Good News from Florida

We left for Florida last Monday to see Charlie's radiation oncologist for a six-month check-up.  I got my big cast off on Friday and was fitted with a Star Wars Storm Trooper boot just in time for the trip. With wheelchair service at the airport, I got along well on the trip from Greensboro to St. Petersburg.

We were nervous about the scans because of the recurrence of cancer last year, but everything looked good this time.  He goes back in six months for the next evaluation.

A big thumbs-up after his check-up at Dattoli Cancer Center in Sarasota!

We are so happy!

 The day after that, we had lunch in Punta Gorda with some other friends that we met at Dattoli last summer.  Bill and John just finished their long three phases of treatment in December and are doing well.  It was so good to visit with them again, as well as John's wife Beverly.   We spent many hours together last summer.

We stayed in Ft. Myers with my brother Jeff and his wife Anna for most of the week.  We had some nice visits with family while we were there.

I don't have much artsy or quilty to report.  Since we flew in and out of St. Pete, I would have loved to visit the Dali museum and Chihuly glass collection, but this was not the right time for gadding about with my cane and giant boot.  Maybe when we go back in July.

Meanwhile, Life is Good!

Getting Started

Charlie and I met with the team at Dattoli Cancer Center yesterday.  There is a whole new medication regimen.  It has not started yet...it reminds me of buying a car.  Paperwork, questions, signatures, approval.  One of the meds is a radium injection once a month at $12,000 a pop.  Yikes!  Here we go with insurance and Big Pharma dominating our lives.  Whatever it takes.

It looks like this time he will have one hour of radiation per day, starting at 1:00 PM and lasting until July 24.  Tomorrow is the "dry run" where they run the computer systems but don't actually radiate. 

Today we enjoyed a day off and went to the beach at Lido Key in Sarasota.  That was just what we needed to de-stress.  How lucky to be having cancer treatment in such a beautiful place.

We also went to Yoders, an Amish restaurant/produce market/deli not far from our rental house.  We got a chicken pie for supper, fresh corn on the cob, Honey Bell oranges, and a Key Lime Pie for dessert.  Then we walked it off at the Arlington Park nature trail right near our place.  Kasey loved seeing the dozens of squirrels, although they are brave here and actually taunted her as we walked along.

And here is a nice feature of downtown Sarasota...these little free libraries!  This one is on the street as you leave the park.

I have not been to the Sarasota Public Library yet, but plan to get my temporary library card soon.

Florida Fun

We have just returned from a wonderful week on the Gulf coast of Florida.  First stop was Sarasota, where my husband Charlie had his one-year check-up at the Dattoli Cancer Center.  Scans and ultrasounds and exams showed no recurrence or new cancer!  Great news!

Then it was on to Lido Key Beach for a couple of days.  We stayed once again at the Sand Castle Resort.  It was only steps to the water from our room, and warm enough to enjoy sitting on the beach.

On Thursday, we drove down to Ft. Myers for the weekend with my brother Jeff, his wife Anna, and their son Michael who has recently graduated from Florida State.  He leaves on Thursday for a new job in Washington, DC, so we were glad for a chance to visit with him, too.

Jeff took us on a boat ride up the Caloosahatchie River in Ft. Myers, right up to the bridge we crossed every day on our trips to Sarasota for Charlie's treatment.

We saw a lot of great sunsets on this trip.  This one is from the deck behind my brother's house.

And on our last night, we sat on the causeway to Sanibel Island and watched our last Florida sunset for awhile.  

Next check-up is in September, and we hope that visit will be just as magical.

Early Spring

February brought some extremely warm temperatures this year.  Raleigh is in full bloom.  I was inspired to paint some bunnies.

The first one I call "I'm not fat, I'm fluffy!"

And for one slightly less whimsical but still colorful, how about a rainbow rabbit?  I was inspired by one I saw on Pinterest.

After several days of wearing shorts and sandals, we came up to the mountains yesterday and this morning it snowed!  Bummer!  We went to town this morning and picked out flooring and carpet for the new basement studio.  We chose a wood-look tile for the floors and a thick carpet for the stairwell.  And tomorrow our nephew is going to help us finish the basement ceiling.

