Day 45--Thanksgiving and Beyond, Plus a Little Holiday Mush

I had every intention of posting to the blog on Thanksgiving, but the time escaped me as I worked on making our little feast. Here's the secret to making a turkey in a toaster oven: buy a boneless turkey breast, prep it the way you way you normally would for roasting (herbs, butter, etc.), then smash it down as flat as you can to fit it into the oven. It worked! We actually had a lovely dinner, with our flattened turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and green beans...and I am just ridiculously proud of myself for making it work. We took pictures to post on the blog, but it was after dark and the lighting wasn't good, and somehow, everything in the photos looked like big bowls of glop. But I swear it all looked quite appetizing in real life. We both ate our fill and were very thankful to be celebrating here in the hotel together...when just a few months ago we honestly didn't know if Torger would make it this far. We feel very lucky. Everything continues to be going well, and he seems to be getting a little stronger every day.

Now I'm going to get mushy, so if that sort of thing bugs you, you can quit reading here. Since Torger's diagnosis in May, we've been fortunate to have incredible support from our friends and family...not all of whom we've thanked appropriately yet. I'm still working on that, but we've been particularly helped by the experiences of several of our friends who have been through cancer themselves. I wish that none of them had reason to have the wisdom they do, because it came at a very high price. But Torger and I have been educated, soothed, and comforted by hearing about their experiences and being better prepared for what to expect as we've moved forward. So today, we want to offer a special thanks to Teresa, who even flew out to Colorado in September to pull weeds with me and share chemo tales with Torger; Judy (who makes a great chicken soup); Deb; Barb; Stacy; Paul; Anne; all the 11th floor volunteers, especially Gail; and the memory of Margaret Thompson, who reminds us that living--and living well--with cancer is very possible, because she did it for a lot of years. We're grateful for Jim and Donna Reidhead, who completed Jim's 100 days post-transplant just shortly before Torger's procedure, and whose blog has been a really important learning tool for us all along the way. And especially our friends Jean and Ted, who have shown us how possible it is to live with grace, humor, and hope, even when there seem to be far more reasons to be angry and depressed instead. More than anything (and believe me, there's been a lot that we've learned from these two...not the least of which is to up your health insurance once one of you turns 50), Jean and Ted have set the gold standard for what it means to stick together as a team and go forward with no regrets. We can never really pay them back, but we also know that Torger getting through this is the only payback they want. And we're hopeful that's one we'll be able to deliver.

It just started snowing...the first really big, fluffy snow this fall. It's nice to be here in our hotel room, feeling safe, and knowing we don't have to get up to go to the hospital in the morning. Dr. Tse is in Ohio with his family, and Torger gets the weekend off.