Walking Along

Day One of Chemo under his belt and all is well. Mike will receive chemo for the next 6 days round the clock and both the doctors and nurses said basically he will be bored. As Dr. Stein said, "Boring is good." He could experience some nausea along the way but so far Mikey seems to be tolerating the medications well. Days 8 and beyond are when he will experience being sick, if he experiences that at all. As each and every body is different so are the reactions to this treatment. Please pray today that this chemo heals Mike's leukemia and that he is able to have the absolute best experience possible tolerating these harsh chemicals.

Mike, and well mainly Melisa, are both adjusting well to their new surroundings. The entire staff here is so very kind and caring. It takes a special type of individual to provide care to a person who must endure this illness and we are so very thankful that the Lord has moved these people to their calling in life. Bethany, Shelly, Leroy, and Dr. English - we love you guys! Mom, Melisa, and I were able to head around the corner last night and enjoy some of Nashville's finest pizza...the Mellow Mushroom. If you ever get a chance to eat there, I highly recommend it. The atmosphere is super-fun and the pizza is dyno-mite, JJ! A big glass of merlot sure didn't hurt the situation at all either. We brought the rest of the pizza back to Mikey. I was worried about him being nauseous but after he cleaned out the box, my worries were put to rest. He loved it and loved watching his Colts put the hurtin' to Bush & Co. Somewhere some fantasy team is racking up some serious points with #18 at the helm!

After he finished his pizza, Mikey announced that he wanted to go for a walk, which is highly encouraged by the staff here. After he looked at us for a while and saw no volunteers, reluctantly I said, "OK I'll go with you." Well if we made one lap around the joint we made 25...and it wasn't any run-of-the-mill leisurely stroll either. Mom went along for the jog and was cursing him as she is going to be forced into shape. :) I told him I was going to slap a #20 sticker on his back and to slow down, I needed to catch my breath! He said, "If I'm gonna walk, I'm gonna walk." And walk he did! While our bodies are created to move, it is so very important to put this to use. Getting his heart pumping and expanding his lungs will only aid in fighting this disease and he is so thankful that he is able to do so! Walk on Mikey!

While we were walking, Melisa stumbled onto the greatest thing since TiVo. In the conference room on the floor, a massage school here in town was offering free massages to both patients and their visitors. What a wonderful gesture!! Her massage therapist was cute as a button and was also so sweet. She said that her mother had breast cancer and she really likes to come up here and help out. She also told Melisa that once a week at the massage school they offer a free 60 minute full body massage. Melisa grabbed her business card before she was able to finish that sentence! Hopefully she will be able to use that service.

Well more prayers have been answered. Mikey is expected to be here at Vandy for 4 weeks and you all know our family...each and everyone of us want to be here the whole time! (He'll probably have to kick some of us out before this is all over!) We have been worried about the accommodations, running into obstacles at every turn. Mom and Hope own into a condo time share and there is a unit by the OpryMills Mall. When we called to make a reservation on Wednesday there was no availability. We explained our situation and prayed for the best. Yesterday someone from the condo. called and said they were able to not only get us into the unit but that we have it for the entire stay! They said they wanted to work with us in any way possible. Amen for that. Again the Lord has and will continue to provide us our every need. Mom and I were able to find a Super Wal-Mart and load up with the goods. While they will be down here, a gift card to Super Wal-Mart would be a nice help as well, so they can restock the cupboard up as needed.

Be thinking of Big Hope today. He has been having problems with his leg with cellulitis and it doesn't seem to want to heal. He is going to the doctor today and hopefully they can get him on the mend. Please be thinking of Mom today as she has so much on her plate. Please pray that the Lord wrap His arms around her and reassure her worries and calm her fears.

As you all know Casey has been back home staying with his MaMa Debbie. His little world has been disrupted by all of this as both his Mommy and Daddy aren't at home. Well Debbie was trying to get Casey ready for school yesterday. He's not crazy about his new school and with his different surroundings, he really didn't want to go. Yesterday she put his clothes on him and he took them off and put his pajamas back on. Then he hid his shoes and then he hid his backpack. I think she finally got him to school and ultimately he calmed down and had a good day. Please be thinking of him too; I know you are. Hopefully he will be able to come down soon and stay in the condo. They have an indoor swimming pool and just maybe Moppy got him a "Surprise!"