Current Goals

The past week has brought a couple of new goals to light. Layne has been keeping in touch with fellow employees at work. He's thinking about returning for a few hours a week. We'll see how it goes.
He's also working with the guy he does his 'wellness appointments' with to start running again. I'm sure they're not talking a marathon any time soon...but, Layne would like to attempt to actually get some running in again - eventually.
It seems odd to be working on goals that seem to work toward a future. We have been attempting to make sure we're prepared for Layne to be gone - but, to have plans that include him being around for a least a little bit is a slight shift for us. It's not a complaint. It's just realizing...again...that there's always a reason we're adjusting to a new normal.

Chilly

Layne went golfing this morning. He has been cold ever since. It's only mid-October. I'm not ready for him to be cold yet. This is the guy that used to think about whether to wear pants or shorts to work on a day like today. It's a little chilly - but, not cold. A beautiful autumn day actually.
About the golf - they went to a place not too far away. I was glad a friend from work contacted him about it. I'm glad he 'works' with great people. He has some true friends from there who are just good people.

Most Recent Results

The results from yesterday were about the same as they were last time we went. We were glad there was no growth. Well, there was a small amount of change, but there has to be a 20% change in order to count. So, we're still hoping that what is working will continue to do so.

Happy Oncologist

We went in for the results of Layne's scan today. The tumors have no significant growth. So, Layne will continue doing what he's doing. The oncologist seemed thrilled. He came in saying there was good news. I think he was just glad there were no new visible tumors and that what was there had basically stayed the same. That's apparently great in his line of work. We thought a miracle would be really cool...such as no tumors at all. But, reality had to take over.
Layne will go in again in a couple of weeks to do what's required for the trial. They need to their updates too. After that, there will be a scan again in a couple of months for another update on the tumors. It seems we're moving forward.

"It's Just A C.T. Scan."

I asked Layne this morning if he wanted me to go with him for his appointments. His response was, "It's just a CT scan." I had to chuckle. I think he's the only person I've heard make that statement. He said it would be mostly sitting around and then I couldn't go into the room for the actual scan anyway. I thought he might want some company. But, that only comes at the price of not being here at home and he's sensitive to the fact that we're starting 'school' today. (I had to put it in quotes because we're a bit relaxed about it right now. We all need to ease into it. Although, I'm excited about some of the things we'll be doing this year. But, that's a different blog all together...so, time to move on.)
Layne's scan will be today and then he'll discuss the results with the oncologist tomorrow. We'll see if  I  get to be there for that or not. I like being there when he gets results back from his tests because it seems to sound different coming from the oncologist than it does from Layne. He'll describe it more in matter of fact scientific terms. Somehow I feel like there's more sympathy if it comes from Dr. Guerrido (and his compassionate nurse). It's almost as if they realize that what they're saying is pretty serious stuff. And, he always wants to be sure we understand what he's telling us. Layne understands quite well. (He's always been good about explaining his scientific world in simple terms.) Sometimes he misses the human aspect of it. We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Lately...

We've been doing summer things lately. We've been having fun and doing some projects. We've been wondering a bit about what comes next and we've spent most of our thinking time considering other subjects.
The kids have been enjoying the lazy moments. Sometimes I wonder if they understand what's going on with Layne and then I realize that I'm not sure about that either. I wonder how they will be doing a year, two years...five years from now.
Layne seems to be more tired than he was before. He continues to take a low dose of chemo daily (along with other medications that are attempting to counteract some of the reactions he's experiencing).
I have been doing my usual...can't get enough of learning more about learning. Someday I want to figure out the perfect homeschool combination for us. For the near future, I have a few plans to put together in order to implement them.

A Day's Work

Layne spent 7.5 hours on our yard today. He's not very good at following directions when his wife lets him know that it's time to be done. The kids and I were out there during the afternoon. I kept hoping he would go in mostly because I was concerned about him and partly because I was ready to be done and knew I couldn't go in until he did. The last hour or so, he kept saying, "I need to be done.". I would agree with him - but, then he would still be outside. My list of concerns included him just plain being worn out, getting sunburned, and knowing that he has a 12 hour day tomorrow. He starts a clinical trial and it makes sense to me that he not be worn out before he starts. But apparently, my logic has nothing to do with it. I do have to say that our yard does look better. I'm also incredibly grateful that he worked so hard...even though I'm a bit nervous for him. I think he's going to be sore tomorrow morning.
The kids and I had the chance to see 'Race to the Moon' this morning with some other homeschool families. (You can click here to read more.) So, I already felt like we had played a bit while he worked. Maybe another reason I wanted him to not work so hard was because I felt a bit guilty for enjoying and play and our kids while he chose to slave away.