Sleeping babies and golfing hubby

The kids are sleeping and Mark is golfing. Yah, unbelievable! We are both so thrilled with Mark's energy and reaction to the second round of chemo we just can't believe it. We got word last night that Mark will do another bone marrow biopsy on Monday morning. Following that, the 3rd and (hopefully) final round of chemotherapy will start. After the 3rd round they will repeat the bone marrow biopsy again and maybe we can be done with it all.

We are eagre to assume that Mark is in remmission because he feels pretty good. Tired at times but overall he's doing amazing. But it's hard to get your hopes up when a test can smash them back down again. Highs are high, but the lows are terribly low - so for now we'll just think about the weekend. What should we barbeque? It's supposed to be nice.

We are really loving having Mark home with us. It's almost like a vacation except for the whole fighting Cancer thing. Mark is still travelling into town every second day for bloodwork and tests now that he is recovered from his infection last weekend. Up until Sunday, he was at the outpatient clinic every day for a few hours recieving IV antibiotics. A little taxing on him I think, lots of waiting around but all is well now.

Keep your fingers crossed and we'll post as soon as we know Mark's results.

Livestrong Day is today!

Hello all. A quick update as I'm just waiting for my ride in to the clinic. Today is Livestrong Day (the Lance Armstrong Foundation rally day) and plenty of events and rallies to raise awareness and funds for cancer research are going on all over the states. While I don't know if any of the events are in Canada, I do know that what changes in the US generally happens here too. If you've got a Livestrong wristband, wear it and wear anything yellow to show support. If you don't have a wristband, you can always go to www.livestrong.com to order your own. All the money goes to the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

As for me, I'm doing pretty well. We hit a bit of a bump in the road over the last few days. I developed a bit of an infection and spiked a fever for a while. It was as high as 38.8 C. Don't ask me to convert that to Fahrenheit, my math is horrible! My blood counts are right at the bottom and I can't fight off infection myself so I'm on a week of IV antibiotics. Unfortunately this means I have to go into Vancouver every day instead of just every second day. It's a bit tiresome especially when I don't feel great to begin with.

Luckily my fever broke 2 nights ago and I'm starting to feel better. The biggest hurdle is fatigue. I get winded just walking up the stairs! As my counts rise I'll see my energy level return, I'm sure. I can't believe I have to do this all over again. The only good thing is that it will be the last round and hopefully will go smoothly. One day at a time though.

If you're reading this, why not post a comment? There haven't been any for a while and we'd love to hear from you. Bye for now, and don't forget to wear yellow today!

Day 50!

Six days of chemo are behind us now and Mark is feeling pretty great considering. Lucky for him the nausea and physical side effects were minimal this time around... so far... fingers crossed.

We are happy to be enjoying the things that were so hard the first time around. With Mark in the hospital for over a month he missed doing stuff that we totally took for granted before. Like, being able to sleep in his own bed (beside me!) Napping when the kiddies nap (that's our favourite). Having home cooked meals, putting the kids to bed and reading them stories (and watching them sleep too). Smelling Noah's little head after a bath. Now that we've been home together for two weeks things are starting to feel a bit normal again. Mark is still commuting back to Vancouver every 2 days now but it's sort of like he's going to work. Just not "selling steaks" as Audrey says, it's his new job - fighting the big C.

We are so overwhelmed with everyone's generosity and kind words these last few weeks. It's been hard, but we have never felt alone thanks to all our amazing family and friends. We feel lucky to know you all.

As we wait for Mark's numbers to drop this week and then start their steady climb again back to health, we will be staying close to home as the risk of infection is at it's greatest for the next 10 days or so. Mark checks his email daily and loves to hear from everyone so keep us posted as to what's going on with all of you. And send pictures of your cute kids too!