Chapter 41
Saturday, June 18th…
“Good morning. Have a fun and relaxing vacation. Enjoy the nice weather you will be having. Have fun with the kids and the animals too. You deserve to have this trip. No worries. Everything is going to be fine with me. The steroids have helped. Woke up at 5:30 this morning and had to eat. Wow! Good thing the cat wasn’t home. Lol. Please enjoy your time. Thanks for everything you and your family do for me. Love you. Safe travels. Watch out for those bears. Lol.”
‘Thanks, Laura. Glad you are doing better. I’m not sure if you would tell me the full story anyway. Would you? I can see you saying… I’m okay. So, no need to worry about me while you’re on vacation. I still expect you to tell me the truth. Got it? 5:30 huh?? Do you remember what that time of day looks like? Haha. I really hope you can get back on your feet and start to feel better. I hope you get your strength back. Gunner (My dog) hates the new pup. Gunner hates everyone. So far, the car ride is going good. These guys are so happy to be on vacation.
(I sent a picture of Clint and I in the front seat and Brandi, Chase and the new pup in the back). When we met up with our friends along I-29 at the roadside park, they laughed when BOTH of my kids got out of the truck. They had no idea Brandi was coming with us. I feel sorry for Dave though, he had to work. Wish he was with us. He’s spending the weekend at his parents, so he can go fishing with his dad. He called and told Brandi, they thought they lost Mandy (Brandi’s other dog). They looked for her for over an hour. Somehow, she got locked in their garage. Dave was in a panic. Glad they found her. You know you can text me if you need to. You won’t be bothering me.’
Underneath my picture I wrote… Empty nesters!! What does that even mean? HA!
“Love the picture. Have fun. I would tell you things. Trust me.”
We were off on a two-week vacation. Our destination… Glacier National Park, West Glacier, Montana. We were going to visit the sites in Montana for a few days and then head south towards Jackson, Wyoming. We have several stops planned throughout our trip. Most of them we plan along the way. We like to try to get in as much sightseeing as we possibly can.
Early morning text from Luisa…
“Hello Debbie. I’m back in town. I checked in with Laura. I talked with her, and she is doing pretty good. You enjoy your trip. I’ll keep you informed if anything comes up and you do the same if you hear from her. Okay? Have a safe trip. Love you.”
‘Thanks, Luisa. Yes, she does seem like she is feeling better. That is good. She was even laughing the other day. I know you know what laugh I am talking about. We haven’t heard that laugh in a very long time. I know you will let me know and I will do the same. Thanks again. You are a good friend.’
Sunday evening…
“How are you? How’s the road trip?”
‘Been traveling all day. It’s going well. We are in Wheatland, Wyoming. It is still pretty hot here. I can see some mountains down the street from where I am sitting.’
“That’s good. How was your first night?”
‘Well, its funny you say that. Clint had the camper parked in our backyard at home before we left. He moved it back there so it would be out of the way. Before we left, he noticed some ants in our storage compartment, so he sprayed it with ant spray. The bedroom in our camper is over this storage compartment. So, guess what? When we got to our first campsite, there were ants in the bedroom, not a lot, but a few. We put an ant trap in the storage compartment that Clint’s dad gave us. I had Clint check it before bed because I was still seeing a few ants. It had TONS of ants on it. Great!! So, I slept with Brandi and the pup in the living room. I let Chase & Clint sleep with the ants. They claimed there wasn’t that many. Today, I haven’t seen any. So that is good. We have an ongoing joke now. A happiness meter. On a scale from 1-10… Everyone else is a 10! I’m at a 2. What did you do today?’
“Oh boy! Yuck. So sorry. I worked on cutting some ribbons for the bubbles for the wedding. Had dinner with Amanda and went to visit my dad. Vacuumed Rachel’s room and now tying bows.”
‘Are you feeling any better?’
“Yes. Slept good last night. I took 2 Tylenol PM’s because I needed to sleep. Kind of tired. I have probably overdone it these last few days.”
‘Luisa sent me a text telling me to have a good trip. She said she would be checking on you. She really cares about you a lot.’
