What a full week on the trail!
- Cliff celebrated another year of life.
- We decorated for the holidays.
- We received our new treadmill (and I got busy logging the miles!)
- We had our referral appointment with the hepatic surgeon in Albuquerque.
- We enjoyed many soul-nourishing visits with friends.
- And particularly notable: Wednesday was the night of the full moon, prompting another moon walk.
- This time, Cliff and Illy walked the neighborhood loop by the light of the moon (too chilly at this point for my hyper-cold-sensitive self), while I put in my 3.5 miles on the treadmill by the light of the Christmas Tree. Meanwhile Munro (coincidentally pronounced Moon-Row) dozed adorably inches from the tread. From our respective moon walk locations, Cliff and I each reflected upon and reveled in our first, exciting view of a major (unexpected) journey objective, first glimpsed earlier that day.
In our trekking lives ⇛ On our Kilimanjaro trek, our view of the objective was our first look at The Mountain herself (The Roof of Africa). Above the Apurimac River in Peru (climbing our way out of a 3,000 meter gorge), our first views of the ruins came in bursts and snatches through the foliage and fog of the high-altitude rain forest. On our cross-country UK excursions that view would be of the destination village at the end 100+ miles of walking (pub and bed ahead!). In each case, that first view of the objective was exciting, route affirming, and personally motivating.
And while we always know the views are there, it is the work (of the past) and the vision (of the future), which deliver them with delightful surprise (and often relief) in the present.
And so it happened that our meeting with the surgeon at The University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center on Wednesday delivered all the so appreciated view characteristics: Affirming our holistic treatment/care plan (and amazing medical team) as well as our progress and direction to date, and motivating us to stay the course (as Dr. Rixe says, "Do not change a thing!"). And a surprise? Yep!
Thinking we were meeting with Dr. Nir (hepatic surgeon) to "develop a relationship" for continuing assessments, we were blown away when he opined that I am ready for surgery now (to remove the large metastatic tumor from my liver). The only thing stopping that today are the drugs (chemo and targeted) in my system (my targeted therapy in particular carries with it bleeding risks). A quick, real time discussion between Doctors Nir and Rixe resulted in a surgery date of 30 January. Say what? Getting to a point where surgery would be an option for me always has been a major objective of this journey -- still there was that delightful surprise when it came into view.
If you've been with this blog from the start, you already know that surgery is my greatest chance for a cure. I am over-the-moon happy to secure that view.
Progress:
- I am loving my treadmill and easily will exceed my 21s for this cycle.
- We are dancing still (Every. Single. Day., this month, to Christmas Carols.). Finding dance-worthy variations is a blast:
- Jingle Bells (James Taylor)
- Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Lynard Skynard)
- Feliz Navidad (Mannheim Steam Roller -- although Jose Feliciano's original is more than dance worthy and remains my all-time favorite)
- Let it Snow (Pentatonix)
- All I Want For Christmas (Mariah Carey) -- of course!
- We continually are grounding in "No Mud No Lotus" -- acknowledging and respecting the essential coexistence of joy and sorrow, harmony and conflict, relief and pain, movement and (grace-filled) pauses, the known and the unknown . . .. We are oh-so-human!
- We'll find out in the coming week (next treatment is Tuesday) how my treatment regimen/schedule will be modified as we head toward surgery.
If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.~Henry David Thoreau
VIA FRANCIGENA, 2020!
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