Journal entry by Scott Callahan —
Well, a bit of good news. We met with Julie's new oncologist yesterday and, boy, what a difference. He spent over an hour talking with us, answering every question we could come up with and established in no uncertain terms that he has Julie's back in just about every way possible.
He also had a different take on the MRI results and noted that tumors often swell after treatment so we're not supposed to read too much into what we're seeing. For Julie's sake, I hope he's right. He took a lot of time explaining it and it all makes sense. Not enough sense for me to adequately explain here, but nevertheless let's all go with it for now.
Julie's mood swings were getting pretty, shall we say, intense, which is one of the reasons we knew it was time for her to go back to the hospital in late January. She has leveled off a little over the past two weeks, in part because the brain swelling looks to be going down in some areas, and also because she's now taking a drug that helps manage the lowest times. Visits also seem to help. She's still only good for 15 minutes or so, but she does enjoy seeing people.
Speaking of which, a great big thank you and virtual hug to everyone who has come by, provided dinners, or simply dropped a line wishing Julie well. It's made all the difference in dealing with this and we can't thank you enough.
The official Julie-Rocket-Rocket TV trend is still watching with the volume so low it could just as well be muted. Or maybe I'm just more deaf that I realize. Sometimes the volume is really off, though, which is honestly the only way to watch some of those morning shows. If I ever meet Ryan Seacrest in person he and I are going to have a few words about what is truly tv-worthy.
We've been on a Jeopardy hiatus. I guess we all felt we needed to digest all of the little chunks of knowledge we've already gained. I, for one, have also realized just how little Shakespeare I've actually retained and am embarrassed to admit I may be terminally Shakespeare illiterate. Pray for me. Forsooth.
In other news, I've been quite comprehensibly and most acutely threatened with my well being if I purchase any more "treasures" during these most capricious of times. I have thus taken to acquiring and restoring all manner of vintage oil-burning lighting. There are no less than 6 new ones that have arrived in the last month, two of which are currently sitting majestically next to me on the dining room table. All were acquired at no cost.
He also had a different take on the MRI results and noted that tumors often swell after treatment so we're not supposed to read too much into what we're seeing. For Julie's sake, I hope he's right. He took a lot of time explaining it and it all makes sense. Not enough sense for me to adequately explain here, but nevertheless let's all go with it for now.
Julie's mood swings were getting pretty, shall we say, intense, which is one of the reasons we knew it was time for her to go back to the hospital in late January. She has leveled off a little over the past two weeks, in part because the brain swelling looks to be going down in some areas, and also because she's now taking a drug that helps manage the lowest times. Visits also seem to help. She's still only good for 15 minutes or so, but she does enjoy seeing people.
Speaking of which, a great big thank you and virtual hug to everyone who has come by, provided dinners, or simply dropped a line wishing Julie well. It's made all the difference in dealing with this and we can't thank you enough.
The official Julie-Rocket-Rocket TV trend is still watching with the volume so low it could just as well be muted. Or maybe I'm just more deaf that I realize. Sometimes the volume is really off, though, which is honestly the only way to watch some of those morning shows. If I ever meet Ryan Seacrest in person he and I are going to have a few words about what is truly tv-worthy.
We've been on a Jeopardy hiatus. I guess we all felt we needed to digest all of the little chunks of knowledge we've already gained. I, for one, have also realized just how little Shakespeare I've actually retained and am embarrassed to admit I may be terminally Shakespeare illiterate. Pray for me. Forsooth.
In other news, I've been quite comprehensibly and most acutely threatened with my well being if I purchase any more "treasures" during these most capricious of times. I have thus taken to acquiring and restoring all manner of vintage oil-burning lighting. There are no less than 6 new ones that have arrived in the last month, two of which are currently sitting majestically next to me on the dining room table. All were acquired at no cost.
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