“I know. I talked to her today. Thanks.”
‘We looked up the temperature for West Glacier. It was 65 degrees. I may have to pull out my jeans soon.’
“Lol. Brrr.”
It’s been a few days now since I have heard anything from Laura. I checked in with her late Wednesday night…
‘How are you feeling?
No answer.
I sent her another text letting her know we are in a different time zone
‘Just letting you know we are an hour behind you.’
Still no answer.
Thursday evening, I received this text from Luisa…
“Hello Debbie, I hope you are doing well. I just wanted to keep you informed. Laura came to see me at work on Tuesday and Wednesday. She looks really, really, really good. She was laughing and happy just like the good ole days.”
‘Well good. I texted her last night to check in. I haven’t heard anything back. We have been driving through the mountains, so I haven’t had much cell phone service until now. I was just getting ready to text you and see if everything was ok. I am glad all is good. Thanks for letting me know. I sure hope she gets some strength back and that her scans next week will be good.’
I sent Luisa a picture of the mountains.
‘This is my view for the next few days.’
“Wow, that is beautiful. By the way, Laura left her phone in her car yesterday. The heat fried it. If you text her, let her know who you are because I sent her one and she asked… Who is this? Last night, she left work and went and got a new phone. So, she lost all of her contacts.”
‘Oh no! Ok, thanks. I wondered why she didn’t answer my text. It has been 77 degrees here all day.’
“That’s some nice weather. We’re frying like chickens here. It’s been 96, 99, now almost 100.”
I waited awhile and tried sending Laura another text. It makes sense now on why I haven’t heard back from her…
‘How are you? I heard your phone is fried.’
“I’m doing ok. Yes, phone is fried. My texts are gone. How’s vacation?”
‘I was starting to wonder if something was wrong. Luisa told me about your phone. We are finally at Glacier National Park. So far, we have had a lot of problems. First ants, now problems with our gas water heater. That one is ok, we can live with it. We can use the electric water heater instead. Then we noticed water leaking outside from the back of the camper. It ended up being a broken water hose. The guys were able to fix it, so that is good. To top it off, a couple of days ago, we went over to see Custers Last Stand. It was 102 degrees out. When we got back to the campground and to our camper, we found the source of the ant problem. Let’s just say we found the colony of ants. When Chase went to set something on our bed, he noticed something moving around. He turned the light on to see hundreds of ants on our bed. They were falling from the ceiling above. O.M.G!!! We threw the bedding, the rugs and the mattress out the camper door. Clint and the boys started pulling the trim down off the ceiling. The ants were coming from a place where the ceiling panels butt up next to each other. Yep, they have been hiding up in the ceiling. The guys went to the store and bought some more bug spray and a shop vac. I spent the evening washing all the rugs and bed clothes. They sprayed every place they could think of to spray, waited an hour, then vacuumed everything up. The last two nights we all slept in the living room. We put the dog crate and totes between the two beds. The dinette makes a bed and our couch folds down to make another. Since the couch is small, there is only enough room for one person. We put the tubs between the two and piled blankets on top to make one extra large bed. And… We had to block off Gunner so he could be by himself. He still hates the pup. Other than that, we are having a great time!!’
“OMG! That is why I hotel it. Lol. So sorry for all the problems. Hope it goes well from now on. How is the weather?”
‘The weather is great! In the upper 70’s. Wearing a jacket with my shorts. How are you feeling?’
“Doing good. Feeling pretty good. Having trouble sleeping but other than that, I am doing good.”
‘Do you still have your cough?’
“It is much better. I haven’t coughed anything up for 4 days now. Just so you know, I don’t have cancer this week.”
‘That’s good. So, you are just going to be normal this week, huh?’
“Yep.”
‘Sounds good. So, what have you been doing?’
“Working on wedding stuff and shower stuff. Resting.”
‘Have you enjoyed the quiet? You haven’t had a friend checking in and getting on your case. Ha. We haven’t had a lot of cell phone service. We have been driving through the mountains.’
