Munich, Iceland, Greenland, Hudson Bay, Reno

The traveler is back home and I'm happy for the polar route home that avoided Hurricane Sandy.  It seems that everyone else in Serbia got a cold over the last ten days except for John (knock wood).

His midnight arrival left plenty of time for a decent night's sleep and this morning's chemo appointment.  And his usual naps in the infusion room recliner might even help alleviate the inevitable jetlag.

Today he was able to have a pastrami and cheese sandwich for his late lunch and still manage to dine on the dark meat from a rotisserie chicken with a bit of broccoli.  It's so odd that he can manage a dill pickle but not a drink of water.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

This unanticipated trip meant that this round is four weeks after the last one (rather than the usual three weeks).  The good news is that maybe the longer wait will help him deal with the chemo side effects.  The bad news is that the next chemo will be right before Turkey Day.  We'll be having our holiday dinner the weekend before--anyone who wants to join our celebration is invited!

Postcards

Well, maybe not postcards, but definitely emails from Europe.  Yes, he managed to stick in a trip between chemo treatments.  Pretty amazing!

The flight over went smoothly and he's feeling great.  I was a bit dubious about the wisdom of this trip but it seems that his immune system is up to the challenge plus he's weeks past chemo so he's got plenty of energy and drive.  He bounces back fast.

He's showing a group of investors around the properties--being on the ground and actually seeing mineral is pretty motivating.  They've had some good results so far and we hope they continue to find mineral.  The field season is coming to an end for winter and it's time to plan for next year (and have the money to fund the exploration).

He's busy enough that I'm only getting short updates.  I know that he made it to Belgrade before his bags due to a tight connection.  I know that the group survived a wedding party in their hotel (it seems like every trip runs afoul of a noisy wedding once).  They've been touring the Serbian sites and will soon swing through Bosnia briefly.

Naturally I'm wondering what fruits they are harvesting there, if the trees are as colorful as our Sierra aspen, and how the first-timers are enjoying Serbia.

While he's been gone, winter has arrived in the Sierra:  snow on the ridges and peaks, windy days, our first killing frost, comforters on the beds and the furnace turned on for the season.  It's time to haul out the winter clothes and enjoy soups and stews for dinner.  I could have cheerfully enjoyed the gorgeous Indian summer for weeks more, but it is nice to be wearing different clothes and not be eating yet another summertime dinner.  Now that I'm not spending most of my time gardening, I've got the sewing machine humming.  Can the holiday season be approaching rapidly?

Progress!

This weekend has been pretty good for a chemo weekend.

Of course the bar has been set pretty low after the first two treatments, but it seems as though the newest medicine has kept the worst of the chemo after-effects away.  There have been waves of nausea, but he's been able to sleep nights, feels good enough to get dressed and has nibbled on the usual suspects (eggs, milk, that sort of thing).

The biggest change has been that John has the ability to drink fluids.  Finally!

(Not that he's feeling up to much other than lying quietly and waiting for time to pass.)

If one has to suffer through the nasties, it helps if they get one closer to the long-range goal.  And the R-B combination is knocking the lymphoma silly.  His CT showed a reduction from 6.5 to 3.5 cm.  Very good news indeed and real progress.

Remission was a long-shot possibility after two rounds of R-B.  Four rounds are the norm, with some folks needing six.  At least we're on the way with three behind us now.

He's also thankful that Nurse Tara was able to get the I.V.'s each day started with just one try.  His veins are showing the side effects of chemo (probably the RCVP) and becoming hard to get into.  Now we know why so many cancer patients have a semi-permanent access point!  Of course many folks are on a regimen spaced closer than John's three or four week schedule.

Other good news is that the shot to spur the bone marrow into producing more white blood cells is not only working, but also he doesn't get any side effects from it.

A business trip is still on the schedule as long as his white count is normal.  Feeling needed and grabbing a bit of Real Life is apparently important.  He might pay for it since he'll be mixing chemo and jet lag next time, but I figure he can just pretend he's still in another time zone while he's waiting out the after-effects.