Caroline is doing ok ....

Howdy ya'll - that's Texan for hello you all. This is Suzie again. Caroline is doing fine - she's off her steroid high and therefore has less energy.

I'm so happy to have my "real" little sister back. I can hear it in her voice - it's truly Caroline! I'm wondering if any of you caretakers have experienced this with your loved one. She's finally sleeping, which means Robert is getting more "good" sleep. I kept thinking about the time one of my best friends was in the midst of a horendous tragedy. We were at the hospital and my friend could not sleep or eat. The nurse told us her getting sleep was more important than her eating. I was beginning to think Robert would get up one morning and find a little pile of ashes where Caroline had finally burned out.

Caroline is getting physical therapy on her leg and she believes it is really helping, although I don't believe she can yet really use that thigh muscle. Robert said she can bend the leg a tad. She continues to have mouth and throat sores and sometimes she can't even take pills.

This is really getting her down. Caroline, as I'm sure you've come to know, has always been extremely active. She was involved in so many things and she worked at the same time. After moving to Ouray and marrying Robert, she jumped into the community with both feet. To not have energy and to feel so sick is depressing. She questions whether it's all worth it. Apparently the affects of FOLFOX are cumulative so she'll probably feel even worse after the next treatment. I'm going over on Tuesday to spend some sister time and give Robert the time to do some rockhounding. Robert is great at finding beautiful crystals. I swear, he knows everything about Colorado minerals. Caroline and Robert were a good match - both being geologists and continuing their interest and enterprise in minerals.

I'll travel to Grand Junction with Robert and Caroline next Thursday for her doctor appointment. Hopefully all the tests will give the go ahead for FOLFOX chemo. She's coming to the end of this chemo regime and we're all extremely anxious for her to take a scan and see what the FOLFOX has accomplished. Caroline and Robert have a friend who has undergone this chemo regime for a different type of cancer. He's shared his experiences while undergoing FOLFOX which has been extremely helpful to Caroline. His sharing of experiences and his support has helped her get through this.

I'd better scoot - have a million things to do before I leave on Tuesday.

You go FOLFOX ..... kill those cancer cells!

Love to all,
Suzie