“Lol. No, I miss talking to you. I figured you wouldn’t have service sometime.”
“You probably wouldn’t have wanted to hear from me these last few days anyway. I was pretty frustrated with everything going on.’
“I bet. I would have been too.”
“Oh, I forgot to tell you… When we went to Custer’s state park, there were signs everywhere warning about rattlesnakes. We had lunch at a restaurant not too far from the park’s entrance. They had a sign too… If you see rattlesnakes on the walkway, tell one of the staff for removal. WHAAAT??!!! That night I had a dream that I got bit by a stupid snake. You were in it saying… See, I told you so! Gee thanks, Laura. Haha.’
“Wow. Did you obey the warnings? Lol.”
‘Well, yeah! My luck hasn’t been too good.’
“Lol. You are having a good time. Glad it is you. I would have wanted to go home. Lol.”
‘We almost did go back home. Clint wanted to, then he said… Just hang with me, we have to push thru.’
“Is that his first time of saying that? That he wanted to go home.”
‘Yes. Poor Clint even woke up this morning not feeling good. Oh, you will get a kick out of this… The first night when we had our living room slumber party, Clint says to me… Take a muscle relaxer. Just take one. He knew I was worked up. He picked up the bottle and handed it at me. Then he got out his bottle of Jack Daniels and took a big ole swig. The kids laughed at us saying, we were getting all liquored and drugged up. Haha. At least none of us thought about the ants.’
“Lol. That’s funny. I would have gone home. I would not have been happy.”
‘Hey, I noticed something before I left. You had your laugh back. That’s good. Keep it.’
“Thanks.”
Sunday, they had a bridal shower for Rachel. Since we were out of town, we had to miss it. Brandi, Chase and I took a picture and sent it. “Hope you have a great day, Rachel. Sorry we can’t be at your shower. We are thinking of you.’
Rachel sent us a text with a couple of pictures. The smiles on everyone’s faces sure looked good. It’s been a while since we have seen Laura smile like that.
7:30 that evening…
“This week I have lost my phone three times. Rachel wants to know when you are coming back home. Lol.”
‘What the heck is wrong with you?’
“I don’t know. I’m losing it. Lol.”
‘I guess so. How was the shower?’
“It was so nice. They got a lot of neat stuff. Is your trip any better?”
‘Today, nothing! Knock on wood. 1st… Ants. 2nd … Gas heater. 3rd … Water leak. 4th … Major ant problem. 5th … Found broken hose and fixed it. 6th … Left the pup in the pen too long. Didn’t have the bottom pan hooked in correctly. The pup moved it and peed onto the bed clothes so had to do laundry again. 7… The pup got a fever. We had to find an emergency vet clinic. He had a cut on his lip, so I guess he got a little infection. (He chews on sticks and everything). Today… So far, so good. Say a prayer.’
“OMG. A vacation to remember. Lol.”
‘Where do you keep losing your phone at? At home or out in public?’
“Twice at home and at the 54th St. restaurant.”
‘Oh my gosh! Well, tell Rachel it will be a whole another week that I’ll be gone.
“I will. LOL.”
‘Did I tell you it doesn’t get dark here until after 10:30?’
“Wow. You still up that late? Lol.”
‘Heck no! I can’t do it. Haha. We are an hour behind so that is like 11:30 your time.’
“So, you are in bed before 10:30?”
‘Yes, I am. It is so weird. When you look out the window it is still light out. The sun is still so high up in the sky. It’s 9 o’clock here, 10 o’clock your time. Crazy. Today we went to Jeff Flemings store. He’s the guy that makes all those bears I collect. Why yes, I did make a purchase.’
“That’s exciting.”
‘Yes, it was. $200. later.’
“Oh my. Did you buy more than one?”
‘Just one. His store is in Kalispell. Unfortunately, today he wasn’t working, his son was. I picked out the bear I wanted to purchase, and he asked me how I wanted it carved. I had my choice of how to carve the fur. Cool deal. So, they are going to make it next week and have it shipped after I get home.’
“That is cool. Have you seen any real bears?”