This afternoon I started a new painting.  I worked from a photo of our woods, and added a nice buck. Needs some work before it"s done.

Our little granddaughter Layla turned six months old this week.  She is getting to be full of personality and LOVES attention.

On Monday we will be heading back to warm weather when we go back to Florida for my husband's one-year check-up at the cancer center.  We are planning to meet up with a friend from Raleigh who is  currently being treated at Dattoli Cancer Center, and also my husband's business partner who is vacationing in Florida next week.  Then back for a long weekend with my brother Jeff and wife Anna, who graciously hosted us during Charlie's months of radiation.  We are looking forward to a good report from the doctor, and then some good times in the sun.

Life is Beautiful

The past few weeks have been a whirlwind.  We soaked in a lot of beauty in Florida on our daily travels to and from Sarasota.

 We splurged and stayed for two days at Lido Key in Sarasota to save a bit of travel time and relax on the beautiful gulf beach.

                                          

We crossed a lot of bridges, both literally and figuratively.

And we are happy to say that on the last day, Charlie's doctor told us that he is in complete remission!  We cannot believe it.  It is almost a miracle!

Here is our Florida team that was with us all the way...my brother Jeff and his wife Anna.  We cannot thank them enough for providing a home, car, meals, and constant support and friendship.

So this part of our journey is over.  We are home.  We are feeling blessed and grateful.

If anyone you know is experiencing prostate cancer, even advanced cases with metastasis like Charlie's, I can highly recommend Dattoli Cancer Center in Sarasota, Florida.  All they do is treat prostate cancer.  And they do it well.

Back to Florida

It has been a busy week.  It is time for my husband to have the last of his scheduled radiation treatments for prostate cancer.  We arrived back in Southwest Florida on Monday.  It is a much more inviting time of year to be here than it was last August!

We are staying with my brother Jeff and his wife Anna once again at their home in Fort Myers.

I love to sit on their back deck and watch the wildlife around the lake.  The first day, I saw a bald eagle in the tree right across from their house.

Our first trip back to the Dattoli Cancer Center in Sarasota was on Wednesday.  They did some scans and lab work, and scheduled Charlie for his radiation treatments.

The last time we were here, he was scheduled for 7:40 AM.  It takes an hour and a half to get there.  I took many pictures of the sun rising over the Peace River on our daily drive.

This time it was setting over the Peace River on our way home.

And then it was a lovely glow over the Caloosahatchee River as we crossed the bridge back to Fort Myers.

On Friday, we reported at the new time of 3:40 for the "dry run" or "film day," as they call it at DCC. There are two linear accelerators that provide the radiation treatment there, and one of them was down.  They did not take Charlie back there until almost five o'clock.

That put us smack in Sarasota traffic at rush hour.  We did not get home until 7:30 PM.

We have already discovered the advantages and disadvantages of the early versus late schedule.  

It does not matter, we will do whatever it takes, and we are so grateful for this opportunity for healing.  And he only needs ten days this time.  We can do this!

Back to Florida

This week it was time for Phase 2 of my husband's cancer treatment in Sarasota, Florida.  Most of our time has been spent on doctor and hospital visits and pre-post op exams.  We are now out of the hospital after a rough night.  I am glad to say that all went well.  I thank God every day for Dr. Michael Dattoli, a prostate cancer expert who has figured out a way to save men's lives from this disease.

He met us at the Sarasota airport!  (That's him in blue on the left on this electronic sign at the airport.)

We did have a couple of nice times this week.  The best was on Tuesday when we drove to Nokomis to meet my brother Jeff and his wife Anna for dinner.  First we went to the North Jetty beach and enjoyed a brief walk just before sunset.

Then we ate at Pop's Sunset Grill.  It was great to see Jeff and Anna again.

The restaurant is on The Inter-coastal Waterway, and it was lovely to watch the boats and birds as the sun set.

This shore bird landed on a roof above us and enjoyed watching us (and our seafood dinners!)

We go back to Raleigh tomorrow, grateful for the chance for healing in this beautiful place.