The kids are now back in their routines-Joey finishing up
his last semester of college at Idaho State University majoring in Mass
Communications with an emphasis in TV and working on the final editing of his
book, The Joey Parker Movement-Against
All Odds, due to be published and in the bookstores November 1, 2013.
Kristi landed a great job with the Livingston Food Pantry, a non-profit
organization that assists individuals and families in need through the
distribution of healthful food. Much of her time is spent on developing the
kids after school lunch program and a social media site where individuals can
choose to donate online if they choose to do so. I’m so proud of my kids as
this has been as difficult on them as it has been for Den and I, yet they
choose to stay positive and driven to carry-on, much as I would want them too.
As you know, both my mom and dad arrived the weekend of the diagnosis.
After a week, it was decided that mom would stay to help out and dad would
drive back to California to attend to the house, and to get some sense of
normalcy in his life, whatever that would be. Mom ended up staying for a month
when we decided that it would be best for her to return home to be with dad,
for Den and I to have some routine established back in our house, plus it was a
great excuse for me to fly back home to see family and friends. The only
clincher was, was I medically stable to do so??? I was just coming off my 2nd
cycle of chemo and new that my counts would be low during the time of travel.
I contacted both my Oncologist and personal physician who
were both supportive of this. They did want to do a follow-up chest x-ray and
echocardiogram to check the fluid level around the heart and lung. This made me
very nervous as potentially, it could have been a show stopper and I wouldn’t
have been able to go. Good news though….the scans showed a slight decrease in
fluid around the heart and the left pleural effusion remained small. Augh…what
a relief for all.
Fortunately, I had enough sky miles for two round trip
tickets. I was most grateful for this Delta representative who assisted us with
making these arrangements and coordinating our flights. She was able to get us
on an early morning flight out of Idaho Falls, with a quick layover in Salt
Lake City, arriving in Los Angeles in between rush hour. I decided that it
would be best to wear a mask inside the airport and while on the plane as
people were coughing, sneezing, sniffing. At one point, there was a young lady
sitting next to my mom that was horribly congested, necessitating me to move to
a different seat. I was glad to land and to have my dad and nephew on the other
end picking us up. It was a joyous reunion to see my dad again.
My week in California was delightful. It was so green, warm,
and colorful with everything in full bloom. I remember pulling into the
driveway and smelling the orange blossoms in bloom across the street. Oh, how I
love that smell. Dad’s California
poppies were bright orange and everyone admired them as they walked by. I took
pictures and quickly shared them with my friends back home. Oh, how they were envious
of the weather I was experiencing as it was blowing, raining, and snowing back
home.
It was a busy week with lots of visiting between family and
friends. I was able to take care of some business as well. My kids would say, “Mom,
you’re always planning.” Den and I decided that our final resting place would
be at the Carpinteria Cemetery and Den had made contact with the gentleman who
runs it. I met up with him the day after I arrived and was able to secure a
plot right next to his dad and where his mom would be some day. It was
comforting to me knowing that we would be next to them and settled in the city
of Carpinteria, a southern California coastal town that meant so much to the
Parker Family, as this is where Den grew up as a child and where we had
multiple family reunions every summer. It felt a little odd doing this kind of
business now, but anything to make it easier when the time comes, whenever that
would be.
Another highlight of this week was spending the day with my
brother. He had decided to take the day off of work and spend it with me. Just
me and my brother. What a joyous day it was. We drove up the coast, through
Santa Barbara, to the Nojoqui Falls, just off Hwy. 101. It was a short hike,
following a small creek through the Eucalyptus trees. I felt a sense of peace
spending this time with my brother. I know he felt the same. After the Falls,
we ventured on some back roads coming out through Solvang, an old Danish town
that was settled in 1911. From there, we explored the mountains of Santa
Barbara, visiting an old Chumash Indian Painted Cave, now an historic park. From
there, we ended up in Carp, having lunch at The SPOT, eating one of their famous
hamburgers that we had enjoyed so many times before.
My aunt and uncle drove over from Tucson for the weekend. My
cousin ended up flying into the Santa Barbara airport. We surprised her upon
her arrival as we were all there to greet her. It was a great three days of
visiting with them. My cousin was aware of my PAC MAN dream and found a t-shirt
with the PAC MAN emblem on it. Not only did she buy me one, but all three of
them got one. This was the beginning of my PAC MAN team and it keeps growing. GO
Team PAC-MAN!!!
The weekend concluded with a wonderful dinner at my
brother’s house. He BBQ’d some yummy steaks from the Ranch House Restaurant
where my sister-in-law works. It was a lovely setting out on their back deck
surrounded by a beautiful Koi pond, Sego and Pygmy Palms and beautiful
flagstone patios. It was an emotional night for me…not sure why. I sat on the
periphery listening to conversations that were taking place between parties
about future events-kids, travels, and vacations. I thought to myself…will I
get to experience any of this? Was I feeling sorry for myself? I tried to keep
this to myself but it was quite obvious I was hurting…my Uncle Jerry knew.
I soon realized this was something that I must get
accustomed to. Who knows what the future holds for me. I just want it to be
normal again…whatever that is. I’m tired of being the one with Stage IV Lung
Cancer and answering daily question of how are you feeling, has your hair
started falling out, have you been nauseous? I want to feel good and be able to
do the things that I enjoy doing-shopping, gardening, fishing, spending quality
time with my family. This is my
intention and I feel that once again, I will be able to do these things. I’m a
positive person, one who fights, and never gives up.
This week, I finished my 3rd cycle of chemo. It
kind of kicked my butt, much more so than the previous two. It’s now day five
and I’m coming out of it. The achiness has gone away. The fatigue is fading. My
appetite is coming back. The plan is to do a repeat CT scan on April 19 to
check the fluid levels along with the area of consolidation in my left lower
lung. Our hope is that we see a decrease in all areas and nothing new shows up.
My last scheduled chemo is on April 23rd. After this round, I go into a maintenance mode
which will be less toxic on my body. I’m happy to say, right now, I have my
hair. Maybe a bit thinner, but I have my hair. My family and friends have been
keeping me supplied with hats of various colors and styles. For this I am
grateful.
Good bye for now. I hope you enjoy reading this if you
choose to do so.
Love you all,
Jodi