‘No bears. There were warnings about them and mountain lions.’ Have you been to lunch any with Luisa?’
“Just took lunch to her.”
‘I miss you guys.’
“We miss you too.”
Monday, June 27th, 2016…
‘It’s going to be a good day! Thinking of you. Let me know how your scans go.’
“Yes, it is. I will.”
8:20 P.M. that night…
‘How’s it going?’
“Going good. Watching the kids. How was your day?”
‘We have left Glacier and the cool weather. We are now in Butte, Montana.’
“What’s in Butte?”
‘It’s just a stopover. The city is set on a hill. It’s kind of cool and different. Brandi put some pictures on her Facebook. If you get on Rachel’s, you can see them. What kind of scan did they do?’
“I will have to look on Rachel’s FB. This morning, I had a CT scan. Don’t know anything yet. Feeling pretty good.”
‘Maybe you should video tape yourself feeling good, to document it. The two weeks I am gone… You feel great. Imagine that.’
“Lol. Hopefully this will last a while. It feels good to be normal.”
‘I am so glad you feel normal. That’s good news.’
Tuesday morning text to Luisa…
‘Hi Luisa! How are you? We have seen so much neat stuff. Laura says she has been feeling really good. I said, of course you would the two weeks I have been gone. Ha! I hear Kathy has been up at the hospital a lot. Hope things are going okay at work with all of this going on. I’m sure it’s rough.’
I sent a picture along with my text.
“It looks like it’s a beautiful place. Yes, Laura has been really good. She looks good. She feels good. She is doing a lot more, which I think she overdoes a little bit.”
‘I’m not going to have much cell phone service. Just letting you know ahead of time.’
Wednesday, June 29th, 2016.
Laura’s appointment with the doctor. Today she will find out the results from the scan. Is she nervous? How could you not be? This scan will show how well the clinical trial is working.
My early morning text…
‘You would think on vacation I would have time to think. Nope! That’s because vacations wear me out. So, no words of wisdom coming from me today. Just know that I am hoping for some really good news. I’m glad you had time off and a sense of normal. I sure hope you have some of your strength back. I hope you feel better. Let me know how things go. We will be thinking of you.’
That was at 9:31 this morning. There was no answer to that text.
We left our campground early that morning. Our next destination stop would be Jackson Hole, Wyoming. It’s funny how certain memories pop into your head. While preparing to write this, the image of our drive became so clear. It’s like we just drove down this road yesterday. It’s crazy how the mind works. A moment in time can take you right back to that place.
We took a scenic route just off the main hi-way. This drive would take us through miles and miles of rolling hills. I remember passing only a handful of small towns along the way. Luisa tried texting me, but most of the time there was no service. The last thing I heard from her was… “I need to talk to you.”
I remember the long gradual hill we were driving down. The road curved to the left as we were approaching a small town. To the east was a brown covered mountain. I guess you could say it was more like a large hill. At the bottom of the hill was a meadow. There was a pond surrounded by green grass and a lot of trees. We must have been in range for cell phone service, because that was the first time my phone went off. That’s when I saw the text from Amanda.
I closed my eyes for a quick moment after seeing the preview of my text. My home screen read… “Well, I don’t want to ruin your vacation.” I looked at Clint and said… It’s not good news.
My 11 o’clock text from Amanda…
“Well, I don’t want to ruin your vacation. Her scans were not good. There is more thickening on the right and new nodules on the left lung. She will start a different chemo next week or start a new trial. Just wanted to let you know.”
‘You’re not going to ruin my vacation. I want to know. I know your mom thinks that way though. Well that it not good news. Dang it! What else did they say? How is your mom doing?’
“She feels good. She was upset but in good spirits. We will just try something else. Just sucks.”
‘How was her weight? The entire time I have been gone, she was feeling good. This really sucks.’
“She is up about 7 pounds.”
I immediately sent a text to Luisa…
‘Spill it. I know Laura shut you up. I know how she works. This being loyal to Laura while I’m on vacation isn’t going to work. What else do you know? I know scans were not good.’
