November 11

Hi,

Today Denny received another good report from Dr. Howard, who is able to assess Den just by looking at him. The steroid dosage has been reduced to 3 mg. per day, which should make him feel better, just as the past reductions have done. But those "evil but necessary" little pills do a lot of damage to a person's large muscles, specifically in the upper arms and thighs. That is what is causing Den to feel so weak.

So, we'll be trying to take several walks each day and maybe Den will try to do some exercises to strengthen his arms. Thankfully, his appetite has remained good and his weight is pretty stable, so we are hopeful that his strength will return soon.

Taking all of this into consideration, Denny has decided to teach only his two British Literature courses for the remainder of this term. His schedule will then allow him to sleep a little later each morning, go to school for those two classes (with lunch in between,) and then return home by 1:30, so he can rest for a while before correcting papers and doing his lesson plans. It will also allow him to get to bed at a reasonable time, insuring adequate rest.

On Thursday we will go to the oncologist, where they will do all of the usual blood work before another round of chemotherapy starts. That is scheduled for five days next week (Tuesday through Saturday.) This will be a higher dosage and the one Denny will stay on indefinitely. We are hoping that he will not experience any bad side effects from this higher dose.

So, we continue taking each day as it comes and we take great comfort in knowing that God is hearing the prayers of all of our family and friends. Thanks for being there.

Love,
Carla