Sorry it's been so long . . .

You may have been wondering what happened to me. If you were worried, I'm sorry. As they say, life happens!

As a brief recap . . .

The holidays were lovely with lots of time spent with family.

In January, we adopted a new member into our family. Her name is Daisy and she's a 3 year-old mixed breed. She looks mostly like a pit bull with a setter tail. LOL I was a little concerned about her pit bull heritage but she's extremely affectionate and loving . . . not at all aggressive unless you happen to be a chipmunk, squirrel, or a downspout where a chipmunk may be hiding! She and Casey get along well and he's happy to have a companion again. He was quite mopey after we lost Chessie.

February brought the unwanted news that the tumors had begun to grow again. Then, I had just begun on a new drug regimen in March when they discovered I had developed a brain tumor in the right frontal lobe. That required a series of 15 radiation treatments given daily except on weekends and the temporary cessation of chemo. I was really astounded at how debilitating radiation turned out to be. My oncologist told me it would make me exhausted and that's why I couldn't continue the IV chemo during the treatments but I had no idea just HOW bad it would be. I lost all strength in my legs and really had a hard time walking. Either the treatment or the weakness affected my equilibrium and eyesight. Of course, I lost all of my hair again - but this time only on my head. It was a scary and unpleasant ordeal to say the least. However, at least they were able to treat the tumor and that's a lot to be grateful for.

The downside of this is that my oncologist says my brain will never be the same again. At times I have a lot of trouble collecting my thoughts and there are many times when I can't think of the words I want to use. No one can say how much of this will be permanent. I have to admit I hate being a "dullard" but I suppose there are worse things. ; ) One of them is the fact that since one tumor has metastasized to the brain, I may get others. : ( But, like everything else concerning this disease, we'll just have to wait and see and always hope for the best.

In April, I started on an oral chemo where I just take a pill a day with no IV treatments. This is supposed to be easier on my body that the latter. However, it has a really negative effect on my digestive system and I find it very hard to eat. Unlike the infusion chemo, this is fed into your body every day and you never get a break from it . . . with the other, there are days when you don't have to worry about side effects. But . . . if it works, I guess I won't complain. I'll be having scans and an MRI at the end of June to find out if the radiation and this new medication have been effective. Please pray for a good outcome!

My family has been my salvation through all of this. I don't know what I would have done without them. They've waited on me, forced me to walk when I didn't want to, kept my spirits up and have just generally been my guardian angels. I thank them with all my heart.

Many of you havc also served as my personal angels with your cards, emails and calls. I can't thank you enough for your care and concern. It's all helped so much! I will never forget your kindness.

And finally . . .

I have scads more to tell you about but not enough energy to do it today. I have a new laptop which makes it easier for me to communicate with you so I hope to be around a lot more.

'til next time . . . You're all in my thoughts and prayers.