Here We Go Again?

Just as a reminder, Steve is back on chemo again and just completed his first of six rounds. The good news is that he was able to get to work every day. The not so good news is that by the end of the two weeks he was showing many of the side effects that took him 3 1/2 weeks or more to get to before. This really wasn't what we wanted to have happening at this stage. Steve still has 5 more cycles he needs to get through. We have made a list of everything that is happening and are hoping that they will lower his dosage so that he can stay healthy, since they said they didn't want him to get as bad as he did before his surgery.

On a happier note, the kids came up with another plan on how to help get Steve through his chemo. (Last time they made him a paper chain with messages for him to read each morning.) They talked about doing that again, but it would have been an extremely long chain and they want to cheer him up, not depress him. This time they decided to split up all the weeks he has to take chemo during. Each child, as well as myself, have two assigned separate weeks that we are in charge of. What each person does during those weeks is totally up to them and how creative they want to be. During their week, they try and keep it a secret as to whose week it is. However, they seem to be enjoying letting him know who it was at the end of their week.

Michael insisted on taking the first week. Some of the things he did were making Steve's bed just the way he likes it, filling a jar with marshmellows for Steve to keep on his desk at work (They are recommended for Steve to eat to help with his ostomy and just happen to be one of his favorite treats.), gave him a coupon for Subway plus the cash to pay with, a miniature box of cereal, a batch of homemade peanut butter cookies, and a note or poem to go with whatever he chose to do each day. The last one that he wrote to go with the peanut butter cookies went like this:

I made you a treat, oh so sweet, that nothing else can beat.

Helping you has been real neat. Now you probably want to eat.

So, go and have a seat, maybe later we will meet.

Steve's second week began with a clue to lead him to his surprise. It said,

You're a "Champ"!

Keep up the fight

against cancer

and freeze it

in it's tracks.

The surprise was a champ ice cream treat hidden in the freezer. It was followed the next day by a mounds candy bar (Your "Mounds" of fun and really sweet... In your room you'll find a treat! Keep it up!), a bag of original corn nut chips (Here's a corny message: Even when your chips are down, we're still nuts about you. Hope you have an original day!), some homemade waffles for breakfast in bed one morning, and NECCO candy with this poem:

Neat

Excellent

Cool

Courageous

Out-standing

Everyone seems to be having fun with their weeks so far and Steve never knows when or where he will run across some little surprise. That should help to keep him on his toes. Anyway, we are all hanging in there and doing our best to get through this next phase of Steve's cancer. Thanks for all your love and support. Carla