“Yes, the tests are not very good. Laura’s not talking right now. You are coming home this weekend, right?”
‘Amanda said thickening on the right side and new on the left. Yes, I will be home on Sunday.’
“I’m glad you are coming home. I have really missed you. I’m glad you are having a good vacation. Debbie, the thing about it is, that she had a great week last week and the week before. Monday and Tuesday of this week she was happy.”
‘I know. Good news would have been just what she needed. It is going to be hard to keep pushing her thru. I want our friend to beat this. Sometimes I just don’t understand. I also hate the fact that I had to be gone the week she was finally feeling like normal. I would have liked to have seen my friend happy. I DID get to hear that laugh of hers before I left. We haven’t heard that in a long time. Is there anything else she told you that I need to know? I thought you were going to tell me she is DONE.’
“No. She didn’t want to tell you while you’re on vacation (or me) but her and Kathy talked about disability. I really don’t know what was said between them.”
Laura poured herself immediately into “keeping busy”. I sent her a text right after I finished with Luisa’s. I didn’t know what to say. I really didn’t. The only thing I could think of, was something silly to make her smile. I sent her a picture that Chase and I took from the night before.
The campground we were staying at had a saloon/restaurant. Outside the saloon was wooden fence and a big statue of a growling bear. We had Brandi take an action shot of Chase and I running from this bear. Of course, we had a stupid look on our faces. I sent this picture to Laura. Underneath I wrote…
‘Does this make you smile?’
She answered me almost an hour later…
“Yes. Having fun?”
‘Sure. We took this picture at our campground. Last night, we were right outside of Cody, Wyoming. Now we are heading to the Tetons. Jackson Hole. How are you doing?”
‘Good. Getting some pop for the wedding.’
I kind of left the conversation just like that. I didn’t know what to answer back. I think we all had a lot to process. If she wanted to talk, she could tell me. Later that afternoon she sent Luisa and I a text. I didn’t know it until two hours later. Once again, I had no cell service.
The text was sent at 1:10 that afternoon…
Laura… “Ok. The news is not good. Treatment is not working. I have some new spots. A few lymph nodes are enlarged. No treatment today. There is another clinical trial. We will find out if there is an opening for me tomorrow. Will have chemo next week if I am not in the new clinical trial. Two weeks on and a week off. This is just a setback. Moving forward. It’s going to be ok. I have Faith. Feeling good. The spots are in my lungs. I can beat this. I am healthy now. Love you both.’
Luisa… “I’m so sorry Laura. You can beat this. I have faith that you can beat this. We will keep on going forward and keep praying. You look really good right now. You are strong and feeling good with a great positive attitude. I love you, Laura.’
Laura… “Love you too.”
At 2:52 P.M. I joined the group…
Deb… ‘Sorry, I haven’t had a signal for a while. God gave you a couple of weeks off for a reason. He gave you time to get your strength back so you can kick butt again. Your faith better be there. I’m talking to both of you. We are brought to a higher level by the challenges we face, which means our faith must grow stronger. Got it?? Are you letting God fill you up? Ask for it. Love is your strength, Laura. You got this. No… WE got this.’
Laura… “I got it. It’s all going to be ok.”
Later that night, my personal text to Laura…
‘What are you doing?’
“I just got home. I had a talk with Kathy. Might be going to the beach tomorrow.”
‘What beach?’
“Gulf Shore.”
‘For real?’
“I guess. Amanda is planning it. Jared said, ok.”
‘Seriously?? I’m by snow right now and you are going to the beach??’
I didn’t know if she was serious or not. They never talked about going to the beach this soon. It wouldn’t surprise me though. I could see Amanda packing her up and whisking her away.
At 8:15 that evening, I sent another text…
‘Are you really going to the beach?’
“Yes. We are leaving at 11 tomorrow.”
‘I can’t believe it.’
“Do you guys want to meet us there?”
‘Well, that would be quite a long drive from Jackson Hole, you goof.’
“It would be fun.”
‘Oh, I’m sure it would be. I can’t believe you are going. It will be an adventure for sure. Are you flying or driving?’
