It has truly been a year of great surprises and great
joys. As you no doubt are ware there
have been many “surprises” over the past 12 months, but they have been
accompanied by overflowing measures of love and support from family and
friends. So many dear folk have been in
frequent touch, and others I know are thinking of us and praying for us that in
so many ways our lives have truly been enriched. As we pass this way, we continue to learn of
those whose challenges are similar, and those whose challenges seem even more
daunting, all of whom receive the benefit of our prayers as well. We have enjoyed the visits and assistance not
only of our kids and their families, but also of my brothers and many more,
family and otherwise. Wish there had
been a more positive provocation, but it has been great to be so connected this
year.
We have been fortunate that circumstances have permitted us
the opportunity for many of our special trips and getaways that we have always
looked forward to. Of course the primary
event in this category was our two weeks in Pawleys Island, SC, largely with
kids and grands. I was strong enough to
play real golf, and even had a round or so in the 70s, and not from the old men’s
tees. This was preceded by a wonderful
trip to New Mexico in July where we immersed in photo ops (Ghost Ranch, high
road to Taos, Santa Fe) and lots of music in Santa Fe (opera, chamber music,
Desert Chorale) How thankful I am that
all of this has been possible.
John and Anna hosted all our family at their new residence
in Roswell, GA for Thanksgiving,. We spent the week and it was a great time to
be with the Stevens and the Clarks. It
is always special when the little girl cousins get together. While we’ll not
have multitudes for Xmas at Casa Zora we will see almost everyone over the
holidays, and have some time for ourselves also. We have booked a small house
in Fernandina Beach Florida for the month of February, and are looking forward
to being there and seeing cousins and other family, as well as other familiar
faces and sights. It’s a long drive,
and I wish I could help Zora with it, but I’m hoping to be in better shape soon
and able to do a bit here or there.
Just for the record, I have now had two surgeries for the
brain tumor/cancer, which seems to have come back yet again. Regretfully the
radiation and chemo did not do the job well enough. While the surgeon was very optimistic
following both surgeries, it is the nature of this particular cancer to recur,
even tho it doesn’t metathesize elsewhere. It has been treated for the 6 weeks
or so with a new (to me) drug therapy that looks very promising. News on its
effectiveness will be available in early January with my next MRI. Your prayers are welcomed. You may also know that while the recovery
from the initial brain surgery last December was progressing well, I suffered a
fall and developed a severe infection, which required major surgery and kept me
out of play essentially until late March.
In many ways the unkindest cut of all, stealing “healthier” time, and
delaying chemo and radiation. But I
lived to tell about it and have no lasting impacts from it.
I feel ok, but not great, if a little fuzzy at times. We can generally do what we want when we
want, but my overall stamina and presence leave something to be desired. On the good side, that means afternoon naps
are not a problem. I see fairly sudden
and significant impacts on short term memory in particular, and some vision
deterioration, which is not unexpected given the location of the original
tumor. I did have some significant
stability issues over the past month or so which have been ameliorated with
meds (steroids). Unfortunately the meds
also cause significant large muscle deterioration which has weakened my legs
and shoulders wuite a bit. The docs are
tapering me off of them, but it will take a while to get my B game back, let alone the A game. But it will come;
Our church choir is going to Prague and Salzburg May of
2013. We plan to go and sing with them
as well, and we have the house at Pawleys Island booked for August also.
As everyone tells you, every day is a new day, enjoy it for
what it brings. Whether you are healthy
or not. What happens, happens. Raging at the tide will not make it come in
or go out.
Thank you for the many kind thoughts, prayers and deeds
throughout the past year. You cannot
imagine how much they have meant. We
have been blessed in many, many ways.
May the holiday season bring you great joy. I wish you every fortune and joy in the
coming year, and look forward to telling you about an even better year at the
end of 2013.
Ross
