Sundays...a lot less scary...

I've come to realize, over the last year, that Sunday's, for me, had become the day that I feared the most...it had been the best of days, yet, went terribly wrong, deep into the night.  I had become fidgety, restless, distracted...and sleep?  Well, I didn't want to think about sleeping...I wanted to avoid the dreams, reliving that night, nearly a year ago...
...and here, on this Sunday, we had two more weeks to go...had we known...Well, I do believe we made the most of our time together, but still.
    However, my Southwest Family has made Sunday's a day that my family looks forward to again.  Beginning with church together, Viro's and then a day for the bambini to relax and play together.

Date: Fri, 19 Nov 2010 23:01:38 -0700

Well, it was another pretty good day for Kim! Now that the drain is gone, having been threaded through her rib cage, she had a pain free day (thanks for the prayers on this one)!! She has been assigned a nurse to stop by twice a week to check her vital signs and ask questions to see if any new symptoms are cropping up. His name is Jim, and, as Kim and I like to associate her medical team with people we know, actors, etc, we both said 'Steve Buscemi', as soon as Jim left. He looks like he could be Steve's cousin and sounds a lot like him, too. Buscemi just might be one of the most underrated actors of our time and we like his films, so it was a fun visit. Jim said Kim's vitals looked good, her heart rate is still accelerated, but her breathing has improved, so we cranked her oxygen machine down from 3 liters to 2!

Now, it is going to get busy for Kim! Nothing scheduled for the weekend, but, Monday morning, she will have her power port re-accessed. Tuesday morning, her PT scan has been scheduled. This will give Dr. Taetle a 'roadmap', so to speak of where the cancer has infected Kim's body. I guess this is where we need a lot of praying - we pray for good news from this test. The test will take several hours. Later that day, Kim will have an appointment with Dr. Struthers, her personal physician, last seen when Antonio was born back in 2003.

Kim has truly enjoyed being home. We just got done watching a bunch of old Columbo episodes. He always figured out how the bad guy did it. I love how he would face the murderer, without fear and explain how they had committed the crime. She really loves that show. It is more of a challenge here, as we second guess possible symptoms, but are quick to call for consultation. Without the Dr's, nurses, techs, cooks and cleaning crew, it is a fast paced day here (I need a stunt double!). But, as you can imagine, Kim is an amazing patient and has gotten back into helping the kids with homework, watching movies with them (Autumn and Kim watched 'Letters to Juliet' together tonight - thanks Andrea!) and spending time with her mom and Jim.

Ah, and the bambini's had another amazing day. Tonio and Autumn stayed after again and their teachers, Mrs. Schrantz and Mrs. Rudzena, helped them with homework (teachers that are willing to stay late on a Friday? We are blessed with hardworking leadership in this district!). The brought the kids home, along with Mrs. Rudzena's mom, Patti, and presented Kim with a beautiful charm bracelet, with charms to keep her strong, that the teachers at Cottonwood put together for her. She also received an autographed copy of Jane Seymour's 'Among Angels', from the store manager, Andy, of a Barnes & Noble up in Scottsdale. She had a nice time, but, due to the oxygen and her lung complications, she is pretty tired tonight. Cody had a good day in school, getting some extra help from Mrs. Paton, his science teacher and scoring a 100% on his test today. We all ate dinner together (Autumn leads us in prayer, she is so sweet), thanks to Melissa for the delicious enchiladas and tamales! It was the first time Carole and Jim had ever had them. I remember, shortly after we moved here, Kim and I went to Casa Molina for our first mexican meal. We ordered the tamales and I bit into mine, without unwrapping it. When the waitress stopped by to see how things were going, I told her 'how do you eat these things, they are so tough?'...she didn't even laugh at me as she explained that you had to unwrap the corn husk cover first... The kids played a rousing game of Yahtzee with their grandparents and then a little Guitar Hero, which I found that I am not so talented at. Tonio is quite the singer.

Kim seems to improve a little each day. Again, having her home has been wonderful and, we feel, re-energizing, as we focus on getting her strong enough to kick the oxygen and be able to walk on her own again! So many people approach me during my day and tell me that they have added Kim to their prayers, their prayer groups, their church's prayer list, etc. etc. I have noticed, that every time someone tells me that, something good happens for Kim. Thank you all.

Cast all your burdens to the Lord, and He will sustain you...always

Psalm 55:22

God Bless,

Dave"

      Here's the thing.  In Mass this morning, with Andrea, Lupe and Manny, the Homily was all about how we do not know when our time will come "we do not know the hour or the day"...and we don't.  Over dinner tonight (I made marinara, meatballs, angel hair, etc for Andrea, David, Lexy, Breanna and the bambini), Andrea and I talked about how Kim may have known she had little time left, but did not want to get too deep into it.  She would tell us 'that is not important right now', so that we might enjoy the moment.  Andrea recalled how she seemed to have a bigger picture type of view, too - not just enjoying friends and family, but somehow focusing on EVERYTHING, like the sun, the birds, the mountains, the clouds, etc, etc.

         Talking to Angie tonight, she fondly remembered how when she walked into the room, Kim would hit her with a cheery "Hi Angie, how was your day?" and still cherishes a shower thanks to Kimmy.

        At Viro's, we focused on the big picture, as Kim did, we did that.  Today was an incredible day.  The type of day that makes us truly appreciate living in Arizona. 75 degrees and sunny...blue skies. And Vito and family visited with us, making us feel appreciated.  The bambini feasted.  One of Vito's newer team members, Tiffany, made her second ever cappuccino for me and her first ever white chocolate latte for Andrea....and they came out good.  The cannoli cake was amazing...but, it was the company that makes Viro's such a nice way to start our week!

       

           I do not know what tomorrow will bring...but I truly enjoyed today, and appreciated all of the sharing, caring moments...church, breakfast with family...the bambini playing...cooking  dinner for family (there is no such thing as lunch on Sunday's after Viro's!)...watching the Eagles win (remember, Dec 12th 2010, Kim and I watched them beat the Cowboys together) with Autumn wearing her Desean Jackson jersey...

           I will not fear the night tonight...and for that, I am thankful...

                      Love,

                          Dave