Speaking of Captain Bill, overall he is well. But the aches and pains and fatigue bring him down a bit ... just a bit, though. He's had an annoying hip pain that's eliminated his daily walks. His toes on his right foot hurt him this morning. Combined with some other aches and just being dog-tired from radiation treatments, Bill's been taking it easy, finally, for the first time in his life.
That said, he's still been out-and-about, just not real physically active.
This is Bill at the end of an 18-hole putt putt course. He, MJ and I played last week and Dad ended the game sliding down a big slide.
On Friday Dad took a nice, big nap and felt good enough to go to Capitol Brewery, a local beer garden that has bands on Friday night. We met up unexpectedly with friends there who also had their parents in town. Kristin's parents are boaters and skiers, just like Dad and Linda, so they enjoyed talking. Although I could tell that it saddened Dad to think about a boating season going by without the Beech Buoy in the water and, probably, a skiing season going by without his skis on the slopes. (Don't count him out, though -- that's 5 months away!) Dad snacked, chatted, listening to the music and watch his youngest granddaughter get picked to go on stage and strum a fiddle. Fun.
Saturday, the Fourth, found us stuck in clouds and light rain, which didn't ruin most of our plans. Dad joined us at our neighborhood kids' parade and picnic at the park. The picnic included a host of games. Anything competitive is right up Bill's alley. So I made sure the kids and even Scott and I got in the action so Dad could laugh at us. MJ won the sack race! Scott made a fool of himself in the sack race, falling down and revealing part of his ... um ... bottom. I also managed to inspire laughs while attempting and failing to do the wheelbarrow race. (No, I won't post a picture of that but if you're desperate to humiliate me, there's a pic on Facebook.) Dad ate a hot dog and possibly three large brownies. We were scheduled to do a boat ride with friends but the weather didn't cooperate, which was just as well. Dad's fatigue was in full force. I think he would have gone because he can't turn down a lake experience, but he was pooped. In fact after his nap, he and Linda chose to stay at home and watch PBS fireworks rather than join the kids, Scott and I at a neighbor's gathering. Can't blame the poor guy.
But he did rally for Sunday. He got up and dragged me to church. Later in the day we did a date night with Dad and Linda to see Public Enemies and sit outside on a lovely evening for Mexican food and mojitos. Dad hadn't seen a movie in quite awhile, so I was interested to see if he could actually follow one, especially Public Enemies with its fast action and confusing amalgam of characters. At dinner, he showed his mind is in good working order by smartly reviewing the flick and seemingly catching more plot points than the rest of us! Of course, his favorite part was seeing the souped up old cars and his least favorite part was seeing the souped up old cars demolished in auto accidents.
Please continue to pray that the radiation and chemo are winning over the cancer. We have no idea what's happening at that cellular level and won't know until the next MRI, possibly not until September. And please pray that Dad will feel good enough after 6 weeks of treatments to go to Door County, Wisconsin, where we've planned a weekend getaway for him. More on that later. And Happy Fourth!
What a fabulous time! Would've loved to have seen the sack race! We will keep praying and sending good thoughts your way. That is a long time to wait to hear if the treatments have worked, however, I can't wish away the summer, so hopefully he will be able to continue to enjoy it too!
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