FINISHED!

Yesterday was DH's last radiation treatment. Talk about a big sigh of relief. They even gave him a diploma. He has officially "graduated" and we couldn't be prouder!

(I erased his name for privacy purposes.)

The Home Stretch

Two more days to go and DH will be finished with his radiation treatments. We've never looked so forward to the weekend! We're planning on going out and celebrating. Friday they'll schedule one more follow-up appointment just to touch base. DH is hoping he can get his letter and his physical done that day for the agency. Once we get the letter from his doctor, we'll send in our application. Let's try this again, right? :)

I've actually found two other agencies (both out of state) that we may sign on with as well. One is in Indiana and is through our church. The other is a national agency out of San Antonio. Of course, that will be a few months from now once our homestudy is complete and we are officially waiting with the agency here in Kentucky. I'm really hoping and praying that for once our plans will go forward. I'm so tired (really, I'm physically tired) of all the emotional trauma we've gone through over the past year. It's time for some good times.

A lot of nothing, and that's ok

This week has been fairly uneventful. DH is feeling better. The treatments leave him very tired in the evening, but the bad stuff seems to have subsided. We're almost in the homestretch!

On the adoption front, the social worker emailed me from the new agency we're hoping to go with, just to check in and see where we were. The plan is once DH has finished treatments and has his follow-up appointment, we'll get a letter from the doctor stating he's healthy and fit to parent and submit it with our application. At this point it will probably be sometime in March.

Honestly, as upset as we both were to pull out of our other agency, I feel it was meant for us to do it. March and April will be very emotional for us. I'm feeling the weight of it already. This just gives us some extra "us" time to focus on each other. Plus, if we haven't been matched by the fall (and I doubt we will being that the home study will probably take us into at least May and then we'll have to create our profile book) then we plan to go back to our original agency.

Anyway, thank you for all the support. We very much appreciate it!

What a week

Needless to say this week has been a rough one. DH has been so miserable. It just hurts to see him like this. He has 11 treatments to go. We have a countdown in the kitchen, marking off each day. Thankfully, he gets the weekends off; so hopefully he'll get a little reprieve. His doctor offered to lower the dosage and extend the treatments, but DH said no way. He wants them over as soon as possible. Thank God for phenigran and zofran. Between the two, it helps him get some peace and rest.

After four days, we've both questioned the decision to have the treatments, especially when he didn't necessarily have to have them. Then we remember the reason we said yes - peace of mind. Once he starts to feel better, we plan to hit the road running on the adoption front. Our current agency is refunding our money, so we can use it towards a new agency. That will be a huge help.

Anyway, so glad tomorrow is Friday. I'm ready for some rest and I know DH is too.

Still moving forward!

We heard back from our current agency concerning what our options are going forward. Unfortunately, we will have to pull ourselves out of the group. However, there is another local agency that doesn't require classes. Their fees are about the same. The plan is to sign with them once DH is finished with treatments. We are also hoping to rejoin our current agency in the fall as well. They normally do two group sessions a year - once in the spring and once in the fall. More than likely we won't be chosen right away, so why not have two agencies going to bat for you? And even better, neither one minds if you sign with more than one agency. So, all is good again with our adoption plans (at least for now). We can now breathe a little easier and focus on DH getting through treatments and feeling better.

Yet another change of plans

I'm not sure why we even bother to make plans anymore. DH and I have always been planners. We like to have everything laid out and taken care of before we do anything. You can imagine how much this past year has taken its toll on us simply because of the lack of planning. We're still learning to let go and go with it.

After two days of treatment, DH is still sick. The doctor says it looks like he'll be sick the entire 3 weeks. After today, I'm planning on pulling us from our adoption group. We didn't want to, but there's no way he would be able to sit through 6 hours of classes for the next two Saturdays. Talk about bad timing. He'll finish his treatments the day before we would have finished our classes.

I'm hoping they'll hold on to the fees we've already paid and just move us to their fall group. I may look at some other agencies here in the state as well. I'm not sure, but I think some don't actually require mandatory classes. So maybe we could sign on with another agency, get our homestudy and get on the waiting list with them and then in the fall, sign back on with CC.

I guess we'll just wait and see what happens. Right now I just want my husband to feel better.

