The view from our deck in Carmel!
It’s been such a long time since I’ve blogged but today I woke up and thought it’s time to give an update as to where we are.
It’s been over two years now since Patty’s official diagnosis on June 21, 2010. Two years ago we were both shocked when Patty got the news that she had breast cancer! We had no idea what was in store for us and no clue what the future would bring. But, as a team, we got through it. Now we sit two years later… done with chemo but Patty, to this day, still suffers from some chemo related side effects which is a daily reminder of her journey… Patty’s hair has grown back curly as ever… done with reconstruction… Life is pretty damned good!
The bad thing about cancer is that the subject will always linger around. Linger around as in “will it come back some day?” We pray that it doesn’t! Patty get’s aches and pains like we all do. The difference between our pains and her’s is that there is always a question mark behind her pains wondering if the pain is cancer related. This is absolutely normal for anyone who has battled a life threatening disease. Other reminders of cancer are the quarterly exams and tests Patty goes through. She meets every 3 months with her oncologist and every six months with a pulmonary specialist just to make sure things are looking good. And, Bless the Lord, everything is looking normal for Patty!
Room service dinner on our deck. It’s doesn’t get any better than this!
This past Monday was our 18th wedding anniversary! 18 years, can you believe it! (And there were some people early on who predicted we’d never make it!) I’ve been working a lot lately and we’ve both been busy/tied up with “things” that we realized we really miss each other and needed some “Ed & Patty” time. Time for nobody else but us! So I took a few days off work and Patty and I took a driving trip. We left this past Sunday morning and headed up to Carmel, Ca for a couple of days. Thank God Patty and I travel well because the 6 1/2 hour drive to Carmel seemed like nothing. We talked and laughed all the way there. We stayed at the Hyatt Carmel Highlands Resort and got a room with a fireplace and deck overlooking the beach. It couldn’t have been any more romantic! We didn’t do much as far as sight-seeing. All we needed was to be together. I have to say this was one of the best anniversaries we’ve had.
Top the night off with champagne and chocolate covered strawberries!
We then drove up to Santa Rosa on Tuesday where we met some friends and did a little wine tasting. (one of our favorite pastimes!) We had a fun day visiting with friends.
We were supposed to stay in Santa Rosa two nights. It’s funny how Patty and I are pretty much on the same page all the time… we got up Wednesday morning and laid there in bed… Patty looked at me and said “I’m ready to head home.” I felt the same… so, we packed up the car and drove 6 hours down to Santa Barbara where we stayed at another Hyatt property which was ocean front! This stop was a great way to break up our drive home. We had a real nice dinner that night and overall, another great night!
We got up Thursday morning, rested and ready to head home. The 4 hour drive was nothing, other than Los Angeles traffic!!! I don’t get it! Anyway, don’t get me started on that! So we made it home in the early afternoon. Patty and I love to travel, but it’s always so nice to get home!
So, here we are… two years out from Patty’s cancer diagnosis… Patty’s doing so well! We’re doing so well! After 18 years of marriage, I still call Patty my best friend! And even though there’s always going to be cancer reminders and fear of reoccurrence, THERE IS LIFE AFTER CANCER!!!
My wife has breast cancer! 