Looking Back After 10 Years...

Yesterday, a picture popped up on my Facebook memories. The caption said "A double celebration!"

Seeing that picture prompted me to come back to this blog, La Dolce Vita. As I read, I was overcome by thankfulness to God for His faithfulness. 

In the last 10 years, a lot has happened. Praise the Lord, Danny is still cancer-free! He has had multiple health challenges over the years, but God is Faithful!

Danny goes to the Dattoli Cancer Center annually for a thorough checkup. One of his doctors has retired and a new one has come on board. This clinic is still number 1 in our opinion. 

On January 17, 2014, our favorite uncle, Harold, passed away. His wonderful influence continues to live on. 

On January 15, 2020, Emerson turned 14 years old!

On January 15, 1997, Danny committed his life to Jesus and he CELEBRATED 23 years of Salvation this year!

This is my devotional today. This is true and says it best:

You are valuable just because you exist. Not because of what you do or what you have done, but simply because you are. Remember that. Remember that the next time you are left bobbing in the wake of someone's steamboat ambition. Remember the next time some trickster tries to hand a bargain-basement price tag on your self-worth...Just think about the way Jesus honors you...and smile.

"Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered." Matthew 10:30

Celebration Dinner

We're both looking a little ragged. After Friday's last treatment, we drove across Florida to celebrate D's Graduation and E's 4th Birthday. A very long day, but a good time was had by all!

Dolphins Playing

Cool Florida

I believe we brought SC weather with us to Florida! This has been a record-breaking winter. Today's temp at home was warmer than it was here.

D finished his last treatment on Friday. Praise the Lord! He was very tired on Thursday and Friday, but his energy has started returning. We are planning to stay in Florida until the end of the month to give him time to recoup before returning home. Hopefully, the weather will improve and we will be able to enjoy the rest of our time here.

Follow-up is scheduled for September 14th. Scans were done last Monday, 1/11, and everything looked good. Bloodwork looks OK, too. In September, he will have more extensive testing and we will have a better idea about the success of the treatment. We are confident that he will get a good report.

I want to say "Thanks Again!" for your prayers and support.

I truly believe and have experienced Romans 8:28 (New American Standard Bible):

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. "

Our GOD is FAITHFUL!

La Dolce Vita - Round 2

I can't say why I've been so negligent with posting on the blog this time around. It just hasn't been as easy to be "open" as on our first trip to Sarasota. Maybe tiredness is setting in. Who knows?

We arrived in Florida on 12/21 and got unpacked here in Siesta Key. We are staying in a lovely 2 bedroom condo in the same area as before ~ more spacious and spectacularly decorated, but fairly noisy. The neighbors in the condo beside us are TOTALLY remodeling and workers have been busy from sun-up until sun-down every day since the day after Christmas ~ even Sunday. I will be so happy when their job is complete!

On Christmas Eve, we drove across the state and stayed with B, B, and E for Christmas. It is always wonderful to spend time with them. A quick trip over and back because D started his clinic visits again on Monday, 12/28.

Radiation treatments started this past Monday, 1/4, and he finished his 5th treatment of 10 today. Almost finished! We are SO excited! Praise the Lord, D's energy level has not been affected this time around. His blood pressure is doing so much better since we've arrived here. He is on a low sodium diet and I am cooking and monitoring every bite that he puts in his mouth. Seems to be working!

B and E came over last weekend and stayed a couple of days. D's brother and his wife are coming in tomorrow to stay several days with us. It is so nice to have visitors! Hopefully, we will have some warm weather within the next few days. It's hard to complain about Florida even when the temps are in the 40's. It is so beautiful here.

I have a couple of videos of dolphins playing down near the pier. My plans are to post those in the next couple of days.

D has an appointment with the doctor on Monday. We should find out more about his bloodwork results, follow-up appointments, etc. then.

Please keep us in your prayers. We are definitely believing for a COMPLETE healing!

Love to you all!

