Bzzzzzzzzzz....

The sound of Ramsy's beard buzzing off.....  The Beards to Battle Cancer contest ended today, and Ramsy is smooth-jowled once again!  Hooray!  This is the 3rd day of chemo, so he was not feeling up to attending the judging.  I took some pictures of him along and went to see the contest.  I'm glad I didn't have to pick a winner, because there were some great beards there!  Ramsy won a prize for collecting the second-highest amount in donations- $3007!  Your support has been tremendous!  Thank you all. The contest raised $23,800 for Central Plains Cancer Care, and the man who spearheaded the event told the crowd that his original hope for the grand total was $3000! 

Ramsy has been walking around the house a little bit, sometimes pushing the wheelchair or leaning against the wall/table/thing that's stable, and sometimes unassisted.  This afternoon he became completely exhausted, as we expected, so it may be a couple of weeks before he is back on his feet, so to speak!  It is definitely easier for us to go through the second round than the first, because we know what to expect and don't find the results quite so alarming.  We have pretty well planned a week of movies, napping and sitting on the couch.  (OK, the kids are home for Spring Break, so there will be slightly more activity than that around here!)

We'll post some before and after pics of the bearded/beardless man in a few days once Ramsy has the energy to show me how to do it!

Feelin' Groovy

Hey friends, we are relaxing and enjoying ourselves in a hotel for a couple of days while our kids spend time with relatives.  We feel like royalty as we "receive" visitors at our hotel room!  One of my favourite things to see is Ramsy making his way around the room out of the wheelchair- hanging on to the walls and beds, surely, but on his own two feet instead of on wheels.  His strength is still pretty minimal, but it has improved in the last couple of days.

Looking ahead a couple of days, he will be starting his next chemo round shortly.  We are mentally better prepared this time for the fatigue and are basically planning a week of rest.  I'm sure I will be heading to the library for some good movies and maybe a couple of audiobooks. He finds it easier to follow a book audibly than visually.  He is also enjoying some issues of Popular Science and Macleans.  Wouldn't read the scrapbooking magazine I brought along, though- go figure.

He is quite looking forward to shaving off the beard next Saturday and hopes to be able to attend the "judging" BBQ that day.  (Last call for donations!)

On the Upswing

We have been happy over the last couple of days to see improvements in Ramsy's energy compared to a week ago.  He is feeling quite a bit better and looking forward to having a couple of good weeks before the next chemo treatment.  When I spoke with his nurse about his fatigue, she said it typically sets in around the third day of treatment and begins letting up about day 9.  This is pretty much what we experienced, and now we will be mentally better prepared next time.  Just have to plan for a week of resting!

The amazing beard continues to flourish and donations have been coming in steadily.  Thank you!  One of our kids asked tonight why people would donate money for a beard!  She got it when we explained that the money is not for the beard, it's for helping people with cancer and the beard contest just makes it a bit fun.  The beard "judging" is on the 26th, and we will be able to give you a total then.

Downhill all the way!

Well, Ramsy has had his first round of the second set of chemo treatments.  It is the same chemo drug as before, so we were confident that side effects would be minimal.  Wrong!  This dose is more than double what he was taking last time, and it knocked his energy right out!  By the fourth day of five he had no energy at all (probably because he was out for three hours the evening before) and was also experiencing some pretty bad headaches.  We're not sure whether these were caused by the anti-nausea drug (can be one of the side effects) or one of his other many drugs, or if his medications needs adjusting- we're waiting to hear the blood test results for that.  Speech is quite difficult for him these days, and just for added fun he had a seizure in the night once and the next day he fell.  We know how to party!  It is difficult for all of us to live in a constant state of flux. Sometimes we just have to laugh, and sometimes we just have to cry. What else can you do?

Some of you have said that you feel bad about not phoning or dropping in, but I will tell you honestly that we know you are thinking of us and love us.  We love your prayers and the cards or emails that you send- they mean so much to us.  Since it is so difficult for Ramsy to talk on the phone but he is able to read your well-wishes, that is a great way to let him know you are thinking of him.

Citizen of the Year!

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, Ramsy was selected as Citizen of the Year in our little town.  The awards dinner was last weekend.  It was lovely to see so many friends and acquaintances there, and we very much appreciate the kind comments from you all.  Ramsy doesn't love being the centre of attention, but I just told him he would have to suck it up and deal with people wanting to say nice things about him!  We'll have a couple of pictures to put up in the next while.