I’m way behind on posting this.

I had my last chemo treatment on March 02 (HOORAY!) and one of the traditions at the clinic is that, after their final treatment, the patient get to ring the bell to signify the event.  Well, here I am – wish I had audio.

All of the staff and other patients cheered or applauded.  It felt very good.

Jan also took a few pictures of the nurses who took such good care of me through all of my treatments.  Here I am with Lesta and Wendy who were the ones who usually hooked  up and monitored me while the drugs were administered.

Below is Carol, who managed the pharmacy and looked out for me in terms of drug interactions and possible side effects.  She was also one of the most cheerful and funny people on the staff.  She even dressed up in costume for special events.

While the whole process was rather difficult and long, the staff at the clinic did everything they could to make the process as easy as possibe for me.  Thanks to everyone there.

The following was written by Jan concerning one of her many contributions to my lymphoma recovery.

Happy Socks

The origin of these cheerful socks was Spokane, WA.  When visiting my sister, Edith, I saw these socks in one of the gift stores which specialized in “homemade” items made locally and I exclaimed how cool I thought they were.  Guess what came wrapped in my Christmas stocking that year?  Santa must of been following me around.

When it was determined Tom had lymphoma, we had a visit scheduled with the doctor to discuss how serious it was and what treatment would be the best.  Both of us were quite worried about the outcome of this meeting so I decided we needed some brightness to cheer us up so I put on what I called my “happy socks” and told Tom that, no matter what the outcome would be, he should look at my bright socks, think happy thoughts, and smile.  And they have worked throughout his treatment process, including his brief hospitalization.  Just looking at them brings a smile to our faces.  Sometimes it is the little things that matter most.

They really work!