Follow-Up - 6 Weeks at Home

Tomorrow will be 7 weeks since D's seeding. I haven't posted since we've been home because life has been like a roller-coaster. We started out at the top, D was feeling great and we brought little E home from Florida with us for a visit. After the 2nd day at home, we realized that D was in for a long recuperation. To make a very long story short, his symptoms were severe enough that we made a couple of trips to the ER, a few visits to the Urologist, calls to the Dattoli Clinic, etc. ~ you get the picture. E stayed with us for 3 weeks and then B came up and stayed a few days before they both went back home. It was a nice visit, but poor E had to be bored to death ~ she was pretty much "home bound" with 2 grumpy grandparents.

I think I must be the most naive person in the entire world. For some crazy reason, I thought there would be no side effects from this treatment. My thoughts were definitely contrary to the manual / paperwork that we received at the Clinic, but I try to always stay optomistic.

After the seeding side effects began to subside, D's blood pressure continued to rise. It was staying around 160/100 most of the time. He had absolutely no energy and no quality of life. Out of our first 5 weeks at home, he may have had a handful of "good" days. FINALLY, the doctor changed his BP meds last week and he is beginning to return to normal ~ whatever that is. LOL! He is still staying away from crowded places trying to avoid the flu and viruses. But, he is getting out and about. We even went on a fishing trip last Friday. I can always tell how D is feeling by whether he wants to fish or not.

D seems to have grown closer to the Lord during this ordeal. He is spending more time in the Word and praying. I wish I could say the same for myself. This thing has really challenged my faith. I still trust God and love Him, but all of the "encouraging" words that I tell other people when they are going through "stuff", just hasn't seem to penetrate where I've been walking. I'm not trying to be a whiner here, just being real. God has shown me many, many areas in my life that need His gentle correction. I pray that years from now when we look back on this period in our lives, we will see a time of stretching and growing and we will be able to see good fruit in our lives. I think of the scripture from James 1:2Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. I am definitely not there yet!

A friend posted a challenge on Facebook to come up with one thing each day to be thankful for during this Thanksgiving season. It's been slim-pickin's from me. It seems easy for me to be thankful when things are going my way. Give me a challenge and Boo Hoo, poor me. But, I am beginning to realize again that I do have many, many things to be thankful for:
I am thankful for good friends who have lifted us up in prayer during this time. I am thankful for friends who speak the truth in love. I am thankful that we are 2/3 of the way through this process. I am trusting the Lord for a complete healing for D and I'm very thankful for what He has already done.

If you've been around me since we've been home, I am especially thankful for you and thankful that you didn't tell me to SHUT UP ALREADY! I have been absolutely obsessed with D's health situation. Thank you for your grace and mercy.

We plan to go back to Florida on December 22. If you don't mind continuing to pray for us, we would really appreciate it. Specifics: Traveling mercies; D's treatment ~ no complications and no side effects (I'm still optomistic); all details to be worked out with no problems concerning condo rental, radiation treatment, etc.; pray that my heart would not grow calloused because of weariness and tiredness.

Happy Thanksgiving to you all! We love you and are very thankful for you!
Plans are to update the blog while we are away.

"I thank my God every time I remember you." Philippians 1:3

Day Lost Count - Siesta Key

Thanks for praying! We are home from the hospital, but absolutely exhausted. We got up at 4:15 a.m. on Wednesday morning to be at the hospital by 6:15 a.m. He was discharged this (Thursday) morning, but then we had to go to the clinic. We finally got home at around 10:00 a.m. We have not had much sleep at all, so I'm not sure how coherent I am.

61 seeds were implanted. There was some breaching of the encapsulation, which means that some of the cancer was outside the gland. So glad that Danny did not opt for surgery. The doctor placed lots of seeds around the breached areas, so the radiation should take care of it.

Danny is feeling pretty good aside from being so tired from "trying" to sleep in a hospital. If you've ever had a stay, you know that somebody is poking and prodding on you every few minutes - day and night. He didn't have to use any of the pain medication, so that's a very good thing!
He will have to come back at the end of December for 10 more radiation treatments. I've heard that Florida is nice in January, so that should be a good time to come down.

Our plans are to leave for home on Sunday, 9/27.

I cannot express to you in words how much the support of friends and family has been to us while we've been away. Thank you SO much!

Love,Donna and Danny