Go, Go, Go!

This was Rory's WEEK OFF from chemo.

Monday we met with Dr. Lash again, the counselor in Rory's primary care office. Honestly I'm not entirely sure how helpful those sessions are, but I think Rory benefits from just having someone else to talk with about everything going on. I did mention that each night when I come to bed and each morning as I wake up, I find myself checking to see if Rory is breathing. The few test results we have, coupled with her continuing pain and fatigue, has me constantly wondering about how much longer we'll have Rory with us. Besides wishing we could wish away the disease, I also wish we had some idea about her timeline going forward.

Tuesday Rory was talked into going to the mall with Kaeli and Kelsianne. This was one of those events that she really didn't feel good enough to attend, but decided the discomfort was more than worth it to spend that time with her girls. They window shopped, ACTUAL shopped, got treats, and it sounds like had a good time. That night Rory again decided to de-prioritize her fatigue and instead prioritize attending a dinner with other moms of Colton's Special Needs Basketball team members. I didn't get much detail about that dinner, other than she was glad she made the effort to attend. And she brought home some great Olive Garden leftovers!

Thursday continued the busy medical appointment schedule with a psychiatrist check-in. Seemingly the only thing useful from these sessions is that Rory's prescriptions get refilled. These are the meds that help with sleep, suppress nightmares, and help with overall mood. She's been on the same dosage of most of those for so long, that it seems like the prescriptions could simply be renewed over the phone. I suppose it's a billing thing, and probably a good idea to check in face-to-face occasionally at least.

On Friday Rory still wasn't feeling good at all, but that night was my company's holiday dinner and reveal retreat. Some people jokingly refer to Bowen Collins & Associates as a "bi-annual vacation club" because the company takes all their employees and one family member each on a week-long vacation trip every-other year. The event was held in a room overlooking the light show at the gardens of Thanksgiving Point. After a very nice buffet dinner, handing out employee gifts, and a short introduction from our company President, the 2020 vacation location was finally revealed: a week-long cruise to the Caribbean! Because Rory was pretty worn out by that time, we headed home immediately after that announcement.

One of the "homework assignments" from one of the counselors was for the kids to come up with a list of activities that they want to do either with Rory, or as a family. Kaeli checked off one of her items by organizing a family bowling trip for Saturday. Although she didn't bowl, Rory was with us and took lots of pictures. I came to the jarring realization that I can ONLY JUST BARELY still beat my kids at bowling. We got the family special that included pizza, breadsticks and drinks. The activity was so fun that both Kelsianne and Colton were talking about that doing that same event for their upcoming birthdays.

It wasn't entirely clear to me how much relief Rory had from her symptoms and fatigue due to being off of chemo this week, mostly because the week was so full of appointments and events that would have worn her out anyway. It was nice to have time together, though.