Home

We've been home since late Monday night (a day and a half ago), and Patty and I are back at work, and the kids back at school. Our trip was wonderful, and so relaxing that I didn't even compose any blog entries in my mind! Things have been busy since our return, with unpacking and work, so I've been waiting for inspiration on posting. What a delight it was to return and read all of the comments after my last post before we left. I felt well supported and prayed for! I haven't downloaded any pictures from our vacation, but should have some ready by my next post.

While we were away, we swam, snorkeled, sat (or played) on the beach, and generally relaxed. It was wonderful to be away, and to put down all of the details of daily life. Since we were camping, we went to bed early, and read for a while in our tent, and got up with the sun in the morning.

Since we were camping, we had a few camping challenges. The sand fleas and mosquitoes really LOVED Nathaniel and Lucy, and we had some nights with lots of complaining about itchiness and trouble sleeping. We finally figured out how to spray the insect repellent around the tent, tie all of the little ribbons (no zippers in this tent!), and minimize the bugs. And, we had a resident lizard in our tent. We kept encouraging it to eat lots of fleas and mosquitoes, but it had trouble keeping up with the volume.

The beauty of camping at Cinnamon Bay Campground in St. John, USVI, is that the beach was just minutes from our tent. We could roll out of bed and check the water, go for an early swim, stake out some shady territory on the beach, and go back to our site for breakfast. We visited some other beaches and did some hiking, but the kids like staying put once they had made friends, and so we stayed close to the tent many days.

How have I been feeling? Not as good as I would like. I still feel side effects from the oxaliplatin, especially cold sensitivity (but not to cold foods). The warm Caribbean water gave me goose bumps, but fortunately, we had bought a wet suit for me, so I could snorkel without freezing. When I took my cold shower (they don't heat the water at the campground), I was the only one yelping through the cold water as I quickly showered. And the appetite thing really has not improved. My appetite is best in the morning, and diminishes as the day progress. Some days, I can't eat any dinner, although I did discover that baked potatoes sit well. I thought my appetite would return this long after my last infusion, and I could regain some of the weight I've lost. One fun thing about being in the Caribbean is that it was easy to buy Ginger Beer (non-alcoholic), which was zingy and gingery, and tastes like the ginger drink that Tia described how to make in a comment a few posts back. Yummy!

This Friday, I go for my next infusion, and I've had conversations with the oncology nurse, and others about the side effects I'm still feeling. I just hope that means the chemo drugs are still working against the tumors, and that the tumors have not taken advantage of this vacation to grow!

So, pictures and more information soon. For now, back to work!