Day 83, Year 7: Dandelions in January
Date: Monday, January 30, 2012
Weather: More Sunshine but Cold, High 31 degrees F
Location: Brewer Fiddler’s Cove Marina, N Falmouth, MA
Picking a dandelion in New England this time of year just doesn’t seem possible, but when Sam was walking to the car from school today, he exclaimed, “Oma, I found a dandelion.” And indeed he did. I should have taken a photo to document it, but we did take it home to share it with Heather and Jed. It was cold today, but obviously not cold enough to deter dandelions from blooming in January. We might get some snow tonight, but then it is supposed to warm up a bit for the remainder of the week. Unfortunately, the forecast for our Saturday arrival in Myrtle Beach is for rain. They have been having beautiful, sunny weather with spring-like temps. Maybe the forecast will change and we’ll get some of that spring-like weather while we are down south.
Mark went to Mass General for his appointments today and is all set for his surgery on February 13th. The urologist hasn’t seen Mark since the colon cancer surgery and he was surprised that Mark looked so good. He really does look good and he has more energy than he has had for months. The surgery on the 13th is a laser procedure called TURP. The initials stand for transurethral resection of the prostate. It is normally used when men have an enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia). Mark’s prostate is somewhat enlarged, but not enough to warrant this procedure under normal circumstances. His problem is that his bladder has stopped functioning, but the hope is that this procedure will allow him to urinate normally without using catheters. The oncologist (Dr. Kwak) really wanted this done prior to starting chemo and she convinced the urologist (Dr. Cutie) to rearrange his schedule to do it as soon as possible. Mark will stay in the hospital overnight so Dr. Cutie will be there when the catheter is removed the day following surgery. He wants to make sure everything is done just right. Dr. Kwak, the oncologist, also had a C-T scan of Mark’s chest done today. She did not feel that a full PET scan was necessary, but she did want the C-T scan to assure that the lungs are clear. A PET scan can identify places where cancer has spread, but the surgeon (Dr. Sylla) and the oncologist (Dr. Kwak) do not believe that it has spread beyond the lymph nodes that were removed with the transverse section of the colon. So the bottom line is that Mark is ready and waiting for the TURP to be done and then for chemo to begin. Between now and the time chemo begins, we are just going to work on putting a little weight back on Mark. He most assuredly will lose weight during chemo and since he is already a skinny Minnie, he needs to put on some fat to lose!
The bedroom switch-a-roo project at Heather and Jed’s continues. The painting in the new bedroom for the boys is done and I am working on getting the curtains hemmed. Jed got Sam and Jonah’s bunk beds taken apart and was putting it back together when Mark and I left there this evening. Now we have to work on getting Heather and Jed’s bedroom furniture moved. Sam and Jonah know that all of this is being done in preparation for the new baby. On Saturday Sam did the funniest thing. He wanted to tell the baby that he loves him, so he turned to Heather, used his hands to pry her mouth open, and he yelled down her throat, “I love you, baby.” We explained to him afterwards that maybe talking softly to the baby through Heather’s stomach might be a better approach!
