Treatment Begins - or as Gloria calls it, "The Day of Reckoning." It has been 1 day short of a month since anything of medical significance has taken place. That was the day we visited Dr. Koeneke to hear his plan for Gloria's future.

During that meeting, he shared that he did not want to begin treatments until four weeks had passed since her surgery. That meant nothing would happen until November 11 at the earliest.

Another limitation was placed by when he would have an open slot in his treatment regime. Since each lasts several hours and they then carry on for 18 weeks, they cannot just be "squeezed in." The next two start dates were November 25 and December 3. The former would have probably made a considerable dent in her enjoyment of Thanksgiving, so the latter was chosen.

While tomorrow will be the beginning of receiving the cancer-fighting drugs, the day before - today - she takes four - 4 mg Dexamethasone pills - two in the morning and two in the evening - to prepare for the others she will receive tomorrow.

Random Bits

- November 4 - My cousin Kris had such a LONG day flying to the UK in preparation for the trip to Malta, both Gloria and I were concerned what her flights home on Tuesday would bring. Since we got her into the trip, we couldn't help feeling responsible. Well, it was a good reminder that most of what you worry about never happens. It all went smoothly. She arrived home in Wisconsin at about 7 p.m. About ten minutes to 8 p.m., we received a text: "heading to bed soon!"

- November 6 - Gloria is driving to a meeting. I think she liked having me chauffeur her around, but she also gets tired of it. So, it was time to spread her wings again.

- November 10 - Late in the morning, she joined some of her gal-pals at friend-and-former-colleague Linda’s place in Manhattan for a session of "Mondays with Mandy." About once a month, they meet in memory of Linda's daughter Mandy, who had the 4&20 Bakery and Café in Madison, Wisconsin until her death of natural causes at age 36 in 2017. Food - and talk - are the focal point and this time the theme was "Tea and Crumpets."

- November 12 and 14 - Gloria completed her blood work on the former date and the CAT scan (CT Scan) on the latter. The former yielded nothing unusual and the latter found NO signs of a cancer spread.

- November 18 - Owen Maelor Roberts, who we knew through the Fron Choir, as he was the assistant musical director, passed away from cancer. What a nice and talented man.

- November 20 - An echocardiogram had been scheduled for this morning, but grandma had been enjoying granddaughter this past week and with granddaughter being in childcare, well, as they say: "What goes around, comes around" - and a particularly nasty cold was what made the circuit to Gloria this week. Gloria was miserable and so spent the day sleeping, not cardiograming! The new echocardiogram date is December 9.

We had tickets for the Barricade Boys at McCain Auditorium this evening, but Gloria was not feeling well enough, so Sarah Inskeep and I used them.

- November 27 - In our 39 Thansksgivings together, this was the first one we were alone - and rather enjoyed it! Of course, we knew Mariya, Miriam and DQ would be with us Sunday, so we still had some socializing. DQ is at that toddler-who-runs stage. After our visitors returned home, a leaf-shaped cotton coaster could not be found, despite our best effort. Then, on Monday when Gloria was putting away some of the pots and pans, she opened the cupboard for the latter and there was the coaster. Yup, we remember when she was exploring and checked that area out.

Other Errata - In no particular order:

- One day Gloria looked at me and said, "I’m jealous ... you have nipples!"

- She has been working on her office area at home, including completing some painting. Never knew anyone to get so excited about getting organized.

- I ate a small Walmart muffin we had around for weeks. It was slightly dry, but over time I've been watching for some mold to form, but no. I told Gloria they must bake in some Phesgo as nothing lives on them!

- In my family, my father was the quiet one. But when we were alone, he often shared little "tidbits" with me that have stayed. One of those was "Anything labeled 'universal' is universally bad for all situations."

It had been my intention to write these pieces as both a log and as an update. Rather than "one size fits all," it was clear it was not satisfying the needs of either very well. So I have decided to stop doing "broadcast" updates and focus on the logging aspect. I'll post the results in the Family Stories area and let folks know where to find them.