HAPPY BIRTHDAY GENE!!!

Men are like wine. Some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age. ~ Cyril Edwin

TO ONE OF THE BEST…

HAPPY BIRTHDAY !!!

WE LOVE YOU !!!

Coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous. ~Albert Einstein

Bullfinch building, birthplace of my mother

Original Bullfinch building dwarfed by modern MGH complex

Susan here again.  I’ve spent lots of time at MGH (Massachusetts General Hospital) the past month accompanying my dad on all his appointments.  I have gotten to know it well and one day came across this beautiful classic building located in the courtyard, dwarfed by the huge medical complex surrounding it.  I was told this building is the original “Bulfinch” building,  which opened its doors on September 3, 1821.  It happens to also be where my mother was born.   Work and proximity to  my husband’s mother brought us to Boston.  Now my dad is here for medical treatment that is offered by only a few hospitals in the US. Coincidence or destiny?

For you history buffs, here is an interesting link to MGH’s History Trail.

Gene is back in the house.

Susan here.  Just want to give a quick update…  Gene finally got to fly home yesterday after finishing up all his neoadjuvant* treatments and check-ups in Boston.  He is in good spirits but continues to “ride the waves” of feeling good followed by fatigue and abdominal pain.   This week his instructions are to rest, put some weight on, and get stronger for surgery next Friday.

*Neoadjuvant means before the main treatment, in this case surgery in just 10 days.

“You can’t smooth out the surf, but you can learn to ride the waves.” – Author unknown

I just finished up my last dose of Capecitabine (pronounced Cape Sit-a-bean, a place located half way between Cape Cod and Cape Anne), the low dose chemotherapy I’ve been taking for the past two weeks.  I’ve been riding high waves of feeling good followed by wipe out (sharp abdominal pain and extreme fatigue).  The docs say its all normal results from zapping me with the concentrated proton radiation last week.  I am lucky that so far I’ve had no nausea from the chemo, only a lack of appetite.  On the good side, yesterday and today I swam 1/2 mile on the smooth surface of the Manchester Athletic Club pool.  I used my tether to avoid the turns, creating my own “endless pool”.  I got lots of stares from the New England blue bloods.

Going to meet HAL

Proton Radiation Therapy Team

Proton Radiation Beam Alignment

I don’t know if I’m entering the Twilight Zone or just going on A Space Odyssey!  If you look closely, you’ll see red laser lines that are used to align my body for the proton radiation.  I didn’t feel anything, but after the ZAP, my cell phone on my belt was FRIED!  I can’t help but wonder what it is doing to my guts.  I completed my 5-day treatment last Friday, but my energy was also too zapped to post until today.