The beginning of October or thereabouts.

Sunday was a lovely day, but windy.  What can I say? South Dakota is well known for its abundance of air movement. In the midst of the afternoon I roused myself from napping/newspaper reading to go out. There were some perceived needs that I thought I should deal with, one of which was rinse agent for the dishwasher. So forth I went. This morphed into shopping for a table lamp for my office, another need I perceived while walking across the parking lot of the mega-home improvement store. Two hours and four stores later I had the lamp and the rinse agent! 

Monday was spent at the fitness center in the morning and taking care of some errands in the afternoon.  I discovered my eyesight was improving each day and is clear for the most part now.

Tuesday was the day of the CT scan. One can assume that chemotherapy is working by what it does to the body and from the blood work done before each round of the stuff. My own body has tolerated the chemo so well one could doubt that it is having any effect on the cancer. I was looking forward to this day with a mixture of emotions.  Today, the “machine” would actually look at the tumors and see if there are any changes for good or bad. After my port had been accessed in the lab, I ascended to the third floor where some kindly person steered me in the direction I should go. A tech brought me two pint bottles of water laced with iodine with instructions to drink both in the next 40 minutes. I followed the instructions!

I was called forth from the waiting area with the announcement “we are ready for you.”  The tech brought me to the room where the giant doughnut resided. I think this is an appropriate name for the CT scanner. I just had to pull my trousers down below my knees and recline upon the moveable bed covered with a sheet. The machine did its thing moving me back and forth with seemingly no human direction, and issuing orders like “breathe in, hold your breath, breathe.” After a warning that I would feel warm as dye was injected into my IV, I did! In a few minutes it was over and I was free to go until the doctor’s appointment in the afternoon. 

The oncologist met with me in the afternoon with the results of the CT scan. I was happy to hear that the results were very good! The largest of the tumors in the liver was previously 6.9 cm. It was now 3.4 cm. Another of the liver tumors was 4.0 cm and is now 1.6 cm.  “Additional hypodense lesions are either no longer seen or decreased in size from the previous examination.”  The main tumor in the lung has undergone a “considerable decrease in size.” In looking at the pictures, the doctor pointed out the previous scan which showed a large mass, which is now just a whisp of a mark on the lung.

I’ll have another round of chemo next week and then go on immune therapy every three weeks, one session, for the foreseeable future.

Wednesday is the arrival day for the pilgrims from Denver and Charlotte. After collecting all from the airport at various times and taking care of checking into the hotel, etc. We will have a celebration of my friend’s birthday at dinner. Most of the prep work has been taken care of, so the preparation of same should be fairly easy.

Everyone arrived in Sioux Falls safely on Wednesday.  Everyone also arrived early! After the Denver contingent landed we did a little shopping, had some time to stop by the Prairie Center before they could all check in to their hotel. Then it was off to my house to prepare for dinner. The birthday celebration was pleasant and dinner was good according to the reports of the diners. 

The pilgrims at Kenny's.

Thursday we are off to Sheboygan, Wisconsin for the annual pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham at Grace Church. This is an annual event and I believe I’ve only missed a couple of times since I began attending in 1991.  The day of travel was also a rain day.  It’s a little hard to see what’s going on when two semis are side by side spraying water! I drove as far as LaCrosse, WI and then asked my friend to drive. My vision was OK but I was beginning to get tired so it was good to have relief.  We stopped in Austin, MN (Spam capital of the world—the meat not the computer stuff!) and had lunch at a place we found last year, Kenny’s Oak Grill. It’s a real local color place with mountains of food on the plate. Maybe that’s why I got tired.  Too much lunch. We arrived in Sheboygan shortly after six and stayed in the rest of the night dining on cheese and crackers and pretzels and pie.   

Friday was a dreary day so we cancelled the idea of going to Holy Hill which is a usual stop on this trip. Instead we lazed around the hotel in the morning and attended the meditations for the quiet day in the afternoon. The rest of the pilgrims from Sioux Falls arrived in time for the Rosary at 5. After evensong, which was lovely, we all ended up at the The Duke of Devon, a local restaurant/pub which has excellent food. Fish and chips were on my plate followed by a portion of sticky toffee pudding. A very nice way to end the day. 

Saturday dawned bright and clear. A trip to the farmer’s market in the town square was in order.  We needed some things to take to Sunday’s potluck. The sun was shining but it was brisk with a healthy “breeze” which seemed to come from all directions. Two pies and a gallon of apple cider later we hustled back to the hotel to prepare for the big service at 10:30.  

This service is always celebrated by the Bishop of Fond du Lac and begins with a procession around the block with the statue of Our Lady of Walsingham. The extra long pilgrimage hymn was accompanied by a brass group from the Chicago area which also played during the Mass. The music is lovely and there is a lot of it. The “Harvest Lunch” follows which is always delicious. There is an healing service in the afternoon with more music from a string quartet and the organ. A beautiful conclusion to a wonderful day. 

Br. Mark-Romauld, Fr. Warren,
 Oblate William, Sister Scholastica

Most of my Benedictine community was present and we had our annual portrait taken. The promise of many prayers sent me on my way with happiness that I have been here one more time and found it a place I hope to return to many times more. Even if I cannot, I know that my name will be remembered each night when the Shrine Prayers are said.

There are places and then there are places. Rupp’s in Sheboygan is one of THOSE places. It is a typical, old fashioned Wisconsin restaurant with enormous quantities of food and waitresses that speak “Minnesotan” better than the natives. Our reservation was for 6:30 and we were seated at 6:31.5.  The place was packed. Then it pretty much cleared out and was almost empty until the next wave of diners hit shortly after 7. This crowd was, on the whole, a lot younger than the early crowd. The Saturday night special is prime rib. The smallest cut weighs in at 16 ounces (that is a whole pound of beef for those who have forgotten their English measurements). The food is really good and it must be one of the last places on earth where you can get a Golden Cadillac, a Pink Squirrel, or a Charlie Brown which topped off my meal.  I opted for the 6 ounce tenderloin.  I attempted the prime rib last year and gave up half way through. Rupp’s is an experience and it’s only one block from the hotel. 

Now it’s time to say good night. It’s been a wonderful week celebrated with good friends, safe travel, and good news. No one could ask for more. I am blessed.