From Bristol to Boise with Faith

From Doris: “Marriage isn’t hard. It’s life that’s hard. If you marry a good person, you can navigate through those hard things...” ~Diane Wunderli, wife of Brother David J. Wunderli, first counselor in the Young Men General Presidency.  

From Doris: God so Loved the World | Tabernacle Choir At Temple Square   John 3:16

From Amy: While watching The Great British Baking Show, a contestant mentioned attending a Hen Do and Shawn asked me “What’s a Hen Do” and I answered with no awareness that he was setting me up for a pun. A Hen Do is the British version of a bachelorette party. But the answer to “what’s a hen do?” Lay eggs From Tom: I was showing my friend the first floor of our house and he asked, “what’s upstairs?”  (What’s up, stairs?”) I told him as kindly as I could that the stairs didn’t talk.

  Original Map Scott's interpretation: "It's a whistle". Original Map From Amy: Wormy is blowing out the candles on his birthday cake! Wormy

From Doris: My oncology providers care more about me and my pain than they do my MCL treatment protocol.  I was given a prescription for pain and the dose of my second chemo pill was not increased this week.

From Doris: The gastrointestinal side effects of my cancer drugs have leveled out a bit. I met with a dietitian on Thursday.  She gave me very helpful suggestions. My doctor is keeping me on 200 mg of oral chemo drug #2 for at least one more week.  My dose was supposed to increase to 400 mg this past Thursday. I had another infusion. It lasted for 3.5 to 4 hours. Fatigue was the main side effect. Paul and I walked around the infusion center with my IV pole. Another patient said she loves to see us walking together.   My prescription pain medication is helping. I still have pain, but it is much less. I was unable to get out of a chair without Paul’s assistance before this Rx. Tracy brought me and Paul smoothies on Friday. I was able to get into the dentist to replace a filling that had fallen off my front tooth. My Savior is helping me by giving me strength to endure. One of the young women in our ward made dinner for us and dropped it off on Thursday. ...

 From Doris: Helaman 12:1 “…the Lord in his great infinite goodness doth bless and prosper those who put their trust in him.”

 From Doris: Ibuprofen can lower platelet counts in my blood.  My chemo drugs can also lower my platelet counts. I cannot take Ibuprofen unless my platelets counts are in normal ranges. I got to witness someone ring the bell in the CIC.  She finished her chemotherapy on Thursday. Our family added 79.8 miles of walking to our Walking to Bristol Map this week. Our total miles are 165.12.

 From Doris: My pain levels have intensified beyond my ability to endure them using Tylenol and/or Ibuprofen. I can only take Ibuprofen if my blood work indicates it is safe to do so. I am taking three drugs to treat my cancer.  One is administered as an infusion. The other two are taken as pills.  All three drugs have muscle, joint and bone pain as side effects. My body aches constantly.

 From Paul: Cycle 4 (modified) Every week is a new experience in this journey of love, hope and faith. Early this week, Doris and I were considering the discomfort she is having in the form of extreme joint and muscle pain. The areas of discomfort seem to have settled mostly in her shoulders and knees. This combination of pain makes it difficult for her to get out of pretty much any chair in our home. At her suggestion, I researched the side effects of her medications. One side effect was common to all three: Joint and muscle pain.  I called the Cancer Institute with her permission and spoke with the nurse, who mustered members of Doris’ treatment team. I explained that her pain has increased to a point where we need some help in knowing how to manage that pain. Doris had reached the point of asking for help. As I described the situation to the nurse, she was very supportive and understanding. That was Tuesday. Within a few minutes, the nurse called and spoke with Doris ...