April - A Look Ahead

March was a blur. I’m sure that April will be the same. Mr. Jim’s cancer metastasized last month. We are managing this turn of events as best as we can. We’ll be taking this month on day-by-day basis, and my blog posts will continue to be erratic. The spring season is making a beautiful appearance in east Tennessee, so that cheers are our spirits.

I’m busy managing Mr. Jim’s illness and the household activities. I'm ferrying Mr. Jim back and forth to the Cancer Institute and trying to attend to his needs. A new chemo regimen will occur every two weeks, and the first round was this past Monday. The chemo mixture from he## lived up to its hype. I had to take Mr. Jim back in within 24 hours for IV fluids and multiple anti-nausea medicines. He is doing better at the moment, but he’s still getting some waves of nausea. We hope that this adverse side effect will soon subside.

In addition to the abdominal fluid buildup, which causes shortness of breath, Mr. Jim is also experiencing blood clots in his legs. So a surgical procedure is scheduled tomorrow to insert an IVC  (inferior vena cava) filter. This will help prevent a possible pulmonary embolism.

Of course, things are breaking here at the cottage during all of this or need immediate attention. Isn’t that the way it always goes? Life continues on and things need repair whether one is caught in a cancer vortex or not. I’ve been lucky enough to be able to find some good service contractors lately, so that has been an unexpected relief.

I cancelled our planned trip to Memphis at the end of the month to St. Jude’s annual donors’ meeting. There will be no journeys this month except to the grocery store, pharmacy, doctor offices, and hospital.

I am visiting my blogging friends on a hit-and-miss basis and rarely leave comments due to time constraints. Please continue to keep Mr. Jim in your prayers. We appreciate it!