As 2011 draws to a close, please indulge me while I reminisce about the good and the bad parts of the year. I think I'll start with the bad, or at least not so good parts. Of course, Joe's pancreatic cancer took "center stage" much of the time. Early in the year he finished his radiation and first round of chemotherapy. He had gotten through this with very little side effects. We then had a 6 week waiting period before he was to have his surgery. Just 6 days before his scheduled operation he developed an infection and was hospitalized after more than 24 hours in the emergency department at Duke. We played a game of switching rooms before we took up permanent residence on the surgical floor. Joe had the surgery on schedule on that Tuesday but the surgeon could not remove the tumor due to it's attachment to an artery. He did however remove his gall bladder and "re-design his stomach" in case the tumor should start to grow and block the colon. Joe remained in the hospital for 8 more days before coming home. Unfortunately, he was only home for 2 weeks before he was back at the emergency department (only 8 hours this time) and subsequently admitted for a post op infection. This stay was just 6 days but ended up with him coming home with a wound vac. The trauma that caused when it malfunctioned is not something I'll ever forget. (imagine me having to remove the vac from his open incision and then stick my hand back inside him to pack the opening with gauze......I still have nightmares). And of course we can't forget that during this time I was hobbling around with 2 fractures & a torn ligament in my left foot from a fall the day after he came home from the hospital. But after that, it was smooth sailing for a few months.
Once Joe was fully recovered from the surgery, he started back on chemo. He has 1 treatment per week for three weeks, then one week off. After that, it starts over again. He has done well, even gaining a little weight in the process. Weight however isn't the only thing he gained. He also acquired a hernia, a big hernia. We saw two surgeons (I did NOT like the first one) and unless Joe develops any problems we will just let it go for now. He did get a binder to wear around his waist to help hold the hernia in somewhat. He continues to do well with the chemo and his two most recent CT Scans have shown no growth of the tumor.
We managed to get a real week of vacation at the beach this summer and as the warm weather was drawing to a close, we made a trip to Connecticut (thanks Bill & Sandy for getting us there and back) where one of Joe's college roommates and his wife, Rob and Lola Hugh live. There we also did something we have talked about for years...we got married. It was the most wonderful day of both our lives and not a day has gone by since then that I haven't thought about that day and what it has meant to us. We will never be able to thank Lola and Rob enough for making all the arrangements and putting it all together so perfectly for us. We have so many photos from that whirlwind trip and will have a video to go along with them soon. Labor day brought a quick trip to Surf City to visit friends, Thanksgiving was a trip to Myrtle Beach to relax and Christmas was a trip to both Greenville to see Joe's family and a trip to Hope Mills to see mine. Our traditional holiday trips the year before had all been canceled due to Joe's diagnosis so this year we were determined to do what we have traditionally done. Cancer be damned!!
There have been many highs and many lows this year but one thing has remained constant, the love that Joe and I have for one another. Actually one other thing has remained constant, the love, caring and prayers from our friends and from Pleasant Grove United Methodist Church. PGUMC has been so supportive and loving. Regardless of what the future brings, Pleasant Grove has made an indelible mark on both our lives.
Last year in the final post, I said good riddance to 2010. Although 2011 has been a rough year and there are certain things I wish hadn't happened or had turned out differently, there were so many wonderful and loving times that I am sorry to see it end. I'll just say good-bye to 2011 and hope that 2012 brings as many happy memorable moments. If we get that, it will be a great year.
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