Some People Will Do Anything to Get on T.V.

Just wanted to let you all know that WLTX-Channel 19 is going to do a story on Mike tonight at 6:00. They came to the hospital and interviewed me and talked with Ralph Schmidt, principal at Richland Northeast, as well. Do keep in mind that the camera adds ten pounds, so that’ll be my excuse for how I look. :-)

Since it’s Valentine’s Day, I served Mike breakfast in bed. Awfully sweet, don’t you think? I may just do the same for dinner as well. He can’t have everything to eat that he would like—it has to be soft and chewable. Chicken wings actually aren’t even out of the question as long as they’re taken off the bone and cut into small pieces. His liquids have to be thickened and probably will be for the next couple of months. My parents just brought the girls up here with their valentines. Mike said, “Savannah Grace, Daddy’s girl” aloud. That’s the chant he normally says to the girls. His ability to talk above a whisper comes and goes, but he has been doing better lately. I think the feeding tube being removed and eating regular meals will help with that. That, of course, is my professional medical opinion.

Mike had his third radiation treatment early this morning. He was put on some antibiotics yesterday as a preventative measure; the chemotherapy tends to weaken the immune system, so they want to make sure he doesn’t catch anything that may be floating around. He’s still on a high dose of steroids; they’re going to start weaning those down but are waiting until next week because the radiation can sometimes cause the swelling to recur. Hopefully, we won’t have to worry about that happening.