Dear Family and Friends,
A short note to let you know that Margreet is going to start her radiation therapy tomorrow Monday 14 November.
We've been having a series of bad news for a while. Every time we went to the hospital for meetings with the doctors the worst of our fear were confirmed. It felt like being in an avalanche. Down, down, down and still further down at a great speed... But we finally had a meeting with the oncologist last Monday who we convinced to go ahead and do the radiation therapy without any more delays, and he immediately contacted the radiologist to have a meeting with Margreet. We had a meeting with the radiologist next day. He turned out to be a doctor from Iran and is very energetic. He immediately arranged to have the 'immobilization' mask and CT scan needed for radiation treatment started, and to get the treatment scheduled for tomorrow. He was very frank as to the possibilities of this treatment. They are not the greatest odds. Something around 50/50 chance of extending life for some 6 months from whatever it would be without treatment. Radiation therapy is a "one shot" thing. She'll be getting treatments for the next 3 weeks, 4 days per week. After that 'science' can not offer anything. There are some possible negative side effects to this treatement, but she's willing to take a chance. He very wisely refused to put a number to her life expectancy. He said, "I used to do that, but I turned out to be wrong every time, so I don't do that any more". She said she'd be satisfied if she'd able to see the kids for one more year... but she's very thankful for _every day_ that she gets even now.
With that statement of 50/50 chance, Margreet turned very upbeat. Something like "with technology giving me 50% chance the rest will surely come from my spiritual network of angels" (That is you. So get your spiritual wings going tomorrow at 1:30 pm Holland time, if you can :-)
We've been very busy making the final details to "oma's huisje" (grandma's little house) as Arianna calls it, and we are now living in it. It is now very cozy and functional, and it is great that we are close to the kids. Arianna comes every morining to say "Good morning!" (in Dutch of course) and it would be very difficult if we were anywhere else.
It is difficult to maintain an upbeat sense all the time, specially since she's always been a "take charge" kind of person and all of a sudden she finds herself unable to do much and relying on everyone else, and we are plunged into a world we've not know, with much randomness and chaos created by these new experiences. Emotions and tempers get fraid, even with the best of intentions... but we are learning how to 'move' in this situation, and when we get to the calm points, which we've been having more lately, we are able to appreciated the beautiful thing we have.
Els, her sister from the States, has been with us for a few days now and will be staying for 2 weeks, and she's bringing some new energy to help us find our way to the loving place we seek.
Keep sending her (us) your good thoughts and prayers. We are making good use of them.
Love & Peace
Bob
