And so the recovery begins. No more radiation, no chemo pills to swallow, no anxiety meds, no doctor visits. No mask! My calendar shows a lot of white space all of a sudden and I don’t know what to do with myself. Brother Gaby and Erik arrived ten days ago. Lis drove them out for a short visit but then they went back to Marietta with her, returning to Athens on Sunday. Gaby is with us now, but Erik went back to Marietta with Lis. I’m sure we’ll all get together again before the boys leave to return to Germany.
As for Peter, he seems to be enjoying the down time. He’s trying to catch up on his sleep, but says he hasn’t slept in four days. None of his sleeping meds are working for him, it seems. He joined me and Gaby a couple days ago for a game of Tripoley, and he did well. Sunday he accompanied us out to the Botanical Garden for my drum group’s gig on the occasion of International Girl Scout Thinking Day, and he walked quite a bit in the fresh air. Yesterday’s rain has cleared out, so he and Gaby are planning a walk around the block in a little while.
On Tuesday Peter and Lis and I will drive to Duke, where he will get poked and prodded and MRI’d, and we will learn what it looks like inside Peter’s head following all the mayhem of the past six weeks.
He’s not eating well yet, but his eyes are more focused. This recovery business will require lots of patience from both of us.

Day 42, Magic Number 0! It finally arrived, the day we’ve been waiting for. Peter got through his last radiation treatment with Hillary’s help as cheerleader in the control booth with the techs, then walked out to hugs from me and from the techs, who gave him a certificate for having completed the course of treatment. He declined the offer to ring the clinic bell, but Hillary took a photo of him standing next to it. He was wearing a beautiful red sweater knitted for him by his sister Gerta, so the sweater will become a happy reminder of the beginning of a new phase of his recovery. More will follow in the days to come, so stay tuned!

My dad after completing his last treatment of radiation today. They gave him a certificate to prove it. He's also wearing a sweater that his sister Gerta knitted for him and sent this week. The temps kindly dipped into the 40s today so he could wear it to treatment. He's been in good spirits all day and is so hopeful for what the future holds. -Hillary

I came home to surprise my dad for his last day of radiation. The look on his face when I brought him his last dose of chemo was priceless. I wish I had a photo of that but instead I have this pic of him getting his nails done. He is super tired and he's running a little slow but he still wants to look good so that's a great sign. There's a lot of hope around the house this week. Hope for what's to come after these treatments end and he can start to regain some energy. Thank you all again for your continued love and support -Hillary

Here is your second post of the day! Send my dad some good energy to get through the next few days! -Hillary

Day 38, Magic Number 4. I know, we’re all thinking today is Day 40 already, but we had a little setback/disappointment. Peter tried valiantly to get some food into himself this morning, and downed half a smoothie and a bite of pear, but then lost it all. I gave him an anti-nausea pill and then, later, he took his pills as scheduled and couldn’t keep his pre-radiation pill down. We proceeded on to the clinic, but he couldn’t manage to get through the treatment and so will have to add one more day to his calendar. His last radiation day will now be Friday, the 22nd, not Thursday, the 21st. Gotta get those thirty sessions in. A radiation vacation is not the happy holiday you might think it should be.
How I’m looking forward to watching him dig into a meal and eat with good appetite and no ill consequences! I know that day is coming.

Hillary here - missed this post from Sunday so you get two today!

Day 39, Magic Number 3!! Does that sound like we’re almost at the finish line, or what?
Peter just appeared in the kitchen, all dressed up in his new trousers and trusty leather jacket, ready to go to his radiation appointment. “But it’s Sunday!”, I reminded him.
Peter’s last day of chemo is Wednesday, then Thursday is the last radiation session. I learned last week that he will continue getting chemo five days a month, and the Avastin will continue every two weeks, but those sessions are cut in half each time so that he will work his way down to only seven minutes of Avastin. We’ll find out in March what Duke expects of him now, but the last I heard, they want to see him every other month ad infinitum.
Another wardrobe change for Peter. He has layered up under all his thermally-insulated work clothes and is making his way outside to do some yard work. Don’t know how long he’ll endure it out there, although 41 degrees is an improvement over the 24 degrees we had at seven o’clock this morning. Peter can’t resist Spring, though, so it will take more than that to keep him inside!
This promises to be a busy week of doctor visits and family visits; Peter’s oldest brother, Gaby, arrives in Atlanta tomorrow, with his 19-year-old grandson, Erik. Lis will pick them up at the airport and we’ll figure out a schedule so that the brothers can have some quality time together. The original plan was hatched several months ago and would have included a trip to New Orleans but, sad to say, that won’t be possible now. We’ll have to find ways to Laissez Les bon Temps Rouler here at home!

