Some Bright Spots in the Rain

Charlottesville, Virginia

 

As I’m sure you’ve noticed from “Where is Winnona Now” that we’ve been back in the Charlottesville area now for over two weeks.  The time has been spent doing fairly routine things that we all seem to do if we return to our “home towns”-visiting friends, our known mechanics and doctors.  I’ll do a quick catch up, a week at a time, of the highlights and leave the seriously mundane in the shadows of history.

 

 

Monday October 7

 

Our take off from Williamsburg goes well until about 30 miles in to it, it starts to rain, seriously.

 

We know this route up Interstate 64 very well so I am not as nervous as I usually am.  Although at times the rain comes down in torrents.  I really don’t like driving in the rain or in the dark.

 

 

 

We arrive safely, leave Winnona in town and drive Ruby out to the farm to see what needs to be trimmed from the 3/4 mile drive in order to bring Winnona out.

 

 

 

 

 

As it turns out, trimming is the least of the problems. 

 

The farm road is in terrible shape due to all the rain so Winnona will have to stay in town until it can get graded and graveled.

The road is terrible but the farm looks fine and the sunset is gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Friday October 7

 

It has rained for the past five days, every single day since we’ve been back.

 

 

 

The grading  and gravel can’t happen unless it quits raining.  We can’t do any of the things we stopped by here to do.  Other than the doctor appointments of course.

David had all of his other doctor appointments when we stopped by here on our way to New England in June.  Dentist, optometrist. You know the routine.   I have 5 medical appointments lined up for the next 7 days. Oh fun!

 

 

 

 

 

But the big medical news is  David’s myeloma check up which he passed with flying colors on Tuesday. 

 

Many of his blood numbers aren’t normal but they are “normal for him” given that he is on daily revlimid which seems to keep white and red counts down.  The even better news is that his main doctor at Moffitt in Florida and his doctors at UVA and at Dana Farber in Boston agree that he can stop two of the drugs he is taking. 

They also are going to try cutting revlimid back to every day for 3 weeks out of 4 to see if his blood counts might improve.

 

 

 

The GREAT news is that one of the drugs he will no longer be taking is Zometa which is the one he has to be at a cancer treatment center for since it is an infusion.  This will make our ability to travel even easier.  Now all he has to do is have blood tests once a month and a serious check by a myeloma doctor every 3 months. 

So who knows where we might go for the summer this year.  All we need is a myeloma doctor in January, April, July and October.   Not an easy thing to do but not impossible and LOTS easier than monthly infusions.

 

 

 

 

 

Those are  big bright spots in an otherwise rainy and cloudy week.  And to top it off, Carrie comes tonight.   Surely the sun will shine tomorrow for that.