Although they miss the beach and palms trees, Mom and Dad were happy to return to their house on Golden Pond.
Mom tolerates her Folfox chemo treatments pretty well, experiencing intermittent fatigue and at times extreme sensitivity towards cold drinks, objects, etc. Her white blood cell counts have been good. Her blood tumor marker has gone up a little, but her doctor is pleased, believing the new chemo is keeping the cancer in check at the moment. As the doctor in Florida told her, "it's a shitty diagnosis." And it is. While thoughts of "why" and "what's next" are there, lurking in the background, Mom does seek out joy each day and lives in the moment. Many people are touched by Mom's positive attitude and are amazyed how she looks so good.
In the few days I spent with Mom and Dad in Florida helping them pack up, there were many, many good times. We visited very dear friends whom we knew from our years living on Long Island. We went to a bible study class at a church; during it everyone there laid hands upon her asking God for healing and miracles. We hit the local thrift stores one more time. We walked the beach at sunrise and walked out to the river one night to see sunset.
On our last morning in Florida, I got up at 5:30 in the morning to see if I could spot a sea turtle nesting on the beach. The previous morning the researchers had marked many nesting sites, but the turtles had already made their way back to the sea before daybreak. In the almost darkness, I found a set of turtle tracks that led up to the dunes. When I saw the turtle there, I called Mom to come over to the beach. By then the researcher was there, and she invited us to come closer right next to the 150 pound turtle. It was amazing to be so close watching all of the turtle's intricate moves.
Now back home Mom and Dad are watching sunsets on their pond and enjoying the nice breezes they get their at their house. Last weekend, Mom got to be with her church family, leading the communion service. Mom is happy to be back in her yoga class as the cancer center; she just loves it. Mom and Dad have gone to visit Michael and family for a few days; I took the kids there last weekend; Katharine and her daughter are coming to the East Coast for July and August. We're looking forward to doing things together this summer.
Photo of sunrise last morning in Florida.
Photo of Mom and Dad in Florida.
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