more waiting

Another waiting room sketch, this one is from last month waiting to hear the results of my PET-scan. Not entirely accurate (I simplified quite a bit, including the quilt’s detail) but it sort of captured the moment.

I have colorectal cancer (no, I did not get that recommended colonoscopy— bad decision!), probably stage 3. There’s a suspicious lymph node near my neck which if cancerous would bring it to a stage 4 — but that is very near the port they just installed to receive chemo injections and it could very well be a pocket of inflammation from that.

Currently we are waiting for tests and consultation at M.D. Anderson that my daughter requested and my oncologist at Baylor, Scott, & White fully supports. But personally, I just want to get the battle started! It looks like I will be starting chemo next week in College Station. The plan is 4 1/2 months full chemo followed by radiation with reduced chemo, then surgery to hopefully reverse the colostomy they did February 28th. 

It looks like this year is going to feel very long and slow . . .

a lime tree blossom

Yesterday our daughter Kristen brought me a snipped bloom from the lime tree growing in a large pot on their front porch. I was lying down resting at the moment, so I laid it on the bedside table . . . only to open my eyes a few moments later just  in time to see our silly cat, Scottie, trying to eat it! It was rescued and I sketched it today. 🐈‍⬛

grooming time

Bardie MacRuadh was looking up at me sitting on the recliner, trying to decide if he really wanted to be brushed.

His decision was “yes!” — eventually, in “cat time”. Then I decided to draw the brush (getting the perspective a bit wonky). But it’s taken a very long time to actually finish the sketch. Like specialty doctors’ office visits and medical tests, everything seems to go in slow-motion lately.

relaxin'

After listening to a podcast (and jotting down notes), Bardie and I relaxed and listened to some music on my iPhone. Or, rather, Bardie slept and I listened.

For anyone interested, the podcast was an archived one from The God Journey, July 17, 2009 -- "Relaxing into His Love". You can find it HERE.

 

have some pie?

Our friend, Eugene, had a shoulder replacement surgery on Wednesday. But before he went to the hospital, he arranged to send me a piece of my favorite coconut meringue pie from Chappell Hill Bakery and Deli (they also have really yummy barbecue!). I am blessed with the most amazing friendships!

hielan coos

Just three miles from home, we found a herd (or “fold” as they say in the Scottish Highlands) of Highland Cows. As hot and humid as this part of Texas gets, I’m glad they have big ponds and plenty of shade trees! My right hand is shakier lately — I just could not get the lines quite where I wanted them. 🫣

a real book!

Waiting today at the Oncologist’s office, among smart phones and e-readers, I found a lady reading an actual Real Book!

a tinier bag

When I had my first post-hospital doctor visit last week, I was still using a walker to get around. Carrying a regular purse would have been a bit cumbersome so I went much smaller, borrowing this tiny cross-body bag from our granddaughter. Just enough room for ID, iPhone, lip balm — and a tiny sketchbook and pen, of course.

On the far left I began a gratitude list that was added to daily. As my medical team prepares to go on the attack against the tumor, I am reminded of so much I have to be thankful for.

summer tanager

Looking out our French doors and windows from the loveseat recliner, I see the bird feeders hanging on our front porch. An amazing variety come to visit each day. Lately there have been large numbers of cardinals and robins, but recently we saw these brilliant red birds without crests — our Texas bird book identifies them as male summer tanagers; the females are a contrasting yellow.

from last month . . .

This spread in my sketchbook was done last month, over a week or so, but I never got around to posting it. The empty milk bottle had been sitting in our kitchen window since Christmas — it once held eggnog — and it was waiting to be returned to our farmer’s market for deposit. By the time I got around to finishing this, it was.