Saturday, April 3, 2010

Our trip to Louisiana to visit my friend in Abbeville and to visit Bob's sister and brother-in-law and many relatives and friends there was absolutely wonderful! It went by way too quickly, but we managed to squeeze in just about everything we planned on doing - including eating some of our favorite delicacies. Now we are back to the straight and narrow R.A.V.E. diet because it seems to work for us and keep us energized. I received chemo on March 30th as planned and had a CT scan as well which showed no drastic or significant changes for the better or the worse. I was able to get some fluid removed from my abdomen at Presbyterian St. Luke's hospital in Denver on Thursday. Though a bit painful during and after the procedure, I am experiencing some relief from the feeling of constant pressure on my internal organs. The radiologist who did the procedure explained that the reason the fluid causes pain is that the cells that release the fluid are all inflamed due to the progression of the disease. When my body cannot absorb the fluid at a rate that parallels the rate of fluid production, it builds up in the abdominal cavity and causes pressure, overall discomfort, and sometimes acute pain. Thankfully I have pain meds for that! After the procedure, we had a 5 hour trip home because Vail Pass was closed in both directions due to severe winter weather conditions and multi-car accidents. We had to be re-routed through Leadville which took longer because it is a two-lane mountain highway with all the I-70 east-west traffic diverted to this route. Home looked extra sweet when we finally arrived! Hope you all have a blessed and wonderful Easter. Know that you are in our thoughts and prayers as well.