Some Good News.

We celebrate all we can get.

My dad called today. He is undergoing radiation treatment. The purpose of the treatments is to get the tumor in his back to retreat away from the nerve it is threatening. The doctors think this is what is causing the numbness and weakness in Dad's right leg. If the nerve is further compromised, major damage could happen and make Dad's time left even more miserable.

He's had seven treatments. After the first two the numbness in his leg changed to pain. Sounds bad but is really a good thing. As of today he's had seven treatments. He said he's been taking a pain pill every night to help him sleep, but last night he decided to go without it, expecting that he would have to take one when the pain woke him in the night. He was able to sleep through the night without it.

This is great news as far as him being comfortable for whatever time he has left.

In my own news, I've lost 15 pounds in the last 11 weeks and am more optimistic than I have been in years that I will be successful this time. After a month of physical therapy I'm walking better than I have in years and am anxious to continue working in the gym to improve my strength and flexibility (although so far everyone has commented that I am remarkably limber. Must be a residue of all those years of dance.)

The dog is downright civilized.

The garden is coming together. I have a couple of hundred dollars worth of flowers around that I've collected (some never got into the ground last year) that I'm excited to plant (in addition to a dozen packets of seed) if it will only stop raining on weekends. Not complaining about rain! Keep it coming! But another day of the week would be lovely.