stomach and groin. A few had disappeared, so that is good. I was really hoping that after the additional two rounds of chemo that were added on, I would see better results. As you know, the ones in and around my neck that were bothering me, went away after only two rounds of chemo. So why didn't eight rounds get rid of the rest? I am just a little nervous that this does not bode well for the bone marrow biopsy results.

There is no sense worrying about it though, because WE ARE GOING ON A CRUISE! (As long as the hurricanes stay out of the Gulf of Mexico!)

Keep up those prayers folks, I do appreciate them very, very much.