Hey everybody! You may have noticed that on the right side of this page there are various links, and one of them is to a Yahoo group called “Val’s Kin.” I just wanted to point out that there is no need to be a blood relation of Val’s to join Continue Reading
Monday’s better than Sunday
Greetings all, I’m writing from Carbondale, Illinois, where I am visiting my sister (before heading off to my hometown in Indiana for the rest of the week). I spoke with Val on the phone this evening and here’s the report on her health and well-being: We appear to have established Continue Reading
Mt. St. Helens (Volcano 4 Val)
Hello everyone! We are far-flung this weekend. I am in St. Louis with my sister, visiting my awesome botanist cousin Anna. Val is (as far as I know) at the beach with Cosmic Patty. And Cynthia and Kate (& co.) climbed Mt. St. Helens! Cynthia’s report, and a link to Continue Reading
Day after chemo 2: feelin’ fine
Long day, very sleepy, all good so far. The steroids (or something) seem to give Val energy: she’s out in the garage working out. She feels fine and exceedingly chipper. I feel pretty good too, having enjoyed toddler storytime and a bike ride this morning, and dinner with a friend Continue Reading
2nd chemo and all’s well
Long long ago when this morning began… Valerie’s day: Bloodwork analysis, 8 a.m. (all excellent). Chemo infusion 8:45-5:00. Stripey socks and a gleaming head. Friends visiting in shifts the entire time. No pain in her arm this time. Brief dopiness by initial benedryl, then largely unaffected by the drugs. Chauffeured Continue Reading
Cherry pie, Mickey ears, tennis shoes.
some things from this week: some people’s hair grows longer and longer. not val’s: the remaining stubble of her hair grows shorter and shorter. when last we saw our heroine, her hair was as short as she could get it with an unguarded electric shaver – clear down to the Continue Reading
Freedom from hair
There are some moments throughout the days of the last several weeks when it occurs to me that I have Lung Cancer. No really, I’m not even kidding. Lung Cancer. And that is a perhaps a desperate thing and I think perhaps I have been misunderstanding the meaning of that. Continue Reading
increasingly visible
Val’s hair began to let go its moorings on Saturday. Early this week she went to a professional to have it shaved short, so the tender follicles wouldn’t be so often tugged. But the hair kept falling, coming away in tufts at the gentlest touch, so Thursday she asked me Continue Reading
Harrisburgh to Karnak. Plus: bike t-shirts
They did it! While Val and I were at the wedding in Montana, my sister Abby (with her friend Claudia) in Illinois biked 54 miles on Sunday on our behalf. Fifty-four miles!! What a goddess of steely thighs and diligent hydration! If you are tuning in late, I should explain Continue Reading
Fly Terriers, Kazoos, and Other People’s Grandpas. And Hair.
Our dog Tuley was rescued from a sidewalk on the day she was born and her provenance remains a mystery. People ask us all the time what kind of dog she is, and we hate to disappoint (or miss an opportunity to embellish), so sometimes we say she’s a Cairn Continue Reading