Gus and Salty

This picture is of Gus and Salty’s first official ride. Gus is riding Salty every chance he gets. The horse seems to have a quiet disposition, which is essential when older people ride young green-broke horses.

When Lindsey came up with this crazy idea for her father’s Christmas present, I begrudgingly was a part of it. It was the greatest gift we could have given Gus. He has loved that horse since the moment he met Salty on a cold December night. It was 15 below and the night before we headed to Seattle for surgery. Last night after riding, Gus told me “It just feels so good on Salty”.

Gus’ and my goal is to load our horses in the horse-trailer and drive to the mountains to ride as often as possible this summer. We live in a piece of heaven and we have never spent as much time as we would have liked enjoying it. There was always too much work waiting for us on the ranch.

Gus has golfed twice since coming home from his trip. Thursday, he golfed with an 89 year old man who he had never met before. Gus stomped him pretty bad. If the elderly gentleman had stomped Gus pretty bad, I would have kept that information to myself and never shared it on the blog.

Last Tuesday, Gus had another CA 19-9 blood test. This time it was higher. The test result was 50. We are not overly concerned that it is 19 points higher than the one done April 28. What the number is on the next test will probably mean more. We have an appointment on June 2 with the oncologist, so we will know his feelings on the test results.

Gus' Goal

Last year, Gus saw this article in the newspaper. He cut it out and wrote across it. “Next Year I Walk!! He dated it 7/27/08. At this point in his cancer walk, he had the PIC line in and he had received two chemo treatments. This cutout has hung on the wall in his office for 10 months. To fulfill his desire, three of us (Lindsey, Gus and I) will be walking in the Relay for Life on June 26th. It is a fundraiser for finding the cure for cancer, so if any of you would like to support Gus financially, we would really appreciate it. We have to have the donations prior to June 26th.

Trip Wrap-Up

Gus called Thursday night very disappointed because he and Gary never found one golf course along the Columbia River Gorge. They had finally stopped about 3 ½ hours south of Spokane for the night. Gus, Gary and Gus’ friend, Dave Browning, did have some quality time at the Sutherlin golf course on Wednesday, though. They played 18 holes on a very beautiful course.

Wednesday evening, Gus went and visited his old boss in Roseburg, OR. Wayne has always been one of Gus’ oldest and dearest friends for the past 37 years. He helped whether Gus needed a job, a place to stay, some help, or just some good advice. Since Gus lost his father when he was only 14 years old, Wayne was the father figure in Gus’ life. This visit, Wayne could not remember who Gus was. It was a very emotional evening for Gus.

They stayed in Spokane last night, and then Gus will start for home early this morning. His arrival to his beloved meadow will be none too soon for me. I have a very hard time not being able to monitor Gus’ well-being. I am like his oncologist. Gus cannot just tell us how he feels, we have to see him and know everything is o.k.

Gus called last night. They played nine holes Friday morning in Umatilla, OR and then drove to Spokane and played another 18 holes. It was a beautiful day and they had plenty of time. Gus made some calculations in his head and he has played 99 holes of golf in his 11 days. By the time he gets home, he will have driven almost 2,650 miles.

Gus in Redmond May 16, 2009

Gus arrived in Seattle Friday morning and immediately looked around for a golf course. Imagine that.

Gus spent his week-end watching grandson Grayson play baseball, visiting friends and relatives, and golfing with T.J. and Gary, his friend from Nebraska. Gus has been limiting himself to nine holes of golf each day just to make sure he didn't overdo. But on Sunday, he unleashed his full power and played 18 holes. Rumor has it his son beat him on the golf course for the first time ever and it was quite a significant difference. It wasn't fair that T.J. threw in those "birdies" and "pars" to keep his score down. Gus was very pleased with his score when he played in Spokane. It was the best he had played for years.

Gus enjoyed his time so much in Seattle, but this morning he and Gary headed south to Oregon. They will end up in Roseburg, OR for a couple of days before heading home the Columbia River Gorge route. I asked Gus if there were any golf courses along the Columbia and he just laughed. That could explain why it is going to take he and Gary three days to drive what Gus and I used to drive in several hours.

Golfing with Gus

Gus is now on his long awaited vacation. The weather hasn't been great, but that hasn't dampened his joy on the golf course in the least. He golfed in St. Regis, MT on Monday, Coeur d'Alene on Tuesday and today he is golfing in Spokane. Tomorrow he golfs in Ellensburg, WA.

A year ago, Gus proposed to the Montana Historic Society in Helena drastic measures in order to win a grant for restoring our old barn. He wanted to dismantle the old part, pour footings and walls, then rebuild using as much of the original material as possible. We were awarded the grant based on Gus' aggressive plan. Two weeks later, our world fell apart and Gus got sick. There was no way he could do the work. I couldn't accept the grant, yet I refused to let it go.

A friend of ours who is also a co-worker of mine offered to help us see it through. Brian met Gus last June, two days before we flew to Seattle, and Gus shared his ideas and goals for the barn. Throughout these past 10 months, Gus was a part of the work days on the barn whenever he felt well enough. He was active enough to still feel a part of the project. The first part of April, Brian and his volunteers had finished the hard part and all that was left was to put the walls back up and finish the inside. At this point, Gus felt well enough to finish the project himself. He finished it on April 20th, 5 weeks before our deadline. These pictures show the "rustic" look and the "restored" look. You can see what Gus did with his spare time this spring and what Brian did with his days off for the last several months.

Before

The Finished Project

May 4th Update

We did meet with the main medical oncologist last Tuesday, April 28th. The CT Scan was clear with no signs of cancer in the lungs or liver. It even looked as if the tumor has shrunk since the CT Scan in January. Gus and I left the doctor's office feeling quite pleased with life right now. The doctor did not agree with our choice of no visits to Bozeman, however. He wants to see Gus on a monthly basis, so we are scheduled for a doctor's visit on June 2. That is still a huge improvement since last summer when Gus made the trip daily.

Gus had another CA 19-9 done last Tuesday and this time the number was 31. Gus feels so good right now and is getting so much accomplished. He is exhausted at night, but still the rewards of being out there getting dirty is balm to his soul. His hands are bruised and dirty just like the old days. Sometimes we almost forget the shadow that hangs over our life because of how good it is right now. One of Gus' hunting buddies feels Gus should be buying lottery tickets because of his ability to beat the odds.

Gus and Lane just headed to Dillon to the driving range at the golf course. They have been putting all morning into the little plastic cup at home and now they are ready for more excitement. Gus has not spent as much time practicing as Lane so it really is not a fair match.