With all three weeks of full brain radiation completed, Traci needed some open air, a break from cabin fever and a little exploring with her sister before starting chemotherapy once again.
Miss Bee and I took to I-5 Wednesday morning leaving Daddy in charge of getting the three kids to their appropriate schools. He did me proud with keeping the house clean, kids fed and making sure no one missed the bus. It was a nice little break from the normal for me while being able to spend some sweet moments with My Hero.
Our time together was mainly spent eating which began at Menchies for dinner followed by the many leftover meals that had been delivered to Traci. She hasn't been able to drive due to the eye tumor creating depth perception issues as well as it looking like she's seeing out of a bubble. For safety reasons she hung up her keys until the issues resolve which has led to her becoming STIR CRAZY sitting at home! We took to the town to help her breath in some fresh air.
Thursday started by celebrating National Coffee Day with our Starbucks and free Krispie Kreme coffee and donuts. Shameful, we just wanted the donuts. Miss Bee quite enjoyed herself fisting the doughy goodness too. Our next stop was Powell's as we are both book lovers of all kinds. The children's section is bright, colorful, inviting and a place all our kids have come to love. Good thing we had budgets or we'd leave with hundreds of dollars worth in new books! With Traci's background being a preschool teacher she sees quality in every single book and has a favorites list about a mile long.
We quickly found a foodie stop where we had a light lunch of sushi. A few years back Tim introduced Traci to sushi going all in with making her try everything. I was kind and kept it simple. No fish eggs for us please! These two girls were raised on boxed fish and hamburger helper ( Still one of my favorites. So bad, but so good. ) so, our taste buds have been stretched with help from Tim making us try new things. With the sun shining we sat outside where Miss Bee entertained herself with her own waving shadows and smiling at those walking by.
{ Chicken skewers, vegetable tempura & a California roll. }
After lunch, we slowly made our way back to the car by way of Finnegan's Toys and a sweet treat at Moonstruck Chocolates. I would never turn down chocolates and with Traci's recent craving of all things pumpkin, she went straight towards the dark chocolate pumpkin truffle. Quite delicious. It was such a delightful day of walking the Pearl District together and although she said she was fine, I know I wore my sister out. Many times I told Traci to slow it down but this gal was so excited to be free of her apartment her glee of being out trumped her exhaustion.
The next day was chemo day as we met with Dr. Look and started back with three weeks on and one week off for the treatment schedule. The eye tumor has been reduced by 50 percent after radiation and after a few weeks, a couple scans will allow us to have a little more insight into the brain tumors and damage done by not having chemotherapy for three weeks. Either way, we treat.
And we did...with a second helping of Krispie Kreme donuts. Pumpkin of course.
Miss Bee slept during all of the treatment leaving just sisters to chat and watch the meds drip. After all these years, I continue to be blessed by the staff at Compass Oncology. These folks become friends, have such grace as they administer treatment and work with compassion that is desperately needed in a place such as this. The level of care is outstanding.
{ We used to hate eachother; now we eat together. }
In years past, Traci has usually felt sick right after chemotherapy, but not on this day. We shared our last meal together at The Station which is a food truck parking lot dressed up with picket fences around their trailers, a covered picnic area, food truck bar if needed and live music too. I've never seen such a cleaner, friendlier food truck restaurant. And let me not forget to mention the deliciously amazing hamburger we had made fresh to order! This was worth all too many calories to count with a secret BBQ sauce and perfectly seasoned curly fries on the side. Helped we had freshly squeezed lemonade to wash it down as well. After dinner we rolled ourselves back to the apartment where I finished some laundry and cleaning while Traci had sweet moments reading to Miss Bee.
{ The Station. }
{ The sauce. }
{ She doesn't know where to start. }
It's always hard leaving My Hero's place. I wish she lived in town and we could visit her daily. I hate that she's alone at night and fatigued by day. Facetime will never take the place of a real hug and Auntie tickles. Treasuring the moments we do have has taken on an entirely new meaning for all of us. I, never in my life, have met a stronger competitor against such a huge component. Traci, My Hero, has been in the ring with cancer for so long now; how she keeps getting back up knock out after knock out is a huge testimony to her faith and the God we serve.
She'll keep fighting...and we'll keep eating too.
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