September 21

Hi, Friends--

As I write--with one eye on the Packer game--I'm hoping all of you had a great weekend.

Friday night our family gathered at Chip and Jenn's for a belated birthday party for Great Grandpa, my dad. As usual, the kids had lots of fun playing together and the meal was delicious. Grant is walking now, so we were all entertained by his new skills. Keira was doing a lot of "talking" and laughing. At just over three months she has quite a personality already. It was so nice being together, along with Jenn's good friend, Sarah, and her fiance, Darren.

Yesterday we traveled to Milwaukee with Pat and Patti to attend a wedding. Our connection to the bride is that she is one of Shannon's best friends and Carla has known her parents since high school. Voss' connection is that the bride's father was Pat's college roommate at St. Thomas. I'm always amazed at how small the world is sometimes. We had a wonderful time visiting with several of Shannon's friends from high school and their parents. I am equally amazed at how quickly time passes! It seems like yesterday that these girls were playing middle school basketball, and suddenly they are 32 years old!

While we were there, I was aware of an increasing discomfort in my right calf, so this morning we called the doctor and then headed for the hospital. Blood tests and ultrasounds revealed blood clots in both legs. Those in the right leg are smaller and not quite as serious as the one in the right leg, which is deep in the vein. So, just when I was so happy to be off almost all my medications, I'm being treated for the blood clots. I have to give myself shots in the stomach and take an oral blood thinner. My blood will be checked regularly until the proper dosage is determined, but it sounds like I'll be on this blood thinner for at least six months. When I resume the chemo, I will most likely go back on the shots and not take the warafin/cumadin.

For a person who rarely took medicine, all of this is hard to comprehend. It's a good thing someone invented those little daily pill containers, and it's even better that Carla keeps them filled and reminds me what to take and when to take it.

I know that this is just an inconvenience, and we'll just roll with it. There really isn't any choice, I know, and I am grateful that this condition was all found so early. But I must admit, I'd sure like to just be "normal" again.

Have a good week!

Denny