For our out-state and international blog followers; it's a crisp, clear 33 degrees this morning with a coating of frost on the ground. Now that's a little early in the season for a hard frost but that's what we're looking at here in Rochester MN this morning.
As I write Jen and the girls are pulling out of the driveway...a little extra sleep this morning... an extra half-hour with a ride to school instead of a bus ride. We've been doing more of that this week. Post-chemo weeks require extra rest. The second week of school always seems to be tougher than the first week. The novelty of the new school year is replaced by the reality of routine.
Tuesday we struggled with our emotions but Wednesday was much better. Acceptance that a small dose of the steroid Decadron is necessary to keep Shannon's headaches at bay seemed to have taken hold. Shannon's attempts at tapering off the steroid will take time. Patience. The headaches she experienced Tuesday are not tumor related. Just part of the slow taper.
Amazing to realize how far we've come; after our diagnosis in April Shannon was taking 6 mg of the Decadron daily. Today we are down to just 0.25 mg per day. Hardly enough for side effects. Baby steps.
(Did you know: steroids were developed at Mayo Clinic and earned Edward Calvin Kendall a Nobel Prize in 1950.)
We had a great night together Wednesday as we shuttled kids around to soccer practices - Shannon chose to skip a late hockey skate. On the way home we stopped for Scoopie Meals at Culver's. We were in a goofy mood and laughing at each other loudly. The tables around us were giving us dirty looks but we did not care. We got going on a near pee-in-your pants laugh together that felt really good. Frozen custard always has a positive effect on this family.
Music du jour....Love is Free, Sheryl Crow...Home Again, Carole King...Any Major Dude Will Tell You, Steely Dan. "Any major dude with half-a-heart surely will tell your my friend...any minor world that breaks apart falls together again...when the demon is at your door...in the morning it won't be there no more...any major dude will tell you..."
