September 1, 2009

It's been quite a while since I've entered anything on this blog. That, of course, is very good. All of Gay's treatments have been positive and her hair has come back like Michael J. Fox's in "Teen Wolf" albeit quite gray and curly! Her golf handicap has improved by about four shots and her stamina and health in general are excellent. Please keep her in your prayers as this battle is far from over. We've lost some dear friends to cancer and more have been diagnosed. They would also appreciate your thoughts and prayers.

We'll be heading back to Notre Dame soon and will be lighting candles for Gay and all of our friends. If I'm not back on here for a while, again that's good. Remember that old Willie Nelson song, "If the phone doesn't ring, it's me"!

Breaking News..... This Just In!!

This morning, Gay Strojny, stalwart cancer fighter, had a bit of a setback. No it wasn't the cancer; she just happened to fall out of a golf cart! She returned from the course, asked me to heat the hot tub for therapeutic reasons, changed her clothes and WENT BACK OUT TO FINISH THE ROUND. I told you she was tough! Does anyone know how to install seat belts in a golf cart? Will wearing a helmet inhibit your golf swing?

Your humble scribe who has been known to have a few "adult" beverages during a round has NEVER, and I repeat, has NEVER fallen out of a golf cart! I do wish there was a security camera in the area. We could definitely have a winner with "America's Funniest Home Videos"!

She was not the driver by the way. Keep those prayers coming. She needs 'em!

Writer's Block........NOT!!!!

We've recently heard from some friends who are regular readers of this blog. They say that there has been nothing new added for quite a while and I'll be first to agree with them. There were even some concerns that your usually loquacious (ie windbag) scribe has hit the wall and has run out of cogent informative things to say. AU CONTRAIRE!!

1) I believe I beat the "Angel" to death. We found the head on the first one and, through the miracle of Super Glue, she is now back in the waterfall and looking great. Angel II also has a preferred spot and I've detected no conflict between the two. I really can't thank the angel donor (s) for their largess. The angel (s) have given us so much peace and comfort.

2) The Grand Children are growing and are turning into really neat sub-teens. They love their "Gabby" and bring us comfort like the ceramic angels. They are our real angels and they've made this difficult journey so much more tolerable. I just happened to do the Grand Father thing and included a recent picture of the four darlings.


3)Now for the pithy part. As previously stated, Gay's hair has come back with a vengeance and she keeps it short, sassy and gray. Thank the Lord and all of our dear friends, her latest PET Scan again showed good numbers and the cancer is indeed asleep. She now takes Zometa for her bones and various hormones and vitamins but the dreaded Chemo and Radiation are OVER!! There are NO changes and, hence, no NEWS. As long as I can write banal (NO NEWS) reports like this, all is good in the world. Please pray that the tenor and tone of these updates will never change. It's so much easier to wing a post than have to report that something is amiss. We love you all!

Fish on Friday (I hate Lent)!

We just returned from a quick family vacation to the Grand Cypress Resort in Orlando. We did the round trip in the same car and I'd sincerely like to thank the inventors of the DVD player and the iPod. The kids were great and the 8 hours went by surprisingly quickly.

While we were there we experienced the Discovery Cove which is affiliated with Sea World. Part of the day was "swimming with the Dolphins" which was a definite hit. It was Friday and Gay just couldn't pass up a quick snack! Only kidding, PETA people! The next day we did the Sea World thing with those wonderful shows (and roller coasters)! Yours truly was really dragging after that day.

Gay has her check up next week and I'll be sharing the results when we get them. As usual your prayers and thoughts are requested.


In a previous post, I lamented about the demise of our wonderful "waterfall angel". When we returned from Florida we found that some kind soul replaced the angel with a larger, newer, improved industrial strength model. We still don't know who our "angel" is but we certainly thank them. Check her out to the right of the "Notre Dame Rock!.

HELP!!!!!!

For those of you regular followers of this blog, you might remember the post of the "mysterious waterfall angel". Some dear friend braved getting quite wet to place this adorable angel in the waterfall going into our pool. It was early during Gay's various procedures and you cannot believe how comforting this gesture was to us.

Spring is starting to spring here in the Carolinas (you gotta love it). Yesterday I was out cleaning the ever present pine straw from the waterfall when I discovered our wonderful consoling angel in serious distress. Talk about being crestfallen!! Probably one of our erstwhile pool cleaners accidentally hit our dear friend and decapitated her! I'm beginning to think he just might be a Jihadist! I read they do that kind of thing.

