Update

We are settling into a routine, after 7 weeks of our new life. Each day we arrive at MGH at approximately 9:20 AM for his 9:30 AM treatment. Jack continues to tolerate the treatment very well. He has a couple of spots where he has lost his hair due to the radiation. It is like genetic balding at the back of his head and a bad haircut on one side in the front. I told him that he could get hair extensions and he would be all set. Actually, in the town next to us, there is a Hair Salon for Men that does exactly that work. I have seen men who have gone there and you could never guess. So you fellows out there that would like some extra hair, you have just been provided with a free advertisement. As you might guess, Jack has never been vain so he is choosing to sport a new Boston Red Sox hat over the hair weaves. Given that the Red Sox are thriving at the moment, he looks like he is just one of the millions of fans and I am certain that the Red Sox cap was much less expensive.

Jack has settled into receiving much help from me. He was laughing one morning as I was helping him put on his shoes that it took a brain tumor to get this much attention from me. I told him that he really didn’t have to go to this extreme. Laughing requires much less energy.

We had a wonderful visit with Jack’s sister, Myra who was my college roommate, over this last weekend. We went down many memory lanes. Myra and I have been like sisters since we met and over the decades since last century. Our lives have been intertwined with Jack as our common bond. We laughed, cried, and talked. We had a wonderful time. One of the many blessings of Jack’s illness has been the family visits, calls, and emails. It is truly a wonderful time for us.

Jack has spent years working in his basement office. It is a view of him that I have had hundreds of times as I come home from work and walk down the brick path to our back door. I cannot express how often I would become so aggravated at the incessant work. Today, I had an entirely different view of that scene. Surprisingly, as I made my evening walk to the back door, I observed a light on in Jack’s office, I looked, I saw his back, and I experienced great joy. Jack was at his computer working. It was the best sight that I have seen in weeks. It has literally been 7 weeks and 2 days since he sat in that chair and did anything. I almost forgot, for a second, that life has changed so dramatically. It seemed for a moment that the routine of our lives had returned.

We only have 13 more radiation treatments. I will not miss these daily treks into radiation at MGH. I did find out that medicare only allows 30 days of meds/month. However, no one bothered to inform us. When I questioned the nurse, she said it was due to the co-pays that medicare wants. I was told by another nurse that the medication is fully covered by medicare. Stay tuned. We are now almost out of the chemo but we haven’t expired the 30 days so with 1 day left we can order the drug and hope we receive it in time for the treatment. I must say that the medical process in this country is a MESS!!! October 30 is his last day for treatment.

I want to thank all of you who have been sending birthday wishes to Jack. He appreciates all of them. We have a wonderful birthday prize coming our way on Tuesday. Jack’s first PhD student and his wife are coming from Germany to help us celebrate. We have been very close to them for many, many years. Their names are Benno and Ursula Wersborg. Ursula was an exchange teacher in Quincy when I taught school there. I introduced them at a dinner party, and they are living happily ever after. We want to congratulate them. They have a new, first grandson, Theo delivered by our shared daughter, Maja and her husband, Phillipe. Benno has always said that I really have 5 children, our two and their three.

As we progress through our challenge, we continue to experience Phillipians 4 – “The Lord is at hand”. We find great comfort and solace knowing that He has felt all of our infirmities. Our prayer is truly that we continue to know His love and that His embrace is the balm of our hearts. He alone is worthy to be praised.

Jonathan and Megan leave Los Angeles on Monday, October 15. We still are in disbelief that they are almost here. They are ready to close on their condo mortgage on October 25. This event is just delightful. Jonathan informs me that the boxes are almost packed and the truckers are “almost ready to drag the stuff on board”. We pray that the Lord will provide them with traveling safety as they drive across the 3000 miles from sea to shining sea.

Thank you all for your continued care, thoughts, and prayers as well as the many expressions of love and compassion. The food is delicious and the outpouring of help from so many is beyond words of gratitude. We have been touched by the Lord through all of you.

Carolyn