We got into my brother's house on Friday evening around 6:00. My sister in law had her card club get together so Chuck (my brother), my Bob and I ordered take out Chinese. That seems to be our Friday night ritual as of late. Chuck and Jill have such a beautiful home and a very comfortable guest room.
Picture of Chuck and Jill at Christmas
Saturday morning we drove to the other side of Cincinnati to spend the day with Bob's mother. For those that aren't up to date, Mother Millie has pancreatic cancer and about a month ago she was given 3 to 6 months by her doctor. We are going to try to make this trip to Cincinnati about once a month to be able to spend as much time with her as we can. It's a very sad thing to watch and she is very sad and depressed. She's losing her hair with the chemotherapy treatments and is in a lot of pain. The pain seems to be under control right now with pain medication. She says the once a week chemo sessions are very difficult and make her very sick. We were told recently by Bob's sister that two more tumors have been discovered. So here's my question: Is chemotherapy worth it? I have no experience with cancer and admittedly know nothing about effects and results of chemotherapy. All I know is that anyone I've ever know with cancer seems to get really sick from the chemo. and I have never known anyone personally that has beat this thing. I hear of cancer survivors, but are there survivors from pancreatic cancer? I just have all these unanswerable questions about this disease. Why do some people get it and others don't? Why does it happen? What causes it? My MIL has always eaten well, exercised a lot and was usually very upbeat. Now granted, she drank probably more than she should have and had some very rough times in her life, but does this cause cancer? It's such a mystery to me.
We took her for groceries and we just sat in her living room and talked. Then we took her to dinner at a very nice restaurant where her oldest daughter, Debbie, is a waitress. Debbie was working that night so she waited on us. We were also joined by Bob's brother, Debbie's husband, and a very good friend of ours, Mike. Mike was the best man and one and only witness on our wedding day 30 years ago.
Mother Millie and Mike
Millie was getting very tired during dinner, but she ate well and was glad to be with family and friends. I overheard her say to Mike, "Please pray for a miracle for me". It's so sad. But she really did better than I expected of her that day and she looked so cute with her little black hat on.
We took her home so she could get to bed, then Bob and I went back to my brother's house for the night. After a nice breakfast with Chuck and Jill at a cute little restaurant called "The Breakfast Club", we headed back home.
Our Sunday evening ended on a fun and positive note. My son and his family were waiting for us at our house. We knew they were coming. It was their 6th anniversay yesterday and they drove the hour to our house to go out to dinner. We had kept in touch and told them to bring the boys to us as we would be home by 4:00. So we had a nice visit with Austin, Melissa and the boys, then the boys stayed with us while their mom and dad went to dinner.
Austin and Melissa in front of my Valentine tree.
Melissa had her first sonogram today and we were hoping to maybe find out if we have a boy or girl on the way. It's still a little too early, though, so we don't know yet. The sonogram did show that the baby is healthy and growing well. That's all that matters.
I continue to be amazed at the miracle of birth and the mystery of death up close and personal.
