The Last Sunday

As we race towards the end of the year, the truth is that the Church Year ends this coming week. Tomorrow is the Feast of Christ the King which means it’s the last Sunday and in one week Advent begins as we prepare to celebrate Christmas. It used to seem like it took forever to get to this point. Now it comes all too quickly. ¶ I mentioned last week that my MRI and the appointment with the radiation oncologist would occur this week. After my MRI on Wednesday I met with the doctor who gave me some not very good news. It turns out that the Gamma Knife has been successful in eliminating the lesions on the sides of my brain. Now there are a bunch of new lesions on the top of my brain. There are too many to deal with in Gamma Knife procedures. The next step will be whole brain radiation. ¶ So bright and early on Thursday morning I returned to the radiation oncology office and was fitted with a new pillow and a new mask for the upcoming procedures. Each one will not take as long as a Gamma Knife procedure but I will have to have more. The plan is not totally conceived yet, but the doctor estimates at least two weeks of treatments.

¶ In the meantime I will not be able to continue the chemotherapy. The chemo is not harmonious or compatible with the brain radiation. So, my last chemo for the time being was on Thursday. I think I was at the cancer center from 8:00 until 2:30 this past Thursday. It will be nice to not have such a long day at the center for a few weeks hence. ¶ The side effects from the brain radiation seem to be tolerable. One of the new ones may be short term memory loss. It will be interesting to discover if I have this affliction and if I remember that I do! ¶ The project mentioned last week has been newly undertaken. I had enough material that I was able to begin again and all has gone well so far. Sophia continues to be most helpful in assisting me. I’m taking a little more time and being a little more careful which does help. I can’t blame the cat for everything. ¶ I’m seriously considering attending the South Dakota Symphony concert tonight. It is not very warm and the wind is blowing, but it’s usually a short walk. The guest artist, Orion Weiss, is playing Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A Minor. It would be nice to hear that in person. I get tired of sitting. My new plan is to sit through the first half and then hustle home and watch the rest on the live stream. That’s the plan for this evening. ¶ Now I need to finish the laundry and perhaps have a little snooze. ¶ Thanks for reading. Thanks in advance for your thoughts and prayers as I enter this new phase of treatment. Your support is very important to me and to others.