October 23, 2008 Update

Gus is thoroughly enjoying life right now.  Every waking moment is spent planning his week in the mountains.  The five guys will leave this Saturday and won't return until the following Saturday, November 1st.  Last Monday when we were in Bozeman, Gus went to the new sports store in town.  He left the store with every heat-producing item they could offer.  Boots, gloves, pants, thermals, electric socks, etc.  This could easily qualify as the most expensive recreational week of my life.

Gus also had his appointment with the medical oncologist on Monday.  The blood work looked good and the doctor was very pleased with how well Gus looked and how good he felt.  Right now, Gus is not taking any medication.  He has no pain or nausea.  His self-appointed nurse will make sure, though, that all medications are included in his pack before he leaves on Saturday.

Gus went golfing in Dillon with a friend last Friday.  No golf carts were available so they walked.  Gus was able to complete six holes of golf before he needed to quit.  This is an incredible improvement.  Just a few short weeks ago, Gus could hardly walk to the end of our driveway to get the newspaper.

Realistically, this will be Gus’ last time to go to hunting camp.  Gus and I both know that.  It is a very physically demanding week even when a person is healthy.  Gus would not be going to hunting camp if Scott was not going.  Scott has the ability and the strength to get his father there and get him home, no matter what the circumstances.  Scott has never been allowed to take a week off during hunting season before.  Other employees with more seniority have that privilege.  This year, no one would deny Scott the time off.  Everyone wanted Gus’ dream to become reality one more time.

It's only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth -- and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up, we will then begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.
                                                                                                                                       By Elisabeth Kubler-Ross  

October 13, 2008 Update

It has been 10 days since Gus had any radiation-chemo treatments. As of the last couple of days, he is starting to feel great. The medicine is once again controlling the nausea, his stomach feels normal and food tastes wonderful. Gus felt so good this week-end that he spent several hours hunting pheasants with Scott, April, Lindsey and John (Lindsey's friend). Gus went pheasant hunting again today and walked a couple of miles. Gus' feet have quit hurting and he is back in his cowboy boots again. The yeast infection is gone.

The only negative thing Gus is still struggling with is his weight. Even though he is eating normal, the numbers on the scales keep dropping. He has lost almost forty pounds since starting this walk. We never dreamed there would be a day when we rejoiced because Gus gained weight. We can't wait now for that day to come.

Gus has not felt this good since last May. His smile is contagious and everyone is enjoying being around him. Life is so good right now.

Picture of Gus and Scott taken this summer.

October 6, 2008 Update

Gus' last day of radiation went great last Friday.  He had his first radiation at 10:00 and then we immediately drove to where they would remove the PIC line and the chemo pump.  Taking the PIC line out was simple.   I had to sign when we took the chemo pump seven weeks ago and I made sure they signed that they got it back.  Our lunch of Chinese food tasted really good to Gus and he ate a good sized meal.  His 33^rd and final radiation was at 4:00 in the afternoon.  He hugged everyone he could and walked out of the cancer center with a huge smile.  

He hardly slept in the car coming home and even felt good enough that evening to be a part of moving the cows and calves the six miles to our place so we could wean the calves the next morning.   

Saturday Gus came and went enough in the corrals to keep us all on track.   He feels a little better each day and wants to start walking and building his strength back up.   Gus never did get as sick as I expected for having a double dose of radiation in one day.  Of course, he wears a nausea patch all the time and takes nausea pills also.   We look forward to the nausea being just a bad memory from the past.  

 

The soles of Gus’ feet are still tender so he only can wear tennis shoes right now, but that will improve.  The yeast infection on his arm is steadily getting better now that it is exposed to the air and medication.  Gus looks good for what he has been through.  None of the medical professionals believed he could pull off 7 weeks of radiation with the schedule of driving back and forth each day.   Gus’ fear was that they would decide to do more radiation treatments, so he asked them.  They had given him the maximum number of treatments possible and didn’t dare add anymore on.  That was a relief.

 

Gus and I have both seen how important our attitude is in this walk.  Our faith is the only thing that keeps us going when the shadows and doubt come.