If our dear angel donating friend is still reading this blog, PLEASE identify yourself and tell us where you bought this treasure. It's about five inches high and looks like it might be made of a ceramic or terra cotta. We would then immediately attempt to replace it. Again, this gesture was so comforting to us and we've become accustomed to having her intact there in her little nook. The head just might be in the bottom of the pool but I'm not about to go diving for it now!

Gay is still doing well and your prayers, thoughts and, of course, the angel are so responsible for her progress. Thanks again.

Six Months

Six Months! What exactly is six months? Approximately 180 days? 4320 hours? Let me relate to you what "six months" means to the Strojny family. Six months ago we consulted an oncologist after Gay was diagnosed with yet another cancer flare-up. You all know that she had been cancer-free for twenty-one years. After all of the tests were in, we were told that she would have to undergo twelve weeks of brutal chemotherapy followed by daily radiation treatments for another four weeks. The treatments would be tough with all of the side effects you've ever read about. We asked the doctor what the prognosis would be if we skipped all of that grief and did nothing at all. His answer was blunt and to the points. In six months Gay would be on the other side of the lawn (my words there, not his)! Naturally we opted for Door #2.

It all seems like such past history now and you can follow the entire adventure on this blog. Gay, with her usual perseverance and dedication, went into the treatments just like anything she tackles. FULL BORE! She refused to get "sick" or let the treatments get in the way of her normal life. She continued to play her golf and bridge and mahjong and volunteered for every local committee that came down the pike. Yes, she got a little tired in the evening but, hey, I do that in mid-afternoon!

Again, it's hard to believe that six months have passed since her stage four cancer diagnosis. She is still firmly ensconced on this side of the lawn. Her hair has grown back in thick and curly (and gray) but she leaves it very short just like it was during the chemo. In honor of this six month "anniversary" she went through each and every "get well" card you wonderful folks sent to her. I really don't think that "Sully" got this much fan mail!

The six months have passed but the fight is still far from over. PLEASE keep those thoughts and prayers coming. We couldn't have done this without you.

Winter Wonderland

Really don't have any news for this blog (that's good) but I thought I'd ramble a bit to keep you interested. Gay and I moved from northern New Jersey nine years ago to escape those dismal winters. I guess we didn't go far enough south! This picture is our little fountain in the front frozen almost solid and our temperatures were single digit! The other picture is today with about five inches of snow. It looks so pretty but I'm sick of it already!

We hope you are having a great new year. As is our wont, we made some resolutions and we seem to be sticking with them. We both went on diets and quit drinking adult beverages. Gay decided to keep her weight down to keep those fat cells from feeding those cancer boogers. I went on the diet so I could see my toes again! Abstaining from alcohol is a part of our diet but the stocks in wine, beer and liquor really took a tumble with our decision. This is the last thing our fragile economy needs. I even heard that the wineries have applied for a bailout!

Please keep checking our blog for Gay news (I guess I should have said "Gabby") and I'll forward updates as I get them. Your thoughts and prayers are working. Keep it up!!

Latest PET Scan Results...YEAH!!!!!!!

Yesterday Gay and I made the long (five minute) trip over to her Oncologist, Dr. Doogie to learn the results of the PET Scan she took several days ago. This was obviously an important appointment as Gay usually doesn't want (or need) me around during her treatments. I am pleased to announce that the results were definitely encouraging.

In earlier posts, I described what the PET Scan was all about and what the numbers in the results mean. Dr. Doogie was smiling (a medical breakthrough here) as he shared these new numbers with us. When Gay was diagnosed with this latest bout of cancer, her numbers were then in the high 700's. Yesterday they were in the 80's! The four spots weren't absorbing ANY sugar which means they are asleep. The treatment plan was working as advertised!

Gay was advised to be careful about gaining any weight as fat cells promote estrogen which is the last thing you need with breast cancer. I asked the doctor if that means I'm going to be growing boobs and that smile of his disappeared! I really don't think Oncologists have a sense of humor!

So that's it. The latest numbers were good and hopefully they'll stay that way. Gay gets checked every month now and a few pills and some physical therapy are her only treatments. Now that doesn't mean you should get cocky and stop sending us your prayers and support. They're needed more than ever as this journey continues. Remember this disease in incurable but, thank the Lord, it is treatable. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.