Getting Back to Normal (Whatever that is!)

Now that I'm no longer receiving chemotherapy treatments, my posts here will appear not so regularly. I have only one small, but important, bit of information to share related to my September 7th post-chemo health checkup. You may recall that I'm participating in a research study that has resulted in a "circulating tumor DNA blood test." Signatera is the trade-marked name of this test, and you can read more about it by clicking here if you wish. Simply put, the test is tailored to each individual based on DNA related to the original cancer tumor. I have had two such tests so far. One was administered in February, about one month after the surgery I had in January to remove the tumor. The second one was administered after my September 7th post-chemo checkup, though the results only became available more recently. In both cases, the measurement was zero, meaning that no circulating tumor DNA (referred to as ctDNA) was found. Absence of ctDNA is a strong indication that there is no reoccurrence of the cancer, at least at the time of the test. So, bottom line, continuing very good news. But as before, on to other things.

Fall colors at our lake home have been extraordinary this year. Here is a sample from about 10 days ago. Things are peaking now, with frost occurring this week and wind and rain knocking leaves down. Still... You might want to double click on this picture to see a larger version.

While I am at the cabin winterizing various things and putting outdoor items away, Kathie has returned to Iowa for an Alpha Phi reunion. When she got home she found that our single Better Boy tomato plant was continuing to produce. Although I haven't actually weighed or otherwise measured our crop, I'd be willing to bet that we have gotten perhaps a bushel of tomatoes from this one, hardy plant. The tomatoes are so so good, with a texture and flavor unlike anything one buys during the remainder of the year at the grocery.

Before Kathie went home, my sister Paula and brother-in-law Ron came to spend a couple days with us at the cabin. There is a local restaurant that specializes in really good breakfasts, so we enjoyed that one morning as you can see here.

Unfortunately, while they were visiting, our twelve-year-old dog Tighe became very sick. Actually, he had been up and down for a few days or maybe even longer before that. We had to make the difficult decision to put him down when the vet diagnosed cancer of the spleen. Surgery was not recommended, and we did not want him to continue suffering from the obvious pain the vet assured us he was feeling.

Many of you know that Tighe had a way of annoying me at times, but he was a very sweet dog too and a good companion from day to day. He loved Kathie most of all. Honestly, I've never seen a dog bond so tightly to one person as he did with Kathie. They were clearly a mutual admiration society. His loss has been really unfortunate for her, especially as she has had to face the stress of my last ten months of cancer treatment.

Tighe was a cute puppy. For his entire life, he seemed able to conjure up this sad looking apologetic face which was certainly enhanced by his face coloring. He had a beautiful coat which nearly everyone who saw him admired.

For his first two years, he overlapped living with us and his great aunt Josey. I have a number of humorous pictures of them playing. Well, truthfully, Tighe is trying to play, while Josey either ignored or simply tolerated him.

Here is what he looked like through most of his mature life. It was always funny to see him decide to play with one of his squeaky toys. He didn't do this every day or evening, but when the mood struck him, he would seek them out, work carefully to locate the positions of the squeakers, and then proceed to exercise the squeaker in an effort to gain more of our attention. He loved to chew on things, especially the beef bones Kathie got for him, and he had a real gift for knowing certain times of day (meal times) as well as morning routines and evening bedtime routines.

He absolutely loved playing with a frisbee. One only had to mention the word and he was ready to go. The appearance of a leash also got him very excited. Kathie took him on lots of walks, and I enjoyed having him along when walking to our Wisconsin mailbox, which is a good distance away from the cabin. He was an English Shepherd, and when I got out the leash, he was clearly trying to herd me toward that promised walk.

I wouldn't have said that Tighe was a lap dog, but neither Kathie nor Tighe seemed to know that. Nearly every evening, there was a "puppy pile" on the couch while we watched something on TV.

At the risk of making my wife more sad than she already is when she reads this, I just have to share this picture of Tighe on his last day. I'll always look at this and know the special feelings that each of them shared when they looked into each others eyes. I said they were quite bonded to each other, and it was true that they were. One cannot see such things and fail to understand the unique roles that pets, especially dogs, play in enhancing, supporting, and increasing the happiness of their owners lives.

Finally, let me end with a shout out to our oldest grandson Henry, daughter Betsy, and our son-in-law Peter. This picture was taken on the night seniors in the high school marching band were being recognized for their contributions. Peter has been going through a rough patch lately with some medical issues, but he was determined, along with Betsy, to be present to support his son. I'm proud of them all. Get well Pete!