A Family Weekend

Tanner comes home this weekend and we are going to try and have a "family weekend" with his brother.  We'll see how much time we actually all spend together (you know that saying about the "best laid plans") but I do know that the plan is for us to all go and see the last Harry Potter movie.  We've seen the whole series together since they were very young boys, so I guess we'll see this last one together too.  I told them I've read the book and can just tell them how it ends, but they say "no way"!

Tonight, I think they are going to go night fishing with their dad.  It's way too hot here in Texas to do much outside during the day right now...

I took Tanner to his chemo appointment on Wednesday and he was walking with only one crutch but his left leg was still swollen and was hurting.  He said that he thought he was going to have to get the other crutch back out for a while.  I'm still not use to seeing him without his leg brace!!

Surgery on the femur is usually more painful than on the tibia, but the fact that the left leg was broken for two years and had a bone graft made this last procedure a more invasive surgery - and it's just taking him a while longer to recover.  He goes to see the Orthopedic Surgeon in Dallas on Tuesday for his follow up appointment, Wedensday is chemo in Fort Worth, and then Friday he goes back to Dallas to see Dr. Berryman.  It's going to be a busy week!

After his chemo appointment on Wednesday at Cook's Oncology Department, we went over to the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and met with Terry Purdom, a man who was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2004 (http://web.me.com/tpurdom/Site/Home/Home.html). 

Shirley Casey (our friend from OK who also has MM) hooked us up with Terry and we all decided it would be a good idea for he and Tanner to meet.

Tanner was very impressed with Terry and while we were there, the doctor came out and met with us also.  He said that he was in no way a "specialist" in Multiple Myeloma, like Dr. Barlogie or Dr. Berryman, but that he would be more than willing to treat Tanner here locally under the supervision of either of the other doctors. 

They gave us a tour of the facility and Monday evening, Tanner plans to attend a seminar that is to be hosted by Terry -  "I Can Cope, Keeping Well In Mind and Body".

I'm so glad Tanner had an opportunity to meet Terry and I'm glad Shirley "introduced" us - from all the way up in Oklahoma (by way of Facebook)!