Dana arrives from Houston

Dear Family and Friends,
This evening Dana arrived from Houston and is now safely sleeping in her room. nan was so glad to see her after a two week absence. Nan has had a decent day with good moments and not so good moments. Her pain level seems well managed but she remains confused sometimes and totally clear at others. This morning she asked to move from the recliner where she slept last night to the hospital bed. She handled the move very well and settled into the soft bed. She was awake for about 4 hours before finally falling asleep again. She is using much less Adavan than she was last week and yet is sleeping for several hour periods during the night and day. She is very faithful about taking her pills. She often has brief times of nausea and this morning some of the foam that came up was tinged with blood so I insisted that we get the aciphex going again.
This morning I got on the ball and started to call the pharmacy that handles Nexavar. We discovered last evening that there were only enough pills for today and half of tomorrow. It took a bit to find the right person and then there was a bit of dancing about over documents that had been faxed or not from the doctors office. Later in the day I received a call from someone who told me the next 14 days worth of the meds were being shipping out and should arrive tomorrow Fed Ex to our door. That was good news indeed. While we cannot prove that the drug is helping we are all pretty sure that the tumors are not getting larger and perhaps have lost a bit of their luster and even size. They remain huge and ugly and a hourly reminder of how high the stakes are at this point in Nan's life.
I traveled to Emeryville to see a condo in a high rise near the Bay. The lady was very interesting and amazing. She raises horses to race at Bay meadows track and other tracks. She has been involved with horse racing all of her life and on the way out she asked me how old I thought she was, well there is no right answer to that question and she told me 78. I would have guessed 50. Her walls, shelves and all storage areas are filled with horse related working items and photos of her horses that have won hundreds of thousands of dollars over the years.
Then it was off to Hayward to see a carefully maintained little home where not a week grows. The gentle man who comes from Spain or Portugal said in broken English that he did this kind of grounds keeping at home before America. Garden plots all over with perfectly turned soil and not one week growing. Then a quick trip to San Jose for a few photos and suddenly there was not enough time to get home and then to the airport to get Dana so I fought traffic up to the airport directly, had a bite at Olive Garden and greeted Dana who arrived tired and sore from hours in a airplane seat. We drove home only stopping to buy a better flashlight, Nan had asked for one that she can turn on easily during the night so we got a couple for her to try, also some shower caps that can be used to wash the hair for a patient without water getting everywhere. Now everyone sleeps except for me. I have to do TPN still and then Adavan and then crash until 1:30 when the next antibiotic is due. Oh well this is all a work of love for someone who has done so much for so long for so many.
Spouses, please take time today to express your feelings, your appreciation, your gratitude for the trust and devotion of your other. Let them know how much better life is with them than without them, let your kids know how much you treasure them and as the spending season approaches keep the real reasons for Christmas in your heart, Jesus, our best friend who really knows about giving on the deepest level.
I have a right to counsel you, to urge you to care for each other while you have the opportunity to do otherwise, do the loving thing because you want to and intend to and plan to, well do it now while you can.
Nan is holding on as best she can. Her world has narrowed considerably now and when you break through with a call or a card you expand her world a lot. I want to pay tribute to Mary this evening, Mary knows how to come and sit, for her its OK if Nan is asleep, she sits quietly bay and waits until Nan wakes. Mary, thanks for your great deep genuine love!
This weekend Marilyn is going to get away for a short visit to her friends up in Sac. I urge her to get away and catch her breath. I get away every day as I work but she is here 24 hours a day so we urge her to go play for a bit. She is an amazingly helpful and thoughtful person. No one could do it better for Nan than Marilyn.
For our blessings we thank our Heavenly Father tonight. We seek His divine healing and restoration and mostly His will to be done in Nan's behalf.

love
tim and nan and marilyn and dana!