“Driving.”
‘You ARE coming back home, aren’t you??’
“Yes. Lol.”
‘How long are you staying?’
“Till Sunday.”
‘Ha! Spur of the moment trips are the best. Are you taking Luisa with you?’
“No. I wish both of you were going.”
‘Well, we can’t make it to Gulf Shore from Wyoming in time. Haha. Is Rachel going?’
“Yes. Put the pedal to the metal and go.”
‘Hahaha. I’ll tell Clint.’
“Ok.”
‘Clint wants to know if you will wait on us. He said he would meet you at the beach if we had more time. He said he would just keep on traveling south.’
I sent her a picture. Campers in the foreground and snow-covered mountains in the back.
‘This is my evening view.’
“View is nice.”
‘I can’t believe you are going to the beach. Send Luisa and I some pictures of your travels. Are you packed?’
“Not packed yet. I’ll send pics.”
‘One last thing… Don’t lose your phone!’
At 9 P.M. I sent Amanda a text…
‘You are a good daughter. Have fun.’
She answered…
“It’s going to be great. We all need this.”
I checked in Thursday afternoon…
‘Are you on the road?’
“Yes.”
‘Where are you at?’
“Bolivar, Mo. Ride is going ok so far. Lol.”
‘Which one of you in your car, would like me to purchase this for them?’
I sent a picture of two interestingly dressed mannequins I saw in the store window. One sporting a fur thong bikini, the other… A fur brief for the men. I guess you would call these… Fur-kinis.
“OMG. No one wants any! Lol. Where are you?’
“Shopping the tourist shops in Jackson Hole. Hey, on Good Morning America, a park ranger was killed by a grizzly bear at Glacier. He was on a bike trail 1 mile from the campground we were staying at. They said there was a bear spotted in OUR campground five days before we got there. Holy Moly!’
“I saw that this morning. Scary and crazy. Glad you guys weren’t there. What are you doing the rest of the day?”
‘We are going to the Tetons, where there are more bears!’
“I see. Have fun.”
‘Do you people have a place to stay when you get there? It is 4th of July weekend.’
“Yes. We are camping on the beach.”
‘What??? You are camping?? I’m laughing.’
“We are homeless.”
‘If you have blankets, you can rent a camping cabin.’
“No thank you. We have a hotel. Lol.”
7 P.M. that night…
“How was your day?”
‘Good. We didn’t see any bears, but we saw a moose with her 2 babies.’
“Very cool. We are driving. We are on a road with no places to stop and eat with very cranky kids.”
‘I have the same problem. Haha. We have a huge snack bag though. Hey, check this out… Jeff Fleming finished my bear. He sent me a picture to make sure I liked it. Hold on, I’ll send it to you.’
“Very cute. Where are you going to put it?”
‘I’m going to put it on the headboard of my bed. Clint will love it!’
“So, you are going to have a bear looking over you while you sleep?”
‘Heck yeah.’
Friday morning…
“We are in Alabama. About 60 miles away.”
‘You guys drove all night? You’re crazy!’
“No, we stopped in Mississippi like at 2 A.M.”
‘Are you still in the “having fun” stage?’
“Yes. Lol.”
A few hours later the girls Facetimed me. There they were all sitting on the beach. I asked them if they are having a good time, and I’m sure you can guess what that answer would be. I only talked with them for a couple of minutes because my phone lost service again. Before the signal was lost, I told them to be sure and take some fun, silly posed pictures on the beach.
6:10 P.M…
“Ok, we will. We lost you, sorry.”
‘We drove thru a long valley. My signal dropped to one bar and lost service. It was good to see all of you smile. Been thinking about you all day. Also been talking to God. I AM a little closer to Him at an elevation of 8000 feet. Ha. Anyway, we stopped at a parking lot alongside of the hi-way. I took Gunner for a walk so he could do his business. That’s when I had another talk with my mom. I caught up with the guys when Gunner was finished. I stood with them while they talked. I bet they stood there for ten minutes. I don’t know why, but I looked down at my feet. In between my feet was a white feather. I asked my mom earlier, if she could give me a sign. I looked around to see if there were any more. Nope! Just this one. Keep believing, Laura. Keep believing.’