Day 1

Yesterday was Day 1 of radiation treatments. Everything seemed to be going really well until about 3 hours after we got home. DH started to get really tired and within an hour was so sick. Leave it to us to once again be left out of the majority of people who have no problems with radiation. We're hoping it may just be his body adjusting to the treatment. The radiologist is supposed to give him some anti-nausea meds today. I hope they work. I hate seeing him so sick, especially when there's nothing I can do about it. It's terrible.

Thankfully, we only have 14 more to go (13 after today) and we're finished. February 11th. That's just around the corner, right? You know, I've been dreading March and April like the plague, obviously because we're closing upon a year since I was admitted to the hospital and we lost Josey, but now I can't wait to see March. This nasty winter weather will be coming to an end and DH will be finished with his treatments and feeling like his old self. Here's to spring!

Groundhog Day

Some days I swear I'm reliving the same day over and over. Lately, we've noticed a trend in certain people as well. The only time we ever hear from them is when they want something. Really? It was funny at first, now it's just down right ridiculous. What ever happened to calling or stopping by to see how your friends are doing? Whatever.

So, tonight we're supposed to get another 3"-5" of snow.  Again, snow is the only thing EVER in our forecast. UGH. I'm tired of it. It's supposed to stop by Friday morning. I'm hoping our class won't be cancelled this time. Honestly, this whole adoption process is the one thing that's keeping us going. Well, at least for me anyway. I guess I shouldn't speak for the husband. I'm just so ready to get started, to have something to work towards.

Oh, we're also looking forward to February 11th. That will be DH's last day of treatments! Woo Hoo! Speaking of February, does anyone have any fun Valentine's Day plans? We may go out early to celebrate being finished with treatments and Valentine's Day. I'm even going to let DH decide what he wants to do. :)

More Snow? No Thank You!

DH meets with the radiologist tomorrow. We should finally know when he will begin his round of treatments. We both really want to get this started and over with as soon as possible.

Our adoption classes are supposed to start this Saturday, but it looks like another round of snow is coming in Thursday night. I have a feeling it will be postponed yet again, which just stinks. We live an hour from the agency, but we are really close to the interstate. It's a straight shot for us and the interstates are almost always clear. So snow isn't that much of a factor for us, but apparently there are a few couples that live far enough out of town that it can be a real issue. It wouldn't surprise me if the agency decides to postpone until March, especially since the weather this winter has been terrible.

Although we don't want that to happen, DH and I have made peace with it if it does. He's been diligently working on his dissertation while he's been stuck at home because of snow days. He's managed to get a lot of writing and research done. We are hoping (thanks to the weather and all the extra time it's given him) that he'll be able to finish by the end of the semester or sometime this summer and then defend in the fall.

How great would it be if he graduated with his doctorate and we adopted a sweet little one all in the same year? That's what we're hoping for!!!

Another update

The post-op doctor's visit went well. DH's cancer was 100% seminoma, which basically means it's slow spreading. From what we've researched, it is also very sensitive to radiation, which is a good thing. We were told that he (the doctor) felt like DH was essentially cured, but just to be safe he felt like DH should go through one round of radiation treatment. In my mind, I thought one round meant one time. Wrong. It's a four week treatment session. He doesn't have to do the treatment because there is no evidence that any cancer was left, but by doing the treatment he ups his cure rate to practically 100%.

The down side is that many people get sick from radiation. Nausea, fatigue, etc. Apparently, it's not too bad, but bad enough to hand over some anti-nausea medication with each treatment session. DH's cat scan is scheduled for next week. From there they'll decide when to begin.

Here's where we don't know what to do just yet. Our adoption classes start January 15th. We're afraid if he is undergoing treatment during January that he may not feel well enough to attend the classes. Once the treatments are over, you pretty much go back to normal. From what we've read, you're up and going in no time. We hate to think that we may need to postpone our classes, especially since he'll be feeling fine once these 4 weeks are over, but at the same time we have to do what's best for him.

DH is going to see if he can wait until February to begin treatments. His doctor actually didn't schedule him again until mid-January, so why not wait another two weeks? Anyway, at this point it's a wait and see. If we have to postpone, then we'll just have the agency add our names to the fall classes. DH doesn't want to postpone (and neither do I for that matter) but ultimately we have to do what's in his best interest. Anyway, if we have to wait, what's another few months?