When I first found out about Shannon's brain tumor, I was shocked and scared.  Finding out that one of my oldest and dearest friends is sick was quite unsettling.  I am eternally grateful to my/our other best friend, Jane, and my husband, Buddy, for the conversations we've had to allow me (and all of us) to process through the many emotions surrounding Shannon's diagnosis and treatment.[...]

It's 9 AM and we've already had a full Monday! We were at proton therapy at 6:30, today was my last 6:30 appointment. The rest are all at 7 AM. Only 7 proton sessions left for at least a while and maybe forever. This became very real when I filled my 7 day pill box (my advent calendar, as I prefer to call it) last night and only had 3 of each chemo pill left over. At first I thought it I'd miscounted somewhere but then I realized that the advent calendar is filled from now until next Sunday and then there are only 3 days left and chemo stops the same day as the proton! So it really is an advent calendar- it stops on Proton Christmas![...]

Although I was quite frustrated yesterday, it turns out all I needed was a little rest, food, attention from my husband, and an opportunity to vent. This morning I awoke fresh and ready to greet whatever comes next. So glad today is Saturday, I got to sleep in a little, do some reading, have a big breakfast, text some friends, and shower at 2:00 PM. Everyone needs a little downtime once in a while. Although MD Anderson is a wonderful place, they keep us very busy. It's as if they think our entire purpose for being in Houston is to take care of my cancer or something. Don't they know that they are constantly interrupting our brain tumor vacation? [...]

I'm so glad today is Friday. Last proton treatment until Monday. Last yoga session until a week from Monday. No gym today or for the next few days until Tuesday. All I have to do is relax, engage in some at home yoga, meal planning, and help Jason get ready to go to Lubbock for the week. I love my family but I think it will do them (and me) some good to get home for a few days. There's lots that needs to be done there. Jason will get back into the office and Aidan will be able to go back to school for a week to see all of his friends. Jason has been working from here as much as possible and taking sick/vacation on days he's helping me. Aidan has been doing as much work as possible for the last several weeks. Although there has been a lot of joking about this being the "brain tumor vacation," that's just been us trying to make the very best out of a terrible situation. If we lose our senses of humor we lose this battle for ourselves, but also for our children who are depending on us to set the emotional stage. It may not be how others would handle it, but it's how we are handling it. There will be no laying on the floor crying in this family-- we just don't do things that way! We stand up, we pull ourselves together, and we laugh about anything we find to laugh about-- especially inappropriate things. And quite frankly, I really don't care who criticizes us for it.[...]

As I sit here writing this post, I am enjoying watching the rain through the third story windows. If it's going to be wet, I may as well enjoy it from a dry spot. The good news is that with all of this humidity, my skin is far from dry. Right after surgery I was having serious dry skin issues so I increased my water intake. Now the humidity and water consumption have come together for some real benefits to skin, nails, and hair. My body may go into shock when it hits Lubbock. I wonder if I'll be able to feel the shrivel of my organs as I approach.[...]

First, let me say that we continue to be grateful for the generous gifts, donations, and help of all types. We so appreciate everything that everyone has done for us. We have no update on the insurance situation, but the appeal should have been submitted this week. I will update on that as soon as I hear something. As of right now I have 10 more proton treatments. Cannot wait to have a break.[...]

It was a great weekend, we had many visitors and a lot of hanging out. On Saturday Kim & Buddy hosted a party that featured inappropriate language on a cake and a banner, some inappropriate conversation, and a whole lot of fun. I will answer the question that I know you are all thinking. No, there were no strippers, however, some of you may have seen photos of the cake on Facebook. It was a great opportunity to hang out with some of Jason's Houston friends whom we haven't had any time with since we've been here. I hope we can find time to see them more either before we leave or when we come back for treatments. We also had several visitors from Rawls and although a short visit, a really great one![...]

It's Friday again and this week again flew by. Everyday this week my proton treatments were at 7 AM and were usually followed by either other checkups, blood draw, or yoga. Sometimes two of the three. When we first got here before and after surgery, we'd sometimes have days that began at 8 AM and would run as late as 9:30 PM. Gradually the days got shorter and now we are usually home by noon. Some days I have to remind myself that I've vowed to do whatever I need to do each day to keep this tumor down and stay healthy. Other days are much easier to focus on whatever comes next. As I get closer to May 4, I have more of the latter.[...]

Today was a cloudy, drizzly day in Houston and it doesn't look like it's going to clear up anytime soon. Jule took me to proton therapy at 7 AM. It seems to be going faster to me, although the clock says that it is still taking between 30-40 minutes each time. I'm now so used to it that I just snooze while I'm in there. I hardly notice the discomfort. Other than the mask being tight, my head being strapped down to a table by a white mesh mask, a bite guard that carves into my gums, and the sensation of lying on a hard, cold, metal table, it's well suited for napping. And there's always music and nice technicians. What else could a girl ask for at 7 AM every morning?![...]

We've met with our yoga instructor a few times now and we've been very surprised (yet happy) at how traditional the practice is for this study. Our understanding is that this study is examining whether traditional yoga practices affect overall health, tumor regrowth, or overall quality of life. The first day we did basic poses, some of which required Jason and me to support one another. This sort of cracks me up since we've never been able to do well in any physical couples class, the worst was a dance class (but that's a story for another day). Today we practiced different breathing techniques and sounds, which I enjoyed a lot.[...]