Progress in Hallwangen

Dreams are renewable. 

No matter what our age or condition, 

there are still untapped possibilities 

within us and new beauty waiting to be born.

       - Dr. Dale Turner

Being a bit slow on the blog entries and a lot has happened.  Medically my bone marrow test was positive for cancer cells.  This means I didn't have the bone cancer treatment in Stuttgart and I have to be even more careful with watching my blood cell counts especially if I have more chemotherapy.  It also explains why I have trouble getting my white cell count any higher than low normal.  We had a final planning meeting with the doctors at 5pm on our last day so that was difficult as I was very tired by then.  I managed pretty well considering mainly because I had a coffee enema in the morning to reduce pain and detox the liver and then had a cup of coffee with our landlady as a sendoff in the early afternoon so I was buzzing from all the caffeine.   The plan is to have a break from treatment (well most treatment) over the next couple of months while we have a well earned holiday.  I will only be doing two infusions of Zometa (for bone strength) and a minimal number of tablets - less than 15 a day.  We will also be returning to the clinic on the 12th June for antibody treatment.  This will mean flying down to Stuttgart from Amsterdam, returning the next day and then leaving for New York the following day.  A bit of a shame to cut the Amsterdam section short.



 

I had a few days break from treatment while we were still in Hallwangen which was nice as I was feeling more nauseous each day.  One afternoon, after feeling nauseous and tired most of the day, Glen suggested a short walk.  It was lovely and warm, the sun was shining and I needed some exercise.  On a previous day Glen had found a lovely meadow leading up to the forest that she was sure I would enjoy.  It was gorgeous.  The dandelions were finishing up their spring flowering with lots of lovely puffy seed heads, the buttercups were now in full bloom so the fields were still full of sunny yellow blooms as well as little white daisies and other flowers in amongst the green grasses and clovers.  There were stil quite a few fruit trees in flower as well.  We walked through the meadow and sat on a seat at the edge of the forest with a lovely view back over the village.  There was a little track leading into the forest just behind the seat which we ended up following.  We spent the next two hours strolling through the pine forest, past meadows and little creeks.  There were lots of birds and fortunately many seats for me to rest.  I felt so revived from this foray into nature. 






We arrived in Bad Wiessee in Bavaria on the 16th May. Was expecting my cousin, Joke, to arrive on the 17th but she had already arrived so that was a nice surprise.  The other surprise was the cold and the snow.  This turned out to be a bonus because the next day it had stopped snowing, the sun came out and we caught the cable car up the mountain (Wallberg) and walked around in a winter wonderland.  The snow on the mountains was gorgeous.  We had lunch in the restaurant on the mountain top.  We spent several hours there soaking up the quiet that snow always seems to bring and enjoying the beauty of nature.

Having internet issues and will post more as soon as I get that sorted.

Surviving and thriving

Linda