Happy Birthday Daddy

Hard to believe, but today would have been my dad’s 95th birthday. And he’s been gone now for 11-1/2 years. I miss him so much.

January 27th. A very special day. He was born with a mid-wife at a home in north-central Montana. It’s very cold in Montana in January. When he was born, the doctor came out and there were some kind of issues with him, so they put him outside on the porch (in the cold) overnight. Then later, a friend named Hattie came over and asked to see the baby. When told he was out on the porch, she asked to see him. She grabbed his blanket and began rubbing his little body and getting the circulation going. Then she put him in bed with his mom (my grandma). When the doctor came by the next day to check on grandma, he about fainted when she flipped back the covers to display this beautiful baby with the bright blue eyes. Another interesting story was his name - - Gilman. My grandma always wanted to name one of her boys Gilman, but my grandpa hated the name. But, since he thought the baby was going to die anyway, he gave his okay to the name. Dad was always full of surprises.

Had my doctor’s appointment today, followed by chemo. Only five (5) doses of chemo remain and then we are DONE. I can’t believe it. Then I will be visiting the local radiation folks to discuss 4, 6 or 8 weeks of radiation. They should call me to set up an initial appointment soon. Not sure when radiation starts, but they usually like to wait 2-3 weeks after chemo ends before they start radiation.

After I got home, the doctor’s office called and said my potassium was low and Dr. Haque wanted me to take a potassium supplement for the next four days. So I had to get back in the car and go to the drug store to buy potassium. And the smallest bottle was for 100 – so I now have enough potassium to last a few years.

The results of the CT scan indicate basically what the doctor in Seattle said. A lot of the anatomy they cannot see because of the scarring (or whatever it is) covering the area. Basically it means that they now have a good “starting” point, so when they do another one (at 6 months….or maybe 8 months) they will have something current with which to compare.

The rains have now stopped…..at least until Friday. Should give us a chance to dry out a little bit. So far the only horse I have brushed is the stallion, which really doesn’t make any sense, since I cannot ride him. But he’s also the only one inside, and he really loves it when I brush his mane while he eats. Perhaps I’ll get to the riding horses later this week.

Tomorrow I’m going to make some beef stew. I’ve got all of the ingredients, so I’ll try to get an early start. I may be getting company tomorrow, so if she does come – I will have something warm and nourishing to feed her.

The back still bothers me, but if I can stay ahead of the pain, I seem to do fine. I am sooooo looking forward to Monday and my first PT appointment. Hopefully I’m not setting my hopes too high. These guys have done miracles for me before, with both bursitis in my hip and my bunion pain when I had surgery. So I’ll just keep my attitude positive.

On another note, the price dropped on airfare from Athens to Naples, so I finally bought the tickets this morning. Another piece of the puzzle filled in.

Life is good. And remembering those that have left before us is a great way to stay connected. I love all of you guys. Thanks for being there for me. You’re the best!!