Home Safe Again

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all had a blessed day with plenty to eat.

John and I had a busy day yesterday. We went to his eye doctor and he really wanted to stitch his eye closed, but he didn't really have time and we didn't think we had time for him to do it because we had an appointment with Dr. Anderson at 2:15. He is supposed to tape it shut all of the time to hopefully get it better. He said there was no longer a corneal abrasion, but it is extremely dry. We have to go back and see him again November 9.

We didn't get in to see Dr. Anderson until about 3:45, but he was really glad to see John. He showed us cuts of the MRI and how massive the tumor was. He said he really hated to look at it again, but wanted to show us. He said it was just a nasty tumor with all kinds of tentacles coming off of it. He said it was huge; about the size of a racquetball pressing against the brainstem. He was so pleased with John's progress and wants to do a baseline MRI when we come back on December 8. I think he started to say it was about the worst tumor he had ever seen, but he didn't go ahead and say that. He told us he thought John had a lot of years left and he expected him to continue to improve for as long as 18 months. John gave him a hug and told him, "I've hugged everybody else; I should hug the guy that saved my life." I think Dr. Anderson really appreciated that and grinned from ear to ear. We don't have to go back until February to see him.

We left Chicago about 5:00 and traffic was horrendous. It took us about 2 1/2 hours to get to John's sister's house, but we arrived safe and sound.

We got up this morning and his sister Dorothy fixed us breakfast and then we went visiting to his nieces' houses. It was so nice to see everyone and his family was so glad to see him. We then went to his sister Gaila's house for dinner with her family. Everyone told stories and reminisced. We laughed and laughed and just had a great time. It was a very special day and we are so blessed to be loved and cared for by so many. We had a pretty uneventful trip home where it is, once again, good to be.

I will try to blog again soon. Peggy, John thinks he would do fine with your cookies. Hope to see you all soon.

Love,

John and Cathy