Well, Tim never did make it home from the hospital for Thanksgiving. We had our own quiet Thanksgiving on the 10th floor of Kaiser Oakland where we could look out and see the persistent smoke from the Paradise fire which was eventually washed away by the rains. The bacteremia caused by the endoscopy was a known serious risk. A year ago, Tim was hospitalized after bleeding internally following the same endoscopic procedure -- another of the known serious risks. What luck! Broad spectrum antibiotics were given, but were soon found to be toxic to Tim’s kidneys. So, the staff then changed their choice of antibiotics to drugs that weren’t toxic to his kidneys, and the infection cleared. In order to protect his kidneys, however, they needed to give him increased amounts of IV fluids to flush his kidneys and ensure their recovery. While this helped his kidneys, it also increased the amount of fluids that he was accumulating in his belly and ankles. By the time Tim came home (the day after Thanksgiving), his stomach was extremely bloated and his ankles were significantly swollen. Last Monday, when they tapped his stomach, they drained almost 9 liters of fluid. That wasn't all the fluid that had built up, but they didn't want to take out more due to the risk of additional risk to his kidneys. Now, a week later, with the bloating and swelling behind him for the most part, Tim will go in for another round of chemo tomorrow. We're hoping that the PET scan scheduled for December 12 will show that the chemo has been effective and that all these tribulations have been “worth it.”

Paul's back spasms have settled down now that he's temporarily stopped doing aggressive physical therapy exercises, taking increased pain meds and being generally more careful in his activities. He's still dealing with bronchitis from the prolonged smoky air from the Paradise fires. The good news is that Paul's recent lab results show his cancer remains at a nearly undetectable level.

We decided to put up our Christmas tree to bring a few lights and sparkle to offset an otherwise grueling time. Thanks to our friends who helped bring our 3-part artificial tree down from the attic and set it up. Then, we were left with putting up our many holiday lights and ornaments.