Monday, August 23, 2010

Done--For Reals!

I have been somewhat of an insomniac recently and I think it has ruined my creative abilities. I have not been great at posting, but fearing ramblings, I have procrastinated it further. Also, life has been basically boring. School is out, which I am so happy about, until I realize I have no life. With Mark in Utah for a month, I realize that I really have no life! I have mowed the lawn, cleaned, not cooked, read a number of books, and watched more TV than I should have. Oh--and not sleeping. Can I just say there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to sleep? Torture. I have soared through my goal to read the Old Testament, and that hasn't even put me to sleep. We have a serious problem on our hands I think. There seems to be a few stresses that possibly contribute. If anyone knows of anyone who wants to buy a house, let me know. That could relieve at least a few of my stresses. For instance, in my last home improvement stint, I managed to not only spray paint the back door, but I left a beautiful white dust on every surface of my house. Wahoo! It took awhile, but I did get it out and off. No pictures, sorry!

So, back to the reason behind the post. Mark officially finished radiation treatment last Thursday. When he called to tell me, I cried. It is so great to have him done--with everything! However, it adds to the stress. It is hard to be confident the sneaky thing won't come back. There are great chances it won't, but I have learned I have trust issues. I suppose, unfortunately, they could be lack of faith issues. I realize that I am much more comfortable looking into the "mirror of fear" rather than the "mirror of faith" (from a talk by President Clark). My dad has been working hard on me to change my outlook. Why is it that fear is so much easier to feel? Mark will have a follow up scan in a few weeks that will show how much he has progressed. Since his midway scan was so great, I am sure it will be great, but what about the one he has next year, or the year after that? He had some pretty great nurses down in Utah and they documented the last day of his treatment. They sent like 29, so I will only favor you with a few....

By owners expense, they mean our expense. I am sure the kajillion dollars we spent to receive treatment would cover some of it. Not the easiest way to get a reserved spot, but I suppose effective.

The fancy microwave/tanning bed. Mark stays stationary, and they crazy thing rotates around. Mark had very few side affects throughout the whole thing. He has a little redness now, but he kept wondering if they were doing anything at all. That would be a funny joke--haha--or not that funny at all.

Finally--officially done! The nurses were really sweet and got a gift for Mark and I. Not a great picture, but you can see a bit of Mark's hair. It looks great.

Now, who knows. It seems like we have life back again but we aren't quite sure what is in store for us. There seems to be more questions than answers. I go back to work in about 2 weeks, but not for long.  Summer seems like it has flown by and I am not sure I am ready for fall and winter. I guess we just will enjoy the blessings we have a day at a time. Thanks again to everyone. We have had so much love and support and will never be able to repay all of it!

6 comments:

Kacie said...

Hey Jenny one goal can be to be my friend! I'm not that easy to like....so it might be difficult! I think a horse ride is in order! I get home Saturday! Let's go to lunch! I promise to be much happier this time :)

Shalee said...

Congrats!! What a journey. I hope the future is looking fabulous :)

Annalee Taylor said...

We are boring here too... but thats good. I like boring! Your selling your house? Move by me... k. And so happy for mark to be done...PARTY!

GUENTHERS said...

Woo hoo! so glad that treatment is over for Mark! We look forward to that. I was just thinking about that the other day that even when it's supposedly over, there's still yearly tests for the rest of forever and living with the fear of cancer. But you guys sound like you're doing great and really making it all work!

Mari Guenther

Amy said...

We really need to get together! We miss you guys. We need to have a NO MO' CHEMO (& radiation) party for Mark! I'll make the cake.:)

TJ said...

I am so glad he is done! Congrats to both of you.