Remember that song in the first Muppet Movie? Moving Right Along? Kermit and Fozzie driving some dumpy little car across the plains singing happily that they are “Moving Right Along”. I am using that happy little song to remind myself that Summer has been rolling along with her Cancer treatments for the last several months on a day-by-day basis. That said… We have all been watching the St. Jude “My Chart” that has a final date listed for appointments. 
April 27th is the last official treatment scheduled at St. Jude for Summer. That’s a huge sentence. While I cannot confirm how accurate My Chart is… I know that her treatment plan follows this schedule. Likely there will be follow-up and end-of-treatment appointments that will keep us there a little longer. Regardless… It’s a light at the end of the tunnel that coincides with springtime. What a great way to enter the gateway to summertime!
This past week, Summer was shadowed by my sister Sylvia as her caregiver. Tuesday night they checked into “in-patient and Summer got her second big dose of chemo over a few days. It’s a lot of downtime and binge-watching. Summer and I finished Wednesday and The Climb on my last session like this. It sounds like things were uneventful. Summer talked to me this week and she has been eating as much as she can without the assistance of a tube down her nose. She told me she ate two blueberry ego waffles for breakfast yesterday. She said it smugly as if to say “you didn’t think I could do this”. I don’t doubt her.. but sometimes mind over matter is not enough. We are not through the woods quite yet. Chemo in doses like she just had can result in weeks of reactions. Most notably a stomach that would rather heave than accept food. Finger crossed.
A big shoutout to Sylvia for taking the time to help out. She has two little boys who are probably a mess when she is gone. I know our cat can’t stand Angela leaving for 3 days in a row… Its gotta be similar? Sylvia was able to leave on Friday afternoon because Nate came down from Carbondale to relieve her.
Summer sent me a text yesterday with a picture of a game she was buying for Nate at Mid South Hobbies. She is out and shopping??!?!?!? I was shocked! Only Nate could make that happen. There was a Magic (card game) tournament going on at the store and this is a game that both of them have played since they met at College. I imagine Nate was hard to remove from the premise. I was super happy to hear that they were doing something other than sitting on the couch. Couch surfing is completely acceptable, but I can tell you after being stranded by the ice storm in Memphis for two days… Having the weather keep you down is a drag when she feels well enough to move!
When I talked to Summer earlier today… She mentioned that she and Nate had binge-watched “severance” on AppleTV. I asked her if it was as good as the mind-bending “Maniac” show on NetFlix from a couple of years ago. She said no, nothing is better than that.
Angela is on her way down now. She will be there with Summer for the next two weeks. I may try to blow in for a day or two around the timing of the ball game in Carbondale. It’s only another 3 hours drive! I can do that blindfolded! It’s worth noting that a new “commons” area has been opened up for parents and kids at St. Jude. Most of the time when you are stuck for hours between appointments… You are in waiting rooms that are not terribly easy on the body to sit in. The Commons area is a wide open space with activities and areas for parents to relax. They even have a coffee shop there? I look forward to checking it out on my next session in Memphis.
Oh and the Basketball game… Fort’s SIU fundraising team won a jersey for the Summer! This weekend, on the 19th… As mentioned above, I will head down to Carbondale to watch the game with some of my co-workers and represent for her. I think there is very little chance she will be well enough this coming weekend to get away from Memphis. Believe me, if there is a way… There is will. Divine intervention on her “counts” would be amazing
Summer was greatly humbled by everyone who jumped on that Amazon list. I have not heard joy like that from her in a while when she called me about some of the items you all sent her. The label maker has been magical… But she was going on and on about the apple watch and phone charging station that she received. I said it in another post… Trinkets. Cards and little things give her a fun distraction every day and let her know that people are thinking of her. Thank you.
Everyone should know by now that I am a huge cheerleader for Tazewell County. This past week was restaurant week in Pekin. I made a point of stopping by several of the restaurants and eateries that were part of the event. Holy smokes! How I didn’t gain 20 pounds is an accomplishment in itself. Every place has a healthy option to choose from… But I totally went with the heart-clogging burgers and sandwiches everywhere. That said… I did hold off from eating any donuts at Ta-Doughs… So, that made me feel a bit like a martyr. Check out my Instagram if you want to see pics.
We got another notification that Summers’s alma mater, St Joseph School, has donated to St. Jude in Summer’s honor. Very cool that the school is thinking of her. Also, DeeMack teachers sent a gas card gift over to us after Hope Week at the High School. The card gave a shout-out to Aiden as well. I know that would roil Summer’s blood pressure that he is getting any credit!!! LOL. Sibling rivalry is still fully in place.
Stay strong Summer…the countdown has started! Yeah. So proud of you!