Here's a pic of Peter by the Cornel Dogwood tree he planted for Chris and Hillary. The pic was taken last weekend by Mary Katsibas while she and Panos were visiting. He's looking very healthy!

Day 36, Magic Number 6. Happy Valentine’s Day, lovers and lurkers! (Are you a “lurker”? I am told that’s the term for folks who follow a blog but don’t post comments.) Today, don’t be a lurker! Post away and send Peter your love.
Lis was able to make that long trek from Marietta to Athens yesterday. She brought us a kettle of spinach soup and took Peter to his radiation appointment; then he wanted to run some errands, so she helped him with that, too. Then, to top it off, she stayed with Peter while I went to my weekly drumming session. Thank you, Lis. Peter felt up to taking a walk yesterday, too, and he and Lis walked around the block.
Peter had his weigh-in Tuesday, and sure enough, he has gained nearly ten pounds since last week. Everyone was very pleased.
Now we have another errand, so I must go. Peter wants to stop at Kroger to buy some flowers for the radiation techs. How sweet is that?
Have a heart-warming Valentine’s Day with your sweeties, everyone, and do something nice for someone!

Day 33, Magic Number 9. This will be the last full week of radiation, and it looks as though the last day of radiation will be Thursday, February 21. So close!
Mary and Panos were here this weekend, bringing food and moral support and willing hands from Charleston. As usual for Peter lately, yesterday (Sunday) was a good day, and the weather allowed us all to be outside. Peter and Mary, the master gardener, tackled some early Spring projects; they cleaned out the flower beds and Peter pruned the roses. We ate well, thanks to Mary, and I was hoping Peter would take a walk or two with us, but his gout is still bothering him. Today the gout was much improved, however, and he can wear shoes again. Peter really is eating better this week; Saturday he had two pieces of Mary’s pecan pie.
Peter’s sister, Lis, was planning to drive out today and take him to his appointment, but she had to turn around and go back home because the weather was so bad; it was raining very hard, visibility was nil, and there were car wrecks all over the place. She’ll try again Wednesday.
There are signs of Spring everywhere in Athens: trees are flowering already, and the jonquils are coming up. This might be another one of those Winterless years, but it’s too soon to make a prediction like that. We all know what can happen here in March.

Day 29 and Magic Number 13. Two weeks to go, y’all! Word for the day: “Robust”. Believe it or not, that was the word used by Peter’s medical oncologist (the Chemo Guy), a somewhat crusty gentleman of few words and not one to issue warm and fuzzy praise and comfort when none is due. “You are robust, you look good!” he said with a smile and a pat on the back. He’s looked at countless cancer patients for years and years and no doubt his idea of the word by now isn’t the same as yours or mine, but still…
While there, Peter had a 30-minute infusion of Avastin, the drug that keeps the cancer from making blood vessels, that, in fact, starves the tumor. Talk about a war being fought on many fronts, this one is.
Then it was over to the dialysis center for a shot of Epogen, when we were smacked by another lovely bit of good news: no Epogen today because Peter’s hemoglobin has moved into the “high normal” range, thanks to the Epogen and iron he’s been receiving.
Some other blood levels were not so good, so Peter’s dialysis nurse, Elaine, added some time to his dialysis program so that he will get more dialysis and, hopefully, better results. He will be connected to the cycler for 9.5 hours now, instead of 8.5, and next week he’ll have a test that determines how well the dialysis is working.
Peter has been paying better attention to eating and drinking the last few days; he gained a pound and has been ordered to eat ice cream! The dialysis center gives him these cute little Dixie cups of ice cream that are high in protein, so if only he could remember to eat them…I’m still waiting for a doctor to tell me to eat more chocolate, fat chance.
Some of the faces at the radiation clinic are becoming familiar, as we become part of the “regular” crowd. There is a group of three daughters and their father who are there every day. They occupy the same chairs, surrounding their father and telling stories back and forth, sometimes breaking out into gales of laughter, as they did today. The old guy has a loving, captive audience, and yesterday he was talking about receiving his first gun, a .22 rifle, at the age of seven, and how much damage he was able to do with it. The girls always come equipped with tote bags full of food and knitting projects, and they smile and nod at us when we leave.
Lots to keep us busy as we count down the days!