“Thanks, Debbie.”
Saturday morning, Amanda sent me a picture.
Laura in the middle, Rachel on one side, Amanda on the other. The three of them sitting on the beach with the biggest smiles.
‘Love it! How’s Mom doing?’
“Good. She is very relaxed. She’s been napping lots at the beach.”
‘Glad she is having a good time. Looks like you all are.’
“Thanks. It has been a great time.”
At four o’clock my phone goes off again. This time, Laura sent me a beach picture…
“My view from this morning at 6 A.M. So nice and peaceful to have a talk with God.”
‘You were awake at 6 A.M.? Or did you really camp out on the beach? Are you staying another night there?’
“Lol. Yes, we are leaving tomorrow night.”
‘Well, it looks beautiful.’
“It’s been a good trip.”
‘Last night we drove into town. It was cloudy but the sun was peaking through. It was so neat because you could see the rays from the sun shining all the way to the ground. You could pan to the left, and all the way to the right. It was like the rays were curved around. I’ve never seen it like that before. It was so cool. I heard Teresa’s song on the drive back. God is listening, Laura.’
“Yes, He is.”
“I’m glad you are having a good time.’
“I am. I’ll have the girls send you the pictures.”
Not too long after that, I received a handful of pictures of Laura and the girls.
“Here are some fun pics.”
Tanned bodies and smiles on their faces. The three of them living their best life.
“The pictures are great, Amanda. You don’t know how proud I am. I ALWAYS make my family do fun poses on our vacations. Our big thing is… If there is a bridge, we have to do a pose. We call it our ‘bridge pose’. These are so much fun. Love it.”
You guessed it…. There was a surfing pose, a muscle pose, a silly pose and a smiling family.
Fun on the beach and memories made.
I wasn’t there when Laura found out her news. I was 1,079 miles away. I never asked her how all of this came about. I didn’t ask her what the doctor said. I think all of us were in a state of shock. We thought this clinical trial was going to cure her cancer.
When I started to write this chapter, I sent Amanda all the information I knew. That was the stuff I just wrote about. I wondered how they came to the decision to go to the beach. I asked Amanda if she could send me a short description on what happened and how the whole beach thing came up. It was the Fourth of July weekend, so planning a trip on such short notice would be hard. I was going to use this new information and fit it in throughout my texts. When I read it, I decided to leave it alone. I wanted you to read it for yourself…
~ “I remember that day when we sat in the doctor’s office at KU waiting for them to come in the room. We were hopeful for good news of Mom’s cancer shrinking with the clinical trial medications. However, when they came in, which was the Oncologist, the Nurse Practitioner, and the Nurse, they had different news. They showed us the scans and the spots in the lungs they were concerned about were larger. If they go up by a certain percentage she was disqualified from the trial. My mom sat there quiet. I could tell she was upset and angry with the situation. We talked about the other options before we got in the car and left. I could tell she was anxious and worried. She wanted to live, and she wanted the treatment to work so she could work and be with her family and take care of her grandbabies. As we drove, I asked her if we could do anything right now, what would you do? She said, I want to go to the beach! I said, I think we should do that. I dropped her off and picked up my kids. I went home and called Jared. I asked him if we could drive to the beach the next day. He agreed and I searched for hotels. We decided on Gulf Shores as it was the shortest drive distance, but still had my mom’s white sand. I called many hotels, but hard to find one because we were headed right into a holiday weekend. We finally booked the Best Western. I called Mom and told her to pack her bags. Rachel made a quick trip back to Iowa to pack hers. We left the next day at my kid’s nap time. We stopped somewhere in Mississippi for the night then made it the next day to Gulf Shores. Over the next few days, we played in the sand and water, picnicked in the sand. We were together. It was one of my favorite trips, no plans, just with my favorite people enjoying the sun and sand. Mom loved it so much that she was so sunburnt. It was just so good to see her smile and her spirits lifted.” ~ Amanda Hanna
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